So like, zomg, I don't own FMA. I really don't know how this happened. I mean, like, shouldn't I own it or something?
THE CONTEST! By Han-Chan!
If you can find the one (ok, I admit, mistakes in this chapter and all chapters tends to be rampant, but I have a feeling that you can find it if you try, I believe in you!) mistake in this chapter, you need to quote the line and point out the mistake, I will write you a drabble/short-fic with whatever paring you so desire at any rating you so desire, and if it stays below R it will be next chappie's omake! If not it will be on LiveJournal under the penname Hangebokhan.
And if that does not appeal to you I can make you a wall, banner, or an icon, just provide the base images.
Oh, and to contact me to tell me you won, comment in my LJ.
That leads me to my second thing: you will find tidbits, hints, bonus omake, and other Held goodies over at my LJ so I would scoot over there if I were you…
Held
By The Gomp
OMG GOMP! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED NOW!
No more woes. Let's review!
As we all know: Edward-back to his world-war starting in Amestris- Rizenpool is attacked- Ed uses illegal alchemy-arrested and brought to central-must work for the military for free for a year to repay money that was being given to Al for compensation for his brothers 'death'-meets lovely Enzo and Klose - Enzo dies big mystery with Enzo's death- Ed meets with Enzo's parents and finds that Enzo had not talked to them for like a year- Winry and Al make a surprise visit- Ed discovers Enzo was actually a chimera- Ed waves Winry and Al off, tells them to go and stay with Izumi- Ed goes in search of red water at the 5th lab (relates it to Enzo) -is attacked by a chimera, but finds no red water -Ed gets stitches on his shoulder- Winry and Al and Granny go to Izumi's-a big rally in front of central/almost massacre-Ed almost shoots Roy (of course doesn't) for ordering shooting of innocent people-Parliament thanks Ed for stopping the potential massacre and gets his probation taken off- Ed and Roy fight out their frustration, come to terms with one another- Roy sends Ed to Ishbal to talk to Ross- Ross tells Ed about strange building- Ross also introduces Ed to Mei-chan- Mei-chan tells Ed to stop Ling- Ross also reunites Ed with good ol' Wrath-Ed tells Ross to destroy 'strange building' that she had seen in the desert -Ed returns Wrath to Izumi.
Ok, that was all old stuff. The last two chapters in better detail:
Edward had noticed that Wrath was acting rather strange…even more then usual. Ed and Izumi had decided to remove the Red Water that was still in Wraths system (thinking Wraths craziness could be an effect from the Red Water). When they go to remove the water Izumi chickens out and Wrath ends up knocking Ed out (biting him and placing Red Water in his bloodstream). Al completes the transmutation with Wrath and also saves Ed (takes Red Water out of his system). Brotherly love occurs…blah blah.
Finally! Winry wakes Ed up in the middle of the night. Xing had crossed the border and entered Amestris and totally destroyed 7 towns and damaged 3 others (alchemists and strange looking creatures were the ones who attacked). Amestris soldiers stopped the attack, even though it was already to late. The death toll has potential to be in the thousands. Ed makes the final decision that it is time he enters the war. He plans to fight, even to the bitter end. All he has to do is get the Parliament to agree.
Now, let's get this plot moving again!
They took a rough count of the bodies.
Sometimes when death of great amount occurs, people don't know how to react. I saw a thousand men die once, the Philosopher Stone had killed them. Somehow, this was different. This was not a thousand soldiers, this was thousands of civilians. I was just like everyone else, I didn't know how to react.
My red coat fit perfectly over my form, white gloves slid easily over my hands, my braid was tied tightly and hung behind me. The silver suit case felt light in my grasp.
I forced Winry to go back to bed. I had told her we would tell the others in the morning about what had happened, I had lied to her. I thought I wasn't going to lie anymore…
The house was dark as I left my room and headed down the hallway. Winry and Granny's door was shut, I found no reason to bother them. My steps were quiet as I walked into Wrath's room and placed the small case that held the tranquilizers on the bed stand. I just prayed if Wrath needed the tranquilizers someone would inject him. I knew I was leaving Wrath without getting my answers, but I would be back. I would come back soon, I promised myself.
I left Izumi and Wrath asleep in their own worlds and walked out of the bedroom and down the hall until my feet came to a sudden halt and I stared at the closed wooden door in front of me. My metal hand reached slowly for the iron knob, I grasped it and gently turned.
The two windows in the room were wide open, wind made the drapes dance. The ghastly glow of the moon illuminated the boy who laid on the bed. My heart went into my throat.
As I stared at Al, something deep inside me yelled to not leave. It told me to stay with him, to never let my brother go. But I ignored that voice, I had to go.
For the first time ever, duty called.
My movements were slow as I walked up to the bed and just stared at the angelic face of my sibling. His brown hair hung over his closed eyes and his mouth parted ever so slightly. My gloved human fingers ran gently over his cheek. I could feel the warmth of my brother seep into my glove. I knelt down and kissed him on the forehead, As I pulled away I noticed something wet roll down the side of Al's face. It took me a moment to realize it was my own tear.
I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. Why was this so hard? It had never been as hard as this before…
My words were so quiet I could barely hear them myself. "I will do everything I can to come back. I can't lose you Al, not after everything we have been through." I closed my eyes. "I want to fix everything, once and for all." I wanted to live a normal life damnit! Was that so much to ask for? I wanted to give my brother and I the chance to be happy. But I knew with this war, that ideal would never exist.
Sometimes, if you want something done, you just have to do it yourself.
I left.
"I smell coffee."
His pen fell from his fingers. Funny, he didn't even hear the door open. His bloodshot eyes turned to me almost hauntingly; I swallowed hard as I shut the door. "Your secretary… I hope you know she's missing." If only I could express to you of how much a personal relief it was to see that she wasn't at her desk.
Our eyes connected. He did not say a word as some time slowly passed. I was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable.
I coughed as I glided across the floor, once I reached his desk I stopped. "Have you taken a shower?"
As if the world suddenly shifted and reality set in, Rcy blinked at me. I smirked, he grunted.
"Chairman Hakuro assigned her to do filing."
It took me a moment to realize he was talking about Klose. I nodded and then looked Roy up and down… and boy, only if I could tell you how bad Roy was looking. Not 'just bad', I mean real bad. Expressed better in the context of 'utter shit' bad.
Roy bent over and picked up his fallen pen. As he placed the pen on his desk, he began to speak. "I had expected you back sooner."
"I came back as soon as I could."
"And…"
"And?" Maybe if I played dumb Roy would let things go.
"I want a report." Naa, life was never that simple.
I gave him a sincere smile. "What Ross needed to talk to me about was nothing urgent, I will have a report to you as soon as possible." Yup, I was such a good lair.
The room fell silent. I stood still as Roy's eyes did their scanning over me. His lip twitched and his face fell into confusion. The single word that fell from his mouth was filled with disbelief. "What? "
I had no plans what so ever to tell Roy about Wrath. Nope, none. So I forced my face to be stern, forced my eyes to look serious, and I straightened my stance as straight as a pin. "I returned as quickly as possible Roy, things here are more important. The situation with Ross has been settled, but is still rather complex to explain. I think it would be better for me to simply write a report."
Again silence filled the room. Roy's face went blank.
Then laughter consumed the office. Roy grabbed his sides as he bent over laughing so hard I actually thought I saw a tear fall. "That is the biggest load of shit I have ever heard leave your mouth! You look so hilarious when you're serious!"
I rolled my eyes as I pulled up the wooden chair and sat down. "I'm happy I humor you."
"You're refreshing to say the least." Roy picked up his paper cup filled with coffee and took a deep gulp of it. His face suddenly turned serious… talk about being bipolar. "I'm too tired to deal with you."
"You always know how to make me feel welcome."
"You always know how to make things difficult."
I sighed. "Look, I promise the situation with Ross can wait. Heck, really there isn't anything to worry your pretty head over. Roy trust me, there are more important things that you should be focused on." I only blinked once as I patiently waited for Roy to fall for the bait.
"Fine."
My mouth almost fell open… holy bloody hell, he did fall for it. Roy could be so easy at times.
Wanting to avoid anymore questioning, I pulled my chair closer to Roy's desk and quickly grabbed the papers Roy had been working on prior to my arrival.
I flipped through them. "They have you doing bitch work?" He was doing food supply checks.
"It needs to be done."
"They usually have rookies do this stuff. You're a general, you think they would have you doing something more important."
Roy cracked a smile. "Oh yes, I'm doing that stuff too." Roy pointed to a pile of papers piled up high on the floor. I gave a low whistle.
"You haven't slept, have you?"
His response was a small shrug and him running a hand through his greasy hair.
Without warning Roy opened his desk, pulled out a packet of bounded papers, and threw it at me. "You have been gone for much too long." Even though I was only gone for a few days.
I looked at the bundle of joy that Roy had so kindly handed me, 'Top Secret' was stamped on the front with red ink. I opened the packet and didn't even need to finish the first sentence.
"They are already saying we will lose."
Roy's voice held a flat tone. "What did you expect?"
"Them not to be so damn blunt." My metal fingers dented the papers.
Was I surprised? Absolutely not. But, I had a feeling this was something I didn't want to read. The paper had numbers. And the numbers were fucking ridiculous; they were the numbers of the dead.
"How could they wipe out almost quarter of our army in only a few days? Why the hell haven't we taken down more of their military?" The numbers were simply way too uneven and extremely preposterous. I mean, we were Amestris! Ha, yea, nationalism was going to do me good here.
"Edward, you are not stupid. You know why." I did know why… and it all tangled into the sole purpose of my return: alchemy.
I tossed the papers back onto Roy's desk. I didn't need to read anymore because everything printed on those pages was going to be predictable. Reading the packet would simply be a waste of life.
Roy picked up the packet and placed it into a drawer.
I began to rub my temples and allowed a long, heavy sigh to escape. Well, if I had Roy alone then I might as well make use of it. "Rizenpool, last night, this stupid war… Roy I-"
"I had Klose place some work in your room. It is work that needs to be done promptly." Roy's voice was too calm for my own liking.
I wanted to continue with what I was just cut off from saying… I wanted to say something that was heavily on my mind, but I simply stopped when I watched Roy pick up his pen and began to sign his name on one of the papers.
My tongue and my heart felt heavy as I stood in one smooth motion.
He knew why I had returned.
And I, for the first time, realized I was totally and truly alone.
The spray was warm. Like a good boy I washed my body with soap, and considering my feminine qualities, used honey scented shampoo and conditioner for my hair.
"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."
The water dripped down my face. I closed my eyes as I breathed in the musky air. My fingers ran lightly over my stitches, trailing down my scared form.
"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."
My hand suddenly grabbed the knob of the shower and gave a quick twist. The water stopped.
"Shit… Roy..."
I pulled away the curtain and reached for two towels, one for my hair and the other for my body. I stepped out of the tub and then left the bathroom.
I stared around my bedroom area. Of course, like always, Roy wasn't joking when he said he had work for me to do. Piles littered the area.
I unwrapped the towel from around my waste and grabbed my boxers off the bed and quickly threw them on. My black pants came next.
"You have never been in war, you don't understand."
My hair fell down to my waist as I allowed the strands free.
The towel fell from my loose fingers. "He's right, I really don't understand." I took in a deep breath. "But damnit Roy, if something isn't done… I think I will feel worse."
I was alone in this. Roy wouldn't help, I couldn't ask him. There was no one else really to ask.
On the train ride back to Central, on the train that I was leaving my family with, I had set a goal.
On the bed sat 12 envelopes, all addressed to separate men.
11 would be sent through urgent mail, 1 would be delivered personally.
I frowned.
His office was the same as before. It was way too fancy for my own taste. I was lucky to get a meeting in, the previous one had been cancelled.
He looked tired. Maybe not as tired as Roy, but dark circles still showed under his eyes. His pasty skin had an oily shine to it.
Hakuro stared at me with his piercing eyes, his annoyance apparent. I was sized up. "Can I help you?"
I shut the door behind myself. I wasn't really nervous, but I was pretty scared. I was scared that I was doing something totally stupid…
"Yes Sir. I do need your help."
Hakuro's lips upturned ever so slightly. I was never one to go to others for 'help'. I had a feeling that I just expanded his ego.
"I see. Please, take a seat. I don't have much time to spare, so let's get things on there way."
The chair in front of Hakuro's desk was much more comfortable then Roy's. It was a finely designed cushioned chair with gold lions embroidered on the sides. My butt sank happily into it.
Hakuro folded his hands in front of himself. His tongue ran over his straight teeth before he spoke. "So Mr. Elric, what can I do for you?"
"Well…" Hakuro was the only one I was seeing face to face about this. I had to admit, it was a little weird, but I knew it was necessary. "I want you to enlist me in one of the units going to the Great Desert. I want to fight." I bit my bottom lip when I finished, feeling my heart pound heavily.
Man, either I was a smart guy or a big idiot. I couldn't decide.
"Oh?" Hakuro's eyebrows had shot up. I could tell he was surprised. "And what does your commanding officer have to say about this?"
I turned my face away from him. "I have not approached him about this, sir."
Hakuro suddenly stood. His hands went behind his back as he walked around his desk. "Very interesting. I am curious though, what do you plan to do in this war?"
"What do you mean, sir?"
Hakuro used one of his hands to tap the side of his cheek. His smirk was rather unsettling. "Don't think I am a fool, you're an alchemist. Other than your alchemist abilities, you are worthless."
My eyes narrowed. "Then why the hell am I being forced to serve in the military if I'm so worthless?"
I suppose my sudden burst of anger entertained Hakuro. His eyes lit up and his smile became playful. "Your spirit will never die, nor cease to entertain me."
I held back from groaning. The man was annoying me now. "So will you enlist me?"
"I want a justifiable reason."
I grounded my teeth together. "You're joking right? I think it's obvious you need some good soldiers in the desert."
"You are only good with alchemy."
I jumped out of my seat. "Then just let me use alchemy!"
Being rather informal with a high ranking official, especially when you were asking something of them, was not something one was supposed to do. But, I was desperate to get my point across.
"I can fight! If you allow alchemists in this war we will win. Why won't you see that?" I was tempted to grab the man by the collar of his shirt and force him to see what it was I wanted him to see.
Hakuro defiantly did not look entertained anymore. I could almost predict what he was thinking: 'you are still a child, still irresponsible, still naïve. Still stupid'.
"I am not like the others, I never used my alchemy to do ba-"
Hakuro turned sharply, his voice cut me off. "I don't want to hear it Major."
"I once saved you!"
A dry laugh fell from his lips. "And I saved you. I got you off for using alchemy, alchemy is illegal."
My fists were in tight balls at my sides. "Why aren't you getting it? Why don't you care!"
The devil darkened Hakuro's face. I could tell that I had pushed all the wrong buttons and was…slightly… regretting it. "Why don't I get it? Do I have to explain myself to an adolescent like you? Alchemists are the dirtiest kind, you play with lives! You make me sick! And what do you mean I don't care? Oh Edward, I care. I care so deeply you're too blind to see."
I tried to think of something smart. I mean, the man called alchemists 'dirty'. I needed to defend my fellow scholars. But the sad thing was, was that I couldn't. It was obvious that he was right, even if he was making a generalization.
A frown graced my lips. My words were quiet. "You're right, maybe I am being too blind to see."
His smirk was subtle. "Yes."
I narrowed my eyes. "But, I can't just sit here and do nothing! I have family…you have family! That is what I want you to get, the preservation of life is sometimes more important then stupid laws. I won't be inhuman with my use of alch-"
"Enough!"
"emy. I will use alchemy for protecting, not slaughtering. You have to let me go!"
A growl sound came from the back of Hakuro's throat. "How dare you be disrespectful in my office!"
"This office was provided by the people that I am trying to protect! The people you are sentencing to their deaths!"
The slap caused me to taste blood. I could tell he had years of working out to thank for that. I could feel the stream of blood dribble down from the corner of my mouth.
"Get out of my office."
"I promised myself I wouldn't leave till I got what I wanted."
His lip twisted upward with a faint look of disgust. "Then I suppose I will have to force you to leave."
I didn't want to be carried away by soldiers, so I ran to the desk and placed my hand over the phone before Hakuro could reach it.
"What do I have to do for you to allow me to go?"
Hakuro's hand faltered its reach. "You can't do anything."
I leaned forward so we were almost nose to nose. "There is something you want, I see it in your eyes." How he had faulted for the phone, there was something.
Hakuro leaned back slightly away from me. His mouth remained firm as his eyes looked to the corner of the room. I followed his eyes… it only lead to an old medieval painting.
"Negotiation?"
My lips were dry. "I see…"
My face slammed into the cold water of the sink. In a moment of frustration I screamed as loud as I could into the freezing water, the water's response was to froth with giant bubbles.
This was not fucking fair! I felt so disgusted, almost dirty.
I threw my head back out of the water and droplets of the water hit my bathroom tile walls. My face, hair, and upper shirt were soaking wet.
"I have a fucking day to decide, that bastard!" Politics… oh god, fucking politics!
I yanked a towel off the rack. I began to dry my face, but ended up screaming in the towel instead.
"Oh Edward, I care. I care so deeply you're too blind to see."
He only cared about his damn self!
I stomped out of the bathroom and just threw myself to my bed. I chose to ignore all the paperwork piled up around me, if I closed my eyes hard enough maybe this hell hole would just go away. Yea, when did that ever work?
"I need to just go for a walk."
Yea, yea, a walk actually sounded rather appealing. Get away from the base, question my self over and over why I returned.
I sat up quickly. I clapped my hands and placed them over the dampness of my shirt, in a matter of moments mist surrounded me as my shirt instantly became dry. I pushed myself off the bed and almost ran out of the room.
Everyone remaining on base were so busy that not one person lifted their head as I walked by them. I almost felt guilty that I was ignoring the work I had been given. The key word there was almost.
I shoved my hands deep in my pockets as I headed towards the gardening grounds. I had to admit, even though the base was in a state of confusion the gardener was doing a damn good job at doing his work. The faint scent of pollen lingered in the air. My dark mood didn't mix well with the glorious scenery.
I was almost in denial of what Hakuro had asked of me. I honestly thought Hakuro wasn't one of those dirty politicians, I thought he was the good one. Wasn't there supposed to be a good one? And for him to call alchemists dirty…
Ha, he was as bad as us. Hell, just fuck the bastard.
But still… good or bad, he had left me with a choice. The more time I wasted considering my options, the more deaths there would be in the Great Desert.
Could I really even stop the war? Were my abilities with alchemy good enough to take out Xing's side? If I accepted what Hakuro had offered to give me for assistance, I would surely win. Right? Or maybe, I was thinking too highly of myself.
"God damn it Edward, just shut up!" I placed my hands over my face.
There was a moment of utter silence. Then…
"Talking to yourself is not always healthy."
I blinked a few times. Umm, did I hear right?
"I was getting worried about you."
My hands slipped away from my face as I turned slowly and looked behind me. Klose smiled warmly at me.
Well, err… crap?
Lesson one, never let your guard down.
Hell, bloody hell!
Klose looked at me confused. "Are you ok?"
Warm soft lips.
I felt the blush that consumed my face. My words were slightly choked. "Oh hey, I didn't know you were-wait, aren't you supposed to be helping Chairman Hakuro?" Yup, my favorite man at the moment. Right.
Klose covered her mouth with the back of her hand while she giggled softly. "Oh, I'm still on duty." It was then I noticed the manila folder in her hands.
I gave her a small smile, even though behind that smile I was cursing the world to the devils den. To be quite frank, things still felt rather weird with Klose. I mean, we really hadn't seen each other since that night…
"Where have you been? I have been curious."
"I uhhh." I took a deep breath. "Duty, you know."
Klose lifted one of her eloquent eyebrows. "No, I don't know."
Didn't I go for a walk to clear my head? "Klose, why are you here?"
Her hands landed on her hips. "Edward, what is going on? Is this about…" Go Klose! Just make things even weirder.
Silence fell between us, my eyes landed on a nice pink tulip. I honestly wasn't in the mood for this. I suddenly shoved my hands in my pockets and turned on my heels. I just wanted to walk and continue thinking about how much I hated Haku-
"Ed, I'm sorry. I was coming from the library and spotted you walking so decided to follow. I've just been worried about you…"
I eyed Klose's hand as it suddenly grabbed and gripped my upper arm. I sighed. "Klose, I've just had a really bad…well, life. This week is defiantly no exception. And today… well… let's just say I'm not the best person to have a conversation with at the moment."
"Oh… I understand." Her hand left my arm.
I felt like I was being an ass. Hurt shone on Klose's face, my eyes landed to my feet. "Can we just talk later?"
"Sure!" The sudden lift in her voice was actually surprising. "Well, I'll leave if you answer one thing for me."
I eyed her suspiciously. Hmm, answering one question I suppose couldn't hurt. "Sure, what?"
"Really, where have you been?"
I sucked in a deep breath. I did not, what so ever, want to talk about the Great Desert and Ishbal. It was better just not to bring that stuff up. So, I maneuvered around the subject. "Ehh, I did some business for Roy and then made a quick visit with my family. They're now an hour from here in Dublis, if you have ever heard of it. Don't tell Roy though." I winked. "You know how he would feel about a family trip during the state our country's in."
Klose gave a considerate nod. "Understandable, if your brother is that close, I would imagine you would want to see him." She smirked. "I had this fear that you had run away from me or something."
I wanted to laugh. I was so tempted to say that running away from her actually sounded like a good idea.
Klose combed her fingers through her hair. She drew her eyebrows together as if she was in thought, then she suddenly smiled. "Well, you answered my question. I should be off." She gave a soft sigh. "See each other later?" She sounded so unsure of herself.
"Yeah, we will see each other later." I assured her. I felt kind of bad that she had sounded so doubtful. I mean, hell we were on the same base. Of course we would be forced to see each other.
Her smile seemed genuine as she turned; her heels gave a soft click as she walked away.
I frowned at her retreating form. Klose… what was I going to do about her?
In the letter she had said she wanted to start over. Could we really start over? I had thought we could…
I suddenly groaned. "I don't have time for this.
I spotted a stone bench farther into the garden. The bench sat right by a rather impressive water fountain that had an angel statue in the middle of it.
I sat down on the cold stone bench. I looked up and saw that the eyes of the angel seemed to gaze intently into mine. The angel did not smile, but did not frown either. I stared into the angels piercing eyes for a few moments.
God damn Hakuro…
"So what do I do?" I suddenly covered my face with my hands. "…what do I do?"
My head smacked against the wall, I saw stars for a moment. "Is this why you sent for me?"
"What the hell is wrong with you!"
I didn't even try to push him away; I didn't even try to respond.
He pulled back and then slammed me against the wall again. "What the hell are you thinking Edward?"
I stared him straight in the eye. "I seem to be the only one thinking."
Roy loosened his grip on me. "You're not thinking at all! You are sentencing yourself to your death!"
My words were quiet. "I don't want to hear it." I really didn't, Roy was not going to understand me. Why even try?
Hell, I didn't even understand myself at that moment.
"Why won't you listen to me? Even if it was just for this one time…" His hands fell away. His eyes fell somewhere else. "You never listen when it's most important." Roy's gloomy expression remained as he turned his back towards me.
I gave a deep sigh. I wanted to tell Roy I did listen, but instead what fell from my mouth was something different. "I don't want to think that we have already lost this war." I sat down on the floor, my back against the wall.
Roy's tired voice rang into my ears. "You will die out there."
"But I am still willing to try to stop this, I have faced death before." I knew Roy would never listen to me, he would never hear my words when I felt they were important. Weren't we both just two stubborn men?
His tone held no humor. "I wouldn't use your past experiences with death as an example."
I cracked a smile. Yea, my past experiences with death weren't really the best.
Roy had heard rumors from the various other Chairmen about me trying to go to the Great Desert to fight. Word goes around fast in the military, surprise surprise. All the other Chairmen were waiting to see what Hakuro had to say on my proposal. If Hakuro agreed, they would agree and allow me to go. If not…
The thought of Hakuro sent a nasty shiver down my spine.
"Edward, why do you want to go so badly?"
I closed my eyes. "This is my choice."
Roy suddenly turned and grabbed the neck of my shirt. He pulled me up from my sitting position. "You're a damn fool!" His eyes mirrored the haunting memories that he withheld. "You're a god damn fucking fool!"
"Yea, maybe I am." Maybe I really was.
Roy's head fell onto my human shoulder. I didn't move. The friendly contact was awkward. Roy never struck me as the touchy feel type.
"A damn fool." His words were muffled by my shirt.
I suddenly felt a wet substance soak into my shirt, my mouth fell open. Roy…
I blinked.
Roy Mustang… the Flame Alchemist… was…was crying?
What the…?
My eyes were wide.
What the hell was happening to us?
I closed my eyes tight. I took a deep shuddering breath.
This war was tearing us apart.
My glasses sat on the edge of my nose as I stared at the paperwork.
Just clear my mind, do the work. Right, this would help everything.
My pencil began to write down my chicken scratch.
'Report 251 BO,
Sector G4, area 96. Soldiers Ralph Canya, Peter Jackyo, and Lieutenant Denver Swagger were bombardeed….'
My writing stopped.
Roy had cried on me. As a friend Roy had been so upset with me that he had cried. I had pushed him away, ran out of his office. I didn't want to see Roy cry.
Shit, I had miss spelled 'bombarded'. I wrote two 'e's instead of one.
I erased and began to write again.
'…bombarded by…'
"The Scholars Stone, Heavens Will, Grand Elixir, Red Toura, Prototype number 5. Like its name, it doesn't seem to have a set limit of uses"
"Brigadier General Grand…"
I closed my eyes, damn memories. I opened my eyes again and forced my pencil to continue writing.
'…Xing soldiers. Id tags, recovered. All three buried in sector 1529 G.'
My pencil stopped once more.
When I was in Hakuro's office earlier that day, he lead me towards a medieval painting that sat on his wall. He had pulled the painting off the wall, a vault sat behind it. He had opened the vault and pulled out a small case.
Brigadier General Grand had once said: "It is, at most, a scientifically created product. No one knows when it may reach its limit and no longer be of use. Though it is unstable and falls short of the real stone, it
immensely increased our power during the Civil War conflict, and it granted us ultimate abilities."
My eyes turned towards the golden watch that sat on my desk. For a moment, I could hear each click of a second… watched as a single minute passed by.
JUST DO THE DAMN WORK EDWARD! I was tempted to smack myself. The lead of my pencil marked the white sheet of paper.
'Memos have been sent to families. Paper work has been fully completed.'
Marco had once said: "That was no war. That was a massacre."
My pencil continued to scrawl words.
'No need for further investigation on deaths.
'Major E-' The tip of my pencil broke.
I had looked at Marco. "Then what happened?"
His words held so much sadness, but his honesty remained strong. "Nothing…"
"Nothing?"
"The battlefields the Nationally Certified Alchemists were sent to were all finished within one night."
The pencil easily snapped in half. I threw the broken piece of crap across the room.
"I'm never going to finish this paperwork!" I looked over at the giant pile of papers I had completed. Then I looked back at the enormous pile of paperwork that I hadn't even gotten to yet. "Shit, it looks like I haven't even made a dent!"
The chair scratched loudly against the floor as I stood up. My hands gripped the edge of the desk so tight that my human fingers turned an odd color of a pinkish purple.
Hakuro, as he had opened the case that he had pulled from the vault, had proposed a deal.
If I told Hakuro how to properly use the fake Philosopher Stone which Tim Marco originally had some help in the production with, Hakuro would allow me to go to the Great Desert. He would even allow me to use alchemy as well as allow me to take one of the remaining fake Philosopher Stones to magnify my alchemy. What a nice deal, eh?
The man was on top of the political system. He had all the damn power in the country. What the hell did he want the damn stones for?
He was just power hungry like all the rest of the damn political world!
"How stupid does Hakuro think I am?"
"I'm here to see Chairman Hakuro."
"I'm sorry sir, he's busy at the moment."
I looked at his secretary with utter annoyance. "I need to see him now!"
The pudgy woman narrowed her eyes at me. "He is busy, sir." Even though the woman was as ugly as sin, she did have quite the presence.
A click from Hakuro's door suddenly alerted me someone was leaving from his office. What luck! But, as the door opened fully, I found it did not reveal the man I sought, instead a pretty young woman.
I pushed past Klose and practically ran into Hakuro's office. "We need to talk!"
I saw the corner of Hakuro's mouth twitch. He gave a look of surprise, even though I doubt he was really surprised at all. "Do you know how rude it is to barge into my office?"
"It's about the damn deal."
Hakuro's eyebrows lifted as a smile became plastered on his face. "You have come to a decision so quickly?"
"You fucking bastard! What the hell were you thinking? You really thought I would go along with it, didn't you?" Even though I did consider it, shamefully, I realized there was no way in HELL I could tell him how to use the stones.
There was a moment of silence when nothing was said and Hakuro's warming smile slowly disappeared. I stood there hoping he would say something. The room felt freezing all of the sudden.
The one who spoke first was neither Hakuro nor myself. It was someone who I had forgotten about.
"Edward?"
I turned sharply to see Klose still hanging around the doorway. My words were cold. "Leave us."
I didn't even bother to see if she left. I turned back to Hakuro. "You're just like every other damn politician. The stone has brought nothing but suffering in this world. If you won't allow me to go to war, I'll find my own way!"
Klose suddenly pushed past me, it caused me to go silent from confusion. She stood in front of me, narrowing her eyes at Hakuro.
Wait a second…what the hell?
Hakuro narrowed his eyes back at Klose. His voice came out threatening. "Young lady…"
They stood there for a few moments, just staring at each other. I suddenly felt extremely out of place. Was Klose…standing up for me or something?
Hakuro's face turned red. "How dare you interrupt us!"
Without saying a word Klose suddenly turned and gave me the glare that should have sent me to my grave. She grabbed my metal shoulder roughly and began to pull me towards the door, her words low and annoyed. "How dare you speak to a Chairman with such disrespect." Even though she was looking at me and speaking to me, her thoughts seemed to be somewhere else. She didn't seem totally there.
…things suddenly didn't seem right anymore.
Han-Chan Omake!
So, all you readers, it is Thanksgiving in the USA at the moment, so in honor of the holiday I am giving out one gift. Details after the omake though!
"I smell coffee."
His pen fell from his fingers. Funny, he didn't even hear the door open.
His bloodshot eyes turned to me almost hauntingly. I swallowed hard as I shut the door. "Your secretary… I hope you know she's missing." If only I could express to you of how much a personal relief it was to see that she wasn't at her desk, for we had business to get done.
Our eyes were connected. He did not say a word as a minute passed, I was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable.
I coughed as I glided across the floor. Once I reached his desk I stopped. "Have you taken a shower?"
As if the world suddenly shifted and reality set in, Roy blinked at me. I smirked, he grunted.
"What do you men by that?" He looked slightly confused and on guard.
It took me a moment to realize he had not caught on. How dense is he? I smirked and then looked Roy up and down… and boy, only if I could tell you how bad Roy was looking. Not, just bad, I mean real bad. Expressed better in the context of 'utter shit' bad.
Roy bent over and picked up his fallen pen. As he placed the metal utensil on his desk, he began to speak, understanding tinting his silky voice.
"I had expected you back sooner."
"I came back as soon as I could."
"And…"
"And?" Maybe if I played it dumb Roy would let things go on further.
"I want a report." Yes! Hook, line, and sinker!
"It is urgent, I can give you the report immediately."
The room fell silent. I stood still as Roy's eyes did there scanning, twitching, and his face fell to confusion. The word that came from his mouth was filled with disbelief. "What? "
I had no plans what-so-ever to tell Roy about Wrath. Nope, none. So I forced my face to be stern, forced my eyes to look serious, even though I was highly embarrassed I even thought about that with Wrath, and straightened my stance as straight as a pin. "I returned as quickly as possible Roy, things here are more important. The situation in Ishbal has been settled, but is still rather complex to explain. I think it would be better for me to report in person, especially on my physical condition after that went down. My stamina has probably been reduced because of the train ride. Then again, you would be the best one to test out that theory when you give me a physical"
Again silence filled the room. Roy's face went blank.
Then laughter consumed the office. Roy grabbed his sides as he bent over laughing so hard I actually thought I saw a tear fall. "That is the biggest load of shit I have ever heard leave your lips! You look so hilarious when you're serious!"
I rolled my eyes as I pulled up the wooden chair and sat down. "I'm happy I humor you."
"You're refreshing to say the least." Roy picked up his paper cup filled with coffee and took a deep gulp of it. His face turned suddenly serious… talk about being bipolar. "I'm too tired to deal with you."
"Fine, go have fun with your girl tonight you two-timer."
Roy looked taken aback. "Two-timer? What?"
Ed, leaning over the desk, replied, "You heard me General Shit, you are a lousy two-timer."
Roy got a mischievous look in his eyes and smiled, grabbing Ed's shirt-front he stood up and gave Ed a quick peck on the lips. "What ever gave you the idea we were going out in the first place?"
End
I have one more omake, but I am too lazy/tired to finish it today! Also, if the omake is kinda sub-par, sorry!
Authors Notes:
You have every right to be upset with me guys. I can't defend myself for not updating like I used to in ways I think would be understandable. I have had a very hard semester (workload, writers block, emotionally, etc.). I apologize to all who have been waiting patiently for this chapter. I hope you know how grateful I am towards all your support and encouragement to finishing this fic. I do read all your comments and almost always you guys stick a smile on my face (even if it's a negative review, I know you guys still took some time out to review : 3). I am not done with this semester, but I am pretty sure my spring semester will be a lot easier on me. I will finish this guys, don't worry about that. It just might take some time. Thank you all once again!
Han-chan: I couldn't ask for a better beta. You are amazingly supportive. Always remember I am your number 1 fan when it comes to your omakes!
Questions you might have…
1. Roy…cried…?
War does some funny shit to people. Don't forget he hasn't slept and is living off coffee.
2. Hakuro…has the fake stones? What!
They government made the fake stones cough Marco cough. Is it that surprising that there might still be some around, eh?
3. Klose…wtf?
Find out next time. Just so you guys know, I doubt it is what you're thinking ; )
Reviewers:
From what I have been told has supposedly stopped allowing people to comment on reviewers in their chapters. I must respect this rule. I believe now you can reply to people through a link system in the comment section (must be signed review). I will have to figure this thing out. Once I do I will respond to all of you like always. Much love guys!