HEIR TO THE FLAME

CHAPTER 31:

"Daddy, what's wrong with Uncle Roy?" Luna asked, tugging at Jean's arm. Jean put his face in his hands and groaned through his teeth, then put his hands on Luna's shoulders.

"Daddy did something very bad to Uncle Roy. I hurt him, Luna, I hurt him bad."

"But why?"

"I was angry... and I shouldn't have been. He was trying to help."

"Will he be okay?"

"I don't know." Jean looked at his fallen friend again, lying on the bed limp but still warm, still breathing. He was sitting next to the bed, mulling over what he had done. How could he possibly call himself Roy's friend, how could Roy even consider him a friend after this? "Roy... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." But when had sorry ever been enough? He looked up as Maes entered the room, knocking at the door, and Elysia ran up to the bed to look at Roy as well. She stood on her tiptoes and frowned, then kissed his forehead. She looked at Jean. "Daddy says when you kiss someone when they're hurt they'll get all better. It works too! It always works on me! I hope Uncle Roy gets better soon."

Junior was standing just outside the door, and his eyes had a hunted look to them, a look that should not have been in the eyes of a three year old; he looked older, much older. Luna went out to Junior and he looked at her with an oddly detached look, a faraway glance in his eyes, his obsidian eyes suddenly snapping into focus and boring holes into her blue ones. "How is he?" He asked, hands in his pockets.

"He looks okay.. but I don't know."

"Okay. I'll be fine out here," he said quickly before Luna could ask if he wanted to go in and see Roy. "I... need to do something. I'll be back later!" he ran away from her and out the door of Jean's house, skidding on the slick grass and putting his feet firmly on hard pavement, his little feet pounding down the sidewalk. His eyes did not have the frightened look of a child in them, but the determined light of an adult.

It seemed to be a curse of the Mustang family.

Huffing and puffing he slammed to a halt in the middle of Central Square, looking around for a house, a particular house. He pushed open a heavy wooden door and rapped loudly on the counter since he wasn't tall enough to push the bell. "Uncle! Uncle! Uncle Armstrong! Uncle Armstrong!" Armstrong appeared from the side of the door and looked around before looking down.

"Ho ho... what do you need, little Colonel?" he said fondly, ruffling Roy's hair.

"I need you... I need you to... take me to Nii-San!"

"Edward Elric?"

"Yeah! Right now!"

"Whatever for?"

"Please, Uncle Armstrong, it's important!"

"But it's almost night time... and where are your parents?"

"That doesn't matter," Roy snapped, "I need to see Fullmetal! Or Alphonse! Anyone!"

Armstrong caught the urgency in Roy's voice and nodded, picking him up and settling him in one shoulder before locking the door to the house and stepping out. "They should be at headquarters right now... time to use the Armstrong Short Distance Running Technique passed down from generation to generation of the Armstrong family!"

Roy sighed from Armstrong's shoulder and they dashed off to HQ.

Roy threw open the doors to Central HQ as best he could and stood in the doorway, fists on his hips, hands gloved, ready for resistance. "I need to see the Fullmetal Alchemist!" he cried, his eyes sweeping about, looking for someone to put up a fight. "Who do you think you are, kid?" one of the soldiers called, and Roy's eyes did a double take around the room, and his chin raised.

"I'm Roy Mustang, son of the Flame Alchemist!"

"Aaah... another Mustang. You certainly look like one," a man said from the doorway of his office. He was tall and well built, with long brown hair streaked with blondethat hung over his face and piercing green eyes. A red headband with metal plates near the temples was tied on his forehead, and on his face was a half-grin; in his eyes Roy could see a kind of unspeakable sorrow, something that made him shiver in his little shoes. His voice made Roy reassess the person's age; he was no more than a boy, really, about Nii-San's age.

"You want to see the Metal Midget? C'mon then."

Another soldier stood up. "Major Ross, you can't be taking this kid-"

"Are you questioning my judgement?"

"I-... no Sir."

"Good. Let's go, kid."

Roy ran beside the boy and looked up at him. "How old are you?" he asked, and the boy looked at him again.

"Me? Fourteen. Why?"

A fourteen year old alchemist... then that meant he could enter at a young age as well! That was good. "Aw, no reason. Is Nii- I mean, is Edward Elric here?"

"He sure is. Just came in this morning in fact; he came to visit Major Armstrong and do some investigation or the other, and well," the Major shrugged, "He ended up spending the night. So am I. I just came in to turn in my investigative reports and my annual reports."

"So you're an alchemist?"

"Yep, the Firestorm Alchemist."

"Wow, how did your Mommy and Daddy let you get in so early?"

The Major was silent for a few moments, his eyes trained on the drab hallway floor, but then he spoke, "I don't have any parents."

"Oh... sorry..."

"Nah, you're fine. Here's FM's room. Yo, Fullmetal!" He knocked hard on the door and a muffled snore came through. The Major pushed open the door and Ed bolted up out of the bed, still looking sleepy, and Alphonse looked up from his spot on the floor.

"Oh, hi Locke. Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" Alphonse asked as Ed rubbed his eyes drowsily.

Locke gave him a grin and tapped his head. "Nah, I don't sleep too much anymore... I'll get around to it though, Al, don't you worry. Promise. Anyway, Ed, you've got a little visitor here."

Ed blinked a few more times, then looked at Roy. "Oh, the Mini-Colonel." Roy sniggered.

"I'm not as mini as you, Nii-San." A vein bulged in Ed's temple and he snapped awake.

"I'M NOT MIN-"

"Anyways," Roy cut in, "I need your help. Do you know where Gramma is?"

"Eh? I dunno... Locke, you know where Major General Durandal is?"

"I sure do; she's currently in Dublith for investigative purposes. Apparently, there have been sighting of people that match your description Ed, it could be a breakthrough on that stone of yours. You've sure gota luck run going."

"Yea... soon we'll have our bodies back. But what do you need the Major General for, Mustang?"

"I just... My dad got hurt, he needs to be healed, right now!"

"Hurt...?"

"He got shot! So I need Gramma to heal him! Where's Dublith?"

Locke piped in again, "It's a town a bit south of East, I'm pretty sure. I can take you there, if you want. Fullmetal and I were heading out that way anyway. By train, right Ed?"

"Yep. Al and I need to see our teacher anyway, but we're not heading out till-"

"Well," Locke said quickly, "I guess we'll have a change of plans. We'll head out tomorrow."

Tomorrow? Tomorrow wasn't fast enough!

"Look, kid, if your dad's been shot, he'll just have to wait. If he can hold on for a bit longer, we'll have him good as new in no time. By God he's picked an inconveniant time to get himself shot, with the Major General gone and all. Usually she's always doing desk work."

Ed fell back onto his bed. "Yeah well, that's just his karma comin' back around isn't it?" Alphonse looked surprised.

"Ed! That's not very nice... the Colonel has done lot of things for us, we owe him a lot."

Ed could just imagine Mustang's gloating face, and he shivered. "Okay okay, we'll help... but he can't be hurt that bad, kids always exaggerate."

"Nu-uh! He's hurt really bad!"

"Suuuure. Just pick a spot and go to sleep, Mini-Mustang. We'll head out in the morning."

Roy picked a spot and huddled up, his knees drawn up to his chest, his chin resting on his knees. He hoped he could find his grandmother fast enough to heal his daddy.