A/N: so this is the chapter where i rebooted the story. i really hope that it lives up to the other chapters!
oh and ed and al are what? 13/14 at this point in FMA history so they would notice a good sized pair of boobs if it was all out shown to them haha!
*~*ALPHONSE*~*
The Lt. Colonel gets some information of Fuery's whereabouts and I decide to take Brother with me to go and see him. At first he doesn't want to but when I ask if he'd like to go see the Colonel or anyone else, he shies away from the idea, leaving it to Lt. Colonel Hughes. We take a car to a small lab somewhere on military grounds.
"How was he last time you saw him?" Brother asks, looking out the window with a distant expression.
"He was scared and confused. Not really getting what was going on but he knew who I was and felt so secure with me. I really think putting him with someone he knows will help him… Brother?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah…"
"Is everything alright?"
Brother smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes.
"Yeah, of course, Al. What makes you think everything's not alright?"
"You just seem… distant."
"I'm thinking about what Hughes said… about taking care of the Colonel and all…"
"Oh."
Even though Ed is smart, he was never good with being comforting. He is harsh when he tries to be helpful and people take it wrong a lot. If Rose hadn't have read between Brother's words, she could have taken him very wrong. But the Colonel doesn't need that sort of treatment. He needed someone who would try to empathize with him… And Ed isn't good with that sometimes.
I can understand why he is so unhappy with the idea. He hates our father for running out on us, leaving us with Mom to take care of us. But the Colonel is the only grown up that Ed has ever really liked. Sure, he calls him a bastard all the time and hates it when he is hovering and making fun of him, but he really does like the Colonel. Seeing him so unlike himself just has him on edge.
"Well what do you think?" he says, turning his head at me.
"I think that if the Colonel really needs our help, we should help him. He's done a lot for us, giving us missions that help us as well as the military but… I kind of think Mr. Hughes is right. He does seem to go overboard."
Brother laughs, putting his hand on his forehead.
"Yeah, that guy is over the top sometimes. I don't see how his wife can stand it."
"Mrs. Hughes loves him, that's why." I say with a laugh.
Ed laughs again and I'm glad that he is loosening up. The car pulls into the lab and we get out, looking around the dingy looking place.
"This is horrible." I say, looking around.
"Yeah."
"Right this way Elrics. I'm Nanao Nubizoka…" a young girl says with a small bow.
For a young girl her bosom is quite large and Ed blushes immensely because her bow exposes the cleavage. If I wasn't a suit of armor, I would be doing the same thing but I turn away, still feeling like a pervert. Havoc would be happy to see her.
"Sergeant Fuery is doing very well since he was brought here yesterday. The experimentation has been going excellent."
"Experimentation?!" Ed says, grabbing Ms. Nanao by the arm and turning her around. "What do you mean?"
She looks at us with big blue eyes, her glasses on the end of her nose.
"Didn't you know? That's why they brought him here. He was to be looked after as well as examined thoroughly. There are some amazing-"
Brother threw his hand up to stop her from speaking.
"If you utter one more word, I don't think I'll be able to stop myself." He says, looking down at the ground.
Ms. Nanao only nods with a scared look and turns her back on us. Ed clenches his fists and I fear as well what she means.
*~*EDWARD*~*
They experimented on him! Their own personnel! He was turned because of the military anyway…
"Here we are. Sergeant Fuery is in the middle cage. He doesn't say much of anything… Mostly repeats and keeps to the back of the cage but the experimentations on him to figure out his makeup has led to some very interestined questions and has answered some things as well. I'm sorry to say that you don't have the authority to look into the files though." Nanao says with a push of her glasses up her nose. "Don't take any of the experiments out of the cages."
She leaves and I look up at Al. He knows what Fuery looks like a little better than me so I follow him and we go up to the cages. I thought it would be hard to figure out who Fuery is but as soon as we walk up to the cages, all the other chimaeras and experiments start to yell and scream but Fuery only huddles in the corner of his little cage and looks up with sad eyes. When he sees Al and I though, his tail begins to wag and he goes up to the opening.
"Eeeed-waaaaarddddd! Aaaaaallllll!" he says in that moanful tone but there is joy on it.
"Hey, Fuery." Al says, sticking his finger in the cage.
He gets a hold of the top of Fuery's head and scratches it. His leg starts to thump rapidly and Al chuckles. He turns to me and a smile catches in his eyes.
"Eeeeddd-wwwaaarrdd…"
"Hey, Fuery…" I say and pet him as well.
I look around quickly and then lean close up to the cage.
"Did they hurt you?" I ask.
Fuery turns his head. "Huuuurt?"
"Pain?"
"Pain…?" The thinks for a moment and then gives a small nod. "Pain…."
"We're going to get you out of here but you have to help us, okay?"
"Hoooommmeee?" he says with a hopeful look.
"Brother! No… We can do it easier if we call Mr. Hughes. We'll tell him what they've done."
"But Al-"
"He'll do it, Brother, you know he will. For the Colonel."
"Cooooloneeel…" he says, his tail wagging rapidly.
I sigh but Al is right. Sometimes things go easier if we use the communications of the military. If we tell Hughes about this, he will definitely get Fuery out of here and maybe he can have access to those files.
"Alright… we'll do it your way… We'll be right back, Fuery."
I walk over to where some other scientists are studying something.
"Excuse me, do you have a phone here?"
"Not inside the building. There is a pay phone outside of the lab if you need to call out." One of them tells me.
"I'll go call Hughes. If there's no clearance, you know what to do."
"Brother…"
I walk outside and find the pay phone.
*~*MAES*~*
As I fill out the reports on Roy's men and him, my secretary tells me there is a call for me. I go pick up the phone.
"Lt. Colonel Hughes speaking?"
"This is Edward Elric, calling from a lab on the outskirts of a military base."
"Oh, hey, Ed. What can I do for ya?"
"Well, first of all, this lab is a mess. I mean a real mess. Second of all, the girl at the gate told me that they were doing experiments on Fuery. What the hell is all that about Lt. Colonel?!"
"Hm…" I say, rubbing my chin. "I was told he was sent there for testing and that was it. What do you mean by experimentation?"
"They won't let me know because I don't have the clearance. That was my other question. Do you think you could get the files from here? They say that they got some answers but…"
"I'll get right on that. I'll look into it for the clearance level and I will transfer Fuery-"
"I think it would be easier if you just let him come with us, ya know? We're already here and if you just send somebody-"
"I can't just do that, Ed. It would be nice but this is a military thing. Just not my division, so I'll have to ask the Fuhrer about a transfer."
"Damn it…"
"Believe me, if it is as bad as you say, I want him out of there too. I will try to do that as fast as I can. Lots of paperwork to do and all. My break is soon so I'll go visit everyone at the hospital. Anything you want me to say?"
"Yeah, tell Havoc there's a girl here that he'd really like. It's just his type."
"Anything to… to Roy?"
"I'll talk to you later."
The phone goes dead and I sigh. I know that it's hard to see Roy looking the way he does but for Ed it must be different. Those boys don't have a parental figure in their lives. The only constant they have is Roy, who is nothing like a father, but he's always been there for them. Other than myself, whom they hardly have contact with, Roy is the next best thing to a father that they have. Seeing that conceited, self righteous fool so weak is hard to see even for me. It was hard enough after Ishbal but now?
I don on my military jacket and head to the hospital.