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Gunslinger Alchemist: A Crossover Fanfiction

"The boy has a mechanical body, but he is still an adolescent child…"

Chapter 2: Reminiscence of a Soldier and a Husband

The Social Welfare Society was founded not too long ago by the Military themselves. This seemingly harmless government organization unknown to most ordinary people, was set up to look like the business of saving innocent lives and covering the costs of the ill from its white building façade to its paperwork stamped with the seal of the Fuehrer himself.

But there was still something about it that gave the soldiers chills down their spines whenever they walked by it to get to the Central Command HQ only three blocks away. Maybe it was the fact that it was secretive to the extreme. The windows had black out curtains down every day and night. Armed guards stood outside the front steps 24/7, making sure no one or nothing got in without identification badges. Many rumors claimed that the Society was planning a rebellion; others said it was an organization of developing and researching technology of war machines. No body in the Command had ever spoken about the working in Society or the kind of work the Society even did. If anybody did work there at all they were probably sworn under oath of silence.

Roy Mustang, the newly transferred co-head officer of the Society was one such person. He paced back and forth in his new office, containing a large mahogany desk and two comfortable velvet visitor chairs. It looked just like his old office in the Eastern Command, only smaller.

The Colonel sighed, collapsing in his desk chair. He had been quietly replaced from his station, dashing his dreams of becoming the Fuehrer one day, though he was still issued to wear his Military uniform inside the building. He was ordered to change into a formal business suit when coming in and out of the Society to attract less attention.

Mustang crossed his legs and leaned back in the chair, causing it to creak a little. He picked up a piece of paper from a high stack on his desk and looked it over impatiently. In a quick motion, he scrawled out his name and put the document in an unmarked folder. The Colonel hated paperwork, plain and simple. Absentmindedly putting an open book on his face to appear "absorbed in his work" he crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and drifted off to a "well deserved" sleep…

In reality, the Society was in fact a government sponsored corporation, pent up on technology and the protection of innocent humans. But that was only the ruse. To be exact, the Society was an anti-terrorist campaign that quietly eliminated the countries deadliest criminals, assassins, and bombers. They were led by adolescent children hospital patients, who were upgraded with steel limbs and brain washing injections. Aided by a 'handler', they were turned into perfect machines to handle all the company's dirty work…

"Are you absolutely sure he'll recover completely? This is the first of the prosthetic operations and he's only a child," Mustang said, quietly sipping at a cup of coffee.

He and Hughes were sitting across from each other at an employee break room. A few other men were lounging around at other tables, laughing and chatting with friends. The Society was still pretty new and needed more members until it could officially start running smoothly.

Hughes looked up from his own coffee and gave his friend a long hard stare before answering. "Roy, there's always risks in these automail prosthetics attachments," he said picking up his cup. "No matter what the chance of failure, you know they'll do it anyway."

Roy nodded stiffly.

The Lieutenant Colonel shifted his position in his chair, leaning his head on his hand and stared wistfully at the other Society workers. "We're not going to be really working for quite a while at the rate these volunteers are being recruited," he sighed looking back at the Colonel.

"That's just fine by me. The more time we have to goof off the less damn paperwork the Society hordes me with!" the Colonel said matter of factly, crossing his arms and legs.

Hughes smiled and shook his head. "You never change, do you Roy?" he laughed. "Oh, I almost forgot! I wanted to show you something," Hughes said reaching for his pocket.

"Hughes, if this is about another family photo, I don't want to look at it." Roy muttered, a vein popping out on his forehead.

"Awww, how'd you guess?" Hughes said, sounding disappointed. "You know, maybe you'd understand if you talked about your wife once in a while."

Roy sipped his coffee and didn't reply.

"I could hook you up with a camera if you want."

"No thanks," Mustang said sternly, looking his friend right in the eye. A short since followed.

"So, how is the little lady? You never talk about her anymore-"

"Riza passed away last week," Mustang interrupted flatly, keeping his gaze to the contents of his cup. "The funeral will be in two days."

Hughes looked stunned, his mouth agape. "Roy, I-I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"She was pregnant with our first child. She died giving a premature birth," Mustang interrupted.

"And the baby?"

"It died shortly after it was delivered. It was too weak to survive,"

"I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, I know…" Mustang gripped his cup tightly, trying desperately to hold back the overwhelming sorrow he had kept inside for so long.

"If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here," Hughes said, deeply concerned for his best friend.

The Colonel rubbed his eyes and gave Hughes one of his rare genuine smiles. "Thanks."

…

Stepping into the seldom visited hospital room, save for the nurses and doctors, the Colonel grinned at the sleeping boy and closed the door behind him. "Hey Edward, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you," he smiled.

The boy did indeed appear healthier, as the breathing mask was gone and there were more color in his cheeks. The cold cloth on his forehead had been taken off revealing closed eyes. His face was relaxed as if in the state of a peaceful dream. There were also metal coverings over his missing limbs where the automail would be attached the next week when he was stronger. The many tubes and wires still remained unchanged, twisted into coils and inserted into the steel.

Mustang pulled up a chair near the side of the bed and sat down. Hypothetically speaking, he wasn't supposed to be in the room, not to mention this close to him. The Colonel didn't care. If he was going to be the boy's 'handler' he should better start now and get to know him. "I know you've been unconscious since the accident, but you can still hear me, right?" Mustang asked, sounding foolish.

Edward didn't answer.

"I heard you lost your mother and brother a while back. I'm sorry. I understand how you must have felt all too well. In a way, we're not so different." He paused briefly. "I also heard that the operation will erase your past memories," Mustang finished sadly. He looked down at his hands which were resting against his knees.

Reaching toward the small boy, he gently pushed a stray blonde hair out of his face and softly caressed his cheek with the back of his hand. The once Colonel of the Eastern Command suddenly felt a strange stir of affection for the child and pulled his hand back, blushing a bit.

Mustang stood up turning to leave toward the exist door and opened it a little. Before stepping out, he looked back one last time at the child, who had dared to trespass on god's territory, disobeying the flow of the world. The Colonel gave him a sad smile. "Good luck, kid…"

Roy Mustang awoke with a start, sending the book on his forehead flying at the wall. He frantically turned around to look at the clock on the wall behind him. It was 6:52, a few minutes until his shift and the end of the work day was over. He had only been asleep for a half hour at most. "Thank god," he muttered, slamming his head on the desktop in relief.

Straightening himself up in his chair, he picked up a picture frame with the photo of a pretty young woman at a beach scenery. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a sun dress and hat and was smiling warmly at the photographer. "Hello Riza."

Yah! Chappie numero dos is finally up! (btw, I wrote the last half of this chapter in study hall today.) Please enjoy! I worked really hard to make it perfect! FYI, lettering in indicates a flashback. And the flashback wasn't Roy's dream. As a side note, I regret not using Aru and Riza (gets pounded by fans). I made a last minute decision to kill them off…waaahhh, so saaaaad… Oh, the baby was a girl and her name is Lisa! And about Roy and Hughes's "friendship", they are JUST best friends. Sorry, yaoi fans. Roy relates to Ed because they both lost someone they loved. Ed is like the son he will never have, and he wants to protect Ed so he doesn't have to regret his actions ever again. (how sweet) Ed is like Roy's innocence, but this innocence will be tested the next chapter: A Second Chance To Live, To Laugh, coming soon.