Ch. 11

Edward watched the chimera's ritual for a good few beats until he couldn't watch any more of it. "Colonel, it's me. Come on, it's okay. It's okay—you're safe. No one is going to hurt you." Roy did not falter in his chant, rather he quickened. Edward growled out of frustration and he shoved his prosthetic arm into the gap in Roy's shield, hoping to shake some sense into the creature. He froze as he could hear creaking metal and wood and he noticed that the top of the fort was crudely put together, any sudden movement could send the furniture down in a cascade on top of Roy. Ed gulped, slowly inching his arm into the hidey-hole.

"Colonel, please, it's okay. It's okay..." Edward cooed softly, hoping to calm the chimera down enough for him to make contact. A snarl and a jolt stopped him. He felt the weight of something tugging on his arm and his heart grew heavy as a dumbbell as the reality of the situation settled in. He hung his head as a startled whimper came from behind the makeshift wall. The weight disappeared and he pulled his arm out. The sleeve was torn around his wrist and his automail glistened with saliva. His hands began to tremble as chemical reactions began pouring through his body at the sight. He looked back through the opening solemnly and saw Roy huddled in the back, covering his mouth in horror and his face contorted into a mask that of pure sorrow.

"Mustang, if you need some time alone, I understand. But hiding away when people are trying to help you is not going to fix the problem," Ed stated, his voice clear but unsettlingly deep. "And it especially isn't going to work if you carelessly atTACK THOSE WHO ARE JUST TRYING TO HELP YOU!" The soldiers who had gathered outside all fell back at the booming shout from their commander. They exchanged worried looks before returning their attention to the situation.

"YOU THINK I ENJOY SEEING YOU THIS PATHETIC? DO YOU THINK I GET SOME SORT OF KICK OUT OF SEEING YOUR TRAUMA!? WELL, SORRY, BUT I DON'T! You are hurting EVERYONE. EVERYONE. By not letting us help you!"

Roy slinked back away from the crack and tried to hide himself in the shadows.

"THERE YOU GO AGAIN! HIDING! You always told me hiding doesn't solve anything, but right now you're nothing but a hypocrite! You insist on helping others, but the moment YOU need help, you shut everyone out!"

Stop.

"We know there's something you're hiding, and you know it too!"

Stop it.

"You act like we shouldn't know—that we'd be worse off if we did—but NOT KNOWING IS FAR WORSE THAN KNOWING!"

STOP IT, PLEASE!

"Being a chimera doesn't give you trauma—not like this! SO WHAT COULD POSSIBLY MAKE YOU GO THIS BAT SHIT CRAZY!?"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUH!" Roy howled from inside his cave, his voice sounding human in all regards, but the sheer emotion in it carried more weight than his hauntingly chimeric voice could ever hope to. Edward fell silent as the moaning continued again and again. He could hear a loud thumping noise repeat throughout each scream but it didn't process until the cries started to grow weaker and more choked. Gasping, he brought his hands together and he threw them onto the walls, breaking apart what structures they had and he transmuted the fortress into nothing more than a split shell.

"C-COLONEL! STOP IT—NO—STOP IT!" Ed screamed as he rushed to the chimera, of whom was beating its head against the wall, blood almost ready to splatter the wallpaper. "STOP IT!" Roy's screams morphed into moans of sorrowful pain as he weakly beat his head on the wall. By the time Edward had his hands on Roy's shoulders the chimera was slinking down the wall slowly, sobbing tearlessly.

Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it.

Roy could see Edward trying to talk to him, and he felt his body shake slowly, but couldn't hear anything but h—stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it

"STOP IT! OH GOD, PLEASE, STOOOOOP!" Roy heard a man scream. He looked up slowly and watched helplessly as the screaming man lay on an operating table, his chest open and his limbs restrained tightly. The man wasn't human, not like his tormentor, no. He had a tail like that of an ox and his head was elongated to the point that he looked like a rat. His back was arched in pain as he fought to be free of his deathly table.

Weakly gripping the bars of his cage, Roy tried to call out to the man, to try and give some comfort, but nothing came out except pain. Roy shut his eyes at the stinging, remembering that he had screamed his voice away earlier that day. He looked back at the poor chimera and felt his insides twist as another round of screams shook the wine cellar they were in. His tormentor was wearing a cooking apron to keep his slightly wrinkled, but well-kept shirt from becoming stained with blood.

"I'm so very sorry, but I simply must find out how it is you are still able to speak perfectly and to such a degree that you are. You see, my dear pet, you're not quite right. I'm just trying to find a way to fix you!" the devil of a man spoke casually, even yawning into his elbow while his prisoner screamed. Roy felt himself wanting to growl, but as he could make no sound vocally, he turned to hissing. This caused the man to turn and look at Roy.

His eyes, green as the first sprouts of Spring, dug into Roy's heart and the chimera gasped before clawing itself to the back of its cage, cowering from the damnable stare. The man smirked and placed his scissors down. He trailed his fingers across his weapons table before stopping at an unseen instrument. He grabbed it and held it up to the side of his neck as he let his subject see it before diving into the blood sea again. Roy covered his ears at the next scream, and held his head tighter as the screaming turned unholy with each hammer blow to the poor soul's ribcage.

"PLEASE NO! I HAVE A DAUGHTER! SHE'S ALL I HAVE LEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The screaming softened and eased into gasped breaths. Roy looked up and saw to his horror that the other chimera's ribcage was nothing more than bone fragmentations all scattered on the floor and its heart beat fast behind its clearly visible lungs. The gem-eyed man took a probe and proceeded to stuff it up along the trachea, groping for something behind the flesh and blood. He stopped and smiled with sincere gaiety. He pulled the probe out and he forced his hands through the base of the chimera's neck and snaked it through the tight skin, sending rivers of blood down into the flooding chest cavity.

The chimera's head was forced back onto the table as the man's hand suffocated him and filled his throat. He struggled to breathe until Roy could plainly see the windpipe had been cut off by the man. The sound of tearing flesh provoked a final, earsplitting scream from the man, but the scream was ripped out of him and he was left silent. The man pulled his hand out and turned to look into his palm, ignoring the writhing beast next to him. He calmly walked over to his desk and lamp as the drowning chimera sought to suck life-giving air into his lungs, but the deed had been done.

The beast fought against his bindings with more ferocity than Roy thought was physically possible given its condition. When the table jolted up and down, Roy thought, surely, that the man would turn around and pay notice. But even when the table flipped to its side, flooding the room with blood and bone and a stone cracking toll, the man simply rinsed off the fleshy form in his hand and proceeded to analyze it under the lamp light.

Roy watched in agony as his fellow chimera fought to get air into his lungs, but Roy knew that the trachea was crushed and that no amount of medical attention could save the poor beast's life. He watched the color in the creature's face turn from white to blue to purple as oxygen failed to pass through its body and carbon dioxide flooded it. He shook his head, slowly mouthing an "I'm so sorry" as the chimera let torrential tears pour from its eyes. Its eyes rolled to the back of its head as its tongue lolled out of its mouth and blood oozed from its nose and throat.

"Ah, I see, the lungs changed to those of a bull but your vocal chords in your larynx remained untouched, if not a little scratched. I'll have to remember that next time…" the satanic man thought aloud as he set the flesh down on his table. He turned to his dying experiment. "Oh, come now, you act as though me not finding out this problem is better than knowing—that you'd be worse off if I did—but not knowing is far worse than knowing, I can assure you. You see…" he began, grabbing his cane.

"You humans all think alike. You all think that ignorance is truly bliss, or that the innocent are so virtuous. What is it to be human, then?" He unsheathed his hidden blade from his cane and he held it leisurely above the chimera's chest. "To do nothing? To learn nothing? Has evolution taught us nothing? It is those that delve into dangerous waters and teach others that truly are the best fit to live." He slowly forced the sword tip into the beast's heart, a silent scream shaking its frame. "If you simply beg for one to stop exploring, then man will fall off the edge of the world." The sward stabbed through the muscle and met with the stone floor with a quiet scraping sound.

The chimera trembled as its heart slowed to a stop.

It fell limp.

Silence.

"A pathetic display to be sure."

Roy gritted his teeth together and hissed darkly at the man. The tormentor pulled his weapon out of the monster's heart and wiped it clean with his apron. "Roy, Roy, Roy…" he said with a tut. He returned his sword to its cover and leaned it against the fallen operating table. "If you don't want for me to do the same to you, then you must quit your hideous vocalizations. They are quite displeasing to put it kindly." Roy contorted his face into a snarl but did not release a sound. The man smiled with a nod. "Very good."

He walked over to the coat rack and hung his apron on one of the hooks. "Now then, if you excuse me, I have some other dear people to attend to." He opened the cellar door and then vanished. Roy slowly lay his head down on the floor of his cage and he stared blankly at the dead chimera in front of him. His eyes stung with hate as he could hear screams—ungodly screams—coming from elsewhere in the man's home.

"STOP IT! STOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOPITSTOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAGH!"

Roy let the cool metal sting his face with its cruelty as the screams echoed through the great labyrinth of a prison he was in. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. Soon, very soon, it would be his turn. He wouldn't be held down in the cellar if it weren't to be. The man never held his chimeras in cages unless he was going to investigate them.

If they couldn't talk or fly? Return them to the town. If they could fly? Train them. If they could talk? Kill them. Painfully. Gruesomely.

Roy hugged himself with his wings, the new muscles aching viciously. He winced as he tried to shield himself from the cold of the chamber, but he still felt goose bumps tickle at his skin and his feathers rose to try and trap his heat. He heaved a shaky sigh as the screaming turned to uproarious shrieks. He buried his face in his feathers and brought his tail around himself in a futile attempt to seek human comfort. He covered his head with his left wing, drowning out the shrill voices to a meager degree. He sighed and found to his horror that he was exhausted.

His head pounding and his muscles aching, he found himself drifting off, his face pressed against the cold metal of his cage…

Cold metal…

Edward stared helplessly as Roy lost consciousness against his automail arm, his hair sinking into the grill and his cheek pushed against it gently. The boy felt his lip quiver as he called out to his soldiers.

"DAMN IT—SOMEONE HELP!"

Some of the officers ran in and proceeded to look over Roy, checking for injuries and analyzing his breathing and heartbeat. They all sighed a breath of relief as everything seemed fine, save for a quickened heart rate. "I think he just needs rest, sir. He seems fine, physically, and the welt on his head will go down with ice and time." Edward frowned. "Yeah… Fine physically. But what the hell is going on with him mentally!?"

The medics looked to the chimera and shook their heads. "Sir," one spoke up. "We're medical doctors, not therapists. I would suggest a psychiatrist, but I doubt as a chimera that that would be an option." Edward gritted his teeth and he held the beast tighter. He watched the colonel's back rise and fall, at first trembling but easing into relaxed breathing.

"Wathuagh…neih…"

Edward bared his teeth as he struggled to keep his rage under control. "Brother! Is… Is Mustang okay?" Alphonse asked worriedly, carefully making his way into the now destroyed room. Edward didn't look up at his sibling. "I don't know. I really don't know." Alphonse knelt down and brushed back some of the feathers from Roy's face and he looked up at Edward, his metaphorical heart crumbling to pieces.

Edward looked so pained. Al looked down and noticed Ed was cradling the chimera in his hands, his fingers trembling with emotion. The armor moved his gauntlet to Ed's shoulder, giving a very tiny shake. "I can carry him to a bed if you want me to." Edward nodded, still not taking his gaze off of the colonel.

Alphonse carefully scooped the chimera off of the ground and gently repositioned him in his arms before starting out the door. Edward stood up quickly and walked behind him. The soldiers at the door all moved out of the way, some returning to their duties. Edward ignored each of them as the two brothers carried their commanding figure off to another room. After setting the chimera down on his new bed and repairing the damaged room, Edward and Alphonse closed the door and they stood in silence. Hawkeye had told them what had triggered the panic while they were fixing the floor and she insisted that she not see the colonel as to avoid another episode.

"Green eyes… Green eyes… I don't understand, what's so strange about green eyes?" Edward thought aloud. Alphonse turned to his older sibling. "I don't know, Brother, but it's certainly something to the colonel. I mean, for him to react to them like he did…" Edward nodded, wiping his hand down his face. "Maybe he had a rough time with another chimera? Maybe that one?" Edward shook his head. "No, the lieutenant said that he only reacted after she showed its eyes and that Mustang's fear was directed toward them and not the chimera specifically."

He walked over to the sleeping chimera and sat down next to it. He ran his hand along its wing, his face drawn to a frown. "I don't get it… I want to, but I don't… Oh, you poor bastard, what the hell happened to you?" Ed groaned, hiding his face from his little brother. Alphonse walked over and put his hand on his brother's back. "It'll be okay. We'll figure this out, Brother."

"I think… I think I'll sleep in here tonight, Al," Edward muttered, motioning to the bed across the room. The armored boy nodded his head and turned to leave. "I'll grab your trunk for you." "Thanks, Al."

As the crickets outside sang their song to the rolls of thunder and the pale flashes of lightning of the night, the teen watched the chimera sleep. His amber eyes glowed with an unearthly gold given by the lantern to his left. The beast across the room was sleeping quietly, its head hidden under its left wing and tail brought up around its frame. The boy sighed and rested his head against the headboard of the old wooden bed. He should've gone to bed hours before but his mind would not tire nor relinquish its hold on consciousness. Not only had Roy given everyone at base a heart attack with his episode, but the team that had been sent to investigate the sewer line the previous day had not returned as scheduled.

The boy looked over at his pocket watch on the nightstand and leaned over to flip it open. The face read 2:41. He groaned quietly and snapped it closed. It had then been over 32 hours since his soldiers' departure. He looked back over at Roy and felt even more dread sink into his soul.

If Mustang was all wrapped in a noose AND as a chimera… What kind of hell are my men facing right now?

Edward's eyes widened.

His men.

His men.

"…DAMN IT!" he hissed, gasping when he realized how loud he was. He looked over at Roy and sighed with relief when he didn't seem to have awoken. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead against them. "…Damn. Now he's got me on edge too…" he muttered under his breath.

"Mrooh?"

Edward's head jerked up and he failed to stifle his gasp. Roy stared at the boy, his expression pulled to a depressingly somber frown. Edward furrowed his brows as he tried to coax the chimera back into sleep. "Colonel, you should go back to sleep, it's the middle of the night! You just rest now, okay?" Roy's eyelids drooped with his lack of amusement and his brow rose in retort. Edward blinked slowly and sighed. "Really, Mustang, please just go back to sleep…"

Roy looked down at his bed and then back up at Edward. He could remember the episode in every detail and he remembered how broken Edward had looked when he started to fade. He grumbled and scoot himself off the bed. "C-colonel, no! Go back to bed!" Edward started up, starting to pull the covers off of him. Roy jumped onto the bed, causing Edward to stare dumbfounded at the chimera as it crawled up next to him. Roy flopped down and huffed a very loud sigh. He looked at the boy next to him and he grinned innocently. He curled back in on himself and tucked his head under his wing, his tail wrapping around Ed's ankles.

The teen flinched and stayed scrunched as the chimera settled into a comfortable position and he relaxed just as Roy did. He swallowed quietly and moved his hand down to the creature's shoulder, the sound of feathers bristling across automail murmuring quietly underneath the pitter patter of rain. Roy looked out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to rest it on Edward's lap.

The boy frowned and he turned to the window. Their reflection shone against the dark streaks of rain and disappeared with the flashing of lightning. A roll of thunder reverberated throughout the room, rattling the metal of the torch. Roy flinched and shoved his face into Ed's shirt, his feathers quivering. Edward turned back to the chimera. "What, are you afraid of thunder? I mean, if you are then no big deal, but it's a little late in the game considering how much it rains here!" Roy shook his head, his face still immersed in the fabric.

He brought his body closer to the boy and tried to curl in on himself as much as he could. Ed turned his head back to the window and then back to the chimera. He straightened up and he crossed his arms. "You still think something is after you, huh?" Roy stopped shivering. He looked up at the boy with a pure, distressed expression. He stared down at his wing and nodded, an air of humility pouring from him. Edward groaned and rested his head back on the bedframe.

"Look, whether there is or not, nothing is going to hurt you here. Really, the worst threat to you right now is yourself." Roy shook his head. Edward stared at the ceiling begrudgingly as he thought out many remarks to say to the chimera in response to his blatant worry. He glanced down only to find the creature snoozing soundly, chin resting on Ed's middle.

The boy sighed and rolled his eyes. He rested his hand on Roy's neck and stared at the window. The few street lights in the town shone dimly in the rain and Edward blinked to try and clear his vision.

They had looked like eyes… Piercing the dark…

He looked back and saw that they were just far-off flames, flickering slightly. He inhaled tiredly as he found himself slowly lulled into sleep. Turning to his left his leaned over and blew out the flame in the lantern, the smoke swirling and dancing as it spiraled upwards to the ceiling. Ed slid down from his seated position and waited patiently for Roy to readjust in his own sleep.

He closed his eyes.

And he let his dreams take over…

Christain's lungs burned like hellfire as he ran through the sewer. He could scarcely think, he could scarcely see, he only knew he had to run.

Run.

Run.

Run.

He ran headlong into a wall and cried out painfully as he felt his body slam into the wet cement. He staggered back to his feet and his knees shook terribly as he tried to catch his breath. He glanced behind himself and saw the very small but very distinct silhouette of a man. He gulped a large breath of air before rushing off again.

He couldn't let himself be taken back to that hell.

He couldn't.

He had to run.

Run.

Run.

Run!

He could no longer feel any pain, no, only fear. He ran until he saw a tiny glimmer of light, shining gold in the dreary gray-green tube. He wheezed for air as he neared the drain. He had to call for help.

The other soldiers would help him.

They had to.

He took a final intake of air, its cold needles stabbing his lungs.

He screamed.

He thrust his hands upwards to try and remove the grate and the ringing that followed sent chills down his spine. He screamed again, hoping that the men would help him soon and that the man would not catch him. He whipped his head around, the blood pounding in his ears and his eyes blurring. He could hear footsteps splashing through mud and puddles as he stared down the man behind him. He could see the scowl on his face as he vanished, his green eyes no longer haunting him.

He turned back to the grate and felt himself overwhelmed by relief. He clambered up out of the drain and hauled himself out onto the mud. He flopped down and panted as he, for the first time in 36 hours, was safe.

The soldiers stared in horror at their uniformed comrade.

"Oh my god…"

"EDWARD GET UP NOW!" Riza shouted as she blasted through the door.

Edward and Roy jumped and flailed in surprise, Roy alert on all fours with feathers bristled, and Edward falling off of the bed with a thud. "Jeez, Lieutenant, what is it!?" Edward stammered through nervous breaths. Roy looked into the woman's eyes and his tail drooped.

Oh no…

"Edward, get dressed and be done in thirty seconds. We have an emergency situation."

She closed the door and the two alchemists were left staring at empty space. Edward crawled out of the blanket that had so graciously cocooned him and he hurried to his shirt and pants. Roy slid off of the bed and walked over to the door with a tiny whimper. After hobbling into his trousers, Edward rushed toward the door, tying his hair back into a messy ponytail. He opened the door while giving Roy and rough pat on the head to assure him.

Riza took no time in heading down the stairs, leaving the two behind her. The three descended and Edward and Roy both perked their ears upon hearing a strange sound. "Is that… Crying?" Edward pondered aloud. Riza nodded and turned toward the direction of the wailing. Roy swallowed heavily.

He could smell him.

His stench masked the once familiar hotel.

Roy smelled him.

"Colonel, come on," Ed barked at the chimera who was frozen in place. Roy shivered and let out a quiet whimper, the worry clear. Edward swallowed and turned back to Lieutenant Hawkeye, knitted his brows. "So, what seems to be the problem?" he asked nervously. Riza did not respond, only speeding up to get to the door she was leading them to. She turned the knob and ushered the men into the room, their reluctance understandable as the crying was very loud in the tiny chamber.

Edward stared on in shock at the sight before him. Laying on a bare bed was a humanoid creature, long spines on its back pierced through the clothing it wore, and its sickeningly olive skin was shimmering with blood and sweat. It clung to the mattress cover with such force that even with its dark green skin its knuckled were white. It breathed heavily and let out a tiny cry with each exhale, the shakiness of its gasps a clear indicator of an injured lung.

"W… What the hell…?" Ed stammered, his throat becoming dry. Roy slowly hid himself behind the boy, his plumage sunk down in fear. This thing smelled like that place. That horrible evil place. Roy felt a growl surface from his throat and he startled Edward with the noise. The teen watched cautiously as the chimera snarled at the newcomer before returning his gaze to the reptilian monstrosity. He moved closer to the beast, taking note of the blue uniform it was so uncomfortably buttoned into.

The beast opened its eyes, their surfaces a milky white with only the slightest grey tint to the pupils. It tried to lift its hand but fell short of its head by a few inches.

"Full…Metal…S…Sir…" it growled, its voice almost alien. Edward gasped at the salute. He looked down at the shoulder band and saw that it had one gold strand with a single star. He recognized the rank and his knees threatened to buckle beneath him.

"C… Christain…!"