Chapter 4: The Red Bullet

Thanks again to all of you who read and review! It really makes my day. I recently got into writing again after a couple of years, and you guys are why I do this. Your support is something that means the world to me. I love you guys! 3

The snow was falling hard and fast outside. So much so that Roy even reconsidered going back inside that cave, but that wasn't really an option. It was far too risky. If Mr. All I Wear Is Black decides to show up again. If he were to come back, he and Fullmetal would both be killed. If Fullmetal wasn't already...

No. No! He couldn't think that way. It wouldn't help matters, it would only make them worse. Edward wouldn't die. He couldn't. He still had to get he and Al's bodies back. Ed wasn't a liar, right?

God, the snow was so deep and still falling. But to Ed's surprise, the Colonel didn't seem to be struggling with the weight, just like on the train, and stomping through pits of snow no less. Maybe he and the Colonel were more alike than the two realized. If the situation were swapped, he would do whatever it took to get Mustang to safety, come rain, sleet or snow.

Anything. It didn't matter what he'd have to do.

But with every step Mustang took, Ed felt waves of pain shoot throughout his body. He didn't give a shit anymore about his back or his sore ports, this bullet wound was much, much worse. Falling asleep would make the pain less, wouldn't it? No, he had to stay awake. Mustang said he had to, but he was just so tired.

Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a minute...

Just as his eyes closed he heard the Colonel. "Fullmetal, I told you to stay awake didn't I?"

Ed let out a defeated sigh, he just hurt so much. "I don't know if I can."

Roy looked down to see that the kid had already bled through his own jacket. Why was it bleeding so much? They were in severe cold, it should have slowed the bleeding at least a little bit. He had seen enough gunshot victims in his life to know what was to be expected, but nothing like this.

Roy froze when he heard Fullmetal scream loudly. "What is it? What exactly are you feeling right now?" he asked. It was important.

Ed shook his head, his eyes shut tight in pain. "I-I don't know...It just...hurts all over my body."

"Your whole body?" Roy repeated. What was happening? This didn't make any sense. His nerves only made him press on, only faster than he was before. Not too much later they finally made it to the cabin.

Roy didn't care if anyone was in there or not, he walked up the porch and kicked the door in with one swift kick. Luckily, it really did seem to be abandoned, and there weren't signs of any squatters either.

Quickly, he began to look in the rooms, he needed a bed and fast. This place wasn't that big, so he found one in the second room he checked.

Roy made it to the bed as fast as he could and looked down at Ed. "I'm going to lay you down now, okay?" Ed couldn't produce and words, he just tried to nod and let out a whine. Ed whimpered more when Roy actually put him down. "I know." Roy said. "I'm sorry." He knew this was hurting the kid like hell, and he hated it.

Roy removed his coat from Fullmetal and the black jacket he was wearing as well. He left the kid's shirt on, because he knew it would make him uncomfortable if he removed it, so he just lifted it up. Ed started gasping a little bit.

"Stay with me, Elric." Roy said, forcing himself to keep a brave front for him. Ed was still sitting up, but it was very hard for him to keep it up, so Roy steadied him. "I'm going to see if the bullet went all the way through, and then I'm going to lay you down." He spoke slow and firm to make sure the kid could comprehend it.

Roy turned his head to look at Ed's back.

Roy ran his fingers over the boy's skin—nothing.

"What is it?" Ed asked breathlessly.

Roy gulped and hated the next words before he even said them. "The bullet...didn't go all the way through." He brought his hand to his mouth in thought.

Ed sighed. "Son of a bitch."

Roy looked the kid in the eyes. "It's okay. I'm going to make sure we get you all fixed up, all right?" He patted Ed's shoulder and then very carefully lay him down. He looked inside the bullet hole and didn't see anything.

Shit, shit, shit, where the hell is it!?

This didn't make any sense. The damn thing didn't come out the other side of the kid so it had to be in him somewhere.

Ed didn't see it, but Roy closed his eyes to prepare himself for what he was about to say. "Fullmetal, I can't see anything. I'm going to have to feel around for it." The guilt in his voice was clear, every word he spoke felt more difficult to say than the last.

"Okay." Was all Ed said in response. This was going to suck. He just needed to find something—anything to focus on. Alphonse, his mother, Winry. He shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth when he felt the Colonel pressing around his injury.

Roy stopped a few seconds later, running his fingers through his hair. "Damn it!" he yelled. Where was the damn thing!? Fullmetal didn't have a lot of time left! Why couldn't he just find one measly bullet!? Roy brought his hands to his head, wracking his brain for a solution.

"Colonel..." Ed said, his voice fading. "Please help my brother get his body back, okay?"

Roy shook his head. He chose not to hear that. "No." he said firmly. "I'll find it."

Edward was moving less and less now and his breathing becoming weaker. Roy let out an exasperated breath. He was now noticeably upset. He didn't want to lose another comrade. Not again. Maes was hard enough, he didn't think he'd survive it. But Fullmetal? No. Just, God, please no.

Looking at the wound once more, he saw something. It wasn't a bullet but it was a small red speck of something. He didn't know what it was but he wrapped it in one of his gloves and put it in his pocket, he would look into what it was once he and the kid were out of this.

And they were going to get out of it—both of them.

Now Roy only had one ignition glove left. But it didn't matter, the bullet wasn't there and all he was succeeding in now was causing Fullmetal even more agony. Making things far worse than they already were. What he had to do now was just get the wound closed so the bleeding would stop—then Fullmetal would have a fighting chance. However, like he had told the kid before, he didn't know medicinal alchemy. How could he stop the bleeding? Then a thought hit him hard.

Fuck.

He knew of a way, but it was going to be just awful. "Christ..." Roy said under his breath, but Ed still heard it.

Ed knew what the Colonel was thinking. "Just do it, Colonel." He told him. "It's either this or dying, and now that I think about it, I don't trust you to get Al's body back." A small, forced laugh left his lips after he spoke.

God, this kid was tough as all hell.

Roy winced, desperate to think of another way to go about this, but there wasn't one. This was the only option. Hesitantly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his last ignition glove. He only needed the one. He slipped it on and peered down at the kid. He didn't know what to say.

After what felt like forever, Roy finally spoke up. "You're going to need to hang onto something to brace yourself." He warned him.

Ed felt his heart race. But he knew he could get through this. He brought his hands to either side of the bed and gripped onto it tight. "Just close it quick, okay?" he said.

Roy looked devastated. "Yeah." He replied. This was going to be hell. For Ed and himself. He had seared his own wounds closed before and he could barely tolerate it. He had just barely managed not to pass out when he endured it. Fullmetal was undoubtedly strong, but this...

When Roy went to place his hand on the bullet hole, he saw that he was shaking. He had to relax. This was Fullmetal's only chance. He drew in a long breath and exhaled. He forced himself to just put his hand on the wound and summoned his inner flame alchemy. It was now or never. He could feel the heat radiate from his hand over to the kid.

Ed began to scream almost immediately. Those cries...Roy couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand the kid being in pain, he couldn't handle the screams. It reminded himself too much of Ishval. But he wasn't going to stop, he was going to save Fullmetal's life.

No matter what.

Ed arched his back, fighting to stay as still as he could, but it was like he wasn't in control of his body, it reacted like it had a mind of it's own. He then shot upward, his scream cutting off, and collapsed onto the bed limply.

Silence.

It was done. This horrible ordeal was done, but now, Ed wasn't moving.

"Fullmetal?" Roy asked in horror. No response. So he tried again. "Fullmetal?" He said a little louder this time. Still nothing. Roy darted his bloodied hand to Ed's neck and tried to feel for a pulse. He wasn't sure if what he was feeling was Ed's pulse, or his own from his distress. He then put his ear to Ed's chest and heard the kid's heart beating fine.

"Oh, thank God." Roy said in utter relief, grabbing the kid's shirt.

Once he composed himself, he looked around the room. Blood was all over the bed, and his own shirt. As much as he didn't believe it, Fullmetal was still alive, even after losing what appeared to be far too many pints of blood. And for the kid to be screaming his head off like that, he must have really been suffering. Ed was never the kind to show pain, if he could help it. He never tried to show any signs of weakness. Edward and Alphonse had been through way too much in their short lives, and it wasn't showing signs of stopping any time soon.

Roy's mind then drifted to the remnant that he found in Ed's blood. He pulled the glove it was wrapped in from his pocket, it too was covered in blood, so he wiped it off with his fingers. Was it...part a Philosopher's Stone? If it were, why was it in the kid's blood? All he had were questions with no answers right now. All he knew was that the kid was lying here because he decided to take a bullet for him. Ed was hurt defending him. Not all soldiers would do something like that, and all for a 'Colonel Bastard' like himself. Fullmetal may have had a mouth on him, and an icy demeanor towards Roy, but he was a damn good kid. He just needed guidance. He needed a parent—a father.

Roy raised his hand, going to pat Ed's head in a soothing manner, but before he made contact he pulled it back.

"Thank you, Edward." he said softly. He never called him by his first name, but he figured he was out of it—so it didn't count.

XXXX

The man in the mask strode happily into what looked like an underground cave base. He seemed all too pleased with himself. He twirled the revolver he used to shoot Ed around his fingers. A laugh came from beneath his mask.

"That was almost too easy." He bragged.

"You shot the wrong target." An angry voice from before the man answered.

The masked man laughed again and shook his head. "Look, I know you wanted Mustang's head on the chopping block, but I didn't expect the kid to go all superhero on me and take it for him."

The voice scoffed, clearly unamused. "That child isn't the one that is most useful to me."

Masked man folded his arms. "Really? I think it's quite the contrary." He stated matter-of-factly. "That kid is hardly a weakling, that automail of his sure packs a hell of a punch." He said, with a hint of resentment, turning his shoulder around to where he had been stabbed earlier. "I mean, he was able to use all his alchemy without drawing a transmutation circle. I want that power. What does Mustang have anyway? Some puny embers and a rank? Please."

"You say that like rank doesn't mean anything. Rank can be all or nothing in the military." The voice reminded his minion.

Raising a finger, the masked man replied, "Ah, but not when we have one of his little soldiers he cares about wrapped around our finger." He said. "You should have seen his face when I was choking the little shit out, he nearly pissed his pants."

The older, angry voice paused. Maybe he had a point? The best way to cause pain to someone isn't through pain or physical force, it was using the ones they loved to apply pressure. Nothing would hurt more than that.

"How many bullets did you have to use?" The older asked.

"Just one. Gut shot."

"That was reckless. You could have killed him." he said.

The man in the mask stopped twirling the gun and looked at it. Then he popped open the chamber and pulled out a bullet. A bullet that was bright red and glowing. "Oh, come on. Philosopher's Stone bullets aren't lethal. Sure, they hurt like a bitch but the kid will be fine."

"How long will it take before the stone's power takes it's affect?" The voice asked.

The masked man thought for a moment before he answered. "It really depends on how long it takes his body to completely absorb it, but...I'd say about twelve hours at maximum. The kid is a tiny little thing."

The older man nodded. "Then leave the boy and Colonel be for now. The kid will come to us when he's ready." A large grin found it's way to the man's face. "What better way to kill the Colonel then to have one of his most trusted majors do it for us?" Laughter erupted from him once he really thought about it. "Central will be in shambles after this!"

"I aim to please." Masked guy said proudly, spreading his arms apart.

The older man stopped laughing suddenly and turned back to his subordinate. "If you fail me with this, I won't hesitate to kill you again. And this time, I can make it far more painful."

"We wouldn't want that now, would we?" The younger retaliated. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get the results you desire. That way you're happy, I get my cut from the fallout, and that Colonel asshole will be out of our lives forever."

The older man laughed, this kid sure was confident. "The results better be even better than if you had shot Mustang, like the plan originally dictated, or you will regret it."

"You don't have to keep threatening me, man. You know I'll do whatever it takes to get what I want."

"I suppose you're right." Said the older. "I know where your priorities lie. I created you after all, right? Didn't I son?"

The younger man laughed and rose his hands to his mask. "I told you not to call me that." He said, pulling the mask from his face before he continued.

"Call me Greed."