Author's Note: Here's the next chapter, a little late but longer than the others! Now, for those who were wondering what the hell is Mustang doing on Earth, here is the explanation! Yay!

Disclaimers: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Indiana Jones.

Enjoy!


Chapter Twelve -

Tell Me

Edward glared at the back of the seat. His golden eyes a blaze of hate. Not that it was the chair's fault.

The young man just hated the situation he found himself in. He had to admit that Mustang was right, that he would prefer having his brother here with him instead of that man. However, it was not admitting it that put him in such a state. It was having to admit it out loud that was the problem. Why? How else would he get a word out of the uncharacteristically quiet Colonel? He had not said a word since their argument.

It kind of freaked Edward out to be honest. A quiet Mustang? That would be one for the history books.

Therefore, while internally debating whether or not to talk to the man, Edward did what came naturally in a situation such as this. He glared at whatever or whoever was closest, warding off any unwanted distractions. It usually worked.

"Edward?"

Key word: usually.

The young man slowly turned towards whoever had called him, his glare remaining the same as he wondered who was brave or stupid enough to approach him.

"Are you going to keep sulking until we reach Iskenderun?" wondered Indiana as he took a seat next to him. "You're face may get stuck that way."

"Sure it will... And you like being called Junior," replied Edward, returning to his previous pass time of glaring at the back of the seat.

"What's wrong? Is it because of what happened with Mustang?"

"Of course it's because of that bastard...," growled Edward, crossing his arms. "He thinks he always has to watch out for me, to help me! I don't need his help! And I never will!"

"Right... This did seem a tad more complicated than just you two working together," replied Indiana, slouching in his seat.

"Who told you that? That bastard did, didn't he?" snapped Edward before stopping and thinking about what Indiana had just said. "With...? I work under him... Why would he lie like that? He never misses a chance to gloat about his position... What's he up to?"

"Kid, I don't speak German so stop talking to yourself for a moment," cut in Indiana. "Do you really work with him or not? Because, honestly, I'm ready to trust you before I trust him."

Edward blinked in surprise, staring wide eyed at Indiana. Somebody trusted him over Mustang?

What was the world coming to?

After a moment, Edward sighed and shook his head.

"You should trust Mustang," he finally uttered, catching Indiana and himself off guard. "He may not look like it at times but... I hate to say this out loud... He's one of the most loyal people I know." Edward paused for a moment, recapping on the events that had gotten him so riled up. "He'll put others before himself, even if it means he's in danger..."

"No wonder you two argue so much," stated Indiana with a laugh. "You two are so much alike!"

Edward opened his mouth to protest but shut it after a while, no words coming to mind. It was partly true, even though he really hated to admit it. Why did he have to explain all of this in English? It still was not that easy!

"You really think that?"

Edward and Indiana turned around, spotting Mustang standing a few feet away.

"Me? Like Edward?"

There was a hint of mockery in his voice, renewing the young man's anger. However, Edward stopped himself, slightly glad that Mustang was talking to them.

"I'll leave you two alone for some bonding time. Besides, I won't understand a word you'll say," explained Indiana as he got up, leaving the two men alone, facing each other in an awkward silence.

"What do you want, Mustang?" wondered Edward, surprisingly without malice.

"I thought you wanted to know what happened," he began, taking a seat across from the stunned young man.

"Why are you telling me this now? What the hell changed?"

"I realized that I couldn't keep this from you. I hate to admit it but you were right... I can't keep something concerning your brother from you."

Edward swallowed hard, his heart beat speeding up as millions of questions passed through his mind, each one concerning his younger brother and his well being.

"Is he-"

"Alphonse is perfectly safe, Edward," cut in Mustang massaging his head. "As I said, he's with my subordinates..."

"Alright but you still have to tell me what happened."

Mustang nodded, taking a deep breath. He had gone over the events several times in his head before coming to find the young man. However, he was now wondering if it was a good idea to tell him the entire truth.

"Spill it, Colonel," snapped Edward, growing impatient with the man. "Just tell me what happened!"

Roy sighed in irritation, massaging his head once again.

The night Edward disappeared...

Roy Mustang leaned back in his chair stretching his stiff muscles. It had been a few hours since Edward and his brother had left but there was still a mountain of paperwork on his desk.

"I'm never going to finish this tonight..."

"What was that, Colonel?" Havoc poked his head into the man's office, a smile playing at his lips.

"Absolutely nothing, Havoc," replied Mustang quickly, snatching the nearest report from the piles.

"Whatever you say, Boss."

Havoc returned to the main room where the others had begun packing up their effects for the night. The blond man met Breda's gaze and they shared a knowing smile, glad it was not them staying late that night.

Fuery, who stood a few feet away, watched the silent exchange, not knowing whether to join in on the happiness or at least wait until they were out of the building, away from the stranded Colonel. The latter sounded safer.

Once the three men were ready, Havoc one again poked his head into the Colonel's office, wanting to bid his friend and commanding officer farewell.

"Hey Boss, have-"

The Colonel glanced up from his paperwork, waiting for the man to finish whatever his was saying.

However, Mustang realized Havoc's gaze was no longer on him but trained slightly higher. Within moments, Havoc dropped his things, pulling out his gun.

Without hesitation, Mustang dropped to the side as Havoc shot, the glass from the large windows shattering, raining down onto the Colonel.

"That hurt...," murmured a new childlike voice.

Mustang's attention snapped to the side as he watched the bullet holes in the chest of a large man close with a few red sparks.

"I would eat you for that but Lust said I couldn't..." The large man pouted in annoyance as he stared at the officers in the room.

"Let go of me, Gluttony!"

How did I not notice him before? Wondered the Colonel slowly and cautiously standing, pulling on his ignition cloth gloves at the same time.

As one of Gluttony's arms was wrapped around the metal wiring of the window, the other held a large suit of armour.

"Alphonse!" yelled the Colonel, catching the young man's attention.

"Colonel! You have to-"

His sentence ended in a loud yell as Gluttony tossed him into the room, more specifically, onto the unsuspecting Colonel. The two fell to the ground as more gunshots resounded in the room.

After a moment, Mustang slowly felt the suit of armour's weight lift off of him. He groaned in pain as he tried to sit up, pieces of broken glass digging into his back. He tried once again but, this time, cold metal hands gripped him, pulling him up without much difficulty. Once he was moved away, he massaged his head, glancing around the room before his gaze landed on Alphonse.

"Colonel! Are you alright?" Even without any facial expression, Mustang could tell the young Elric was riddled with worry and guilt.

"I'm fine, Alphonse," he finally replied even if inside he was itching to say he'll survive instead. "Now what happened? Where's Fullmetal?" Mustang wondered quietly why it had taken so long for him to realize that Alphonse's loud mouth older brother was nowhere to be seen.

"The homunculi probably have him," blurted Alphonse nervously, shocking the officers. "Please, we have to go find him!"

"Of course," agreed Mustang, standing quickly, ignoring the sharp jolts of pain from his back. "Lead us to where you last saw him."

Alphonse nodded quickly before heading out the door, Mustang close behind.

"Colonel!"

"What?" snapped the man, whirling around to face his subordinates.

"You're bleeding, sir. You can't go out like that!" explained Fuery nervously.

"Watch me." Mustang reached for his dark trench coat, pulling it on quickly.

As he did, pain returned to his back, numerous sharp jabs and he was sure there were still some pieces of glass stuck.

However, the safety of his subordinates always took priority in his mind, especially the danger-prone Fullmetal. Therefore, the pain was quickly pushed to the back of his mind as Mustang concentrated solely on the task at hand.

"Let's go," he ordered, making his way out of his office and into the nearly deserted corridor.

Within moments, Mustang heard several footsteps behind him and he smirked knowingly. He knew he had chosen properly when he had asked these soldiers to follow him: they were as loyal to him as they were amongst themselves. They all looked out for each other.

"Colonel? Have you finished your paperwork?"

At any other time, Havoc, Breda and Fuery would have snickered at the face the Colonel usually pulled upon hearing that question. However, tonight was different and Hawkeye sensed it.

"What's going on, sir?" she asked, turning about and falling into step with her colleagues.

"It's Fullmetal, Lieutenant."

That was all Hawkeye needed to hear to get off the Colonel's case about the paperwork, her mind set solely on the task at hand: find and, if necessary, rescue Fullmetal.


"This is where we got separated, sir," explained Alphonse as the group stood at the entrance of an alley. "I was taken further inside before Gluttony backtracked and headed towards HQ..."

"Edward probably went in there," remarked Mustang, studying the dark alley with difficulty.

After a moment, he motioned for the group to follow as he led the way into the narrow alley.

The small group walked for a while, weapons out and ready as they continuously studied the side alleys they came across for any signs of movement.

If it had been any other type of enemy, Mustang would have had the group split up to cover more ground. However, knowing that they were up against homunculi, creatures whose powers were still a mystery to them, Mustang was not willing to take the risk of letting his subordinates fight them alone.

The homunculi managed to get Fullmetal, for goodness sake! And that young man would not have gone down without putting up a very intense fight.

Therefore, when a laugh echoed through the dark alley, all of them heard it and closed in on each other, forming a tight impenetrable circle. Each subordinate had his or her gun at the ready as Mustang's fingers were poised to snap and Alphonse was in his fighting stance.

"And to think, we were going to go get you another day, Alphonse Elric, but you came all on your own!"

"Envy!" growled the young man, scanning the area. "Where is my Brother?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" laughed Envy, the sound bouncing off the alley walls once again.

Suddenly, the air shifted and a large thud sounded behind each of them, in the middle of the circle.

"Surprise!"

Each person was knocked forward, colliding with either the brick wall, trash or the cold, hard floor.

Mustang groaned as he struggled to push himself up. The ache in his back had returned, stronger than before. He glanced around, spotting his subordinates pushing themselves up as well.

Finally, he spotted Alphonse who was going one on one with the homunculus, Envy.

Without hesitation, Mustang snapped, a spark forming from the ignition cloth gloves before it erupted into a large flame, heading straight for the homunculus. Envy noticed the light but, even when avoiding the frontal blast, the flames encircled him.

His pained yells now echoed through the alley but it only enticed Mustang to snap one again, adding to the flames.

Once they died down, Mustang cautiously approached the curled up homunculus as blood red sparks cackled around it, healing the severe burns. The Colonel stopped next to Alphonse, both watching the homunculus.

"Where is Brother?" asked Alphonse, on high alert. "What did you do with him?"

Envy chuckled softly. "Your Brother? Pipsqueak? Let's just say he's temporarily out of our hair."

"What did you do?" yelled Alphonse, losing his calm and gentle attitude.

Envy merely smirked as he glanced up at the suit of armour. Mustang noticed that the homunculus' wounds had fully healed and his body tensed, ready to jump into action. From the corner of his eye, he could see his subordinates, Hawkeye with her gun poised towards the homunculus. Breda and Havoc, meanwhile, stood further back, near the wall where Fuery lay slumped against, unconscious.

"You so desperately want to know, young Elric?" wondered Envy, standing slowly. "Well, why don't I SHOW YOU?"

The homunculus charged towards the suit of armour but Mustang had already anticipated something and he snapped once again. Envy went up in flames and faltered, falling to the ground.

As his face regenerated, he turned towards Mustang, glaring dangerously in the man's direction.

"Once I finish with Elric here, I'll make sure to personally take care of you, Colonel," spat the homunculus, standing once again. "Now for you, Elric."

Envy dashed towards him once again, pushing against the armour. Alphonse slid several feet before he found his footing and pushed back.

Meanwhile, Mustang ran towards them, his fingers poised to snap once again. However, Envy anticipated this and, after pushing off Alphonse, stretched one of his arms back, transforming it into a large snake, its fangs poised to bite the oncoming Colonel.

Mustang skidded, trying to stop until he heard a gunshot resound in the area and Envy yelled out once again in pain. The Colonel glanced back and noticed the barrel of Hawkeye's gun was letting out a thin line of smoke.

Envy growled in anger, returning his attention to Alphonse.

"Might as well finish with you before taking care of them," he growled, jumping up before dashing towards the suit of armour once again.

Alphonse backed up a step, falling into his fighter stance. Mustang tensed once again, his gaze drifting behind the young man.

His eyes widened and time seemed to slow down.

A large transmutation circle was carved into the ground.

All it would take was one last push from Envy to send Alphonse right into the middle of that circle.

"Alphonse!" Mustang sprinted towards the young man and, at the last possible moment, pushed him out of the way.

Envy collided with Mustang and the man was sent careening backwards. He fell to the floor, rolling painfully until he came to a stop at the center of the transmutation circle.

He pushed himself onto his forearms, sharp jabs returning with avengence at his back. While looking up, he spotted Envy whose face was twisted in anger.

"DAMN YOU, COLONEL!" he hollered at the circle slowly began to activate. "It won't work after! It was Elric who was supposed to be sent beyond the gate!"

Mustang's eyes widened at that comment.

Beyond... Beyond the gate...

"Curse you, Mustang!" Without another word, he dashed off into the darkness, leaving the group alone.

Mustang tried to push himself up but the pain in his back intensified and he bit back a groan, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Colonel!"

"Stay back!" he groaned, squinting against the intensifying light. "Just stay back!"

"Colonel Mustang!"

"I'll keep an eye on him, Alphonse. You can count on that," cut in Mustang before the young man began a series of apologies.

"Please, both of you be careful," whispered Alphonse, kneeling next to the circle. "And both of you come back!"

"Alphonse, I promise to bring him back alive, no matter what." He paused for a moment, turning towards the stunned Hawkeye who stood a few feet away. "Lieutenant, look after Alphonse."

"Yes, sir," she replied in a shaky voice.

"Colonel! You-"

Alphonse was cut off when the light erupted, engulfing the entire alley in its brightness.

That was the last time Mustang saw Alphonse and his subordinates.


But of course, Edward did not get the entire version of the events: Mustang made perfectly sure of that. The Colonel's injuries were left out as well as the majority of the conversation he had with Alphonse before the transmutation took place.

In addition, Mustang purposely omitted the last promise he made. He knew Edward and he knew that the young man was mad enough at him for helping so much. And to tell him that he was supposed to bring him back as well? No way. Also, deep down, Mustang knew that Edward would realize the second meaning in that last promise: he swore make sure Edward made it back safely.

And Mustang in that promise?

Not even he knew the answer to that...

"So... You made sure Al did not end up here...," breathed Edward, slowly lifting his gaze to meet Mustang's dark one. "Colonel..."

"I did what's right, Edward."

The young man stared at Mustang, taking a few deep breaths.

"..."

"Did you say something, Edward?"

Edward frowned, turning away. Mustang was sure the young man had said something so he waited a moment.

"Thank you..."

Mustang's eyes widened his shock. Edward was thanking him? However, after a moment, a small smile spread across his lips.

For his brother, he would do anything...

"You're welcome, Edward."

Edward looked up at the man and spotted the genuine smile before it slowly faded away, hidden under the usual smirk. The young man smirked back before standing, stretching his stiff muscles.

"Now let's find this Grail so we can find a way home," suggested Edward, Mustang nodding in agreement.

The two men walked away and, further down the side of the ship, Indiana also stood, keeping an eye on the retreating backs of his two companions.

"Well, that settles that," he breathed to himself, smiling. "Whatever That was."


Author's Note: So? What did you think? Surprisingly, I really enjoyed writting more about Mustang! It was fun actually! People don't give him enough credit!

What did you think?

Please tell me!

It could really help for the rest!