Hey, everyone! I actually updated today! I hope everyone likes it, I feel like this chapter is one of the better ones, and I hope you all agree. :)
Alphonse sighed as he slowly lowered the small woman onto the bed, making sure she was seated alright, his hands lingering worriedly for just a moment. She hadn't spoken for quite a while, her lips sealed tight as she thought through the events of the previous day in her silence. He too, was distraught by everything that had happened, and he was quite positive he was going to get some serious wrinkles if he kept worrying like this.
"Pinako?" He knelt in front of her, placing his hands calmly on her knees, trying to not startle her, "Are you alright?"
She scoffed, not bothering to look at the youngest Elric brother, her hands almost shaking as she held them tightly in her lap, "Do I look alright to you, Al?"
He could have laughed as well. She looked like hell, and he was positive he looked the same. There was dirt and grime caked in his hair and on his cheeks, his clothing was burned and singed, and he'd lost a shoe somewhere in the exchange yesterday, and not to mention he hadn't had a second to take a shower in the hours from yesterday.
Winry was on her way down to Central with Hohenheim, Al had made sure to call her first, but was regretting it as his ears still rung from the conversation. He wasn't quite sure how she'd react to the news she was going to receive upon her arrival, and he merely hoped that the train ride was a long one from Risembool.
Now, sitting in a small hospital room, waiting for a doctor to come and check on them, Alphonse really didn't know what to say. He could mention Roy in the other room, sitting with Mika and Gio, but that might set Pinako off even faster. The woman was wound as tight as a rubber band, and she was sure to snap in a matter of seconds. She'd already mentioned off-handedly that Roy had yet to go after Edward, even after Alphonse had mentioned they had no idea where the Aerugian leaders were taking him.
"Winry is coming up." He tried again, leaning back and standing up on his own weary legs, feeling every one of his twenty years. It could have made him laugh, thinking of himself as old and feeling weary and tired, especially while standing next to Pinako.
Pinako nodded, once again not making eye-contact, turning her face toward the window to glance out at the sunny day.
Coughing nervously, Alphonse placed a single hand on Pinako's shoulder, trying not to feel the flinch the woman gave as he did so, "Pinako, you should really get some sleep, okay?"
He wasn't expecting an answer, even as he turned away from her with a sad smile, opening the door quickly and stepping outside with a heaving sigh. He may have only been twenty-years-old, but he still felt as though the whole weight of the world was on his shoulders. He had been convinced that after everything in his teens, he would live out the rest of his life calmly and with no particularly taxing events. He'd had enough adventure in his younger years, and now all he wanted was a family and a calm life.
Nearly jumping out of his skin when he heard the sliding click of the water fountain, he glanced over with a shocked look as he saw a older man reach down to take a small sip of water. He had a small five o' clock shadow covering his jaw, his greying hair was unkempt and ragged, much like his clothes and skin. He was on par with Alphonse with his appearance, and that was how Alphonse recognized him initially.
Stepping forward slowly, Alphonse already had his hand extended in a greeting and a soft smile on his face as the man rose from his drink, "You must be Mika, I don't think we've been properly introduced."
"Hm." Mika nodded as he took Alphonse's hand quickly, raising the other to wipe at the corners of his lips, raising a single brow as he took in the younger Elric's appearance, "Alphonse Elric?"
"Yeah." It was almost as if he was being scorned upon, the look the man was giving him was almost unsettling. He could tell that the initial response to their meeting was distain, and it was becoming apparent that everyone within Edward's acquaintance was going to unanimously hate him. It made sense, considering the circumstances, but Al was just praying that this one didn't decide to punch him.
Alphonse held no ill-will toward the man who was chosen to replace his wife's automail, but at least he wasn't giving the man a glare hard enough to melt ice.
Mika nodded, his strong eyes piercing into Alphonse as he regarded the younger man with a certain edge of distain. He couldn't very well judge the boy on the information he'd gathered from Roy and Edward, but that didn't mean he had to be pleasant. He'd been through enough to forego the pleasantries, and he was sure a smile and a conversation wasn't going to lighten the mood any.
"So, I assume you're going with Roy?" Mika mused as he glanced down the hall over Alphonse's shoulder, raising a brow.
Alphonse shrugged, knowing what the man was speaking of without the need for confirmation, though his heart thumped in want to join the flame alchemist, "I'm not sure. My wife is going to arrive soon, with my son, and I should really stay to look after them and Pinako."
"Wife and son, huh?" Mika couldn't stop the pang of dislike he felt toward Alphonse, and while he was almost eighty-five percent certain that the rift between the Elric brother's had been momentarily mended, he wasn't positive he liked the youngest. Alphonse was a man that seemed kind-hearted and soft, but he couldn't feel respect for a man who caused his brother so much torment, all the while lounging in a home with a wife and child.
"Yeah, Winry and Hohenheim."
"Hm."
Alphonse felt as though he should leave, but he didn't want to go back in the room with Pinako, but there wasn't anywhere else he was willing to go. He wasn't wanted anywhere else, especially in this hallway with this man, but there wasn't any place to go.
"Well, I don't know about myself..." Mika started, sending one more glare at Alphonse, before wiping off imaginary dust on his shirt, shrugging as he let out a large sigh of his own, "But if my brother, my only brother, were captured by an enemy force looking to extract alchemical power from him, nothing and no one in the world could stop me from running to his aid."
Alphonse felt a slither of guilt and shame make it's way up his chest, he couldn't look at the other, bringing his hands up to nervously play at the hem of his shirt. It was all true, he just didn't want to admit it.
Mika shrugged again, turning to make his way back into the room where the boy was being held, "But yet again, Mr. Elric, that is just me."
Alphonse gulped after the soft click of the door echoed through the hallway, leaving him in the empty space with his own thoughts. It was true, he wanted nothing more than to run after Roy and demand he go with, but Winry was coming in a few hours, and he needed to look after Pinako.
Really?
Alphonse clenched his fist and squeezed his eyes tight, leaning his head back toward the ceiling as he desperately tried to search for the answer within himself. Roy could take care of Edward by himself, it was most likely he wouldn't appreciate the help anyway, but there was a deep longing in Alphonse to chase after Roy.
Through thick and thin he'd had his brother's back, they'd been inseparable for years, depending only on each other. They were the Elric brothers, they were closer than anyone could be, they were the proverbial definition of family. Edward always had his back, he could always rely on his brother to be there, they were always within feet of each other to offer the support they needed. They'd been through everything together, literally, and they were the only ones the other could lean on through the first years of their life. They were the Elric brothers, they were family, they were all that each other had.
That had fallen out. He didn't know what happened to them, and even now he couldn't remember their conversation when they'd screamed and yelled hard enough to break that brotherhood. They were stupid, both of them, very stupid. Alphonse didn't want it to happen...and while he still felt some of that residual anger from his past few years of hating Edward, he couldn't regain the full feeling. They couldn't go back to their past relationship, not this quickly, but that didn't mean they weren't still brothers.
They were still brothers.
Alphonse's breath caught in his throat as he frantically looked over his shoulder, down the hallway he knew Roy had stormed down just thirty minutes ago. If he hurried, he could still find the Major General before he went after Edward, and demand to go with him.
"You sure get a lot of water."
Mika glanced up as he entered again, raising a brow as he regarded Gio with mild interest, before strutting in and taking his usual seat beside the boy. Despite his warnings, Giovanni had continued to beg Mika for automail, but the elder had refused profusely, to the point of using thirst as an excuse to get away from the constant badgering. He didn't know what he could do to convince Giovanni that it was against his moral law to operate on children, none the less that Edward was most likely his last patient ever.
It had been a mental decision he made in the middle of working Edward's leg. The leg he made for Edward was magnificent, made of steel, chrome, bits of iron and various other substances, the bolts and screws were made of alchemically hardened material, and the finishings on the joints were alchemically sealed to prevent rusting and ensure fluid movements. The runnings of the workings, such as nerve attachments and electrical outputs were all alkahestrically magnified, making every movement available for the worker, with no limits to movement. There would be no pain, wether from a shorted wire or a malfunctioning bolt, and there was a seal of alchemy over the entire thing to prevent tampering from anyone other than Mika himself, even Edward couldn't touch it.
Mika may have been a bit self-confident at the beginning, but his finished work was so magnanimous that it even shocked him. It was then that he decided that Edward would be his last patient, not only because of his own foolish pride, not wanting to have to face the fact that he would never create something so astounding, and that when working, his hands ached earlier, and his eyes stung more than he realized. Despite himself, he realized his age more than he'd ever done in his life, noticing that forty-five was not young, not anymore.
It was also a shock to his very foundation when he heard the younger Elric speak words of a wife and child, for the boy was just barely entering his twenties. How long had Mika wished for someone to share his life with? He was entering into his fifties and he wanted something more than the cold chrome of steel and the harsh bite of workman's tools to share his life with.
"So, when are you going to start on my legs?" Giovanni leaned forward with a look of pure sincerity on his youthful face, eyes determined as he fought to catch Mika's gaze. He wasn't quite sure that goading and annoying the man would get him much faster to his goal, but he couldn't think of anything else to do. He couldn't get up and force it out of him, he was getting weaker and weaker each day. A second without morphine or any other drug coursing though him would send him screaming and crying in pain, a pain so intense that he often didn't remember it. Mika's alkahestry could only do so much.
Mika sighed, sitting himself down on the usual chair, sighing deeply, "Don't start this again, Gio. How am I going to convince you? I'm not making you automail. Hell, I'm not making anyone automail anymore."
Giovanni scoffed, tired of hearing the same repeated words over and over again. He knew that Mika was just protecting him, afraid to work on him because he was just a child, thinking he couldn't handle the pain. He'd heard Edward got automail when he was only ten, and that was three years younger than Giovanni. If his teacher could handle it at that age, then Giovanni could handle it now.
"Let's just wait until Edward gets back and we'll decide then, okay?" Mika scoffed, wondering if this conversation was worse than the one about feelings. He'd had a deeper conversation with Gio about the effects of what he'd done, but it still seemed that the child's bull-headed tendencies were getting the better of him. He still wasn't convinced that what he'd done was wrong, and he fought tooth and nail to try and explain that he'd do it again if given the chance.
"I don't want to be here when Edward get's back."
To say that Mika was quite shocked by those words would have been a vast understatement, to say the least.
He snorted, looking over at the boy indignantly, hoping that he'd heard wrong, "What?"
"I said, I don't want to be here when Edward get's back." Giovanni seemed confident enough, but within his eyes held a shadow of doubt, and a cloud of pure misery that came with the words he was saying, "If what I did was so bad, then I doubt Edward will want to teach me anymore. Plus..." He gulped, closing his eyes and thinking back suddenly to the hallway when he'd been captured by the Aerugian soldiers. Edward had come to find him, taken down the soldiers, and forced Giovanni to run away. He'd done nothing to help the other, and watched pitifully from the sidelines as his teacher took the beating, then he ran from his teacher, like the scared coward he was. He did nothing to help his teacher, and when Edward was in his biggest moment of need, he'd turned tail and ran.
Giovanni clenched his hands angrily, "I can't help him as I am now. He won't teach me anymore, so I need to go find someone who will."
"Who says he won't teach you anymore?" Mika's words were on edge, and the boy's voice was confident enough to convince him that if he had legs, Gio would already be gone.
Giovanni sent a glare toward the other, "Look me in the eye and tell me Edward will still teach me when he gets back."
The silence was enough of an answer for both of them. Mika couldn't bring himself to spout such an obvious lie. While he knew there was a slim chance that Edward would take pity on the boy and teach him some more, there was an even higher urge saying that Edward would have a hard time looking at the kid, much less teach him. Gio would always be Edward's precious student, but their lessons had ended long ago, and would likely never pick up.
"I can't do anything for him. I can't help him as I am now, I'm just a tag along third wheel that will only get in the way." Giovanni felt his own words tearing at his stomach, but they spewed out of his mouth with ugly truth and self-doubt, knowing that he would never be good enough for Edward, "I told him I loved him, did you know that?"
Mika wasn't shocked, too, at this admission. He'd known that the looks Gio had given Ed had changed from admiration to something more quite quickly.
"I especially can't stay. I'll just be a charity case, a bug under his foot."
"You will never be that." Mika leaned forward, choosing finally to interject and dismiss all that the boy had said, setting his eyes on Giovanni before the boy sent himself even further in this downward spiral, "You mean so much to Edward, you are his friend, his student, but most of all, you are his family now. You were there when he most needed someone, that means something, doesn't it?"
"It means shit." Gio scoffed, digging his hands deeper into the blankets, "It means nothing! You were here, too, when I was. You mean more to him than I do! Roy was also here, remember? I was a footnote, a rock, and now that I did this, he's never going to look at me again. He didn't want me here in the first place."
A loud crack echoed the room, leaving both Gio's cheek shining red and Mika's hand stinging mildly as he shook it around to alleviate the pain. He was mildly shocked at his rather impulsive action, but he found it appropriate, so he didn't apologize nor show a sympathetic eye.
"Go ahead." Mika stood again, wondering how many times he would storm out of this room, and wondering if he should just request to have the door taken off it's hinges, "Leave, leave and never come back. Find another teacher, find your own way through life. But just remember this." Mika leaned forward and stared him in the eye, "This is going to follow you around for the rest of your life, abandoning Edward like this. You can wallow in your own self pity for all I care, go ahead and let yourself be the victim, but when you think back, what do you want to remember? Do you want to remember yourself running like a scared dog with it's tail tucked between it's legs or do you want to remember yourself standing strong and facing the consequences for your actions? Ask yourself that, Giovanni."
Roy was pissed.
Scratch that, Roy was beyond pissed. Roy was infuriated. Roy was so maliciously angry that he could feel the waves of heat rolling off his shoulders, burning the wood under him and singing anything within a five foot distance. He couldn't think of anything other than his own anger, and it took everything within him to keep breathing, keep sitting, waiting. Waiting was the hardest part, and with ever jostle of the train under him, he felt his hands tightening as he crossed them over his chest.
But there was also the worry. The worry fueled the anger, but it was much more overwhelming. Never before had he felt such body-consuming concern and worry, so much so that it ate at his gut and made him want to puke. The anger was fueling the worry and vice versa, and it created such a toxic combination that no one was coming within his perimeters for fear of their lives.
"S...Sir?" There was a single brave soldier that inched up to the Major General, his hands held protectively in front of his chest as he fought to keep his breath's even and word his statement carefully, "Major General Mustang?"
"What?" Roy snapped, his eyes nearly on fire as he sent his glowering gaze toward the poor foot soldier.
The man gulped, his eyes widening, nearly turning and bolting from that spot without relaying his news. Gulping again, he tried to keep his voice even, "We're nearing the Aerugian border. It seems as if the Aerugians used a private train line, for no military train has been been past the border inspection."
"Was no one watching the border? I called nearly two hours ago to have all their men surveying the border, not to let a single train past." Roy stood angrily, his hands balling into fists as he stood towering over the soldier, letting out all of his frustrations on the boy, "Are there no competent soldiers in the force nowadays?"
"Uh, sir..." The boy was not allowed a single word edgewise, as the alchemical power of fire was rolling off the other in surging torrents by now, making the soldier back away in fear.
Roy scoffed, his lip furling as he regarded the poor solider with a look of nothing more than pure disgust. He knew that it wasn't the soldiers fault, but anyone not doing their absolute best at this point was not helping him in the slightest at finding Edward.
"Well?" Roy mused again, his sneer much more prominent as he felt his voice raise just a slight bit at the man's inability to do anything of use, "Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to get us past this border inspection in the next ten minutes?"
"Sir!" The boy turned tail and ran the first chance he could see the Major General would let him go, speeding toward the front of the train to have a conversation with the inspector and the soldiers that were sure to stop the train for the routine inspection.
There had been words of a hidden railway just to the east of the main military line, but they had been unable to find it in the small allowance of time they were given. Roy had insisted they start toward Aerugo, finding no use in trying to find this hidden railway. It was more of an annoyance than anything, for he was already quite positive of where they were taking Edward.
"They're going to be taking him to the Minister of Aerugo, Lord Irving." Alphonse's youthful voice cut into the silence that had been left in the car, coming forward confidently and taking a seat next to the Major General, looking him in the eye and raising a single brow, "You know that, right?"
"Of course I know that." Roy answered with a snap, internally berating himself for yelling again. He was a Major General, he needed to be calm and collected while on missions, but he couldn't help it if he was emotionally compromised with this one.
They were taking Edward to the Minister of Aerugo, there was no question. That man was arrogant enough to have Edward shipped to his front door, even knowing that Roy would be hot on his tail. The meeting between Roy and Irving had most likely been a ruse, purposefully set to goad Roy into chasing after Edward. Irving wanted to mock the army of Amestris, showing them that he could take what he wanted and no one would stop him.
That, or the Minister of Aerugo wasn't quite as intelligent as Roy assumed.
It was probably the latter, seeing as Irving had just kidnapped Edward Elric.
"We're headed straight toward the head department of Aerugo." Roy mused as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, ready to hear news of Edward's whereabouts or anything else that might lead them to Edward.
Alphonse shrugged, not seeming as would up as the other male, knowing first hand that this was a small situation for Edward, and there were worse things he'd gotten himself out of. The injuries on his elder brother were what Alphonse was worried about, wondering if that would put a dampen on Ed's ability to get out of tight situations. Al doubted it, but still worried nonetheless.
"What are you going to do once you get there?" Al asked, wether just to break the silence or otherwise, letting his gaze slide to the man before turning away again, looking outside to see the scenery around them come to a slowing stop, indicating that they were coming to the border of Amestris. He could see the sunny warm air around him, and it was almost instinctual for him to reach up and pull down the window, the warm air seeping in and brushing against his face. It was a simply beautiful day, the sun was high in the sky, and the clouds were big and white in the sky, billowing slowly and softly. It was quite a contradiction to their current situation, but Alphonse was pleased for the distraction it brought him.
"I'll tear down everything in my path to get to Edward." He wasn't embarrassed in the slightest by his words, and his determined eyes showed that he was going to follow through with his words. Nothing would stand in the way of getting Edward back, especially not some Aerugian soldiers who thought they walked on water.
Alphonse snorted, feeling all the doubt and concern alleviate in the slightest, knowing that all the words Roy said were true. Al was not as naive as everyone thought he was, he'd known that Roy and Ed were completely head-over-heels for each other within the first few months. Age and gender were no issue to Alphonse, he merely wanted them to get over themselves and get together already. They both deserved to be happy, and that was one thing they could only be with each other.
Both of them were suddenly jostled in their seats as the train jolted to a sudden stop, much rougher than the stop it had been intending to make. Grabbing onto the hand rests hesitantly, Roy pushed himself to his feet and strode forward in a swift movement, "What the hell is going on?"
Alphonse almost laughed out loud when it was the same nervous soldier that came running through the door, almost colliding with the Major General in his haste. His eyes widened like saucers when he saw Roy towering over him, his hands poised to snap and send everything up in flame. Instead of words, a terrified squeak left the boy's lips and he positively quivered.
"I hope, for the love of god, you have something good to say." Roy's deep voice cut through the air and Al was almost eighty-five percent certain the foot soldier was going to wet himself.
The boy stuttered for only a second, before gulping, "Just off the border, not two miles away, sir! There was an explosion, some of the border patrol witnessed it, sir. They say it was an alchemic explosion, sir!"
An alchemic explosion? Roy gaped, his hands loosening from their threatening stance, raising his gaze to look out the window, just barely catching the small tendrils of smoke from the explosion billowing in the distance. It was close, and if there was still smoke in the air, it had happened just moments ago.
"I...I already asked for a squad car...sir..." The soldier was promptly ignored as he was shoved out of the way by an urgent Roy Mustang, and immediately after by Alphonse Elric, both of them trying to rush to the car door to jump out onto the warm summer soil. A car was idling ready for them, and Roy couldn't get into the driver's seat fast enough, especially considering he had to pull another soldier from the seat and toss him to the side.
"Do you know where you're going?" Alphonse said quickly, barely getting his foot in the door before Roy sped off, his foot completely on the ground of the car as he tore down the road. Alphonse didn't expect an answer, for Roy simply tore down the road blocks and various cut offs of the road, bee-lining toward the billowing clouds and smoke.
The first thing he felt was the dirt under his fingers, rough but warm, jolting him into realization. He tried to breathe, but dust filled his lungs, leaving him hacking out a cough once and then twice, before breathing deeply and slowly. The second thing he felt was his hair softly brushing against his cheek, most likely having been pulled from it's binding. The world around him was eerily quiet, just the far-off sounds of murmurings and quiet talking. He seriously contemplated playing dead until someone forced him off the ground, seeing as he didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he already did.
He could hear the muffled sound of someone far-off yelling, his voice standing out within the murmurings, considering the second he yelled the crowd went silent. It was as if everyone was waiting with bated breath for what this new man would do, and by the sounds of his screaming and yelling, it wouldn't be good.
There was a sliding crunch of dirt and gravel as the man charged forward into the debris, the sounds of crashing structures and crumbling rock following him. His voice was growing louder as he yelled at his soldiers in their language, something that Edward still couldn't understand, not even random increments this time.
He was astonished, the man, but his anger had changed to morbid fascination, if Edward heard correctly. The closer the man got, the more his voice filled with something else, and by the time he was standing within feet, his voice was filled with exuberance and excitement.
"It was Elric, sir." The man answered in a language Edward could understand, making Edward involuntarily flinch against the dirt. They didn't seem to notice his conscious state, as they went on with their conversation. The man coughed, sounding tired and breathy due to the dirt down his throat, "There was a sudden explosion of alchemic power, and then things were changing all around us, then this happened."
"The Fullmetal Alchemist did this?" The man's voice was practically non-existent with the amount of jubilation it held, his whisper barely floating over the dirt to settle in Edward's ear, making an uncomfortable shiver run down his back. This was the man that wanted him, this was the man that had set everything in motion, this was the man that had started everything. It took all he had to hold himself back from glancing upward, especially at the old title that was bestowed. He wouldn't lie when he said he missed being called the Fullmetal Alchemist, but not like this, not with the morbid and creepy fascination the man held in his tone.
Edward's insatiable desire to get a look at this man overrode his need to play dead, so before he could convince himself otherwise, he hoisted his arms under his torso and began to slowly push himself up, letting a strong smirk cover his lips, "So, you're the guy that dragged me all the way out here?"
The dust was still filtering around the ground as Edward slowly opened his eyes, silently sweeping his eyes over the area to take in his own handy work, then immediately met the eyes of the man standing not feet in front of him. It wasn't quite the destruction he had been expecting, and it even instilled a feeling of pride within himself. The walls of the surrounding buildings were twisted and turned, the ground was pulling apart, long tendrils reaching up toward the sky, breaking at places but strong in others. It was like his alchemy had just exploded from within him, changing anything within a twenty foot radius.
"I do apologize for the ...unconventional invitation." The man tilted his head to the side, stepping over an unconscious soldier in leu of strutting to Edward, his pressed military garb a stark contrast to the dusty atmosphere around them.
Edward snorted, shifting around and rolling his shoulders back in their sockets to loosen up his arms. He felt a new sense of freedom within himself after using alchemy again, but it was probably due to the fact that he wasn't either inside a hospital room, train, or small tool shack. Finally, he was out in the open with clean air and no roof over his head, no walls surrounding him.
"Invitation?" Edward sneered, raising a single brow as he leaned heavily on his metal limb, placing his hands on his hips as he glanced around again, "I can hardly say this was an invitation."
"I do apologize." Irving's voice darkened as his lips curled into an ugly sneer, reaching back with a slow hand behind his back, before throwing his arm forward and raising it to eye level, "I'm afraid this won't be an invitation either."
Edward didn't lose his smirk as he saw the gun trained on him, but his hands tightened just a bit on his hips. He'd had numerous occasions where he had guns trained toward his head, and every single time he was terrified for his life, scared that the finger was going to tighten just the slightest bit, sending Edward to his death. Guns were the fastest way to kill a person, Edward knew, and not even Alchemy was enough to protect against them in tight situations.
Yes- all those times Edward was terrified, but he couldn't feel that same fear this time. Why? Because all those other times, Roy Mustang wasn't standing behind the shooter, his own gun poised to shoot.
"Lower the gun, slowly." Roy could only speak in short words, and while he was pleased Edward was on his feet and cocky as ever, he didn't like the fact Irving, a man he had a very strong dislike for, was pointing a gun at his lover.
His face enflamed at the word, and he sent a single look toward Edward, his lips pursing as he felt his blood quicken. He really liked calling Edward that.
Edward, on the other hand, caught the subtle pink on the Major General's cheeks. Smirking, he raised a hand to cup around his mouth, shouting out loud for everyone to hear, "Did you just call me your lover in your mind?"
"Shut it, Fullmetal!" Roy yelled back over, only slightly glaring at the other, but quickly retraining his gaze on the Aerugian leader, his hand tightening on the handle of his gun as he shifted on the ground, "Now, lower the weapon."
"Impressive, I didn't even hear your vehicle arrive." Irving didn't seem fazed, and it was as if he believed this interaction were inevitable, "Though it is a pleasure, I do have to ask if you will lower the gun."
Edward saw the soldiers raise their weapons before Roy did, scanning his eyes over the few that were still conscious, all of them hesitantly raising their guns toward the Major General, eyes shifting from Roy to Edward. They weren't positive on whom was more dangerous at the moment, nor who they should be pointing their weapons at. Roy was threatening their leader, but Edward had just created this mayhem moments ago.
"Tell your soldiers to back down." Roy didn't back down, he merely trained his gun closer to the leader's head, eyes darting back over the soldiers as he saw some of them shift so their guns were on Edward. Not liking that at all, Roy looked back at Irving, "Don't toy with me, Irving. This gun is loaded."
He cocked the gun, the audible snap even reaching Edward, and Irving's smile faltered.
They were at a stand-still. The air was thick with the dust around them, the broken buildings crumbling every once in a while, the shift of boots on the ground, the short brushes of air around their necks. They didn't move, and they were completely at a loss. Edward stood no more than ten feet from Irving and Roy, and there were four soldiers in between them, many more in the surrounding buildings, guns poised. None of them spoke, they barely breathed.
It was after about thirty seconds of this that Edward got tired of it.
Be it both of them had shared impulsive attitudes or they were already close enough for non-verbal communication, but when Edward looked into Roy's eyes, he knew the man was on the same page as him. It was with a single nod from Edward, and a gentle furrow of the brow from Roy that they both acted.
Rearing back and flipping his gun around in his hand, Roy swung forward while at the same time withdrawing his other hand, poised to snap. The sound of igniting flames swirled in the air in the same instance of a clap, Edward falling to his knees and slamming his hands to the ground, concentrating all his power into the dirt. The sounds of sparks travelled the air at the same time as a crack of Roy's gun against Irving's shoulder, the man dodging at the last second just before Roy's strike. The shuffle of dirt filled the air as the four soldiers, too nervous in the beginning to shoot, held their fire and backed away from the action, but were stopped immediately as large pillars of concrete rose around them, twining and circling, trapping them all. Long tendrils of dirt shot from the ground, knocking their guns from their hands and sending them clattering to the dirt.
The dirt around them ignited into flames, weaving into the buildings around them, sending bursts of fire and sparks within the holds and the soldiers therein. The pads of Roy's fingers parted as he felt his gun loosen in his other hand, the strike on Irving not landing on it's desired target. The minister swung around and slammed his shoulder into Roy's sternum, bringing his weapon around and getting ready to fire, his hand tightening on the gun.
Edward gasped as his power filtered through his fingers, finishing the prison bars for the soldiers. Knees quivering as he attempted to push himself up, Edward froze as he heard a single gunshot echo through the settling dirt, wishing nothing more for a large burst of air to come through and send everything away.
He heard a body crumple to the ground, and he could have sworn his heart stopped. Ignoring his own fatigue, Ed surged to his feet, trying to look around in the dust to see the other, see any sign of Roy. All he could see was dark figures, a single one in front of him, just a single one, standing out among the burning red flames of fire.
"Well." Ed jumped as finally the dust settled enough for him to glance over and gape as he saw his brother strut from the tree line, looking as cocky as ever. Alphonse merely smirked as he attempted to twirl the handgun on his finger, but failing miserably. Laughing nervously at himself, he shrugged, "At least I did something, right?"
Quickly glancing forward, Edward saw the dark hair and the blue uniform, using that as his only proof before he surged forward, tackling the other to the ground and wrapping his arms tightly around Roy.
Roy, on the other hand, couldn't hold Edward tight enough. He, too, had been in a near state of catatonic worry when he'd heard that gunshot, but he'd had his arms full of Edward before he could get any further with it. Closing his eyes and pulling Edward closer, he breathed a heaving sigh of relief, feeling the other do the same. His voice was low and intimate, "Are you alright, Ed?"
"Wait a couple days and get back to me." Edward chuckled as he held tighter, burrowing his face into Roy's shoulder and leaning most of his weight on the other man, afraid that his knees would buckle, "How about you?"
Roy snorted, shrugging, "I nearly went into a coma with worry. Don't ever do this again, okay?"
"Okay, I'll be sure to tell the next person that decides to kidnap me."
I REALLY hope this wasn't anti-climactic. I'm not super awesome at writing action-scenes, and I didn't want to draw the situation out any more than I already had to.