Ch. 18- Cruelty.
"Roy! Come on!"
"Yeah, Yeah I'm coming!"
Ed ran out of the train station, full of energy, waving at Roy telling him to hurry up.
They'd arrived in the small town of Prodigium that morning, but decided to sleep at the station for a little longer.
Roy looked at Ed and smiled to himself, 'The kids got so much energy today,he's happy..." He and Ed had spent close time together and Roy knew that their bond had grown stronger.
"Ed slow down, what the hell are you in such a rush for!"
"We have to get further into town to ask the towns people questions! We have to find that monster and get the information needed!" Ed ran back to Roy and matched his pace.
"Your a little too excited about getting ourselves into danger aren't you?" He looked down at Ed, giving his signature cocky smirk.
Ed looked up, seeing the sexy smile, and quickly turned his head, hiding his red face.
'The bastard still makes me turn red...' Ed thought completely embarrassed that he still turns red at the site of Roy.
"Your too cute Ed."
".Cute." Ed really hated being called cute, but he tolerated it since it was Roy.
"Anyway looks like we have finally hit the main part of town." he said enthusiastically, while pointing to the sign that had 'Welcome to the town of Prodigium, the town where the waters of Amestris meet'
"Well, Roy I guess we should start looking for people to ask, huh?
"Yeah, that's right" He gave Ed an encouraging look.
"Alright we should split up, we can ask for people that way. But I bet I'll ask way more people than you!" He laughed waiting for Roy to laugh back.
But when he looked at Roy he saw no sign of a laugh, but a stone face, and serious eyes gazing back.
"Edward, I am not splitting up, we are going around together, what part of the word 'dangerous' do you not get? I am not going to let those damn homunculus get their claws on you again, I..."
Ed grabbed Roy's shoulder, he understood, and gave Roy an apologetic look.
He grabbed Roy's collar, puling him down, and wrapped his arms around Roy's neck,
"Roy..."
"Ed this isn't really the time for..."
"Oh shutup..." Ed whispered right before he pushed his lips up against Roy's.
He pulled back, keeping his lips on his protectors.
"I'm sorry, I didn't really want to split up, lets go together, besides I don't think I could leave your side after last night, Roy" Ed playfully lick Roy's bottom lip.
"Ed, you pick the worst times to make me..." Ed kissed him again, cutting his sentence short.
Ed released Roy's neck, and pulled his arms back to his sides.
But Roy didn't want their kiss to end yet, so he placed his hands on Ed's back.
"Not yet,,,please..." He kissed Ed, locking their lips together,
"Roy, that's enough, we have to get moving,,,"
He pulled back, causing Roy's arms to fall back to his side.
"Yes...your right..." Roy looked defeated, but quickly recovered, and returned to his relaxed self.
"Now where should we start first?"
"Well lucky for us its not a big town, so it shouldn't matter who we ask first, if there are new 'people' around anyone would notice."
"Yeah your right... " Roy looked around, then looked back at Ed, giving him a puzzled look.
"Roy, whats wrong?"
"I know this is a small town but...shouldn't there be more people around? I mean, I haven't seen one person, not to mention its quiet."
"Yeah your right, and now that I think about it there wasn't a single person at the train station, or on the road, on our way here.
"This is too strange..."
"Roy...do you think?"
"It couldn't be..."
They both looked at each other and nodded.
"We have to look around, and find anyone we can, NOW!" Ed started running.
Roy followed.
They ran passed many buildings, all empty, with no sign of a single person,
"Ed we need to get to the center of town, if there are people in this village, they'll be there.
"Yeah, I agree."
They quickly found there way to the center of Prodigium.
They both stoped immediately.
"What the hell..." Roy was appalled.
"Roy...how could..." Ed covered his mouth, and looked away.
"Monsters..." Roy went to Ed's side and tried to comfort him.
In the middle of the town, they had found the villagers.
All piled one on top of he other, dead.
"Roy...why would they do this..." Ed stifled his sob, trying to keep his composure.
"Ed they are monsters, they knew we'd come here, so they had to make sure there wasn't anyone left to be witness..."
He grabbed Ed's shoulders and pulled him to his chest.
"All those people...for a stupid reason like that...f-f-or the d-d-amn ston-e" Still trying to keep himself from crying, Ed covered his eyes.
"Ed it's ok to cry, don't keep it in..."
"H-H-ellp-p-p"
Ed and Roy both picked their heads up and turned towards a building.
"Ed..did you..." He was about to ask Ed something, but Ed had already ran towards the direction that the tiny voice had come from.
"ROY! ROY! HURRY COME HERE!" Ed frantically shouted, kneeling at the corner of a building.
"I'm coming" Roy quickly ran to Ed's side.
Ed had a little girl in his arms, she was covered in blood, and gasping for air.
"Its ok, everything will be ok! We can help you!" Ed was trying to smile, through his tears.
"Th-e-y ki-ll-ed Mo-mm-y...da-d-d-y..."
"Shh! please don't talk! please we can save you!"
"M-omm-a an- P-a-ppa-" The girl whimpered...
"Please..." Ed tightly closed his eyes. Tears pouring out.
Roy kneeled down.
"Little girl, whats your name?" He calmly asked her.
"T-i-a" she said.
Roy looked at her, then Ed.
"Ed, we can't sav..."
"NO! WE CAN! WE CAN'T LET HER DIE HERE! SHE'S ONLY A CHILD!" He yelled, still keeping his head down.
"Th-e-y- wan-t-ed th-e s-hi-ny- f-or bi-g- y-ello-w man...T-ia though-t he w-as ni-ce...I-I w-as- wrong..."
"Ed looked at her, wanting to be able to hear her final words...
"Please...why..." He responded.
"Litt-le y-ell-ow m-an look- li-ke b-ig- ye-llo-w m-an."
"What?" Roy looked at Ed, he didn't think he was even hearing what Tia had been saying.
All Ed wanted was to save her...
"Ed listen to her final words...its all we can do..."
"I will." Ed thought she was just babbling, lost in her pain.
He felt her body go limp.
"Little girl...Tia...I'm sorry" Ed cried, pulling the little girl closer, hugging her.
"D-on't cr-y...I get-ta se-e M-omm-a and Pa-pp-a n-ow."
She put her hand on Ed's cheek, wiping away a tear.
"N-o cry..." Her hand fell slowly from Ed's face. Leaving a little blood on Ed's cheek.
Ed looked down.
Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling.
"Yes, Tia go see your mommy and daddy."
He placed Tia's body on the ground, cupped his hands over his face, and cried.
"Ed..."
"Why! Who could do this to a LITTLE GIRL! Why! For some stupid stone! For some stupid secret! WHY! SHE'S JUST A LITTLE GIRL! Just...a" He stopped yelling, and just leaned over Tia's body repeating the words "I'm sorry"
Roy didn't know what to say, but he knew it wasn't the time to mention what the little girl had managed to say to Ed.
He was upset by what He and Ed had seen, but He was all too used to seeing the dead.
"Ed..."
Roy grabbed Ed's shoulder.
"We should bury them, It's the least we could do..."
Ed was still leaning over the little girl.
He nodded.
Roy got up, and Ed slowly followed.
"I'll bury her..." He scooped up the body of the little girl into his arms.
"Alright, I'll do the rest, you can get flowers." He didn't want Ed to have to bury this many bodies. It was too much for him.
Usually Ed might have argued about something like this, but He knew e couldn't look into the dead faces of so may innocent people.
"Rest in Peace, Tia." Ed finished burying the little girl, and placed a rock at the head of her grave.
"I'm sorry we can't bury you next to your Mother and Father..." He placed three pink flowers on top of the mound of soil.
"Roy...Are you finished yet..." He didn't bother looked over at Roy, they'd been burying people for a few hours, and he'd just managed to bury Tia.
"Yeah...just finished."
They'd payed their respects, and finished placing three flowers on all 500 graves.
"Roy..." Ed looked at Roy, eyes still filled with tears.
"Yes Ed?"
"Why..." Ed leaned his head against Roy's shoulder, tears softly leaking over his cheeks.
"I don't know..." Roy couldn't stand the site of Ed crying, but he just didn't have anything that could make something this awful any better.
"Ed, we'll get them." He took out a tissue from his pocket, and wiped Ed's face. It was covered in dirt, and he just didn't like Ed crying.
"Like Hell we'll just get them, I will KILL them, they deserve far worse than death for what they've done to these people." He glared of into the distance.
"Yes." Was all Roy could say.
It was really late, and Ed had stopped crying, and looked exhausted.
"Ed...you need to get some rest."
"How can I sleep."
"You need to try."
Roy got to his feet, and picked Ed up into his arms.
"Roy, please put me down." Ed tried to sound forceful, with little success.
"No, we need to get some rest."
He walked into the town, and tried to look for a place he didn't think was a home.
He walked down an alley, and found a small building with a sign that read, 'The Moonlight Inn'.
"This place looks good, and it doesn't seem to be a home so..."
He knew Ed, as well as himself wouldn't be able to stay in a house where one of the people they buried had actually lived.
He walked in, and saw that there were 5 doors.
"Well Ed it looks like there are five rooms, as well as this bed out here, I'll take you into a room so you can get some sleep, while I stay out here to stand guard."
He felt Ed stiffen in his arms, and looked down to see Ed frowning at him.
"I am not sleeping without you, I can't...I need you tonight...please.." Ed pushed himself closer to Roy.
"Alright, I understand, we'll both stay out here." He brushed hair out of Ed's face and kissed him softly on the forehead.
He set Ed on the bed, and sat down himself.
"Goodnight Ed, try to sleep, please."
"Thank you...Roy.." Ed curled himself into a ball, and looked at the wall, slowly closing his eyes.
What they had seen was horrible, but the boy was tired, and Roy knew it.
"Goodnight, Edward..." Roy sat at the Edge of the bed, and slowly brought himself to Ed's side, and lied down.
Putting his arms around Ed, he quickly fell asleep.
About two hours later...
Roy shot up.
He heard something outside, making a shuffling sound, as if it was slowly walked down the dirt alley road.
He got up quickly, not even trying to make sure he didn't wake Ed up.
He knew there was no-one in the town left, so he didn't hesitate to go on the offensive.
Ed woke up quickly in response to the bed shaking at Roy's movement.
"Roy, whats the matter?" He rubbed his eyes, and stood up.
Roy was standing at the edge of the door.
"Roy...?"
"Quiet!" Roy snapped.
The steps were getting louder...closer.
They kept coming until they stopped.
"Ed stay here, and hide" Roy commanded.
"But..." Ed wanted to protest, but saw heard the fear and anger in Roy's voice.
"Alright..." Ed got up and went behind the counter.
Roy took a deep breathe, and placed his gloves on.
He turned the door knob.
Flinging the door open, he got his fingers ready to snap.
Ed closed his eyes, preparing for the sound of an explosion.
Nothing,
He opened them again, to see Roy just standing in the door way, arms at his sides, eyes wide with shock.
"You..." He said.
Looking back at Ed, and the back at the dark figure standing outside.
Ed didn't like the way Roy looked.
He scrambled to his feet, ready to defend the colonel.
He ran to the door, and pulled Roy back behind him.
"Ed...It's..." Roy said as he was pulled.
"Roy whats the matter..." He shot his gaze towards the shadow beyond the door.
The wind blew.
And his eyes widened, as he saw who the shadowed figure was. Ed whispered one word.
"Father..."
