I've had an urge to do a multi-chapter for a while, but of the ones I've started (around twenty or so) this looks to be one of very few I'll actually get around to finishing, so this is the one I'm putting up here. For the record, the italics aren't technically flashbacks; bear with the fic and all will be explained, I'm trying something out here and you guys are being my guinea pigs. You can insert a mysterious smile or something here if you think it'd suit me better than a straight face... I won't pretend updates will even resemble being regular, but I'll post when I can.
Disclaimer - I'm not Japanese, and my self-portrait is not a really awesome cow. So no, I'm not Arakawa-sensei, but I do borrow her characters for abuse in non-profit products of boredom such as this.
---
Sharp pains sprang through Edward's body as he slowly stirred from the darkness; his head was pounding, his ribs ached and his lungs were on fire.
But he was alive.
Gently, ever so gently he took a slow breath, cringing as it bit into his lungs and made him cough violently. Forcing himself to roll onto his front, he let his forehead rest against the cold, wet ground as he hacked up water and Lord only knew what else, spitting it out onto the mud and gasping for a full breath.
His throat was raw by the time he stopped choking, far too much water having been trapped within his chest and subsequently brought back up. Every muscle screaming its protest, the blonde forced his weight upon his shaking arms as he pushed himself up to kneel on the ground instead.
Eyes shying away from the harsh sunlight, Edward gazed blearily around, his mind still foggy yet sharp enough to guess it was probably concussion. Cliffs stretched for miles on both sides of the river, with no indication of which side he was on, never mind how far down he had drifted.
As if suddenly remembering something, he brought his gaze down to ground level and scanned the area nearby; a small, unmoving lump caught his attention and he realised at once that the young child must have been caught in the same current as him to have remained so close.
Edward tried to stand but his legs shook and threatened to give way beneath him, forcing him to sink back down to the ground; yet as he stared at the lump, undue concern began to rise within him.
"Spoilt little shit..." he growled under his breath, pausing for a moment before forcing his burning arms to pull his weight along as he dragged himself across the ground.
---
"Sir, we have a problem," Hawkeye announced as she entered the office, giving a brief nod to Edward as she passed.
"If it's anything bigger than a lack of paperclips, I don't want to hear it," the Colonel muttered, letting his head rest in the palms of his hands.
"The Drachman ambassador's youngest son has been kidnapped by the ISAAM; the Fuhrer wants every one of the most able soldiers out looking for him."
"ISAAM?" Edward repeated slowly. "I've heard that before... What is it?"
"Ishballan Survivors Against the Amestrian Military," Roy answered darkly. "A rebel group formed just after the war ended, they've been giving us hell with diplomats and the like ever since."
"The ambassador believes it's the military's fault that the child was captured, so Fuhrer Bradley has commissioned the best soldiers to ensure he is found," the Lieutenant explained. "He personally requested both of you."
"Both of us?" the boy asked uncertainly – he had been about to leave on a lead... "Why both of us?"
"It seems Bradley is aware of your skills and determination to complete a task, he thinks you could be useful."
"And as for me, he knows I can't say no," Roy added bitterly.
"But it's just rescuing a kid, right? Surely it doesn't need that many people?"
"Don't underestimate what the ISAAM are willing to do to prove a point," the raven-haired man told him harshly. "Their first action as a group was to take a man apart piece by piece while he was still alive, and their second was to get one of their own in the streets of Central to cut his wrists and die bleeding in front of the market while screaming about their cause. Both of these were just to show us how far they would go if they wanted to."
"And Bradley wants us to bring this kid back alive?" Edward asked sceptically, slightly shocked by what he had been told.
"There will be teams of seven, apparently," Hawkeye explained, briefly glancing at the sheet in her hand. "They've been grouped into people who should work well together; Colonel, you're in charge of ours."
"Ours?" Roy repeated.
"Yes, ours – I've been commissioned for it too, Sir. The three of us are in a team along with Major Hughes and Lieutenants Danby and Rusher; Lieutenant Havoc will be there too, but his primary position is medic."
"Danby and Rusher... I've never heard of them."
"Our skills should all support each other, Sir – you two and Havoc will be covered by us if you need to prepare anything, Danby and Rusher both have some martial arts training to assist Edward with hand-to-hand, and Hughes is experienced with various weapons in case they have something other than guns. I'm sure Edward is quick enough to pick it up without getting hurt, but any foreign weapons may need explaining to Danby and Rusher, and Hughes is familiar with both of them so can tell them how to get around them."
The boy listened to all of it without uttering a sound, his mind already flicking through possible scenarios and ways out of them if everyone worked together. If they didn't, he would probably end up taking charge of the situation himself, but as he didn't know what kind of skills the kidnappers possessed, he couldn't work out any strategies.
"Our orders so far are to meet in the courtyard by 9am tomorrow, where we will be given further instructions."
"Thank you, Hawkeye," Roy accepted the sheet of paper before she turned and left the office. He shot a sly look to the oddly quiet boy on the couch, but didn't comment on his behaviour; he knew he was still too young to fully comprehend the true horrors the world could produce, so he didn't press him for a reaction.
Yet.
---
My apologies if that really confused anyone - like I said, I'm trying a new little thing with this one because it just seems to work better than writing it "normally", but I'm not quite sure what you guys will think of it. So... What did you think? (And again... prompts for Got Your Back are still more than welcome)