It was a pale pink.
So pale.
That was likely due to excessive blood loss. It was even bleeding right then.
Roy couldn't look away. It was as if the rest of the world had come to a stop and all that mattered was that tiny, insignificant pink object on the ground. It made him feel so absolutely sick with dread.
Because it wasn't really insignificant...
And it wasn't just an object...
It was Edward's damn tongue! Or he thought it was. It was the only thing that made sense! It was sick and wrong!
Roy looked up again, horror still very evident on his face. He was trying to keep himself level but that was hard when there was a damn tongue on the ground. His young subordinate's tongue. That bastard had cut it off!
Fullmetal was staring down at the ground. Had the man really meant it when he said Fullmetal was embarrassed by it? His tongue was... Gone!
He had every right to be frozen in horror. Roy felt numb himself. He wanted to pull his gun and end this now. Or his gloves. Those would work perfectly as well.
"Do you like it, Colonel? I tried to make it really special for The Great Flame Alchemist."
Roy was going to burn that smirk of that man's face and then he was going to burn off that man's tongue; and he was going to do it slowly! Then he would burn that man's face off!
"You let my subordinate go this instant!"
"Is something wrong? I'm just helping. Now you don't have to say he lost his tongue when someone asks because you know exactly where it is." He laughed.
"You're getting rather comfortable!"
"Oh, am I?" He chuckled. "Is it making you uncomfortable?"
"Just give me Fullmetal! I came like you wanted. And I have the money. Now give me the kid."
"Yes. Of course. Come get his leash." Edward was shaking his head almost imperceptibly. He didn't want Mustang to do it so he probably knew something was up.
Roy took a step forward. There was still roughly twenty feet between them. Roy held out his hand.
"Don't you trust me, Colonel Flame?"
"I trust you about as far as Fullmetal can throw you with one arm and a broken wrist," Roy bit back. He voice was heavily accusing.
"Oh, now, do you blame me for that? It was simply to protect myself. Edward, here, tried to hit me." He made a pouty face. "So it isn't my fault. It's Edward's."
Roy would have shot this man long ago if Fullmetal didn't have the barrel of a gun to his head. "Stop wasting my time and give me Fullmetal!" Roy snapped at him.
"Wasting time is the whole point of stalling, Colonel."
Roy flinched back. "What?"
Edward looked frightened. That drove an ice-cold spike into Roy chest.
Fullmetal didn't ever look scared.
Roy could feel something in the air. Something ominous. An unidentified threat. One that the Fullmetal Alchemist was even scared of.
Nothing came to disrupt the silence, though. Maybe Roy had been wrong.
But Edward's eyes hadn't lied to him. His whole face had screamed fear.
A weak explosion filled the air, making Roy jump up. Smoke followed, making everything hard to see as it was mixing with dust to make a thick cloud.
Was that all? It was so small...
Roy had already ripped the thread and pulled out his gloves, slipping them on. He was tense.
That couldn't have been what Fullmetal had been scared of.
He could see movement in the dusty, smoky air. He didn't hear Fullmetal being dragged. That had its own pros and cons.
"What was that?" Roy demanded loudly, fighting against the tickle of dust in his throat.
"Did you really think simply coming here and dropping off some money was good enough? I didn't do this for money, but I do have a prize I want, though."
There was a gentle rumble at first but then it grew.
A moment later a huge splintering crack filled the air, and debris came crashing down.
Roy dived out of the way of several falling objects. That man had left Fullmetal, so grabbing him would be much easier.
Roy coughed as everything crumbled and the roof caved in.
He felt something heavy crash into him from above. Something made contact with his head and the next thing he knew he was on the ground. As his vision his vision was fading into black at the edges he couldn't help but think, So much for only "half-falling-apart".
Thanks for everything! Especially reviews! They make my day!
And I swear that cutting off his tongue was never the plan. It just sort of happened while I was writing. So it even surprised me.