Departure XI

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist does not belong to me and I make no money from this work of fanfiction at all.

Pairings: Roy and Ed, others mentioned

Warnings: Divergence from episode 13, shonen-ai, emo!Roy and possible OOC.

A/N: Yay. Now we have completed one part and on to another, yet again.

Ed hoped that Al would be waiting for him.

He desperately, desperately needed someone who could carry Mustang- he was moving, and he obviously couldn't complain verbally- but he was starting to slow down. He supposed it was a miracle in and of itself that he was moving at all. The former Colonel probably had enough injuries that even breathing was painful and Ed certainly wouldn't have been able to heft the weight of a man head and shoulders taller than he was. He was barely able to keep tugging him down the halls, and not stop to cry over the stupid little whimper Roy kept making.

He was going to find Gran later, and make him regret fucking with Edward Elric. He should have known not to mess with the people Ed cared about…

Oh great. Not only did he want to kiss the Colonel, he cared about him too. The day just kept getting better and better.

"Come on, Colonel Asshole," Ed muttered. There was a soft creaking coming from Mustang's chest. What he would have given…

He was nearly thrown off balance when Mustang stopped completely, a true cat growl coming from deep inside his chest.

The woman in black, the one who had come chasing Dr. Marco, was standing there, eyes on Edward and completely ignoring the man who was making himself hoarse snarling.

"Now what do you think you're doing, Bouya? There's still work for you to do."

"I told you, I ain't making that damned Stone! Why the fuck don't you make it yourself? You've got enough alchemists running around!" Ed snarled with Mustang, edging between him and the woman in black.

"There is a peculiarity about myself and my cohorts. We can't use alchemy. That's why we try to get others to make the Stone for us."

Ed growled. "We'll find another way to make ourselves whole again, dammit. That can't be it."

The woman in black's face turned serious. "My goal is just the same as yours. I want to be human… and if you can do that, you can also fix your friend, here." She gestured at Mustang with her chin. "Or are you going to tell me you are perfectly all right with leaving him mixed with a female jaguar, his heart broken in pieces?"

The young alchemist wavered; looking up at the man crouched like some wild thing. A month ago, before he had started to see Mustang as an uneasy friend, he would have found the entire notion laughable but now-

Oh dammit.

"Why can't you use alchemy? Even Tucker could do that."

"That's for me to know and you to guess at, Fullmetal boy," she cooed. "Come on now… You realize what's going to happen to your friend here if you don't? Tucker did a lovely bit of work… changed mostly just his musculature and his skeleton. On the surface, he looks pretty human, but on the inside…" She chuckled. "Of course, as there were some things that just couldn't merge… it will be interesting to see what happens."

"…" Ed didn't even want to go there. He didn't want to think of what Tucker might have done, the fucking sick asshole.

"Come now. It's time for you to go back to the lab, Fullmetal boy."

"Don't listen to her, Ed! She's a homunculus!"

"Al?" Ed was overjoyed to see his brother approaching… with a massive dent in his side, but otherwise moving and seemingly all right. "Al, what happened?"

"It's all right, Brother," Al said, in that tone that said something was most definitely not all right and that he was trying to cover. "I and… and my friend, we're going to get you all out of here."

Oh yeah… Ed knew he didn't like this. But that didn't matter. If they were getting out of there- whatever came later they could deal with. Jumping out of the frying pan, they could see how hot the fire was.

The explosion that had rocked the building earlier had been massive- Ed could see the damage in the thick concrete dust, cracked walls and uneven floor.

"Hey Lust! I'm having a bit of a problem here!" a voice called, and Ed blinked. It sounded like the true voice of the fake who had come after him.

There was a scream after that- followed by light, impossibly bright light and the sound of glass shattering. Ed had no idea what was going on but he knew he didn't want to hang around.

"Al- I have the Colonel. Help me haul his ass out of here!" Ed called, gesturing to the creature that was still snarling in the direction of the woman, every muscle taut. Al stopped, staring at the thing that had been Roy.

"Colonel Mustang?" the younger boy asked, managing to sound shocked and breathless at once. Ed didn't blame him. There was an undeniable edge of the alien to Mustang now- something unnatural for the once always controlled man. In Ed's mind, it was nearly as bad as a young boy in a suit of armor, or a little girl forever merged with her dog, then brutally murdered. Ed had just added another person to his guilt list.

"Come on. We can't fix him here- we have to leave and I can't carry him like this."

The woman in black had left, obviously no longer paying attention to them and running for wherever the impostor had been. Ed noticed that Al seemed inclined to move in that direction too- but he obediently approached Mustang.

Mustang did not look inclined to be picked up, sniffing at Al distrustfully.

"Shhh… it's all right, Colonel." Ed noted the "talking to Kitty" voice. It had always worked before, Ed thought, hysterical. It should work now.

"It's all right, Colonel," Al whispered. "It's me, Al. You know me, right?"

It had always worked before, and once again, Al's sweet nature spoke to even the most savage spirit. Mustang relaxed, his eyes going from territorial and wary to weary, slipping closed as he toppled over. Al caught him a beat before he hit the ground, looking down at his brother.

"Do you think-"

"We will fix him," Ed said, emphatically. He was hanging on to his own consciousness with teeth, toenails and all automail, and it was barely enough. Yet he ignored his own hurts once more. "Come on, Al."

There was a pause, and Al looked back in the direction of the screaming. "Okay."


The air had been hot, scorching Edward's lungs and then cold, making him freeze after sweating, and he was staggering behind Al as they made it outside.

"Hawkeye and Falman are waiting for us," Al said, calling behind him and pausing for Ed to catch up. He had noticed how badly injured his brother was, but at least he could move on his own. Besides, he would just make a fuss if Al did stop to pick him up. Al didn't think they had the time for a tiff.

Al couldn't appreciate the cool of the air outside as they forced their way out, but he could tell that Ed was immediately chilled. Then again, he thought both his companions were going in to shock, and…

He looked over his shoulder at Lab 5. The scarred man was on his own for now, but he had a promise to keep and he would keep it. There would be nothing less than equivalence.

But that was for later.

"Al! Ed!" a voice shouted, and Al and Ed looked up in time to see Riza Hawkeye running towards them, pistols cocked in both hands and ready to give them cover.

"Whatever you two did, there's smoke visible from all over the city! The fire department is already on its way and we can't be here when they arrive! Get in the car!"

Those were more words out of her mouth than they had ever heard before, but it didn't matter because the sound of sirens whining in the background was getting stronger and they were making a desperate dive for the black truck idling on the street. Falman gunned the engine almost before they were inside- and they were off.


"Is that them?" Breda asked, voice crackling over the radio from inside when he heard the sounds of tires crunching across gravel and an engine dying.

"Yeah," Hughes answered from his perch where he had been acting as lookout. "We need to keep them covered until they get inside."

He could see Havoc's faint shadow move to guard the door, the silhouette of his rifle visible only by the faint gleam in the dusk.

Hughes had found a place for them to hide out- one that was under the military radar, in an area where no one asked questions. It was shabby, dark and smelled strange, but it was hidden, sheltered, and most importantly, securable.

"Marco, Fury- you two ready?" Hughes snapped, he heard them scramble to man the makeshift field hospital they'd put together. Hughes hoped that it wouldn't be needed, that a simple first aid kit would suffice… but he told himself to be honest. It was Ed and Roy he was talking about. They'd be lucky if they came back with all their limbs in the right places.

His mind was entirely on the mission, and he would worry about what came next when it happened. Gracia had gone to visit her parents, taking Elysia with her, and that had been a weight off his mind as he watched the anonymous truck open up to release its occupants.

Hawkeye and Al exited first- Hawkeye leaping from the truck bed with Al half a second behind her, lifting a limp form and cradling it cautiously, his red glowing eyes wary. Hughes let go the breath he didn't know he was holding. His best friend was alive, and that meant there was hope left. Until that moment he hadn't realized how much despair had been rotting his heart.

Ed opened one of the doors, getting out of the passenger side of the truck and walking around, transforming his arm into a blade to be on the safe side. Hughes briefly wondered what tried to eat Ed this time. Many things- terrorists, the military, fate itself- had mistaken Edward for a tender morsel and had choked, spitting him out all the worse for wear. Of course, he noted wryly, he seen what had happened to the devourer. No one wanted a second taste after the first.

"I think they're injured," he radioed down to the others, who opened the door to the safe house and all but pulled Alphonse in, Ed following while Falman and Hawkeye swept the area again before heading inside themselves.

He wanted to go in and check on his friend himself, but he wasn't going to leave his perch until he knew they weren't being chased or someone relieved him.

Then his binoculars caught sight of something that made him blink.

"He's still following them..?"


"Boss!"

"Edward!"

"Major Elric!"

The voices calling to him made Ed pause as he entered the dinky room, and it was just long enough for the adrenaline to stop flooding his system and exhaustion to crawl down into his legs. His human knee buckled causing him wobble.

"Brother!" Alphonse nearly dropped Mustang- would have, too, if Ed hadn't stopped and glared.

Al, being a brilliant individual in his own right, decided that dropping Mustang was a no-no and turned to Fury, who was gaping at the scene in front of him.

"Can you report?" Havoc asked, eyes still on the door. Hawkeye joined him, but her attention was split between the inside and the outside.

Ed nodded, choppiness making his hair fly. "Yeah… he's in bad shape. They'd already started experimenting when I got there." The breath caught in his throat, then he inhaled hard through his nose and his eyes shut, feeling heavy and numb and he let his automail knee buckle as well, sitting him on the floor with a thump. He barely noticed Marco crouching beside him and checking over his injuries. "They beat the shit out of him, too, and…" He didn't want to say it, because saying it made it real. That was stupid, because his words had nothing to do with it but dammit, he wanted to put this off. He hated seeing Mustang like this, and he wanted everyone else to believe there was nothing wrong…at least for a little while longer. Then again, he knew that was impossible.

"They turned him into a chimera- merged his DNA with that of another animal. According to Gran, it was a large cat. According to that woman, it was a jaguar- that's the species at any rate." Ed slumped forward, letting Marco clean the cut in his scalp, and then waving him away.

"Check out the other guy, Doc. I'm okay."

Marco let out an exasperated sound, but did as he was told. His gaze traveled to Mustang, and he inhaled sharply.

Fury was already peeling off Mustang's prison jump suit; eyes going wide as he saw the small spots that appeared halfway up his back and disappeared over his shoulders. Marco joined him as a deep sigh made his shoulders slump.

Then he stopped, checking Mustang's head. "Was he catatonic when you found him?"

"No… he was…" Ed pursed his lips, the ache in his chest having nothing to do with bruised ribs. "They deconstructed his mind. They intended to rebuild it so… I guess so they could use him again."

Marco shuddered, but his hands were still checking Mustang over, feeling his ribs. Ed had noticed the horrified silence that had come from the other soldiers, and Al, who was standing next to his brother and was starting to apply bandages.

"We have to decide what to do with him," Havoc finally muttered, looking like he wanted a cigarette- wanted one badly. "If he's like this… and you know, everyone's thinking it. I hate the idea as much as anyone, but if he's gone- shouldn't we let his body die? Wouldn't that be kinder? If there's nothing there-"

"There is!" Edward surged to his feet. "He is! He tried to say my name- he's still there! Whatever the fuck they did to him he's still in there!" Edward's face felt hot- especially around his eyes. "We can't let him- just stay like this-"

"Boss," Havoc said, putting his hands up. "You aren't the only person who cares about the Colonel. All of us- we're through as far as the military is concerned. That's all there is to it. But would he want to live like this? I'm just saying it. It sucks, it ain't right, but-"

"NO! I'm going to fix him, dammit! Like I'm going to fix Al!" Edward's scream was hoarse, going pale, shaking his head in denial. "I promise- I'm going to fix him…"

"Edward," Marco said, turning back to them after a moment. He was wiping his hands with a rag- he had just finished bandaging Mustang's wounds. "There has never been a successful attempt at separating a chimera once it has been created. There's very little chance you can make him human again."

Ed grunted. "But I can try with his mind. His body is alive. That's what matters. I'll try to find a way to make things right."

Marco smiled faintly. "You might just be able to."

Havoc, Hawkeye, Breda and Fury were looking at each other, speaking in hushed tones, and Ed couldn't make out much but his name.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Breda interrupted, crossing his arms defensively. Hawkeye rolled her eyes, exasperated, and went back to watching the door, while Havoc barely concealed a smile.

"It's not nothing- not if Havoc's smiling like that," Ed growled, eyeing them.

"It's nothing important, really! Just- uh- discussing what we're going to do next," Havoc tried to cover, finally giving in and lighting a cigarette. Ed waved his hand to dispel the smoke.

The growling and posturing didn't intimidate Havoc, mostly because if he said anything Hawkeye would perforate him.

Ed shook his head, turning to Marco, and willing his legs to move towards Mustang, who had opened his eyes and was looking around. The gaze was still wild and wary, but they landed on Edward and stayed there this time.

"Hey bastard… Don't worry. They aren't going to do anything while I'm around," Edward whispered, legs giving out again and dumping him on his behind again. Mustang's eyes lost a little of their wariness, giving him such an expectant look that Ed wondered why he didn't try to talk again. It clearly meant something, even if he had no idea what it was.

"What are you going to do now?" Marco asked, sitting next to him. Ed was slumping over further, and his exhaustion was making him miss things he would have otherwise caught. Like Al being unusually quiet or that Mustang's expression was like a cat trying to use its great mind control powers to make the human pet him. Ed, being Ed, was totally clueless to it all.

"I need to find someone who might know more about this," Ed started, and then broke off with a wince. "There is someone I could ask… hopefully I'd survive it."

"Oh?" Marco was curious.

"Yeah- my teacher. She can do alchemy without circles, same as me. She might know things…" Ed shivered in genuine terror. "She might kill me, too."

Al, hearing this, gave a shudder as well.

Marco's eyebrows went up. "But would she help a former dog of the military?"

Ed paused, looking down at Mustang, finally noticing the faintly distressed expression and putting his flesh hand on his hair to soothe him. Mustang was thrilled that Edward had finally figured it out; so thrilled he started to hum again, and let out a soft chuffing trill.

The sound made Edward faintly sick, bringing home how far away Mustang really was. He could touch him… but…

Al, watching in the background, kept silent.

"Sleep on it. We probably have a few hours, at least, and you are utterly exhausted," Marco said, being the voice of reason. The older soldiers nodded as well. "Eat something when you wake up. When you've rested enough you can think this through with a clear head. Right now you might do something you would regret later."

Ed really didn't need to be told twice- not when Mustang was humming softly, safe and there, his brother was nearby and there were people who were willing to protect him. Despite the fact that Gran could potentially be running in any moment to rip his lungs out, the fact that people cared… It was warming. It was something he had not taken the time to appreciate in a while.

Ed lay down, not noticing that he was resting on the bare floor, because a warm body had curled up against him and he knew no more.


"He's asleep?" Havoc muttered, looking at Edward, with Mustang curled up behind him. It was a ridiculously cute scene, even if the two looked like they had gone ten rounds with a meat grinder. He doubted they even realized they were against each other.

"Yeah,' Falman answered, his face perfectly expressionless.

"All right boys, you know what we need to continue," Hawkeye answered, putting out her hand. "We all lost the betting pool. We have to pay up."

"Yeah- but who would have figured on Ed being gay?" Fury sighed, putting a few bills across her palm.

"Alphonse did," she answered, as money was added to the pot and delivered to the little brother- who had been quite happy to bet on his brother's love life.

Everyone was thankful that Edward was unconscious, and Mustang could not understand human words.


Al, needing no sleep, offered to take sentry duty for a few minutes while Havoc went to use the bathroom. It was extremely late, and there was no sign of pursuit or even that something was wrong.

Alphonse hoped that the scarred man had made it out alive. He would hate for him to have died without Al having completed his part of the bargain.

He would have to leave- and the best way to do that would be while Ed was asleep. He cringed at the though of being separated from his brother, even if it was necessary. His brother…

Al sighed, but the thought of playing matchmaker did appeal to him. If he was around, his brother would try to be all protective and focus on nothing but getting Al's body back… and not his own, or the fact that he was alive and there was more to living than just alchemy.

So, there was only one thing for it.

Al decided to write a letter. With any luck, he would not only be able to follow his lead to its conclusion- and Ed would be able to save Mustang.

It made him happy, to think of his brother with a love and a life- as for himself, he had a deal to keep.

He carefully wrote out is reasons… and scooted out when no one was looking. Sometimes, being the unobtrusive little brother was nice.

To be continued.