Chapter One
Three rings of the phone is all it took to move Mustang from his office immediately to the hospital sector of the government building. It was always three rings when one or both, most of the time it was Edward, got hurt in a significant way and winded back up in a hospital bed. It wasn't like Mustang cared about the two Elric brothers, at least that's what he told himself, but the two of them were too big of an asset to loose. But even so, every time Mustang heard those three rings, he was left feeling uneasy and praying to someone, anyone out there that they were alright. That's the way things were, never changing, never faltering, exactly the same every time.
In fact, that's what he was doing right now. He sped past people who knew to stay out of his way and pushed through people who didn't. Some of them gave him dirty looks but he didn't really care. His mind was set on the eldest Elric. He turned the final corner and heard Edward yelling at someone about his height and the younger of the two trying to calm him down. Mustang sighed in relief and slowed his walk. He couldn't show them he actually cared. They might use it against him. He listened to the way his shoes clicked on the hard concrete floors beneath him. It was funny, after all these years that's what his ears picked up on. The harsh cold way he still felt he was. Flashes of a small village to the east burning off the map because of his hand made him stop in his tracks. Two boys stood in his way, just for a moment. The eldest had his brother shoved behind him.
"I thought we could trust you! You're the same as the rest of them! Just another dog of the military!"
He flashed back to reality and realized he was shaking. He looked at his hands and balled them into fists. His eyes drifted to the transmutation circle on his glove and he immediately took it off. This couldn't happen, not today. He took a couple of deep breaths to slow his breathing and continued towards the last door on the left, to the hospital room of the Fullmetal Alchemist.
Major Armstrong met him at the door and gave the Flame Alchemist a half hearted salute. They said close to nothing to each other. That was always the same too. The good Major knew of Mustang's feeling toward the boy a couple years his junior and let him have his time. He just hoped that Mustang didn't get too close like he did before. Hughes barely pulled him out of his depression last time. Armstrong couldn't imagine if it happened a second time. Especially now that he was gone. They walked past each other slowly. Armstrong nearly whispered.
"He's in pretty rough shape Coronal. Just prepare yourself for what you might see."
Mustang gave him a cold look from the side and nodded. Edward was a tough kid, if he was in the hospital at all he was in rough shape. Most of the time, it was because Edward was unconscious when he was brought in. The other half of the time was because Mustang himself ordered it to be so, even though Edward didn't know that.
When he walked in, he furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his jaw with shaking fist. Bruises and cuts covered Edwards body forming an intricate and irregular pattern of abnormalities. There was a big gash on Edward's head that had been stitched together by the doctor only a half hour ago. Dried blood caked his face and dirt stained his usually golden hair. His chapped lips were stained with dry and fresh blood. Edward often got nervous waiting for the upcoming Mustang that he often bit it subconsciously. But, the worst thing about Edward's misshaped and imperfect body was his automail arm was missing and the large scar that engulfed his side starting at the shoulder and ending at the base of his hip. Wires and tubes Mustang didn't understand hung off and would need fixed. That wasn't the thing that bothered him. The huge burn mark, however, did. Mustang knew what a third degree burn looked like and this was definitely it. He could feel his nails dig into the palm of his hand breaking the skin.
"What happened?" he asked in an authoritative tone with a hint of anger behind it.
Alphonse looked over to the side of the bed avoiding the Coronal's gaze. He was for the most part silent. Edward, on the other hand, met Mustang's gaze with a hardened glare. He was scared but he didn't show it, not to Mustang. He couldn't. Edward clenched his jaw and crossed one arm over his chest. If he had both of them, he would have crossed them both.
"I'll ask one more time." he warned gritting his teeth, "What happened?"
"I was too slow and got tagged. Nothing else happened." Edward replied not breaking away from the glare. In a way, he wasn't exactly lying. He was too slow and he did get tagged. With these situations, it was best to keep it as vague as possible. Mustang was a nosey superior and would get what he wanted if he wanted it. The least Edward said, the less Mustang could dig.
Mustang had fire in his eyes as he narrowed them at the Fullmetal Alchemist. He had seen this before from Edward, and usually he let it slide. But, this time was different. This time there were scars that would be present forever. Mustang had more than a couple scars, emotional and physical, and he knew they never healed. They would always be there to remind him of his mistakes, his regrets, and his failures.
"Ed, do you think I'm stupid? That I don't see the little game you play every time I ask you? Now, for the last time," he grabbed Edward's shirt and pulled him close to him. He could literally feel Edward's breath and feel him shaking under his hand. He hated seeing Edward scared of him, but if that was the cost of the truth then he would gladly accept the equivalent exchange. "what happened?"
Edward was silent. He only bit his lip and stared at the Coronal. It was no longer a cold glare from an equal, it was a stare from a lost boy. Mustang could see the skin cut open and Edward quickly sucking his lip to prevent the blood from seeping down his chin.
"Well?"
"We were in Shyton, a little town to the east. We got reports of a philosopher's stone there and investigated. All we found was an alchemist attempting to scare the town into paying him money by burning down buildings and farms and blaming it on a vengeful god. Ed and I intervened and I guess we weren't as careful as we should have been."
Mustang's head whipped over to the side of the bed where Alphonse was sitting. He sighed and lowered Edward back onto the hospital bed and sat back down in the old oak chair that sat in the corner. He propped his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. He looked back up at the two Elrics.
"What was his name?" he asked. No ordinary alchemist could injure Edward like this. Edward could hold his own in a fight and he was only getting better. Before Mustang had came to the room, he was told that Edward was doing transmutations on Alphose to bend the thick metal back into place. Edward passed out from exhaustion after a while. This alchemist had to be strong, at least state alchemist level skill in the art, to do that kind of damage to the two boys.
Alphonse looked over to his brother sitting up in the hospital bed. Edward shrugged and raised his hands up.
"You've already told him everything else, might as well tell him the poor guy's name."
Alphonse nodded and looked back to Mustang.
"His name was Jean Dimitri, apparently he was a state alchemist but he was retired early for some reason. We couldn't figure out why, it was in the classified section."
Mustang's breath hitched and his eyes widened. Dimitri was still alive? But, how? Jean Dimitri was Mustang's alchemy teacher as well as his superior when he became a state alchemist. After the war in Ishval, Dimitri and Mustang went their separate ways because of personal reasons. He began to shake and felt hot. He could hear women and children screaming. Feet pitter-pattering into nothing and bodies falling in the streets became louder and louder. Images of blood flooding the streets into the vents in the streets flashed through his mind. The flames seemed to engulf his entire mind spreading violently and quickly. Mustang screamed as he saw the flames get closer and closer as an arm grabbed him. Familiar red eyes and blonde hair tied in a braid made his muscles contract and he lost control of the memories he tried to suppress.
"Coronal! It's Ed! Coronal, what's wrong?"
Mustang looked back into those blood red eyes and watched as the boy's body went into flames. The arm of the deceased boy still held his arm and he pulled it off with another loud scream. His eyes widened and he reached back into the flame.
"Edshmael. I'm sorry come back! Edshmael it's me Roy! Where are you?" he yelled.
Another hand grabbed his arm and he flinched at the touch. A fourteen year old boy with short cropped hair swished to the side cocked his head.
"Why didn't you save us Roy? We trusted you and you let us die. Why did you let us die Roy? I thought we were your friends."
Mustang went to take a breath but smoke intoxicated his collapsed onto the ground and reached out his hand to grab the boy.
"Alikay, I didnt-" He was cut off by the sound of the boy screaming. Mustang could only watch as the boy went up in flames following his older brother. Mustang covered his ears to muffle the sounds with no avail. The screams lasted for a couple seconds before Mustang was flung back into reality. He wiped his tear stained eyes and turned away from the brothers.
"Coronal-"
"Edward, just don't. It's nothing important." he whimpered gasping for air.
"Like hell it's nothing!" Edward yelled hobbling out of bed and grabbed Mustang's shoulder flinging Mustang to look at him. He narrowed his eyes mimicking the way Mustang often looked at him. "Tell me." He commanded.
Mustang shrugged him off turning towards the door. "There's nothing to tell. Get some rest Ed."
Edward balled his hands into fist and looked towards the ground. "How do you expect us to trust you if you're the one keeping secrets?"
Mustang turned back around to look at Edward. He looked so broken, so lost. He saw a single tear fall from the hidden face onto the grey concrete ground making a soft pang. Alphonse stood up and placed his hand on Mustang's shoulder.
"Please, sir, tell us. What happened? You called Ed, Edshmael and me Alikay. Who are they?"
Mustang continued to shake and he sat back down in his seat. He placed his head on propped hands and thought about that time. The time he regretted and wanted to forget the most. The time that left the deepest scar of them all.
It was pure torture the way that Edward and Alphonse looked just like them. Ed had the same fire and passion in his eyes that nearly matched Mustangs own. Alphonse didn't have his body, but the one waiting for him reminded Mustang of a certain Ishvalan from many years ago. Even their attitudes were the same. Mustang had to face the facts. He was cursed by the gods with these two boys. Everytime he looked at them he was reminded of that time, of his biggest mistake. Even now while they were staring at him with a worried gaze, he was reminded of Edshmael and Alikay. He was reminded of the two boys that changed everything, even in this lifetime.
Mustang nodded to himself. "It's time to tell them." he thought to himself.
"Do you remember when I told you about the war in Ishval." Roy asked not looking up from the ground. He moved his shaking hands into fists and reassured himself it was the right thing to do.
Edward tilted his head and looked at the glass of milk in his hands that was left undrank.
"Well, sure. You said that it was a bloody civil war and many state alchemists resigned because of it. Why?"
Mustang paused. There was an eerie silence that consumed the room and left the eldest Elric feeling cold and uneasy. This wasn't like Mustang. He was usually so calm and confident. Edward hated to admit it, but he missed the way Mustang gave him that cocky, egocentric grin reminding Edward who his superior was. But now, Mustang only looked scared and regretful. Edward could even see him shaking.
"I was there Ed. I've done things that... " he couldn't finish his sentence.
"You don't have to tell us any-"
"No Ed. You need to know." He looked up to Alphonse. "You both do."
Mustang sighed as he began his story. He hoped it would bring him peace in his life. That the gods would forgive him from his ultimate sin. But how can one have peace when one's life is literally a living hell.
"A few months before the major battles started, there was reports of a small city out east that State Alchemists were continuously being put in the hospital because of a small band of rebels. Most of them said that they were attacked by two masked figures the locals called, the guardians of Ishvalla. The two masked figures were using Alchemy to combat the state alchemists in the area to drive them out of a tiny village. These stories spread to other villages out east sparking rebellions to be formed throughout the eastern front. There was seven of us assigned to take down this rebellion and make an example out of the members involved. Little did I know my actions would spark a civil war."