Chapter 8

The nightmares never stopped. Each night, he was plagued by the demons within him, and it was never any less frightening.

The dark circles beneath his eyes had become quite pronounced. His skin had grown pale, and he had lost a noticeable amount of weight. He was beginning to appear lankier than his usually muscular self.

He sat quietly at his office desk. He could feel the exhaustion weighing down on him, but the fear of what he would see if he allowed himself to sleep now was more than enough to keep him awake. As he did his paperwork, he would occasionally glance out the window, and imagine himself heading towards the horizon, away from everything.

The other employees had learned to keep their distance from him. The way he lifelessly dragged his weak body through the hospital halls was off-putting to all who saw him. They only came near him when they absolutely needed to. His ability as a doctor had somehow kept itself from depleting, despite his lack of sleep. He was left to work, and as soon as he finished with his patients, he was once again left to himself.

He made an honest effort to seem as congenial as ever towards his patients, but he never had quite enough energy left to convince the hospital staff. He never snapped at anyone, but the dead look in his eyes was enough to keep them away.

It was beautiful outside. The sun was descending in the sky, and was beginning to turn it from a bright cerulean to a sea of fire. Edward stood, and approached the window. He enjoyed looking outside, and imagining himself living the lives of all of those he could see.

He was startled by the sound of his phone ringing. After regaining his composure, he answered.

"Hello?" he asked, his voice groggy, as if he had just woken up.

"Ed?" Roy answered. "It's me. It's Roy."

"Oh," Edward said as he returned to sit at his desk. "What do you need? It's been a while."

"Yeah...I'm sorry. It was uncalled for me to just leave you in the cold like that. What's more uncalled for, though, is that I have a favor to ask of you."

Edward sighed. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. At least consider it. I know I'm asking a lot after the way I treated you, when I knew how you were feeling at the time, but please. This is a little bit bigger than either of us. I'm hoping we can at least put our discrepancies aside until things are taken care of. If you want, you can go back to hating me when it's done."

"Mustang, listen. I don't hate you. You just make yourself a very hard person to deal with."

Roy tried not to laugh. "I see. Well, it's like this: I have a meeting with a few members of the government of Drachma. I'm sure it's not a big deal, but given our history with them, I don't feel comfortable going in unprepared. I'm bringing soldiers who will be prepared to fight, should there be a need. I doubt it will come to that, but if it does, I would like to have the best medical personnel there as well."

Edward listened to the odd sound of Roy's voice. Something was off.

"There's more to it than that though," Edward said.

"You would have to leave with us tonight. We're leaving from the Central Train Station at eight o'clock this evening."

"No, there's something else."

Silence.

"Spit it out."

"Alright. The caveat would be that..." Roy's voice trailed off.

"Come on, it can't be that bad."

Roy sighed. "You would have to work alongside your brother."

Edward slammed the phone against the receiver, and stormed out of his office.

The night air felt refreshing against his skin. A walk in the park was what he needed. At this hour, few people remained. He had the quiet all to himself.

His footsteps echoed against the concrete sidewalk that passed through small knolls of grass. The streetlights had just been lit, and they glowed dimly against the disappearing sunlight.

Edward couldn't understand how Roy was able to ask him such a thing, knowing how he felt. It was out of the question. He just couldn't bear to have to do that.

Working with his brother for an undisclosed about of time would drive him insane.

He remembered when he first met Roy. The previous events had numbed him to the young man's anger. However, it was Roy who had rekindled the fire within him. He was the one who pointed him in the direction of finding strength in himself, and who had urged him to fight to get back what had been taken from him. No matter how sarcastic he was, he had always cared. He stood to protect Edward and his brother, when others were not able to.

Then there was Alphonse. It seemed as though the two had walked through fire together, but as long as they had each other, they always came out unscathed. Edward was Alphonse's light in absolute darkness. Alphonse was a source of constant strength and support for Edward. Their personalities clashed at every turn, but their bond as brothers would always bring them back together. Edward never thought twice about having to risk his life for the last remaining member of his family.

That was then, Edward told himself. It's too different now.

In his head lingered his anger from Roy's request, and his envy for Alphonse. In his heart, however, was something else. Something that refused to stop nagging him. As the negativity in his mind fought to push these feelings away, his heart fought just as mercilessly to bring them forth again.

Were things really so different? Edward and Alphonse had never stopped being brothers. Roy had never stopped caring for him.

Edward sighed as he brought his hands to his face. As he did this, he looked at his hands. He thought of Alphonse, and how he had sacrificed his own life to save Edward. He had given him the strength to move forward, and to fight on. He had had no way of knowing if Edward would try to bring him back after that. His trust and love for his brother was all he had needed.

Edward stopped in his tracks. He snatched the watch out of pocket. It was seven o'clock.

Roy stood amongst his troupes, scanning the crowd. He spotted Alphonse towards the back of the group, standing with Kain Fuery. He continued to check. Perhaps he had overlooked, but no matter how many times he searched among the soldiers, he couldn't find the one he had most hoped to see.

"Alright, men," Roy commanded. He was instantly rewarded with the unit's undivided attention. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

Everyone seemed fairly excited. While no one ever wished for war or conflict, they were happy to have something to busy themselves with besides paperwork and simple routines. The opportunity to travel wasn't a bad perk, either.

The soldiers began to board the train in an orderly manner, but in no particular hurry. As Roy watched them, Alphonse caught his eye. The look on his face made his own heart sink.

When more than half of the group had boarded, he approached the young man. He smiled halfheartedly, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't look so down," Roy said. "Everything will be fine."

"Is he really not coming?" Alphonse asked.

Roy's smile disappeared. "I..don't know. Although, if he really planned on being here, he should have met up with us by now."

Alphonse frowned, dejected. "I wonder if I did something. The last time I saw him, he seemed pretty upset, and we haven't spoken since. I just wish there was something I could do. He's my brother, sir. I love him."

"I know. You just have to realize that sometimes there's nothing you can do for someone. They have to learn to help themselves. Don't blame yourself, Al. I'm sure he'll come around soon. He's had it rough. You both have. He probably just needs space. There's no way of knowing what's going on with him."

"I guess you're right."

Roy ruffled Alphonse's hair. "Go ahead and board. I'll be in shortly."

Alphonse nodded, and followed the remaining soldiers into the train. Roy stood, alone, staring at the entrance to the station. He expected some sort of miracle that he knew would never come. Still, he had hope.

"Your highness," the conductor called. "Are you ready, sir?"

"Yes," Roy replied. "Just give me a moment, please." He watched the entrance for a minute longer. When nothing happened, he turned on his heel, and headed towards the train.

"Wait!"

He spun around, and saw a sickly-looking blonde man rushing toward him, with a medical bag in one hand and a suitcase in the other.

Roy gasped as Edward came to him, doubling over as he reached him.

"Sorry I'm late," Edward panted. "I..had some stuff to take care of. I'm still invited, right?" He shot Roy a sarcastic grin.

Roy smiled back. "Well, whether you were or not, you'd still come, wouldn't you?"

Ed nodded.

Roy laughed. "Alright, get in there before I drag you in myself."

The two of them walked together, with Roy's hand on Edward's shoulder, and boarded the train. As they entered, Edward saw his brother, whose eyes suddenly lit up.

"Ed!" Alphonse called excitedly.

Edward sat with his brother, and the Fuhrer sat across from them. "You ready?" Edward asked.

"Yeah," Alphonse replied. "Just like old times"