I'm still not exactly sure how this story has now reached 70 000 words, but it has, so thank you so much to everybody who has stuck with me this far!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Chapter thirty
Ed was curious. Uncle Maes had called the four of them to the office for "an emergency meeting". And so they were walking through the halls of military HQ. He was a bit scared that it was bad news and that Daddy was in danger again.
"Daddy? Do you think everything is okay?" Ed looked up at him and tightened his grip on his hand.
Daddy smiled reassuringly back at him and squeezed his hand. "I'm sure it's fine, Ed."
"I hope so."
They reached the office and as soon as the door was opened, Ed was attacked by something big and furry that blocked his view and then began drooling in his face.
Ed screamed.
Then he ran as the creature began howling, surely preparing to eat him. Ed ran to the first room he could find and underneath a table, clamping his hands over his ears and shutting his eyes tightly.
He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and he yelled again as he looked up at …
… a boy of about nine years.
"Who are you?" Ed asked. Kids weren't usually around here, were they?
"I'm Selim Bradley, what are you doing in my father's office?"
"I was attacked by a big, furry monster!"
Selim seemed confused. Then Ed heard laughter just as he realised that he'd been in this room once before. He froze. Sitting behind the desk by the window was none other than Führer Bradley.
He'd run straight inside the office of the country's ruler and yelled at his son.
But for some reason, Führer Bradley was laughing.
"I see that puppy wasn't done scaring people after sending Second Lieutenant Breda running out of that office earlier today."
Ed was confused, but at least he didn't seem to be in trouble. "What do you mean, "puppy", sir?"
"From what I gathered, Master Sergeant Fuery found a puppy out in the rain earlier today. I gave him permission to keep it in the office for the day under the condition that he found it a home after Selim convinced me to."
"Oh."
"Are you by any chance afraid of dogs, Edward?" The Führer spoke kindly, a twinkle in his eye.
"No. But it was right in my face and I thought it was a monster." Ed felt a bit stupid now and stood up slowly.
"Considering your history, that's perfectly understandable."
"Who is this, Father?" Selim asked.
"Oh, of course, where are my manners? Selim, this is Edward Elric-Mustang."
Edward straightened up a little, there was something about having the Führer himself say his new name that gave him a surge of pride.
Selim's eyes became a pair of stars. "You are?! You used to be the Fullmetal Alchemist?!"
"Yes?" Ed was a bit taken aback by his reaction. The stranger looked like he wanted to hug him.
"Oh, cool! Is it true that you can do alchemy even though you're only five?!"
"Yes."
"Wow!"
Führer Bradley chuckled. "Selim is a bit of a fan of yours."
"Oh." Ed honestly didn't know how he was supposed to react to that.
"But Edward, I don't think we should take up so much of your time, not when your father is probably looking for you."
Ed had been so surprised and intimidated by finding himself in the Führer's office, he hadn't thought about that. Daddy must be worried sick about him by now.
"Why don't you help him find him, Selim?"
"Of course!"
The Führer pressed a button on his desk and next second a man in a black suit stepped out from a side door. "Yes, sir?"
"Ah, Jason, please assist Selim and young Edward here in finding Colonel Mustang."
"Yes, sir."
Soon the three of them were out in the corridors and Ed was just following Selim's lead. At least he knew his way around here. Jason followed them without saying anything and Ed found his presence a bit intimidating.
"Father told me what happened to you. I'm sorry," Selim said.
"Thanks."
"Do you remember anything about being the Fullmetal Alchemist?"
"No."
"Oh. So there's really nothing? It's all just gone? You don't even have funny dreams?"
"No."
"Can you still clap your hands to transmute?"
"No. I don't know how I used to do it."
Selim looked disappointed. They walked in silence for a while. "You know, I'm adopted too."
"You are?" Ed hadn't heard about that.
"Yes. And I'm so lucky. Father is a great man. And Mother is so kind. How about you? What's it like being the Flame Alchemist's son?"
"It's great! Daddy is the best Daddy in the world! He's funny and kind and brave and he loves me and Al so much."
"He sounds great, but I'm still sure that my Father is the best one in the world." Selim stopped walking and looked at Ed sternly.
Ed was sure that Selim was wrong. "No! Daddy's the best! He even bought me a Robert!" Ed said stubbornly, his arms crossed.
Roy was worried. He had no idea where Ed had run off to and he had been through every floor of the complex now, but he was just gone. All because Hughes had shoved a puppy in Ed's face.
He had been running back and forth all over, gaining plenty of curious looks, but he didn't care. Roy had to say that he sort of regretted the fact that he had always been berating Fullmetal for always fighting in a fight or flight situation. Flight was inevitably worse when the kid was five and running on adrenaline and post-traumatic stress. It opened up for a whole lot of new hiding places. And Roy hated this kind of panic. As a parent, not knowing where your five-year-old son had run off to while he was scared, was one of the worst things he could imagine. It opened up for so many what ifs and they always got worse and worse with each one. Ed was small, even for a five-year-old and he didn't know how to fight. That made him an incredibly easy target and so Roy's head was filled with thoughts of car accidents, child molesters, kidnappers, people that had it out for Roy, people that had it out for Ed, knife-wielders, sword-wielders and snipers just to mention some. He checked his pocket watch. He'd be meeting up with the others at the office in ten minutes to see if they had found Ed.
"NO! MY DADDY IS THE BEST! HE CAN MAKE THE WORLD'S BEST HOMEMADE ICE CREAM!" Roy suddenly heard a very familiar voice shout from somewhere inside a larger group of soldiers. The soldiers were laughing and smiling and Roy pushed his way through them only to find a very angry Ed glaring at another boy with his arms crossed. The boy seemed equally angry. Roy was filled with a kind of ecstatic confusion.
He strode forwards and put a hand on Ed's shoulder, making him turn towards him, only to have a man put his hand on Roy's shoulder. Ed was immediately hugging Roy's leg as he turned around to look at the other man. He wasn't wearing a uniform, but was instantly recognisable as a bodyguard.
"May I ask who you are?"
"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang and this is my son." Roy was seriously confused as to what was going on right now.
"Is this correct, Mister Edward?"
"Yes!"
The bodyguard removed his hand and Roy picked Ed up and hugged him, earning a hug back and a kiss on his cheek. It was unusually affectionate for Ed in this social setting. Roy was just so glad to find him safe and sound that he decided he didn't care and kissed the top of his head despite all the soldiers that were watching.
"Well, Master Selim, I guess we should return to your father's office," the bodyguard said to the other boy.
Roy froze.
The soldiers around them began sniggering again.
"Ed, what exactly has been going on?"
"I ran into the Führer's office and when he found out he sent Selim and Mister Jason to help me find you, but Selim keeps insisting that his father is better than mine!"
Roy didn't really know what to say. Ed had been arguing with the Führer's son about which father was the greatest in front of a whole group of soldiers, and judging by how many there were, they had been doing so for at least five minutes. What had Ed been saying? Roy could be arrested for treason if Ed had said the wrong things.
It was cleared up pretty quickly, however, as Roy heard whispers of "the Hero of the Inflatable Turtle" and the "Fusilli Alchemist".
"So I told him everything that you're great at and why you're the best Daddy in the world!" Ed said, still looking furious. "But he still thinks his father is better than you! He's stupid!"
"Edward, be careful, that's our ruler's son," Roy whispered so quietly that only Ed could hear him. Ed's eyes widened. He turned his head quickly in the direction of Selim Bradley and said "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult your father."
A few of the soldiers burst out laughing. Roy felt painfully aware of all the eyes that were on him.
Selim nodded and looked at Roy. "And I did not mean to insult you, Colonel Mustang."
"No offence taken. Thank you for helping Edward."
Selim nodded and walked off with his bodyguard.
The crowd dispersed now that the fun was over, although quite a few of the soldiers were still laughing. Roy had a nasty feeling that his reputation as a cold-hearted soldier may have died with Robert.
Roy carried Ed back to the office, Ed was still hugging him tightly, resting his head against Roy's right shoulder. "But I still think that you are the greatest Daddy in the world."
Roy kissed his forehead. "Thank you, Ed, but you really shouldn't shout reasons that you think I'm greater than the Führer in the middle of HQ. It could be seen as treason."
"Oh, sorry, Daddy, I didn't think of it like that."
Roy just kissed his forehead again and then opened the office door, finding the rest of the team, save Breda, already waiting there. Once they saw Ed, you could feel the whole room just letting out its breath while Alphonse ran over with a relieved shout. "Brother! You're safe!"
"Where did you find him?" Maes asked, smiling.
"On the first floor." Roy would rather not repeat the whole story right now in order to save himself and Ed from further embarrassment.
"Oh, good."
Roy sat down in a chair, still trying furiously to keep his cheeks from reddening. "Now, Hughes, about this emergency meeting…"
In answer, Maes strode forwards and placed the puppy that had caused all these problems in the first place onto Ed's lap. Ed let go of Roy and began petting it, laughing as it licked his face. "This little fellow needs a home, and I thought how perfect it was for him to go and live with the four of you! Think about how it would really complete your family!"
Roy sighed. He had been thinking about serial killers or something like that, but it was just Maes who had wanted them to adopt a dog? And had sent Ed off running in panic because of the way he had presented it. Great.
Alphonse was petting the puppy too now and it was lying on its back in Ed's lap, having its belly scratched.
"Can we keep it, Dad?" Alphonse asked.
Maes smiled.
Ed looked up at Roy hopefully too. "Please, Daddy?"
Roy groaned. He really didn't want to say no to them, and he knew how Alphonse loved pets. Who knew, maybe it would also help Ed with his anxiety too. And Roy really liked dogs … And with Hawkeye there, there was no way that the dog wouldn't learn to behave itself.
Roy sighed, knowing that he had lost.
Wrath was pleased with what the day had revealed. Sending Pride to get some information out of the boy had been a good idea. Unfortunately, it seemed that the child really had lost whatever information he had gained from the Portal.
He looked over at Lust. "It would seem that even though Edward Elric-Mustang may not be reliable as a sacrifice, he is still useful to us. There is no question that Roy Mustang would do anything to save his son, so he can easily be pushed into opening the Portal."
"You don't say. It sounds like you just saved your neck, Wrath. But maybe this little mistake was all for the better then. It seems that the boy is key for making three of our sacrifices behave."
Quick question, people: should Black Hayate still be named that or should he be given another name?
