"Brother, are you sure we should get off here?" Alphonse asked as he hesitantly got off the train.
"Of course I do. I'm starving!" Ed said as he hoisted his suitcase over his shoulder.
"Shouldn't we at least call the Colonel and tell him we'll be late?"
"Pfft… That bastard can deal without us calling. Besides we'll only be a couple of hours late," Edward said irritably. When they had gotten to Haezen's house, all they found was scribblings of an insane man. They took the documents, just in case Mustang needed them, but other than that, they didn't look into anything else. They left a day later, catching the earliest train out, and after another day of not eating, Edward was finally getting hungry.
Edward waited while Al asked the ticket man where any restaurants were. When he came back over, they set off towards the middle of the town. "That was a complete waste of time," Edward complained.
"Still talking about your assignment?" Alphonse asked, this being his fifth time hearing about it today.
"Of course I am! Colonel Airhead needs to check those assignments before he goes and hands them out! Making us travel all the way out there for no reason!" Edward said.
Al just chuckled.
"You find this funny A- ahh!" Edward yelled as some kids knocked into him, and causing him to fall over. "Ouch…"
"Brother! Are you alright?" Al asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine Al," Edward said as he sat up. "Who ran into me?" he asked, his voice angrier.
"Some kids. They're gone now though," Al said, while pulling his brother to his feet.
"Yeah, I bet they are… Thanks Al," Edward said, as he bent down to pick up his trunk. They started to walk off when they heard something.
"Ahemm…"
They turned around to see a very angry woman looking at them. "Can we help you lady?" Edward asked.
"You certainly may. You can pay for what you just broke," she said, pointing to a broken vase Edward had knocked over as he had fallen.
"Sorry ma'am! Well fix that, won't we Ed!" Al apologized anxiously.
"Yeah, yeah," Edward sighed, closing his eyes tiredly as he bent to his knees. He clapped his hands together, and put them on the ground. After laying his hands down, he snapped his eyes back open.
The vase was still broken.
"What the?" Edward asked, completely dumfounded. He did the same thing, and as before, nothing happened.
"Well?" the woman's irate voice said. "Either fix it or pay up."
"Brother?"
Ed turned horrified eyes to his brother. "It's not working Al…"
"Wha? Are you sure you're doing it right?" Al asked, just as worried as Ed.
"Yes I'm doing it right, you dope!" Edward yelled, a frantic tone to his voice. He clapped his hands and tried again, and again, and again.
Nothing.
"Try using a circle," Al suggested.
Edward took Al's advice and quickly drew a circle. He clapped and laid his hands upon the circle.
Still nothing.
Edward made a choking noise. This can't be happening! What's going on!
"Here, let me try," Al said, fully excepting it not to work. He laid his hands down and in a flash of faint purple light, the vase was fixed.
"Finally," the woman said, bending down to pick up her vase. Before she fully stood, she gave Ed an odd look. Then straightening herself, she walked off.
"Brother?"
There was no way! How did I mess up something like that?! Why isn't my alchemy working!
Suddenly, Edward wasn't very hungry anymore.
Ring ring! Ring ring!
"Hello, Colonel Mustang here," Roy said as he picked up the phone. "Alphonse?... Where are you two? You were supposed to be here hours ago. Don't tell me Edward's in the hospital again…," Roy said, more as a joke than anything. "What? How much worse?…. WHAT!" Roy said, standing up from his chair, and slamming his hand on the desk. "That can't be possible! Are you sure?… Alright, just get here as fast as you can," Roy said sitting back down, and putting the phone back on the receiver none to softly. He bent his head down, grabbing the bridge of his nose as he did so.
"Sir?" Hawkeye asked. "Sir, is it the Elrics?"
Roy looked up briefly, noticing he had successfully grabbed the attention of all of his subordinates. "Unfortunately yes."
"Geeze, what happened to them this time, Mustang?" Havoc asked.
Roy didn't answer though. Instead he stood and made his way for the door. "Sir? Where are you going?" Fuery asked.
"To the train station. They'll be arriving in an hour or so," he said turning the doorknob.
"But sir you can't--," Hawkeye tried, but Roy was already out the door. "Stupid man," she muttered and turned back to her work.
"What do you think happened?" Fuery asked, completely worried now.
"Dunno, but it can't be good. The Colonel never gets that upset," Breda said, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah, and Mustang never goes out of his way to meet Ed either," Havoc stated, putting out his cigarette and grabbing a new one.
"I hope those two are all right," Fuery mumbled.
"We all do, but I don't think they are this time… At least not Edward," Hawkeye said quietly.
That, they could all agree on.
"Is it true FullMetal?" was the first thing Roy asked them.
Ed looked up at him briefly. "Yeah… It is," he said, voice cracking.
"But how is that possible? Are you sure?" Roy asked, looking down at Edward with disbelieving eyes. This was the FullMetal Alchemist! Hero of the People! The champion among the military dogs! This was the person Roy had faced and had almost lost to! This was a boy who had already lost so much.. Surely fate wouldn't be cruel enough to take this away from him too?
"I'm pretty sure Colonel," Edward replied in the same voice.
It seemed that fate was just that cruel.
Roy sighed, not knowing what to do. "Come on back to Headquarters. We can talk more there," Roy said in the gentlest tone Edward had ever heard from him. Edward just meekly nodded his head, and he and Al followed Roy back to his office.
"What happened at Viziton?" Roy asked while he and Ed currently sat alone in Roy's office. When they had come back, Edward had gained more than enough startled looks. People had stopped along in the hallways to stare at him. Edward was well known within the military. What fourteen-year-old state alchemist wouldn't be? That wasn't the only reason though. Edward, whether he realized it or not, was just one of those people that others just naturally gravitated towards. He defiantly got things rolling when he strolled down these halls. Whether it was someone calling him short, or Edward just being his naturally loud and obnoxious self, he defiantly stirred up the usually boring military life routine. Many knew him on a first name bases, so as you can imagine, it was quite shocking to see a walking corpse in the place of fire that Edward usually walked with.
"Nothing happened there. The man you sent us out for had been dead for months by what the people in the town said. We went up to his house to find nothing but notes that made no sense. Ramblings of an insane old man really," Edward said in a lifeless tone.
"When was the last time you used your alchemy?"
Ed was silent for a moment, trying to recall the information. Edward leaned forward, placing his head in his hands. "Not since before I went to the factory…"
"Edward, you have to tell me what happened there," Roy urged.
"There's nothing to tell."
"There is! You need to stop being a child and tell me what happened!" Roy said, his voice gaining volume.
"I gave up all claims to childhood when I became a dog of the state as someone told me," Edward said, getting irritated now.
"Then why won't you tell me what happened!" Roy said yelling now.
"If anything that happened there had anything to do with this, don't you think I'd tell you?" Edward yelled back, glaring at Roy. Edward hung his head again. "Damnit… We've come so far… I can't stop now," Edward said, quieter and more to himself than anyone.
Roy sighed, getting his temper under control. "Edward, do you know how alchemy works?"
"Of course I know how it works! How could I use it if I didn't?" Edward asked bitterly, thinking the Colonel stupid for asking such a question.
"How does it work?"
Ed looked up. He couldn't be serious, but Edward had never seen the Colonel look more serious. Edward sighed, seeing no harm in humoring Mustang for now. "Alchemy is using the flow of power that is dictated through the transmutation circle. Different circle, different flow of power, different outcome. We alchemist must be able to accept that flow, understand it, and use it to create or destroy whatever we wish while staying within the laws of alchemy," Edward said, remembering the words of his teacher.
"Correct. You Ed, however, get rid of the visible circle, rerouting the power used in a transmutation inside your own body. Some people suspect that if you obstruct that flow of power, you are unable to use alchemy anymore, with or without a circle. If that's true, the only thing we need to know is what's obstructing your flow. Now tell me what happened at the factory," Roy said, a hint of begging in his voice.
"Envy…" Edward painfully whispered.
"What?" Roy asked, not catching it. Instead of answering though, Edward stood and made his way towards the door. "Edward! Where are you going?" Roy yelled, getting out of his chair, and going over to Edward who had stopped walking.
Edward looked over his shoulder at Roy. "I need to think," he said and turned around, and began walking again.
No… It can't be… Roy thought, speeding up to catch Edward who was already out the door. Not now… Roy could here his subordinates and Al calling Edward's name in concern, and watched as Edward not only kept walking but speed up as well.
"Mustang? What's going on?"
"Sir!"
"Sir, what's happening?"
"Colonel, what's wrong with my brother?"
Roy heard them all ask, but didn't stop to answer. He couldn't have! he yelled in his head as he watched Edward fall to the ground. "Edward!" he called, and ran up to catch the boy. He could hear footsteps rushing to do the same thing. Roy caught Ed just before he hit the ground, falling to his knees as he did so. Edward's body was burning up. Roy could feel the heat through Ed's clothes, and see the sweat pouring down his face. He could hear the people around him asking what had happened, but Roy's mind was too preoccupied. "He has," Roy whispered, almost inaudibly, though they heard it all the same.
"Sir?"
"Colonel?"
"Mustang?"
"What do you mean he has?"
The FullMetal Alchemist, Hero of the People, champion among the military dogs, Edward Elric had finally and painfully broken.