Here it is! The final chapter of the Prologue: Sorrow. Dunno if any of yu are looking forward to it, but soon I should have up the first chapter of the main story, but first I have to change some things and come up with a name! -sob- But yeh. -points to story- Feel the angst. x.x

As I said, the chapters in the main story will be longer and more detailed. Or at least I think they're more detailed. -sob-

I have started to read the fma manga! I knew it would be different, but not THAT different! it makes the anime seem like some sort of AU fananime-ish thingy O.o I mean seriously, they are two entirely different stories. I'm gonna haff to stick to the anime's storyline for this story cuz that's what I based it on, but if I ever finish the manga I may write a fic based on that, because it's that awesum! Yes I know too many exclamation marks. >. But now I can probably write better stuff about Roy's subordinates, as they shine forth much more in the manga. -w00t-

I know. I called the chapter beginning. How original. Actually, its so un-original it hurts. -sob- Oh well. I'm writing a fanfic, what do i know about originality?

Chapter 12: Beginning

He didn't know what time it was when he came to. He grunted softly and shifted his position. He was on a bed, most definitely. He could feel soft rays of light falling across his frame, and he glanced in the direction of the light. A window. Roy's window.

Hughes tried to sit up only to find he felt extremely weak. The arm he had tried to lift himself on gave out and his head fell back onto the pillows. His head felt light and his stomach was slightly upset, but it was nowhere near what he had been feeling recently.

At this time Roy walked into the room. His hair was bit messy and he was out of uniform, wearing a casual white buttoned shirt and dark baggy jeans. His eye widened when he saw that he was awake.

"Damn you Hughes! Didn't I tell you not to scare me like that? I thought you'd never wake up!"

Hughes blinked.

"How long was I out?"

Roy opened his mouth, then stopped, and mumbled.

"Well...since last night."

Hughes laughed and tried to sit up again. It was much easier, but still a little difficult. Being a Homunculus he wouldn't be weak for long...

Last night rushed back to him. He had set the Homunculus' mind free.

"Eh...Roy...are you wondering about what happened yesterday?"

It was Roy's turn to blink as he looked at Maes oddly.

"You mean you know?"

Well, at least he knew what he was referring to.

"Yeah... You know this is a homunculus' body, right? But homunculus don't have souls, and they aren't human. That was why Gracia was able... to attach my soul to it. But since the transmutation was imperfect, the Homunculus' mind is still here. But don't worry,"

He quickly added as his Roy began to look worried.

"I'm not gonna go schizo on you or anything. I always knew he was there, in the back of my mind. But he's just there. The reason he surfaced was... I didn't really want to be there anymore. So much for facing my fears, eh?"

He suddenly looked tired, and his eyes revealed his weariness.

"Where is Gracia now?"

Roy sighed and walked up to the bed, seating himself on the edge next to Hughes.

"She was taken to the Demwal Asylum."

Hughes tugged absentmindedly at the fabric of the blanket. So she was alive.

He felt numb, his entire body moving, acting and thinking on its own. The mind doing the thinking acknowledged he was there, but didn't ponder further on that fact. He felt, but didn't feel himself moving at an alarming speed towards the door and found himself in the kitchen a moment later. He saw in a half-daze, through eyes not in his control, his wife, bound by ropes Roy had conjured. He half-saw half-felt his hand pulling one of his knives out of a pouch at his side. The hand raised, ready to strike. He could feel the creature's mind contemplating whether to slit her throat or pierce her heart. He felt his daze lift slightly. You won't do this. I won't let you. Oh, but you let me out, didn't you? You were too afraid to face your precious lover, so you wanted me to do it for you. So that's what I'm going to do. No! Stop! She doesn't deserve this! He could feel the numb-dazed feeling lifting, and he could feel the homunculus faltering. Before it lost control and was once again banished to the corner of his mind, it lashed out blindly with the blade, feeling it slice through something solid before fading to black.

"I'm not quite sure what happened when y-...that thing went in there, but when I followed, you were lying on the floor, supposedly you again. Gracia had passed out as well, her ropes cut. It seemed she had finally passed out from lack of sleep and malnutrition, among other things."

Hughes bit his lip, his mind a mess. He found himself thinking that it may have actually been a good thing in various ways if Gracia had died. He frantically pushed those thoughts out of his head. It wasn't her fault that she had ended up like this. He had been reckless, overconfident, following that secretary alone when he knew what might happen. To top that off, he had still gone off on his own to deal with that homunculus disguised as Ross without any help from someone more experienced in battle. He should have known he couldn't face them alone, seeing what had happened to the Elrics. And he probably did know, but never thought death would sneak up on him so suddenly.

He found himself chuckling quietly, and Roy gave him a questioning look. He had gone into it like a reckless teenager, subconsciously believing he was invincible. Now not only had he lost his life, it had been thrown back in his face at the cost of his daughter's life and his wife's sanity. He found himself feeling rather numb again.

Roy twiddled his thumbs, keeping Hughes in the corner of his vision. His eyes looked blank and he was clearly in deep thought. What would happen now? Roy had gone to war before as a soldier, had seen bloodshed and people dying and horrors beyond the average man's imagination. He had seen people slowly lose their sanity, had to watch them day by day as the life slowly fled their eyes and was replaced by something else, until they finally snapped on the battlefield, in the end ordered to death by their own comrades. It would never become a normal thing for him. It would always terrify him having to see people fall into madness, and horrify him even more when he had found himself almost falling slowly, but surely to the same fate. Maes had never known anything so gruesome.

But Roy had made it through that, and that was behind him. He needed it to be behind him. He needed to worry about the now, and now he needed to help Hughes. He edged closer to him and softly kissed his forehead.

Maes snapped out of his ponderings and jerked his head up to look at Roy. He found his stress and worries washing away as he saw the caring look on his face, an emotion he had never seen from him before. Hughes suddenly grinned widely and wrapped his arms round Roy's waist, pulling him down onto the bed and bringing his head and shoulders up to rest on his chest.

Roy let out a small yelp as he was dragged onto the bed. He struggled weakly against Maes' grip, not really wanting him to let go. He felt Maes' head resting on his own. The rough stubble of his chin upon his head felt... nice. He relaxed, bringing his hands up to hold onto Hughes' arms.

"Maes... I'm going to fix everything." His body, Gracia's mind, Alicia... "I don't care what I have to do, I'll do it... I promise you I'll do it."

"No."

Roy's head jerked, but he refrained from moving it so as not to disturb Hughes' chin.

"What do you mean, no?"

"Please ...I don't want to you to destroy your life fixing mine. I don't want..."

To lose you.

Roy closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax against Maes' chest.

" I will find a way. And I won't lose my life doing it. I promise."

Hughes smiled, but couldn't keep the tears back anymore. Promises could be too easily broken.

-At Hughes' Home-

The investigation team had arrived at the Brigadier General's house. Not much was found; all the lights as well as various objects around the house were broken or smashed. Alicia's room seemed to be untouched, cobwebs forming in the corners. Many photos were discovered, torn or crumpled, all depicting Hughes. The basement was a mess of chalk, paints, and boxes, various arrays covering the floor.

A woman shouted orders, and they spread out, taking pictures and gathering things into clear bags marked 'evidence.' She walked slowly towards the back of the room, recognizing the various arrays left scribbled among the boxes placed along the walls. She stopped at the two large arrays in the back of the room. She had never seen anything like them. A small red object caught her eye. She kneeled down, stared at its red-yellow glow for a moment, and swiftly scooped it into a small black cloth bag, embroidered with the letters C.M.

End Prologue

Yar, weren't expecting that were yu? Or maybe you were because yur psycic and can read my mind from wherever you are sitting right now and -cough- Anywayz. Review time!

Duet Maxwell Shinobi of Wind: Oh, but I can write much freakier stuff than that! -laughs maniacally- What? You want proof? uuh...Look a one eyed one horned purple people eater! -escapes- Yes I know, nothing I do is original -sob-

NubianQueen413: This is for yourreviews from both chapters 10 and 11-

Yah I know,I completely slaughtered Gracia's image, making her fooking mad and all. Fear not, the main story will have much yaoi for your obsessiveness! muwahahahaa...

Yes, the homunculus thing ish teh freakers...if you understood that -twitch-

Thatz of the Dragon knights: No seriously! First I had to think up the concept of imaginary money, thenI had to poke my brain cells with a stick until they woke up and then I had to think up the money! Poking your own brain cells hurts yah know. Especially with a stick. Sharp ones. -shudder-

Yes I know I'm evil I killed elysia-chan! She was cute too! I wouldn't mind having Hughes show me pictures of his daughter... -leaps off a cliff-

Well, you can see from this chappie she didn't die >. I know I killed Elysia but I couldn't kill Gracia >. too much killing of tha main characters will make the voices in my head want to kill all of them O.o then there would be nothing to write the fic on but a buncha buildings in central...describing buildings is not fun XD

'Til next time folks! Hope i didn't forget anything... or mess anything up O.o -poofs-