AN: Eek, thanks for all the reviews! X3 So, most people want a happy ending, huh? I can give you that xD. Frankly, I want a happy one as well, so nyah x3. Sorry ookamilupin who wants a sad ending. I'm afraid this'll be a sappy ending too… 'cause, well… I personally like that xD I hope you'll keep on reading though and I might make an alternate ending? O.o
Anyway, hope you all enjoy the next chapter! X3 And sorry for the shortness, I figured it would be a good place to stop for now o.o
Chapter 8: Good Hallucinations
"Aru!" he yelled as he stormed into the apartment. Alphonse was doing research and glanced up from his book, a frown on his face, while Winry looked up from the auto-mail arm she was working on. "It's Roy, he's gone!" Edward panted—he ran all the way from the military headquarters to the apartment and was completely out of breath. "He went to Drachma instead of me!" he then managed to say, before he sat down on the couch, clutching his chest with his metallic hand. He heard Alphonse and Winry gasp.
"That idiot!" he exclaimed. "H-how? Why? Damn, we could've found a way out of it! I know we could have," Alphonse punched the table with his fist. Edward continued to pant a couple of seconds.
"Damn it, what am I going to do now?" he said, tears yet again welling up. "He went there for me! How could that bastard do that?" His tears and his lack of hope only earned him a wrench against his head from Winry. Despite the humongous bump on his head, he looked up to her, scowling slightly as he rubbed his pounding head.
"What are you going to do!" she repeated, fists clutching at her side. "What you are going to do is go after him and get the bastard back of course! If you hurry up you can still catch up to him, right? Trains don't leave their stations at night and the earliest train was at six a.m. so he only has a three hour head start, if you take the next one, there is a high chance you can catch up to him!" Edward blinked—it didn't sound like a bad plan.
"But what if he doesn't catch up to him Winry?" Alphonse asked, crossing his arms.
"Then he'll go to Drachma if he has to!"
"No, because then he'll get caught up in that war anyway!"
"Well, he needs to get Roy back, doesn't he!"
"Not if Roy sacrificed himself to get Niisan out of his duty!"
"Guys, stop making my decisions!" Edward finally yelled. All was quiet. "I'm going to get Roy back," he said, his blonde bangs covering his eyes and his fists clenched. "I'll go after him. I'll go undercover, if I have to, so the military and the people of Drachma won't recognise me." Alphonse sighed.
"Niisan, what do you plan to do after that, huh? The military won't like it, they'll chase you and you'll ruin Roy's carrier—you really want to do that?"
"But Aru! I can't just… sit here," Edward said, looking defeated. "I can't just let him put his life on the line just because I made a stupid mistake!" Alphonse sat down next to him on the couch and put an arm around him, rubbing Edward's shoulder in a comforting matter. This was one of those times when he was glad that he wasn't a suit of armour anymore—all those times he wanted to give his brother a warm embrace…
"Niisan, I know you care about him, but if you go after him now, you'll take all of his efforts for granted. He didn't want you to go back, so he went for you." Edward gave his brother a smile.
"Aru, you and I both know I can't stay here," he finally said. Alphonse gave him a small smile in return and sighed.
"I know, but it was worth a shot."
Roy sat in one of the seats in the back, looking out the window. He noted that it was snowing, which wasn't really surprising. He was resting his head on his hand as he looked pensively at the dark sky.
He was wondering if he was doing the right thing.
Why are you wondering that, Roy?
Roy blinked and looked up, eyes widening as he saw Maes Hughes sitting across him, grinning happily. Yo, his voice said, and gave a small wave, before bursting out laughing. Roy was looking at him with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide—a very rare sight.
"H-Hughes?" he muttered. "Shit, I must've drank too much beer before I left." He flapped his hand against the appearance of Hughes and saw that his hand flapped right through it. Hughes chuckled again.
Nah, what you see is real, buddy, he said. You can see me, can't you? Just 'cause you can't touch me, doesn't mean I'm not here.(1) Roy barked a short laughed. So, you've finally found someone worth loving, huh? Apparently, Hughes 'ghost' seemed to know about him and Edward.
"If you know about it, don't ask me," Roy muttered softly. Hughes smiled.
Well, he's a good kid, he stated.
"I know that," Roy replied, chuckling softly. "Damn, I'm talking to a hallucination. I really have gone out of my mind." He saw the ghost-Hughes shrug.
I guess I could be a hallucination, I don't know. You just need me right now, that's all.
"Well, it's true I could use some advice, Maes," Roy replied, sighing and rubbing his temples. "This all seemed like such a good idea last night, y'know, but now that I'm actually near it… I'll be honest, I'm scared," he admitted. He was glad that there were no other people around—not many men, women or children would actually travel to Drachma these days.
What are you scared of?
The question was so simple, that Roy had already opened his mouth to say, 'going to war, of course!', but before he could utter a word, he thought about it. Yes, he was scared of the war—but that didn't feel like it was the only thing. That answer wasn't complete. Was he scared of dying? Two years ago, he would've said 'no'. Was he scared of never seeing Edward again?
The only reason why he went to Drachma in the first place, was for Edward. He loved him and there was no reason to deny his feelings anymore—he was surprised that even after two years of never seeing him, his feelings for the younger man were still so strong. He hadn't known for sure in the beginning that it was really being 'in love'—he was still doubting whether or not the feelings were simply feelings one would have towards a brother or a normal friend.
However, when Edward had gone away… a part of him was simply missing. And when Edward had returned, he hadn't ever felt happier—sure, it may sound sappy, but it was the truth. He found that he wanted to touch Edward; hug him, kiss him. It didn't matter, but he wanted to be close to him.
That's why he went to Drachma.
If Edward had gone away again, nobody could reassure him if he would be back. Nobody could tell him when he would be back. Nobody could prove to Roy that Edward would survive this—whether physically or mentally. The Elric was strong, but even the toughest of men could be affected by the horrors of war.
Therefore, Roy had decided he would go himself. He decided that the moment Alphonse had told them about the visit of the Colonel—there was no way he would let Edward go to Drachma.
"I'm scared of never seeing him again," he finally said. Hughes smiled at him and Roy found that it comforted him.
You don't have to worry about that Roy, he said. Anyway, have you visited Elysia lately? She's so cute! Turning seven soon! She brings flowers to my grave every month, it's so sweet! Roy sighed. He wondered if he could set a hallucination on fire.
The entire journey to Drachma was long, boring and harsh. Drachma was North of Ametris, so the further you went, the colder it was.
You could go there by train until you reached the border of Drachma—all public traffic was locked off due to the war and only military personnel could go in; they were especially happy to see another State Alchemist when he showed his silver pocket watch, though they couldn't be sure who exactly he was.
Edward had taken up a disguise. He had dyed his hair green using alchemy and wore regular, round glasses, making him look kind of like a geek, but also taking the attention away from his unusual golden eyes. He decided to wear the military uniform he got when he was in Drachma on his first day. Everybody was obligated to wear one (he resented the fact that they had to especially make a new one for him, when they found out he didn't fit in any of the regular ones).
People looked disgusted with him during the entire ride on the train and, frankly, he felt disgusting too. Once the godforsaken war was over, he would either quit the military and live a peaceful life, or dedicate his life to research alchemy. For the latter, he could stay in the military—he'd stay a State Alchemist, though didn't need to do the regular things, like taking up field missions or fight in wars. As long as he showed his accomplishments once every year, he would be given funds for it.
He had no idea where to search for him, so he decided to first go to the military base Alphonse had told him about. Apparently, the Colonel who had visited them while Edward was away, had give them enough information after a couple of… drinks. Edward had thanked his friends dearly for being so smart and for them lacking respect for the military. Alphonse had managed to get information about the military plans, bases and where they would send Edward to. That was also the base Edward would first go searching.
He'd find him. He had to.
(1) For those of you who've seen the anime—remember the part where Edward sits in the train right after Hughes died and he sees Hughes waving at him from a station? That part was so… perty, it made me cry T.T Also the part where Elysia starts crying and saying they shouldn't bury him… I was crying my eyes out XD. Anyway, I'm kind of going with that here. Besides, I like Hughes and I wanted to put him in there somewhere x3
