NOTE: This chapter has been revised as of 29/09/09

O.o

I'd best let you get on with reading. Everything I have to say is at the bottom.

-9-

The first reaction was, of course, complete shock. He remained standing as he continued to take in the sight before an unexpected shiver ran down his spine when his eyes strayed onto the gleaming blade pressed against Edward's throat. Behind the blonde, the prisoner, Kimblee, smirked as he spoke to him in a quiet voice, "I suggest you don't move or I'll slice the kid's neck."

Edward only growled in response and hissed, "Let me go, stupid ass! What did I ever do to you anyway?"

Kimblee blinked at the words before his smirk widened even more, "Well, we have ourselves a fighter. You've got such a dirty mouth for a brat."

"Don't call me a brat!" Edward yelled and started to struggle again before Kimblee undoubtedly slammed him against the wall, causing another strangled yell to escape the blonde's mouth.

Roy forced all the shock out of his system as he tried to gather his thoughts together. Right now, he was concerned. A dangerous criminal was standing in front of him, threatening Edward with that knife. If he made the wrong move, he'd probably end up getting killed. Looking at Edward, he saw, to his surprise, the confused and lost look in the blonde's golden eyes. Even if Edward acted this strong, he wouldn't know how to act in this type of situation. After all, this was the persocom's first time to face a life-threatening condition …

But, wait a second … Edward was a persocom … So he couldn't get hurt - he wasn't flesh and blood, but wires and metal under a fake skin coat. Roy relaxed a little after the thought. All that was needed to be done was to figure out a way to get them both out of this mess.

He stood his ground, unmoving, as he stared into the amber eyes of the madman in front of him. "Let him go, he's not doing anything wrong. We'll only leave without reporting your whereabouts."

Kimblee simply shook his head, causing his long dark ponytail to sway with the movement. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Now get over here so I can make sure you don't escape. If you don't, you can kiss this boy's life goodbye."

Roy gritted his teeth, about to retort back before he glanced at Edward again. Seeing those glaring orbs on him, he had no choice but to obey. He slowly brought his hands up and marched towards Kimblee. The prisoner grinned, keeping one hand to keep Edward in place as he pointed the knife in his other hand towards Roy's chest. Once Roy stepped into the shadows, he felt the sharp tip of the knife touch the middle of his chest. He tensed.

"What are you going to do to us?" Edward's muffled voice sounded out since the blonde's cheek was pressed against the wall.

Kimblee spoke, "Since you both know that I'm here, I might as well kill you to keep you quiet. Or maybe I'll kill you just for fun – it's been a while since I killed anyone actually." The psychotic, delightful tone in the man's voice sent more shivers up Roy's spine.

Roy felt his pulse quicken in panic. So much for negotiating. He was going to be killed off. For a moment there, he felt helpless, almost accepting the fact that this man was going to kill him. Roy was no fighter – he was just some snazzy department chief of a business corporation! He hadn't even gotten to be CEO yet! All that work done, hours of pointless paperwork and staring into the computer screen … all of this work and what? He was ending up dying in some alleyway.

"That's just stupid," Edward's voice snapped Roy out of his thoughts. The persocom was addressing to Kimblee, "… Killing for pleasure. That's the saddest excuse I've ever heard. Do you even have a life or what?"

At this statement, Kimblee laughed. He pulled Edward off the wall and turned him around so they faced each other. "You've got some nerve talking like that, kid. Perhaps you'd like to be taught a lesson. How about I make a little mark here on your hand…" he yanked up Edward's right arm, his other hand holding the knife swinging away from Roy to Edward. The persocom's red sleeve dropped down and Roy managed to catch a glimpse at Kimblee's shocked expression.

The knife stopped a few inches away from the now exposed metal wrist. Kimblee let out a disbelieved utter before he suddenly pulled Edward closer, letting a surprised gasp escape the blonde's mouth. The prisoner peered closely at Edward's face, then at his ears before he straightened up, amber eyes wide with realisation, "This is …"

Feeling his cool return as soon as he saw the same shocked expression when people discovered about Edward, Roy relaxed and said calmly, "Yes, he's a persocom. And he belongs to me."

Despite being in Kimblee's grasp, Edward moved to shoot Roy a dirty look, "I don't belong to you, asshole! I'm not some pet you keep on a leash!"

He thought he saw Kimblee's face darken a bit before the prisoner yanked roughly at Edward's arm, snarling angrily, all the sick delight vanished from his voice, "Be quiet or I'll stab this knife into the motherboard located in that thick skull of yours!"

At this threat, Roy felt his breath cut short and a sweat drop slip down his temple. Even if Edward was incapable to die, he was still vulnerable to become damaged. It seemed that Kimblee knew a thing or two about persocoms. If Kimblee destroyed Edward's motherboard, the blonde would be unable to function anymore. He would surely be permanently broken.

"Don't tell me what to do-!" Edward started before Roy found himself yelling, "Ed, stop it! Just do what he says!"

The persocom, being stubborn and ignorant as he was, snapped back at him, "I'm not going to obey him! It's bad enough for you to boss me around, you know!"

Not knowing if he did it on purpose or just for the hell of it, Kimblee pulled Edward's arm down and violently stabbed the knife into the metal wrist. Roy felt himself flinch at the gesture. There was a loud crack as the sharp blade penetrated into the metal and a few sparks emitted before the arm limply fell from Kimblee's hand. Edward's eyes widened as he stared at the now limp metal arm hanging by his side. Even though he was now free from Kimblee's grasp, he made no move to run. He was obviously as shocked as Roy was.

"What the–?" Edward's voice came in a whisper. "What did you do to my arm? I can't move it …"

Kimblee smirked, pulling the knife out from the arm and he pointed it at Roy to remind the man that he was not forgotten. "What did I do? Nothing much. I disabled the wires in your arm so you won't be able to use it. Simple really … persocoms are so much like humans. You know, your character reminds me a lot about Scar once. Back in the War, bastard's just as stubborn as you…" the amber eyes darkened again as the prisoner's upper lip lifted in a snarl, "Then he turned against us because he didn't like the killing and the bloodshed. I wished I killed him when I got the chance … but that doesn't matter now anyway. He's already long gone."

Kimblee turned to look at the blonde persocom who was clutching the dysfunctional metal arm. Roy suddenly noticed how tired Edward looked as those golden orbs stared back helplessly at the amber ones. Roy was aware that the blow of the knife might have disrupted Edward's functioning. The persocom seemed weak and lost.

A sinister smile formed in Kimblee's lips and Roy could guess that what the man was plotting was certainly not good at all.

"However …" Kimblee continued as he grabbed Edward by the chin and tilted his face up higher. "I'll be glad for you to take his place. I can kill you here just to satisfy that thirst for revenge."

Roy stepped forward, his hands shaking with a mixture of fear and anger, "Wait … why are you doing this? It isn't fair for you to just pick him to replace a person you want to kill!"

"Oh it is fair alright. If being human is too much to handle, then it's better off being dead."This statement left Roy clueless.

But still, there had be a way to get them out of this. Edward was hurt … no, no, damaged. Roy wasn't fond of the idea of being left with a broken persocom much less the fact he was going to get killed by Kimblee anyway.

He considered his options. Firstly, it was getting dark now. The sun was setting and the air was beginning to turn cold. There would be a slim chance anyone would wander around this street anyway. So hoping someone out there would save them was out of the option. Secondly, if he tried to make a move, he would either see the knife in Kimblee's hand end up in the middle of Edward's forehead or even on his own for that matter. Therefore, Roy couldn't do anything. But maybe …

His gaze fell onto the motionless and lost Edward, whose blank eyes were still fixed onto the limp metal arm. There had be some way Roy could get Ed to snap out of his horrified trance...

Roy frowned as he hastily bit his lip. What was he going to do? Kimblee was seconds away from stabbing Edward and what was Roy doing? Just standing there with empty thoughts? Where did that quick-mindedness of yours go, Roy?

Roy absentmindedly noticed that Kimblee's shadow towered over Edward's small withered form. And an idea suddenly formed in his mind. Straightening up, he spoke as seriously and calmly as he could to Kimblee, keeping his voice loud and clear so that Edward could hear the words:

"He's only a pipsqueak. Just let him go."

Golden eyes widened and eyebrows knitted together angrily. Suddenly forgetting about the limp arm, the persocom pounced, only to be held back by a surprised Kimblee who was struggling hard to keep the enraged blonde in his grip.

"WHAT??! YOU IGNORAMOUS BASTARD!! I'LL SHOW YOU PIPSQUEAK WHEN I CRUSH YOUR HEAD WITH MY FOOT!!!!"

Drowned by the shouting, a string of inaudible curses escaped Kimblee's mouth as he was forced to drop the knife he was holding in order to fully secure the persocom in his grip. However, Edward was ignoring all this because his attention was solely focused on the smirking Roy standing coolly right in front of him.

"Hold still -!" Kimblee growled, distracted by the attempt to restrain Edward, before he felt a heavy blow slam onto the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. He did not notice that Roy had snuck up behind him and knocked him out. Now free from Kimblee's grip, the persocom tackled Roy down, screaming into oblivion and beyond.

Despite the pain from hitting his head onto the ground, Roy felt a victorious smile form in his lips.

OoOoO

"Hmmm …" the blonde girl tapped her finger onto her chin.

"Well?" Roy asked, casting a look around the clattered shop. "Do you think you can fix him or not?"

It was the following afternoon after the incident. Kimblee was safely back in prison while Edward was especially bothered by his dysfunctional arm. To stop the persocom from whining, Roy had brought him back to Rockbell FiXers, where an excited Winry awaited them.

"The damage isn't that bad … just a few wires cut but I think I can patch him up nice and quick," reported the teenaged girl, peering closely into the cracked wrist. She whirled around and frowned at Roy, "How did he get damaged like this? Look what happened to the careful craftsmanship of this arm! It's ruined!"

"Er …" Roy started, not sure if he should answer. "It wasn't by accident. Have you seen the news lately? We were cornered by a psychotic madman who wanted to destroy Edward in order to replace someone he wanted to kill."

"Come again?" Winry said as she proceeded to gather up her tools and begin the operation.

Roy crossed his arms, "He had a grudge on some soldier in the War. A guy named Scar or something …"

"Scar? Must be a nickname. I heard in the news, Kimblee's nickname in the War was Crimson …"

"...Anyway," Roy continued. "He said Ed reminded him of that soldier I guess – being they both refuse to obey orders. Kimblee wanted to kill the guy but unfortunately he passed away some time ago."

The blonde girl snorted, inserting a screwdriver into the wires of the arm, "That doesn't explain why you ran into him anyway."

"Well, I didn't. Ed was the one who ran off and got himself in trouble –"

"That was because you were being a pompous jackass-! Hey! Watch the arm!" he snapped viciously at Winry. The girl looked taken aback for a moment before a pulsing vein appeared at her temple.

"You don't need to shout at me, you know! I'm the one fixing your arm!"

"Well, you definitely suck at it!"

Roy felt his mouth fall open when Winry unexpectedly grabbed the wrench lying on the workbench and swung it towards Edward's head. There was a loud clank and a surprised cry from the persocom as he staggered badly from the blow.

"What the hell was that for?" Edward yelled, bringing his functional hand up to clutch his head. "You could've damaged something else!"

"I will damage something else if you don't stop complaining!"

"Try me!"

CLANK!

Maybe Roy should leave them to it.

OoOoO

Edward held up his now fixed metal arm, flexing his fingers one by one. Roy smirked, letting the steering wheel slip through his fingers as he made a turn towards the direction of home.

"She's not a bad technician now, is she?"

Edward shot a glare at him, "She's not bad – despite being a banshee about it. I think my vision is a little blurred after she hit me with that stupid wrench twice." He shuddered slightly, his expression quite bitter, "I don't want to go back there. Who knows what she could do to me next?"

"Well…" Roy chuckled. "She once talked about taking you apart once. You've seen how she is about the construction of your arm. She really likes to know how you were built."

Golden eyes widened in horror, "Like hell – I won't go an inch near her! She's evil!"

They remained quiet for the rest of the drive. Until a few blocks away from the house, Roy noticed that Edward looked troubled. Wondering how such an expression could be formed on a persocom's face, he absent-mindedly asked, "What's wrong, Ed?"

The sound of Roy's voice caused the persocom to furrow his eyebrows into a frown. "Nothing, Mustang. So stop acting as if you care."

Roy first tried to consider if he should comeback to that statement before he realised what Edward was saying. Stop acting as if you care… Care? Did he care for this stubborn persocom? The same humanoid computer who'd deliberately slapped him across the face? Well… wouldn't that be obvious? He was concerned and almost afraid back when Kimblee had threatened to destroy Ed. Of course he cared when he saw that excited, content look Edward had when they went out. Of course, he cared.

He cared about a machine for god's sake. Was that considered ridiculous? Probably.

But knowing Ed, the blasted persocom wasn't going to answer his question without sheer force. So, pretending that he wasn't bothered at the persocom's words, Roy shrugged as they pulled up at the parking lot of their apartment. Unbuckling his seatbelt, he mumbled to the blonde, "That's the kind of attitude I expect nonetheless from a child, Edward."

The blonde snapped, slamming his fist onto his seat, "I'm not a child, Mustang!"

"Then stop acting like one and tell me what's wrong."

Edward fell silent for a moment before he muttered angrily, "I hated it back there – with Kimblee. I felt so stupid just standing there, relying on you to bail me out…"

Roy blinked in surprise. Did that really cross the blonde's thoughts? He'd never guessed.

"… I don't want to depend on getting things I want from you, Mustang. I admit that before, I did act like a stupid kid. But after Kimblee, I realised it. So now you don't need to treat me like I'm helpless because I'm not going to be …"

A strange feeling rose in Roy. Somewhere between pride and relief. He felt a smirk crawl up his lips after Edward had finished his speech.

"But you know, you're still short."

God, sometimes he just couldn't help it.

To be continued..

1) (Anonymous) Review replies!

kyon: Yes.. I guess I do update fast – usually in a week. I don't have anything better to do.

Qtip: ExCUSE ME? (is shocked) I don't even know how to write a lime much less a lemon! (laughs) Apparently, this story is going to be straightly (is that even a word) clean!

Anime#1Fan: Yup! Things that are mentioned will have a part later on in the story! Smart move!

Poofiemus: Well.. unlike Dragonfly, Kimblee isn't going to do much in this story. But he's going to make a good point however.

Phoenix: Action? I don't know how to write action scenes! I'll have to work on that! I hope this chappy is okay for you!

curry rice: THANK YOU FOR THE IDEAS! I'LL KEEP 'EM IN MIND!

sciezka: Apparently, he'll get more paternal. Oh dear.

Hell's Angel: heeh heeh … Thanks!

Monn-star: Don't worry, I'll keep writing!

Neko edo-chan: Cute name! Thanks!

een nihc: Same to you! Thank you for reading!

And to everyone else – YOU GUYS ROCK! SERIOUSLY!

2) Hope it wasn't such a long wait for you guys! I had trouble with this chappie. I had to do a little research into Kimblee's character – well there ain't much to the guy at all – apart from the fact he likes killing so much and he doesn't give a damn if he dies or not. I hope the Ed/Winry interaction was alright. And at the end, where Ed tells Roy he doesn't want to depend on him – including his speech – I hope that's a little more FMA!Ed for you …

3) I still don't know which to pick! Ed kiss Roy/Roy kiss Ed! Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! But I'm still clueless! And some of you guessed Ed's present right … sadly it isn't the pocket watch … Speaking of the watch – WHY didn't I think of that! O.o