Broken Truth

His leg was fractured and he knew it the moment he stood up to put pressure on it as he sprinted out of the alleyway. Or at least he thought that his leg was fractured – it was likely to be something worse than that. Likely caused by where he had fallen over. Landed in an awkward position. However, Roy Mustang didn't say a word as he carried on forwards. Havoc had left little hints and clues of the path that he had taken.

But the sickening stench of blood in the afternoon heat was more than enough to lead the way.

Soon enough they reached it. There was a trapdoor hanging wide open, with a strangely-erected stone pillar to the side of it. Hughes had been and gone already. A part of him hoped that the man had decided to stay and wait until he had been able to catch up with them, however, he knew that this was unlikely to be the case. When something hit Hughes personally, he took it very seriously (biggest understatement of the day, Mustang).

"Are you ready, Hawkeye?" he said, his voice disguising the pain that was being caused by his throbbing leg that ground against his skin like a rock being chaffed against it. He could tell his eyes were bloodshot: they were watery and itchy all at the same time.

"When I have not been, Sir," Hawkeye replied, her tone indifferent. That was the problem, Roy could never detect when sarcasm was in her voice. She closed her eyes and sighed lightly, "just be careful."

"Of course," he waved his hand nonchalantly in the air, reaching down for the handle of the trapdoor, Hawkeye several paces behind him. Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling and crackling of alchemic energy. The rock pillar was melting as it contorted and changed shape under the influence of alchemy.

Roy froze. This was not alchemy, but more like a voltage. The blue sparks of current glowed so brightly, unnaturally as if the reaction had an unseen catalyst. Too bright…too fast…too late.

A fully transmuted golden tide of sand swept down upon the Colonel and his Lieutenant.

He didn't have time to take a breath before he was submerged by heat. The reaction had not only transmuted the rock into sand but heated it up so the sand grains were the colour of overripe tomatoes, burning a cherry red. He had his gloves on, but Roy was completely submerged, and the sand was a dragging weight on his arms; even the faintest movement was a momentous task to his aching limbs.

Roy last saw the menacing rays of sunlight before he was dragged with the tide. If the moon controlled the tides of the sea, then he decided that the sun must be controlling the tides of the sand. However, he knew there was some deeper science at work…except that without oxygen that was damn hard! His world had become a desert orange in colour and he could smell the musty odour of sand, like food gone stale, and salt, and books left on a shelf for long enough that they had collected a layer of dust.

Couldn't breathe…

-So, is this how you're going to end?-

Not now, you bastard!

-I'm insulted, Mustang. I am a part of you.-

I'm damn…trying!

-Yes, you are, as every other living thing does before they die.-

The sand and grit was beginning to blur his vision…and his body hurt…a part of him was tempted to admit defeat and float in this sea of sand until the end of his days.

However, he couldn't do that. He heard the cry and flash of blue several metres from his position, and without thinking, he was swimming through the falling sand to reach that person's side. He clasped the Lieutenant's shoulder and her body stiffened, before she began to kick against the sand with all the force in her body. But they didn't know which way was up or down or left or right – for all they knew they were struggling to reach downwards.

When suddenly, a thought occurred to Roy. He was damn useless in the rain, but here in Turinene it was not raining. Sand was formed of silica, containing the elements silicon and oxygen. If he could separate the molecules and use the flammable hydrogen present in the air, he would be able to disperse the sand with a series of miniature explosions. That would give them enough time to push their way out of the sand.

His theory had several major flaws. One: gloves – how was he supposed to reach his gloves when each time he moved a cascade of sand replaced the empty space? Two: space – he couldn't judge how great a radius he would be hitting meaning he could injure Hawkeye or himself. Three: hydrogen – if he was buried too far beneath the earth, would he be able to obtain a sufficient supply of hydrogen?

He squeezed Hawkeye's shoulder twice. This was their signal.

Roy transmuted. What else was there to lose?

The sand molecules began to break apart, alchemically by command. However, Roy had barely channelled any energy into the transmutation when already the covalent bonds were breaking. And as an alchemist, he knew the energy input was far higher to break these specific bonds; they were some of the strongest between the non-metallic elements. And then hydrogen rushed in, meeting with the oxygen and causing a series of bangs to break the silence.

The weight dragging the officers down vanished, and with a heave, Roy broke through to the surface, panting heavily. It had been sheer luck that they had been near the surface. He had nearly died on the first fucking obstacle.

Hawkeye's hair had fallen from its clip, and she was readjusting it. She then ran her hands over each gun she carried, tightening her belt, securing holsters. She worked in silence. Roy, still on the ground, started to lift himself when he winced, frustration curling his hand into a fist, resulting in a punch that hit the earth next to his useless limb. His goddamn leg!

"You'll need this, Sir," Roy felt a long piece of wood and bandages being thrown down at him. Hawkeye had found the stick further down the alley and was zipping up her first aid kit.

"It's nothing," Roy said dismissively, but Roy looked into her brown eyes, and saw her reluctance to let the matter pass. She was as stubborn, if not more so than he. Riza Hawkeye was also the more assertive, especially towards her CO.

"This is a battle you're going to lose, Sir," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Fine," he hissed, and struggling to grab a hold, ripped off a section of the bandage, deftly securing knots. The movement was natural considering how many times he had been taught the emergency first aid for injuries back at the academy. After a minute, he had made a satisfactory makeshift splint.

Without so much as grimacing, he opened the hatch and climbed down the ladder into the darkness. His leg was in agony, yes, and his head was thumping so badly that he wanted to curl up and fall asleep, yes, but that wouldn't stop him.

"Typical," Hawkeye muttered under her breath, but she continued to follow her superior officer without another word. They left the world of light and entered a place familiar to them both: Hell.

Maes finished etching the last of his M's onto the side of the wall, at eye level for Hawkeye to see, for Roy would be too oblivious to notice. Maes had to admit, he was struggling to keep his focus on the task at hand. He was threatened to lose his mind each time he saw a bloodstain. This case was personal, and he worried for his boys.

Havoc had gained information from a lackwit guard that the tunnel that forked to the left, the left wing it had been called, was the cell block. Somewhere down here was the cell used for the Elric brothers. He was nearly there.

Sitting curled up in the corner of the room, puddles of liquid and bones scattered around him, was a huddled form. It was hard to tell which one, but when Maes identified four flesh limbs instead of two confirmed his suspicions. It was Alphonse. After the dead ends and the endless searching…the days that had spanned by him like years…the sleepless nights…

But before he could take a step, the boy started screaming a blur of words. He couldn't discern what the boy was saying, and after the long silence of the tunnels, the sound came as a shock to the system for Maes. He stepped gingerly over the puddles, but then decided he didn't give a shit and strode as quickly as he could towards the younger Elric. Al was staring at the floor, but flinched and gazed upwards when he saw Maes' reflection cast by the stagnant water (that's what it smelt like anyway).

"Alphonse, it's Maes," Maes said soothingly, but the boy wasn't looking at him, but rather in the direction towards the door.

"B-brother, s-sorry, b-brother, s-sorry," Al was mumbling and repeating, and he didn't seem to have heard Maes. It was only when the Lieutenant Colonel shuffled did Al look up at him. Maes' eyes narrowed in suspicion and he said something very quietly. Al's confused gaze only confirmed his thoughts.

"Fucking hell," he swore, and this time Al knew what Hughes was saying through reading his lips.

"S-sorry, H-Hughes, b-bad, c-couldn't b-brother!" Al wailed and fell onto Maes' shoulders. Maes was taken back from the absolute terror in Al's voice a moment ago to the desperation the boy was experiencing. He wanted the familiar reassurance of an adult, and be told that everything was alright.

-He'll never be able to hear that though.-

-Well done, Lieutenant Colonel. You found them – isn't that what you wanted?-

"We've got you, kiddo. I promise, we'll get you and your brother back safe," Maes whispered, even though he knew that Al couldn't hear him. Anger grew in his chest. What had those bastards done to the Elric brothers? From the state of the cell and abused Alphonse, Maes knew that Ishval had been child's play.

The place was a labyrinth that probably stretched it an entire network of tunnels below Turinene, and in either direction all he could see was the dark possibilities that lay onwards. The lights flickered and threatened to turn off, but they seemed to hold. He wanted to create a light; however, he knew that due to the lack of oxygen in this confined, stuffy space, the flames would quickly die and it would have been a wasted effort.

-A wasted effort. Hmmm. Just like this mission.-

The stuffiness in the air did not help the sickening stench that filled his nostrils: blood. It was metallic and bitter and he retched, almost being able to taste the stuff. He shook his head, ignoring the sparkles of pain going up and down his leg and took the first turn to his left. He followed the corridor that was the most well-worn, because there he would find what he was looking for. Finally. A pair of brothers. It had been too long since he had heard the hot-headed rants of his subordinate, and he had missed the remarks. Not that he would ever confess to that of course.

Edward was missing his automail, however. He hoped to find the boy in one piece. And Kain. And Maes. And Jean. And Al. Roy knew by instinct he would not be leaving any single of them behind. Not again.

But he was afraid. He was afraid not of what lurked in the shadows, but of what would happen when this situation was resolved. After Ishval, things had never been the same again? Would the Elric brothers ever be able to come out of this ordeal unscathed?

He would have to wait and see. But the quicker he moved, the faster he could reach the Elric brothers.

Colonel and Lieutenant hastened their paces, and followed the stench deeper into the enemy's lair. He kept his eyes focused ahead, and they moved like this for a long time. The tunnels stretched on, and the labyrinth branched off with side doors. Roy continued to follow the main trail because this is where the Elric brothers would be. He knew intuitively that they would be at the heart of the facility, because knowing Fullmetal, he was at the heart of everything.

The familiar pit of anger began to well up inside of Roy. The boy had had a difficult past; most of the time, fate was against him. No, the world was against the teen. He had given both his mind and heart to the causes he fought for.

He was at the heart of people he knew, albeit not in a sentimental way. Edward could light up the office with a snide remark, through his silent diligence, and through his ability to connect to his study and people equally. He was a multifaceted person, and had matured through the years Roy had been acquainted with him. Their bond was shaky, but each possessed a certain respect for the other, or was the case in Roy's mind.

"Sir," Hawkeye interrupted, and pointed to an indentation to the wall on their left. It was a small carving at Roy's shoulder level with a large M etched on the surface.

"Bastard has come this way," Roy muttered, but was grateful that Maes had taken the initiative to follow the trail deeper into the lair. There was a reason that he was his best friend, Roy considered gratefully.

Further along their trail, tension brewed inside of Roy like storm clouds. The air was becoming more stifling, and his breaths became uneven. He stared stoically ahead and swallowed the surge of nausea threatening to rise up his throat. This place was evil. It seemed to emanate the feeling. So much gloom and darkness and pain held hostage in one place could only brood evil.

How had the Elrics survived in the darkness for so long? Without seeing the light of the Sun, knowing they had survived another day…

That is what had helped Roy through Ishval.

He paused as the two arrived at a fork in the road. One path veered to the left and the other to the right. Hawkeye moved in front of him, wary of the guards (the facility had surprisingly been abandoned until now) but as they began to enter the hub of enemy territory, they had to exert higher levels of caution. Hawkeye coughed and pointed to Maes' signal. The man had taken the first tunnel on the left. Roy nodded in understanding and turned to take the other path on the right, swallowing the trepidation threatening to engulf him.

Only seconds had passed before he saw the footprints, and damp puddles beginning to form. The stench of urine filled the air, and Roy's appetite was quashed. With each step he took, another horror was added to the trail on the ground. More puddles. And bloodstains. They started as drops, which turned into puddles that grew into muddy-red streaks that stretched along the tunnel and stained the walls-

"Duck!" he heard an angry Hawkeye command, and she fired bullets at a man approaching from the right. He moved out of the way with a second to spare. She dodged the blows from his gun before responding with the rattle of her own. Roy felt his gloves itch, but knew that Hawkeye could handle this singular guard. The next round she fired proved that her aim was true, and the man dropped to the floor, silently screaming, as blood welled from a leg wound.

Roy didn't waste a second on his interrogation, "where are the Elric brothers?"

"None of you' business," the man answered stubbornly, but cursed as Roy stood on his foot with his good leg.

"Tell me where they are," Roy demanded, but the man spat in the Colonel's face. The silent treatment it was, "tell me if you value your life, dammit!"

"I'm a condemned criminal anyways. Don't matter what 'appens to me," the man stifled another scream as Hawkeye landed a bullet through his palm.

"Shit, you're ruthless aren't ya?" the man directed his question at Hawkeye.

Hawkeye pointed the gun at his face, "I will make you suffer a thousand hells if you do not answer the question. Do you know what it's like for an artery to be blown up but you don't die for the following day as your body writhes in agony?"

Roy's face paled but he didn't make his fear for Hawkeye's statement to change the expression on his face. He agreed with her wholeheartedly. He shouldn't have been so surprised by her reaction though; Hawkeye was a human, and had limits to her patience too.

"Alright there, darlin'. No need to throw a tantrum!" the man looked sour, and scanned from left to right, but there was nobody else around. "Kimbers took the stumpy one down this corridor. Third door on the right. The other is still in the cells, the taller one, down the left wing."

"So Maes' job is Alphonse. I am sure he has questioned a guard too," Roy nodded his head to confirm the methods of the Lieutenant Colonel, who should have been with Havoc right about now. Therefore, it was his duty to journey onwards and find the older, but shorter, member of the Elric duo.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Hawkeye muttered and rammed the end of her gun into the man's head. It was a merciful outcome, as he would wake up with a splitting migraine. Roy frankly didn't care about the guards – his wrath was tuned towards NoName.

"Wait, Hawkeye, the man said 'Kimbers'", Roy stated, his eyes widening.

"Does that mean-"

"The Elric captor-"

"Kimblee?"

Aside from the fact that their synchronisation never failed to faze him, Roy's stomach churned in sickening disgust. Solf J. Kimblee was a monster. He revelled in the destruction of his enemies and allies alike; the sound of destruction and death and bloodbaths was like a symphony to the man. And to discover that he had relatives that were not secluded to the Central State Prison shook him greatly.

Their enemy could easily be a mass murderer just like his relative.

That thought hardened Roy's resolve to reach Edward sooner, as soon as possible. Hawkeye sensed his urgency, and they passed the first door on the right, the second door on the right…without encountering anymore guards. Suspicion rang louder than bells in his head.

They had reached a junction that snaked to his left; Roy suspected this was a connection point between the left and right wings as the man had said. He looked down at the ground, and suddenly shivered, the first sensation he didn't compose. Hawkeye covered a hand over her mouth in shock. Fresh blood stains lined the ground, and amid them, clumps of golden hair, leading further down the tunnel they were heading down.

Nobody had golden hair this…flamboyant, even if they dyed their hair. Even Alphonse's hair, despite being a similar shade of gold, was never quite as bright as his big brother's. Edward had passed this way, and recently at that. A lump was caught in Roy's throat – Fullmetal was here. He was here and they were going to get him out-

By this time his leg was excruciating, but as much as he wanted to take a damned break, he didn't. He couldn't.

The third door on the right didn't have a guard posted in front of it. Nodding at Hawkeye, they stood with gloves and gun with their backs to the door and stormed in-

Bright. White. Glaring sunlight…

He grimaced, his face squinting as he adapted to the suddenly bright surroundings after being in the suffocating gloom for what felt like an eternity. What followed next was the overpowering smell of disinfectant and bleach. The walls were scrubbed clean, including one side of the wall which was covered with glass, revealing an adjacent room, which appeared to be empty. And in the middle of the room was a chair and a boy, his head lowered, facing him. The boy had golden hair that was raggedly cut short, not reaching past his ears, and his frail body was stooped. He wasn't even shackled to the chair, but he made no effort to move. He had scratches and bruises lining his arm and leg, the other limbs missing so only stumps remained. From his right shoulder stump there was a gruesome infection festering, which pulsed ooze and discharge. There were chunks of metal stuck to the port and the infection had spread from his shoulder across half of his chest and down his side and arm. The very sight caused Roy to begin quivering.

He called out the boy's name, "Edward."

He didn't even get a response. The boy only cowered deeper into the chair, his blank face staring into nothing. Roy and Riza approached the blond, and crouched by his side.

"Edward, it's Roy Mustang, your superior officer with Lieutenant Hawkeye. We've come to get you out of here. We're going to take you home now," Roy enunciated his words carefully and slowly, letting the boy register them.

Suddenly, life seemed to stir from within the boy's skeletal frame (and horribly atrophied muscles) and he stared straight into Roy's eyes. One eye was glassy and didn't focus properly, while the other was beginning to glaze over. Roy could see the struggle Fullmetal was having at focusing on who was in front of him.

"G-go away. D-don't come b-back," Edward whispered. The sound was frightening to hear from the Fullmetal Alchemist. Roy had to repeat the title to himself again: Fullmetal Alchemist. Such a fearsome name for such an unruly kid. And here was the title's namesake, a creature who was barely alive, barely breathing.

"We won't do such a thing, Edward. We aren't going to leave you again, I promise," Roy vowed earnestly, meaning each word he said with each bone in his body (including the broken ones). And then he noticed the juts and misplaced lumps that appeared across Edward's body, where bits of bone had been so badly broken and neglected that they had started to reform in entirely the wrong place. It was a miracle that the boy wasn't crying out in agony.

"I-I'm h-home," Edward sighed pathetically, his eyes red from where he had been crying. Roy didn't know how long the boy had been crying alone in this room all by himself, and the solitude the boy must have experienced without his brother. At that moment, Roy couldn't bring himself to see the teenager as an adult; he looked so vulnerable and weak. Delicate. That was a thought he never believed he would have associated with the moody, sulky blond over a month ago. But then Roy had ignored the reports of dangerous activity going on in Turinene, and had granted the brothers holiday leave to visit a world famous ice cream parlour…

"No, you're not home. This place isn't your home," Roy confirmed, trying to convince the boy, who didn't seem to react to anything he said. He just sat there like a wilting flower, picked too early and left to rot in the baking Sun.

"C-colonel…I-I b-burnt my h-home d-down. L-like m-me, it's d-dirt," Edward stuttered, failing miserably at curling his fist, so his fingers barely wiggled. The move was so futile, and Edward only slumped even more, as if he hoped to vanish into the chair. He had given up. That fire no longer burnt from within those angry golden eyes.

"You're not dirt, Edward," Hawkeye said gently, and brought a hand towards the boy's hand when he flinched.

"Do not touch me!" Edward's hoarse voice choked, and his face was quickly damp. Both Colonel and Lieutenant quickly moved backwards, giving the boy his space.

"Okay, Edward, but we need to help you to stand – we are going to take you somewhere safe with your brother-" Roy didn't finish. The kid's good eye widened in horror and he unleashed a bolt of fury that caused Roy to stumble backwards in surprise.

"DON'T LET ME NEAR, AL. I WILL KILL HIM. I'LL KILL YOU. I KILLED HIM. IT WAS THE LAST THING I SAW. I KILLED HIM AND I WILL KILL YOU GO AWAY!" the last part came out as a choked moan, as Edward's voice finally surrendered. He was shivering, and tried to curl himself up into a ball. He looked like a stray lost in the rain he had forgotten a life outside that of torture and neglect. It was terrifying to witness.

"Fullmetal, you're coming with us, now. That's an order," Roy snapped sharply. The defeat that emanated from the boy like an aura was sickening like the scent of bleach. From Edward's appearance, he knew that the boy had been beaten bloody, but right now, that couldn't be his focus. He had to get the boy out of there and quickly. The cavernous labyrinth of the enemy seemed to have been abandoned, but Roy could not take his chances. A part of him yearned to stalk the tunnels of this place and burn every damn thing he could see and when he saw Kimblee he would tear him apart, but his subordinate's safety had to be his priority.

He expected the fiery hothead to retort with something to Roy, or any move of defiance that showed Roy that somewhere beneath this beaten frame Edward Elric was fighting to escape, fighting to defend his brother and be a brat to all who knew him. But there was nothing. No reaction. No response. Only a weary sigh, "d-do wh-what you want."

"Fullmetal?" Roy asked, his hopes dwindling like the setting Sun.

"S-sorry, Colonel. He's gone," Edward answered sadly, looking up at the Colonel with sad eyes. Roy had never felt so defeated in all of his life.

In Edward's eyes, the short genius punk that was the Fullmetal Alchemist was dead.

Maes' point of view happens at about the same time that Roy finds Edward, just as some extra information.

So I had a ponder and changed the chapter name - it seemed to reflect the finality in the tone. Poor Elrics...

My WiFi has been terrible these last couple of days, but if it decides to behave, I can get updating faster again. I hope you enjoyed!