Chapter Two: Questions

Roy's eyes dropped to his lap at the conclusion of Al's explanation about the Elric's past. He couldn't believe that Ed had been through so much, and he felt a bit responsible for suggesting the military route to a boy who was in so much pain already. It made him feel like a monster.

"I have no idea what Archer could have been planning," Al continued. "I mean, sure, he could have used my brother as leverage for power and money, but other than that...I'm not sure why he awakened Edo..."

"We'll just have to ask him then, huh?" Breda growled with disgust. "That-"

Falman shook his head. "Even if we did ask Archer what he was planning, we only have half of the story. I mean, if Edo had so much power...not to mention the fact that he is Pride, then why would he follow orders from anyone?"

"And we all know Ed has a complex with having to disobey orders," Havoc snorted.

"All the more reason for him to not follow what Archer told him to," Falman added. "And we heard how Edo wasn't going to hesitate to kill Roy the next time they meet. So his listening to orders and submitting to others' wills wasn't out of love for Roy at all."

Roy sat back and listened to his subordinates. It was true. Although Ed loved him, it was clear Edo did not for whatever reason. What could Edo's motive be? And the fact that he shot Archer meant that he did in fact have a plan in mind, and was planning on double-crossing Archer from the very beginning. This meant he didn't care about the money that Roy and his subordinates had offered, nor did he care about Roy not signing that paper saying that he would step down from his Colonel position. And yet, Erik and his gang had obvious loyalty to Edo instead of Archer, even though Archer was paying them.

"Something must have happened," Roy said out loud, drawing everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Armstrong asked.

"I'm saying, why would Erik and his men shoot Archer? He was the one that was giving the orders, and also the one giving them money, right? So why would they shoot him and lose all of that?"

Hughes coughed. "Actually, during our time serving in Ishbal, I saw a higher up get shot by Basque Grand because nobody liked what the guy was commanding us to do. Y'know we all covered it up saying that it was a stray bullet?"

"So, does that mean that Erik didn't like how Archer was handling things?" Al wondered aloud.

"Either that," Lin added as he leaned forward to address the group, "or they were offered a better deal."

Each of the man directed their attention to Lin. What he said made perfect sense.

"But what could Edo have to offer?" Roy questioned. "Ed didn't come to Xing with much, and of it, most of it is just simple things."

Lin shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just saying if I was getting a flat rate from someone, and someone else offered me something better, I would definitely change my loyalties. I am Greed after all."

Each of the men nodded. But there were still more questions.

Roy took charge of the conversation once more. "Alright, so let's say that they shot Archer because Edo offered them something more appealing. The question still stands: what would Edo offer them that would be so appealing?"

Havoc shivered. "Maybe he's planning to turn them in the more homunculi freaks."

"I doubt that," Lin disagreed. "As a homunculus, we generally don't like others of our kind due to the fact that we hate sharing power. Plus, I don't think that Edo would even know how to make another homunculus."

"Do you think it has something to do with a way into our country?" Al asked Roy.

Roy bit his lip and thought a moment before replying. "No. If there's one thing I do know about Ed, is that he could care less about his military or his country. That probably goes double for Edo since he's Pride."

"Then...where does that leave us?" Fuery asked. The whole situation was making him shake and shiver since he was more of an office man than a true soldier.

Roy immediately had an answer, although not a good one. "It leaves us with a wounded traitor, Edward still being held hostage, Hawkeye being held unjustly, a homunculus on the loose along with a bunch of kidnappers, and many questions on motive."

There was a long silence where they took a minute to let everything sink in. Despite the bad emotions and vibes in the air, Lin still upheld his duty as being a good host.

"You all have been through a lot," Lin said. He stood up and motioned for his servants to come to him. "It would be a good idea for you all to get some sleep."

"But what about Archer?" Breda snarled.

"He is being taken care of," Lin assured. "It would best to interrogate him when you are in a better frame of mind. If you were to approach him now, I have no doubts that one of you would probably kill him on sight. And then some of our questions would be unanswered, wouldn't they?"

"He's right," Hughes agreed, although reluctantly. "We need to get a good nights sleep, then we can look for answers in the morning." He then gave a small laugh in the way he always did to lighten the mood. "I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to pass out on this very table!"

Nobody laughed, but they did allow themselves to be guided to the guest bedrooms by the King's servants. Each of them had a separate room, but they were all in the same hallway. They were given white silk robes to wear for pajamas, and they were promised by the time they woke in the morning, there would be a fresh pair of clothes awaiting them.

Roy retired to his room like a walking corpse. His mood had just gotten worse through out the day, and once he realized what Ed's childhood was like, he felt even worse. Inside of his room was absolutely beautiful. Much like the rest of the palace, the walls were painted a crimson red, accented with gold around the borders. There was a large bed pushed up against the wall, a desk with a chair, a dresser drawer, and a door that led into a bathroom.

I can't believe this. he thought glumly as he walked into the bathroom.

The bathroom was very large in comparison to other guest room bathrooms he had been in before. It had no shower, but it did have a large bath tub. There was also a vanity that had lights all around the mirror that hung on the wall just above it. Roy stood in front of himself and looked at his reflection.

I look horrible.

His eyes were darker than normal, his skin was pale, and his hair was disheveled from running his hands through it in thought.

In an attempt to get more comfortable, he ran a hot bath. He stripped himself of his clothes, and slowly sunk into the water with a sigh. Despite his situation, he did have to admit that the warm water felt good, especially when he sunk down until it was up to his chin. That felt really good on his back. *

He washed absentmindedly, his mind trying to wrap around the situation he had been thrown into. Once he was done washing, he released the plug on the tub, wrapped a towel around his waist, and wandered back into the guest room. Laid out on his bed was the white robe, which he got into slowly. Roy crawled silently into his bed, feeling alone. It had been bad enough when it was only him and Ed and Ed had been drafted to East City to watch over things, and it had been twice as bad when he had been drafted for Xing, but laying by himself in that guest bed without the golden blonde next to him filled him with loneliness. Usually Ed went to bed before him, and the bed was always nice and warm by the time he climbed into it. This one was cold, and way too big it seemed. Roy gave an audible groan of anguish and ran his hands through his hair with stress.

Although he was upset by the situation, the fact that he was in a comfortable bed and he was tired, he couldn't help but to immediately begin to fall asleep. Before the nightmare filled darkness consumed him, the colonel had one thought, I wonder what Ed is doing right now...

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Explanation on * : This is one of my simple pleasures in life! I love sinking down in a steaming hot bath! I figured since Roy is a hard worker like a certain authoress I could mention (......), that he would like it too. I really want to focus on the actual fan fiction, so unless I have one of these explanations, I probably won't have much (or anything) to say. But please keep reviewing! I like hearing from you all multiple times throughout the story so I know what you all think! This is important! Thank you all for reading!