Red Roses2:
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. It belongs to Hiromu Arakawa.
!#$%^&*()_+~
Knock, knock, knock. Hoenheim stood up quickly, sticking his hands into his pockets, his face sullen. He opened the front door, and his eyes widened. The rain clouds rolled over the city in the distance, the small rumbles of thunder barely audible. Before the door stood an Ishbalan man he had never met and Ling, Ed curled up in the Ishbalan's arms like an infant. Ed's eyes were closed, his hair damp and matted to his forehead. His head leaned on the Ishbalan's chest, reminding Hoenheim so much of the days when he used to hold Ed like that, back when Ed didn't resent him.
The Ishbalan's left sunglass lens was missing, and the right one was cracked. Strands of his white hair had slipped out of its ponytail and hung around his ears. His Amestrain-styled clothes sported dust and blood and a bullet hole. Ling stood next to him, looking like a munchkin compared to the Ishbalan. His hair no longer confined to a ponytail, it hung shaggily around his ears and face, successfully covering the right side of his face entirely. The coat with the flames he had worn when he stepped onto the train was in tatters, blood splatters down the left front. His left arm hung in a sling, his wrist taut in a splint.
Ed's clothes were littered with holes and rips, but not a single bloodstain. As Hoenheim looked closer, he could've sworn the ends of Ed's strands of hair looked singed.
"Can we come in?" Ling asked, eyebrows furrowed tiredly and a frown firmly set on his face.
Hoenheim stepped out of the way and let them in, the Ishbalan almost hitting his head on the doorway arch. Ling made a bee-line for the love seat and plopped himself upon it, burying his face into the cushions. Hoenheim closed the door, and the Ishbalan followed Ling into the living room.
Mei, Ran Fan, and Fu quickly surrounded Ling. Ran Fan touched his forehead.
"Ling?" she asked, concerned. "How'd it go?"
Ling mumbled something into the cushion.
The Ishbalan proceeded to lay Ed on the couch, but the unconscious man gripped his shirt. The Ishbalan exhaled through his nose, then carefully sat on the couch, gently laying Ed in his lap. Hoenheim hovered over the back of the couch.
"You are . . . ?" he asked.
"General Miles," the Ishbalan grunted.
Al, Heinrich, Edward, and Wendy wandered into the living room. Al looked at Ling, then at Ed, and finally at General Miles.
"What happened?" Al asked hesitantly.
General Miles looked over his shoulder at Al, then his eyes landed on Heinrich, and confusion set in.
". . . . Which of you is Alphonse Elric?"
Heinrich pointed at Al. General Miles raised an eyebrow at Al, and Al shrugged his shoulders.
The thunder clapped, sounding like an elephant stomping on a drum.
Ed's eyes snapped open, and a scream ripped out of his throat.
"I'M NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING!"
Miles gripped his shoulders. "This isn't Xing, Fullmetal."
Ed turned to look at him, as though not remembering who he was. Slowly, recognition dawned on him. He looked around the room, taking in his surroundings, his body rigid and his eyes fearful.
Miles pushed Ed's legs off of him, letting Ed sit on the sofa on his own. Ed breathed in and out at an abnormal rate, not quite hyperventilating. He covered his eyes with his flesh hand. His shoulders began to shake.
Miles took off his sunglasses and pocketed them. Ling lifted his face out of the cushion and rolled himself onto his back. He stared at the ceiling with a dead expression.
"That guy's dead." Ling stated.
Miles shook his head. "A war is not in Amestris's best interests right now. Of course, that's not my decision. It's up to Fuhrer Armstrong."
Ling tightened his fist.
"Screw your military. I'll do it myself."
Miles snorted. "You'd just get yourself killed."
Ling glared at him. All Ed did was shake his head, the only sign he was even paying attention.
"Ed?" Heinrich said softly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. Miles grabbed his wrist.
"That's not a good idea." Miles said. Heinrich gulped; those red eyes were freaking him out. Miles's gaze rested on Ed. "Will you tell them?"
Ed shook his head again. Miles sighed.
"All right. Everyone, sit down."
Even Ran Fan did what he said.
Miles propped his elbows on his thighs, linked his fingers together, and rested his chin on them.
"The mission started out simple enough. We managed to make it to the palace in one piece – apparently Ling has pissed off every father in the whole damn country – and the emperor and his children let us investigate. The emperor didn't want any misunderstandings about his late wife's death. Then, the maid found the emperor's dead body in his chambers."
Mei covered her mouth. Ran Fan's eyes widened, and Fu's hands balled into fists.
"It then turned into two murder investigations, and the son the emperor had chosen to lead in his place wasn't as lenient with us. He told us to go back to our own country and leave them for their own problems. That wasn't an option, so we just implemented sneakier approaches. . . ."
Ed pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them, resting his forehead on his knees. Miles pretended he didn't notice. Ling just kept staring at the ceiling as though it held the universe's secrets etched in it.
"Ed was caught looking through genealogy books in the royal library at about one in the morning. That was when any and all contact with him ceased. After two hours, Ling and I went in to get him. It took an hour to get past the guards, two more hours to fight our way through the halls, another two to figure out he wasn't anywhere you could see from outside the building, thirty minutes to get down to the dungeon, and another thirty to get to the room they were keeping him. At first, we thought the screaming was coming from the guards we had beat up farther up the hall. . . ."
"But the closer we got, the louder it was," Ling added. Everyone, minus Ed, looked at him. "We could barely make anything intelligible out, but a few feet from the door, we heard Ed yell 'I'm not telling you anything'. . . . They wanted to know something or other about the Fuhrer, I don't know. . . . Miles blasted the lock off the door with his gun and it swung open and . . . ." Ling closed his eyes and sat up. He pressed his palm to his forehead. "They were electrocuting him."
Al gasped. Hoenheim's eyes widened. Heinrich gritted his teeth.
Miles stared at a patch of carpet, remembering what had happened after that. Before he knew it, the gun ran out of bullets, and every servant of the new emperor had a bullet embedding in the flesh of his brain. The room looked too much like the execution rooms that they used in the Ishbal war. Ed breathed heavily, painfully, and let out a cry, tears running down his cheeks. Ling hurried over to him and unshackled him, swinging his sword down to cut the chains. Ling touched Ed's shoulder, and they both yelled. Ling stumbled back, staring at his hand. Ed curled up into a tiny ball, shying away from Ling. Miles walked towards him and pulled him into his arms, ignoring the painful shudders. "We need to get out. Now." Ling nodded, and they ran, Ling dealing with any obstacles. They ran to the nearest train station, hitched a ride, and never stopped or looked back, their sole priority now to get back to Amestris.
"Fullmetal will need to visit a hospital soon, but for now, let him rest here. Don't let him come in to work, or anything else for that matter. I'll return when it's okay to transfer him to a hospital." Miles stood up. "I need to give the Fuhrer a report. I'll call later to see how he's doing." Miles went to the front door and left.
Silence descended upon the house occupants. Heinrich gently touched Ed's shoulder, and the alchemist flinched. The engineer pulled his hand away and frowned. He sat next to Ed instead.
Al knew it was cruel of him to think so, but he had a sick satisfaction in Heinrich's inability to touch his brother.
~!#$%^&*()_+
Lightening flashed and thunder clapped, one right out of the other. Ed jumped, fear sparking in his eyes. He covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn't hurting him, it wasn't hurting him, just because it sounded like the machine didn't mean it was going to hurt him, he knew that, he really did. Lightening flashed, and thunder rumbled. Ed's body trembled. He squinted at the living room – he hadn't moved since he got there. Ling watched him, still draped over the love seat.
"Need anything?" Ling asked. "I can't sleep either."
Ed shook his head as his gaze landed on the pile of blankets on the floor next to the couch. He looked at it curiously.
"Heinrich agreed to stay down here with you. He fell asleep, though." Ling supplied, swinging his legs over the edge of the loveseat.
Ed smiled weakly.
"Sorry, Ling."
"For what?"
Ed turned his gaze onto the Xingese man. "I figured out a possible scenario for your mother's death. And the emperor's."
Ling raised an eyebrow. The lightening and thunder combo occurred again, and fear spasmed across Ed's face. Ling crossed the room and sat next to Ed. Without hesitation, he gripped Ed's hand and squeezed it. Ed jerked his head towards him. Ling stared at him, hard.
"What was it?" Ling said, voice firm.
Ed swallowed hard. "The new emperor – he was the only child from his father's first marriage. He'd benefit from your mother's death since, as long as she was alive, he had you and Ran Fan as competition for the crown. Also, the other children's reactions to their mothers' death proved to be deciding factors in who the emperor chose to be his successor."
Ling grunted. "The new one." Ed nodded.
"He'd benefit from his father's death because the emperor hadn't written it in ink yet. He might've changed his mind at the last minute, and knowing how flighty that guy seemed . . . ."
Ling gripped his knee. "He killed him before any changes were made, and he became emperor right away."
Ed nodded again.
Lightening flashed and thunder clapped. Ed sucked in air through gritted teeth and whimpered. Ling sighed, turned, and pulled Ed into a one-armed hug. He pulled Ed closer and closer until his chin was resting on Ling's shoulder.
"It's going to be okay, Ed," Ling said. "I'm not going to let anything like that happen to you ever again."
Ed's body convulsed and spasmed, his screams forced out in jerky spurts. Blood trickled down his chin as he bit his tongue. The shackles dug into Ed's wrists, rubbing the skin away and drawing blood. Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump until Miles's gun took out the ones manning the electrocution mechanism. The flow of electricity died, and several more shots echoed through the small room. Blood poured from the torturers' bodies, creating puddles that grew exponentially. Ling only saw it from the corner of his eye as he watched Ed's body slowly cease convulsing, tears breaking past any dams that held them back. The blond let loose a pitiful cry, sounding like a wounded animal. Ling supposed that he was.
Ed flinched as the thunder clapped once more. Ling pressed his cheek to Ed's neck, hoping it would calm him.
The stray thought of waking Heinrich up occurred to Ling, but he thought against it. He wasn't sure why. Because Ed didn't want him to see him like this? How would Ling know what Ed would and wouldn't want?
Somehow, Ling knew his reasons were a little selfish. But he guessed that, though he'd try, Heinrich just wouldn't understand what Ed was going through, while Ling knew. Ling saw. Ling watched him pull away from him when he touched him the first time. No, Heinrich wasn't going to understand that.
That's what he kept telling himself.
~!#$%^&*()_+
Mustang leaned against the Fuhrer's door, trying to hear what General Miles was saying. He could barely make anything out. Since when did either superior talk so quietly!?
His ears perked up with he finally heard something substantial.
"Due to this, we can't work with Xing until a different emperor is seated." General Miles said.
"I agree. And Fullmetal?" Fuhrer Armstrong asked.
"He should have vacation time to recover from his trauma."
"What's his current state?"
"According to Ling Yao, he relives what happened every time he hears thunder. He shies from contact and refuses to lie on his back. I will be checking on him later today."
Mustang's eyes widened. Trauma? Shies from contact?
The sounds of General Miles retreating from the room reached Mustang's ears. Mustang jumped back and pretended he was just walking past the office. Miles opened the office door, spotted Mustang's retreating back, and narrowed his eyes.
"Colonel!"
Mustang froze, turned around, and saluted him.
"General."
He'd never get used to those red eyes glaring at him.
"Don't tell anyone about what you just heard. This isn't some bit of gossip from your dates you can spread all over the base." Miles ordered.
"Yes, sir. I won't, sir." What kind of person did Miles think he was?
Miles walked past him, probably on his way to the Elric residence.
. . . Of course, he would have to tell Havoc. The guy was Ed's best co-worker friend.