So, so, so sorry that it took so long to update! I've been so busy with school lately. I hate senior year! Good news is, I graduate May 23 so the updates should become more regular again. I've made you wait so long for this update that I'm not going to bore you with anything else so here it is, the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Uh, yeah, you should know by now. Why am I still doing this?

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The hospital lobby slowly became fuller as the rest of the group entered and gathered around the two that were already there. Hughes greeted each one, but Roy remained in his trance. Hawkeye, as always, was the first to pick up on this.

"Sir?" she asked quietly. Breda and Fuery noticed that something was up and turned in Roy's direction. Havoc, however, was too busy flirting with a nurse who was yelling at him for smoking in a hospital.

"Yeah, about that, something really strange happened," Hughes offered when it seemed that Roy wasn't going to speak.

"Strange?" Breda asked.

"Strange like what?" Fuery continued.

"Well, first you should know," Hughes said a touch of pain in his voice. "…Alphonse…is dead."

"Dead?" Havoc practically shouted, his attention now fully on the situation.

"But he can't be dead!" Breda said equally as loud. "He's a suit of armor!"

"He can still die," Hughes said. "His blood seal was broken, meaning his soul was no longer attached to the armor."

"But…but who did it?" Fuery asked. "Who broke the blood seal?"

Silence. Hughes' gaze shifted downward. He could feel the eyes boring into the top of his head, but he couldn't bring himself to tell them the identity of Al's killer. Roy didn't seem anymore willing to talk.

"Sir," Hawkeye directed at Roy, "who killed Alphonse?"

"…Edward."

Everyone gasped. Not only had Roy actually used the boy's name instead of just calling him Fullmetal, the context it was used in was more shocking then saying that Major Armstrong was actually a woman.

"That can't be true!"

"Talk to him yourself if you need proof," Roy said bitterly. "Maybe you'll be able to get something out of him. Not that there's much guesswork. He's crazy."

"That's a bit harsh," Havoc said.

"No, it's the truth. Check the hospital records if you don't believe me. He spent four years in Wentworth for seeing a person that wasn't really there. A four-year-old girl was killed because the hallucination told him to do it. They released him, but it seems that maybe that wasn't the best idea. I only wonder how he managed to slip his way into the military without one person figuring it out." Roy finished without ever once looking at the others.

"Can you be so sure that he isn't better?" Breda asked. "Maybe it was all just an accident."

"When I went to see him a few minutes ago," Hughes said softly, "he acted like there was somebody else in the room." Roy's attention finally moved from the floor to Hughes. "I was trying to get some information out of him or at least get him to talk a little more. After a bit, he seemed like he was loosening up and was about to talk, but then he looked off to an empty space on his right, mouthed something, and went back into his shell. He wouldn't talk after that. The nurse went in shortly after, and she said it seemed as if there wasn't even a person there anymore. It might be best if you go see for yourself."

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In the hospital room, Edward was staring off into the space in front of him, not really seeing anything. Kayt slowly walked into his view and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What were you about to tell him, Ed?" she asked with a cruel look in her eyes. Ed showed no signs that he'd heard her. "Were you going to blame me? You always blame me."

"It's always your fault," Ed said in a voice that was barely no more than a whisper. That didn't matter to Kayt though. She heard every word.

"My fault! How is it ever my fault?"

"You tell me to do it."

"But I'm not the one that does it. I didn't make you cut Winry's hair. You did it yourself. I didn't make you transmute that rock. You killed her. I didn't make you kill Alphonse. That one I didn't even tell you to do anything. You did it because you wanted to. Deep down, you wanted to do all those things. I didn't make you do anything so how, pray tell, is any of it my fault? No answer? It's because you know you're the one at fault so I'd appreciate it if you'd stop blaming me!"

"I didn't want-"

Before Ed could even finish his sentence, Hawkeye, Breda, Fuery, and Havoc walked in. Ed glanced angrily at them for a moment before he turned back to where Kayt was, only to see that she was no longer there. He avoided eye contact with them all and drew back into his shell. He knew they must of at least heard the end of their conversation. He knew by the look on their faces. Hawkeye was calm as usual, but Breda, Fuery, and Havoc were startled and seemed like they wanted to be anywhere but in that room.

"Edward," Hawkeye said knowing she'd be the only one of the group that would actually be able to talk to Ed. Ed showed no signs of listening. "Who were you talking to?"

"When?" Ed asked quietly. Ed being quiet scared the other three more than hearing Ed shout at somebody that wasn't there.

"Just before we came in," Hawkeye said. "You were saying you didn't want something. Who were you talking to?"

"…I wasn't talking to anyone. You're hearing things."

"Really?" Hawkeye asked skeptically.

"Really."

"Let's say I just let that slide for now, but then, you have to return the favor. Tell me what happened in Maldin."

"Nothing happened."

"Don't give me that, Ed. What happened to Al?"

"He died."

Hawkeye sighed angrily. She knew she wouldn't lose her cool like Roy had done, but Ed was being much more difficult than usual, if that was even possible. She moved her hand closer to the gun at her belt, but Ed didn't even flinch. He knew it was an empty threat.

"Come on, Chief," Havoc piped in, "all you have to do is tell us what happened. You're not going to jail or anything. Least that's what the lieutenant colonel told us before we came in here. No body, no murder. That's how it goes."

At this, Ed looked outraged which startled everyone, including Hawkeye.

"So even if it hadn't been me, no one would be punished for killing him?" Ed asked finally bringing his voice higher than a whisper.

"You should be thankful," Breda said.

"Thankful? Thankful! So I should be thankful that I live in a country where a murderer can so easily be allowed to go free?"

"Did you want to go to jail?" Hawkeye asked with a raised brow.

"…No," Ed said bringing his voice back down.

"Then be thankful. Things could be a lot worse off. Personally, I think the loss of your brother is enough of a punishment, although since, as you just admitted, you're the one that did kill him, maybe that shows that you didn't care about him as much as we thought."

"Lieutenant," Havoc said, "maybe that's bit harsh?"

"If he didn't want harsh words," Hawkeye said still using the same biting tone, "he would have responded to kind words. Now, Edward, tell me. Is it true? Was the love we saw between you two all just an act? Did you really care so little about him that you killed him?"

Edward's hands curled into fists to stop their shaking, and he finally let a tear fall. One was followed by an unstoppable stream of tears. The three behind Hawkeye took a step back. It was so unlike the Ed they were used to seeing. The Ed that almost never cried. The Ed that seemed so strong and unbreakable. Now, they could finally see him for what he really was, a regular teenager.

"So did you really care?" Hawkeye said. She wouldn't let up on her stinging words until she had completely destroyed the shell around Ed. If there were even a tiny portion of it left, he could easily fall back into it.

"…I killed him because I care," Ed said through tears.

"Explain."

"I don't…I-I can't…"

"Explain."

"He's better off dead! He couldn't eat! He couldn't sleep! He couldn't even feel! I couldn't let him keep living that way!"

"So what was all that about returning him to his body? That was all just a lie? After all this time you've spent searching for the stone?"

"We were never going to get the stone. It was a hopeless cause…He should have died that day we tried to bring Mom back. He's better off not having to be around me…No…I should have died that day…He's not the one I should have killed…"

"Ed," Hawkeye said a bit more softly but with a slight warning tone. The conversation was veering in an unsafe direction. She pulled on his shoulders and made him lie down on the pillow. "I want you to go to sleep. Some rest will do you good right now."

Edward didn't protest. The four turned to leave, and just as Hawkeye was about to shut the door, Ed spoke.

"Please…please don't tell Winry…about any of this. Not now, at least." Hawkeye looked at him quizzically. It was as though Edward had read her mind. She had just been thinking of telling Winry the situation so she could care for Ed (as it was growing increasingly obvious that Ed couldn't currently care for himself). "Her grandmother is very sick right now. Please don't tell them. They don't need anything else to worry about right now. Please don't tell."

"I won't," Hawkeye said sadly. Winry needed to know, but she understood the reason for not telling her just yet.

"Promise," Ed demanded.

"I promise. No one will tell her until her grandmother is better, but that's as long as we're keeping it a secret. She deserves to know."

Ed seemed satisfied and shut his eyes. The group made their way back out to the lobby where Roy and Hughes were still waiting.

"Did you find out anything?" Hughes asked eagerly.

"A bit," Hawkeye said. This grabbed both men's attention.

"So why did he kill Alphonse?" Roy asked.

"Guilt…for trapping Alphonse in that body. He seemed to think that Alphonse would be happier dead."

"Happier dead?" Hughes asked doubtfully. "Seems to be a bit of an oxymoron if you ask me."

"I think he feels really regretful about it though," Havoc said. "By the time she brought him out of his shell, he was saying that Al wasn't the one that he should have killed."

"If someone doesn't watch him, he might become suicidal," Breda said.

Roy sighed. "We should get in touch with that mechanic of his then."

"No," Hawkeye said forcefully. "I promised him we wouldn't say anything about this to her."

"Why?" Roy asked.

"Her grandmother is sick," Fuery said. "They're already stressed enough as it is."

"Does that mean that one of us will have to take him?" Hughes asked.

"Not me," Havoc said. "I'm horrible with kids."

"Me too," Breda agreed.

"I don't think I could stop him if he tried anything," Fuery said.

"I definitely want to help him," Hughes said, "but I also don't think it'd be wise to keep him around Elysia in the state he is now."

"I'd take him," Hawkeye said, "but my apartment's not big enough for another person."

"Guess that means there's only one person for the job," Hughes said.

Everyone looked at Roy. His eyes widened.

"No!" Roy shouted. "No way am I taking care of that brat!"

"You're the only one that can," Havoc said, a slight smirk on his face. "You've got that nice house all to yourself, and you're forceful enough to stop him if he tries anything."

"No!"

"You know him better than the rest of us, sir," Hawkeye said also finding the situation amusing.

"No!"

"I think it'll be good for you," Hughes said giving his friend a pat on the back. "You need to learn more about kids."

"I can't take care of a teenager! Especially a suicidal one! He'll need to be watched every second of the day!"

"You only need watch him in the evenings," Breda said. "Just bring him to work with you everyday, and we can all take care of him."

"Besides," Fuery said, "it's only until Winry's grandmother gets better. Then they can take him."

"You're all serious about this, aren't you," Roy asked disbelieving. "You really want me to take care of a psychotic, suicidal brat?"

"Wouldn't say that around him if I were you, sir," Hawkeye advised.

"So it's decided then," Hughes said happily. "Soon as Ed's released from the hospital, he'll move in with you."

"Nothing's decided!" Roy shouted.

Everyone merely laughed.

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As you can see, the parentalness is finally starting. I wrote most of this chapter right after I got back from prom, and I was at a friend's house. A very distracting friend who has a certain hallucination named after her. You know who you are. My point is, the flow might be a bit off because of this, but overall, I'm happy with this chapter. I promise that I'll do my best not to make you wait so long for an update again. It'll definitely be easier after graduation. Until next time!

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