Another chapter! Some language, but nothing to really warn about. Slight ParentalRoyxEd.

Roy felt his stomach drop. "What? You can't expect me to do that!"

Ed's lips drew back in a snarl. "I'm going to be honest with you Mustang- I really don't care. You need to destroy that circle, and that's that!" he spat, pointing at the disc in Mustang's hand.

The older man shook his head and stepped back.

"What is wrong with you, Mustang?" Ed had stalked forward, closing the distance between the two. "It's just a little piece of metal. You're not scared of it, are you?" he sneered, deliberately egging Mustang on.

"Dammit, Ed!" Mustang shouted, waving his hands angrily and almost swiping one through Ed's face. "This isn't just a 'little piece of metal'! If I destroy this, you die, and I am sure as hell not going to be your killer!" Ed jerked back in surprise and opened his mouth, but Mustang didn't give him a chance to interrupt him. "I may have done some shitty things in my life, but I won't be responsible for killing you a second time. It was my fault you died the first time down here… I'm not going to do it again!" he exclaimed and threw the disc away. It bounced and rolled out of the small patch of light and into the darkness, out of sight.

Ed's eyes were wide as he watched the circle disappear. The two were silent, both stewing in their own thoughts.

Ed looked back to Roy with a wounded expression. "Fine," he said, voice low. "I should have known that the one time I suck it up and ask you for something, you'd be a bastard and not help me."

Roy took a step forward, one hand raised. "Look, Ed, there has to be some other way-"

"There isn't," Ed interjected. He shook his head and looked away. "Later, Mustang."

Much to Roy's horror, Ed began to fade. "Ed! Wait! What are you doing?"

Ed paused; only a faint outline of his body and the two points of red for his eyes were left. "Going back to the Stone. If you're not going to do anything about it, I might as well get used to being trapped in there."

"Ed-!"

But the eyes flickered out and he disappeared.

Roy took a step forward, one hand raised as if to grab Edward's shoulder. But there was nothing there, and he slowly lowered his arm. "Dammit," he whispered.

A sloshing sound caught his attention and he turned to see Arborthal making his way closer. "Sir?" he asked, coming to a halt, the lantern swinging quietly in his hand. The young man's eyes were wide, and it was clear he had absolutely no idea what to make of the scene he had just witnessed.

Roy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Leave, Arborthal. Go back to your apartment and go to sleep. If anyone asks, you didn't find anything in the sewers and you don't know where I am," he ordered, glaring at his subordinate from the corner of his eye. "And don't speak a word of anything you saw down here to anyone, understood?"

Arborthal nodded but didn't move. He chewed absently on his lip, as if he wanted to say something.

But Roy really didn't want to hear it. "Go, Arborthal."

"But General-"

"I told you to leave!" Roy shouted, his temper finally snapping.

Arborthal jumped in surprise and darted away, running clumsily though the water and out of sight.

It was only after the young alchemist disappeared that Roy realized he had taken the lantern with him.

The General cursed again and began to dig through the piles of debris in the hopes of finding something flammable. His search was rewarded when he unearthed and thick wooden support beam, which he promptly ignited with a deft snap.

With the room lit, Mustang made his way in the direction he had tossed the small disc. As much as he hated the thought, he did have to do something about it. Just what, though, he couldn't figure out for the life of him.

After several minutes of searching, he found it partially submerged in a small puddle. With a grunt, he bent and carefully picked it up. It wouldn't have surprised him in the least if Ed was waiting for him to come close enough so he could attack.

But nothing happened. Roy flipped the small circle over and rubbed the surface, fingertips ghosting over the grooves of the transmutation circle. Various circles flicked through his mind, but Roy's expertise was in fire- he had almost no knowledge of soul transmutation, and the one person who was quite practiced in it was currently stuck in the circle.

Maybe Alphonse would know… Roy scowled at the thought. Al probably would know how to do something, but did he really want to bring the younger Elric into this? He had only visited with Al once since Ed's death, and it had taken the boy a while to fully come to terms with his brother's passing. The last thing Roy wanted to do was to bring any of those emotions back up.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" Roy moaned, sitting down heavily on a flat rock. He glared at the piece of metal in his hand before clenching his fist around it. Punching something would really help relieve some of the stress, but there wasn't anything to hit besides giant rocks; all he'd get from that would be several broken fingers.

Then the circle started glowing.

Roy dropped the amulet back in the water and jerked back to his feet. He took several steps back, arm raised and fingers tensed, ready to attack. Is it Father? Roy felt his brow break out in a cold sweat. Ed had mentioned that Father had been steadily growing stronger and taking back control of the souls, but he couldn't be this far along, could he?

Unless Ed was the last one he needed. The thought was horrifying and if it was true, then it was all his fault. Father would break loose, probably kill him, and then continue his quest to take the souls of the millions of inhabitants of Amestris.

A brisk wind picked up, streaming towards the circle. The transmutation glowed softly before a small spark of light shot up into the air. It hovered quietly for a moment before it slowly began to expand.

Roy watched silently as the glow began to dim; he could pick out a distinct human shape. Two red dots flared to life in the head and the figure raised its hands and flexed its fingers experimentally.

At first, Roy thought it was Ed, but the build was wrong- a little too tall and the shoulders were too broad. The outfit was different, too. Edward had worn some crazy things, but Roy was pretty sure the kid had never worn a toga.

The light had faded completely and Roy got his first good look at the apparition. It was a man, and judging from the lines on his face, somewhere in his sixties. His hair was a deep blond, and his eyes were gold.

Xerxian? Roy narrowed his eyes in thought. The man fit the description and if he had come out of the circle, then he had come from the Stone inside Father, which was composed of the Xerxians he had annihilated.

"I will not harm you. You can put your hand down."

Roy jumped in surprise as the ghost spoke. The man was staring at him, head tilted a little to one side. "Really, any sort of attack wouldn't do much of anything."

He was right. Flames wouldn't do anything to refracted light (if that was what actually created ghosts, but Roy was pretty sure Ed was right) and the alchemist lowered his hand. "Who are you?" he asked, stepping closer to the ghost.

The man smiled. "Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Mithras," he said, inclining his head slightly towards Mustang. "I take it that you are Roy Mustang?"

Roy blinked in surprise. "How do you know who I am?"

Mithras waved a hand at the circle. "I've had some time to chat with Edward. There isn't much else to do in there besides talk."

Hesitantly, Roy sank back down onto one of the rocks. "So if the two of you have been talking, I suppose you know the situation." It was strange talking to someone who had been dead for several centuries; Roy thought he had adjusted as well as he could when talking to Ed, but this was something else entirely.

The ghost nodded and Roy frowned at a thought. "Wait. How are you able to appear? Edward said he could do it because he had been through the Gate."

Mithras smirked wryly. "Well, back when I was alive, I was an alchemist on the King's court. He didn't like very much, due to a feud with my father." He sighed and shook his head. "I ended up doing all the dangerous, experimental alchemy, most of which bordered on human transmutation. It only took a couple of tries to end up at the Gate."

Roy blinked. "Oh." Yes, that was intelligent. But in all honesty, he had other things on his mind than this ghost's dramatic past. His eyes slid back to the circle.

Mithras glanced over, following Roy's gaze. "You have to do something about that. Edward was right when he said that monster was getting stronger."

The General scowled. "I know! But I can't do what he wants me to do."

"Why not?" Mithras stepped closer.

Roy ran a hand through his hair and growled in frustration. "That's all his soul has to attach to. I'll kill him! I'll kill you!" he shouted, waving a hand at the ghost. "And all those souls inside. I can't do that."

Mithras sighed and looked down. "I understand your pain, Mustang, but the Xerxians and I should have been dead a long time ago. Being alive this long is agony."

"But what about Edward? He's not supposed to be dead!"

"That is true, but what can you do?"

Roy shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know. If I could get his soul out of there, then maybe I could attach it back to his body or… Al might be able to reconstruct a new-"

"Stop." Mithras' voice was stern and Roy snapped his mouth shut. The ghost shoved his face into Roy's and scowled. "It is truly a tragedy that Edward is dead, but there is nothing you can do for him now except to destroy that circle."

"But-!"

"No." The specter shook his head. "Being trapped in there is hell, Mustang. If you care for that boy, then you will break that circle and release him."

Roy looked down and shook his head. "I can't do it," he muttered, burying his head in his hands. "I've done too much to him already."

He couldn't see it, but he could sense Mithras stepping away. "Do what you want, Mustang. But just remember that our fate lies in your hands."

When Roy looked up again, he was gone.

Roy wasn't sure how long he had sat there, stewing in his thoughts. He had gone over scenario and after scenario, just trying to figure out some way to make the situation work.

But nothing was coming to him, and Roy knew, deep down, that Ed had been right.

And he had never felt like more of a bastard in his life.

The fire had burned itself into a smoldering pile of ash and light was starting to filter in from the cracks in the ceiling. The alchemist got to his feet, pointedly ignoring the pops from his back (he wasn't old, dammit!) and paced over to the circle.

It glinted quietly, parts of it still smeared with mud. Roy picked it up, cradling the disc in the palm of his hand.

"Fine, Edward," he whispered, fingers clenching around the circle. "We'll do this your way."

One more chapter! I'm going to try to have it by Halloween, but we all know about me and deadlines :/

Hopefully I was able to get more into Roy's head. I'm trying, I really am!