Chapter twenty-two

Al was scared. Dad and Ed would be out in the open today. They could both get killed.

And Al would just be sitting here in this bunker, feeling like he was coughing his lungs up. He was so useless right now. That was a drawback with being back in his own body. He was so vulnerable. He could get shot and die.

And he could be rendered useless by a viral infection.

So now he was going to have to watch from the sidelines, just hoping that Brother and Dad made it out alive and unhurt.

Because Al honestly didn't know what he'd do if he lost either of them. Losing Brother, even for that one week, had left Al feeling more lost than ever before. It had been the most painful thing he had ever experienced and now that he knew what it felt like, he never wanted it to happen again. He couldn't take take it one more time.

And he couldn't lose Dad. He couldn't get Dad and then lose him so quickly again. Not over a bunch of corrupt military officers.

They didn't deserve to die today. Or tomorrow. Not until they were old and wrinkly and their time had come.

But for once, Al couldn't be there to protect them to make sure of that.

He would just have to wait.

Which was why part of him hated that they were in the military. They would always be in danger. The selfish part of him wished that they would just quit. Just stay home and be safe.

But no, they were out there and about to be risking their lives right now.

And Al would just be here.

"Please come back to me."

Ed was as ready as he was ever going to be, he guessed. Greg and Angela had taken Al and Isaacs to the bunker and once they returned, they were ready.

Ed would finally be alive again.

Dad wouldn't be a killer anymore.

And Ed was going to be there tomorrow morning to kick Freeman in the nuts.

Greg came in through the door, carrying a bag which he threw to Ed with a grin. "Got to make you look presentable."

Ed opened up the bag to find a blonde wig, leather trousers, leather boots, a tank top and a red coat.

He grinned and went straight into the bathroom.

He may not be as particular about his attire as he used to, but it was great seeing them again. Throwing on his clothes and wig, Ed looked happily at himself. The hair colour was a little bit off, but Ed could still make himself a plait.

Ed grinned and threw the bathroom door open to show himself off. Going with his old style really made sure that there was no doubt that it was him.

Dad smiled sadly at him and Ed guessed that he was both happy for seeing him like this again, but also scared about losing him. Ed strode forwards and sat down next to him. He was wearing a light brown wig, looking a bit odd, especially with the striped hoodie. But he couldn't walk outside without drawing attention to himself, not even with the wig. He still insisted on coming, however.

And Ed was ready to kick some ass.

And so he grinned up at Dad. He had never seen him look so anxious about a mission before, but he clearly was now.

"Hey, take it easy. This is gonna be great! I'm gonna clear your name and before you know it, we'll be beating Freeman to a pulp!" Ed said encouragingly.

In response Dad just hugged him. "Just be careful and don't take any stupid risks."

"Sure."

Greg stood up and smiled. "Well, I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be."

And so they were off. Ed was thrilled to be walking out in the open like this. His clothing filled him with a lot of confidence and nonchalance. It was great to stride purposefully once again as himself instead of looking over his shoulder. Dad was the one doing that.

Then three metres later, they went down a manhole and climbed down the ladder into the sewers. That really wasn't so great. The smell was unpleasant and with only a few flashlights to guide them, Ed had enjoyed the glory of fresh air and sun on his face a lot more than this.

They walked in silence, Dad was constantly keeping close behind him.

The tension was high, but there was a sense of celebration in the air. The end to this mess was close.

Ed felt like he was breathing again. The excitement was flowing through him. He was finally allowed to do something.

Then they came to a halt in front of yet another ladder. Ezra climbed up and lifted away the lid. Angela followed him up, then came Dad. When the coast was deemed to be clear, Ed climbed up.

"Okay, Ed, that's the building right there. Make a mess," Greg said.

Dad squeezed his right shoulder and then let him go and so Ed crossed the street and threw open the doors of The Eastern Times.

People looked up from their desks. Then Ed was just met with stunned silence.

"Hello, everybody! I'd like you to stop writing the crap you are about my CO and instead write some real news. Because I'm Edward Elric and I'm not dead!"

Ed closed the doors behind him and a rush of people walked over, including a couple of bodyguards. The guards tried attacking him, but Ed just ran a few steps, jumped and then kicked one of them in the face before he crouched on the floor and swiftly swept the other guard's legs with his right foot. The man wheezed, obviously having had the wind knocked out of him. Ed just walked over and punched him in the face.

Cameras were flashing as Ed straightened up, ready for any other combatants, but none came. The several journalists and what not were staring at him, shouting out questions or expressing their outrage. Two people were cheering and an old receptionist seemed to be crying.

"How can you be Colonel Elric?!"

"But it is him! It's got to be!"

"How dare you say something like that?!"

"You're too tall!

Ed grinned, grabbing the wrist of the one who had said the last one. It was a young woman with glasses, her black hair in a bun and she was wearing a brown suit. "You know, I rather like that remark. But you seriously don't believe that I can't have a growth spurt?"

She looked at him horrified. Ed was at least fifteen centimetres taller than her. "B-but Colonel Elric is said to be small –"

"I'M SIXTEEN, DAMMIT! I'M ALLOWED TO BE TALL AND STILL BE MYSELF!"

"Then show me your left leg." The woman was smirking, obviously having recognised Ed's temper.

"Sure." Ed released her wrist, knowing that the whole room was now holding its breath as Ed pulled up his trouser leg to reveal his metal shin. "Happy?"

Something happened to the people around him at that sight, and suddenly Ed had people hugging him tightly and shaking his hand.

Then Ed felt a stinging sensation as one of them shook his hand and Ed looked up at a grinning face as he felt himself growing weak and dizzy. Blood was trickling slightly from a little puncture wound on his right hand. Ed tried hitting the grinning man, but he missed and fell to the floor. Next moment the man had pulled out a gun and people screamed as he fired three shots into the air. "Stay back if you want to live!"

"Damn … it …" Ed said, trying to get away, but his body wouldn't listen. He just lay on the ground, looking up at the man who seemed to be contemplating what he was supposed to do. The people around him had just frozen in place. "You … bastards … are … here … too?"

"Goodbye, Colonel Elric," the man stated calmly, pointing the gun at him.

Roy froze the minute he heard the shots. Without caring about any of the others he ran forwards, pulling on his right ignition glove and slammed the doors open. He saw the man pointing his gun at Edward's still form lying on the floor with his back facing Roy. Roy saw red and snapped. The man was being burned alive and was screaming for a few seconds, as did the people around them. Roy didn't care and just fell to his knees next to Ed and felt the panic rising as he turned the boy towards him. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. "Hey, Edward!"

Ed looked at him unsteadily, but his face didn't reveal any pain. "M' alright," he said weakly. "Bastard … drugged … me."

Roy just pulled him up to his chest, hugging him tightly.

"That's General Mustang!"

"Quick! The camera!"

Roy didn't care about the flashes of light or the consequences this would have. He was just hugging Ed as tightly as he could. He'd been absolutely terrified when he saw Ed lying there unmoving. Shots plus unmoving Ed usually meant just one thing and that was not something he would like to contemplate. Not again. Never ever again.

So, I thought that I'd just give a general warning here, because I will probably be updating this story often now that it reaches the end, which means that if there are readers who don't have this on their alerts, they will probably have to wait longer for the next update. The reason that I'm saying this, is that if I update a story twice (or more) in two days, then the first update is the only one that will be registered, so you have to watch the word count/number of chapters to be absolutely sure that I haven't updated the story.

And thank you to everyone who has stuck with me so far! You guys are great and fill my days with joy!