Disclaimer: I don't own Full Metal Alchemist or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a little fun.

Author's Note: The idea of this story was born after I'd seen episode 25 of Full Metal Alchemist. I just couldn't believe Hughes was dead! I thought it was cruel, he didn't deserve that. So, to let him play his role in the whole story a little longer, I came up with this idea. I hope everyone likes it, but please tell me if you don't or if you feel anything can be better.

Warnings: A lot of spoilers from episode 25... so if you're new in the series and you haven't seen that episode yet, I strongly advise you not to read it yet. It's also Alternate Universe (meaning it's written in a different universe than the original series... you'll see why), and for the rest I wouldn't know yet. Oo;;

Second Life – Chapter One

The halls and rooms were all covered in darkness, while silence filled the empty spaces. A ghostly figure, shimmering a little, walked quietly through the house, pausing every so often to gaze at the familiar sights. This had been his dream for a long time and he had worked hard for it. But it didn't belong to him anymore.

Knowing he would break certain rules – but that was what rules were for after all – he opened the door to what had been once his bedroom. In the darkened room, still looking cozy with all the furniture and small artifacts, was a woman with short, dark blond hair, sleeping restlessly on the bed. He smiled, drawing slowly near the woman until he stood right beside her. Stains of tears glistened in the soft moonlight and he tenderly let one finger stroke her cheek. A faint smile formed on her lips and she sighed, calming down.

With a smile, he walked away and gently closed the door again. "Take care of yourself, Gracia…"

He moved further until he reached the room of his daughter. Although there was no light shining from under the door, someone was clearly awake, for he could hear his daughter's muffled crying. He hesitated, but trusted the fact that no one could see him and entered the room.

Alicia, her blond hair sticking to all sides, lay on her bed, her face buried in the pillow, clutching at the same time at the huge teddy bear he had bought for her fourth birthday. His heart wrenched with pain to see his daughter like that. He loved her more than anything and the knowledge that his presence would offer no solace or whatsoever brought him on the verge of tears. Still, he stroked the girl's hair once, then turned around to walk away.

"Papa?" Alicia's voice made him freeze in his tracks. "Papa?" The young girl's voice had turned a trifle unsure. He finally turned back to his daughter, his golden eyes wide with surprise. Alicia gave him an almost similar look before climbing off her bed and running to him. "Papa!"

"Alicia… How…?"

His daughter clutched to his legs, as she used to do when he came home from work. Without thinking about it, he placed a hand on her head. "Papa, what are you doing here? Mama says you're far, far away and that you won't come back anymore. Then why are you here?"

Former Lieutenant Colonel Mars Hughes, a man with an excellent memory and huge knowledge, remained silent, not knowing what to say. How could he explain to a child of four that what was happening at the moment was impossible? How could he answer that question, when he didn't know the answer himself?

The bedroom of Roy Mustang was a serious mess. Clothes and subjects were thrown carelessly on the floor. A few cans with paint stood in the middle of the room, still closed. Roy Mustang himself lay on his bed, his head buried in his arms. His shoulders moved irregularly up and down, though he made no sound.

"This looks familiar," a startlingly well-known voice suddenly said. Roy jerked his head up and though his vision was still blurred from the tears, he could clearly see his old friend standing in the middle of the room.

"Mars?" Somehow his mind refused to accept that his deceased friend stood now before him, all healthy and alive. No, wait. Something seemed to be different from the Mars Hughes he remembered, although he couldn't quite figure out what it exactly was.

Hughes walked towards him, a familiar smile flickering on his lips. His feet made no sound and with an eerie silence, he settled himself next to his friend. "Are those tears, Roy?" he asked faintly amused. "Do you really care so much about me?"

Roy didn't know what to say. He finally turned his head away and laughed, though it sounded bitter and devoid of any joy. "So this must be my punishment," he mused half-loudly, "for letting my best friend get killed. The loss alone wasn't enough. Commodore Hughes has come back to show I've turned insane. Well, perhaps even better."

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" Roy echoed, laughing again, pushing himself from the bed. "He wants to know what I'm talking about. I can't believe I'm even considering this is really happening." He produced another forced laugh, then sank through his knees, his hands covering his face.

"Roy…" Shocked by the unusual behaviour of his friend, the spectre of Hughes rose from the bed and kneeled down near the crying alchemist, putting an arm around Mustang's shoulders.

Mustang tried to shake off the arm. "Leave me alone, you've done your work. I'm officially insane now. Stop hunting me and let me grief about your death in peace."

Hughes said nothing. Instead, he let his golden eyes travel through the room. It was indeed much alike that one time, more than seven years ago, when he brought an apple pie from Gracia to Roy. Right after the Ishvar war, Roy had sunk into a depression and in despair he had started on the most forbidden taboo, human transmutation. Only his fear for death had stopped him that time. But Hughes feared there was very little left to prevent him from performing the forbidden alchemy this time. Especially now he was convinced he had lost his sanity…

"You… were about to perform human transmutation, weren't you?" He glanced aside at his friend, who was trying to gain control over his emotions. "To resurrect me? Or doesn't it matter, as long as you loose your life? What happened to your wish to become Furher? Answer me, Roy!" The Flame Alchemist chose to remain silent, which aggravated Hughes more than just a bit.

"Why did you, the one who said he'd always support me, leave me behind?" came suddenly emotionless from beside him. Hughes leveled his head towards Mustang, for a moment completely at loss for words. "Why didn't you tell me about the Elric brothers? Why did you keep information behind for me? Why?"

"Because," Hughes answered slowly, thinking over his answer thoroughly, "I didn't want to bring you in any danger. Roy, I don't know what's happening at the moment and I don't understand how it's possible that you can see me. But I know one thing. The military is in danger. And I think I've been sent back to help you out."

"Mama, I've seen papa last night. He stood in my room and he hugged me. Mama, you said papa was at a far away place, but I've really seen papa yesterday. Does that mean he has come back from that far away place? … Mama?"

Shocked and unsure how to deal with this situation, Gracia stared at her only daughter. Her face had turned pale, almost white, from the moment Alicia had mentioned her husband, Mars Hughes.

She produced a wan smile. "That's not possible, Alicia. You probably have dreamt it. Now, eat your breakfast."

"But it's true, mama! I really saw papa yesterday! I really did!"

Gracia stroked her daughter over her hair in a comforting way. "Hush now, Alicia. You're just still upset of all that has happened. But mama's here. Don't worry."

"Mama!"

"I don't want to hear anything about this anymore," she said suddenly very strict, turning away from Alicia. "Papa is not here, and there is no way he could have been in your room. Now eat your breakfast and go outside to play with the other children." Her voice wavered under the unbearable grief she carried with her.

"Mama…" Alicia slipped from her chair and walked to her mother, firmly wrapping her chubby arms around her mother's waist. "Don't cry, mama. Let's not cry. Papa said he loves you and he doesn't want to see you crying. Don't cry, mama."

Gracia absently picked up her daughter as she tried to regain control over her emotions. "I know. Let's not cry anymore, Alicia. We'll be fine. Let's not cry anymore." And she pulled the young girl closer to her, feeling her sadness strangely being soothed by the girl presence. Soon, very soon, she'd be able to smile again. But for the time being, she just wanted to be comforted.

"Commodore Maes Hughes," Hughes read aloud from the gravestone decorating his resting place. "Promoted two ranks after being killed in action…" He fell silent, lost in thought. Mustang took that as an opportunity to examine his ghostly friend. For one thing, Hughes seemed not to notice the drizzly rain that was falling down from the grey sky. The cold, wet moist slipping into his collar and from there gliding down his back was something Mustang did notice and he didn't care much about it.

He ducked deeper inside his black raincoat in a vain attempt to stop the rain from falling inside his coat. Whatever his friend was thinking over, he fervently wished it wouldn't take too long. Night was taking over the city and the already not that warm air was turning even colder. Combined with the rain, it was rather unpleasant to be outside at the moment.

"I wonder why they do that, you know," Hughes suddenly said. "Giving promotions after you've died. When I was still alive, I thought it was quite an honour, but now it doesn't mean a thing to me. As a matter of fact, there is very little of life that concerns me."

"I guess that's logic," Roy answered evasively. Although he had accepted the fact he hadn't become insane, he still couldn't believe he was truly talking to his best friend. It seemed unnatural for some reason and his perceptions of life and death had been slightly altered by that. "Apart from that, we still don't know why you are here and why I can see you."

"Ah, that's right." Hughes stared absently at the gravestone. "You're not the only one, though."

"Oh?" He gazed penetratingly at his friend.

"Alicia could see me as well. If I'm here with a reason, I wonder what her role is going to be in this."

Mustang shrugged a trifle indifferently. "She's a little girl who has just lost her father," he said. "I wouldn't hold too much hope that she's going to be the little heroine of whatever this mission is going to be. I'm sorry if I shatter any hopes, Maes. I know you love your daughter, but I think you have to be reasonable with this."

"I know, I know. It's not like I want her to be in any danger." For a ghost, he managed to sound pretty annoyed. "So. Where do we start?"

"How should I know?" Mustang glared at Hughes. "You came back Central, you come up with a solution… or at least provide us a beginning. Why don't you start telling me why you haven't said anything about the Elric brothers or what you were up to before you were killed?" He immediately regretted his last stab. It might not concern Hughes, but the wound inside his heart cause by his friend's death was still too fresh to talk lightly about it.

"Ah, that. The Elric brothers… They were caught up in a chain of events rapidly following each other up. It all started with manuscript of Dr. Tim Marco about the creation of the Philosopher's Stone and-"

"Wait. Did you say Marco's manuscript? About the Philosopher's Stone? Wasn't that lost after he left the army?" Mustang gazed at his friend, but Hughes ignored and continued his story.

"And the discovery of how the Philosopher's Stone could be created."

There was a long silence and only the sound of water falling down on the gravestones, the ground and Mustang's raincoat could be heard. The small and young alchemist actually discovered how he could create the most wanted thing in the world, the legendary stone, the infinite amplifier. The Philosopher's Stone.

"Their guards, lieutenant Ross and sergeant Bloch, had told them at that point to stay out of the business until they knew for sure there were no dangers in it. But Edward and Alphonse – mainly Edward, I guess – paid no attention to those restrictions and went to the fifth laboratory for-"

"Fifth laboratory?" Mustang interrupted him again. "But I thought that was not used anymore."

"Ah, that was what everyone thought," Hughes nodded pensively. "But it was used by someone and the materials for the Philosopher's Stone were there. Roy, they met Homonculus."

"Homon… culus…?" Mustang turned his head away and stared at the cold gravestone, lost in thought. There had been so many things going on in Central, things he hadn't been aware of, while he should have. Back in East, he was kept ignorant of those important happenings. Surely, Hughes would have had his own reasons for this, but still…

"So, where is Full Metal now? He's not in Central anymore."

"Edward was, as you know, hospitalized after the accidents in the fifth laboratory. Alphonse had lost his legs and arms – bitten off, he had said, by a strange guy – and Edward's automail had stopped working. For the rest, all he had were minor injuries and bruises. But I heard from lieutenant Ross he was very close to dying. The materials for the Philosopher's Stone were spread out over the floor and Edward somehow absorbed them, increasing his powers to infinity, which was more than he could handle."

"Absorbing the Philosopher's Stone to increase your alchemic powers, right? Full Metal surely has creative manners to become better." But Mustang's voice was strange bitter, remembering how he had felt with his incomplete Philosopher's Stone. "That still doesn't explain your death. If you want to talk about it," he quickly added, throwing a questioningly gaze at Hughes.

Hughes shrugged. "Why wouldn't I want to talk about it? Such things have very little meaning to me." He stared into the distance, recollecting his thoughts. Suddenly, his eyes glazed and when he spoke, his words came out slightly haltingly. "Be careful, Roy. The enemy has infiltrating within the military, and some have managed to work themselves up into high positions. Don't trust anyone, not even those you know, because there are people out there who know how to alter their physical appearance. Pay heed to this warning, or you will end up in the House of Death as well."

Hughes shook his head, as if he had just woken up from an intensive dream, and looked around slightly bewildered. "Did I just say something?"

TBC