Tormented Flame
Disclaimer: WE do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. They all belong to Hiromu Arakawa.
Authors: haganenocutie94 (writer) and freakywinrylova141 (plotter)
Warning: Slight OOC! Consider yourself warned!
Chapter Three: Salvaged Flame
"Mahal kita…"
Ednalyn's golden orbs shot wide open at what Roy had confessed. Her heart had stopped beating, her mind had ceased screaming and her breathing had halted as the words continued to echo in her ears.
A faint smile tugged at her lips and more tears streamed from her eyes as she thought of an answer. An answer to the confession she had wanted to hear for God knows how long now.
'I love you…'
It had meant and everything around her had stopped its pace, almost as if time had marked itself there.
'Mahal kita… Mahal kita… I love you… I love you…' those words kept replaying on her mind.
But finally she opened her mouth, "M-ma…" she stuttered, "Mahal din kita… Mahal na mahal…" she sobbed after the words had left her mouth.
Roy smiled as he heard the words but then chuckled as he heard the sob.
'I love you too… very much…' was her reply.
"My, aren't we articulate?" Roy said but then winced at the wound on his left side. It had gotten worse and it showed more than a few signs of infection of which he had frowned upon. He needed to be treated quickly or he could just say goodbye to his dreams. He had acquired other injuries and wounds before the seventh call and namely a deep abrasion above his left eye, another pair of broken ribs, deep cuts and bruises on his wrists, lacerations on his legs, a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm and his bullet wound on his right leg had opened and the blood continued spilling until now.
Hughes stood up abruptly as he heard what Ednalyn had said. 'Mahal din kita… Mahal na mahal…' … He knew what those words meant… and he smiled. Wow, Roy had a deplorable timing indeed.
"Roy… Just you wait… I'm getting you back…" she said but then the phone shifted from Roy's end and the blonde spoke up.
"Better have McLain ready, Colonel…"
"No!" Ednalyn rebuffed profoundly. She would do what Roy had asked of her. She was very happy. Roy loved her and the blonde was ruining the whole moment. She would somehow get him for this. She would make sure of that.
"Well, then…" the blonde's voice took a sadistic and sneering edge that it made Ednalyn turn cold, "you can listen to your boyfriend scream…"
The blonde plunged the knife on Roy's left shoulder, slowly carving his way down to Roy's heart. But Roy refused to scream even if the pain was thrice as excruciating as the others. The knife whittled itself on Roy's pallid skin, blood emerging from the very deep cut.
"Scream, General… I know it hurts…" the blonde whispered but both Ed and Roy heard it and Ednalyn screamed protests hysterically but then came to an abrupt stop when she heard Roy's earsplitting, heart breaking scream. All blood left Ed's face as Roy continued screaming and the blond chortled sadistically. He pulled the knife out to avoid cutting any important arteries but then the wound was very deep and blood spilled unceasingly around Roy as he panted and grunted.
"Listen, Elric…It is going to be McLain or I'll personally deliver your boyfriend's head on a silver platter. Your choice…"
"Shut the fuck up, asshole…" Ednalyn growled out as anger subjugated whatever emotions were left of her aside from hatred and fury. She hissed through gritted teeth as the blonde chuckled.
"Okay, Colonel." He then hanged up.
Ednalyn once again threw the phone back to its base. She turned to the group with resolute but distraught eyes, tears flinging about as she yelled furiously, "I want to find Roy right now and if I am required to scout all of Central then scout all of Central I shall! I just want to see him alive! Am I understood?!"
A deafening silence slowly enveloped them and the stillness grew strained that Riza had to fire her gun to make them react.
"Well then, what are you waiting for gentlemen…? You know what the General's woman said… Get-Back-to-Work!" Hughes bellowed, the last statement being punctuated with hyphens.
Everyone froze. General's woman? They all turned to Ednalyn who turned into a lovely shade of red despite herself and the circumstances currently at hand.
"So, it's official, huh?" Havoc drawled. Ednalyn scowled but then said, "If you don't get moving it won't be…"
Clearly getting her point, everyone made a mad dash for the door to continue on the search. Ednalyn sat down and stared at the deluded catalog. They didn't have so many leads yet and it was roughly five hours before 10 pm.
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General Roy Mustang stirred and opened his eyes but then closed the left eye shut given that the blood had stung his eye. The deep cut on his forehead was unbearable and the wound on his shoulder down to his heart was tremendously excruciating. He was dizzy due to blood loss and he ached all over. He remembered the seventh call and smiled sadly.
This was far from what he had planned of how he wanted to confess to Ednalyn. He had intended to just pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless and then say, "I love you" not "Mahal kita…" This was the language he had taught her if ever they needed to communicate properly without letting whoever's with them know what they were planning to do. He had not expected that he would be using it this way.
"Damn that Colonel!" came the blonde's booming voice.
Roy faked his sleep and listened carefully.
"How can she be so stubborn?! I thought she loved him!" the blonde roared and Roy opened his eyes slightly to see who he was talking to. The others were gathered around him now and they had their brows knitted together.
"She does love him, Howard… You just have to threaten her more. Do something that would shake her up or something." Reddy said he cleaned his knife. Ah, so the blonde's name was Howard… not that it meant so much to Roy but hell it would mean so much to Ednalyn. Roy imagined Ednalyn carving the name on a black stone and cursing it and then breaking it into little pieces. He smiled. Ednalyn was… is scary if… when… aggravated.
"I will have called her by the time this moron screams." Howard said as he tossed his head to Roy.
"Do you want me to hold the phone while you do… it?" Reddy asked and the blonde's cheeks went red.
"You pervert! I wouldn't do such a thing! I enjoy seeing him in pain… just that…" Howard said.
"Whatever you say…" Reddy shrugged his shoulders as he arched a brow.
The blonde turned to look at Roy who had shut his eyes completely closed. He heard steps coming his way and he trembled.
"Wake up, General…" the blond cooed. Roy felt a piercing pain in his right thigh. His eyes shot wide open and he looked down to see the knife slicing his flesh. He writhed and writhed. His arm shooting a razor-sharp pain that traveled in a jagged line to his chest. He had to get out of here. He had to… somehow… He thrashed and the others approached to hold him in place. His wounds protested as he squirmed. The congealing blood was messed up and the metallic stench made Roy's nose turn up.
"Hold still, will you General!" the brunette yelled. But Roy kept on thrashing. He saw Whitey remove the silver necklace around his neck, sliding it around Roy's neck instead and then choking him with it. Roy's breathing hitched but he thrashed about more. His wounds were raw and the blood around him that had coagulated was now spreading out into different directions and almost like forming an abstract painting of red… red…red…red…
Red everywhere… Roy shook.
God, help him… He prayed… he wanted to kick himself…
God?
He didn't believe in Him… He was an atheist… But why was he praying to him now?
With what Roy had started up they did not see the dark-haired boy exit the room and he drove the car back to the city.
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"Colonel!" Jean Havoc burst through the office door, Ednalyn and Hughes stood up abruptly. They had called the police station at the east to notify if they saw two black vehicles pass by with opaque windows. They figured if they had Mustang in tow their windows would be thick enough to keep whatever's happening inside, inside.
"What's the matter, Jean?" Hughes inquired sensing that Ednalyn could not find her tongue yet.
"We've got a young lad claiming he knows where the General is…" Havoc said as Riza came in.
"A young lad, Captain?" Riza inquired but before Jean could answer the aforementioned lad came barreling through the doorway. Eyes distressed and face pale. A Xingese they decided as they noted the eye shape and complexion color.
"You've got to hurry, Colonel!" the boy said and they hinted the accent. "General Mustang's going to die if you don't come quick!"
"How can I trust you?" Ednalyn inquired as she stepped forward, her eyes glassy.
"I'm Rin Lan. And I am one of the men who had ambushed the General but please you've got to…" Rin did not get to finish what he was going to say for the Colonel lunged forward and pressed him against the wall, a sharp automail blade right next to his neck. He met the irate gaze of the golden-eyed female and understood why the General loved her.
He and the General had planned this well. He had approached the General with a cool wet towel to clean his face and he had offered to help him escape. The general had agreed to buy him sometime to make his escape to go to headquarters. Rin had taken the car and the fastest route to get there quickly. He had the General's trust and he narrowed his eyes at the Colonel.
"Alamko na hindiakomapagkakatiwalaanperohindiito and orasparamagcha-a at magkwentuhan. Nanditoakoparaipaalamsainyo na isa akong kaibigan. Pumuntaako dito na alam ang mga kahihinatnanng aking mga kilos at alam ko na puwedeakongmamatay… Kung kaya't pakinggan nyo muna ako…" Rin said and Ednalyn stepped away from him in shock. He knew how to speak in the language Roy had taught her and he seemed very fluent in it that she hardly understood what he had said. Even Hughes had gaped at him in shock.
'I know that I cannot be trusted but this isn't the time to drink some tea and chit-chat. I am here to inform you that right now I am a friend. I marched up here knowing the consequences of my actions and I know very well that I might get killed… That is why I want you to hear me out…" was what he said.
Riza stared blankly at him. He had ranted, she knew that even if she had not understood a single word he said but at least Ednalyn had not ripped him into shreds yet.
"Alright… talk…" Ednalyn finally said.
Rin puffed a heavy breathe before opening his mouth. "I assure you I had not taken part in hurting the General. I had only guarded the warehouse he was held captive at and we had organized a plan to make you come there. He distracted them and I made my escape. Please, let me finish this on the way there… I want the General rescued as soon as possible…" he pleaded.
"First… tell me what made you take his… our side…" Ednalyn questioned, still making sure this wasn't some sort of trap.
"He… he helped my family once… There back at Xing. He had supported us and had offered my mother a job as a gardener in his mother's vegetable patch and my father to help in distilling the whiskey the Mustang's manufactured there. Their whiskey was the best in town and they deserved a wider market but they said they didn't need it.
"The general said that he only trusted the still to my father and that is why my father had the liberty to opt the people who will help him in transporting and distilling the whiskey there. I often helped around when I was younger. He gave my parents a very handsome amount that my father said that a day's earning at Mustang's was a two years worth at where my father previously worked. It helped us get by and pay the medical needs my little brother had. That is why I admire the General so much. He does not warrant any of this anguish." Rin explained hurriedly. He was even shocked that the General had not even remembered him and was quite amused as well. The General did admit that he had offered someone a job at his whiskey still but he did not know that it had meant so much.
"Please, Colonel… We've got to hurry! The General's frail now… very very fragile…" he pleaded. Ednalyn turned around and started barking out orders.
"Havoc, go prepare the cars!" She said as she cleared her table. "Riza, get the others and Hughes…" she said as she faced him. "I'm sorry…"
"No, Ednalyn… you are not at fault here…" Hughes said and then added, "But you will be if you don't get moving…" he grinned at her.
"Very well…" she turned to Rin, "Lead us the way…"
"Yes, sir!" Rin smiled. Finally, the General was going to be out of harm's way.
The phone rang just in time as the others entered the doorway pleased but then wary. They had heard the phone ring and Ednalyn turned to face Rin. Rin cast an apologizing look and she countered with a reproached expression. He did not need to feel sorry. It wasn't his fault.
Ednalyn strode to the phone with a sour look and she picked it up.
"McLain ready to go, Ma'am?" Ednalyn's eyes widened. It wasn't the voice she had always heard over the phone it was someone else.
"Who are you?" Ednalyn questioned as Rin stepped up by her side, confused and troubled.
"Oh… your phone pal can not come to the phone at the moment. He's… having his fun right now…"
Ednalyn's blood left her face again and her eyes widened. "You fucking assholes! Leave Roy alone!"
Rin gasped. No, they did not… no… no…
There was a laugh. "We want McLain…"
"I am so putting a curse on all of you…" Ednalyn hissed.
"Get off me, you asshole!" was heard in the background of the phone, almost indistinct.
"ROY!" Ednalyn shrieked.
"McLain, Colonel… Call ya later!" the line went dead. Ednalyn threw the receiver back and she turned to Rin, her eyes teary.
"Let's go, Rin."
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General Roy Mustang groaned through the handkerchief that was over his mouth. He felt awful and dirty. He wanted to deck that blonde in the face and beat him senseless. His remaining blood boiled inside him as he watched the asshole yak with the large man.
He wished that Rin and the others hurried more. His body ached all over. He felt as if his injuries would soon kill him. He hoped it did. He was tired… so fucking tired… He was cold… he was toyed… he was ruined and soiled… he was… dying…
The necklace that they had used to choke him lay on the floor. It was like a silver chain… a blood-smeared silver chain…
"Ooh… my, my, my… Our little lover boy's awake…" Howard drawled as he crouched down in front of Roy.
"Here are the cigars, let's smoke up." Whitey said as he approached Howard with a box of cigars.
Howard grinned as he accepted the cigar handed to him. He lit it and then inhaled some. Roy glared at him as he puffed the smoke at his face. He was finding breathing a chore already and it was difficult enough without the asshole making it worse. He coughed as the smoke filled his lungs.
Howard pressed the still lighted cigar on Roy's pallid back since Roy was laying on his side, his arms spread out before him. They did not bother tying them anymore, the right arm was already broken and his left shoulder had been dislocated. Roy arched as the cigar burned his flesh. His ribs protested and the shoulder-to-heart-injury he had gushed more blood. He whimpered as he forced himself into a ball. He curled as he brought his legs up but was too fatigued to do so.
All his wounds were throbbing and excruciating. He heard the blonde's laughter resonate around the room. Laughter… ruthless laughter reverberated around the closed area. Roy shivered as he closed his eyes shut… No… no… shut up! Shut the fuck up! Roy chanted helplessly on his mind.
When Roy reopened his eyes, they began to turn dull… if he weren't breathing and trembling, they would have thought him dead… His gaze entirely turned blank and lifeless as he stared at the silver necklace resting beside him. It laid there immobile and inert like him, half naked and bleeding to death. He couldn't feel his legs… no… not anymore…
The blonde turned to him but came to an abrupt stop as he stared at the General's lifeless and hair-raising empty eyes. A chill ran down his spine as the eyes bore into his brown ones. He smirked. As if he was going to be haunted by this. He inwardly chided himself.
"Tie his hands back again…" the blonde said and Whitey did it immediately.
"And go guard outside. All of you…"
Whitey, the bulky man, the brunette and Reddy obeyed and they went out the door.
The blonde kicked Roy's stomach and Roy winced, a red colored flower-like stain bloomed on the handkerchief over Roy's mouth.
"Hah! Don't expect to come out of this alive, General! We'll finish you off when he get McLain back!" the blonde bellowed but then froze as he realized something.
"Where's Rin?" he thought aloud and was asking to no one in particular. His eyes darkened. Where the bloody hell was that brat?!
He recalled when he last saw him and then he settled upon the idea that the boy couldn't take what he was seeing and had ran off to arrange his thoughts. The blond nodded. Well, that was likely.
"You are surrounded! Come out with your hands high up in the air, Howard Walthall!"
Howard froze. "No…" he rasped as he felt stomach sink in sheer displeasure. He was caught dead…
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If Colonel Ednalyn Elric was furious a while ago, now she was downright outraged. Rin had rattled off how Walthall had tortured her … boyfriend. She was shaking lividly as she imagined how Roy must've suffered from all this. She clenched her fist hard that Hughes could even hear knuckles cracking.
"I am going to kill that son of a bitch…" she hissed at the unending road before her.
"I hope you do." Rin said flatly as he reflected Ednalyn's sour expression.
They had brought with them several other soldiers from Central. Aside from Roy's staff, the soldiers that had looked up at him for all these years had joined in the case to rescue the general. They had been furious to know that the General had been held by old loonies who wanted their damned equally loony leader back. Most of the soldiers who had gone livid with the news were mostly twenty to twenty-five years old. They were still too young… and they could not take to hear that someone they idolized the most had been tormented and tortured.
"We're here…" Rin said as an old warehouse came to view. Ednalyn prepared herself, her heart lodged uncomfortably in her throat. The frantic beating of her rapid pulse accompanied with the harsh laboring of her lungs made it hard for her to stay completely calm. She wanted to see Roy…
Anata ga koishiku te narimasen…(1)
Oh, Roy… how I love you so much…
Anata nashi dewa ikite irare nai…(2)
Please, stay by me… Please…
Wakareru koto wa doshitemo deki masen…(3)
So please… stay the fuck alive…
Ednalyn pleaded and pleaded to the god she still had not come to believe in… but she prayed…
Riza pulled to a stop in front of the warehouse just in time to spot four men coming out of it. But before Ednalyn could give any orders Reddy had yelled "That's them!" and the other soldiers began jumping out of their respective vehicles frantically and had caught the four men off guard. The privates jumped on top of the cronies and then had tied them into ropes and had plastered gags on their mouths.
"Howard's still inside with the General…" Rin said as he ignored the glares coming from his ex- teammates.
Ednalyn nodded and the others had began engaging into action when she barked at them, "Don't move, Boys!"
They immediately stopped even with questions plastered on their faces.
"Stay right here and back me up…" she said and the Privates and other officers lower than Colonel saluted and then aimed their guns at the entrance of the warehouse. The warehouse's front lawn was covered with overgrown shrubs and plants. Vines crawled everywhere and Bermuda grass grew at the center of the lawn.
Ednalyn inhaled and then yelled,
"You are surrounded! Come out with your hands high up in the air, Howard Walthall!"
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"You are surrounded! Come out with your hands high up in the air, Howard Walthall!"
Howard spun around swiftly, his eyes immediately locking into Roy's blank ones. He broke out into cold sweat. "They were not supposed to find us! How the bloody hell had they-"
Howard stopped short as realization smacked him right in his face. Rin Lan…
That little twerp had gone to Elric and had asked for fucking help! That treacherous little brat!
Howard stalked towards Roy with a dark frown. He hauled Roy into a standing position but Roy would not cooperate. He could not feel his legs to any further extent. The blond cursed as Roy dropped back down on the concrete flooring.
"If you don't get the fucking up I would shoot that Ednalyn of yours dead…" the blonde hissed and Roy's eyes instantly came back to focus at the mention of Ednalyn's name. He struggled to get up although the blonde's arm was wrapped around Roy's neck; the gun he held was pressed on Roy's left temple.
The blonde slowly opened the door and wasn't really surprised to see military men aiming at him. He quite expected that. He glared as he stepped out of the warehouse. Rin Lan was beside that blonde Ednalyn Elric who stared at what…err… who he was dragging along with him… along with everybody else.
The General was sluggish and he was half-dragged half-supported by the arm around his throat. Roy's head was bowed and his eyes were covered by his dark hair. Howard smirked at how the Colonel watched the General. She was pale… so very pale and there were tear tracks on her cheeks. Her mouth turned into a rueful frown as watched her General stagger.
Ednalyn's eyes had welled up with tears again as she saw him come out with a blonde. The blonde's arm was around his neck and a pistol was pointed on his head. Roy… She watched them as they staggered from the doorway of the warehouse. The air had been knocked out of her lungs as his knees buckled from the blood loss and fatigue but the arm around his neck made him stand upright again.
His head was down and she stared at the numerous wounds he had. He was shirtless and his body was covered with blood. She shook hard. What the fuck have they done to him?!
The blonde grinned before he spoke.
"Ah, Colonel… I can see you have come to visit us…"
"Let Roy go, asshole!" Ednalyn bellowed as she took a step forward. The blonde took a step back as he moved his hand that was around Roy's neck to Roy's cheek. He gently pulled Roy's face up and then tilted it to the side… making Roy's neck vulnerable for the blonde's mouth.
"Don't come any closer, Colonel… or I'll pull the trigger here…" the blonde smirked, "Do you want me to?"
Ednalyn's eyes had darkened before she yelled, "You just shut the fuck up, asshole! Let Roy go!"
The blonde clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "You better keep your mouth shut first, Colonel… or your beloved gets it…" the blonde said before he eyed the accompanying soldiers around them.
"Drop your weapons!" the blonde hollered. The soldiers shared quick glances at each other but did not drop them yet.
"I said drop your fucking weapons or I'll blow his brains out!" the blonde said but they still did not lower them. And then a single gunshot rang out.
Hughes stifled his surprised yelp. Ednalyn had frozen up before she had shrieked Roy's name when Roy's knees hit the ground and he fell completely on the ground. The blond had shot Roy's right leg before he released him.
The air was sucked out from his lungs when Roy connected with the ground. His broken arm zapped a piercing pain the shot up from his shoulder to his chest. He grunted as his ribs protested and his vision became blurry. His right leg ached… his body ached… He could hear voices above him and it made his head hurt.
Make them stop… make them shut up… Shut up…
"You son of a…" Ednalyn began as Roy shook on the ground. But before she could finish another shot was heard and Roy screamed as the bullet hit his right shoulder. Roy hissed and shook.
Make them stop… stop… shut up…
"I said 'Lower your weapons!'" the blonde bellowed now as he pointed the pistol again at Roy.
"Lower your weapons!" Ednalyn yelled at the soldiers around her. Her eyes big and wide… tears spilling out from the corners of her orbs. The soldiers growled at Howard before they dropped their weapons on the ground.
Ednalyn turned her gaze at Riza. Riza met her eyes and both nodded, as if conforming what they had planned out through the use of only eye contact.
"What do you want?" Ednalyn asked, her voice strained and hoarse.
"Finally, Colonel… You're smart after all…" the blond drawled.
"Just tell me what you fucking want, you son of a bitch!" Ednalyn yelled as she heard Roy's shuddering breaths… he was hurting… he was dying and here she was… negotiating with his tormentor…
"I want a vehicle outta here, Colonel…" the blonde said as he bent over to lug Roy back up to a standing position again. He wrapped his arm around Roy's neck but he did not press the pistol anymore on Roy's temple but on his left side while he nipped Roy's ear.
"Don't do that-! You… you let him go!" Ednalyn pleaded as Roy bowed his head low again.
Stop… stop… Roy chanted. He had to do something to allow Riza to shoot. He knew they were smart enough… but they still hesitated… the blonde might shoot him first if someone moved unexpectedly. Roy froze. Move unexpectedly… Move unexpectedly…
Roy ducked out of the blonde's unresisting arm. He stretched his left leg out under him and swung it under the blond to trip him. The blond fell backwards as Roy lost his balance and fell sideward as well. Riza took this as her cue and she shot her gun. The blonde was impaled at his right leg.
"Curse it…" the blonde rasped as he pointed the gun at Roy who was hissing through the gag on his mouth. But before he could pull the trigger, a swirl of blue and yellow moved in between the gun and Roy and the next thing he knew… the gun was already a few feet away from him.
Guns surrounded him as he saw the Colonel kneel beside the General. A man with dark-hair who wore eyeglasses and a blonde Major approached him as he was tied up. He had lost now… but he was sure that he was going to win… the General was going to die… he was going to fucking die.
"Roy…" Ednalyn whispered as she dropped to her knees beside the man she loved. He was on his right side and his hair was covering most of his face that wasn't covered with bruises or blood. His breathing was ragged and uneven. Tears stung her eyes as she reached over to position his body on her lap. She removed the gag over Roy's mouth, the tears rolled down her eyes at what she saw. His face was covered with cuts, bruises and blood. His left eye was closed as the half-lidded right eye stared at her. She sobbed, her hand coming up to his face.
"Oh my god… I'm so sorry, Roy… I'm so sorry…" she choked out as she bent over, touching her forehead to his. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry for taking so long… I'm sorry…" she repeatedly said.
Roy's left hand slowly came up as Ednalyn unceasingly apologized.
"Shh…" Roy hushed her softly and Ednalyn stopped talking, "It's okay, little one… This wasn't your fault… Hush… everything's alright…" Roy rasped out in a hoarse voice it was almost like a whisper.
Ednalyn sobbed as Roy's thumb slid across her cheek to wipe away her tears. "Oh, Roy… I … I love you… Please stay alive…" she said. She raised her head to a soldier.
"Call an ambulance! Hurry!" she commanded and the soldier immediately complied.
"Hang in there, Roy… The ambulance is coming…" Ednalyn looked down and watched Roy nod slowly, gradually closing his eyes.
Finally… it was over… it was over…
"Don't you dare die on me, Mustang… Do you hear me? This is an order…" Ednalyn said and Roy opened his right eye, an eyebrow arched high.
"Yes… love…" Roy replied and Ed turned red. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. She was not going to lose him. Not now. Not ever.
Hughes approached them and he hunkered down beside Ednalyn. "Hey, buddy… I'm glad you're alive…"
Roy smiled weakly but then he frowned as he turned to Ednalyn. "Weren't you supposed to be at Research?" he asked in a raucous voice. Hughes blinked and Ednalyn groaned theatrically.
How could the man still think of those things?! Ednalyn thought as she eyed several soldiers watching them.
"Yes…" she said with a dark frown but then her lips twitched upwards into a grin, "but it is not only I that will hear a lecture from you, love… If you plan on lecturing me afterwards, it must be along with 100 other soldiers as well. Oh, what fun is that for you…"
Roy shot her a one-eyed glare. The thought of giving sermons to a hundred and one soldiers made him shudder.
His head whipped back and he screamed as Hughes cut off the rope around his wrists. He gritted his teeth as Ednalyn supported his head. He panted roughly… for his every inhalation was a gasp and his exhalation a shudder.
"Shh… love… everything's gonna be alright…"
The shrill wailing of sirens made Ednalyn's ears perk up. Soldiers bustled around as they brought the goons on the military vehicles, headed by sergeant majors and Major Riza Hawkeye.
The ambulance arrived and paramedics jumped out of car. Two men hurried to the back to pull out the gurney while two middle-aged women hurried over to where Ednalyn and Roy were. Hughes stood up and watched as the women busied themselves with Roy. Ednalyn watched like a hawk as the women checked Roy's pulse.
"We better get him in the car… he has a very low pulse rate." One paramedic said to Ed. Ed nodded and Hughes stepped forward. He bent down to pick Roy up from Ednalyn's lap as the gurney was rolled to them.
The paramedics slowly carted the General on the ambulance but something stopped them. Roy had gripped Ednalyn's military jacket tightly. One paramedic smiled and then said to Ed, "Maybe you should ride with him, Colonel… He needs you…"
Ed nodded as she got in the car and held Roy's hand. "Stay alive, Love… Please… stay a alive…"
The ambulance sped off towards the hospital as its sirens blared.
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Ednalyn paced restlessly as she waited for any update of Roy's surgery. Soldiers loitered the hospital, chatting with nurses and to each other as they all waited for whatever news the doctors would give them.
A door swung open and a tired looking man stepped out. His white lab coat was smeared with blood and his forehead was creased with a frown.
"Brigadier General…" he acknowledged as he turned to Hughes, "Colonel…" he turned to Ed.
"If you would come to stand on a private corner with me, I'd answer all your questions."
Hughes and Ednalyn shared a quick glance at each other before they followed the doctor to a deserted corner of the hospital.
"I'm Doctor Gates… I was in charge of General Mustang's surgery." He said, following with the handshakes.
"How is he, Doc?" Hughes asked, forgetting to appear diplomatic and too weary to stick with idle formalities.
The doctor blinked but wasn't surprised. People in the military want it precise and as short as possible. They really didn't mesh well with flowery words and stalling. The doctor had sighed heavily before flipping through Roy's chart.
"He really isn't very stable right now… But he's better than the condition you had brought him in earlier tonight. The injuries he had acquired were very bad and apparently one wound had suffered from mild infection. He has a fractured pelvis, a dislocated shoulder, a broken arm, and lacerations on wrists, gun wounds, and deep abrasions on both of his sides; his back was chock-full of slash marks… probably from a whip-like object. He has 3 pairs of broken ribs and the wound near his heart had barely missed his pulmonary artery. He has some minor injuries but I wouldn't worry about them… there was some evidence of internal bleeding, but considering his stature and size he was a lucky one…"
Ednalyn blinked. Yes, Mustang was… a bit short, compared to Hughes, Falman and Havoc… nevertheless; his frail little body had withstood all those injuries and wounds. Roy was a very lucky man indeed…
"There were evidences of sexual assault…" the doctor suddenly said and Hughes and Ednalyn had sucked in a breath.
"What?" Hughes asked in a strained whisper that the doctor had to read his lips before he understood what Hughes had asked.
"Oh … my… fu--…" Ednalyn gasped out. Roy? Raped? No… no… NO!
The doctor stared at them sympathetically. The Colonel had unshed tears forming on the rim of her eyes while the Brigadier- General had a murderous look on his eyes… ready to kill whoever had done this to his best friend.
"We will be sure to keep a close eye on him always, Brigadier- General… Colonel… We do not want to lose him." The doctor smiled, "He's on Room 409…"
Ednalyn hastily thanked the doctor and then had made a mad dash to Room 409. Hughes stared at the bewildered doctor.
"Oh, the General's her boyfriend…" Hughes drawled, still reeling from what the doctor had said.
"Now, I understand why…"
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Ednalyn slowly pushed open the wooden white door and she sauntered towards the bed and surveyed the frail body underneath the soft white sheets. His dark head made a sharp contrast to the all-white hospital room, his ebony hair was spiking out in different directions. Ednalyn lifted a hand to try and flatten them out but it sprang back to its position. Ednalyn smiled. There was a wayward lock of hair that stood out than the others and Ednalyn remembered her own antenna-like cowlick.
She sat down on the chair beside his bed and she reached out to hold Roy's hand, careful not to touch any bandages. His breathing was slow and steady; harmonizing with the machine's dismal beeping that was hooked up to him. An oxygen mask was over his mouth and nose, every breath making a fog on the clear plastic. An IV line was attached on his wrist that ran up to a large bag on a tall pole.
She rested her head beside his and she puffed a heavy breath. Today was the most surreal day of her life. Just 12 hours ago, Roy was captured and beaten and now he was laying peacefully on white sheets. She wished he would wake up… even for a short while… She wanted to tell him that …she loved him very much…
"Wake up, love…" she whispered but her eyes slowly closed, "Wake up… soon…"
Ednalyn slipped into a dreamless slip that night.
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Alphonse, along with Brigadier- General Hughes, entered Room 409 at around 11:30 that night. They had smiled at the seen before them and Hughes playfully brought his camera out and had started snapping pictures like crazy.
Ednalyn's golden head was next to Roy's; her hand clasping Roy's bandaged one. Alphonse got a spare blanket and placed it over Ed's shoulders while Hughes injected Roy's third batch of pain relievers.
He was happy that Roy had made it out alive. If it weren't for that Rin kid they would have not got to him on time. Roy would have been dead by now and who knew how Ednalyn would react. Maybe they would be cleaning up and rebuilding half of Central when that time came.
"You know, Sir…" Al said as he continued to gaze at the slumbering pair, "I have never seen my sister this… open before…"
"Elaborate, Alphonse…"
"Well, she's like a closed book really… you could never tell what she's feeling or thinking at a certain moment…" Alphonse explained, "But right now, she had never had any qualms of breaking down or crying and as much as I don't like to see her cry… I want her to express her feelings because I fear if something goes wrong inside of her… I… she might…"
"I completely understand…" Hughes said as he patted Al on the back. "C'mon… let's leave these lovebirds alone…"
"But we will be just outside to guard them…" Alphonse added firmly and Maes merely chuckled.
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Ednalyn Elric slowly opened her eyes as sunlight streamed from the crack between the window's white curtains. She squinted, the light was directed to her face and she lifted her head up from where it laid beside Roy's… but the light was still directly aimed at her face.
Roy shifted from the movement and Ednalyn held her breath as Roy's eyelids fluttered open. His eyes slid sideways and they had stared at Ednalyn for some time before a small smile appeared on Roy's lips under the translucent mask.
"Good Morning, love…" Ednalyn greeted softly as though if she talked too loud Roy would shatter and break some more.
"' Morning…" Roy rasped through the plastic mask.
"How are you feeling?" Ednalyn asked as she stroked Roy's face with her left hand.
"Sore…" Roy replied, leaning in to Ed's comforting touch.
"Do you want any painkillers?" Ednalyn said as she stood up. But the look on Roy's eyes told her to stay put.
"Okay… okay…" Ednalyn had affirmed before she grinned, "You're such a baby…"
"Am not…" came the hoarse reply.
Ednalyn smiled.
"Little one?" Roy called out.
"Yes, love?"
"Will I be alright?"
That question seemed to surprise Ednalyn for she froze up but smiled anyway.
"Yes, of course…" she replied, her voice rough.
She surveyed Roy's face for a moment and smiled. He looked different two days ago when they had argued about something that had to be done about the Research department. This face was calmer and more relaxed. Roy closed his eyes but tiredly opened them again.
"Go back to sleep, love…" Ednalyn suggested, "I'll be right here… Don't worry."
"But I just woke up…"
"You need to rest…" Ednalyn said. She stood up and bent over Roy, removing the oxygen mask away from his mouth. She leaned down and pressed her lips against Roy's. She broke away and she looked down to see Roy smiling.
"I love you…" she said and she lifted her head to kiss Roy's nose.
"I love you, too…" he replied. Ednalyn replaced the oxygen mask over Roy's nose and mouth before she straightened herself up.
"Now go to rest, love…" She said as she sat back down, "I'll be right here…"
She grasped Roy's hand and she watched as Roy closed his eyes and he slept.
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1. I am longing for you
2. I cannot live without you
3. I cannot bear to be apart from you
It's Japanese… We know…
Hahaha!! Haganenocutie94 here! Finally!! I have been sucking a lot while typing this... hmm… possibly one or two chapters left and this is through… Freaky's still recovering from the 'scene-dividers' issue.
It is 11:46 in the evening and I have school tomorrow so I think I'm sending this finished product to Freaky for her to review and check if I have any slips and the like… -sighs- We will be missing this little angst bunny who had bit Freaky on the behind and had passed the rabies to me…
Ah, Cherry Blossoms… Freaky's still sorting the plot out at the moment…
We hope you enjoyed this chappie… because we enjoyed it as well… Finally Roy's been saved…
Well… please leave a review… the tormenting isn't through yet for our little flame… -insert evil laugh here and then chokes and then has a coughing fit-
Freaky: -pats Haganenocutie's back- Leave a review! Bye!