I once had this dream that I sold Ed my shoe. He then sat me down on a stole, telling me how much he loved that shoe of mine and was willing to hand me the rights to FMA to show his gratitude.
And then I woke up. Doesn't life just suck?
Held
By The Gomp
The sound of a gun firing rang out, and no, it was not my own.
My head automatically jerked towards the offensive sound. The moment I turned, I saw a few events unravel before me.
Armstrong fell to his knees, blood pouring forth. He gave a moments hesitation, but he then lifted his gun and fired at the man in the crowd who had shot him. The crowd's terrified screams just increased.
By pure shock and utter confusion, a few others in the security squad began to randomly shoot people on the other side of the gate. People began to fall…
And then behind us all, screaming at the top of his lungs, it almost seemed like Roy had become our choir as he yelled in his tenor voice: "Cease fire until my order!" He yelled it over, and over, and over…
I simply watched, trying to convince myself that it was just a dream. One of the most vivid, most horrifying dreams I had ever had.
But oh God, it was real.
It was real and I was standing right there…
I stood right there with the gun still held tightly in both my shaky hands.
And the girl in front of me just stared. She did not scream anymore, she did not yell, she simply gave me a ghostly stare, as if she already knew of her death. A tear rolled down the side of her face mixing with the blood that was from her mother.
Even though their faces were not the same; the long brown pigtail braids, the youth of the child… it caused the image of Nina to dance behind my eyes.
My hushed voice was just quiet enough for only me to hear. "No, it's not her." Deep down I knew it wasn't, but I was still tortured by the image.
And besides everything else, there was something else that was killing me inside.
Roy had ordered us to shoot and kill.
Was this what being in the military was all about? No pride, no honor, simply senseless killing? Do we kill because we're human, as a human is this how we control things; we decided what the meaning of life was?
Was this what it felt like to be in a war?
Oh God no… I closed my eyes tight, just wishing the world away. No, no, no.
But no matter what, the world wasn't going to go away. The false image of Nina stood in front of me, the sound of the other soldier's guns being fired ringing in my ears. Everything was wrong, it all was wrong.
Roy, I'm not you…
I opened my eyes, looking down at my hands. My white gloves covered the flesh and the shiny steel of my auto-mail. The gun felt so foreign in my grasp, so heavy. The gun fell away from my fingertips and clattered loudly against the concrete ground.
…I will never become a dog of the military.
The sound of my clap was only heard by me, drowned out by screams of the crowd.
At that moment I had realized I didn't care if I was locked away for life because I used alchemy, the military could send me to Ishbal and allow me to die, I could be taken away and never-ever see Al again. I just didn't care what the military would do to me, it didn't matter!
I was Edward Elric; I was a killer, a sinner, just one big joke. I was a man who had done nothing but mess with God, a type of God I had seen yet I still had a hard time believing. I was nothing more than a mistaken person.
As a human it is not our purpose to judge others. Because I was part of the military it did not give me the right to kill freely…
…as humans, it's our purpose to understand, to understand life and to understand the world around us.
Not judge, to understand.
Roy, I realize that, that's why I'm not like you.
That's why I would never be a dog of the military.
And Nina, I could not save you before, but I can save this child. I was going to save this child.
I fell to my knees and thrust my hands quickly towards the ground, calculations consuming my world. If I planned to stop the whole masquerade, the time was then. I could feel some of my own energy drain away as I forced the cement wall to shoot from the ground almost in an instant, to block anymore firing.
To save the lives that deserved to be saved.
To give some hope for myself.
To allow that child to live.
It didn't take long for the wall to be fully finished. The shouting and screaming still occurred on the other side, yet the wall helped drown out the noise.
"Roy…why did you do it?" I spoke to the stoned ground, ha, yea, maybe that would answer me. "Why?"
I was surprised when I realized how silent things had become on my side. Hell, you would have thought at least some noise would be happening, but no, it was quiet.
I took a chance and looked up only to find almost everyone in security was looking at me. Some seemed like they were in shock while a few seemed rather impressed. Shit, talk about getting attention.
And then there were a few people who were trying to help Armstrong.
Oh God…Armstrong.
He was bleeding and it seemed almost none stop. I couldn't get a good view of him considering I was on the ground so I decided to try and stand up, but the moment I did so, my world began to spin and I couldn't keep proper balance.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Havoc coming towards me, I suppose to try and help me stand straight, but a voice stopped his movements. That very voice sent a few nasty shivers down my spin. I closed my eyes, catching myself against the stone wall I had created. No, I never wanted to hear that voice again!
"Don't help him; he used some of his own energy in the alchemic reaction. Eh, Fullmetal, I thought you were more professional than that."
Let me explain something to you about alchemy. There are two types of energy which can be used to cause an alchemic reaction. There is energy that is from the memories of the other world which pretty much feels like you're pulling it from thin air, or you have your own human energy which is a lot easier to call upon. Any good Alchemist knows not to use their human energy; if they do there is a high possibility of them killing themselves. But, with using their own human energy the alchemic reaction will be more quick and efficient. Thus, that is why I used some of my own energy, to make sure the alchemic reaction was quick.
My eyes became two thin slits that promised death, as I glared at Roy. I could feel the blood in my veins beginning to pump faster, my adrenaline beginning to rise. My heart felt heavy all of the sudden, my anger threatened to take control.
I had trusted Roy, how could he have ordered something like that?
Roy stood on the stage, his shaggy hair hanging over his eyes, a smirk dancing over his face. I wanted to wipe that smirk off; I wanted to beat the shit out of him. I wanted to do so much; my fingers itched to tear that bastard apart!
But the one thing I wanted most from Roy was for him just to tell me why. Why he did it.
The pain I felt deep inside me was apparent in my voice. "Your nothing but shit." In away it felt like Roy had broken me. I had trusted him; I had put my faith in him… I thought he was such a better person than that. Roy, why, why, why!
"Edward…"
"What!" I avoided the dizziness that consumed me, my boots smacking against the pavement, a limp in my every step. I walked towards the stage, looking up at the man who avoided eye contact. How could he have done it, how could he have told me to kill a child? Roy…
I stopped a few feet from the stage, staring up at the man above, trying to see under his mop of dark hair. But I could see nothing; it was as if his good eye was not there. "Roy-"
I did not finish my words because in on swift motion Roy turned on his heals, heading towards the stairs that lead off the stage. His voice followed him. "Men, stabilize the crowd."
I looked down the line of soldiers; all of them saluting Roy's back, saying "Yes sir."
I blinked a few times, trying to get my head on straight. Oh hell no. No, no, no, no, no.
I don't know what the hell I was thinking, why I would ever do such a thing, but I was so angry, so upset, so…just plain pissed at the world that I didn't think thoroughly through my actions. I just did what my emotions told me to do and my emotions told me to stop Roy. To stop him anyway I knew how, it didn't matter how I did it, just as long as I stopped him. I wasn't finished with him yet, I still wanted answers.
I turned, ignoring the pain in my left leg, and ran towards the gun that I had dropped on the ground. In one swift motion the gun was in my hand and being aimed at Roy's retreating form.
My words seemed calm, well collected. It sounded like I knew what I was doing, even though I damn well didn't. "General Mustang, don't move."
I cocked the gun, it clicked, telling me the gun was ready to be fired
Roy stopped; his cane's clanking being silenced. We stood like that for a few moments, neither of us moving. I knew he was waiting for me to speak; he was waiting for me to ask him my question. But all I could do was stare at him. Why Roy, why did you do it? Why…
My hands suddenly began to shake, the gun rattled against my gloved metal hand. As if knowing my hesitance, Roy slowly turned towards me. This time I did see his eye.
It caused me to take a step back.
His voice came out so smooth, so everyday. What he said sounded more like a fact rather than a question. "You can't do it, can you? You can't shoot?"
I closed my eyes tight, my words being forced. "I trusted you."
"I see."
I see? Is that all the bastard could say? I see, I fucking see?
My hands automatically stopped shaking, my arm stretched out in front of me. My eyes opening wide, aiming at Roy's head. My finger wrapped itself around the trigger, beginning to pull back.
I FUCKING SEE?
I wasn't sure how many soldiers plowed into me, but in an instant I was suddenly aware of a bunch of weight that had piled on top of me, the gun scattered loudly away to some dark corner.
Shit, my right shoulder felt like it was going to fall apart.
I never got to see Roy finish walking away, but I could hear the sound of that damn clanking cane.
And the loud click of handcuffs that ringed into my ears.
"Hold still."
"Let me go!"
"Edward, will you calm down and just hold still."
I hated needles with a passion, seriously, I HATED THEM! I tried my best not to look at what the Doctor was doing. Even with Novocain I could still feel the piercing of my skin and the yanking of the thread that was partially inserted into my shoulder. My stomach turned with every new stitch.
I spoke between clenched teeth. "Just let me go."
"Why, so you can squirm around? If I let you go you will just make things worse." I glared at Havoc, even though I knew he was right.
When the soldiers had plowed into me they had torn open a good number of my stitches, so instead of sending me to jail or whatever, they were forced to take me to the hospital ward. Ha, I was beginning to think jail would have been much better.
Havoc pushed down on my upper arms, trying to get me to stop fidgeting. I was tempted to kick him, but I knew he was just trying to help. The doctor worked away, trying to repair the broken stitches.
I gave the bed sheets a death grip as I felt the prick of the needle, I was sure my knuckles were a bright white. My breathing sped up. Oh man, this totally sucked.
"Almost done Major Elric, a few more to go." Yea, not soon enough.
Havocs voice piped in, humor in his tone. "You're almost as bad as a kid, come-on, it can't be that bad."
I ignored Havocs comment because I was well aware that I was acting immature and in realty I knew it wasn't that bad, but that didn't mean my needle-phobia was going to suddenly disappear. I closed my eyes tight and just tried to calm myself.
It took a few more minutes and a couple more stitches until the Doctor finally announced he was done. The moment he finished, Havoc removed his hold and allowed me to finally move around a little more freely. Gauze was then gingerly wrapped around my shoulder, protecting it from any invading bacteria or any further damage to the wound.
As the Doctor was wrapping the gauze I noticed how quiet the room had suddenly become, all of us were drifting into our own thoughts.
I didn't want to think about anything because I knew if I went into thought I would think about him. If I thought about him I would think about what he did, then I would think about what I did.
I had almost killed him…
"You need to take better care of this shoulder of yours, keep it well cleaned and make sure you don't over exert the joints. The last thing you need is an infection." The Doctor made sure the gauze was securely tied around my shoulder, then stood. I looked at the man, offering a weak smile, nodding my head to show my gratitude.
The Doctor smiled back then walked out of the room.
I grabbed my black tank top, which was on the hospital bed, and carefully pulling it on over my head. There was a dark stain which surrounded the area of my left shoulder, the stain of blood marking my clothing.
I pulled on my black jacket and then the red one. My once white gloves, which were now stained the color of red, were stuffed into a pocket.
I held my hands in front of me, not even bothering to look up. I didn't want to see their faces, see the disappointment. Hell, one of those faces was a face I had hoped that I wouldn't see for a long time. Ha, seems my luck was against me.
As expected, there was a click from the cuffs being locked around my wrists.
"Is that comfortable?"
I looked over at Havoc who stood in front of me. "Stop being nice to me." He had been careful to hold me down and now he was asking me if I was comfortable, it felt so wrong.
Havoc patted my head. "Why should I?"
I was tempted to laugh at him. I could tell him a million reasons why he shouldn't be nice; the top being I almost killed his commanding officer.
My words came out bitter. "Just stop."
"Edward, you stop." Her voice made my body tremble. I looked past Havoc to the woman who had spoken to me. She sat in a chair by the door, her legs crossed, a gun lying in her lap. Her arms were folded, her blonde hair falling over only one of her shoulders. She didn't even look at me as she spoke again. "Let him do what he wants."
"Look, I just don't get why he's trying to be nice to me."
"And how would you like us to treat you?"
That was an awfully good question. How did I want them to treat me? I mean, no one in their right mind would say 'like crap', cause trust me, they would treat me like crap. But, being kind didn't seem right considering the circumstances. So, I did the only thing I could think to do, I kept my gaze locked to the floor and kept my mouth shut.
Havoc spoke again. "Edward, everyone knows how hot tempered you are and how big of idiot you become when you don't think straight. Sure, none of us approve of your actions, but we have all known you for years. I mean, it's not like you were actually going to shoot him, right?" My finger had wrapped around that trigger and began to pull… I would have loved to say no to Havoc, but I couldn't.
Havoc finally turned away from me, looking at the woman in the chair. "Riza, when do they want him?"
It was a simple question, but it defiantly perked my interest. I was curious who 'they' were.
"Not till they send word. Until then, we wait."
"Well then, do you want some coffee?"
Since my eyes were still towards the floor I wasn't exactly sure how Riza responded, but I could only imagine she gave him a sign indicating yes since in a moments time the door opened and then closed once more.
And the moment that door closed, I felt the most uncomfortable I had ever felt in my entire lifetime. The only sound that penetrated the silence was Riza's constant finger tapping against her arm.
"Is this how it will be from now on?"
Riza's sudden words shocked me, I glanced up to find her looking at me, waiting patiently for me to answer. I felt ashamed to talk to her, I felt ashamed to even look at her. But she wanted an answer, she deserved one….
Hell, how do you answer a question like that?
"What do you mean?"
Riza narrowed her eyes. It took her a few moments to reply. "You jump to conclusions too quickly." What was that supposed to mean?
I tried to be honest with my words; it was the only response I could think of… "Well, usually my instincts don't prove me wrong." Which was a fact, my instincts were pretty good, well, at least when I actually listened to them.
"You are going to have to face him sooner or later; do you plan to follow your instincts then?"
I knew exactly whom she was talking about, but I found her question hard to answer. I was still angry with Roy, my blood boiled just with the thought of him. She was indirectly asking me if I was planning to hurt Roy the next time I saw him, and honestly, I just couldn't answer.
"Edward, talk to him."
The conversation needed a subject change.
"I'm surprised they allowed you to guard me, considering you're not in the military anymore." The comment wasn't meant to sound offensive; I really did just find it a little odd that Riza was being put in charge of someone who had committed a very big illegal action.
"Considering my old rank and that I'm married to the General, I don't think you should be surprised at all." Oh right, I forgot, people with power always got their way.
She lifted an eyebrow at me. "Do you think that if you tried anything funny I wouldn't shoot?" Just to add emphasis Riza ran her fingers of the metal piece on her lap.
Nope, not at all. I had a feeling that if I did try anything stupid a bullet would make a nice home in my head.
I used my cuffed hands to push some of my bangs away from my face, the oil and grease in my hair not feeling very attractive. I took a deep breath and allowed it out slowly. Ok, let's try again, next subject.
"How's Major Armstrong?"
"He's in surgery; we won't know his exact condition till they are done with the operation."
"Oh." was the only answer I could give.
Silence fell between us; I suppose talking wasn't going to make anything better. I mean, seriously, I had almost killed her husband, almost killed a really good friend of mine. I prayed that one day things would be alright between me and Riza, but I couldn't really bet on it. Why Riza had asked to be one of the people who watched me was beyond me. Most likely she just wanted to see if I had cracked or what.
The door finally opened again, Havoc carrying three cups of coffee. He handed one to Riza then walked over to me.
"I'm not exactly sure what you put in your coffee, but considering how much energy you always have I put a little bit of creamer in it and a lot of sugar."
I almost laughed at what Havoc said, but simply just held out my cuffed hands and kept a straight face. The warm flimsy cup was placed in my hands, he was careful not to spill. I took a cautious sip. Hmm, it was pretty good actually.
"Thanks."
"I figured if I would have asked you earlier you would have just told me no, so…" Havoc shrugged. "Just drink it, you're going to need to be awake for the next few hours. " Havoc smiled and took the seat next to me. He took a sip of his coffee and then placed it on his knee.
Be awake for the next few hours? I didn't even want to know what was planned for me. All I hoped was I wasn't placed in some torture chamber where people pulled out your toenails one by one, now that would suck. But hey, at least I would only have one foot for them to work on.
"Were they able to contain the crowd?" I wasn't asking either of them particularly, I just hoped one would answer. Havoc had the honors of doing so.
"Central's police arrived around the time we arrested you, they seem to have gotten things under control." He then smirked. "Guess what they concluded started everything…"
I gave him a crocked glance. "Do you mean that loud noise we heard?" He nodded a few times. "What was it?"
"A child's balloon popped."
I almost fell from the hospital bed I was sitting on. He had to be kidding me!
"No-no way."
"Yes way."
Riza's voice broke into our conversation. "If you consider the fact that the crowd was already wound up, everyone was placed on alert. Any noise we would have heard would have been magnified by our own senses, it's not uncommon for something like this to happen. It just shows how foolish humans can truly be."
"I guess we are petty things." I sighed as I took another sip of my coffee. It was just so sad that some people probably died because of a simply balloon.
The door opened again and revealed a well-dressed soldier, one I had never seen before. He whispered into Riza's ear, took one glance at me, and then was gone. Riza stood up, holding her coffee in one hand and the gun in the other.
"Let's go, the Parliament is waiting."
I only counted eleven. There were supposed to be twelve, but eleven was all I counted. And the one missing was the one who had spoken to Roy before Roy had given his orders.
And Roy…
I didn't even look at him; just knowing he was in the room had made my gut twist and turn in ways that were not comfortable. God, the anger was still inside me. Roy sat in the far corner of the room, his legs crossed at the ankles, hands clasped in front of him. When I first walked in I noticed he was watching me, my every move. I simply turned away, refusing to make eye contact.
I was back in the same room I had my hearing in, not much had changed. It was still impressively decorated, light seeped in through the heavily draped windows. The long table that had been stretched across the room was as bold as ever.
I pulled at the chain that connected my wrists, the metal clanked. My hands were cuffed and I was being forced to stand in front of the vultures of the government, how vulnerable could you get?
Chairman Hakuro sat in the center of the Parliament members, as if he was the main attraction. By that time I was just so sick of the stupid government I didn't even care what they were to do to me. I couldn't win, I simply couldn't. And constantly I was being forced to fight with them, how the hell did I get stuck in a never ending battle?
As expected, Hakuro was the one who addressed me. His voice was professional with a tinge of power weaved into it. "Edward, it seems you don't care to listen to you orders."
"Can we just get this over with; seriously, I don't need your speeches."
The looks on some of the Chairmen's faces were simply priceless. I knew I was just asking to get in more trouble then I already was in, I was just digging myself in a ditch, a ditch which most likely I wasn't going to be able to get out of. I had the charge of alchemy and attempted murder of a high ranking officer stapled to my back, with the two together it was sounding like a death sentence to me. But honestly, if I was screwed then why would I want to hear some long speech of senseless babble from some old geezer? Speeches, I always hated speeches.
Chairman Hakuro looked at me; his fingers laced together, his face stern. For a few moments it just seemed all we could do was stare at each other, see who would blink first.
Then the unexpected happened, Hakuro actually cracked a smile. "Well, now isn't that the boy I remember so well. You were worrying me for awhile with your mature act. I'm happy to see your old arrogant self hasn't totally been diminished."
I sighed. "Please, can we just get this over with?" I sounded pleading to my own ears. I just didn't have the energy to be taunted by the man.
"I see, well then, I say we follow the boy's request. I'm sure you're aware of the crime you have committed." I was a little surprised that he used crime in the singular tense, but just ignored it.
"Yea." My head fell down, my hair falling in my face. I wasn't ashamed of what I had done; I was just so tired with dealing with stupid laws, dancing around the politicians that ruled the world.
"Good, do you have anything to say to defend your actions?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I snuck a glance at Roy. Roy sat in his chair, looking at me as calm as ever. I chewed on my lower lip while concentrating on an answer. I finally turned my eyes away from Roy and lifted my head so I was looking back up at the Parliament.
"I did what I thought was right, I followed my emotions."
"Following your emotions? What about your head? You're a smart boy; you should know emotions aren't always trust worthy."
"You're right, emotions aren't always trust worthy, but they are what tell me what's true to me. I did what I thought was right, even if by others it's considered a mistake."
I didn't know if I truly meant what I said, but it was the best answer I could come up with. I, myself, had done many things that could be considered as mistakes. Sure, some of those 'mistakes' hurt, some have destroyed my life, but with age I was discovering that I couldn't really regret them, all I could do was move forward. Move forward and learn my lessons along the way. Yea, I suppose that's how everything worked.
Izumi had once told me she didn't regret creating Wrath, I was beginning to truly understand her.
Hakuro lifted an eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything at first. He unlaced his fingers and used a hand as a chin rest. "Interesting philosophy Major Elric, very interesting." He cleared his throat, removing his hand from his chin. "We warned you about using alchemy, your actions were inappropriate."
"I'm well aware."
"Well then…" Hakuro stood up from his chair; he placed both his hands on the table in front of him and leaned slightly forward. "…the Parliament offers you their gratitude for stopping a grave mistake from taking place; even though alchemy was used we are considering the situation extreme enough to allow the use of alchemy. Chairman Neil's actions were not supported by the whole Parliament, we apologize that General Mustang had been given false information. We will submit a public apology for the people of Amestris. I fear these types of actions are what cause negative opinions towards Amestris government, that is why Edward we are grateful towards your actions, it is people like you who give this country hope. Even though your actions were inappropriate we will not punish you to show you our gratitude. But please be aware alchemy is still illegal. Our laws will not change; simply consider yourself lucky once more."
Well… hmm. I suppose that was it.
I was getting off once more…
Holy crap was it a lucky day! Either the Parliament had one hell of a soft spot for me or I was just one lucky guy. I was tempted to fall to my hands and knees and give a scream of excitement. This was practically ridiculous; they were dropping the charges while thanking me at the same time!
"Also, General Mustang had placed in a request to have your probation lifted, the Parliament at first rejected the proposal, but we have now decided to reconsider. As of now, you are off probation and allowed to travel freely."
Ahhh this had to be a dream, pinch me! Why the hell was I being given love all of the sudden? What a fantastic thing the Parliament was, I rather liked the Parliament at that moment. Oh, what a bunch of neat and great old guys. Yay for the Parliament!
Hakuro straightened his suit and sat back down in his chair. "As for any other situations that might have taken place during the events of this morning." Hakuro looked between Roy and me, shit. "I would prefer they are taken care of in private."
My world suddenly darkened.
Well, I was pretty sure I could live with that. In private he said? That sounded rather alright with me.
I don't really remember how I got to Roy's office, but all I knew was we were finally together in a room all alone.
And my raging anger was as active as ever.
I clenched my fists tight, trying to help control my emotions. The office door was locked, Riza sat outside the door I'm sure to make sure we didn't kill each other. It was a perfect opportunity to deal with Roy the way I saw fit.
Why Roy, why? Why had he done it, why had he told me to kill that child?
"The news is spreading quickly about the hero of Central. It seems you will be making headlines once again."
Roy's back was towards me, he looked out his window, leaning against the wall. His form seemed very relaxed, as if the day was just fine.
But it wasn't fine, the world felt broken.
I couldn't take it anymore. I walked loudly across the wooden paneled floor, my limp apparent in every step.
"Edward."
I stopped a few feet away, answering to his call. "Roy."
His motions were quick, well, very quick considering he was a partial gimp. He grabbed me by the upper arms and pushed me against the wall. I groaned a little from the pain I felt, but I refused to show him any of my weakness.
We stared at each other for a few moments, neither of us willing to look away. Roy's voice came out low, carrying a rough edge to it. "So is this the type of person you have become? Is this who you plan to be?"
I was still so mad, I didn't want to hear his voice, didn't want to answer his questions! What the hell did he mean anyway? I bared my teeth at him, a growl growing in the depths of my throat.
He had told me to kill her, looked me in the eye and told me to shoot. Was that the person Roy himself had become?
Roy looked at me, that stupid, crappy, annoying smirk playing over his face.
Then he said it, the words which set me on fire. They were so simple, but sounded so… just so…
"I see."
My left arm tore away from Roy's grasp, my left fist suddenly ready to smack him down. But Roy had predicted the move, grabbing my real fist with his hand. I didn't want to talk anymore; I just wanted to hurt him.
God, I was just so furious, so mad!
Roy's hand tightened around my human fist. "Is that all you can bring at me?"
I didn't need a second invitation. Roy's left side was a blind spot because of his eye patch, my right balled up fist flew too fast for him to even register it. The nice slap of metal hitting skin rang out into the darkened room. Roy's back hit against the wall roughly, he then proceeded to lean on the wall for support.
Even though blood ran down the side of his face, he did not falter with that hideous smirk of his. "That's all you got?"
Damn him! Just damn him! Why was he testing me, what did he want me to do to him? He was just feeding the fire that was inside me.
I grabbed onto the collar of Roy's shirt, pulling him up. His lone eye looked at me, stared at me. I pulled my human fist back, ready to punch him again.
Instead, Roy took the opportunity to grab onto my shoulders and kneed me right in the crotch.
…ouch.
I fell backwards, hitting my back against the side of Roy's desk. Automatically pain shot through me, a gasp came out between clenched teeth. Between the pain that radiated from down below and from my injured back, I wasn't sure how I was keeping consciousness.
Roy's voice sounded pleased. "Are you done yet?"
Oh man did my crotch hurt like one mother-fer! I took a few moments, trying to make the throbbing stop and to catch my breath. Once my body began to feel slightly more together I allowed my head to loll up. My voice was hoarse as I spoke. "Do you really want me to answer that?"
In one quick swoop with my good leg, I swift kicked Roy, his legs easily fell right out from under him, in an instant he fell right onto his butt, score.
I crawled over to Roy, planning in my head what I was going to do next. So many options, so many ways to damage him. Every time I hurt him it made me feel just a little better. And not just from what had happened that day, but from years of suppression. God damn did I really need to do this ass kicking.
Roy watched me as I crawled my way towards his form, once I was close enough he used his right foot and kicked me right in the face.
Well… that was totally unexpected.
I toppled over to my side, tasting blood in my mouth. Shit, he was really asking for it. I rolled over and pushed myself to my feet, ignoring the protests of my body. I took a few steps forward and made it to Roy's sitting form.
So much pent up emotion was finally being let out. I just wanted to hurt him, I've wanted to do it for so long and now I was finally getting the chance. No, we were not going to use alchemy this time. Now we were using man power, we were being the men we were and just doing one nice ass whooping of each other. It felt good, it felt damn good.
I punched Roy again across the face with my left; my right hand tightly gripped his shoulder.
Punch, punch, punch.
Just keep punching and it would make the world better. Yes, it would.
Roy's hands suddenly shot out and in one quick motion… he took me out of the game. His actions were simple and almost cheating; he grabbed onto my damaged shoulder and with his other hand gave the injury on my chest one strong push, digging into the wound.
It was such a simple action, but holy hell, why did it hurt so much?
The pain brought me to my knees. In an instant I was seeing stars; the world was spinning wildly around me. I forgot to breathe, it just hurt that much. My hands carefully grabbed onto my chest, a poor attempt to stop the agony. I was tempted to cry because it hurt so much, but there were no tears to give. Whatever Roy had done, he had known what he was doing. I was in so much suffering that I just couldn't move. All I could do was lay in a heap on the ground, hoping that I wasn't dieing, because I sure felt like I was.
I was so blinded by the pain; I didn't even realize Roy had moved closer to me. A hand brushed the side of my hair away, breath heated my ear. "Edward, are you done?"
I sounded like a child as I began to whimper. I wanted to tell him no, but I couldn't find the strength to form words, all I got was shuddered gasps.
"I'm going to take that as a yes."
Two strong arms gently grabbed onto my body and lifted me up. I wanted to push Roy away, but there was nothing in me. I just couldn't move, all I was aware of was my own agony. I was gently placed on one of the couches that were in the room and I sank into the cushions.
I don't know how long I laid like that, just in pain. A shot of morphine was sounding very nice, but I knew it wasn't going to happen. So I simply laid there, waiting for my body to fully collect itself. Time stretched and stretched and the silence of the room became rather haunting. But with time the pain finally dulled away, leaving me with nothing but sweat and a sleepy form.
I uncurled myself from my fetal position, but still silently laid across the couch. I knew Roy was well aware that I was awake and alert; he had laid me facing him. He was sitting on the other couch that was a few feet away, watching me intently.
We simply stared at each other.
His questioning words held no demand, just curiosity. "Are you willing to talk things out now?"
I sat for awhile, just watching him. I was too tired and hurt to fight anymore, all I could do was listen to what he had to say. I suppose with time Roy realized I didn't plan to answer, but he seemed to know thathe had my attention. He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back in the cushions of the couch, his head looking up at the ceiling.
"I would have never followed Chairman Neil's orders if he hadn't threatened to send us all to Ishbal. Edward, he sounded so sincere, I couldn't allow any of you to go to war." The tone Roy used automatically told me that he wasn't talking to me as a superior officer; instead he spoke to me like an old friend. I was someone he trusted, someone he felt he could be honest with. I turned away from him, feeling unworthy.
"Killing innocent people seems much worse then killing soldiers." And it did. I think I would have been much better off killing a man who was prepared for battle than a child who thought she was having a nice day out with her mother.
"You have never been in war, you don't understand."
"Don't tell me that shit." I looked over; Roy was still staring blankly at the ceiling. "You saw her didn't you? She was just a child." I wanted to add that she reminded me of Nina, the torturing image of a child I once failed, but I couldn't. It didn't matter anyways, that was something I didn't think Roy would fully understand. Roy had known what happened to Nina, but at the time he told me I couldn't do anything about it. I still carried the guilt of that day with me… he just didn't need to know.
"And I knew you would have never killed her."
I bared my teeth at him. "You told me to kill her, directly you told me to follow your orders!"
"But you still never shot, you still saved the day."
That shut me up. I wasn't sure what he was getting at, but he was right, I didn't shoot. Still…
My voice sounded weak. "Did anyone die?"
"Armstrong killed the man who shot him, an elderly man was shot and killed by a rookie, but other than that just many injured and another dark day in Parliament's history."
I said it more for myself then for Roy to hear. "War would still be better."
Roy looked at me, his face curled in an almost indescribable expression. I had only seen that specific expression once or twice before, it was his war expression, the haunting memories taunting his features.
"Right now if you went to the Great Desert to fight you would not be killing innocent people, but let's say we did win this war, which I can tell you is most unlikely, but let's say we did. I don't think you understand that by the end of your war days one innocent dead child will mean nothing. You will be looking at a much grander scale; the death of many innocent people will be on your hands if we moved into Xing's territory. Your sins will be impossible to make up for, Edward; your humanity will be nothing."
What he said next was quiet, but I was pretty positive I heard him correctly. "I finally have the family I've always wanted, if I went to Ishbal I stand a chance of losing them. I-I can't lose them. This is what war does, it tears our lives apart." Roy's words were not what struck a cord deep inside me; it was the voice he spoke with. I never knew Roy could sound the way he did, it scared me.
"Why is this happening, everything, why is it all happening?" I sighed, my fingers curling into the fabric of the sofa. I was sounding like a complainingchild and I knew it, but I wanted some type of answer, an explanation. I was stuck in the military during a war, I had almost killed a dear friend, oh hell, I felt like I was losing my mind. Why was the worldzipping by so quickly without me being able to catch up? I have said it a million times, and I planned to say it again, I just wanted to go home.
"I don't know, things just happen. We can't control the world Edward; we are just part of it. It's said that everything happens for a reason." What a stupid quote.
Roy's hands were placed at his sides; he looked between the two, as if remembering something about them. "I don't know if I can save us from war. Xing is using alchemy; our soldiers are simply using fire power. We are on foreign land, our numbers of troops doesn't even compare to theirs. Reality is that we must admit to ourselves that out chances of winning are just not th-"
"We will find a way."
Roy looked at me, for a moment I became memorized by the blood that still trickled down the side of his face, but his words quickly snapped me back to reality.
"The Parliament won't budge on lifting the laws of alchemy; you and I are useless without it."
I pushed some of my hair out of my eyes. I wouldn't allow Roy to give up hope, there was something we could do, there had to be. I mean, he was the Flame Alchemist and I was Fullmetal… that had to mean something, right?
"It doesn't matter, we will find a way."
I sighed as I pushed myself up, trying to get myself to sit straight. My braid was messy, half of my hair hanging in my face. I groaned at the annoying strands. I untied the braid and began to work the knots out of my long hair.
Roy watched me as I worked on my hair, his eyes following my movements in silence. After awhile I finally cleared my throat, finding the guts to say what I wanted to say.
"I almost killed you."
The knots in my hair seemed fully out, so I began to work on the redoing my braid.
Roy did not seem one bit fazed. "I'm well aware."
It was weird how easy Roy and I could get along when you sat us down and we actually talked. Ha, strange, wasn't that what Riza had suggested?
"Aren't you mad or at least disappointed?" For some reason I wanted him to be upset with me, I was beginning to truly feel like I deserved it.
Shit, really… I had almost killed Roy. What the hell was wrong with me?
"Did you aim that gun at me because your emotions told you to?"
I finished my braid, tying it off with the elastic band.
I couldn't lie to him; I never wanted to lie to Roy. "Yea."
"Well then, as you said to the Parliament, you were just being true to yourself."
I stared at Roy for a few moments, realizing he was using my words against me. I could never kill Roy while being true to myself. But I still smiled at the comment, relaxing more in the cushions of the couch.
Yea, being true to myself. I being true to myself was simply me sitting right there, the two of us being bruised and battered from each others fists and kicks. Learning more about each other, understanding one another better. Like I once said, Roy and I just had something in our relationship that allowed us to fight, forgive, and then move on.
It was evening and visiting hours were almost over. Upon leaving Roy's office Riza had told me that Armstrong had a successful surgery and was now awake. Even though it was late, I still thought it would only be proper to see how he was doing.
When I approached his room I found Farman sitting by his bed, talking with Armstrong about something. The moment I entered Farman had excused himself, giving us some privacy. I noticed when Farman walked by me that he gave me an unpleasant look, but I just ignored it. I figured it was pretty obvious why he might have some negative emotions towards me.
Armstrong glowed as brilliant as ever, practically swooning as he spoke.
"What a nice surprise Edward Elric, I wasn't expecting a visit!"
Why did I visit him again?
I gave him a toothy smile. "How are you feeling?" I took a seat at the edge of his hospital bed. The bulky man had a slight pale color to him, but that most likely was from the surgery.
"Very well, thank you."
"That's good; I'm surprised you're so alert after going through what you did."
Armstrong chuckled at me, lifting up his hospital shirt and pointed at the bandages that wrapped around his side. "This is nothing; I have been through much worse."
"Too bad your perfect abs and chest have now been nicked." Deep down I hoped he would now keep his shirt on more often, what a dream that would be.
"Battle wounds Edward, we all have our battle wounds." I gave a soft sigh at that, ok, so forever Armstrong will take off his shirt with any given opportunity, dreams never did come true.
"So, when do they plan to release you? I was shocked when I heard you had been transferred to Roy's unit, I guess it will be cool having you around now."
I was simply trying to make basic conversation, you know, pick a light topic, hoping he wouldn't bring up Roy, but Armstrong's face fell slightly. I wasn't sure if I had said something wrong or what.
"I'm not sure when I'm coming back."
I lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Armstrong eyed me for a moment. He and I were never ones who talked about his personal life; I suppose he wasn't sure if he was comfortable to talk to me about that type of stuff. But after a few moments of hesitation he continued. "They are giving me medical leave."
"Oh?" Well, medical leave would be the obvious, considering he had been shot. I suppose if I had wanted to I would have been given tons of medical leave after the 5th lab, but I was too stubborn for that. But what Armstrong said next almost knocked my socks off.
"Possible permanent medical leave."
"Wh-what?" Wait no, that was wrong. They couldn't cut Armstrong; he had been in the military longer than I had been alive! "When did this happen?"
"Lieutenant Farman was filling me in on the details."
God damn it! How could they do something like that? I mean who would even consider of taking Armstrong out of the military? "Who gave the order? I'll kick their ass!" My last statement came out slightly hysterical sounding even though it was totally unintentional. I just couldn't believe they would consider cutting Armstrong, I mean, after everything he had done…
Armstrong crossed his arms, his look became stern. "Edward Elric, I am so happy you are worried about me, but it sounds like you are over reacting."
I groaned, I didn't think I was over reacting, merely showing concern.
"It's better this way." Armstrong looked out the window in the room, the evening sun beginning to set. "I'm getting too old for this."
I was surprised, almost shocked, that Armstrong would ever say something like that. But truth be told, I suppose one could only take the military for so many years, sooner or later they would begin to wear down. It just sucked; I didn't want Armstrong to leave, especially since there were few State Alchemist that remained.
"On the bright side you won't be pulled into this war." Positive thinking always made me feel better.
Again, slight depression seemed to take over Armstrong's features. "I had paid my dues with Xing long ago."
"What do you mean?"
Armstrong turned his head, his curl swaying a bit from the movement. He looked at me once more, almost as if he was measuring me with his eyes. It was then I realized something, all the time I had known Armstrong he had always spoken to me as a child, I suppose he was trying to decide if it was time to speak with me as a man.
"The Xing people are very kind people themselves; it is their form of government which is corrupt. Years ago under King Bradley's rule and before the Ishbal War, I had once been assigned to do patrol work along the Xing border to the Great Desert. During those days Xing use to welcome the Amestris people."
What Armstrong was saying seemed very interesting. I bid him to continue.
"King Bradley ruined the relation's with Xing by trying to enforce his own ideals; the Xing people seemed unaware of the full power of alchemy. They were such peaceful people, their own government never even tried to help save them."
Armstrong stopped at that and really he didn't need to say anymore. King Bradley was a bloody man, I was pretty positive he had order Armstrong to kill people with his alchemy. I was surprised it didn't cause a war during those days, but then again who would have dared to challenge Amestris during that time? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if this whole Xing War taking place didn't have some relations to what King Bradley had done.
Man, poor Armstrong.
"Maybe you can finally start a new life."
I didn't know how to comfort the man. I was well aware that Alchemist used to be used for horrible things, I was lucky King Bradley never used me for his dirty work. Ok, now that's not including him trying to use me for the Philosopher Stone.
"Well, I will finally be able to follow the Armstrong legacy of taking on the Armstrong Estate! Oh Edward Elric, come and visit me any time you would like!"
Well, it didn't seem like you could damper Armstrong's mood for long.
Talk about one hell of a day. I felt barely alive by the time I stumbled into the hallway of my dorm. There was so much going through my head that I just refused to allow myself to think, period. I finally reached my dorm door and had to dig around for my key. Once I finally found it, I stuck the metal piece into my lock. My door didn't want to open right away, the keys not willing to turn all the way. After many jiggles and a few kicks at the door, the door decided to finally open.
Right away I saw the envelope on the floor. I picked it up and tossed it to my bed; I figured I would just read it right before I went to sleep.
My red jacket fell almost immediately to the floor, my black one soon following. After that, my black tank top came off, which I removed as slowly and carefully. I kept glancing at the bed, it just looked so good.
My boots came off next; I then leaned down and pulled off my socks, eww smelly. My belt buckle was being a bitch and didn't want to work, but after a few jerks the leather strap was undone.
The button unbuttoned, the zipper was unzipped, and without much effort my pants fell right to the floor. The cold air of the dorm room teased my sensitive skin; my body ached to just lie in the heaven of my bed.
Ok, really, my body just ached all over. I had new cuts and bruises all over, I felt like one big ugly piece of poo.
I practically threw myself at my bed, but automatically regretted the action when I felt the edge of the envelope dig into my back.
"Ahh crap!"
I winced at the prickly feeling, pulling the envelope out from under me. Right, I still had to read the stupid thing.
I reached for my glasses that I had left at the bed stand the night before. I pushed them up my nose and leaned close to the window, glad that it was a clear sky out so the moonlight provided me the light.
I tore open the sill of the envelop and yanked out the letter, but the moment the letter came out, a white piece of cloth fell onto my lap. I picked up the fabric carefully…
It was one of my white gloves.
I curiously unfolded the letter. The wording was in cursive, very short and simple.
'Edward,
I'm sorry, let's just start over.
Sincerely
Klose
Ps: You left the glove in my room.'
I stared at the glove that was on my lap. Only if Klose knew I had a huge pile of the white gloves in one of my drawls, I was prone to always ruining a pair every few days. But it was still a nice gesture of returning it.
Even though the letter was short, simple, actually kind of sweet, it still spoke wonders. Start over? Honestly, I couldn't ask for more. Starting over sounded like a damn good idea, just pretend what happened that night never happened at all, I liked it.
The part that slightly bothered me though was her saying sorry. If anyone should have said sorry it was me. I had sort of led her on, went along with the smooches, it should have been me who had said sorry first. Well, I suppose tomorrow was another day; she and I could talk and figure out things then. Yea, sounded like a good plan.
BUT before anything else was to occur, I desperately needed sleep. And I mean, I needed it real bad, like I was at the point of being pass out worthy. I pulled off my glasses and placed them back on the bed stand.
I wrapped the cozy blankets around me, practically melting into their warmth. My pillow melded with my head, giving me the most comforting feeling in the entire world. Heaven, just like heaven.
Or just like hell.
My eyes flew open the moment I heard the click of the lock which was supposed to lock my door. What the hell? I quickly turned in my bed and prepared to sit up, but I had turned over too far and practically fell out of my bed the moment my dorm door was slammed open. I was halfway fallen down the side, still curled tightly in my blankets. Light streamed into the dark quarters, partially blinding me for a few seconds. That stupid annoying sound of the clanking of a cane clanked the moment the intruder took a step into the room.
"Ro-Roy?"
"Get up."
What in the world was going on? Hell, Roy never visited me late at night, even in my childhood days. I was tempted to throw one of my pillows at him. How the hell did he even have a key to my dorm room! Well ok, he was General.
"What the hell are you doing? I'm trying to sleep. Shouldn't you be at home with your wife and kid? I mean, do you even know what time it is?"
I untangled myself from my blankets and made a nice plop sound on the wooden floor. Ouch, that hurt my butt. "Or are you here for round two?"
The light switch in my room was suddenly flipped on, this time I pretty much was blinded from the light minus seeing strange spotty shapes dancing in front of my eyes. It took my eyes a few moments to adjust, but when they finally did I found Roy frantically running around my room trying to collect all my clothing. Something wasn't right, especially if Roy was playing laundry man all of the sudden.
"What's going on?"
Roy gave me a brief glance before he dipped down and picked up my red jacket. "I thought I told you to get up." He suddenly shoved my clothing into my arms. "Get dressed, hurry up."
Ok, ok, things were going a little too fast for me. I was still tired and groggily so my brain wasn't processing at a proper speed. "What the hell, why are you even in my room?"
Roy flipped open his pocket watch, I could see his patience wearing thin. Roy's words were spoken so fast I had trouble keeping up with him. "I'll fill you in as we head towards the train station, but what I need for you is to get dressed and take anything that you will need for the next couple of days. It takes twenty minutes to get to the train stationfrom here and the train leaves in 15, so hurry up!"
I finally got a good look at Roy's face; he was black and blue all over. I was tempted to smirk; it looked like I had done my beating well. But hell, I couldn't enjoy it at that moment! All I wanted was to freakin' sleep!
"Roy, slow done for just a second, I refuse to budge till you tell me what the hell is going on!"
Roy limped his way to the door, pulling out a small suit case which I suppose he had brought with him. The suit case was silver, very sleek. He walked over to my bed, avoiding my question. He unlocked the locks and opened the empty case, searching around the room for any articles of extra clothing he felt I might need, which I had very few considering I never needed any. Oh man, what the hell did this guy think he was doing?
He finally looked down at me. I was still sitting on the floor; he narrowed his eye in disapproval.
"Didn't I tell you to get ready? You're going to be late for your train to Ishbal."
Well, that fully got me awake.
Han-chan's Omake!
"Don't help him; he is worn out because he didn't pace himself. Eh, Fullmetal, I thought you were more professional than that."
My eyes became two thin slits, which promised death, as I glared at Roy. I could feel the blood in my veins beginning to pump faster, my adrenaline beginning to rise. My heart felt heavy all of the sudden, my anger threatened to take control.
I had trusted Roy, how could he have insulted me like that, I am trying to please him my hardest!
Roy stood on the stage, his shaggy hair hanging over his eyes, a smirk dancing over his face. I wanted to wipe that smirk off with my lips. I wanted to do so much; my fingers itched to ravage him!
But the one thing I wanted most from Roy was for him just to tell me why. Why he did it.
The pain I felt deep inside me was apparent in my voice. "You're nothing but shit." In away it felt like Roy had broken me. I had trusted him; I had put my faith in him… I thought he was such a better person than that. Roy, why, why, why!
"Edward…"
"What!" I avoided the dizziness that consumed me, my feet smacking against the concrete. I walked towards the stage, looking up at the man who avoided eye contact. How could he have done it, how could he have told me that I was too small wasn't sure how risqué I should go… so I let this be taken one of two ways…V? Roy…
I stopped a few feet from the stage, staring up at the man above, trying to see under his mop of dark hair. But I could see nothing; it was as if his good eye was not there. "Roy-"
I did not finish my sentence because in on swift motion Roy turned on his heels, heading towards the stairs that lead off the stage. His voice followed him. "Boys, we need to finish this."
I looked down the line of soldiers; all of them saluting Roy's back, saying "Yes sir."
I blinked a few times, trying to get my head on straight. Oh hell no. No, no, no, no, no.
Gomps…thing…
Sad that there is no Winry and Al love? Well calm your ruffled feathers, Al and Winry are still alive… somewhere… out there. I dedicate this part to you Al and Winry fans.
o.o.o.o.o.o
"Oh Al, what a delightful cup of tea!"
Al looked a Winry, a pleasant smile enlightening his features. "Why Winry, I only learned from the best. This meatloaf is simply outstanding!"
Winry lifted an eloquent eyebrow, but then figured that dear Alphonse was just being humorous. Oh what a silly boy that Alphonse was!
"Oh stop it Alphonse, you know that's my special homemade ice cream. Oh, you're such a funny boy!"
Alphonse stared at the brown chunk of food. Ice cream….ice cream….
Winry only saw Alphonse's retreating back and heard his shrill screams of pure terror.
o.o.o.o.o.o
Authors Note:
OK! Before anyone says anything! I know this chapter seems a little out-of-character, but I remind you our characters are older and different! Now, scenes in this chapter will be brought up later in the fic to help complete your understanding of all the events.
Ok, onto my babble.
Finally, got this chap done! This chapter was very fun to write, but the next one I'm extremely excited about. We will be hitting a big plot advancer! Anyways, I hope you really enjoyed this chapter; hopefully I can get the next one out a lot quicker.
Thanks to my beta and my critic! They always kick ass XD!
Questions you might have…
1. Ed…Ed almost shot Roy! What the hell, he got away with it too.
This scene will be talked about later in the fic. I'm sure some of you can already guess why the Parliament did not mention the conflict between Ed and Roy during Ed's 'hearing'(minus the hint Hakuro gave them), well if you cant guess you will be told soon.
2. Why didn't the crowd see Edward point a gun at Roy?
Well…there was …a wall there. Ok, this part I wasn't totally sure people would be clear about. The wall Edward produced was supposed to be big, considering the sound of the crowd was drowned out on Edward's side. I know I didn't directly stat any of this, I was just hoping you guys woulda figured it out XP.
3. Why didn't Riza stop Roy and why did she ask to be assigned to be one of Ed's guards?
Ok, I don't know if I will ever comment on this later in the fic, so I figure I might as well tell you now. Riza never stopped Roy because I do not see it in her character. I think Riza is someone who trusts Roy that is why she told Ed to talk to Roy before jumping to conclusions. Also, even though Ed has no clue what Riza was thinking, Ed was pretty much right in saying he figured that Riza just wanted to make sure he hadn't cracked when she asked to be assigned to him. Riza wanted to talk to Ed, tell him to talk to Roy before jumping to conclusions and also she wanted to make sure Ed wasn't a nut case who was now after her husband. Ok, some might disagree with me on this and I apologize, but this is just how I feel things would have gone.
4. The Parliament is letting Ed go…what?
Yea, you're probably going 'Ed is getting a little too lucky here…' Well, fact is Chairman Neil had ordered Roy to commit a massacre without the other chairmen's approval. You might also say 'well, why can Ed use alchemy to stop a massacre but they wont allow alchemy in war?' This deals with the type of politicians the Parliament is made up of. They want to save their asses! Like Hakuro said, this is why their government gets negative opinions. Neil did something stupid and the Parliament is just grateful that Ed stopped it before it got worse. Now, let's say the parliament persecuted Ed while the country's thinks Ed as some type of hero. Trust me, that would make things just worse for the parliament.
5. Gomp! Ed and Roy fight, not cool!
Heh, yea some people might think the fight between Ed and Roy is a little dramatic. The reason they fight is because I think the only way Roy would have gotten Ed to truly shut up and listen to him was if Roy somehow impair Ed. And anyways, I just thought it would be fun to rematch the two again with handicaps XD!
6. Did Hakuro know Ed in the older days?
Remember, Hakuro is the reason Ed got to take the State Alchemist test. So I wont say they knew each other extremely well, but they were well aware of each others exsistence.
Geraniums- Sorry it took me so long to update, I keep running into writers block. Thanks for the comment on the omake's; it means a lot to both me and Han-chan! Lol, you actually told your dad about the happy pill! Yay for the happy pills! Thanks for the review!
Maria- We haven't talked for awhile, but I hope your holiday went good. Lol, nope Ed did not shoot the girl. I'm surprised you like the Klose part, I thought most people would be upset with me about it >3. Is Breda a chimera? Lol, I can't say! It might be a spoiler! Well, we will talk later on msn! Thanks for the review! Talk to you later dear
Kristianna- Ahh, so it is Klaus? Argh, that was the original spelling I used! I thank you very much for pointing that out, but considering I'm so far in the story I cant say I will go back and change it right away. I am re-editing the older chapters, so if I do get to the newer ones I'll defiantly fix that, just for the time being it will remain the same. Thanks for the correction!
TheOneBlueGecko- A new reader! I'm so excited you have decided to join us along with the adventure XD! I guarantee there is much in store for our fond character Ed! Thank you for the wonderful comments, they mean so much to me, thank you! Anyways, thanks for the review!
Katratzi- You didn't find that chapter boring? Well I'm happy to hear. Next chapter is going to be a big plot advancer, whew! And this chapter was, ehh, alright I suppose. Ed didn't end up killing anyone at least. Well, thanks for the review once more!
HumorQueenMere- Hey, if I got your interest in the chapter that at least says something. Lol, I think I scare some people away by how I portray Ed's character, but he's just so freakin' fun! Roy and Riza should have more kids? Lol, I totally agree! But, for the time being there is a war on their hands so I can't say if I will get Riza knocked up again. XD We will just have to wait and see. Thanks for the review!
Kwala- Thank you for not thinking the last chapter was boring. Was the dream with Al foreshadowing, must wait and see. Yes, I felt Klose was rather bold too, but man! How could you keep your hands off Ed? XD! If you look at my 'Questions you may have…' I answer the thing about Riza standing by and watching. Will Ed tell Winry or Mustang about Klose? XD! I will give you a small spoiler, he will tell one of them. Not telling you which one though. Lol, getting older isn't too bad, now that I'm 19 people look at me as a mature adult (have no clue why) and amazingly my elders actually listen to what I have to say. Only downside is once I hit 21 the only thing I'll have left to look forward to in life is my social security. Oh well. Thanks for the review! Keep giving your nephew back rides so one day he can pass it down and do it to his nieces and nephews!
AlereVenus- Nope, Ed did not kill a child. Ed just got a nice lesson on what being in the military is all about. If I was Klose, I wouldn't have allowed Ed to escape XD! Thanks for the review!
MarshmellowDragon- You're coming to America! What part of America are you coming to? I read in your profile that your from Italy and go to school in Switzerland, lol, I say you come to America and send me to those places! Well Ed didn't shoot anyone (well, ok, almost Roy) so there was no bloody mess. Lol, if Ed would have killed a chairman he would have been hanged, literally! Anyways, I hope you have a safe trip to the USA! Thanks for the review!
Tami- I'm sorry! I tried to update this chapter fast but I had to do many revisions because well… writers block tends to make chapters suck : (. But I got the chappy out! Finally! Yup, war will mess with people, its already beginning to mess with Ed. I'm going to have fun writing the upcoming chapters! More mystery (and some answers) will come in the next chapter. I'm so excited about this upcoming chapter; I think people are getting sick of hearing about it. Lol, the extras were Han-chan's idea, so we must thank her. Also, the amount of reviews I have doesn't truly matter to me. I am extremely grateful towards anyone willing to comment about my fic, but this fic is purely written for my own entertainment. Thank you so much for reviewing, it does mean a lot. But I have said this before, never feel pressured to review. I just hope you guys enjoy what I write. Thank you very much for the wonderful review!