No, your eyes don't decieve you! It's an update! I haven't given up on this story yet, so don't worry. :)

And please remember, people- Save a horse. Ride a Mustang.

Chapter Eight: Finding the Strength

The sky was darkening quickly as Roy walked at quite a fast pace down the long dirt road. Anxiety had overwhelmed the Colonel; the faster he moved, the sooner he would find out if Ed was okay. He had no idea why he cared so much, but he didn't let that bother him as he searched for the missing alchemist.

Perhaps it was because he didn't want to lose someone else, whether it be a loved one or someone he despised. But now that Roy thought about it, he never really despised Ed, did he?

"Wake up, boy." Ed cracked an eye open to find Keith standing over him, his hair dripping wet from just getting out of the shower, and fully clothed. "Let's get goin'."

Ed whined pitifully. He couldn't move his leg at all, probably due to the blood loss. It was just a lump of flesh, bone and muscle caked with a mixture of dried and fresh blood attatched to his aching body now. Blood had stained the carpet around him as well. And sleeping in a sitting position up against a wall hadn't helped his body aches in the least bit. He was surprisingly pale, and thin, too, because of how meagerly Keith had fed him over the past couple of days.

"What? You still fussing over yer damn leg? Take the pain like a man." Ed looked up into Keith's eyes with his own drooping ones.

"I can't move it."

"'Course you can, boy. Just put yer mind to it. Now get up." He extended his hand out to Ed, expecting him to take it. Ed just drooped his head and closed his eyes.

"I said get up."

"My leg's completely numb."

Keith hollered every curse word he knew and kicked Ed in the gut. Ed gasped and clutched his stomach. "You'll do what I say, boy! No GET UP!" Ed, the wind still knocked out of him, got to his knees, his automail leg doing all the work. All his weight shifted to and was supported by his artificial leg.

"Good. See? Didn't I tell you you could do it? Now leggo of my arm." Ed still clutched it tightly. "I said LEGGO, boy!" Keith snatched his arm away quickly, and Ed fell forward to the floor with a loud thud.

"YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" He kicked the unmoving form on the floor in the side, his boot coming into the blonde hard. The unmoving form screamed. He tried his best to choke back his tears, but they came anyway. Ed's body quivered as he sobbed silently on the hotel room floor.

Keith started to realize that if he killed his "little helper" now, then his heists wouldn't go as smoothly as the last one. "Boy."

Ed made a helpless and pathetic whimper in response. Keith sighed heavily and spoke calmly, "Okay. You can take the day to rest up. But only one day. Any more of this 'I'm too weak' shit, and I'll put a hole through yer head." He jammed his pistol into Ed's temple. "Go that?" Ed tried his best to make a distinct nod.

"Good."

By nightfall, Roy had reached the impoverished little town that Ed had first arrived in. The Colonel asked around for his commrade, careful of who he showed his pocketwatch to. He got some pretty excited and wild responses from the people still startled from the night Keith took Ed captive. Roy heard about six different versions of the story from the many people he asked, one in which Keith killed Ed and dragged his corpse off, another saying that Ed cut off Keith's arm and threw it at a man, which knocked him out cold. But all of them basically told him that the 15 year old had been kidnapped by a maniac.

The Colonel was in a state of panic by now. What the hell was he supposed to do now? This bandit could have gone off anywhere. He knew he'd have to decide somehow which road out of the town to take. He eventually settled on thinking like a theif would, and asked around for what road led to the wealthiest city. They all indicated the same road, and Roy took a chance and started down it.

It was quite a short distance to the next town, remarkably shorter than his first destination was. Roy arrived in the early morning, around three. To his surprise, he noticed policemen and construction workers running about everywhere he looked.

The Colonel soon found out why.

A rather large building, which appeared to have been a bank, was almost completely demolished. One of its sides had collapsed. Was this...Ed's doing? Or was that just being too optimistic? A policeman confirmed his first assumption.

"You here to help?" the young policeman asked coldly.

"No, I'm just...looking for someone. What happened here?"

"A man and a boy...a boy who could destroy solid walls..." he said as if he didn't even believe the words coming out of his mouth, "...broke into the bank and stole quite a large sum of money." Yup. That was Ed. No doubt in Roy's mind.

The man continued, "We tried to catch them, but they escaped too quickly."

"Did you see which direction they went off in?" Roy asked excitedly. The policeman gave him a strange look.

"That way...What, are you gonna try and play hero or something? You're welcome to try, but let me warn you: they're good..." his voice trailed off, and he shook his head slowly. Roy nodded quickly and ran off.

Hope I'm not too late...

Keith had spent the whole day out of the hotel room, doing his own things. Ed spent the majority of the day in a deep sleep, but would sometimes wake up and stare blankly at the undecorated wall.

I'm going to die...

Ed had come to terms with his certain fate, but didn't like it. And it wasn't the fact that he was going to die. It was the people he was going to disappoint.

Alphonse...

How would his brother ever get his body back now? Al was smart, but they were a team, and he knew that his brother would just give up if he died.

Roy...

Wait...what? Roy wouldn't give a damn.

He'd be happy to be rid of me. Ed brought his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. Tears flooded his eyes, and he began to sob quietly. We never even made up.

He lifted his head. What was he doing? Winry and Alphonse had always looked up to Ed for his strength. Some strength this was. Perhaps...he could escape? No, he couldn't even walk. But maybe...he could try. Maybe he could make it out of the building.

I have to try. He crawled over to the bed, and repeated his motion of standing up that he did before, replacing the use of Keith's arm with the use of the bed post. His legs shook, and he staggered, but he managed to stand. It was a start.

Using the wall for support, he made his way to the door. Turning the knob slowly, he managed to get it open.

He thanked his lucky stars that their room was on the first floor. Once outside, he continued using the wall for support as he limped to the front of the hotel building.

Once there, he stood against the wall and smiled weakly, but triumphantly. He'd find some place to stay...some place to hide. Then he'd find Roy, and everything would be all better.

Well, that would be the case if Keith wasn't standing ten feet in front of him, a bottle of booze in his hand.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, boy?" Ed could barely hear those words as the world started to spin. His breathing became heavy and labored, and he found himself sliding down the wall. Then he heard another voice, but he could just barely tell that the noise was a voice. His vision was completely blurred.

The last thing he felt before he blacked out was a pair of strong arms wrap around his limp body.

Well, hope you like it. We'll get to the romance real soon...I promise. :3