There are some character switches from Roy to Ed throughout this (marked by rulers) and whatever happens in one sort of covers up what's happening in the other. Where it switches in the fic are things happening that I either don't think you should know or are things I want you to know later. It might stay a bit confusing until the next chapter or so when I'm planning to unveil a lot of stuff. Anyways, hope you enjoy reading!
The raven-haired man sifted through the papers, scribbling his name where needed. One would think that even in such tragic times one wouldn't have to do such menial work, but reading papers and signing his name seemed to be the only thing he was good for.
He sighed deeply, running his fingers through his sweat-dampened hair. Not only were they being attacked by the Ishbalans here and there, they also had an enemy with a higher being: the sun. It was so damn hot, and the pounding rays of heat didn't seem to want to give up. To add to it, the tent he was in only circulated the heat, making it stuffy and unbearable.
Roy leaned back in his chair as he took a sip of water from his canteen. Over the past few days, he'd been having to act like nothing was wrong, but he was screaming on the inside. The Elrics had left four days ago and their youthful faces hadn't been seen around since then. He had a deep feeling in his gut that something wasn't quite right, that something had gone terribly wrong. However, he couldn't abandon his duties with all that was going on, so searching for the brothers was out of the question. Or was it? Wasn't protecting his own men, one even being a civilian, part of his duties? Wasn't ensuring their protection a part of his rank? They looked up to him, especially the younger of the two, he knew. He'd often wondered what the gold-eyed alchemist thought of him, whether he was despised or appreciated.
He felt a sharp pang hit his heart, then wondered if this was the pain a father would feel when his children were ill or in some sort of trouble. If this was how a father felt, if he really did see those two boys as something close to sons, then he could not and would not let this continue. He had to find them, no matter the costs and consequences that followed.
With a frustrated sigh, he shook his head, causing beads of sweat to fall from his face, and stood from his desk. He left his tent and headed straight for the highest ranking officer on the camp: Brigadier General Basque Gran the Ironblood Alchemist.
Two guarding soldiers parted the tent flap and stepped aside for him to enter. Immediately, Roy came to a salute.
"What is it, Flame? Can't you see I'm busy?" the man said in a grumble, eyeing the other alchemist.
"Brigadier General Gran, I come requesting temporary leave from my duties," Roy replied firmly, falling out of the salute despite not being called to do so.
"Your reasons?"
"Major Edward Elric and his younger brother left a few days ago on the terms of ensuring civilian protection. They have yet to return. I would like to be permitted to search for them."
"Denied."
"Wha- Why?"
"Are you questioning my decisions, Colonel Mustang?"
"Quite frankly, I am. They're just boys, one of them is a civilian, and Fullmetal falls under my immediate jurisdiction here. He's my subordinate."
"Leaving this camp was Fullmetal's choice. If he's dead, then that's because of him or maybe of you. Since he does fall under your immediate jurisdiction, as you said, then he would have had to get permission from you to leave. Did you let him go? If anything, his disappearance falls on your shoulders as you are his incompetent leader."
Roy chewed on his bottom lip, stopping himself from blurting out something that would stick him in boiling water. Ah, screw it!
"It's quite funny you should say that, Brigadier General," the raven-haired man said coolly, masking the boiling anger inside him that was about to spill over. "To answer your question, I ordered him to stay, but do you know what he said to me? Well, it's the same thing I'm going to tell you, and it goes like this: Fuck you."
He turned away from the man in the same manner Ed had done him countless times before. He didn't have a single feeling of regret for his words, and he would deal with the consequences of his actions when he returned with the Elrics.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, round up some men. We're going on a hunt," he called out the moment he stepped out of the tent and into the blazing sun.
A small whimper fell off his busted lips as another fist slammed against his cheek. There was a heavy metallic taste on his tongue and he could feel the fresh blood trickle from his forehead onto his lips, adding to the crimson pool in his mouth. He could no longer see out of his left eye, swollen shut from abuse, and his right was following as blood fell into the gold disk. Pain racked his entire body with every breath he took, and he was certain he had a broken or cracked rib. It sure felt like it.
He was glad, though, that he'd been worked so far into exhaustion. By now, his mind was too tired, too run down, to comprehend every bit of pain, dulling majority of it to half what it used to be. But, oh, what he wouldn't give just to have one peaceful night of sleep. And something hot to eat and cool to drink.
The only thing that kept him going was one thought, one simple line that ran itself through his hazy mind: 'I'll wake up any minute now.' Oddly enough, to him, enduring this torture was a test. It was his mind's way of testing how much he could withstand, testing his body's limitations. But in the very back of his mind, he knew that he was being carried in the arms of denial, because if this was a dream, then he would be able to give in to the dark temptations of eternal sleep without a worry. Right now, that wouldn't be such a bad thing for him, but with his younger brother, his only family, he had to take the pain and hold out as long as he could for him. He would not leave his brother alone with these people, alone to feel such horrific pain.
Ed fell to his knees, momentarily throwing away the strong front. He was really at an end, but as he gave a small glance at his younger brother, his heart lightened at seeing him unscathed. The Ishbalans hadn't gone after Al since he'd given them his body as payment. It appeared that they weren't satisfied, so when they burst into the cell and attacked him, forcing him out of his much needed sleep, Ed was forced to continue paying for his brother's protection. He just hoped they wouldn't take him as they had last time. A major beating like the one they'd just given him should have been enough, but he was wrong. Dead wrong.
The weary blond gave as much of a fight as he could when he felt calloused fingers brush against his tender cheek and trail under his chin, but his arms were like jelly, so there was little he could do as his head was tilted in all directions. He could feel red eyes examining his bruised face, swollen eyes, and split lips. When the fingers retreated from under his chin, he let his head fall. He knew he must look more than pathetic. He was thankful there was nothing to reflect his appearance for him to see his body and face.
A terrible silence filled the air and he thought it was over, but his luck was too shitty for that to be true. He was knocked to the ground as the Ishbalan with the Glasgow smile struck him. He stayed on the cold floor motionless, not daring to move an inch. He felt the Ishbalan come close to him and saw through his failing eye the man raise his fist to strike again. The dark-skinned man seemed frozen as he stayed in that position for quite some time, then Ed realized that he must have been thinking about something. Whatever was building up in the man's mind didn't matter to him, he was just glad for the respite and hoped the Ishbalan would continue along his train of thought for a few minutes longer.
"Alright, listen up," he called out, his voice carrying to the small troop that would assist him in the search, "I want no rock left unturned. Our objective is to retrieve Major Edward Elric and his younger brother, Alphonse. Any objections, get over them. Let's head out."
Mustang motioned with his hand and the group of eight soldiers and his trusted sobordinates began to leave the camp.
"Hold it, Flame," a voice barked from behind. Roy froze, not caring how much disrespect he was displaying by not immediately turning to face and salute the higher ranking officer. That didn't matter though as a large hand grabbed his forearm tightly and forced him around. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back to your duties at once, Colonel. Now!" The hand on his arm tightened considerably, but he remained calm and collected.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot do that," he said.
"You're a fool. A damn fool! Don't you realize what you're getting yourself into? That brat is already dead and you know it. Going off like you're in some dream to find him will get yourself and your men killed for no cause. We're close to war, Colonel, and those bastards won't spare a soul, especially now that they've found themselves an ally."
"Ally? What are you talking about? The Ishbalans don't have an ally," Roy said, mind suddenly whirling with the situation.
"They do, and things are a lot worse than they appear," Gran said gravely, then threw Roy's arm out of his grip. "You're a fool to go and the consequences for your absence will be severe."
How wonderful. The darkness he found himself swimming deeper into was such a grand relief and so very inviting. The mental image of himself swam further away from the lighted shore of awareness with long strokes, arm following arm. He was so close, so very close, but a large hand grabbed him and pulled him back to the light.
Ed opened his eyes in a daze, taking a few moments to comprehend his surroundings. As his good eye glanced around, he found that he was on his knees again and the Ishbalan had his fingers tangled in his long hair. The man pulled at the grimy locks, forcing his head back so their gazes met. The red-eyed man smiled, his long scar disappearing on the other side of his face to create an unsymmetrical grin. Ed decided quickly that he didn't like that smile and what he knew it meant.
Everything was so hazy and blurred, so undefined. He thought he could hear voices, but they were such a jumble that recognition of words were beyond him. He did, however, recognize his brother's voice. It sounded strange to his ears, not the normal firm voice that seemed to mimic his own from time to time. The voice was faltering, waving up and down, and he realized that his brother was begging. But why? Why was Alphonse begging? As he focused his entire mind on that familiar voice, he understood that Al was begging because he couldn't do it himself. Al was begging for him.
A sound echoed in his mind, but he had no clue what it was. Then, he felt something touch his mouth and it pressed harder and harder until he parted his abused lips. He felt it move deep inside his mouth and what he recognized as a moan fill the air. It was then that he understood.
As the man slowly moved his hips back, removing his firm length from his aching mouth, Ed saw that it held a red sheen. It took him longer than he would've liked to figure out that it was blood, his blood, that coated the velvety head and long shaft. His mouth had collected a pool of blood from the dripping gashes on his forehead and cheeks and from his busted lips and possibly from a missing tooth or cut gums.
The grinning Ishbalan pressed himself back in the crimson cavern, intent on getting that pleasure that he wanted. A low chuckle came from the back of the man's throat, followed by the commands for his captive to suck.
Ed did as he was told for fear of them going after his brother if he didn't obey. It was something he'd never done before and as it throbbed and grew in his mouth, pressing against the back if his throat, he fought with every last vestige of energy left to keep from vomiting.
"You're terrible at this," the man muttered, grabbing the blond's head to keep him still as he quickly thrust his hips.
"Sir, are you sure about this?"
"I...Riza," he said, the name feeling so foreign on his tongue, "I honestly don't know, but I can't keep this up not knowing what's happened to them. I have a terrible feeling, and I do hope I'm wrong, that something bad has happened to them. But listen, you don't have to come along. This could very well be considered a suicide mission and I don't -"
"I'm going," she said with a nod. "I care about those boys just as much as you do. Besides, I always said I would stay with you until the end."
He smiled softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go."
With those words, they set off on the quest to find the Elric brothers, but as the camp became a small dot on the horizon, he began to wonder how true his superior's words had been. The Ishbalans with them? It was unheard of!
"Swallow it," the man said in an odd whisper as he stroked the sweat-dampened hair of the blond.
Ed let the white sin slide down his throat. Revolting. He could feel it drop in his stomach and he suddenly felt very nauseous. He forced the lump of bile and acid that was rising up to fall back down where it belonged, not daring to do such a thing in their presence.
The taste of blood and semen swam over his taste buds, and it was then that he remembered the other two Ishbalans in the room. They were watching from the corner of the room, doing their job by keeping Alphonse back. Just like last time, he knew he would be forced to please these two men.
His thoughts of having to go through something like that again were laid to rest as he was pulled to his feet by the Glasgow smile Ishbalan. He was surprised that his legs could move and that he could walk as he was led to the door by his hair.
"Wh-where..."
The Ishbalan opened the door, Ed not noticing if by key or some secret code, and he was pushed on the other side of the cell. Confusion made its home quick in his mind as he fought to understand what was going on, the cell that held his brother becoming more distant with every stumbling step. He wished he had the strength to fight, because he sure as hell would have fought to stay with his younger sibling. He just hoped that the steel-eyed brunet would remain untouched and safe without him there.
He slowly looked around him with his right eye, his left still tightly swollen shut, and was appalled at the things he saw. There were other people there, people like him: naked, beaten, some driven to insanity as they tore at their skin and eyes, some so malnourished and starved that he could make out every rib. But these prisoners all had cells that had bars for walls, whereas his own was a windowless room. He assumed because he was an alchemist. Or maybe the reason was more sinister than that.
As his mind told him what was what and who was who, he began to notice that the free people who they passed were on somewhat friendly terms with the Ishbalans, especially the one he was being led by. His mind wasn't able to tell him who these unfamiliar people were before he was pushed into a room and forced down in a chair that sat in front of a table.
Without a flicker of hesitation, a very dumb move, he greedily tucked into the plate of old food that was set in front of him by some other red-eyed man. It was simply a small loaf of stale bread, gritty with sand, and a pathetic pile of vegetables. He ate the plate clean, then chased it down with large gulps of water.
So incredibly stupid!
He polished off the water, then happened to look down the glass to see flecks of black and purple swimming in the bottom. The glass dropped from his hand, shattering to a thousand fine slivers. He fell out of the chair and on the broken glass, once again swimming in the ocean of welcoming black.
Hope you enjoyed reading!
So...I have a feeling that this fic might be a lot longer than what I was expecting, which was 3-5 chapters.
Anyways, comments are greatly appreciated!