Okay then! FINALLY, here's the next chapter. I'll just get straight to it, seeing as I made you all wait so long. Sorry!
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When Roy woke up in the morning, he was surprised to see Ed staring at him from across the floor where he was similarly camped out in a sleeping bag.
"What are you looking at?" he startled Ed and the blond boy crawled closer on his hands and knees after a moment. Roy propped himself up on his elbows.
"Uhm...I-I'm going back to Rush Valley, OK? I'll withdraw some money from my fund for the water damage and then can I go?" Ed realized with horror what he'd said as he finished saying it.
Crap. He'd just asked for permission. Crap. What if Roy said no?
"You're one: asking me and two: asking me at seven thirty in the morning before I've had coffee?"
"Whatever." Ed shrugged and sat back, looking at the ceiling.
"Hawkeye left an hour ago." he added.
"Mmm." Roy dragged himself to the kitchen to make coffee. "You want coffee?" Roy yelled, forgetting Edward's aversion.
"Hello no." Was the rough reply. Roy ignored it and within moments Ed peeped into the kitchen. Roy didn't react and Ed shuffled into the tiny room. Roy grabbed the bag of coffee beans and turned around, almost bowling over the smaller alchemist now occupying the kitchen.
"Ah-Ed!" Roy flailed and Ed fled the kitchen in a single stride. Roy put on the coffee and came back out to the living room. Ed was standing right outside the door, seeming anxious to Roy.
"Every time I turn around, I'm stepping on you." he growled.
"WHAT! SAYING I'M SO SHORT YOU CAN CRUSH ME UNDER YOU HELL, HUH? WELL-" Roy clapped a hand over Ed's mouth. The boy struggled wildly and Al looked up from volume four of "Tejinashi Koneko!(1)".
"Shut up! Not first thing in the morning!" Roy moaned, disentangling himself from the frantic blond.
"Don't do that!" was Ed's reply.
"Brother...Colonel..." Al sighed, knowing it was useless to try to calm the two down. He went back to reading.
"You. Can't tell me not to do anything." Roy harshly reminded Ed. There was no reply to that, only silent brooding. After Roy drank a cup of coffee, he sat down on the floor near where Ed was sitting.
'Would it kill the lieutenant to get a couch?'
"So you want to go back to Rush Valley?"
"Yeah." Ed replied sourly.
"Don't use that tone. And stop sulking." Ed looked surprised. Roy sounded like a nagging father.
"Why do you want to go back?"
"I keep getting interrupted. First I got sick and then I got kidnapped. But I know there must be someone out there who's...seen the Gate."
"How are you finding these people, Ed? Asking questions can be dangerous."
"Yeah...I just wing it. Talk to people I know, watch suspicious automail customers, do a little alchemy and see who reacts..." Roy groaned.
"That's the best lead you've got?"
"I'm trying!" Ed was on his feet in an instant. Roy realized he'd really said the wrong thing this time.
"No. I haven't got any better leads! But I'm trying!"
"I know you are Ed, I just-"
"No you don't! You don't even think the Stone Exists! You don't even believe I'll ever get our bodies back! Do you?" Roy sighed.
"Before you came along, no. But I've been digging into the military's restricted information, and I'm sorry to say that there's no way the Philosopher's Stone could have not existed, alright? I don't know if it still exists, but I know it did at one time." Ed looked rebuked even though Roy's tone had been perfectly level.
"Come here." Roy beckoned him closer. "I know you're smart, I knew you'd caught on that I didn't believe. It's only recently that I started asking Hughes to sneak me into some of the restricted files rooms." Ed's eyes went wide.
"You? Sneaking around the military?"
"Don't play dumb you li-goofball. You know very well I'm not exactly the most loyal soldier in Amestris."
"Yeah but I didn't know you went sneaking around in the restricted files." Ed had scooted within arms reach of Roy now.
"No one does and it's going to stay that way, got it?" He leaned over Ed, their noses inches from touching. Ed grinned and fell over backward.
"Sure sure."
"I'm serious Edward." Roy stood and briskly marched to the sink to rinse his coffee cup.
"Roy!" Mustang turned around quickly, confused by the worried tone Ed had used. The boy was following him into the kitchen, eyes slightly wide.
"What is it?" Roy was really worried now.
"I didn't mean it! I was kidding!"
"Huh?" Roy was confused.
"I-I won't tell." Ed was worried about the look Roy was giving him now.
"What? I mean, um...I didn't think you would."
"Um. Oh..." Ed shuffled his feet.
"You chased me into the kitchen because...?" Ed shuffled his feet some more.
"I thought you were mad at me."
"Well I'm not." Roy ruffled Ed's hair and slipped past him into the living room to fold up his sleeping bag.
"Tell you what, why don't you stay here in Central for a while longer and let me help you look for a better lead, OK?"
"But-" Hawkeye's phone rang and Roy went to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Is this Colonel Mustang?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
Ed watched Roy on the phone until the man's face darkened and he made a shooing motion at Ed and Al. They went into Riza's bedroom. Ed went and pressed his ear to the door but Al pulled him back.
"Don't be immature Ed. Please." he sighed.
"I know Al, but I didn't like the look on his face. Something serious is going on."
"He'll tell us if we need to know, Ed. I'm sure he will." Ed sighed, relenting. A few minutes later, Roy came in looking worried and concerned.
"Ed, Al, stay here with Hawkeye, OK? I'll be back soon."
"What?" Ed jumped up.
"Stay here. Goodbye." Roy picked up his already packed bags in the living room-and left, locking the door behind him. The two Elrics looked at eachother.
"That was weird. I wonder what happened." Al blinked. It was the only human action he'd really kept, but like a normal blink, it was easy to miss.
They waited at Hawkeye's place nervously, waiting for something. They didn't really know what. Al wasn't as concerned as Edward was and would've taken Ed out to lunch, but his stubborn brother wouldn't leave the dorm.
Hawkeye got home at 6 pm and was surprised to find two young Elrics alone in her dorm. They quickly explained Roy's disappearance, hoping she would have heard from the Colonel. No such luck.
"I thought he was spending the day here."
Ed looked irritated.
Hawkeye really wished Ed would just take off already instead of hanging around her place. Normally he was at least civil toward her, but ever since Roy had left, he'd been touchy, cranky and wouldn't eat.
"Edward! I have Xinganese takeout, want some?"
"No." Hawkeye bristled.
"Can't you be more polite? You haven't eaten anything besides snack foods in 2 days. Is this how you normally eat?" She snapped. With Roy missing from work someone else was supposed to be assigned to stand in as their commanding officers, but no one had come and Riza had had to keep all Roy's subordinates in line and working all day long. She was just lucky she outranked them all.
"Edward?" Still no reply. "Fine! No dinner for you!" she snapped. She felt like an idiot saying that, but it still felt good. She could be patient with a lot of people, but Ed's sulking was driving her crazy, especially since she was so used to having her dorm to herself.
In the middle of the night, Al turned his head to quiet noises Ed was making as he slid out of his sleeping bag. Al stayed quiet, watching. The fact that Ed hadn't said anything was proof he didn't want Al to see what he was doing. Ed crept over to the corner of the room where Mustang's borrowed sleeping bag was sitting and picked it up. He unrolled it and pulled his own over it to hide it, then curled up in Roy's. Al watched in wonder. What was Ed doing? Did the bag smell like the Colonel? Ed was sleeping in Roy's sleeping bag and covering it up...weird. Ed shuffled around and sighed. Within moments, Al knew he was asleep.
Two more days and nights Ed drove Hawkeye nuts and slept in Roy's sleeping bag. Five days after Roy left, his demeanor changed from touchy to depressed and he told Al they were going to Rush Valley. He left Hawkeye a note and they headed off in the warmth of the morning sun.
Ed slept all the way to the station and stumbled out into the heat. Stretching, he looked around.
"So, Al. Where do we start this time?"
"Well..." They looked at eachother and shrugged, wandering the streets aimlessly.
Ed rounded a corner in the maze of alleyways a man was leading him through.
"Our boss knows all about transmuting bodies. Rest assured he can help ya." Ed nodded to that and kept following. Too bad he hadn't had time to go and bring Al with him, but it wouldn't matter if he could finally get Al's body back.
"Right this way." The man opened a door in the side of a crumbling old building. Ed pushed Roy from his mind as he walked in. No time for that bastard now.
"Welcome." Ed looked around, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. A man with a leather coat and sunglasses was giving him a peace/victory sign with his first two fingers from his position on a crappy looking old couch.
"The name's Greed. So tell me, what do you want to know how to make bodies for? A little bird flew ahead of you." He said, letting Ed know how he knew. Ed bristled slightly. He didn't like nosy people and this guy was acting like a complete know-it-all.
"Nice name. I need to fix a little accident." Ed pulled off his glove to show his hand and then clinked it against his left leg.
"Wow. Nice move. How'd ya lose it?"
"Alchemical accident." Ed told him tartly.
"Well then. That makes it easier, I think. But bloodshed will be a requirement."
"I can take it."
"No, no. I mean someone else's blood. Can you handle that?"
"What! Look, I already gave up on the Philosopher's Stone because it would have killed so many people. Isn't there a way that doesn't involve other people?"
"Hmm...You could always try old-age animal sacrifices. Way creepy, but if the Truth's hungry..."
"Ewww. Are you serious?"
"Yeah, but it's not reliable. Look, the only way I know to get back body parts you lost to the Gate without a trade is to call in a favor. If you know you gave more than you got for something, then if you're brave enough you can call It on it and get them back."
"Really? For real?" Ed wasn't going to completely trust this guy just yet.
"You have to know how to get to the Gate of course, but yeah."
"What about if-" Three figures burst through the door behind him. They looked angry. The tallest, a busty woman with wavy dark hair spoke first.
"Greed! How dare you betray us! Don't think we're going to let you have the FullMetal brat!" Ed's eyes widened.
"Wait a minute." he snarled. "You're the homonculi!! Lust, Gluttony, and you." he glared daggers at Envy.
"Whoa there, Ms. Ultimate Spear. I don't care who this kid is. I was just being friendly. If you want him, be my guest. But take it outside."
"We'll deal with you later, Greed." Envy spat. "For now, we'll just be taking the runt here."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TINY CHRISTMAS ELF!" Ed's transmuted concrete spikes came close to impaling the green-haired homonculus, but not close enough to stop him from running right up into Ed's face and grabbing his right arm. Ed panicked, trying to clap his hands together. Envy jerked him sideways to let the boy know there would be no alchemy as long as he had the boy's arm. Ed jumped and slammed both feet into the homonculus' chest in an attempt to free his arm. Envy turned and Ed's feet slid off as he fell to the ground, partially held up by Envy's painful grip on his arm. In an ostentatious display of his inhuman strength, Envy slung Ed up by his arm and over his shoulder, bringing Ed's stomach down on the boniest part. He was rewarded with a wheeze and waved to Greed as he walked out the door.
"Thanks for the seafood, see ya later." Greed had no idea Envy meant shrimp, and chose to ignore it.
"Ungh." Ed weakly shoved at Envy's shoulder with his left hand, trying to remove the bony body part from his gut.
"No, no, brat." Envy swung him down roughly in an alleyway. Ed sat against a brick wall trying to get his breath back. Envy procured a baseball bat out of nowhere and squatted down to speak to Ed's face.
"Now listen up, brat. The more cooperating you do, the less bashing I'll have to do." he said, waving his bat lazily around in the air.
"Now where's your little brother Al?" Hearing the psychopath homonculus using such an intimate form of his brother's name fueled the fire of Ed's anger and he slid up the wall to kick Envy right between his stupid purple eyes. The hair-spray high (He wasn't right then, but with the amount of stuff he used every day, he often was) homonculus grabbed Ed's right leg and slammed it upward, putting tremendous strain on Ed's hips. Envy slowly pressed Ed's leg straighter, pushing it closer to his face. Ed cried and fought Envy. His hands were all that was keeping him upright as they pressed against the wall.
"Ready?" Envy held up his bat. Ed swallowed hard.
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(1)I just made something up. Tejinashi means magic like an illusion or a puppet, and Koneko means kitten. So recall from the last chapter, the magical kitty manga Hawkeye gave Al.