Hello! I'm so glad that Mrs. Grossnickle is lightening the load in English, giving me much more time to write! Even though she quotes herself and thinks that her writing is heaven on paper, her class is pretty fun. We started reading House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (GREAT BOOK!) Well, enough of my gibber-jabber, on with the show!

ONE MORE THING! Sorry, Roy doesn't live in an apartment, he lives in a house. I'm going back to change that as we speak, so please don't hit me.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN OR PROVOKE WARM AND FUZZY FEELINGS OR ACTIONS, VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

DISCLAIMER: Do I look like a Japanese woman to you?


A symbol rises to the surface

Of the crimson sweetness that

I have submerged it deep within

~Papermoon, Tommy Heavenly 6


Chapter Seven: Warming Blood

There it was, the place where Edward would be staying until this whole mess cleared up. Mustang's House. It was a modest shade of hazel, well suited for a family of three, or an overly ambitious Colonel. ~

Pulling into the cobblestone driveway, Roy looked back at Edward, who was fast asleep in the car's leather interior, a small stream of drool coming from his mouth. With a sigh, Roy got out of the car, pulling open the trunk and unfolding Edward's wheelchair.

Trying his best not to wake the boy, Roy slowly opened the door. When it was wide open, and he was sure Ed was still asleep, he carefully picked him up by the armpits and set him in the chair. Poor Ed, he just looked so helpless, like a piece of glass that could break at any second (Roy just wanted to hug him!). He began to push Edward towards the thick mahogany door, smiling at his peaceful expression.

Stopping at the front door, Roy frisked through his pockets, looking for his key. Finally, after about two and a half minutes, Roy finally found the jingling keys, putting the one decorated with flames into the lock, turning it ever so slightly, until he heard a satisfactory click. With yet another sigh, Mustang opened the door, pushing Edward inside.

Point of View: Colonel Roy Mustang

After reaching my house, I sat on the edge of my mahogany easy chair, staring intently at the frail boy, who was sleeping heavily in his wheelchair, his hair tilted to the right. I honestly didn't feel like waking him yet, wanting a few moments to myself, to reason what I'm going to do next; not to mention, the boy just looked so peaceful. I continued to look at him, thinking of what Dr. Brunk said. She sounded extremely concerned with our situation, not just with Edward, but with me as well, with MY well-being. Surely what she said can't possibly be true; surely Edward would never hurt anyone! Then again, Ed isn't himself anymore. He is now Despair's child.

With a sigh, I got up from my extremely relaxing chair, walking towards Edward. Carefully, I patted his shoulders, whispering softly in his ear.

"Edward, Edward. Wake up, Ed?" I said, whispering these words like a necessary mantra. But to no avail, he was out like a light. Sighing once again, I wheeled him into his room. Hopefully, Ed will like it; it's a nice shade of blue, after all. Teenage boys like blue, right? Well, whatever he thinks, this is HIS room now. I looked at him once again, deciding what I should do about his clothing. Surely he can't sleep in that hospital gown! Maybe Alphonse has some clothes for him? Oh well, I'll probably just take him shopping tomorrow. Wait! Maybe I still have something!

Running down into the basement, shifting through boxes, I finally find the box that the Madam Insisted that I bring. "Just in case", she would always say. Internally thanking her capriciousness, I grabbed the whole box and ran up the stairs. Going into Ed's room, I placed the box on his bed, taking out anything that he could sleep in. After a few moments of frenzied searching, I found a nice pair of green pajamas with… cats on them? Oh well, he won't even notice until tomorrow. Lifting up his arms, I carefully removed his shirt (he would be pretty pissed if he found me undressing him while he were asleep), followed by his slippers, and… oh yeah, he wasn't wearing pants…

Still working quickly, I gently slipped his arms through the soft shirt, his right first; I quickly buttoned his shirt, followed by the comfy pajama pants. Admiring my wonderful dressing skills, I picked Edward up from his chair and placed him in the bed, pulling the cerulean covers over his frail form.

Closing the door behind me, I left the bedroom with a sigh ( that was a habit I just seemed to pick up overnight)

"Damn, I'm in over my head here. How am I going to pull this off? ...Well, I guess Hughes is still up. Maybe I should give him a call" I said, walking towards the tiled kitchenette.

I picked up the phone a quickly dialed the number of my best friend, Maes Hughes, waiting not so patiently for a reply. After a ring or two, someone on the other end picked up and began to speak.

"Hello?" the man said.

"Hughes, it's me, Roy, I—"

"Hiya, Roy! Are you stuck already?" Hughes said, a playful air in his voice.

"Listen, Hughes. I was wondering, could I… um… borrow those books of yours? I'm a little in over my head here, and I just want to be sure to do everything right. I don't know, maybe I'm just being paranoid" Roy replied, his voice dripping with uncertainty.

"Look, Roy. Of course you can borrow the books! Why do you think I bought them? It isn't like I need them!" Maes bellowed, chuckling all the while.

"Wait, so are you saying that those books… they're for me?"

"Bingo, Roy Boy! And about the other thing: don't worry; you're just paranoid because you care about him! You're doing fine!" Maes continued, grinning on the other line.

"Well, I guess you're right, Maes. But… speaking of Edward, how did the search go? Did you find anything?" Roy said, earning a sigh from Hughes.

"Sorry, Roy. But we don't have much to work with here. The house was burned down and, well… it was so old and… we don't have any record of anyone even living there in the first place" Maes said in a melancholy tone.

"What? How is there no record of anyone living there?"Roy yelled, quickly placing a hand over his mouth, realizing that Edward was still asleep.

Not a clue, Roy. Me and the rest of the Department run into this kind of thing ever now and again, so we'll keep digging. Unfortunately, we can't do much about that madman's Identity until we talk to Ed. Whenever he gives his testimony, we might be able to put the pieces together.

"Alright, well is there any-" Roy began.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" A blood curdling scream erupted from Edward's room

"What the hell was that?" Maes yelled over the phone.

"Oh my God! Edward!" Roy cried, dropping the phone and running towards Ed's room, the direction of the scream.

I barged the door open, the screaming continuing to pour from Edward's mouth. There before my very eyes, was the most vile, abominating scene that I ever saw. For the first time, Ishval's horror took the back seat. Right before my very eyes was Edward, Black blood oozing from his wrist, a sinister black knife in his right hand, being held up to his pale neck. His blind eyes held pain, helplessness, and something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Those lively golden orbs had been replaced by those of blackened madness, pouring tears of agony and despair; the black eyes were staring at me, begging me to take action.

"R… Roy! Wh… where are you?" Edward cried, his tone at an excruciatingly high pitch as a result of his desperation, the knife shaking in his bloodied hands. Continuing to scream and slamming his black eyes shut, the knife moved with such speed and agility , ,that it was nearly missed by the world, across the neck of Edward Elric. A thick stream of blackened jam poured from his contrasting neck, matching only the night from the window and the blade in his hand.

Not a moment later, Edward fell to his knees, and to the ground, a massive puddle of his own blood forming around him, the knife melting into it, becoming one with the liquid madness.

The scream. It stopped

"Edward!" I cried (my onyx eyes held pained tears). And before I knew it, life faded from the room.

(Please read the Author's Note, or you will be very confused)


HA! Don't worry, this isn't the end of the story, just to let you know! Now then

If you HATED this chapter, please feel free to complain! OH, And one more thing!

PLEASE! REVIEW! I NEED REVIEWS! I NEED THEM OR I WILL EXPLODE! THAT HAPPENS TO ME SOMETIMES!

Thank you, and see you in ten to 14 days (or less, since it's a cliffy)