-bows- First off I would like to apologize for taking so long to update this story. Its been 8 months since I submitted a new chapter, and a lot has been going on.
At the end of 2005 I was let go from my job after being told "Your not needed anymore" So I spent the better part of the end of the year looking for a job. From Jan 1 to March, I've been dealing with a ton of family problems, which stopped the progress of "Show Me The Way".
Then in April I flew to Thailand with my Fiancee and his parents to visit their family there. His dad's Thai. (If you care to see pictures visit my LJ: golden-heretic (dot) live journal (dot) com ) When I got back to the good ol US of A I went to work and finished chapter 9 and waited for my beta to read and correct. (In the mean time I tried my hand at a little pairing)
After dealing with car problems and getting that fixed, we saved up enough money to go to Anime AX Expo (Photo's also at my Livejournal) . So that's what's been going on and my beta still is to busy to read this chapter, so I am now posting this chapter non-betaed. (I'm done waiting lol) So I hope you enjoy this chapter, I shall try to update sooner, but I'm sorry I wont be updating as often as I used to.
Update I now have a wonderful beta who goes by the name "anmbcuconnfan" she is the best and I am in her debt for taking on the task of being my beta. I'm sure she has a tough road ahead of her. So I am proud to announce that this chapter is no longer Un-betaed so enjoy.
Chapter 9 - Wounded
The three had finished eating some time ago and had returned to Ed's assigned hospital room. A now sleeping Edward lay curled up on the bed. Roy had fallen asleep as well, and was now slouched in one of the chairs placed in Ed's room. Al glanced over at the older man while thinking about the pain that he would be in come morning, courtesy of one green and white hospital chair. Al looked over at the clock in the room, it shined in bright red numbers '11:31pm'.
They had been in the cafeteria for at least 3 hours. Ed had completely devoured everything on the table, even part of the Colonel's food. Al rearranged the furniture a little, making a clear space where he could sit on the floor. The once bright white light that shown in Alphonse's eye sockets had now dimmed, and everything inside the room was quiet.
A nurse making her rounds popped her head into the room and moved in slowly and swiftly. She checked Ed's pulse and heart rate. She also checked to make sure he didn't have a fever , and shook him a little to see if he was conscious. When she got a small grown from the boy she was satisfied and made her way out of the room to check on other patients.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Ed turned over, he was caught in a nightmare remembering events that took place earlier.
Being constricted by two arms, Ed looked at the battered Colonel lying on the ground. Alphonse and Hughes were rushing over to the older Alchemist's just as he attempted to stand. Ed felt his body struggle a little more against his confines.
'Why can't I move?' Ed thought to himself, turning his head slightly to see one Strong Arm Alchemist holding him.
'What the hell's going on?' Ed tried to yell out but his mouth wouldn't relay his thoughts. He could only watch the events taking place. The boy turned his head just in time to see Mustang stagger and Hughes lent him a helping hand, but was pushed away. Mustang headed over to the boy in Armstrong's grasp.
'Let me go.' Ed tried shouting. Again his mouth did not part to speak the words. He felt his body struggling even more and there was a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. As the Colonel closed the distance between them Ed heard Al call out.
"Please Colonel Don't".
Ed's body stiffened and his eyes focused in terror as Mustang brought his arm up to strike.
'Stop' Ed's mind shouted, a useless part on Ed's account and the boy knew it. Feeling the Colonel's fist connect with his face, everything faded and turned to a dark gray.
Ed's body jerked into a sitting position and the blonde boy awoke in a cold sweat. Putting his hands over his face he leaned back onto his pillow.
"It was just a dream" Ed said in a low voice. He knew deep down that what he saw in his dream, wasn't just a dream. He knew it was the fight that actually took place between him and Mustang.
Ed slowly got out of bed, slightly out of breath, and made his way to the bathroom. He closed the door and locked it, then moved to the sink. Turning on the faucet he let cool water run onto his hands, which were then held to his face. Repeating this action a few times, he then turned off the faucet and moved his hands to grip the porcelain sink. Hearing something crash to the floor, Ed noticed he had knocked off a hand mirror that had been sitting there earlier. Moving to pick up the pieces, Ed's eyes focused on the broken shards of glass.
'I shouldn't do this'
He thought to himself, but his body continued forward, picking up a sharp piece of glass that he now held in his auto mail hand.
He slowly rolled the left sleeve of his pajamas shirt up.
'What if Mustang finds out' Ed thought to himself 'He'll have me talking to a psychologist for sure'.
The blonde slowly brought the glass shard to his skin and applied a little bit of pressure.
'What if Al finds out?' Ed thoughts had switched.
Everything went quiet in Ed's mind and in the small bathroom he was currently in. He thought he heard sounds on the other side of the door, but after remaining still for a few minutes he realized the only thing that could be heard was his breathing.
Turning his attention to his arm once again, he applied a bit more pressure than before and drug the glass down the backside of his forearm.
"It shouldn't be seen as easily as the other one" Ed said to himself. Now sitting on the bathroom floor, Ed's body began to relax.
He could feel the blood starting to trickle down his arm and he watched as drops of blood fell to the white tiles. Ed felt as if all the stress drained away with each drop that hit the floor and he started feeling a little drowsy. Deciding to return to bed, the short blonde grabbed a paper towel and wet it with water from the sink. Rubbing the tiles, he cleaned away any traces of blood, then he turned to the piece of glass used and wiped away any blood left on the point.
Hearing the hospital room door open, he froze.
Ed hurried to clean up the rest of the mess, picking up all the piece of broken glass. Walking over to the bathroom trash can he dumped the contents in, causing a loud dinging noise as the glass connected with the metal can. Ed drew in a ragged breath and grabbed another paper towel. Quickly wrapping the cut with the paper and pulling down his sleeve, he hurried to the door and opened it just as the nurse was about to knock.
"Is everything ok?" She asked sweetly.
Ed grinned back at her nervously. He wasn't sure if she had heard the noise the glass and the metal had made.
"Yeah everything is fine." He answered quickly, as he pulled the bathroom door closed behind him.
He smiled at her again and headed for the bed.
"If you need anything don't hesitate to call." She informed him, leaving the room after she received a nod in acknowledgment from the blonde boy.
Ed climbed back into bed and settled in. He took a quick look at the wound he had inflected upon his self to make sure the bleeding had stopped, which it did. Laying down, he pulling the covers up to his chin.
He thought of the past, a time when he was truly happy, as he drifted off to sleep.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Three days had come and passed.
Dr. Jackson okayed Ed's release, stating that the boy was doing fine and all his vitals appeared normal. The Doctor then contacted Colonel Mustang to ask if he could pick the blonde up. Ed just scowled when the doctor informed him that Mustang was on his way to retrieve Ed.
"Why do I have to go with him doc? My brother and I live in the military barracks just a few blocks from here. We could easily walk home." Ed whined.
Mustang had made it a habit to stop by the hospital every few hours for the past 3 days. Every time the older man could get away from his desk, he would head over to check on Ed and Al. Frankly Ed was getting really tired of having to deal with the bastard on an hourly basis.
"Even though you appear healthy and back to normal. I still don't think you should push yourself. " The doctor explained.
"Its better that he send a car for you, then you can save your energy." Dr. Jackson smiled at Ed before retreating to gather Ed's belongings from the nurses station. Al paced back and forth before finally sitting down.
"You know he's right brother." Al began. "You still look a little worn out and I would hate for you to push yourself to far and end up back here again."
Ed just frowned while muttering the word 'Traitor' under his breath.
The doctor returned with a white plastic bag filled with Ed's things. The clothes he had worn before his fight with Mustang were now trashed. They had been so torn up that the nurses discarded them and asked Al to bring a fresh set.
Ed took the clothes from the bag and hurried into the bathroom. He didn't want to change in front of Al, because the cut on his arm wasn't healed yet. When he finally came out of the bathroom he made his way to the bed, after sitting down he began putting on his boots. It was almost lunch time but Ed felt it was still too early to actually be up and moving around.
Just as Ed finished getting ready there was a knock on the door. A man with blonde hair and a cigarette hanging from his mouth entered.
"You ready boss?" Havoc asked.
"I left the car running because its pretty cold out today."
Ed just nodded and picked up his things following Havoc out the door. Al trailed behind them waving to the nurses he had become popular with over the past few days.
Reaching the vehicle, Havoc opened the door for Ed and Al to get in. Heading to the drivers side in a hurry he slipped into the car, the seasons were changing and the weather was getting chilly. As they drove out of the hospital parking lot Ed realized Havoc wasn't going towards the barracks.
"Where are we going?" Ed asked.
He had been under the impression that Havoc was going to take them home. Even though no one had said anything of the sort.
"The Colonel wants to speak with you, boss." Havoc began. "He was really busy this morning so he asked if I could pick you boys up."
The older blonde looked at the Elric brothers through his rear view mirror.
"But he made it clear that he wanted you in his office as soon as possible."
Ed felt his insides cringe, and this nervous feeling came over him.
'What does that bastard want?' Ed though to himself. 'He wouldn't be sending me on a mission already. I've been in the hospital for 4 days. He couldn't be that heartless'
Ed's mind was scanning over everything he could think of, every reason why Mustang would want to speak with him so urgently. Then an alarm went off in Ed's head. which was less like an alarm and more like a siren. Ed's eyes went wide and he stopped breathing.
'What if Mustang found out about what happened in the hospital bathroom.'
Al looked over at his brother and noticed he was looking a bit flushed. "Brother, is everything ok?" Al asked.
Ed finally remembered to breathe and took in a deep breath.
"Everything's fine Al." The blonde stated, giving his brother a grin.
Turning his head to look out the window Ed's mind let paranoia get the best of him.
'Everything's not fine.' the blondes mind screamed. 'What if he found out? He's going to kill me. Or worse send me off with some crazy head doctor. What if he has Al taken away? I wont be able to handle that.'
While Ed's thoughts took off running in every direction possible, the car they were in pulled up to Headquarters and parked. Ed was so lost in thought, that he didn't even notice people were talking to him until Al nudged him. Snapping out of the trance he was in, he realized that Havoc and Alphonse were both staring at him. Ed just looked back at the two.
"What?" He asked innocently and Havoc just shook his head.
"We're here boss" He said while holding the door open for Ed to get out. As the three made there way up the stairway Havoc and Alphonse slowed down until they were quiet a ways behind the short blonde.
"What's wrong with Ed?" Havoc asked the armored boy.
Al just shrugged his shoulders.
"You sure the Colonel didn't hit him hard enough to cause brain damage?" Havoc continued but stopped quickly when he realized Ed had heard the comment.
Grinning at the fuming Alchemist, Havoc ran his hand through his hair.
"Hey boss I'm only kidding" He stated.
Ed whirled around yelling "Shut up!" before he stormed off into the humongous building.
Alphonse and Havoc trailed behind Ed until they reached the big double doors that would lead to Roy's office. It was surprisingly quite for it being around noon. Normally everyone was working hard trying to get finished, but it appeared that everyone was probably out to lunch. The three had been standing in front of the door for only a few minutes before Havoc finally pushed his way passed Ed and Al.
"Come on, the door doesn't bite you know". The blond man stated as he opened the door and moved forward into the room.
"The door may not bite, but the bastard behind it does." Ed stated and quickly continued "And I'm not in the mood to deal with his --" The blondes words were cut short by people shouting.
"SURPRISE!"
The look on Ed's face was priceless, a mixture between terror, shock, and anger as he looked at everyone smiling and laughing. He could do nothing more but stand there with his mouth hung open until Al pushed him forward.
"So I bite, do I?" the dark haired man to the left of Ed stated.
It took Ed a minute to realize someone was talking to him. "I … ah" Ed stuttered until he noticed it was Mustang who had spoke.
"You jerk, what kinda person brings someone into work this early, just to scare the living day lights out of them?" Ed yelled out.
"Brother, don't be like that. And besides its twelve in the afternoon, I'd hardly call that early." Al intervened.
Then in the blink of an eye Ed's bad mood had dissipated.
"Your brothers right Ed, plus this party is for you. A sorta welcome back, glad you didn't get yourself killed while running off pulling the stupid stunts you do" Breda chuckled before taking a drink of what looked to be soda.
The husky man didn't wait for Ed to reply before quickly making his way around to mingle with others in the small office.
The office itself was cram-packed with people all wanting to wish Ed well. Some were people Ed was sure he's never met before. The blonde let out a sigh as he made his way over to a table filled with thousands of different kinds of food.
'Well at least I'm not here getting yelled at for something" Ed though to himself.
Getting yelled at was exactly what he had been expecting when Havoc told him the Colonel wanted to talk to him. Now that he knew that wasn't the case, he could relax a little.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
The party was broken up when a blonde 'gun-toting' lieutenant returned to find everyone in her office slaking off. After firing off a few rounds to get the party-goers attention everyone started heading out and returning to work. Those that weren't under Mustangs command wished everyone else good luck and left as quickly as possible. As for everyone else, they were all left to be punished by the mad woman.
Ed had slipped into Mustang's office just as the commotion had started, in an attempt to avoid the verbal abuse that would come after. The young blonde had made a smart move, he now lay on Mustang's couch listening to everyone including the infamous Flame Alchemist get scolded.
"We don't have time for this" He heard Hawkeye state just before Fury began explaining how he knew this was a bad idea and thought so from the beginning. When Hawkeye finished she allowed them to leave and return to work.
Sometimes Ed wondered who was really in change.
Mustang entered his office with his shoulders hung in defeat.
"Coward"
He blurted out towards Ed's general direction before sitting behind his desk. Ed let out a small laugh before closing his eyes.
"How are you feeling?" Mustang questioned after a few minutes of silence.
"You should already know, you haven't left me alone for a full 24 hours since I've been in that damn hospital." Ed actually didn't mind the older Alchemist's visits, but there was no way he was going to admit that to anyone.
"Well now that you've been released, we can't have you go back to your barracks. There's a possibility that Dennis knows that location." Mustang paused.
"I can take care of that bastard any day. Let him try anything and I'll --"
"Fullmetal, you've also seemed to have forgotten about the little problem you have" Mustang stated, cutting Edward off mid-sentence.
"For the time being you and your brother will be staying with me until further notice. I can't very well let Dennis get a hold of you or Alphonse, and I also can't have you hurting yourself."
"I'm not a child Mustang I don't need you to --" A loud rumbling made Edward pause as he looked at Mustang with curious eyes.
Mustang just stared back at the blonde, both not completely understanding what was going on.
Very few minutes passed before both men heard another loud rumbling. Mustang shifted around moving the curtains behind him, hoping to get a better understanding of what was happening. His eyes widened in shock as charcoal orbs fixed on a near by building that was completely demolished.
There was another detonation that was a lot closer than the previous. The shock waves of the recent explosion rattled the window causing Mustang to take a few steps back. The dark haired Alchemist heard foot steps behind him and turned to warn Fullmetal not to approach.
Suddenly the whole building began to shake and Mustang jumped towards Ed as a piece of the ceiling and insulation came crumbling down above him.
Both men were covered in debris, neither one of them moved. The once immaculate office was now covered with wreckage and filled with dust. Hawkeye came rushing in to check on both Alchemists.
"Roy … Edward … Can you hear me?" Hawkeye yelled, trying to see though the mess. The room was clouded with dust that made it very hard for anyone to see anything.
Hawkeye quickly turned around hoping someone was still in the building. Happily not everyone ran outside to see what the commotion was. Hawkeye called out to Hughes, Breda and Havoc and ordered them to begin sifting through the rubble. Working quickly they uncovered the pair in no time flat.
Mustang lay face down on the floor, his body shielding Edwards. Both Alchemists lay unconscious as the others moved to pull them out of the rubble.
After removing both men from the wreckage, the three rescuers fell to the floor in some much needed rest. Hawkeye then moved to check both men over, making sure they had no fatal wounds. Finding that the worst injury was a huge gash over Mustang's left eye, she proceeded in waking the two.
Riza grinned when the blonde boy muttered something about bastard Colonels before waking. Mustang had a different reaction; when he awoke, he jumped up looking as if he was going to destroy the next person who touched him. The hostility faded and was replaced by shock once more, when what sounded like two explosions detonated simultaneously.
Everyone remained still until the building stopped shaking.
"What the hell is going on?" Mustang barked, hoping someone had some information worth noting. As everyone pondered what could be happening out side, it dawned on Edward that this could all be caused by a certain vengeful Alchemist that goes by the name …
"Dennis!" Edward shouted causing everyone to turn and look. The blonde berated himself mentally for not thinking of this sooner.
'I should've remembered' The young blonde thought. 'How could I be so stupid'
"Are you saying the Mercury Alchemist is behind these explosions?" Breda questioned. "How could anyone get passed all the security without anyone knowing?"
It was a difficult question to answer, and it took Mustang some time to come to the conclusion that he did.
"He had someone on the inside."
It may have been just a coincidence that the power cut out at that time, or a signal from a higher being telling them that they had no control over anything. Whatever it was the group knew that they had an uphill battle approaching.
Outside of the little office that provided Mustang's group with some security, screams of pain could be heard for miles.
+TBC+
Thank you for reading … and if you've been reading this story for awhile and been wondering "When the hell is this chick going to update?" I'm really really really very sorry about keeping everyone waiting. I really really did want to update sooner but I didn't want to do it without being corrected. So please over look the errors. I'll love you forever if you do. Thanks…
Please read and review. Until next time,
Adios.