Whew! School just started, so this may be the last update in a while.
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"It'll only take us a few hours to get to the Risembool station. I think you're strong enough now to make it, what do you think?" Hohenheim asked Al pleasantly.
"Yeah, sure. I thing I can doo it." Al was eager to get back to Risembool and show Winry his body, and as such, he overlooked one little detail.
"How are you planning on getting Al back? He can't walk for more than a minute or two and besideswhich even if he could it took me three days to get from Risembool to here!"
"You're not quite the alchemist I thought you to be, then," Hohenheim replied calmly.
"What? How are you going to use alchemy to get..." Ed drifted off as his ever-engaged brain began sorting out the possibilities. Hohenheim held one hand up, a red stone held in his palm and suddenly the ground the two blonds were standing on rose up and then slid forward several yards before it stopped and sunk back down. Ed gaped at Hohenheim.
"But- but that's cheating! Using alchemy so selfishly like that! And keeping such a complex replacement transmutation going would strain the alche-..." Ed was staring at Hohenheim's Philosopher's Stone. Hohenheim nodded.
"It amplifies the user's abilities, endurance included."
Ed was now appraising Hohenheim with a very odd look, one the man had certainly never seen before, but that still seemed the tiniest bit familiar.
"What's that look for, Edward?"
Ed's hands shot out at Hohenheim, palms up. "Can I play with it?" He had intended the phrasing to make it clear he wouldn't try anything dangerous, but Hohenheim's nostalgic expression made him realize that it must have made him sound much younger.
"Try to move yourself. I'm getting old, even with the stone to help me and some help transporting us would be nice." He dropped the stone into Ed's cupped hands and the boy studied it closely for a moment before squeezing it between his hands.
A huge crack knifed the ground, appearing in a line running right between the two blonds and knocking Ed over. He scrambled up out of the ditch and before Hohenheim could say anything, sent himself flying as the force from his rising plateau lent its momentum to his small body.
Hohenheim raised an alchemic net on some short legs near where he thought Ed was about to crash, but as soon as Ed hit it, he was messing with the stone again and, though he managed to get his plateau to move quite a ways, sent himself flying again because it was moving too fast when he let it sink again.
Hohenheim sighed and this time his sandy net not only broke Ed's fall but also gently contained him.
"Hey!" Ed wriggled out of the loose net and Hohenheim grabbed him to pull the stone out of his hand. Ed went inside to sulk heatedly.
He didn't manage to stay away from Hohenheim for long, though, as the man was keen on getting out of the desert and wanted Ed to help make sure they had all of their food and water packed into a crate so none of it would fall off or be lost during the trip.
Once the crate had been tied to Al's bed, Hohenheim took the walls and roof around them down, then told Ed to sit down so he wouldn't fall off and raised the ground around them. Ed started to yell that Hohenheim should make the platform smaller as the one he currently had wouldn't fit through the narrower streets, but Al suddenly screeched loudly and both Ed and Hohenheim jumped to his bedside. Ed touched his forehead and he screamed even louder, causing Ed to flinch away in surprise.
After a moment or two, he fell silent, his chest heaving.
"Alphonse, are you alright?" Hohenheim leaned over Al to check his pupils.
"It happened again," Al huffed. "All of a sudden ev-erything was really, reall-y senssitive."
Hohenheim frowned. He turned away and opened the crate, digging in it until he found a metal pot they'd been using for cooking recently.
"I need to test something on you, Alphonse. Is that alright?"
Al nodded his head, but Ed started up, "What are you-"
"Hush," the taller blond snapped. The pot glowed red in his hand for a moment and when he brought Al's hand to touch it, it was still glowing- With heat. Ed realized too late how badly his brother would be burned, but strangely Al didn't cry out or blanch or protest in any way.
"What does it feel like? Hohenheim asked.
"It's warm," Al told him. Ed was amazed, Hohenheim patiently letting the boy poke the pot and burn his finger.
Ed sucked on his extremity while his biological father explained, "I believe that because your soul was welded to my armor for so long, your nerves are dulled. The moments when you experience shocking sensitivity to the textures around you is most likely your nervous system trying to repair its connections to your brain.
"I... wonder-e-d why you weren't heating the soup verry much," Al admitted. Ed wiggled his nose in thought and stroked Al's arm very gently. Al didn't notice and Ed left him alone for the moment, anxious his brother still couldn't feel human warmth.
Hohenheim gently took Al's hand and put some gauze on the burn he hadn't yet realized he'd gotten. When he saw what his father was doing, wrapping his hand now, he simply pursed his lips and stared stone-faced at the ruined city ahead of him.
Hohenheim stood up and looked around. Envy and Lust appeared, standing up on a nearby roof and then jumping down onto the platform.
"Hey," Ed growled. "They're not coming with us, are they?"
"Yes, Edward," Hohenheim sighed.
"You got a problem with that?" Envy sneered angrily.
"Yeah, I do!" Ed stood up and shoved his face up to Envy's.
"I'll fix your problem, then." He grabbed Ed's waist and picked him up, body slamming him backward. Putting his knee on Ed's mid-section, he held Ed's arms above the blond's head and began grinding his knee against Ed's solar plexus. Ed kicked furiously and Envy used his other leg to pin both of Ed's down. Ed groaned, trying to use his stomach muscles to ward off the worst of Envy's grinds and Al yelled, "NO! Leave Ed al-ONE!"
"Let him learn," Hohenheim said, petting Al soothingly while the platform began to move.
"He's not learning anything-!" Al objected. Hohenheim cuddled him close with the hand not holding the red stone.
"Let them have it out," he said softly.
Envy lifted his leg fractionally and punched his knee into Ed's solar plexus, causing him to gasp and his eyes to widen.
"Too easy," Envy smirked. With a twist of his legs, he tossed Ed under himself, the alchemist landing on his stomach. Envy put his knee into the small of Ed's back and Ed slammed his heels back into Envy's sides, which made the homonculus hiss. He gave Ed a swift kick in the armpit that jolted the boy. He tried to roll on his side but when Envy kneed him in the ribs he curled into a ball underneath the malicious, androgynous thing. Envy twisted his arm behind his back and Ed whined slightly. The fact that Al was crying and hugging Hohenheim was nudging Ed toward accepting defeat, just for the trip to Risembool. He couldn't really get out of Envy's grip and the homonculus was kicking and kneeing him relentlessly.
"Get offa me," he grumbled in between blows.
"Cry for mercy," Envy snapped.
"Off!"
"Beg!"
"No! --!" Ed gave a high, drawn out moan when Envy landed his knee in his solar plexus again. He repeated the maneuver and Ed squealed with anger and frustration, which was good enough for Envy. He let go and sprang back and Ed crawled over next to Al's bed and huddled next to it while Hohenheim moved them through the city, clearing rubble as they went.
Ed refused to eat or drink until he was on the train, but he had been feeding and watering Al as though he was an elephant.
As they settled onto the train now, Al was sulking. He'd wanted to stop and show Winry but Hohenheim refused no matter how much his little boys attacked and insisted. Ed would've been more physical about it, but Envy never left Hohenheim's side...
Now the brothers huddled together on the train bench, Al dressed in an extra shirt of Ed's and a sort of wrap around skirt made from a sheet. The shirt was something they'd found when they found Ed's suitcase on the way back.
Hohenheim attempted to make some polite chit-chat, but both brothers remained furiously silent, even when Envy tried to provoke Ed into another wrestling session.
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"Colonel, Sir, someone wants to see you. He says he can't make an appointment and that he knows where Edward is."
"Get him in now," Roy said, shoving aside the missing persons files on his desk. He waited while Hawkeye escorted a tall blond man down the hallway to his office. She was itching to interrogate him at gunpoint for anything he knew about Edward, but held her tongue and fire, leaving him in the colonel's office.
"What's your name and what do you know about the whereabouts of the FullMetal Alchemist?"
"My name is Hohenheim Elric. I'm Edward's father."
Roy stared at Hohenheim, interrupted suddenly by the sound of Ed's voice coming from the adjoining office and a loud slap.
"DON'T LET HIM TALK TO ROY-!!"
Havoc slapped Ed across the face and then grabbed him up, holding him close while squeezing the air out of him.
"Don't. You ever run off into the middle of a catastrophe and leave us all hanging like that ever. Again."
Ed wriggled against him and sniffed, "You didn't have to hit me."
"You deserve it. You scared all of us. Roy looks like a reanimated corpse- hasn't slept since you left."
"My dad came and he's in there screwing around with Roy. He's mental, you have to put me down."
"Your dad?"
"That's not even the biggest news, but the rest has to wait." Ed struggled against Jean, who noogied him, unwilling to let go. He squeezed Ed harder, nuzzling his chin against Ed's head and Roy opened the door, appearing in the doorway with Hohenheim right behind him.
"Ed!" Roy hissed, at which Jean reluctantly let Ed slide back down to the floor.
"Roy, don't listen to whatever he says!"
" 'He' meaning your father? Why shouldn't I listen?"
Ed was stung, his expression clearly saying so. "He's mental and he's the one behind the homonculi! He created them!"
Hohenheim stepped forward, his hand striking Ed's face like a snake. The blond fell over and before Roy knew what he was doing, he had Hohenheim shoved up against the wall, Jean picking Ed up off the floor and cuddling him.
"Don't you dare hurt him. It don't care who you are." Roy realized Breda was nodding next to him while Fuery, Falman and Hawkeye looked on, all sporting wary, angry looks.
"Haven't you ever disciplined him? He's only a child. He needs to be taught."
Before Roy could find a tactful, smart way to answer, Ed snapped, "Roy never hits me for no reason, you bastard. He doesn't sic his monster homonculi on me either!"
"I was allowing you two to establish your own pecking order," Hohenheim replied, ignoring Roy's confused look.
"You knew I didn't stand a chance once he got my arms and you meant for him to do it! You let him beat me up even though Al started crying and told you to stop him!" Ed's eyes were shining and Jean began to run his hands over Ed, feeling for any abnormalities.
"I suggest you release me," Hohenheim said to Roy coldly. "I came here to meet you, but also to remind you that Edward Elric is my son, both legally and biologically."
Roy stiffened and Hohenheim pushed him off.
"Come on, Edward. You weren't supposed to come in anyway. I hope you didn't get your little brother in trouble, too."
"Don't worry," Ed snarled. "You won't have to punish either of us."
"Edward, we'll discuss this-"
"Never. I'm staying here."
"Come, Edward."
"Like hell."
Before Roy could stop him, Hohenheim had lifted Ed off the ground by his shirtfront. "Edward--," he warned. Ed gasped for breath.
"Staying. Here." And with that, Ed brought up his automail arm, seized his father's wrist and broke it with an awful cracking noise that made everyone in the office go pale as a sheet. Hohenheim hissed and dropped Ed, cradling his arm to his body.
"Get out," Ed demanded.
"I didn't think you would leave your brother alone with Envy and Lust. What did you do?"
"Maybe you better go check on them," Ed snarled. Hohenheim watched him closely for a moment and then straightened.
"I'll be right back. Don't run off."
As soon as the door closed behind Hohenheim, Ed swiveled to Jean and said, "I need you to come help me get my brother, I'm too slow when I carry him."
Roy grabbed Ed's braid. "Explain, FullMetal. Now."
"Jean's right. You look like Dracula."
Roy seethed. "Do you know how angry I am with you? Do you have any idea-"
"My brother first, Roy," Ed said mulishly. "He's in a closet down the hall." He headed for the door and waited until Roy was right on his heel to stop and very softly admit, "I know I'm in trouble and you're gonna punish me later, but Alphonse comes first right now." He looked at his shoe.
'Awww- wait, no! I'm angry at him! Yes, he ran off into extreme danger with a sprained ankle and no passport without even telling me plus he only did it because I wouldn't let him come to the office.'
"I'm glad you're aware of that. Now show me where your brother is. We may need to flee before... he comes back." Roy didn't want to say either the man's name or call him, "your father," so he settled for "he".
Ed bit his lip shyly and led the way to a supply closet. Roy opened the door- "CHRIST!" he yelped, jumping when Al smiled widely at him. Ed laughed and hugged Roy around his middle before giving Al a hand.
"The Elric you had yet to see," he introduced Roy to Alphonse with a grin.
"Hello, Colonel," Al slurred slightly.
"...You have a lot of explaining to do, Edward Elric."
Al laughed but Ed was suddenly nervous. "We gotta go, come on!"
"Did you talk to Dad?" Al asked Roy on the way back to the office.
"Yes, I did," Roy said politely. Al let it be.
"Hey everyone! Meet my little-!" Ed stopped short when Jean waved his hand across his throat.
"Ed!" he whispered loudly, "He's back! He just left and he's furious- Oh my God is that Al?"
Ed grinned again and nodded.
"Hi," Al said. Everyone stared at him.
"Wow," Breda breathed, "He's so much cuter than Ed."
At this, the whole office couldn't help but burst into giggles. Even Roy and Jean were shaking with laughter. Ed whacked Jean on the arm and Jean continued to laugh while mussing Ed's hair, irritating him further.
"Sir," Riza was the first to calm down. "Edward's father will be back any moment. I suggest you take your paperwork home with you and lay low for a few days."
Roy nodded and handed Al to Fuery because he was standing closest to Roy. He quickly packed up the day's paperwork into some manila envelopes and listened as Havoc begged Hawkeye to let him come home with Roy. After all, now there were two kids to look after, really.
Unfortunately for organized, hard-working Riza, all of her male co-workers immediately took up Jean's lead and soon it was decided that all of them would go and stay at Roy's place and do their paperwork there.
Falman and Breda took one car to go fetch sleeping bags from everyone's dorms while the rest of the team focused on smuggling the Elrics out.
Hohenheim was in the lobby when Hawkeye went to scout ahead, so Roy set a large paper airplane on fire and threw it down the other hallway leading out of the lobby. Hohenheim noticed it, but wasn't so stupid as to fall for that. He came up the hallway the group was in and they scattered to supply closets and other peoples' offices, making idle chit-chat to the confused office-owners until Jean gave everyone the signal to come out by knocking on the wall as loudly as possible.
They scurried out to the cars and almost didn't make it out of the parking garage when Envy came out of nowhere and landed on the hood, fist drawn back to punch in the windshield. Roy rolled down the passenger side window and set him on fire and Riza took a hairpin right turn that sent him rolling off.
Lust didn't was guarding the entrance to the street, but didn't actually see them until Ed hurled a chunk of something transmuted from the seat cushion into her face.
Riza stepped on the gas and Roy got home from work in record time.
Al was settled on the couch and doted on by Edward when no one was trying to pick him up. At first, of course, everyone wanted to know what had happened and how Al got his body back and how Hohenheim had created homonculi if he really did create them, but Riza's gunfire put a stop to it and soon sent everyone back to their paperwork.
Ed gave Roy several meaningful looks when Fuery let Ed take over some of his missing persons files, until Ed got bored and spoke up.
"You know, Hohenheim had a Philosopher's Stone. Might've been the real deal, too. The fact that he and the homonculi were hanging out right in the middle of all these disappearances probably isn't a coincidence. I don't think anyone should even bother looking for these guys until we talk to him again." He glanced at Al, who looked a little pale.
"You think he created a new stone just to get my body back?"
"I don't know. But even if we are hiding out here I don't think we've lost him just yet, so we might as well get some questions answered when he finally finds us. I mean, he knows your name now," he said to Roy, "So he can probably look up your address."
"Dammit, Kid's right." Breda smacked himself on the forehead.
"We should rotate bases, then," Riza suggested, to everyone's general agreement.
"How many people are missing, anyway?" Ed wanted to know.
"Give or take, about fifty or sixty," Falman answered, not missing a beat.
"That might be enough for a small stone. I didn't see a place where the transmutation might've taken place, but I didn't see a lot of the city."
"You should let me talk to him," Riza said. "We can't let him see you two and if the colonel tries to talk to him, he'll try to bribe him with the information."
"I wouldn't fall for that!" Roy objected.
"No, Sir, but he wouldn't tell you anything until you returned the boys to him." Her voice was unusually chilly, even for her.
"Well if we stop making phone calls and investigations into the missing persons cases.." Jean began,
"Then there is really nothing left for us to do today," Riza admitted to some cheering. Roy was immediately called upon to scrummage up some food for everyone.
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When Ed poked his head in to the kitchen to remind Roy that Falman was allergic to peanuts and not to put them into whatever he was making, Roy nodded and wordlessly beckoned Ed closer.
"Don't think I've forgotten how angry I was when you took off. We'll discuss your punishment later tonight."
Ed looked thoroughly chastised and slunk out of the kitchen without a word.
Roy made curry, which everyone soon found out Ed had never eaten before and hated. Ed whined loudly about the food until Roy snapped that he wasn't making anything else, that was all Ed was getting and if he wanted to go to bed hungry it was his decision.
Everyone stared now at Ed who slid very low in his seat and ate his curry slowly. Man, he was good a pissing Roy off.
Everyone else seemed to like it, except Al who was now aware that food wasn't usually this bland and was upset that he couldn't really taste it.
Fuery seemed to notice Al's cloudy mood and after dinner, he whispered something to Al on the couch which no one else noticed. Al immediately brightened and Fuery said he'd forgotten his pajamas at the dorm and wanted to go back for them as an excuse to get out-
And go to the movie rental store. When he got back, Roy was upstairs with Ed and Al was in his room.
'Perfect.' Fuery snuck up to Al's room and found to his delight that Al had already set up the little screen and player.
"I asked Roy and Ed to do it."
"Good thinking! Shall we watch Jaws or The Grudge first?"
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R&R please! It's very much appreciated.