A/N: Hello everyone! So…when Ed disappeared after the Baschool incident, the information got to the military as well. Duhh, he's the Fullmetal Alchemist. Yeah so Parental!RoyEd. ABSOLUTELY NON-YAOI!
-Also I don't own it. (I don't think disclamers really make sense I mean it's Fanfiction…)
ENJOY!
Fullmetal Alchemist Presumed Dead
Roy Mustang couldn't concentrate on his paper as usual. He stared at the title on the paper in front of him and read through the report again. Though, the meaning of the words didn't seem to be making its way into his brain. Signing his name on it, he passed onto the next paper.
He read it twice, but again, he could barely understand what was being said. Without giving another thought to that paper, he signed that one too.
He signed and rubbed his forehead. Who cared if he did the paperwork anyway? The Fuhrer was a Homunculus. He was a candidate-whatever that meant. And this whole country was created for its own purpose. He sighed.
A searing pain was starting to appear on the side of his head. It was a headache probably, for looking at so much paper. Sometimes he wished he could just slip on his glove and reduce the pile in front of him into ashes.
But he was going to become Fuhrer and that was it. He had to kill so much people in Ishval. He'd had enough of taking orders that didn't make sense. He would turn this country into democracy. But first they had to stop the Homunculi's plans. It was all their fault that so much bad things had happened in the first place. Sure, it was nothing to them. Wipe out a village with hundreds of innocent people, who cares? They didn't have feelings. And they would never understand the heavy weight of guilt in one's heart after they killed someone. It never went away.
His headache grew to an unbearable amount at the thought of war. He stood up to get another cup of coffee. He knew he wouldn't sleep tonight.
Roy still hadn't heard anything from the Xingese girl that the Elrics were searching for. Looking for ways to defeat the Homunculi, not a bad idea. Maybe he should have thought them flame alchemy. That had killed Lust.
He quickly pushed that idea away. He'd promised Riza. There wasn't going to be any other flame alchemists. It would end with him and that would be final.
The Elric brothers had went up North, to the great wall of Briggs. Falman had also been sent there. He'd also heard that General Ravens had gone there for a visit.
It must have been pretty cold in there at this time. The weather was said to get very messy. Roy slapped his hand to his forehead. He'd forgotten to tell Ed to adapt his automail to North. That careless kid was going to get frostbite. Maybe he knew about it, but Roy doubt it.
General Olivier Armstrong – Major Armstrong's older sister – was the head of Briggs. He suddenly got goose bumps. That woman was scary. No wonder Drachma ever got passed them. Too bad she was also becoming Fuhrer. But Roy would beat her to it. He was sure Amestris wouldn't want to be reigned by terror. He gave a chuckle. If the Elrics told her their goal, she'd just call them stupid and show no interest at all. Unless she found out about the Homunculi. Well then they'd have to explain the real reason they were there.
He refilled his cup and slowly made his way back to his office. Anything to waste more time. If only some of his crew members were around to talk with. He felt alone.
Just before he turned the corner, he heard two officers talking. He stopped, waiting to hear what their conversation was about.
"Did you hear what happened in Baschool?"
"I saw it in the newspapers. They say the mine collapsed."
The first officer's voice turned to a hushed whisper. "It collapsed when the Fullmetal Alchemist was in it too. They still haven't found the body but they say he's dead. I wonder what Colonel Mustang thinks about that. First, Jean got paralyzed and now…"
Roy's breath caught in his throat.
He turned around and went back to the cafeteria, walking rapidly to the newspaper stand. He picked it up without looking at the headline and headed for his office. He wanted to read this in peace.
Mustang dropped on his chair, laid the newspaper on his desk and began reading.
"FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST PRESUMED DEAD"
So it was true. What had really happened?
"Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric (15) had been pursuing Scar under the orders of Solf J. Kimblee (26)."
Kimblee? He was released from jail? Since when? It must have been the Fuhrer's doing. King Bradley was a Homunculus, Kimblee was a mad bomber, it all fit. He must be working with them. But why Scar?
"Unfortunately, Scar has gotten away taking Edward Elric's mechanic, Winry Rockbell (15) hostage in Baschool."
Roy gave a low whistle. He highly doubt that Edward would ever let Scar escape with Rockbell. But she was already a hostage, wasn't she? If Edward left the military, than she's be killed. That's what Bradley had said. Could it be a plan to get her out of hostage position? And how the hell had Scar cooperated with them?
But wait…he remembered something that Ed had mentioned before. Scar was the one who had killed the Rockbells, Winry's parents. So maybe Winry had talked some sense into him. Either way, it must have been set-up. Roy smiled, knowing that Ed had most likely been against it.
"Later, Edward Elric was seen fighting with two chimeras."
Chimeras? What were chimeras doing in Baschool? Baschool was a ghost town. Unless they were the few soldiers from the military that had been used in experiments. That would explain it then. If Kimblee had been given status higher than a major, then he must have gotten some bodyguards. And he wasn't stupid, he must have also figured out that it was a set-up. That was probably the reason he would sick his chimeras on Ed.
"Edward Elric was last seen in a mine, along with two chimeras. Soon after, the mine collapsed. The search team say that they heard screaming coming from the mine that sounded like a boy. A few strands of golden colored hair and plenty of blood was discovered in the bottom of the mine, suggesting it to be the Fullmetal Alchemist's who has hair color matching the discovered hair. Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric is presumed dead and his whereabouts are currently unknown along with the two chimeras and Red Lotus Alchemist, Solf J. Kimblee."
Roy gave a long sigh. It seemed like Kimblee had achieved his goal. Was Ed being held captive by him? Plus, he must have been badly injured. Surely, he hadn't walked out of that mine by himself. Someone must have carried him out. Edward couldn't be dead though, that was clear. He still has to fulfill his promises before that. Also he owed Roy some money and he wasn't supposed to die before him.
He only wished he knew where Ed was; at least it would make him feel better. He must have been separated from his brother at some point too. Where was Alphonse?
Just then, the phone rang, distracting him from his thoughts.
"Hello, you're speaking to Colonel Roy Mustang."
"Uh, hello?" It was a rough, hesitant voice.
"Who am I speaking to?"
"My name's Darius and I'm from the military."
"Go on."
"I saw the newspapers and uh…I wanted to tell you that the Fullmetal kid is alive. Since you're his officer. He said I could trust you."
Fullmetal? Really?
If this guy named Darius knew about Fullmetal then he must know his whereabouts. He didn't sound like a bad guy who was asking for ransom either.
"How do you know him? Where is he?"
"He's with us."
Roy gave an exasperated sigh. Was Edward really being held captive? Would he last with that injury?
"Would you mind explaining me everything?"
He needed to know. This man was speaking in pieces.
"Okay." He heard Darius take a deep breath. "We used to be Kimblee's bodyguards."
Ahh, Roy thought. I knew it.
But he had said "used to" which meant he and his companion wasn't anymore.
"Kimblee told us to get the Fullmetal kid when the girl disappeared. And I think the Briggs soldiers were planning on killing Kimblee."
Roy nodded his head to particularly no one. If the Briggs soldiers were going to kill Kimblee then the Elrics must have told General Armstrong something.
"Are you guys chimeras?"
"…Yes. Anyways, we fought and ended up in the mine. Ed transmuted dynamite into ammonia and beat us."
Roy snorted. Of course Ed would win. He hardly lost any fight. He was highly trained in self-defense.
He suddenly realized that the phone has gone very quiet all of a sudden.
"Hello?"
"Sorry. So after he beat us, Kimblee came and he had a Philosopher's Stone. Edward ran towards him really fast and threw the Stone out of his reach. Kimblee was going to use alchemy but Fullmetal cut the circles in the inside of his hand with that blade of his automail."
Roy smiled. It looked like Ed had managed to win more than one fight in a day.
"So he won?"
"That's what Ed thought. That's what Heinkel – my friend and I thought too. But then Kimblee took out another Philosopher's Stone from his mouth."
Mustang slammed his hand on his desk. How could someone have not one but two Stones? How many souls were sacrificed to make those?
"Damn it…" he whispered through clenched teeth.
"So, he let it drop on his palm. And there was a big explosion. We fell in the mine shaft. Kimblee left. A beam pinned me and my friend to the ground so we couldn't move. And –"
"And what? Did a beam pin him too?" He just wished that the man would just spit it out already.
"A beam fell on him. Vertically. It entered from his back and came out from his stomach. He was impaled and the kid didn't even notice what happened till he heard the blood dripping from his mouth."
Roy breathed through his teeth. He remembered the pain when Lust stabbed him. But that seemed so little compared to a beam.
Though how had he survived something like that? Half of his organs must have been crushed.
"Okay…Then what?"
"He severed the piece of beam that was sticking out from his back. And he used his alchemy to save us."
Alchemy required great energy. And at his injured state, Ed must have been desperate. Just like he had when he killed Lust.
"The article says there was screaming. What was that?"
"Yeah, I'm getting there. After he rescued us, he told us to pull the beam out of his stomach."
"What?!" If that thing was pulled out of him, then he'd die of blood loss in less than five minutes. What was he thinking?
"He said something about using himself as a Philosopher's Stone to heal himself and that it was going to take a few years out of his life span."
Roy let out a shaky breath. Since when had Ed learnt about medical alchemy? And what the hell was using himself as a Philosopher's Stone?
"Did it work?" If Edward was alive, then it probably had but he had to know.
"Yeah, he stopped the bleeding but that's all he did. He was planning on going after Kimblee but his healing wasn't enough so he fell unconscious." Darius finished.
Roy laughed. Of course…
"We brought him to a doctor and he said that Ed had to stay in bed for about four months."
Four months? Roy was horrified. It seemed like it was worse than he thought. Ed would go crazy if he was stuck in bed for four months.
"Can I speak to him?"
"Sure, but he's been given lot of anesthetics and painkillers lately so…"
"Yeah yeah. Just hand him the phone."
There were shuffling noises as the phone was being moved. Roy could hear the faint beeping of a heart monitor.
"Hey kid? You awake?"
A pained moan. "What?" The voice was hoarse and scratchy but it was definitely Ed's.
"It's Colonel Roy Mustang. Your officer."
"Roy Mustang? Who's Roy?"
Mustang sighed. Maybe he should have reconsidered.
"The guy you wanted me to call. You gave me his number, remember?"
"Oh…Right. Hello?"
"Hello Fullmetal. It's me Mustang."
"Fullmetal? Oh right, that's my military title..."
"How are you?"
"They have me drugged up most of the time so I don't know. Pretty bad, I guess."
"Where's your brother? What happened?"
Ed took a deep breath.
"Well… First a Homunculus attacked Briggs. We fought and won. Uh…General Armstrong figured we knew what it was so she interrogated us. We had to tell her. Kimblee and General Ravens came to visit. We made a plan so Ravens began telling her about immortality and promising a seat in the higher ups. And so she killed him."
Roy shuddered. That woman was really scary. He suddenly found himself wondering if he'd be able to kill Ravens.
Ed was wheezing, taking deep breaths. He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Kimblee ordered me to catch Scar and carve a crest of blood in Briggs since he took Raven's place. And he offered me a Philosopher's Stone. He brought Winry in it too, that bastard… So Winry changed my automail and we went to Baschool. We trapped Scar and Dr. Marcoh had research notes from Scar's brother. We needed Scar to read them. Then Winry said she could pretend to be kidnapped and that would be a good reason for them to get away."
"So you united with Scar?" Roy smirked. The man who had come so close to killing Ed had agreed to help them.
"I didn't. They did." Ed said harshly. "They were going to Briggs but we learned that General Armstrong was being sent to Central so Alphonse went to tell them."
Roy nodded. "Right. So why did you fight with Kimblee again?"
Ed sighed. "He was going to carve a crest of blood in the North so that their stupid plan would be complete. He was going to kill lot of people. And I'm sure he did…since I couldn't stop him."
Roy frowned, uneasiness making its way into his stomach. "That isn't your fault."
"When I beat him in the fight, he told me I should have finished him off when I had the chance. Because I refused to kill him, I'd given him a second chance to kill me. And you know what? He nearly did. And now I'm stuck here for four months."
Roy smiled. Sure, Ed couldn't see him but at least his tone was happy. "Well, you didn't kill him. You don't want to kill anyone and that's really good for someone in the military. When I saw the newspapers, I…"
"You thought I was kidnapped?" Ed finished with amusement.
"Yeah. Thanks for the call." Roy said, admitting that he had felt worried for Ed.
"If you see Al anywhere, tell him that I'm alive. But it's okay if you don't see him, he'd probably figure it out."
"He doesn't need to figure it out, he must already know by now that something so little as being impaled couldn't kill you."
There was a chuckle that turned into a pained yelp.
"…Ed? You okay?"
"I'm not going to try to laugh again… Can't risk using stomach muscles…" he heard Ed whisper between wheezes.
"How did you heal yourself?" He was curious. Ed hadn't known any medical alchemy before they had left.
"I used myself as a Philosopher's Stone…"
"What?"
"I am a Philosopher's Stone powered by a single soul. And I looked into medical alchemy before the transmutation…"
Roy raised his eyebrows. "Looked into it? That was risky Fullmetal. You could have killed yourself."
Edward snorted. "I would have died if I hadn't."
Well, that was true. If he wasn't the great Edward Elric, then he'd already be six feet under.
He suddenly heard a yell coming from far away.
"Are you talking on the phone?!"
"I…uh…" he heard Ed stammer.
"Look at you!" shuffling noises. "You're bleeding again!"
"I haven't noticed."
"If I take you off painkillers then you'll notice it! You, get some new bandages! Didn't I tell you not to use your stomach muscles? I knew I shouldn't have let you wake up…" the doctor muttered.
Ed gave a groan. "But it's only a few hours a day…"
"Yeah well, I don't want my house being occupied. Maybe I should have put you into a coma. That would heal you faster."
"Don't worry, I'm going to pay."
Sure, Ed had lot of money in his research account. Though a part of it would disappear from it if he was stuck there for four months.
"Listen kid, you want me to sedate you?"
"No no, I'm good. Just give me a sec."
More shuffling noises.
"Hello Colonel? You there?"
Of course he was. That was amusing to listen.
"Yeah, I'm here."
A pained whimper echoed through the phone.
"Stop…please…No more…Stop doing that…"
"You want to lose more blood?"
"Just leave it alone…it hurts like hell…Stop.."
"If I don't change your bandages you'll die of blood loss."
Ed put the phone back to his ear. "Don't let anyone…know I'm alive…I don't want…anyone…after me…"
"Sure thing," Roy replied.
"Is that phone still in your hand? Give me that!"
There was a clank as the phone fell on the floor.
"Hello? Mr. Elric is busy losing blood right now, so he can't talk to you."
Another yelp echoed in the background. "Get another painkiller for God's sake!"
The doctor turned back to the phone. "Goodbye."
Click. Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Goodbye." Roy muttered, aware that the person on the phone had already hung up. He leaned back in his chair, throwing the newspaper in front of him into the waste bin. He realized that the unbearable headache that he had about five minutes ago was long gone.
A/N: Weird huh… Yeah, I don't even know why I made Darius call Roy to tell him. Well, I hope you liked it!
PLEASE REVIEW AND THANKS FOR READING!