Ta-da! :) Chapters are continuing to be short, but that's only cause I'm taking it easy writing this. I want it to be worth reading. Besides, I'm sure chapters will become longer later on. It's only the beginning after all ;)
jenelric, thanks for being my first reviewer! :-D
"Settle down, Lieutenant Havoc," Riza said sternly. The blonde woman gazed down sadly at the badly injured citizen. Their face was hidden in bloody wounds.
"She's right, you know. We don't know what to expect from this war. What we do know is that in every war, there is pain and death. Therefore there will be plenty more damaged people out on those grounds, so we can't expect it to stop any time soon." Roy Mustang, the Colonel of the State Military, held his hands behind his back and headed towards the door.
"Sir? Where are you going?" Riza asked.
"To check up on Fullmetal," he replied.
"Sir, we haven't been informed of any improvement. There won't be a chance to see him until he wakes up," Major Armstrong explained, standing in his usual proud posture.
"Is that so?" Mustang mused.
"Roy, please don't cause any trouble," Riza spoke, mentioning his first name to make clear her seriousness. "This really isn't the time to cause an intrusion on a healing patient."
Mustang stood still, his hand clasped around the door handle. He stared miserably towards the floor. The whole room fell into a complete and awkward silence.
"Sir?"
"I'm alright, Hawkeye," the Colonel answered. Sighing quietly, Mustang headed back into one of the visitors chairs and stared at the bloody body, lying dead on the hospital bed.
"A … A …" Ed forced himself to speak, but nothing would come out. (Nothing except 'Al', which he didn't intend on saying). He recognised those voices. He recognised those names. Surely Ed was in good hands now that the State Military were here. On the other hand, the words he had heard made an impact on Ed's thoughts. The alchemist desperately wanted to ask questions, find out what had happened to him; why he was here; why he was hurt; and more importantly, where was Alphonse.
At that moment, the door opened.
"I'm going to check up on the others. See if they have found any more bodies … hopefully ones that aren't dead."
"Yes Sir," the other three answered.
Roy Mustang emerged from the ward, closing the door firmly behind him. At first he overlooked the confused state of young Edward, who scuttled back along the bench. But Mustang wasn't the man to miss an obvious thing. His dark, mysterious eyes crept to one side, capturing the sight of the Fullmetal Alchemist. Mustang's body turned to face the twelve year old and he stared down at him, completely flabbergasted that Ed was awake.
"Fullmetal?" he asked in slight disbelief.
Ed gazed up at the towering figure. His golden orbs filled with panic; his bottom lip quivering in nervousness. This was his chance to ask the Colonel what the circumstances were. Find the explanation for his gashes. The kid gulped down the remains of his trembling tears, opened his mouth, and replied with:
"A … A … Al?"
"Are you alright, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, kneeling down to Ed's level.
Ed opened his mouth to try and speak again, hoping to say something other than his brother's name. Unfortunately, only tiny squeaks from the back of the throat cropped up. Mustang jolted upwards and forced open the ward door.
"Lieutenant Hawkeye, I need you here now!"
"Colonel, what is it?" Riza asked, walking towards the door leaving Havoc and Armstrong in question. Immediately after stepping out the room, Riza glanced at the child sitting weakly on the chair and she cupped her hand over her mouth. "Edward!" she gasped.
"He's in shock, Hawkeye. Take him back to his room. I'll send Havoc to tell the doctors about his awakening."
"Yes Sir," Riza nodded. She held out her left hand as an act of trust. It seemed as if Ed was too scared to say anything or move closer. Riza smiled. "Come on, Edward. Everything's going to be okay."
Ed lifted his only arm gradually until his hand clasped a hold of Riza's. She helped lift him on to the floor, taking extra care when her eyes noticed the threatening injuries. Using her other hand to support his back, Riza walked behind Ed, leading him back into his empty white room.
At the same time, Mustang showed himself in the ward where Havoc and Armstrong immediately issued the serious tone of his voice.
"Lieutenant Havoc, I need you to go to find Fullmetal's doctor and give him the news."
"News, Sir?" Havoc asked quickly.
"He's awake," Roy said shortly. Havoc's jaw dropped.
"You can't be serious!"
"I am," Roy told him. "Go now."
Havoc nodded while saluting before pacing out of the room in search of the doctor. Major Armstrong faced down to his instructor's face, waiting for instructions.
"I'm not sure there's much more we can do for now, Major. It seems that Fullmetal is in complete shock about the war. All he would say to me was his brother's name."
"Do you think he knows what happened to young Alphonse Elric?" Armstrong questioned. Roy folded his arms.
"At this time … I hope not," Mustang admitted, thinking back to the disastrous events taking place at this time.
Sounding good? :) I wonder where Al could be ...? Don't worry, Ed will talk soon enough. But like Roy said: "He's in shock."
