Chapter Fifty-Four

Early the next morning Hazel, finally recovered from his gluttonous coma, scampered into the bedroom and onto the bed in order to begin pawing through his human's hair fastidiously with several looks of darting rodent quickness towards where he could sense the other human he could not see.

"He does look a bit scruffy." Edward agreed with warm humor in answer to the looks. "He hasn't preened himself for some time now."

Hazel seemed to agree, for his paws did not pause in their attempt to comb through the unruly sleep-mussed hair.

Edward chuckled lightly and reached out to run his fingers through the disheveled locks himself, and found himself smiling when the strands didn't respond to his touch, because the more he looked at it, the more he found the look rather charming on the man. It was a strange realization, to be sure.

It took several minutes of Hazel's grooming attentions before Roy began to rouse from his sleep, and he did so with halfhearted swats with his good arm towards his pet, and a petulant groan.

Hazel darted each swat with indifferent ease before scampering onto Roy's forehead and twitching his tail back and forth across the man's face as he continued his work from this new vantage point.

"Fuckin – Hazel!" Roy was now fully awake and squinting his eyes against the fur plaguing his vision as he attempted to snatch the menace from his face, only for the tyrannical beast to dart one way or the other on his forehead to avoid his admittedly less than coordinated efforts.

Edward was in the middle of a fully fledged snickering fit.

"Edward!" Roy accused, having given up for the moment trying to snatch Hazel away. "I thought you were going to steal him last night and run away! What are you both still doing here?"

Edward grinned at the question, then promptly ignored it. "Trust me, Roy, you should let the master hairstylist work. He's turning your hair into a very stylish mess that's standing straight up at the moment."

Roy swore vividly, listening to Edward's increased laughter with a smile mostly hidden by Hazel's tail continuously twitching across his face. Heaving a great sighing breath he closed his eyes once more and for the moment let Hazel continue fussing with his hair as he shored up his strength and awareness.

"How are you feeling?" Edward asked as he turned fully to face the prone man. He hadn't noticed anything but Roy peacefully sleeping, no fits or fever sweats, but he knew that wasn't everything.

"I'm going to need another pain killer, I can feel it coming on." Roy admitted with a resigned exhale. "But I don't feel so flattened."

Edward was already moving to get the bottle of pills, "good," he breathed in relief as he turned back towards the man, "let's try and get you sorted before Maes gets here."

"Right." It likely wasn't what Edward ideally wanted to say, but they both knew that other matters came first today over his continued recovery, and Roy was grateful enough for the unspoken support not to even make light-hearted comments about preferring to stay in bed.

Edward watched with an amused smirk as Roy finally managed to snare Hazel away from his hair, the squirrel soon being carefully cradled in Roy's bandaged arm as he propped himself into a seated position with his good one. "You should let him do your hair every day."

"You two would be perfect for each other." Roy muttered as he swallowed two more painkillers dry and then reached for the glass of water Edward was passing him.

"We'd somehow end up becoming criminals." Edward suspected with a quirk of a smile as he looked down to where Hazel was now nuzzling fiercely into the crook of Roy's arm as if sniffing out the tastiest acorn in the world.

"I don't doubt that." Roy passed the glass back into Edward's waiting hand, and caught himself wondering when it had stopped being weird to him to see an incorporeal being handling his things and not worrying that anything would drop.

Edward had set the glass aside and now turned an assessing gaze onto the man at his side, eyeing him critically and with no small amount of worry he tried his best to keep concealed. To all outward accounts, Roy seemed to be doing well after the injuries he'd suffered, but he knew Roy… he'd have to keep a close eye on the man during today's excursion.

Roy took one look at Edward's face to know exactly what to do, and as he began to gently pet and rub at Hazel's back, sending the squirrel into a boneless pile of delighted rodent fluff, he began with, "do you think you could go into my closet and get some of my clothes out?"

"Not a spare uniform?" Edward asked him with a narrowed gaze.

Roy smiled with a content happiness that was all the apparition's fault, he'd never felt this fucking tame before. The Roy of only a month ago would have demanded a uniform and given zero fucks about any protests to it. "I'm not going in today. Whatever you like will be just fine."

Edward waited just a moment, still not entirely believing that he wasn't needing to argue Roy into making this decision, before bursting into a wide grin and whirling off the bed towards the closet.

"After all," Roy began as he adjusted to scratching at Hazel's belly as the squirrel rolled over in boneless bliss underneath his ministrations, "I believe I promised to take you to the zoo over the weekend. Another half day of bed rest should allow me to keep that promise."

Edward's hands fell still against the clothes he'd been rummaging through at the words, twisting into the light woolen sweater they'd landed on, and not because of the reminder of their plans, but for the sheer fact that despite everything, everything, that was currently happening in their lives, still being able to take him to the zoo mattered more to Roy. "Roy… I – " don't deserve you. But he couldn't say that. Where did ridiculous thoughts like that even come from?

"You are not going to talk me out of the zoo." Roy insisted from the bed as sternly as a man stark naked and cuddling with a squirrel could insist.

"That's not – " Edward cut himself off again, because really, he wasn't sure what it was. Shaking his head he freed the sweater from the hanger and snatched up a pair of trousers as well before turning to gather up socks and then paused as an odd crisis came over him as he stared down at the shelving unit built into the closet. "Uh," he began intelligently, "you want the boxers or the briefs?"

A wicked, and entirely evil grin of delighted enjoyment broke onto Roy's face as he replied cheerfully, "I believe I said to pick out whatever you like for me."

Edward was completely certain that were he flesh and blood still, he'd have turned a shade of red never yet before seen. "You, Roy Mustang, are impossible." He hissed and steeled his nerves as he reached forward. "I positively hate you."

Roy's grin didn't falter at the response, if anything, it only grew more cemented onto his face.

Edward had landed onto the bedroom floor just for the sheer fact that he could then properly march across it, and dumped the selected clothes onto the foot of the bed. "Up!"

Roy tried to keep his laughter at bay, but failed miserably as he dissolved into snickers that pulled uncomfortably at his stitches. Setting Hazel down so that he could safely get out of the bed he then took two steps to peer down at the selected clothing before remarking quite neutrally, "I can see I'll be getting rid of all my boxers then."

Edward promptly fled the room as Roy's laughter rang out clearly throughout the house.

Down in the kitchen Edward grumbled to himself as he began to work on putting together some breakfast for Roy. He wasn't about to let the man go off to kill Kimblee without eating first. And as he considered, he threw several more pieces of bread onto the pile to be toasted. If Maes hadn't eaten yet, or Riza hadn't, they would need to. They were in charge of helping keep Roy safe.

He had put together an entire breakfast of toast, pancakes, fruit, and sausages when Roy finally came into the kitchen looking a little more wobbly than either of them would like.

"Stairs." Roy exhaled loudly in relief as he finally collapsed into one of the chairs around the dining table. "When we move and get a place that has room for a pony, remind me to make sure it's a single story house. No more stairs."

"Planning on getting injured a lot, are you?" Edward frowned at him suspiciously as he brought the last of the food over with a plate. "Or are you just getting weak in your old age?"

"Evil spirit, I should figure out how to banish you." Roy muttered without conviction as he began to dish food onto his plate whilst casting a pointed look around at it all. "Do you expect me to eat all this?"

Hazel promptly leapt onto the table and stole a strawberry.

"And Hazel." Roy amended without pause, reaching out to scratch at the squirrel's head.

Edward settled into his own chair at the table, "I made extra in case Maes and Riza haven't eaten yet."

"I fell in love with a housewife." Roy grinned, pouring maple syrup over his pancakes in ever-widening circles.

"Husband." Edward corrected before he even really thought about what he was saying, before instantly freezing as Roy turned a predatorily-interested look on him. "Don't even start…" he warned.

"Start what, dear?" Roy asked back sweetly, setting the bottle of syrup aside.

"That!" Edward accused as Roy burst into laughter. "Oh, you're impossible."

Roy winked at him as he finally managed to get control over his laughter and turn to his breakfast feeling only a little winded still. "I'm glad you're still here with me despite it."

Edward smiled before he could even think to help it, and he shook his head with a soft chuckle. "Idiot man, eat your breakfast." And rising up from his chair he slipped Hazel another berry while whispering, "I'll never leave you, Roy."

Roy looked up quickly, only to see that Edward was busy watching Hazel. It wasn't so much the words, for Edward had said their like before, no… it was something in Edward's voice. Some strange fragileness… and when he realized why, he felt his chest seize. "I really scared you, didn't I."

"Eat." Edward repeated and turned a firm look on Roy, and a tremulous smile. "I'm fine."

Roy didn't eat, and didn't believe him. He'd seen shock before in others, experienced it himself, and while it was handy for emergency situations, the fallout was never enjoyable. But he knew better than to press Edward, not in this. "Yes, dear."

Edward smiled a bit stronger at the endearment, a bit wryly to be sure, but all the same it made him feel a bit better. "Impossible." He repeated fondly with a shake of his head and turned to go back to his chair.

"I love you, too." Roy answered softly, and with a content smile as he made to turn back to his breakfast.

Edward paused as he was about to resume his seat, hand on the back of the chair as he looked back over at Roy. The man was busy cutting up his pancakes and totally unaware of his gaze. His smile turning into something far softer, far happier, he looked away to finish taking his seat.

Roy looked up after a moment, having suspected some form of flustered remark from Edward, only to see the ghost busy watching Hazel with a deeply thoughtful look on his face. "Oh…" he whispered, barely audible even to himself, stunned.

Edward looked back over at Roy after several minutes of not hearing any sort of eating going on to see the man watching him with an expression he'd never seen before, and he frowned in sudden worry. "Are you okay?"

Roy couldn't help the slight laugh that escaped him, and he nodded with a reassuring smile. "Fine. I promise."

Edward watched as Roy turned back to his breakfast with an energy he'd not thought the man had in him, and the corners of his mouth twitched up in a quick, amused smile before he turned back to watching Hazel scamper about the table after more food.

Hazel had consumed six berries, two sausages, and a third of a pancake when there was a knock at the front door.

"You're making my squirrel fat." Roy remarked as he watched Edward roll another berry Hazel's way.

"Thought he was my squirrel now." Edward grinned and looked up at the man. "Going to get the door?"

"I probably should." Roy gave in and heaved a sigh before shoving himself up from his chair. "Maes wouldn't be freaked out if you opened the door, but Riza still doesn't have an explanation and I really don't want bullet holes in my wall."

Edward watched him go with some amusement, despite the uncertainty that had lit inside him when the knock had come. He knew that it was time for Roy to come clean to Riza about his existence, and yes, Maes already knew about him… but he'd been alone for so long that it was strange for people to know about him. He could still count their numbers on both his hands.

He could hear talking out in the hallway and Maes's laughter.

Not long later Roy walked back into view, and gave Edward a reassuring smile.

"Good morning, Edward!" Maes called out cheerfully, figuring the ghost was around nearby somewhere.

Edward couldn't help but smile at the welcome, and a bit at the confused look on Riza's face. "Roy?"

"Yes, yes." Roy accepted with a mock put-upon look and turned to Maes. "He's quite happy to see you too."

"So, Roy says you made us all breakfast." Maes began as he walked over to the table, "where can I sit?"

From beside Roy, Riza had adopted a look of intense concern for the sanity of her comrade and friend as she watched Maes talk with animated happiness to thin air. "Sir," she began in a carefully hushed voice, "is he – "

Edward chose that moment to kick a chair on the far side of the table out for Maes. "I'll get plates." He announced and looked about to spy the color draining from Riza's face. "Roy, you might want to explain to her before she shoots your wall anyway."

Roy nodded and threw a look to Maes, he was watching Riza with a wicked grin of enjoyment. "He's getting you two plates." Before turning to Riza herself and meeting her harried expression. "Riza, I'm guessing you noticed some odd things during my fight with Kimblee? That was Edward. He's a ghost."

Riza was staring now, her whole body rigid, as she watched a cabinet open and two plates be taken out, the cabinet door closing and the plates making their way seemingly on their own to the table. "So I see." She managed to get out in a strained voice.

"He's already met Maes and my mother, and if you give me a moment I'll get him some paper so you can meet him too." Roy told her, still watching her closely, noting that the color was beginning to slowly return to her face.

And suddenly it all began to come together for her, to make sense. All the strange happenings at Headquarters, all the strange happenings with Roy, the comments she'd overheard from the cleaning staff late at night when she'd stayed late to practice at the firing range. "And you can see him?"

"I can see him." Roy agreed with a slow smile.

"Roy, my typewriter is still on the coffee table in the front room." Edward popped his head up from where he had settled in back at the table.

"Typewriter?" Roy echoed in confusion, ignoring for the moment Riza's darting looks between him and the spot at the table he was looking at.

Edward nodded, "my father brought it for me."

"Of course he did." Roy grumbled and looked over at Maes, "pull out the chair on your right," before looking at Riza, "go ahead and sit. Get some breakfast. I'm going to get his typewriter so he can introduce himself."

Maes waved her over as Roy left the room, "come on, Hawkeye. He's perfectly safe unless you have aspirations to kill Mustang."

Edward couldn't find it in himself to even try to feel offended by the description.

"I'll be perfectly clear then," Riza began in a still strained sounding voice, but she managed to get her feet to move her forward regardless of the lingering chill of fear that had settled in her spine at Edward's initial… appearance, "I have no aspirations but to see him alive and healthy."

"I know." Edward smiled at her unseen and looked over as Roy's footsteps sounded nearby once more.

"And he's turned Roy into a mature adult finally." Maes remarked, perfectly aware of Roy's nearing proximity. "We owe a lot to him."

"I'm going to turn you into a mature corpse if you're not careful." Roy threatened his best friend good naturedly and set the typewriter he'd been sent to fetch in front of Edward along with the sheaf of paper. "Need anything else, darling?"

Edward fumbled getting his first paper inserted into the typewriter, and his fingers trembled slightly as he corrected it and steadfastly he did not look up to Roy. "This will be fine."

Roy sat back down in his chair feeling more than a little giddy, but he fought hard to keep it from showing, though if the suspicious look Maes shot him was any indication, his best friend knew he was concealing something.

"How are you feeling?" Maes asked when he realized that Riza was wide-eyed and utterly beyond noticing anything else as the typewriter keys began clicking away seemingly on their own power.

Roy gave a noncommittal shrug as he too watched Edward type while Hazel crawled up onto his shoulder to nap off his latest gluttonous venture. "Took a few more painkillers this morning, but by tomorrow I don't think I'll need them. I always healed fast."

"And now you have your wife to take care of you." Maes teased mercilessly.

"Husband." Edward and Roy both corrected at the same time, only for Edward to instantly go perfectly still and Roy to grin wickedly.

Riza took one look at the expression on her commander's face and the sudden absence of any typing to formulate a theory, and she looked over at Maes. "I get the feeling we're missing something."

"Yes…" Maes agreed with voracious interest as he looked over at his best friend who was apparently watching Edward with a positively soppy look on his face. "Are you tormenting the poor thing again with your unwanted affections?"

Roy turned his attention from Edward, not that the ghost noticed, to smile sweetly at Maes and give him a rude hand gesture.

"It should strike me as weirder that you apparently love a ghost." Riza deadpanned in a low mutter.

Edward was finally typing again as the butterflies inside his chest continued to flutter spastically, chancing a quick glance up towards Roy only to see the man busy looking over at his friends. Just as quickly he ducked his head again as a shy smile slipped onto his lips and forced himself to focus back on his task of introducing himself to Roy's lieutenant. There would be time later for self-reflection.

Riza had just begun to start eating, despite her stomach still feeling a little queasy after her scare of moments ago, when the paper that had been in the typewriter was slid across the table to her. It took her several moments to make her fingers reach out and take it, but she managed, and began to read.

Edward watched Riza, a pleased expression making its way onto his face as he saw the tenseness that had lingered in her posture begin to ease as she read.

"Well then," Riza finally lifted her gaze, looking towards where the apparition seemed to be sat, "I do believe I owe you a long overdue welcome. But I have to ask, are you really married to Mustang?"

Maes burst into howls of laughter at the question.

Edward was spluttering wordlessly, the only noise seemingly able to come from him was a high-pitched strangling sound as Roy watched him with a gentle chuckle and a fond smile.

"We're not married." Roy denied, though his gaze never left Edward and the silver eyes that now watched him with a hesitant nervousness that he could only smile at reassuringly.

"They're not even together," Maes provided helpfully.

"I see." Riza cast a dark look at her commander and friend. "Don't harass him," she waved the paper about, "he seems sweet and you can be bullheaded." She then promptly looked over towards where Edward seemed to be. "I have no doubts that you can handle him, but if you ever want blackmail stories from his childhood that even his mother doesn't know, you write me a note."

"That's low!" Roy protested with an offended glare.

"Apparently you were a hellion as a child." Edward theorized, given everything, and shot Roy a smile. "Don't worry, your mother has given me plenty, and I hardly need blackmail to get you to do anything."

"Eat your breakfasts!" Roy demanded of his friends, and ignored their laughter as they obeyed the order.

Edward shook his head with a quiet laugh, his gaze catching Roy's dark eyes and a smile slipped onto his lips. "Each person you tell about me gets easier for you, doesn't it."

Roy huffed but didn't comment, settling for a roll of his eyes and reaching up to readjust Hazel when the squirrel almost slipped from his shoulder in sleep.

Breakfast was finished within the hour, and the table cleared completely of the food and the dishes into the sink to the tune of Riza and Maes thanking Edward for cooking for them as well.

Then the mood turned somber, serious.

"I'll drive." Riza announced to them all as they made their way as a group into the main hallway near the front door. "If we let you drive, Maes," she said as she relieved him of the car keys, "we'll all lose our breakfasts. Which would be a real shame, because Edward's cooking is fantastic."

Edward preened happily at the praise.

"I am not that bad a driver!" Maes protested in words only, following after her as she let herself out.

Roy didn't follow them immediately, instead turning to Edward with a serious expression as he pulled on his ignition-cloth gloves that had been in a back pocket of his trousers. "I am going to kill him…"

Edward gave him a reproachful glare, "good. So don't you dare make one of your idiotic pleas for me to stay behind."

A quick smile lit Roy's face as he ducked his head in a short series of nods before looking back up to meet Edward's silver gaze. "You'll always have my back, won't you."

"And your front, on occasion." Edward smirked at him and after a moment's hesitation, drifted forward to reach a hand up to Roy's face. "Now let's go be done with this."

"Yes, he is rather overdue for his execution." Roy determined with a flare of irritation that he mustered aside as best he could. When dealing with Kimblee in any condition, it was always best to have a clear head and emotions.

The two of them made their way out of the house, Roy locking it up behind them before making his way down to the waiting car with Edward. The front seat had been left free, and one in the back which Edward took to sit next to Maes while Roy carefully lowered himself into the front seat.

"I'm guessing you're taking the rest of the day off, sir?" Riza asked as she guided the car from the curb.

"Edward's orders." Roy agreed to the background noise of Edward's continued approval. "You may have noticed through past events, but he's rather protective of me. If not for needing to deal with Kimblee before he dies from the injuries he sustained, I'd be on another full day of bed rest."

Riza nodded slowly, as much as she wanted to comment about the work piling up for him, she didn't think it wise considering there was an apparition somewhere in the vehicle that could be dangerously vengeful when it came to Roy.

"I'll be back tomorrow." Roy assured her, having a feeling what was waiting for him. "Both to make sure the paperwork doesn't get backlogged, and because I don't like not being able to keep an eye on certain individuals right now."

"The Fuhrer has been a bit sedentary, holed up in his office more than usual." Maes reported as he lounged in his seat while making sure he only invaded the space of his seat – he wasn't sure where Edward was, just that it was very unlikely that the ghost had been left behind.

"I wish I could get into his office…" Edward whispered through a frown, adding even as Roy shot an alarmed look back through the rearview mirror, "I'd love to prank him in ways I can't with the Brigadier General."

"The Brigadier General, according to Armstrong's reports," Maes continued, unaware of the side commentary by Edward, "hasn't been showing up as much to Headquarters, ends up spending near entire days in that laboratory I was staking out when the Fuhrer caught up with me."

"Fuck." Roy muttered with an unsettled twisting sensation in his chest, worrying at his mouth with one hand.

"We're running out of time." Edward whispered into the quiet that had settled into the car, before directing a sharp look up at Roy. "What are you still waiting for?"

"I was waiting to be sure." Roy replied, and to their credit, neither Riza nor Maes questioned the conversation they couldn't hear the other side of. Twisting his body as best he was able to look into the rear of the car, he caught Edward's irritated gaze. "We'd never actually caught Grand, before now, going in there. I had to be sure I was breaking into the right facility, otherwise instead of a promotion for killing the treasonous bastard, I get a murder charge and a prison cell. That's why I left Kimblee alive, because that little bird is going to fucking sing so that I make sure I bring down the correct facility."

Edward sat back into his seat, his irritation beginning to ebb from him as he began to understand. "You know, if you'd let me fight for you from the beginning you'd have never gotten hurt as badly and we could have had this conversation when you made the decision about Kimblee initially."

"Believe me, Edward," Roy turned back around with a grunt of discomfort, "I've learned my lesson about a lot of things since then."

"I'd never let you stay locked in a prison cell." Edward remarked after several silent moments in the car – neither Maes nor Riza knowing if the previous conversation was over between he and Roy. "I've been locked up… it's not something I'd let you sit through, and there's no fucking way I'm doing it again myself since I wouldn't leave you."

Roy cracked a grin, trying to hide how touched he actually was by the promise, "that's my rebellious Edward."

"It was really unfair for Mustang to keep Edward all to himself for so long," Maes whispered up to Riza.

It didn't take them long to pull off the main road down a clearly little-used side street, the main traffic rush of the early morning was over, and Fuery had long since fixed whatever he'd done to bring all the systems down. Several more minutes of driving and several more kilometers covered saw Riza guiding the car onto another side road and up to the locked gates of an abandoned estate home.

"I've got the gates." Maes announced as he exited the car quickly and jogged up to them.

Inside the vehicle, Edward watched in fascination as Maes got the padlock opened and pushed one of the heavy gates inward to allow the car passage onto a clearly derelict property. The estate home itself was two stories, but impossible to tell the sprawl of thanks to the dense overgrowth of the many trees and shrubberies. The sign they passed by midway down the short driveway announced it as the 'Central Convent' – clearly long since out of use.

"By the way, Edward," Roy began as the vehicle stopped and Riza cut the engine, "it is a safe house. You can always come here if you need to, or if, Gate forbid, something happens to me and you need to get me somewhere that isn't the house. I keep it well stocked."

Edward didn't question the information, but filed it away with a studious attention, as well as the route they'd taken to get here. He didn't have much in the way of driving experience, true, but he imagined he'd get fantastic at it in the case of an emergency such as one Roy was suggesting. "I understand."

The three of them got out of the car as Maes jogged up to join them, having locked the gates once more.

"I put him down in the basement level." Maes reported, "even without his hands and his condition I didn't trust the bastard to not try and get to a window."

"Perfect." Roy carefully slipped his hands into the pockets of his trousers, well aware of not wanting to pull at the stitches underneath the material of his sweater. He'd hate to get blood on it, after all, Edward had chosen it as a favorite.

"You're sure this place is safe?" Edward couldn't help but ask as he followed the group up to the front door of the abandoned convent.

Roy half turned as he let Riza unlock the front door to nod at Edward reassuringly. "It may not look like much, but believe me, it's quite safe here."

With that, the front doors were unlocked, and Riza let them in through one such door before locking it behind them once more. Maes was already moving to get the light switch, causing the building to flare into illumination all around them.

The main foyer was a complete opposite from the world outside the convent. There was a fine layer of dust, yes, but nothing more troublesome. It looked only as if it hadn't been given a thorough wipe-down in a year. It was also entirely empty.

Yet as Edward followed after the group again down one of the hallways, he began to spy various rooms filled with boxes he knew to be emergency military supplies. Apparently Roy, or one of his team, had somewhere along the line repurposed some of those supplies for his own potential emergency situations.

After passing four doors and another hallway that branched off to another section of the convent, they stopped at one of the doors. Upon swinging it open they were faced with a flight of stairs that descended into darkness, a darkness quickly driven away as Roy reached out to flick on the light switch.

"Let the information party begin." Maes declared grimly as he pulled free one of his blades and gave it an experimental twirl before leading the way down the stairwell.

Riza pulled free her sidearm, checking the weapon with expert swiftness before giving Roy a quick nod of decisiveness. "To be honest I'm hoping he gives me an opening to shoot him this time."

Roy couldn't argue with that, and watched for a moment as Riza descended after Maes before turning to Edward. "Watch my back?"

"And your front." Edward agreed warmly, matching Roy's amused but tense smile with one of his own.

With that, they made their way down into the basement.

Edward immediately took stock of their surroundings as they reached the landing, spotted Riza with her weapon leveled calmly towards the center of the room, and spotted Maes standing off to one side rather closer than her and flipping his knife with a calculating gaze as he watched over their current guest of honor.

Kimblee himself looked rather the same as Edward had last seen him, if not worse. The burns that ran along the remainder of his body were festering, the stumps where his hands had been fared no better and in some parts, pieces of wrist or arm bone were clearly visible – a stark white against the festering black. And yet, despite the pain the former alchemist must have been in, his eyes flicked open, bloodshot and disoriented from pain, but not wholly unaware.

"Kimblee." Roy gave the figure that was strapped to a chair a perfunctory nod.

A rattling breath shook Kimblee's entire frame in a tremor, the voice that had once sounded arrogantly cultured now reedy and broken. "I'd s-sh-s-shake yo-ou-r ha-a-a-nd," he forced out, "b-b-ut I seem… see-em to ha-a-ave misplaced mi-ine."

"Strange how they just run off." Roy remarked casually as he walked over to grab another chair and then come sit in front of Kimblee, but well back. He really didn't want to ruin his sweater.

Kimblee merely twisted his lips into a smile, but it was bloody and cracked.

"Now then," Roy began as he motioned towards Maes, "I really don't have time to sit and listen to you stumble over your words like a toddler. So I'm going to have Maes give you a little something to help block the pain, unfortunately it does have that nasty side-effect of occasional paralysis, but I think we can manage."

Maes had instantly slipped his knife away into some hidden pocket and was getting the syringe and the correct vial. Without preamble or ceremony, he filled the syringe and stalked up to Kimblee to jab it in with a complete opposite of the careful bedside manner he'd shown Roy. He then turned to deal with the dirtied needle before resuming his previous position with his favorite knife in hand.

Roy waited several minutes as Kimblee's breath grew markedly easier, but no less whistling in sound. "Right to it then? I only have one question, and we both know you've not got long."

A bark of a laugh attempted to make it out of Kimblee, but the only thing that resulted was a wet choking sound. "You've not either, Mustang."

"Perhaps." Roy remarked noncommittally and unconcernedly, he already knew what he was facing, but despite what Kimblee thought, he wouldn't be in this alone.

"I knew you were coming." Kimblee finally said as his eyes closed once more. "After so many years in Bradley's dungeons, you start to get a sixth sense for when your normal routine is about to go pear-shaped."

"And how did yours go pear-shaped?" Roy queried lightly, "I doubt getting released makes the cut, you seemed rather eager about your freedom."

Kimblee's charred mouth pulled into a grisly smirk, "just ask your question, Mustang. You're a man of action, I'm a man of words, and it sickens me to have to sit through your flowery nonsense when we both know you came here for a one word answer. I know that and I'm pretty sure that the smell of my own burnt flesh is making me hungry."

"Very well." Roy shrugged, ignoring that last rather disturbing comment. "Are Grand and the Fuhrer trying to recreate Marcoh's work in Laboratory Five?"

"Why?" Kimblee hissed with rattling laughs that sounded as if his ribs were shaking around free in his body cavity. "Is damaged little Flame Alchemist going to stop them with his pathetic morals and irrational fears of little red rocks?"

Roy snapped.

The shriek that pierced the air echoed about the basement hauntingly, and Kimblee had ended up on his side, writhing in agony at the sudden pain erupting from where one of his legs used to be and the trauma of landing hard on an arm with a recent amputation.

"What was that, Kimblee?" Roy asked lightly as he leaned forward on his forearms to watch the man dispassionately. "I didn't quite catch your answer."

"Yes!" Kimblee snapped before a dry heave left him shuddering on the floor.

"Yes, what?" Roy frowned at the man, "come now, Kimblee. You're usually more specific than this."

A wet snarl slipped from between charred lips, "fucking pyro bastard," was wheezed out before being followed by, "turns out I'd really enjoy you getting destroyed by him – either of them – so yes, and fuck you, they are."

"Better." Roy praised levelly and entirely unaffected by Kimblee's opinions, they were rather to be expected, after all.

"You being killed by the stones… poetry. I'd have loved to have managed it." Kimblee wheezed into more wet laughter.

Roy's gaze hardened and he gave a slight shake of his head, "you never would have. Edward is determined not to let me die, and really, you should have realized this, but they sent you out not caring if you'd come back."

"Edward?" Kimblee focused on the unfamiliar name with a panicking feeling he wasn't accustomed to, one of the sensation that he'd missed something, somewhere.

"Well it's been good to catch up, Kimblee," Roy stood up from his chair, "but let's not do it again."

"Not going to kill me yourself?" Kimblee spat as he began to twitch uncontrollably in his bindings.

Roy had finished walking the chair he'd been using back to where it belonged and turned a dispassionate look back towards the other alchemist. Former alchemist. "I was planning on it." He admitted and looked towards where Riza still stood, unmoving, her sidearm still pointed at Kimblee unwaveringly. "Yet I got to thinking on the way here, and it seems to me that it would be an honorable way to go for an alchemist – by alchemy."

Hawkeye didn't have to look at her Colonel to know his eyes were on her, and she gave a short nod. "I will shoot him gladly if that's your order, sir."

Roy glanced away from her to where Edward hovered, face impassive, off along the wall opposite Maes. The silvery gaze of the ghost had been resting on Kimblee, but now it flicked up to him in question.

"Tell her to shoot him, or I will finish him off myself." Edward informed Roy with an edge of steel to his voice, rage bubbling just below the surface of his control was threatening to break free. He didn't normally consider himself a violent spirit, but when his family was threatened and attacked, all bets were off.

Roy nodded at the ghost and then turned back to Riza. "I believe you mentioned wanting an opportunity to shoot him, Lieutenant." And he began moving away, back towards the stairs, motioning to Edward to follow him. "Make it quick. If the paralysis is going to set in at all, it'll be soon, and I'd rather him have the full experience."

"Yes, sir." Riza agreed readily, and drew the hammer back.