*~*EDWARD*~*
I decide to leave Hughes with Mustang and travel down the hospital hallway. After the little talk with Al and the sad look in the colonel's eyes, I don't know how much more of this I can take. Everything is just crumbling apart and I don't know how to fix it. Al said he wanted to try delving into bio-alchemy but even if we start now, there is nothing that we can do to undo what Tucker has done to Fuery. If we had, we would have fixed Nina and Alexander… I furrow my eyebrows and wipe my nose a little, unhappy about the fact that I can't fix anything.
I'm smart, dammit. I should be able to do something…
As I head toward the elevator, it opens up without me pressing the button and I see that Havoc is being pushed in a wheelchair with a good looking nurse behind him. He looks up at me and smiles wide.
"Hey, Chief. Where you off to?"
"Nowhere; just needed some fresh air."
"You hear anything about the boss?"
"Yeah. He's not doing too well but the Lt. Colonel knows more about it than I do. He only told me a few things though; I could tell a lot more things happened to him than he let on."
Havoc nods and then looks up at his nurse.
"Thanks, sweetheart, but I can take it from here. We have some business to discuss."
The nurse nods and walks away. Havoc sighs after her, watching her butt I'm sure but he clears his throat and starts pushing the wheelchair along.
"I'd like to see him but I have a feeling that he's going to look a lot worse than what I'm imagining. I haven't seen him in months and just to see him would let me know that he's alright."
"What to mean?" I ask, keeping pace with his rolling.
"Well, as soon as we were all captured, Tucker placed us in various places so that we wouldn't be able to see each other or make secret plans without his knowledge. I have to say, Chief, that crazy bastard was good at what he does. He had gathered info on us before we even knew what hit us. He knew things that we didn't even know and knew secrets we've never told anyone else. The things he did to us were done precisely."
"What does eating have to do with you then? And Lt. Hawkeye getting all…" I can't describe what exactly she was.
"Like I said, he knew stuff even we didn't know. Maybe he knew we could handle what he had in mind or something. He's a sick bastard playing with people like they are toys… He deserves to rot in hell or be killed by Scar."
I only nod, not really wishing anyone to be killed by that guy but understanding his anger.
"Where are we going?"
"I'm going to check on Breda. The doctors brought him in for evaluation but he hasn't been the same. They say he's really stoic and seems to be in another world."
"He was like that anyway. Only when we mentioned the colonel's name did he come to his senses… Why did Tucker let him go?"
"Time. He knew that the military would be looking for us soon enough. Considering that Mustang is a colonel and all, plus we hadn't sent word of anything. That automatically makes the military privy to suspicious activity and so they would begin a search party sooner or later. Tucker messed with Breda's mind and then let him go when he thought it was gone enough for him to have some time. He skipped out after a while… He'd been gone about three days before you came and found us."
I nod, gulping and trying to keep the lump that is developing in my throat from making me lose my cool. The only one really coherent in all of this is Havoc so I have to gather as much information as I can so I can report back to the Fuhrer with news. Sure Hawkeye can talk but I think they were doing something to help her with all that… fat…
I shudder just thinking about what Tucker had done to the lieutenant's body and how unearthly and grotesque it was. It didn't look like Hawkeye at all and yet we knew it was her.
"Here's his room. Maybe having a familiar face will help him recover." Havoc says as he reaches up to open up the door to Lt. Breda's room.
A loud sound rumbles from Havoc's stomach and he moans, doubling over for a moment. He breathes in deeply and just reaches out to grab the handle again.
"What did they say about you?"
"I'm nothing special. They said that all Tucker did was accelerate my metabolism about twenty-five times the normal speed. I just have to eat a lot or I'll get sick like when people don't eat for days. I think I can handle it. I'm only in this wheelchair because I was so weak from those last couple of days in the cells with no food. I'll be up and about in no time."
I nod and he opens the door, rolling himself in. Breda is sleeping with his back propped up, the monitors beeping as he sleeps soundly in his bed. I have to say that it is at least more peaceful than the colonel's. I feel a little bad about leaving him like that but Hughes seemed to want to be with his friend alone and then I had that phone call from Al.
Havoc wheels his chair over and grabs Breda's hand gently, careful of the tube that is delivering fluid to him. From what I have heard from others, Havoc and Breda have been friends forever and so seeing him like this was probably something horrible. He had changed so much from before, all of them had really. No one was the same when we took them out of that place.
Breda stirs and turns, looking down at his hand and Havoc smiles big.
"Hey, Fatty, welcome back to the world. Where ya been?"
He looks at Havoc with a blurry eyes expression but a faint smile touches h is lips but that's all the lieutenant needs to be reassured that if anything, Breda still knew who his friend is.
"You look a little different than before but that's alright. We were talking about maybe eating a little healthier after this trek to get some ladies, right? Well, I can eat anything I want and not gain an ounce so, we have one problem down… And you're looking alright, thinner. The hair has to go though."
I decide that it is best if I leave them alone. I feel a bit useless and sigh as I head down the hallway. Am about to leave but decide to go and see the colonel one last time before I leave. I knock tentatively on the door but no one answers so I just open the door.
He is not asleep like I kind of hope he would be but he is not looking at anything in particular. I walk in and look over his body, wounds and broken bones. Seeing him in this state makes me realize that I have never seen him look so vulnerable. He was always strong and demanding, independent and superior. But now he looks so broken, so unlike himself. I sigh and run my hand through my hair, my bangs bouncing back into their respectful places when I am done. When I look back up at him, I see that he has turned to me as if he wants to say something.
"What is it?" I ask slowly.
He doesn't say anything, just stares at me and I start to get uncomfortable. He just continues to stare at me and I look away from those onyx orbs.
"Colonel, if you're going to say something, please just say it. Stop staring at me like that."
I look out of the corner of my eye and see that there is just a ghost of a smirk on his face as his eyes close. He looks like he is absolutely exhausted about everything. I hope he is alright on the inside.
*~*ALPHONSE*~*
The doctors check on Fuery with the X-rays and he stays still for them, being very good. I know he is scared but like I thought, he is compliant with them now that I am here. They show me the results and point out that some of the bones aren't supposed to be the way they are and medical things I don't understand. What I get from it is that Fuery is a strange dog… because he's not a dog… The doctors are baffled by it but we only ask for the documentation. There is also some scarring and bruising but I don't think the military cares about that.
I let Fuery walk and he stays with me the whole time, keeping pace with me while we walk to the car. As I start to get in the car, a soldier suddenly ties a rope around Fuery and he yelps in surprise, turning to snap at the soldier.
"What are you doing?!"
"He is property of the military and so he is going to be taken to Headquarters to be dealt with accordingly." The soldier says, starting to drag Fuery away.
"Wait! Can't we just figure something about before then?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Elric, but we have our orders. We will be informing Lt. Colonel Hughes of the whereabouts of Sergeant Fuery when he reaches his destination."
I watch them take Fuery away, knowing that if I had my body I would be blanching at them for what they are doing. He is one of them! Why are they treating him like that? I want to help him out but I know that I will hear it from Brother if I get him in trouble.
I thank the driver and walk up the steps to the hospital. I open the door but run straight into Brother.
"Ed! I have to tell you something."
Ed looks up but his face looks pale, tired. I forget my rant and stop in front of him for a moment.
"Brother?"
He doesn't say anything, just stands there with his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor. I am about to say something else when he seems to compose himself and knocks on my armor arm.
"Come on, Al. Let's get out of here. We'll be here more often than not until everyone is out of the hospital, I'm sure." He says, trying to hide the strain in his voice with a sarcastic tone.
I know my brother too well and I know that he is not feeling well. The hospital probably hasn't been the best place of encouragement for our friends. I didn't dare tell him about Fuery now… I follow him and we start walking to a hotel for us to stay the night in.
"Hey, Ed!" we hear from behind.
We turn and see Lt. Colonel Hughes running behind us and Ed makes a face.
"What is it, Lt. Colonel?" he asks.
"I was just going to say that if you didn't want to spend money on hotel fees, Gracia said that it would be just fine if you came and stayed with us. She insisted actually."
I look at Brother and usually he would deny the advances of the Mr. Hughes, even though he has always been really nice to us. But this time, Brother surprises me and nods.
"Are you sure it's no trouble?"
"Not at all. I'll drive you guys there. Wait here and I'll get the car."
Ed nods and Hughes leaves. I look down at him.
"Brother?"
"I want to know what all is wrong with Mustang. I know that there is something that doctor didn't want me to hear and I hope to maybe get him alone and he'll tell me. They are trying to keep it from me because they think I'm a kid. We tried to get our mother back and ended up paying for it like this; we saw Nina's brains splattered against the wall of a room… I think we can handle it."
Even though I know Ed did everything he could, sometimes I wish I had a face that held expressions so that he could see how sad I am. I know he wants to help and be a part of this but it wasn't his fault he had found them the way they were. The only thing we can do is wait… except maybe with Fuery…
Hughes comes around in the car and we get in.
"Gracia is making soup for us. She knows you like stew, Edward, and wanted to make some for the occasion. And she also made apple pie."
"Thanks…" he says with a small smile of gratitude.
Man the food looks so good! I wish I had a mouth to eat it all!
"Is it good, Ed?" I ask.
"Oh, the best! I can't eat another bite but I want to!" he says, sitting back in his seat, his stomach showing from under his shirt.
"Brother…" I say, wishing I can smile.
He yawns, throwing his hands in the air and Elysia giggles at him.
"Big Bwother so funny!" she says, with another fit of giggles.
Ed smiles and we help to do the dishes and then Elysia gets put to bed and Mrs. Hughes gives us some time alone. Once everything is quiet, Mr. Hughes goes quiet and we know that he is going to start talking.
"You both know that this is not going to be easy. On anyone. Mustang's men are trying to recover from traumatic event and we are trying to help. It won't be easy and I hate to put burdens on you two, but I will need your help. Riza and Havoc will be helping too once they are solid on their feet. We have three people who really need our help psychologically. I got a call today from an officer and he told me that Fuery has been taken to a facility and under observation, Breda's mind is still shattered, and the colonel… Mustang is difficult."
"Hughes, what's wrong with him?" Edward asks, getting impatient.
Mr. Hughes takes off his glasses and rubs his face with his hand.
"The doctor said he's suffered a lot of hidden trauma but one this is for sure, Tucker did do something to him. When they x-rayed Roy they found something in his abdomen. They don't know what it is yet, but they have a feeling it's growing. They can't tell right now but… I don't know. He's not really responsive yet so we don't know if it's hurting him or if it's killing him… We're in the dark."
"Mr. Hughes, I don't think that Sergeant Fuery should be kept in that facility." I say, looking at the older man. "He's a human, we know that, and being cooped up like he's a monster will only make things worse I think. He was really scared at the vet's office. I think he just needs people he knows so he can get stable and then maybe we can think of something…"
"Al thinks if we learn more bio-alchemy we can fix him." Ed says, sounding almost harsh about it.
Mr. Hughes looks at me and puts his glasses back on.
"Is this true, Alphonse?"
"About the bio-alchemy? I'm not certain but there has to be a way. Equivalent exchange is the first law of alchemy. I see nothing equal with the way Fuery is now. He's more dog than human and he retains human thoughts and emotions… There has to be a way to split the two."
Ed seems not to be keen on this but Mr. Hughes nods.
"You two can have all access to the libraries in Central to host your research. I'll even have Scieszka copy the books from Tucker's personal library for you and you can search in there."
I nod and Ed nods too. We can do this… after all, we're the Elric brothers!