Yes, an update. Even though nobody gave me pity like I asked them to, I'm updating. You should be grateful I'm nice. Hmph.

----------

Roy woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He wearily got up and walked to the doorway. He looked through the peephole, but he could only see the top of his visitor's head. It was Edward.

Roy opened the door and received a shock. Ed's eyes were glazed over, and he was wearing something that looked like a transmuted blanket. Roy looked into the hallway and ushered Ed inside.

"What's going on, Fullmetal?" he asked as he got Ed to sit down. "You look terrible."

Ed shook his head. Tears began to come into his eyes. "I shouldn't have come here."

"What are you talking about?"

"They know."

Roy blinked. He knew what Ed meant by 'they,' but… "What? What do they know?"

"They know that I remember. They know the truth about me. About… what I really am."

"What are you talking about, Fullmetal?"

Ed cringed as Roy put a hand on his left shoulder and pulled himself away. "I shouldn't have left. Winry's in danger now."

"She's fine. She and Hawkeye went into hiding the other day."

Ed stared at Roy. "They did?"

"Yes."

"Somewhere safe?"

Roy thought about it for a moment. His plan had worked out without a hitch. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be, Fullmetal. Now what happened?"

Ed shook his head. "I don't know."

"Are you hurt?"

"It hurts to speak."

"Did something happen to your neck?"

"No."

Roy sighed and held out a hand. "Come on, you look exhausted."

Ed followed Roy silently to Roy's bedroom. Roy sat him down and picked up the floor some. "Get some rest. If someone's coming after you, you'll need to be able to leave early in the morning."

Ed looked around for a while. "Leave?"

"That's right. We're leaving. They may be letting us live, but I'm sick of not being able to fight openly. We're going to the north to prevent this circle or whatever from being finished."

Roy was surprised to hear a strange noise come from Ed. He turned around to see that Ed had hidden his face completely. "Al…"

"Where is he?" Roy asked.

"He's still underground. There's no way they'll let him out after everything that's happened." Ed unconsciously gripped his left side. He stopped when he noticed Roy watching him.

"Something wrong with your side?"

"No." Ed said it so fast that Roy became suspicious. He decided he'd give Ed a moment alone before asking, so he went into the kitchen to get some food. When he went back into the room, Ed hadn't moved. Roy set down his plate.

"Edward."

Ed looked up at Roy. "What?"

"Take off your shirt."

"Why?"

"I need to see what they did to you."

Ed tensed. "It's none of your business."

"Excuse me?" Roy asked. "You show up in the middle of the night, talking about them like they're coming after you, you can barely move, and you expect me to believe that you're perfectly fine?"

"I am fine. Just tired."

"You said it hurt to speak."

"I was running. A lot."

"Then why didn't you say that earlier?"

Ed stood. "I don't know! I just can't think right now, okay?"

Roy went back to his original quest. "Look, if you got any new information, then we need to know it. That goes for injuries too. Not just injuries, anything they've done to you. Take your shirt off."

"No."

"That's an order, Fullmetal."

"I don't care." Ed made for the door, but Roy got a hold of his wrist and pulled him back. Ed brought his other fist toward Mustang's face, but Roy grabbed it in midair and twisted it slightly, causing Ed to grimace. "What's your problem?" Ed asked, glaring at Mustang with all his might.

"Fullmetal, do you think I'm stupid? I can tell when you're hiding something!"

"Well, what gives you the right to know?"

Despite the situation, Roy was relieved. At least Ed was still easy to get riled up. "I'm in charge of you. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be involved in any of this."

"Yeah, that's true," Ed shot back. He broke free of Roy's grasp and took a step back. He lowered his eyes. "But then Al would still be stuck in the worst body possible."

Roy breathed a silent sigh of relief. Ed had finally calmed down. "So?"

Ed looked up and met Roy's gaze. "You have to promise that you won't change the way you think about me."

"Why would I do that? I've known you for years. It's not like one thing can change what I think of you. You'll always be a determined pipsqueak in my mind."

To his surprise, Ed didn't retaliate. He sat down and blinked several times before looking at Roy again. "So is it a promise?"

"Yes."

Ed pulled his makeshift shirt off and tossed it aside. Roy stared in shock at the black lines that covered the alchemist's left side. "What…"

"That bastard did this. I guess I'm not allowed to call myself human anymore."

-----------------

Roy didn't get to sleep until about three in the morning. He had stayed awake for at least an hour after Ed had dropped off to sleep, and that was only after Ed had told his story. Roy had spent the rest of the night on the couch, giving Ed a chance to feel somewhat safe, since his bedroom didn't have any windows and the only way in there was through the living room, where Roy happened to be sleeping. He also hadn't wanted Ed's condition to worsen. After telling his story, Ed had become faint, and Roy had put a lot of effort into convincing the boy not to fall asleep with his shoes on.

He had pondered Ed's story for a while, not knowing what to think. He had been shocked to hear about Ed's father, but rage had come through when Ed spoke about what they had done to him. "I still don't know what's different about me, other than this… thing."

That morning, Roy was shaken awake by none other than Ed. He checked his clock. It was six thirty, half an hour before he had planned on getting up. Roy sat up wearily.

"What is it?"

"We have to go. Now."

"What makes you say that?"

"I… I don't know, but it's almost like I can feel something bad coming close."

Roy stood up, completely awake now. "Then we'll go. Your brother's suitcase is over there. He has some of your clothes in it along with his, so get dressed. Try not to wear anything conspicuous."

"Right," Ed muttered. Roy watched as Ed got some clothes. His movements seemed forced, as if he was having troubles moving.

"Ed?"

"What?"

"You look like a zombie."

Ed looked at Roy as he pulled out a shirt and hoodie from the suitcase. "You would too if you ran through a huge underground psycho lair and up like twenty flights of stairs."

"Twenty?"

"What, you expect me to keep track? I'm sore, okay? That's all there really is to it."

Roy sighed as he went into his room to change. Then he grabbed a backpack that contained everything they needed for the trip. He hadn't been planning on taking Ed with him, but he knew that Ed could fend for himself, especially since he'd had his wallet in his pocket when Envy had picked him up for the experiment.

Once they were ready, Roy opened the door and let Ed out before leaving his home and locking the door behind him, never planning on returning.

They made their way through the city. Ed was on edge until they reached the train station. They boarded a train and headed south.

"South?" Ed asked incredulously.

"Yes, it's called a detour. We're going south, then west, and then north. It'll take a few more days, but it should keep us out of too much trouble. Although, some of the routes I mapped out require walking, unless we can find someone to give us a ride. I don't want us to be caught, and if that means avoiding the less crowded trains, then that's what we'll do."

"Oh, I get it," Ed muttered.

"We're also going to make a stop along the way."

"Where?"

Roy gave Ed a knowing smile. "In Dublith."

"Dublith?" Ed groaned. "You aren't planning on trying to meet… her, are you?"

"If by 'her' you mean your old teacher, no."

Ed breathed a sigh of relief just as Roy spoke again.

"You're the one who's going to meet her."

--------------

Ed walked cautiously up to his teacher's shop and opened the door. He walked in, trying his best not to be noticed, but it didn't work too well, since he was the only one in there other than his teacher. Izumi stared at him, watching his attempts at invisibility with amusement for a while before speaking up.

"Nice try, Ed. Now what are you doing here? And why is it that I've heard rumors about you and Al trying to start a rebellion?"

"Um…" Ed searched his mind for a while, trying to find a good way to say what Roy had told him to say without sounding too stupid. "We have a problem. A big problem."

"What kind of problem? And it's nice to see your arm again."

"Thanks." Ed looked out the window before speaking again. "It's… hard to explain, but there's a problem with this country."

Ed got knocked backwards about three feet. He gripped his nose in surprise.

"I really hope you didn't come here just to point out the obvious, Ed. I thought you were smarter than that."

"I am! It's just… really hard to explain."

"Then get your little military friend to explain it," Izumi snapped, gesturing to the window, where they could see Roy trying in vain to spy on them. Ed sighed and called Roy inside.

Once they had explained the basics to Izumi, the woman stood up. "So you're saying I should run away."

"No," Ed replied. "I'm just telling you what's going on. There's a really good chance that the military will come here, and I wanted you to know beforehand."

"I see. Now let's see this tattoo of yours."

Ed sighed and pulled up his shirt in order to reveal the black marks on his skin. His teacher looked at it for several minutes before walking to a bookshelf. She grabbed one of the books and set it on the table, opening it to a certain page and pointing to a design eerily similar to that on Ed's skin.

"I thought I'd seen that somewhere before. It's a symbol of perfection and imperfection combined. I don't know what it means, but it can't be anything good."

"But that's the thing. I don't know why that guy said I wasn't human anymore. I don't feel different at all. Well, I'm sore as hell, but that's from running so much."

"Just how far did you go before stopping?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't really know. Why?"

"This is just a theory, but I think I might know why you were able to escape. Even if this new Greed let you go, the fact that he caught up with you means he was either faster than you or he knew his way around the place better than you do."

"It's probably the second one. I kept getting lost in there."

"Which means you were going faster than him. Was he slower than you the last time you raced, if you did at all?"

Come to think of it, it did seem like I was going faster than usual… Ed thought. "So wait, you think that's what they were talking about?"

"Well, they didn't seem to know themselves, so it might just be that it's made you stronger. Or you really wanted to get the hell out of there."

Roy stood up. "Anyway, I think it's time for us to head out. It wouldn't be good if we were late."

Ed stood up and pulled his shirt back on. "So… I guess this is goodbye for now…"

"I might not be here the next time you come. If everything you've said is true, then I can't just sit around and let those bastards do all that."

Ed laughed weakly. "Yeah, right… Well, I'm leaving, so…"

Izumi caught Ed in her arms and held him close for a minute. "Don't be stupid, okay?"

Ed hid his head as he stood in his teacher's arms. "I'll try my best."

Izumi let go and put her hands on her hips. "Somehow, that isn't very reassuring. Especially considering how much of an idiot you've been since I met you."

Ed was about to reply when Izumi smiled. "Get out of here, Ed."

Ed turned and walked to the door. He waved as he left the building for what felt like the last time.

--------------

As they walked down the road, Ed felt like something was wrong. They had been traveling for several days, and were now coming close to their final destination. Ed trailed behind Mustang with his feet dragging. Despite all the traveling he'd done in the past, he felt as if this trip had given him enough traveling to last him a lifetime.

"And why do we have to walk through this again?"

"Because it turned out to be too risky to take the train."

"And why do I care about that?"

"Because you don't want to go back to Central."

Ed groaned. "Yeah, but I'm tired."

"Quit complaining. You've traveled more than I have in the past few years."

"So? I've also been in the hospital four times since I got my arm back. And then there's the… hmm…"

"You were in the hospital five or six times after you got your leg back."

"Right. Not exactly the best year of my life."

"How old are you right now?"

"I'll be seventeen in a couple of months."

Roy stopped.

"What?" Ed asked.

"Stand straight for a minute. I want to see something."

Ed stood still as Roy walked up to him and did some weird measuring thing. "Any reason you randomly decided to walk up to me and check my height?" he asked, getting a little angry.

"You've grown since you got your arm back. I'd say you're at least two inches taller now."

"Just two?"

"Considering it's only been a few months, I'd say that's impressive. Who knows, maybe you won't be a midget by the time you're an adult?"

"Hey!"

Roy took off at a run, and Ed chased after him. "Come back here you jerk!" he shouted. "I'll-"

Roy stopped running and turned around. "You'll what, Fullmetal?" he asked before he saw Ed on the ground. "Ed!"

Ed was on his hands and knees. He was trembling visibly. "Damn it…"

"Hey, are you okay?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine in a minute." After he said this, though, Ed felt something come up his throat, and he threw up.

"What the hell, Fullmetal?" Roy nearly shouted, panic obvious in his voice.

"I don't know… I don't think I can take much more of this…"

Roy looked around. There was a town in the distance, which was their destination for the day. "Can you make it that far?" he asked, pointing to the town.

Ed nodded and wiped his face before getting to his feet. They walked silently down the road, Roy staying next to Ed in order to catch him if he fell.

---------------

By the time they made it into town, Roy found himself carrying Ed. At first he'd been unwilling to do so, but as he picked Ed up off the ground, he realized that the teen was much lighter than he remembered. Then again, last time I carried him was when he had automail, he thought as he walked into the town.

He set Ed down and had him walk through the town until they got to a bench. As they sat there, Roy noticed someone in a military uniform walking toward him. He had dark skin and wore goggles. He stopped in front of the bench and nodded to Roy.

"Roy Mustang?"

"That's me," Roy replied.

"I'm Major Miles. I'm here from Briggs. I take it he's done for today?" he said, gesturing to Ed, who had nearly passed out.

Roy nodded. "You don't seem surprised that he's here."

"Considering the news from Central lately, we were beginning to expect him showing up soon. Come on, the car is waiting."

Roy managed to get Ed to walk the two blocks to the car, but that was all he managed. He sighed as he realized Ed was breaking.

"What happened to him?" Miles asked as they drove toward the fort.

"He had a run-in with our friends in Central. Didn't end well."

"I see."

"How are things here?"

"It seems that Drachma is under the impression that we are getting ready for war. They are arming themselves and directing the majority of their forces to their southern border. There is also the matter of the tunnel that is still unresolved, but thanks to some of his work, we'll be able to remedy the situation soon enough." Miles gestured to Ed. "How long ago was he attacked?"

"He wasn't attacked, per se. It was more of an… experiment."

"Experiment?"

"You'd have to ask him for details. I barely understand it myself."

They arrived at the base, and Roy pulled a now unconscious Ed out of the back seat. Miles looked at the alchemist's face for a moment. "I suppose that questions will have to wait."

-------------

Note: If you're wondering how Roy got Riza and Winry away, don't expect an answer. Details like that aren't my forte, and we all know that Roy's smart enough to come up with something incredible all on his own, so why should I feel the need to help him with that?

And yes, Ed's arm is still broken in this chapter, but it's healed by the end. I didn't mention it because his arm being broken doesn't affect any of the events in this chapter. (and because I kinda forgot about that while writing this but SHHHH hey look a cookie! runs away)

Ah, yes, and Ed knows where Roy lives because… well, if you've read Separated, you'll know why, and if you haven't… read it. It's damn good.

And for all those RoyEd fans out there: don't get your hopes up. I can't write pairings like that. If it's not what the author's getting at, then I don't want it in my stories. Besides… yeah, if you've read the manga, you'll know what I'm talking about, and it'll turn up next chapter.