Wow, thanks for all the reviews/hits! This one is going to be the slowest chapter, I think. I'm mostly just setting up Roy/Al and Ed's situations right now, so I can get things really moving next chapter :) I've also divided out my draft into chapters; this will be seven chapters long- maybe eight, if I decide to split the final chapter into two parts. Hope you all enjoy!


Ow.

Good lord, ow.

It took Roy far more time than he was comfortable with to register anything more than that.

The dammed pain was all over his body; stinging through his shoulders, burning through his legs, aching through his back, screaming through his chest, and son of a bitch, do not even get him started on his head.

The stunning, desert heat was another matter entirely.

Sweat dripped down from his face in obscene amounts, and his shirt was already soaked with something; if it wasn't blood then sweat seemed like a very likely second guess. The dry crackle of heat was positively murderous- but it was also familiar, and it was that familiarity that forced him to slowly drag open his eyes and begin the assessment.

And it was bad.

Fire hissed as the only light in what would otherwise be complete darkness, flickering in flying sparks that rushed through the hot air in a chaotic storm of blistering heat. It crawled through utter destruction, debris and rubble surrounding him in the close space and leaving him nearly trapped, unable to rise more than a crouch and forced to move in a crawl.

If he could move, that was, which was something he didn't quite possess the strength to do just yet.

What... what the hell... happened?

His head pounded, and Roy weakly raised a hand to rub it. His fingers came away wet with blood that glistened a ruby gold in the firelight, and he stared at it, completely at a loss.

Slowly, one by one, the memories returned to him. Train ride to East City. Edward and Alphonse's unexpected appearance to join him for the trip. Edward leaving, complaining about his automail and needing a walk. And then...

Nothing.

"A crash?" he whispered weakly aloud; his voice was barely a croak and he glared at the whirls of smoke, knowing it was to blame. "No, because all this fire... then it could've only been from a gas explosion, and we'd all be dead... but then..."

Roy abruptly stopped dead.

A final memory, of looking at Al and seeing him looking back with what just might possibly have been the closest thing that boy was capable of to a smile.

And then...

"ALPHONSE!"

The hoarse scream tore agonizingly from a ravaged throat, and Roy yanked himself forward on his hands and knees, dislodging bits of flaming debris from above him and cowering under the rain of sparks without even feeling the pain of it. "Al! AL! AL?! Al, if you can hear me, SAY SOMETHING!"

"Colonel! Colonel, I'm fine! I'm over here!"

Roy gasped with the relief of it, crumbling down to land on his chest again and just riding out the pain. Thank god. Al could not be knocked unconscious or senseless. If he hadn't responded then, there would've been only one possible outcome- an outcome Roy did not think he could've faced.

"Colonel?"

He grunted, rousing a little, and tried to turn his head after the voice before pain shot through his shoulder like an electric shot. Roy gasped again, the limb throbbing in protest now, and he blinked wildly against the pain. "Ah-hah..." he panted, fighting to recover his senses. Hot fire burned across his shoulder and down his arm and through his chest, and his vision sloshed like water in a bucket and his head swam, concussion confirmed beyond all certainty now. "You're g-going to h-h-have to come to me, Al... something's wrong with my shoulder. C-can't turn my head all the... w-way."

There was a nervous silence, broken only by the continuous hiss and crackle of flame that licked all around them. At last, his voice echoing against his armor, Al called out, "I can't get to you! I can see you, but there's something blocking my way, and I- I don't want to risk moving it in case it dislodges something and just makes it worse."

There was logic in that, but also something in his voice that gave Roy pause. Unable to turn fully to face him, though, there was nothing Roy could do to call him out on it. Groaning, he started trying to work himself upright into a pathetic little crawl again, calling out the results of his self assessment as he went. "Few broken bones, I think... nothing too serious. Al, what the hell happened?"

"I have no idea! The train just- everything blasted apart. I don't know, it all happened so quickly... I'm sorry, Colonel."

Roy grimaced, still trying to shift around enough to be able to see the boy for himself. There was no need for an apology, although he didn't quite have the breath to tell him that, so he just kept his silence instead. There were still many unanswered questions about the crash, but his most pressing concern was getting to Al, and, after that, tracking down Ed.

It was looking like the origin of the explosion had been very close to where they'd been sitting. Bad news for him, but good news for Ed; his subordinate most likely had fared better than them, and there was a chance he was unharmed entirely. But the uncertainty of Ed's welfare still left him with a leaden weight settled in his stomach, and it was only Al's proximity to him now that had him focused on the younger brother rather than the older.

Gritting his teeth, Roy shoved himself the last few inches around in his 180 turn. The motion tore at his shoulder and a whimper crawled out of his throat, the white hot pain eclipsing even his ability to breathe and leaving his vision spiraling in a sickening, fading tunnel vision. Roy slumped, gasping, eyes squeezed shut, and just lay against the floor, just trying to stave off unconsciousness until the pain had eased enough for him to do something besides try not to scream.

Passing out in this state could be fatal, and he needed to avoid it at all cost.

"Um, Colonel? Are you all right? You- you haven't said anything in a while..."

Roy jolted. "F-fine," he gasped, though his attempt to make the word sound at all convincing failed completely. Clenching his fist, Roy forced himself to stay calm and opened his eyes again, now that he was facing Al actually looking for him in an attempt to just distract himself from the pain.

Predictably, the boy was in far better shape than he was. The suit of armor was looking at him, craning his neck to see through a gap in the rubble, but he was actually sitting upright, too, something that felt far beyond Roy at the moment. The only concern he still had was that the boy was whole, and from this vantage point, it was difficult to ascertain that- but he seemed to at least have his torso and he could catch a glimpse of one arm.

Well, I guess there are some benefits to not having a human body, he thought wryly, and managed a smile, though no trace of amusement existed in him. Explosions don't leave you feeling like you just got run over by a train.

Roy let himself flop to the ground again, straining to hold Al's gaze. A cloud of ash and glowing sparks drifted between them, gliding on a current of unbearably hot air, and he couldn't help a cough. "You... you manage to talk to your brother yet?" he asked slowly, anxiety rising at the mention of the missing Elric, and rising even further still when Al shook his head.

"No. I've been yelling for him for a while, but- he won't answer me."

The quaver in his voice was unmistakable, and Roy swallowed, trying not to give into the panic that was struggling to overtake him. Al had probably been panicking enough for the both of them, and besides, it would do no good. They had no way of knowing how far away from their train car Ed had made it before the explosion. The most likely explanation was simply that he'd been knocked unconscious and was unable to answer them.

That was just what he was going to have to believe, because the alternatives were too horrible to consider.

"Don't worry, Al." Wincing, Roy began to slowly bring himself up again, still breathing hard but wanting to at least try and sit. The plan ended abruptly when he had to lean to dodge a downfall of flaming rubble from above and his shoulder punished him for it again, sending him to his stomach in another shockwave of pain. He hit the hot metal of the floor face first, cheek smudging against ash, and with that Roy just shut his eyes and gave up.

"W-w-we... we'll look f-for Ed... soon as we get ourselves out of this, Al..."

"...Right."

Roy could hear the reluctance in his voice, and knew Al, at the moment, was having to struggle to not burst straight out of the rubble and instantly begin the search for his brother. Al would survive, no question- but shifting the wreckage so violently could very easily spell the end of everyone else left in the train car, himself included.

He shook his head slightly, relieved that Al could control himself more than his brother could, then sent another glance around the fiery ruins.

"Al, you see anybody else on your side? We need to get everyone out that we can, before this fire gets any worse."

This time, there was no pause, and he could tell the boy had already reached the same conclusion and looked around for all the people he could help. "There are six people alive, with varying states of injury. There's also someone else, but... I don't think he'll make it."

Roy gritted his teeth but said nothing to that, instead looking around to add up his own body count. "Four over here." No need to mention the three dead. "...You got any ideas on how to get them out of here?" Because, whether it was pounding head, the fact that he was still barely a few minutes away from dead unconsciousness, or that he could barely manage to think straight, Roy had nothing.

Clearly, Al had already been thinking this one over, too, because he came right back with an answer. "It's too dangerous to try and shift the rubble around; it could trigger a collapse. But- I was thinking, Colonel- if we can't go straight out... why not try under?"

Under... "You mean make a tunnel?" he asked, allowing himself a small grin only because none of his subordinates were there to see it. Damn, the kid was brilliant.

"Yes! I know we're on a cliffside, so the ground might not be stable enough, but it's the best thing I've come up with so far. What do you think?"

Roy nodded thoughtfully, going over the tracks in his mind. Another swarm of sparks crackled overhead and though it took just about all his strength, he managed to pull his military jacket up and over his head with the one working arm he had, protecting what he could. Whatever they were going to do, they had to do it fast.

"If I recall correctly, Al," he called back at last, "while there are some areas through these mountains known for landslides, this isn't one of them. Not ideal, but I don't think we'll be able to manage anything better. Go for it, Al."

There was a short silence.

Then, nervously, came the uncertain and anxious question.

"Er... me?"

"Yes, you," Roy snapped waspishly, and his shoulder throbbed again. "I might be able to make it out, by with my arm like this I won't be able to take anyone with me. Come on, what's the problem? It was your idea in the first place."

"Yes, well..." Al trailed off nervously, his voice suddenly shifting from confident to anxious again, and in it Roy could hear the same unspoken truth he'd reached earlier: the boy was hiding something. "...I can't get out, either."

"...What are you talking about?"

Al hesitated, looking away from him as if he knew a scolding was about to come his way. "...My legs are missing, Colonel. Both of them."

When the words finally sunk in, Roy's slightly less injured arm trembled and then just gave out on him. He dropped to lie on his stomach, blinking against the hot earth, the enormity of the situation hitting him then with all the force of a physical blow.

Well, fuck.

Right now, Roy just did not have it in him to yell at the boy for not telling him this earlier. He just... didn't.

"...Sorry, Colonel," Al said quietly at last, nervous voice barely audible against the ominous crackle of fire. "I didn't want to worry you, and, well, as you know, I'm really still fine, just-"

"I know, Al," he grunted, voice flat and monotonous. Come on, Al... just let me stew here for a moment and realize just how much more difficult this situation has become.

The snapping of already strained wood cracked out above him, and Roy just blinked, too drained to do anything but watch the piece of rubble smash down inches from his face. It uplifted a cloud of hot ash that stung against eyes that were squeezed shut, and no matter how familiar the blistering crackle of fire was he could not help but flinch.

He was used to fire turning on him, used to icing his own burnt fingers, used to watching the enemy burn even while his own blisters formed against the heat. Fire was tenacious, after all, and no matter how careful he was, no matter how perfect his transmutations, there were just too many factors outside of his control. All he could ever do was simply limit the fallout so only his own hand was burned, and not the others that stood by innocently in the crossfire.

Roy supposed that was what was bothering him so much now.

He couldn't limit this fire. It had already spread too far, and now, all he could do was watch it burn.

Ah, melodramatic much, are you? Your alchemy won't be much help, but you were always taught to use flame only as a last resort, anyway... you have other options, Roy. You just need to use them.

Grimacing again, Roy told the smug voice in his head that sounded disturbingly like Berthold to shut up and raised his head to look at Al once more. Clearing his throat hurt, smoke burning at the inside of his mouth, and his voice was already becoming hoarse, but a sore throat was hardly the worst he was going to get out of this. He did have other options besides alchemy- but first, he had to learn more about just what the hell had actually happened. "This fire, Al. How did this fire start?"

"What?"

He gestured vaguely with one hand before remembering Al probably couldn't see it and groaned. "Did it start with the explosion? Or did it come later? Did it start from one point and spread? Or was it everywhere immediately?"

"Ah... it started with the explosion, Colonel. And it was everywhere immediately."

Roy cursed, and this time, it wasn't only because of the pain.

The gravity of the situation took him again, this time leaving him slumped without breath or strength against the burning metal of the floor. Al couldn't fight, he could barely move, they were both trapped here, Ed was nowhere to be found, and now, on top of everything else...

"Wait, what does that mean, Colonel?"

Roy raised his eyes to meet Al's. He squinted through the sparks and cleared his throat again, somehow managing to find his voice and explain just how much deeper the trouble they were in had gotten.

"It means, Al, that this was a controlled explosion. ...Whatever happened wasn't an accident. Someone tried to take out this train."

Al just stared at him then, frozen now as he slowly grasped what Roy had just understood. When he finally managed to speak, all he said was a simple, "...Oh.", but, it was all that needed to be said.

In his voice, Roy had heard every bit of anxiety and restrained fear he was now battling himself, and he managed a weak, bitter grin, nodding once and never once breaking Al's gaze.

"Yeah."

Like they had needed more bad news.


Fortunately for Ed, the explosion hadn't quite managed to knock him unconscious.

Just barely not, actually, if the swelling knot at the back of his head was any indication- but he was still awake.

And, by the pain he was in, not really that happy about it.

The explosion itself had been minor enough, sending the train careening to a stop and causing quite a few screams from the patrons of the first class car he'd wandered into- flashing his watch and claiming it was for military business but really just on the hunt for the higher quality grub they got up there. However, while the explosion had not left him in danger, the landslide it had triggered had.

Ed had barely managed to stop it from smashing until the train car. Even then, the split second transmutation of the largest boulder into dust hadn't managed to stop the smaller one tumbling behind it- and he'd been helpless to do anything but cover his head.

Which lead to his current predicament of being pinned.

Ed scowled again, tugging in vain at his automail leg. Thankfully it was the only part of him that was stuck underneath the boulder, so at least he wasn't really in any pain, but damn it was this unfortunate. He couldn't reach the boulder to transmute it off of himself- could barely even reach his legs- and until another alchemist came along, he was stuck. Ed hated being stuck, damn it, he hated it!

"Agh... come on, Al, what's taking you?" he complained under his breath, flopping onto his back with a whuff of air. He did really hope it'd be his brother who found him first, and not Mustang. While either one could transmute the boulder off of him, Mustang would certainly get a good laugh out at the sight of him trapped like this. Bastard.

He tried to focus on his annoyance at the very mention of the colonel, because if he didn't, all that was left to feel was the slow but undeniably growing sense of worry.

Because Al really should've found him by now.

When one of the train's engineers sidled up to him, wielding a bottle of water, Ed accepted it without words and made himself sit up, guzzling half of it in one gulp. "Thanks," he gasped, finally clearing his dry throat. "What's the situation now?"

The engineer shrugged, dropping down to sit by his side since Ed couldn't very well move to stand by his. "Not great. We've called out a report to the nearest city but it'll take at least three hours for anyone to reach us. I've got a few people looking back at the second and third train cars... some pretty bad injuries in the second, but the third, well- it's not looking good. The fire and debris is stopping us from getting inside, but we called out a few times and never got a reply. If anyone even made it at all, they're not in any kind of condition to answer us. " He looked away regretfully and shook his head- and by the look on his face, was utterly unaware of the state his words had left Ed in.

The third train car was where Al was.

"Wha... what?"

The strangled whisper sounded nothing like his own voice, and it took him a few seconds to even reconcile himself with the fact that it was his.

Al...

Al...

Al-!

The engineer looked at him again, seemingly oblivious to the distress his words had caused. "Yes. It looks like there was some kind of explosive on the tracks that went off under the third car, so the damage is the worst back there. Like I said, we tried getting in, but it's just not going to happen. Not sure how we're going to proceed, but- hey! Kid, stop! What are you doing?!"

The engineer yanked his hands back from the boulder and Ed gasped again, fighting to thrash out of his grip in a near absolute panic. "Let me go!" he snarled. "I said let me go! I have to get back there! I have to find him!"

"You already tried to get this thing off before, it won't work! You're going to have to wait-"

"I told you to let go of me!" And with that, Ed wrenched first his metal arm, then his human one free, and without any hesitation whatsoever brought them together in a single clap.

His automail arm morphed into a screwdriver with a flash of light, and the moment the tool was fully formed, Ed set to work.

"Hey! Hey, stop! What are you-"

"Finding my brother!" he growled, rapidly unscrewing the first bolt and jumping to move on to the second. The metal hissed at him, pain curling up the nerves of his thigh so hot he could barely keep himself going.

But pain had sure as hell never kept him from Al before.

The second bolt gave him more resistance than the one before it, and the pathetically unhelpful engineer cried out in the same moment that Ed did. Trembling violently, Ed forcefully bit down hard on his lower lip, teeth digging into skin in a fierce attempt to distract himself from the growing agony in his leg as he set to work on the third bolt.

There were six bolts to unscrew, and by the time he finally reached the last one, he was sweating, had invented several new curse words, and he'd already nearly passed out once.

Still, Ed only gave himself a single moment to rest before the screwdriver dived into the six bolt, and he began to work against the automail one final time. "Sorry, Winry," he grunted under his breath, forcing a shaky grin. "You'll probably kill me for this, but... not got a choice."

The final bolt was by far the worst of them all, and when he finally managed to unlock it from binding to his skin, the unholy scream that was torn forth from his throat sounded like nothing less than sheer agony.

But his brother was more important.

Al was always more important.

Al was always most important, and the moment Ed could see again, the moment he could feel something besides the pain, he transmuted a crutch out of nearby rubble, yanked it closer to himself, and stood, hobbling away back towards the destruction of the third car.

His automail leg, crushed underneath the rocks, was left behind.


"Lieutenant Hawkeye, question for you." Maes Hughes sidled into Mustang's office without even knocking, usual jovial features serious, and gave Riza a worried and quiet look. "That train Roy was catching to East City- which number was it, again?"

She frowned at him. "97D, sir. Why?"

Maes paled.

The look on his face frightened her.

Slowly, the investigator came forward to nearly collapse in one of the empty desk chairs, dropping his face into his hands. He shook his head once miserably, fingers pushing his glasses out of the way to rub his eyes. "...You haven't turned on the radio today, have you, Lieutenant?"

When she shook her head, confusion still rising, he just pointed to the device with a poke of his finger and shook his head again.

Swallowing, she reached for the radio and turned it on.

"...and the exact cause of train 97D's crash is unknown, with military personnel en route to the scene as we speak, casualties estimated at ten but still rising..."