~*~EDWARD~*~

Al and I talk to Fuery a little longer, letting him know that we are going to save him, in more ways than one, and then we leave to head back to Central. As we leave the building, a man bows to us.

"Come back again, Edward Elric…" he says.

We nod but then I get this weird chill and turn back around but the guy is gone.

"Brother?"

"Did you get a weird feeling around that guy?"

"The one who just told us goodbye?"

"No, he didn't say that. He just said 'come back', like he was expecting us."

"Well, with the way you acted, I'm sure everyone knows you're coming back soon."

I make a face but maybe Al is right… I was pretty vehement...

We get into the military car and head back to Central.

"Do you want to go to the hospital and visit? We can tell Havoc about the nice girl we saw and maybe Mr. Hughes will be there… See the Colonel?"

I flinch at the mention of Mustang. That haughty bastard wasn't supposed to be in the hospital… He was supposed to be sleeping behind mounds of paperwork or shirking duties to talk about that ridiculous miniskirt ordeal. I didn't want to see him…

"Brother?" I look back up at Al. "Does that seem like a good idea?"

"The hospital visits?"

"Yeah."

"Uh… sure, if that's what you want."

Al's eyes glow a little brighter and I can feel in my heart that he's happy. Al is all about helping people and smoothing things over. I wish I was like that sometimes but if we were both like that, I'd be trying to save every damned cat in the world like he does. But I guess that's the innocence that reminds me that I have to get his body back and that he's still human. He may not have expressions on his face or be able to feel touch, but his words and his deeds are far more human than me or anyone else.

I lean my head on the window and slowly drift to sleep.

No! He's my only little brother! Give him back! Give him back! GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER!

"Brother?"

I gasp awake and look over at Al as he looks at me, concern in those glowing eyes of the armor.

"Are you alright? You were grunting in your sleep like you were having a nightmare."

"Nothing much… A huge bottle of milk was chasing me…"

Al chuckles. "If only you'd just drink it…"

"It's disgusting. Like watered down chalk or something. Bleh!"

Al just laughs again and we get out, being left in front of the hospital. I knock on Al's armor and throw my hands into my pockets.

"Come on, let's get this done and over with…"

"Mm."

We walk in and I ask what floor everyone is on. I decide to get the good out of the way and go to visit Havoc first. He was the closest to mending so it seems.

We get to his door and knock, an answer letting us know we are invited. As we turn the corner Havoc smiles at us.

"Hey, Chief, how's it been?"

"Good…"

"Mr. Havoc, we saw a girl that you'd like." Al says almost immediately.

"Really? Is she curvy? Double D?" he says in excitement.

"Well, she's looked like this." Al says, making a shape with his hands that made Havoc's nose almost bleed. "I didn't get a good look at the other, heh, heh…" he says in nervousness.

Havoc just laughs and turns to me.

"Hughes told me you went to see Fuery. How is he?"

"He doesn't know what's happened to him, which is good I guess. He isn't very cognizant of things. He still talks and recognizes people but it takes him a minute to understand you if you don't talk to him like a dog. His vitals seemed okay but they wouldn't let us access his files so Hughes is going to get us clearance."

"I see… It was horrible to hear him turning, screaming and crying… I can still hear those twisted screams and pleas from both him and the Colonel. I know that Tucker made Heymans watch because of his fear of dogs but he made the Colonel watch too, just to show that he was in control. He knew that the Colonel couldn't get away from it since he was tied up and he made damned sure that Mustang watched everyone get experimented on until he was the last one."

I don't know why he was telling me about it; I didn't need to hear about that bastard's sick twisted ways.

"I saw the Colonel earlier today… I've never seen him look like that. He was so unlike himself, drained and stoic. I miss his moot discussions of miniskirts in the military and talking women with him. Seeing him like that just reminds me of when we were there in that shack and he was yelling and screaming, agony in his voice." He shudders. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be talking to you boys about this… They say that if I keep up my appetite and everything, I can leave the hospital in a couple of days. But that means that I have to go back to work and fill out a report."

I smile a little but I can't keep myself from thinking about what he said about the Colonel. What did he suffer? The only thing I have seen is that whatever you call it in his stomach but they said that there were some other things wrong as well but…

A nurse comes in and we leave. Al says he wants to go see Hawkeye but I'm not ready to see her yet. I know that I won't be able to keep my expression from being obvious and I'm sure she gets enough of that. Talking to Al, who has nothing to show, will be a relief. I lean on the wall that is just down the way from Al and look up at the door beside me. MUSTANG is what reads on the placard for who is inside. I look around for a moment and then run my hand through my hair.

I open the door and walk in slowly, trying not to make a sound. The Colonel is asleep, looking peaceful. I am about to leave when I hear the heart monitor start to beep faster than normal. I turn and walk over to see what it is that has made his heart start to race. He is asleep but his eyes are moving rapidly under his eyelids, a nightmare obviously ensuing in his brain. His mouth is moving, like he's mumbling, and I bring my face closer to his to see if I can hear him when his eyes shoot open.

I gasp and start to fall backward but catch myself and Mustang watches me with wide, feared eyes. Then he seems to recoil and his gaze goes blank again, his body settling and the heart monitor going back to normal. I walk back over to him and wave my hand in front of his face to see if he has a reaction.

Not a blink.

I frown at him and look around the room a little. I see a suitcase in the corner and decide to be a little nosy. It's mostly just white T-shirts and pants but I happen to find a white flame glove in the side lining. Prepared for everything, Colonel Bastard? I think to myself as I slip it on my flesh hand. It's too big, of course, but it's a very ingenious idea. It would be a pain in the ass to have to draw it all the time and since he couldn't just clap his hands like me, this was the next best thing. Plus, he didn't do regular alchemy so this was the only symbol for flame…

I shrug and set the glove back in his suitcase and turn to see him looking at me. Not just stoically either. He is staring at me with the smallest of smallest smiles.

"You were watching me, weren't you?" He doesn't do anything. "Pervert."

"Hm…" I hear.

I turn to him quickly and watch him again. He doesn't seem to be in that stoic manner he was in before and I walk closer to the bed.

"Colonel?"

His eyes turn to me and catch my gaze.

~*~ALPHONSE~*~

Unlike Ed, I need to hear what was going on. I had to know what Mr. Tucker did to them and why. For the sake of Nina and Alexander, I had to understand what he was thinking. When I visit Lieutenant Hawkeye, she is a lot smaller than when I first saw her and she tells me a lot of things.

"Alphonse, promise me." She says, putting her hand on my metal arm. "You can't tell Ed. If you do, he'll put the burden on himself and think everything was his fault."

"I know… Brother likes to be selfish…"

"I'm sure Maes is doing everything he can to understand what happened and I hear Havoc will be getting out soon. He'll most likely work on Breda and as soon as I get to a more pleasant figure, I'll be helping as well. We won't let him go without a fight… By the way, I told Maes that if he gets permission to take Fuery out, I will be taking care of him instead of you guys. I have Black Hayate he can play with and Havoc will probably have to take care of Breda for a while…"

"That's great! I know Sergeant Fuery will be so happy!"

"How was he?"

"Unaware of himself but perky. He doesn't understand that he's being treated poorly but knows us and will definitely do better with someone he knows."

"Do you think you and Ed can get him back to normal?"

I hang my head. "I think if we study into bio-alchemy, especially Mr. Tucker's, we can get some sort of grasp on it. Plus, his medical records and stuff that they did to him in the labs will be really helpful. But that last time we dabbled in bio-alchemy, Brother lost his arm and leg and I lost my body. We're a little scared to try again…"

"That's understandable."

"Hey, Al!" Ed says, coming into the room.

"Yes, Brother?"

"The Colonel just responded to me!"

"He did?" Hawkeye asks.

"Yeah! It wasn't a word but he wasn't all glazed and stuff. Hughes will be happy to know."

"Where are you guys staying?"

"We were staying with Mr. Hughes for now."

"If you go to the office, in Roy's drawer there is a spare key to his apartment. Take that and you boys can go live there for the time being. It will be a while before he goes back home but…"

"We can't just do that." I say.

"Yea, where's the fun of breaking-and-entering?" Ed says with a shrug of his shoulders nonchalantly.

I elbow him slightly and he gives me a look.

"Anyhow, it's free and Roy will be going there whenever he leaves the hospital and good reminders of normal may help him open up."

"Can I ask a question, Hawkeye?" Ed says looking at her.

"Yes, Edward?"

"If Colonel Bastard actually did become the Fuhrer and got the notion passed, would you wear the miniskirt uniform?"

We all laugh and for just a little bit, it feels like old times again.

A/N: just a bit of humor for the otherwise always bleak and angsty time haha. hope you all have enjoyed it. i love the reviews so keep them coming. your happiness and enthusiasm sperns the story onward