I hope everyone has had a great Memorial Day weekend! I have returned with yet another chapter! Hopefully the events of this chapter will make up for the last one.
Warning: Some mature things will be mentioned, but again, there will be absolutely no detail. I just realized that I probably should have put a warning in the author's note for the first chapter about that. My apologies.
I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Mustang had just exited the crumbling building when he heard the first explosion, but he didn't have time to look toward the direction of the sound. General Raven pushed him to keep running, and his team wasn't even a beat behind. There was another explosion, this one close enough to make all of those running stumble. The Colonel would have fallen completely if Raven hadn't grabbed his arms and kept him upright. He looked up to see that the buildings across the street from the hotel were reduced to rubble. As they kept running, the smoke cleared and they could see the bodies of those who had been unfortunate enough to be across the street at the time of the explosion. However, they couldn't stop. Whoever was doing this was still out there and could attack them at any time.
"We need to get you to Central Command. You'll be safe there, Colonel," Raven huffed as he kept running.
Central Command was just over two miles away from the Renaissance Hotel. There were plenty of officers on duty, even during the ball. It would be the safest place for them. The only problem would be that they would have to get there by foot. There were too many people flooding the streets and the explosions had caused some buildings to collapse, effectively blocking the roads. Adrenaline coursed through Mustang as he and his team turned down the street that would give them a straight shot to their destination. Yet another explosion was heard as they rounded the corner, followed by another. They abruptly stopped when they were met with the sight of several people dressed in black making their way down the street.
"Drachmans," the Colonel muttered under his breath.
Raven led them down an alley between two buildings before they could be spotted and they took shelter behind a dumpster. While Mustang's team was beyond capable of fighting, there were too many Drachmans coming down that street, and who knew how many others there were out there. Mustang had his fingers poised to snap and the others had their weapons drawn in the event that they were discovered hiding in the alley. Luck was on their side and they all passed without acknowledging them. Mustang let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. As much faith that he had in his team, he was grateful that no one had to risk getting themselves hurt yet. Havoc quietly moved out from their hiding spot so he could peek around to see if there were any more Drachmans coming.
While he was waiting for Havoc's signal, something caught Mustang's attention out of the corner of his eye. It was another black-clad figure standing at the other end of the alley, but this one much shorter than the others. The kid's long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He was yet again met with a familiar pair of golden eyes. He then realized that he hadn't been hallucinating earlier. He had really seen Edward Elric, and here he was again. However, there was another part of him that thought he might be going crazy. He had to make sure the others could see him too. Hawkeye spoke up, as if she read his mind.
"Is that...Ed?" she asked as if she couldn't believe her own two eyes, which she probably couldn't and didn't want to considering he looked like a bloody, living rag doll with his lips sewn shut.
So he wasn't crazy. It was really his subordinate. Before anyone could stop him, he sprinted toward the teen.
"Colonel, stop! It has to be a trap!" Hawkeye yelled.
Mustang just heard her warning when he was propelled forward by a strong force, causing him to land several feet away from where he had just previously been. After a few seconds of his ears ringing, he registered that another bomb had detonated. He coughed as smoke permeated the air.
"Is everyone okay?" he managed to ask between coughs.
"Everyone's fine!" Breda called.
Mustang turned over on his back just in time to see bricks falling toward him. He quickly rolled out of the way. He looked between the two buildings and noticed that they were starting to collapse.
"Run!" he ordered his men.
Everyone made it out of the alley just in time before the two buildings completely collapsed. Unfortunately, since Mustang had ran away from his team, they were separated by the rubble. He was pretty sure he heard General Raven yell something at him about staying put and they would come find him, but he wasn't sure. His eyes were too focused on the kid in front of him. The second he turned around after the buildings collapsed, he came face to face with his missing subordinate. Gunshots resounded around him, but he payed them no mind.
"Ed?" he whispered as he took a step closer to the young alchemist.
It looked as if the kid was trying to say something because blood started to steadily flow from the stitches, but of course nothing came out. He didn't move as Mustang approached him. The Colonel knelt down, putting his hands on Ed's shoulders. Even though he was touching him, he couldn't believe that Ed was standing before him. The kid still didn't make a move. Mustang ran his hands down Ed's arms, trying to comfort him.
"It's okay, Edward. As long as I'm here, you'll be safe," he said in the hopes of getting some form of reaction out of him.
Mustang's brow furrowed in confusion as his hand ran over a lump on Ed's automail arm. The kid still didn't move, so he carefully rolled up the sleeve on Ed's black shirt. His eyes widened when he saw a strange device on Ed's automail. By no means was he a genius when it came to automail, but having seen Ed's automail arm close up during their time in Kanon, he knew that it didn't belong there. He noticed that there were several wires attached to this device that disappeared further up his long sleeve. His eyes traveled up to Ed's neck, which was encircled with bruises. From what, he didn't even want to begin to imagine. He noticed that wires were peeking out from underneath the collar of Ed's shirt, running up his neck. He brushed Ed's bangs away and saw that the wires were attached to his temples.
"What did they do to you?" he muttered.
Before he could even begin to figure out what was on his subordinate, Ed's automail hand clamped around his throat. Automatically, his hands grasped at the automail appendages, desperately trying to release the pressure on his neck.
"Ed...please...stop…." Mustang choked out.
He looked the teen in his golden eyes. He could see that Ed wasn't wanting to hurt him, but something was forcing him to. His first instinct was to fight back, but he would risk harming his subordinate if he did.
"That's enough, Edward," a familiar voice said.
Mustang was surprised when he suddenly found himself flying through the air, landing on the ground in front of two other Drachmans. It was easy to forget that Ed was incredibly strong despite his small size. He didn't even have time to react before his ignition gloves were torn off his hands and strong arms were dragging him away. He tried digging his heels into the ground to stop himself from being dragged off, but it was doing him little good.
"It's good to see you again, Colonel."
Mustang looked up to see Corin following close behind, smirking down at him. He had a hand on Ed's shoulder, guiding him along behind them. Mustang's struggles weren't deterring the Drachmans holding him, so he was grateful when he heard two gunshots and he was dropped back down on the ground. Corin aimed his gun, but he was quickly brought down with a shot to his shoulder before he could even pull the trigger.
"Boss, are you okay?" Havoc asked as he and Breda helped the Colonel to his feet.
"I'm fine," he said, "We have to help Fullmetal."
The rest of the team quickly joined them, and Hawkeye handed him a spare pair of ignition gloves. They all stared in absolute shock and concern at Ed, who was standing by Corin's side. Only Mustang and Hawkeye got a decent look at him in the alley before the bomb went off. If the others hadn't known that it was Ed, they never would have recognized him. None of them wanted to believe that the horror standing before them was their comrade.
"Edward?" Hawkeye asked hesitantly before taking a small step forward.
Mustang put his arm up to stop her from going any further. That was a good call considering Ed had clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground. A large spike shot up in the spot that the First Lieutenant would have been in had she gotten any closer to the young alchemist.
"He doesn't want to hurt us, but there's something forcing him to fight us. We need to get his automail off. There's something wrong with it," Mustang explained, and his team immediately sprung into action.
They surrounded Ed, narrowly dodging the spikes shooting up from the ground. The kid slowly turned in a circle, trying to figure out who would attack him first. Unfortunately, the Drachmans determined that their newest human weapon needed some help. Several Drachman soldiers came running toward them. Mustang had to make a decision, and fast. After quickly looking around the street, he noticed that it was deserted except for his team and the approaching Drachmans. He snapped, forming a wall of fire between his men and their enemy. The screams of those who had been too close to the fire rang through the air as they burned alive, but Mustang had to ignore that for now. He had to keep his team safe. If there was any upside, it's that the rest would likely retreat after seeing that little display.
He snapped yet again when Ed clapped his hands and the blue alchemic light was heading toward Breda, destroying whatever Ed had intended to create before it could harm the Second Lieutenant. Ed spun around to face him. Deeming the Flame Alchemist to be the greatest threat, he transmuted the ground in front of him. Mustang snapped, but he wasn't quick enough this time. A concrete fist slammed into him, causing him to fly through the air until he hit a nearby building, falling to the ground unconscious. General Raven raced to his side in an instant.
"Colonel!" Hawkeye called to him.
"Guard him with General Raven. We'll handle the Chief!" Havoc ordered.
While he normally would never tell the First Lieutenant what to do, he knew that someone had to watch out for their Colonel. Falman tackled Ed before he got another chance to clap again. Ed quickly recovered and transmuted his arm into his usual blade. Havoc was the one to face him next. He barely dodged the blade before it skewered him through the chest. He actually made no move to attack Ed, but was simply buying time for Breda to get into position. He kept dodging Ed's punches and swipes with the blade. The kid managed to get in a lucky kick and swept Havoc's legs out from under him. Havoc's eyes widened as Ed stood over him. It looked like Ed was actually going to kill him until Breda cracked the butt of his pistol down on Ed's head, rendering the kid unconscious immediately.
"I'm sorry, Ed," he murmured.
None of them wanted to hurt Ed, so it was quite obvious that Breda was feeling bad about knocking him out. However, it had to be done. Ed wasn't going to quit fighting them otherwise.
Falman and Fuery hurried over and helped detach Ed's automail, remembering what the Colonel said earlier. Once the arm and leg were detached, Havoc scooped Ed up in his arms while Falman picked up the automail. They joined Hawkeye, Raven, and Mustang. The Colonel still hadn't awaken. Blood flowed from the wound on his head from where it collided with the building.
"We need to get them to a hospital," Raven said, his eyes wandering to Ed's face and eyeing the stitches holding his mouth shut.
They all nodded. Havoc carried Ed while Raven and Breda shared Mustang's weight between them. The others remained vigilant for any more Drachmans, but there didn't seem to be any. There were no more gunshots and no more explosions. They seemed to have accomplished what they came to do. Unfortunately, they left half of the city destroyed and several dead in their wake.
*break*
Mustang groaned as he started to come around. His head was absolutely killing him. It took him a couple tries, but he managed to open his eyes.
"Where's Fullmetal?" he slurred before he was even completely awake.
"Colonel?"
He blinked a few times and turned his head and saw Hawkeye sitting in a chair beside him. He looked around the room and saw that he was in a hospital.
"How are you feeling?" his First Lieutenant asked.
"Doesn't matter. Where's Fullmetal?" he asked yet again. "Please tell me we have him and he's safe."
Hawkeye gave him a small smile and nodded. Mustang felt as if a thousand pounds had been lifted off of his shoulders. He started to get up when she pushed him gently back onto the bed.
"You have a concussion, so you need to rest. A doctor is taking care of Ed and is looking over his injuries. The others are in the waiting room and haven't heard anything else yet. I told Fuery to come get us as soon as Ed's doctor comes back. Hughes already called Alphonse and he's on his way here now."
Mustang nodded. The last thing he wanted to do was rest. He wanted to search every room in the hospital until he found Ed, but he knew better than to disobey Hawkeye. Hughes strolled into the room, as if Hawkeye saying his name had summoned him.
"You don't look so good, Roy. Those clothes definitely don't suit you," he teased with a wry smile.
The Colonel looked down and noticed that he was in the standard hospital garb. He rolled his eyes at his friend.
"Do you know what happened, Hughes?" he asked.
Hughes and Gracia had gotten separated from him and his team when they were scrambling to get out of the collapsing building and they hadn't seen each other after that point. Considering that his friend was head of investigations, he usually knew information before most of the other officers. The man's face suddenly became serious.
"I'm sure you gathered that Drachma was behind the attack. Several bombs had been placed outside of the hotel to kill those who made it out before it collapsed. Last I heard, the death toll was up to thirty-six military officers and seventeen civilians. Although, it will probably go up. Several people were brought here in critical condition. I was part of the team that checked the hospital for bombs. There was only one, but it never went off. The hospital is surrounded by officers just to be on the safe side. I guess there were a couple of others that didn't detonate. As horrible as it may be, we were actually pretty lucky. From what I've heard, dozens of Drachmans were captured and are being imprisoned now. Interrogations are starting immediately."
"Do we know anyone that was killed?" Mustang asked next.
Hughes sadly nodded.
"Luka's sister, Ava. I guess she and Isabel were trying to help Luka get some injured civillians to safety and she was too close to one of the bombs when it detonated."
Hawkeye could feel tears welling in her eyes, but did everything she could not to let them fall. Ava was her friend. Even though Hughes had already told her that she was killed, hearing it again stabbed a knife through her heart. Mustang frowned. Luka was a good man that only wanted to protect his sisters. He would have to check up on the young medic as soon as he got the chance.
Their heads snapped up when a nurse came in to check on Mustang. Unfortunately for her, Fuery dashed into the room a second after she did.
"Ed's awake!" he panted as he leaned on the door frame.
Mustang jumped off the bed as Hawkeye handed him his dress shirt and jacket, which he quickly put on over the clothes he had been given. He bolted out the door with Hawkeye, Hughes, and Fuery right on his heels.
"Sir, you shouldn't be out of bed!" the nurse yelled after them, but they were long gone.
They didn't stop running until they joined the rest of the team in the waiting room. They were standing with the doctor, who looked to be in is late twenties, much like most of them. The rest of the room was buzzing with nervous chatter and sobs of those waiting to hear about their loved ones.
"I'm Dr. Menton. I'm assuming you all are here for Edward Elric?" he ventured.
All of them nodded. Dr. Menton nodded. He swallowed and flipped through his clip board.
"If you guys will follow me," he said.
They all followed except for Falman, who volunteered to wait behind for Alphonse. Normally Mustang would have suggested that they all wait for the younger Elric, but he didn't want Ed to be alone any longer than he had to be. Given the amount of damage to the streets, it could take a while for Al to get there.
"What I'm wanting to know is what the hell happened to that kid. After I removed the stitches keeping his mouth shut, I checked him over for other injuries. He had twenty slashes on his back. It looked as though the original wounds were inflicted a while ago, but they were reopened and never allowed to completely heal. His fingernails were ripped off and all of his fingers are broken. He has four broken ribs and a carving in his stomach that I had stitch up. The skin around his wrist, upper arm, and ankle is completely shredded. He has a few third degree burns on his back, stomach, and arm. The bruises around his throat indicate strangulation. Considering the severity of the bruises, the young man is quite lucky he doesn't have any brain damage."
The Colonel's eyes darkened and his hands clenched as he heard the doctor list off Ed's injuries. He couldn't get himself to look at his team. He was beyond angry. From the sounds of it, all of the torture that Ed had been put through at the base in Kanon had been inflicted upon him again recently. The young doctor turned to face them when they reached Ed's room. The door was shut and they remained in the hallway. Dr. Menton looked extremely awkward. Mustang's heart dropped. He had a feeling of what was coming next.
"I'm afraid I also found evidence of sexual assault. From the extent of the damage, it looks as if it happened on multiple occasions."
This wasn't the first time Dr. Menton had encountered a rape victim in his career, but they usually weren't this young. It was quite obvious that seeing what happened to the kid disturbed him greatly. Everyone was silent, not wanting to imagine such a thing happening to Ed again, but having to accept that it did.
"Can we see him?" Mustang asked softly.
Dr. Menton nodded.
"I wouldn't expect him to say anything. He didn't say a word to me, but you all might have better luck. Don't excite him too much. I don't want him irritating his injuries. Also, I should warn you that he will probably be extremely tired. It looks as if he hasn't slept or eaten properly in a long time. Months if I had to guess." He glanced at his clipboard again. "I will be back in a few hours to check on him."
Dr. Menton left to tend to the other patients.
"Colonel?"
Mustang turned to see Alphonse and Falman coming down the hall. The Colonel walked forward to greet the suit of armor while Falman joined the others.
"Did you guys really find him?" Al asked.
Mustang nodded. If he could cry, Al would have tears of joy streaming from his eyes. He grabbed the Colonel in a bone crushing hug.
"Al...can't...breathe…."
"I'm sorry, Colonel!" Al exclaimed as he let go of Mustang, "It's just...I'm so happy."
Mustang nodded again, but this time with a small smile. He honestly wasn't sure how he managed that. After hearing about Ed's injuries and how he was assaulted yet again, he wanted burst into tears. He couldn't, though. He had to be strong for his team, for Al, and now for Ed.
"He's awake if you want to see him," he said.
Al looked at the door to his brother's room hesitantly. He wanted to barge into the room and scoop his brother up into a huge hug, but he also remembered what Mustang said happened to him during their captivity in Kanon. That was just over five days. Ed had been missing for four months. He didn't even want to begin to imagine what happened to him and he didn't want to risk scaring his brother.
"How is he?" Al asked.
Mustang's smile faded slightly.
"From what Dr. Menton told us, not good, but he's strong. Stronger than most people should ever have to be. No matter what happened to him, he will recover from this."
The suit of armor nodded. He knew everything the Colonel said was true. However, that didn't ease his hesitation to see his brother.
"I really want to see my brother, but I'm also worried that I might scare him. Colonel, would you mind going in first? You were the last person he saw before he was taken to Drachma. He might respond better to seeing you first."
"I think Al might have a point," Hughes piped up, "None of us know how Ed's doing mentally. Seeing you alone is probably what's best for him at the moment. Al can join you if Ed's feeling up to it."
Mustang couldn't exactly argue with them. They were right. He took a deep breath and opened the door. He quietly closed the door and looked at the kid sitting on the hospital bed. It was strange how much smaller he looked when his automail was gone. The black hair was also something he would never get used to. Ed's eyes widened when he saw the Colonel.
"This can't be real," Ed muttered, "You can't be real. That means they got you. Please tell me you're not real."
"Ed," Mustang said as he cautiously approached the teen, "You're safe now. You're in a hospital in Central."
It was understandable for the young alchemist to be disoriented at the moment. Ed looked confused, but the Colonel could see understanding beginning to stir in those golden orbs. Mustang moved closer to the bed. He didn't move when Ed reached out with a bandaged hand to grab his arm.
"I'm not in Drachma," he said.
Mustang nodded. Ed looked away from him for a moment, but then turned back to him with tears welling in his eyes.
"What did you do before we were separated?" the kid asked.
Mustang smiled.
"I kissed your forehead and told you that you are the strongest soldier I know and that I was proud to call you my son."
"It really is you," Ed said, allowing a couple of the tears to fall. "I really am safe."
Mustang sat down on the bed next to Ed, but the kid shied away.
"Al's waiting outside. Do you want me to go get him?"
Ed tensed, then he furiously shook his head no.
"I can't face him or anyone else. I can barely stand to face you. It's already bad enough that I hurt you," he said pointing to the bruises on Mustang's throat, "But you said that you were proud to call me your son. I've done things, Colonel, horrible things that would make you regret ever saying that to me. I can barely stand to live with myself for doing them…."
Mustang could tell that the kid was wanting to continue, but couldn't. Tears were now steadily streaming down Ed's face. None of what happened was Ed's fault, but it was going to be difficult to convince him otherwise. His subordinate might try to resist him, but he really needed what he was about to do next. Despite the struggles, he pulled Ed into a hug with one arm and tilted his chin up to look at him.
"Edward, I could tell that you weren't in control of yourself. Whatever the Drachmans made you do is not your fault in any way. That aside, don't you dare think that anything you've done could make me love you any less. You are my son, and nothing is ever going to change that."
Ed stopped struggling, allowing himself to burrow into Mustang's chest when the man's words sunk in. The Colonel held the kid as he sobbed, all of the emotions he had been holding in finally coming out. He rubbed his hand up and down Ed's back to comfort him. He noticed that the young alchemist was shivering. He pulled away for a brief moment to take off his jacket.
"Please don't go!" Ed begged as he clutched onto Mustang's shirt, thinking that the Colonel was going to leave him.
"I won't leave you," Mustang whispered.
He draped his jacket around Ed's shoulders and hugged him once again. He propped himself up on the pillows on the bed so his kid was more comfortable. Ed let himself be held. He would probably never admit it to anyone, but he needed it desperately.
"How long will you stay with me?" he asked.
The Colonel smiled and stroked his hair.
"As long as you need me to."
Ed's eyes were starting to droop shut. Mustang remembered what Dr. Menton said about Ed being extremely tired. He gently kissed the top of Ed's head.
"Get some sleep, kiddo."
Ed yawned.
"Can Al come in here?" he asked, trying to keep his eyes open for just a little bit longer.
Mustang called for Al, just loud enough so the suit of armor could hear. The younger Elric cautiously opened the door.
"Hey, Al," Ed sleepily greeted.
"Hello, brother. I'm really happy to see you," Al said as he slowly approached the other two alchemists, his voice slightly cracking.
Ed reached out for his brother, and Al took hold of his only hand. He sighed contently as he snuggled into Mustang's chest, falling asleep almost instantly while holding his brother's hand. The Colonel smiled at Al, then down on Ed, grateful that his little family was reunited. Unknown to the three, the rest of the team cracked open the door and peeked into the room.
"Is Mustang actually smiling?" Fuery asked in a hushed tone.
No one had seen the Colonel genuinely smile since the incident in Kanon. He might have put on a convincing front, but he couldn't fool his own team. They knew him far too well. Hughes grinned as he watched the touching scene before them.
"Of course he is. Why wouldn't he? He has both of his sons again."
And there's the third chapter! I had so much fun writing the second half of this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it! Fluffy Parental!RoyEd stuff gives me life. I was listening to "Close to You" by Think Up Anger on repeat as I was writing the end. The minute I heard that song, I thought of Ed and Roy. I don't really know why, I just did.
I know that it probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now of how the Drachmans were able to control Ed, but I promise that will be explained later on. Anyways, until next time!