*EDIT* I changed the end of this chapter and added to it. read it or else some things in the next chapter won't make sense.
*(I added a random little crack-tastic thing at the end of chapter 7 that has nothing to do with the actual chapter. :3 but it has something to do with Nullmetal alchemist)*
(Sorry if this chapter seems rushed. I was hurrying to write it Dx )
(warning: this chapter is a bit OOC)
Me no own FMA!
-chapter 21
Mustang groggily opened his eyes to see a veil of green leaves and branches. He tried to move but his body ached all over. Roy finally managed to sit up and found himself surrounded by cracked branches in a huge oak tree. He cradled his head as it pounded with pain from a headache.
"Where am I?" Roy murmured to no one in particular. He suddenly remembered what had happened. "Fullmetal!" He gasped, frantically looking around. When Roy found no short blonde in sight he began to panic. "Shit! Edward!" He called. Again there was no answer.
Roy frantically climbed down the tree, the ache in his body long forgotten. He looked around while calling for his former subordinate. Ed was nowhere to be seen.
"Edward!, where are you, you little bastard!" Roy called into the trees. No answer. "Shit, where is he?" He murmured worriedly.
Edward wasn't exactly in perfect shape when Mustang last saw him. What was wrong with Ed? Why did he suddenly fall out of the sky? Roy wasn't sure, but it scared him to think what his friend's condition was now after falling from that height.
Mustang started searching the trees nearby for any sign of the short alchemist. He called out Edward's name while trying to see through layers of branches and leaves, looking for any sign of the boy. A feather, a spot of blood, a piece of clothing, anything!
Roy desperately hoped Ed landed in one of the trees like he did, but he was lucky when he fell into that big oak. If Ed didn't land in one, the result could be devastating. The poor kid would fall much faster than Roy would, Ed had heavy automail. The Impact would tear a person apart.
Roy shook his head at that thought, Mustang was going to find that little brat and he would be just fine!
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a certain pine tree branch caught his eye. He quickly ran over to the tree and looked. Several branches along the top of the tree were broken and damaged as if something hit them. a couple of tan feathers were caught on the cracked branches and even a few specks of blood could be seen. Roy's heart sped up as he ran up to another tree. This one had similar damage but there was more blood. Edward must have been falling too fast to be caught by the branches and instead plowed right through them.
Roy didn't want to think about what might have happened to Ed once he landed... Mustang again shook the thought away and continued following the trail of destruction.
Luckily he didn't have to go far. The sound of faint alchemic energy crackled from somewhere ahead. Roy gasped and sprinted towards the noise. He swerved around trees and bushes until he climbed over a steep rise and saw what was at the end of the trail of damaged trees.
Edward's body was laying in a gash in the forest floor at the base of a small tree that had a slight crack in the trunk from the impact. Ed trembled uncontrollably against the tree with wide and terrified golden eyes. His arms were tightly wrapped around his chest as alchemic energy arced around Ed's body, slowly healing his devastating wounds. He was no longer shape-shifted into a bird but bloody ragged feathers were scattered around the area of destruction.
"Fullmetal!" Roy shouted. He practically flew to the boy's side and began looking him over. "Are you okay?! Talk to me!"
Ed didn't respond, his breathing grew even more ragged and fast. He tightened his hold around his chest and slightly curled himself protectively with a quiet whimper.
"Why are you doing that? What's the matter?!" Mustang asked desperately. "What's wrong with your chest? Is there a wound? Let me help!" Roy tried prying Ed's arms away from himself but the terrified boy simply tightened his grip and quickened his breathing.
"Calm down, Ed! What's the matter?! I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong!" Roy shouted, slightly angry at Ed's lack of communication. But he took a deep breath to calm his anger and tried approaching the matter differently.
"Okay, Ed. I need you to calm down and tell me what's wrong." Roy said softly. Edward tried to stop his heavy breathing but was only able to slow it slightly. "Good. You're doing fine. Now can you tell me what's wrong with you?" Mustang murmured.
Edward took a shaky breath but kept his arms protectively wrapped around himself. "I... I can f-feel it..." He whimpered. his flesh hand moved up to where his heart was and tightly grabbed his shirt.
"You can feel what, Ed?" Roy asked.
Edward's trembling increased slightly and he closed his eyes tight. "T-The stone... M-My philosopher's stone." He whispered, his fear heavy in his voice.
Roy's eyes widened. "What about the stone? What's wrong with it?!" He gasped.
Edward opened his eyes and looked up at Mustang, terror and grief clouding the brilliant golden color. "It's weaker... I-It's nearly gone. It's almost completely used up!" Ed whimpered.
Roy stared at Edward in horror, he couldn't move or speak. Dreadful thoughts clouded his mind. 'If the stone runs out, Ed will die! I can't let him get hurt! But how are we going to stop Death when he takes over?! Shit shit SHIT!'
Edward's strength seemed to be returning. His breathing was steadier now and his trembling decreased. Ed slowly sat up and unwrapped his arms from around his chest. But his flesh hand still held onto his shirt over his heart as if he were in pain.
"I can feel how weak it is. It probably only has a few human lives left! It'll kill me if it runs out! I-It's going to disappear if anything else happens. I don't know what to do!" Ed shouted in frustration. He then bowed his head and let his hair cover his eyes. " I don't want to leave Al all alone again... I-I don't want to die..." He whimpered quietly.
Roy's heart broke upon hearing Ed sound so scared and hopeless. He didn't know what do do either. He was new to this whole father thing! So he stuck to what seemed to work and pulled Ed close. Edward leaned into the hug and buried his face in the general's shoulder.
"Roy... I'm scared. I don't want to die!" Ed repeated, his voice shaking with fear and sadness.
Roy stroked Edward's golden hair in a comforting gesture. "You're not going to die, I won't let that happen. I'm not going to watch my son die again so soon after just getting you back after believing you were dead for so long. You mean so much to me. You know I'd do anything or give up anything for you. Even my life. That's what a parent does. I will protect you with everything I've got and I won't fail like I did during the fight with Father. I won't let anything happen to you." Roy said softly.
Edward stopped trembling and pressed himself closer to Mustang. "You promise?" He murmured.
Roy smiled. "I promise." Ed looked up at him and smiled back. "Now I'm gonna see of I can get us home somehow..." He chuckled.
Mustang reached into his uniform jacket pocket with one arm and pulled out a black phone. He quickly dialed in a number and called Hawkeye.
"Lieutenant? Yeah... I need you to pick us up." Roy said into the phone. "I'm near the camping site in the forest east of central. You know the one. I'll signal you once you get there- What? No... Ed's fine for now ... Okay, okay! It was a stupid idea to take him with me but I don't have time to argue right now! we need you to come get us!" Roy shouted angrily before ending the call and putting the device back into his pocket. He looked down at Edward. "Riza heard what happened, apparently the soldiers that shot you quickly reported a homunculus 'attacking' them and the kidnapping of a certain general Flame alchemist to the Führer after we escaped. Yeeeeah, they went ape shit. You know how fast talk spreads through the military, they think I'm dead. Riza knew that wasn't true so she wasn't worried about me, she was just worried about you getting shot so many times. She'll be here soon to pick us up." Roy explained.
"Well that's just great." Ed growled. "I didn't think it was possible but now everything's even worse than before! Now I'm a kidnapper?! And you are a high ranking officer so the military is gonna be LOOKING for me now. Before now I hadn't done anything bad besides beat up a couple guys so there was no reason for the military to go after me... Agh... It's bad enough my friend freaking shot me."
"I've shot you... Many times..." Roy pointed out.
"But you did that to help me, no matter how painful it was. Brosh shot to kill." He groaned and held his head in his hands. "He's gonna freak when he finds out that it was really me he tried to kill."
Roy sighed and stood up. He dusted himself off and looked into the trees. "I think I see Riza's car... Jeez, she probably broke the speed limit to get here this quickly." He down at Ed who was still sitting on the ground. "Can you walk?" Roy asked.
Ed scowled and stood up. "Of course I can! I'm not that weak. My stone should be fine, it isn't as bad as I first thought. I was just so exhausted from having to heal myself so much. It's still dangerously weak though..." He sighed.
"You'll be fine, Fullmetal. I won't let anything happen to you." Roy murmured. He turned and looked into the trees again, spotting the lieutenant's car pull up along a narrow dirt road a little ways away. "Alright then, lets go home." Roy started walking towards the car.
Edward snorted and tried to follow Mustang but as soon as he took a step, pain shot up his leg and he felt dizzy. Ed cursed under his breath and leaned against a tree. His body was still sore from the attack. Constantly having to reconstruct yourself isn't exactly heathy or painless, it has its downsides. It leaves behind a terrible ache especially if the wound was major.
Although Ed is really good at withstanding pain, after getting shot so many times and having to quickly heal it while burning up your energy while you're at it, there is gonna be some side affects.
"Uuuh... Hey Mustang?" Ed called, wincing from the pain. Roy turned around and saw Edward leaning against a tree with a pained expression. "I could actually use a little help..." He said sheepishly.
Roy smiled and walked back over to Edward. "having some trouble, Fullmetal?" He said with a smirk.
Ed glared at him. "How about you try reconstructing yourself over and over while being shot at, it doesn't exactly feel great." He growled.
"We'll I'll try it out and let you know." Roy laughed. "Come on." He draped Edward's arm over his shoulder and began helping the boy walk to Riza's car. Roy smirked, "this would be so much easier if you weren't so much shorter than I am.' He snickered, earning an automail fist to the stomach.
"Shut up!"
(Alrighty I fixed some things and added a bit more to this chapter. Some of you pointed out that Ed mentioning Riza at the end of the original chapter was a bit out of place so I changed it.)