M.P.O.: Thanks for the review Sabaku! I'm glad you like it. And thank you all who put this on your faves and alerts! It made me happy to see all those messages in my inbox. Once again, I'm sorry for any spelling or gramer errors I might have missed. Please review and enjoy!
/mental speech/
thoughts
Severus Snape was very very bored. He had disillusioned himself and snuck into the Flame Alchemist's office, hoping to catch a glimpse of the young boy, only to find he wasn't even in town. Luck had it that he was due back that day though, so all he had to do was wait. Meanwhile, he studied the man behind the desk, who was currently lounging back in hsi chair, pointedly ignoring the stack of paperwork piled in front of him, his arms behind his head as he stared out the window. The Flame Alchemist, Roy Mustang, had short dark hair and dark blue eyes. Severus could clearly see the innocence had been ripped from the young officer a long time ago, probably in that odd war Albus had told him about before he left Hogwarts. He sighed and tapped his finger on his chin, the strong silencing charms set around him ensuring that he wouldn't be heard no matter what he did. He jumped when the door opened with a bang, admitting the blond leiutenant, and snorted when Mustang sat straight in his chair, warily watching the gun strapped to his subordinate's side.
"What is it Hawkeye?" He asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose and narrowing his eyes at the door, where several curious heads were peeking around the doorframe.
"Sir, Fullmetal just phoned from Dublith..."
"What now? Is he going to ask for a few more days to spend with that teacher of his or something?" He rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair once more. Hawkeye shook her head, lips pressed into a thin line of worry.
"No sir. It's about Emerald. Something went wrong with the mission."
"What?" Roy's tone had changed. He sat bolt upright in his chair, eyes hard as diamonds. Snape winced; he did not want to get on this man's bad side.
"The rougue is dead sir, but apparently he got in a last attack. Emerald was hurt...severely." She answered, saying the last word so soft he had to strain to hear it. Roy's face was blank as he stood, grabbing his jacket and gloves.
"Breda, Furey. Keep an eye on things. Hawkeye, come with me." He ordered, sweeping out of the room. Snape trailed behind, dread dropping like a stone into his stomach.
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Ed paced back and forth, arms crossed and face set in a frown. Al stood in the corner, nervously twisting his hands together and watching his brother's pacing, finding a small amount of amusement that his anxious brother was pacing out a simple array. They were waiting for the Colonel to arrive, having been pushed out of the room while they changed Onyx's bandages for the fourth time that day. The door opened and both boys looked up, expecting to see Roy's dark countanence striding through the room, only to sigh at the old woman who had entered. Ed began his pacing once more, head bowed and bangs hiding his face as he completed yet another array. Alphonse twiddled his fingers, watching the door with as worried an expression as a suit of armor can give.
"Colonel!" Ed jerked at Al's voice, looking up to see the dark haired man crossing the room, Riza close on his heels.
"Where?" Both boy's flinched at the single word and Ed pointed at the third door down the hall. A cart stood outside the wooden door, signaling that a nurse was working inside. Roy nodded, already heading for the door, just as the nurse stepped out with a bucket fill of bloodied bandages. She jumped in surprise at the Colonel's dark appearance and stared up at him.
"Sir? Can I help you?"
"I'm here to see the Emerald Alchemist."
"And you are?"
"Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist and that boy's father."
"Oh! Of course sir. He's asleep, but you can go in. Mrs. Curtis has been taking care of him, so you'll be able to get the details from her." Roy nodded tersly and stepped around her, opening the door quietly and stepping inside, his boots quiet on the tile floor. Nobody noticed that the door took a second longer than normal to close.
Onyx was lying peacefully on the soft bed, a white blanket covering to his hips and exposing the freshly changes bandages on his torso. He face was pale, and they had removed his hair from it's usual braid so that it lay on the pillow like a halo of black. Roy closed his eyes for a moment, reliving the past for a split second, before he moved forward and sat in the chair beside the bed, one hand reaching forward to grasp Onyx's.
Severus stood behind the chair, eyes wide as he took in the boy's injuries. He strode to the front of the bed and crouched to examine the chart without disturbing it, sucking in his breath as he read.
Several laceration's on the arms, face and torso. Two cracked ribs on the lower left side. Stab wound to the right shoulder, blade lodged in place with alchemic arrays. Another stab wound between the bottom right ribs, peircing the lung, also lodged with arrays. Damn, what the hell was this kid doing?
He shook his head and moved back to the bedside, his eyes taking in the lean muscles hidden under the gause. A glint of something metalic made him frown in confusion, and he leaned closer, eyes widening at the sight of some metal...thing, attatched to the boy's hip. Resigning himself to a long stay, he moved on, his gaze finally landing on the boy's face. He swore fluently in several languages for above Emerald's right eye, a lightning bolt scar marred the flawless skin.
Dammit Albus, you just had to be right didn't you? He sighed and pulled out a mirror, setting a silencing charm over it before speaking into it.
"Albus." He waited patiently, his gaze straying to the injured figure beside him, and scowled when Dumbledore appeared in front of him with a cheerful smile.
"Severus, my boy! What have you found out about our dear Emerald Alchemist?"
"I do beleive we have found Mr. Potter. Take a look for yourself." He answered, turning the mirror so that Albus could see Emerald. The shocked gasp that followed nearly made Severus smile as he turned the mirror back around. Albus was stunned, his jaw hanging loose and his blue eyes wide with surprise.
"By Merlin! What happened to the boy Severus?"
"Not sure. I just followed the boy's adoptive father, who was the man you saw beside the bed. They just arrived five minutes ago. From what I could see of his medical charts, he has at least two life threatening injuries, stab wounds to the bottom left lung and right shoulder, and two cracked ribs. I would do something about it, but it would look strange to the other doctors if he suddenly got better." Snape shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his conjured chair and crossing his legs. He nearly yelled in surprise at the sudden groan that emitted from the boy, but regained control so quickly he might not have been surprised at all. "Hold on a second Albus, he's waking up." He muttered and turned the mirror once more so that the Headmaster could see the boy.
Roy sat up and grasped Onyx's hand, rubbing the smooth skin on the back with his thumb. Green eyes cracked open for a second before snapping closed again, another pained groan escaping his lips at the bright light above him. Behind him, Riza turned down the lights, nodding at the grateful look her superior gave her in return.
"Onyx...Open your eyes again. The lights are dimmed." Dark lashes fluttered as Onyx forced his eyes open again, that emerald gaze fixing on roy's dark blue one instantly. He cracked a weak smile and waved lazily.
"Hi Dad...W-where's Ed and Al?" He asked in a whisper, coughing halfway through. Roy handed him a glass of water and looked at Riza, who nodded and stuck her head out the door.
"They're outside." A few seconds later the brothers entered, smiling widely upon seeing their best friend awake. Onyx smiled back, green eyes glittering with joy and he reached forward and grabbed the end of Ed's braid. Ed squeaked, scowling, but didn't pull away in fear of hurting his friend further. Roy rolled his eyes and prised Onyx's fingers front the golden hair with ease, stopping the protests with a stern look.
"So little brother, how'd you do it?" Ed asked, resting one elbow on the bed and his chin on a hand, amber eyes flickering over the bandages. Onyx shrugged, wincing slightly at the movement.
"Arrows. Bastard cut me up before hand though. Had to let him think he had the upper hand. Which, now that I think of it, he could have gotten me quicker had he released the button on that damn knife sooner. I underestimated him, but no worries, he's dead now anyway. Got him right in the chest with one of my special arrows."
"And you couldn't block the explosion? You normally do."
"It surprised me. That and I was already tired. That last attack took a lot out of me, considering the type of arrow I used."
"Which one?"
"The green one. With the solid tip." Ed and Al gaped, while Roy looked angry and upset at the same time.
"I told you not to use that one! It tires you out too quickly." He snapped, glaring at Onyx, who shrank back into the pillows, lowering his head in shame.
"Sorry. I didn't think before I used it. I just did."
"Onyx, I can't beleive you didn't wait for me! I've wanted to see your death arrows for years now!" Ed exclaimed, eyes wide and sparkling with the urge to learn. Onyx merely rolled his eyes and looked around a bit.
"Yea yea, I know. So...Where exactly am I?" He asked, examining the walls with a raised eyebrow. His gaze swept over Severus and to the wall before flickering back and landing on the surprised man. He stared hard at Severus, who was finding it hard to move or even speak. Roy said something that neither of them caught, and Ed laughed at something that Al said.
"Umm..Albus...I think he can see me."
"Impossible. You used invisibility and silencing charms didn't you?"
"Yes I did. But he's staring directly at me Albus. It's odd." He stared back, directly into green eyes so like his dear Lily's.
/Who are you?/ He jumped, narrowing his eyes at the boy and checked his Occlumency sheilds, stunned to see that they were fully functional, no tears or holes anywhere. /I asked you a question. Who. Are. You?/ The voice spoke again, it's mental tenor echoing in his head.
/My name is Severus Snape./
/Hn...What are you doing in my room, invisible no less?/ Once more his eyes widened, and he blinked, finally noticing that the boy was talking animatedly with his father and the brothers.
What the hell? /I cannot explain at the moment. I need to ask my supervisor before I can divulge that information./ He answered. Green eyes narrowed fractionally and before he could react, a glowing green hand was clasped around his throat, made entirely of flames. The sudden cries of surprise from the others in the room told him that he was no longer invisible and he cursed. In the mirror, Albus's eyes were wide with surprise and shock at the sheer power the youth was displaying. Onyx's hand was outstreached towards the Potion's Master, green flames extending along his arm and beyond his fingertips to form the clawed hands that were gripping Severus' throat tightly, though he hadn't moved from his bed. Roy, Ed, and Al were standing in defenseive position's, Roy's fingers poised to snap, a sharp blade extending from beneath Ed's coat, and Al holding his hands in front of him. Riza was aiming her pistol directly between the dark haired man's eyes and he found himself wanting to shrink under the intense gazes directed at him.
"Ummm...Good Evening?" He said in a hopeful tone, careful to keep his hands on the arms of his chair and his eyes locked with glowing green.
M.P.O.: Tee hee, I love getting Sev into difficult situations. It's just so much fun. Once more, please R&R. Remember any questions will be answered in my next Update.