AUTHOR'S RAMBLING INTRO
Erm... Don't kill me? My coughing sounds like how you're probably imagining Edo-kun's? I'm not dying though, no worries. No blood, just sounds like a lung is making a desperate bid to escape. Anywho, this chappy is dedicated to TearsDrippingDown for being first to review last chappy. Enjoy!~ X3
Several hours after she had first entered, Riza Hawkeye left her superior's home, pleasantly surprised that he could cook, and he could cook well. She drove home and went to bed almost immediately, as there were several pressing matters that needed to be taken care of in the morning. After all, the Fuhrer's assistant did much more than just answer the phone. She fell asleep quickly and stayed that way for some time.
After Riza left his home, Roy Mustang was rather ecstatic. He'd managed to get his mind off of other matters and actually impress the only girl that he'd ever really had eyes for. His happiness stopped for a moment though, as he thought of Hughes. The man had always been pushing for him to get together with a girl, and now that he had, he really couldn't stop thinking about what Hughes would do now.
"The idiot would probably insult me for not doing this sooner..." Mustang mused to himself. He closed his eyes and staggered up the stairs to his room, now thoroughly depressed by thoughts of his deceased friend. "I'm going to sleep now..." He collapsed onto his bed, fully clothed and passed out on top of the covers.
The next morning, Mustang's alarm clock was a rather unwelcome sound to his ears. He fumbled with it for a moment, eyes still closed, before giving up and slamming it onto the floor. The machine continued to be loud however and, with reluctance, Mustang got up to turn it off. He staggered into the bathroom, stripped, and stepped into the shower. The water turned on cold and woke him up after a few moments.
Mustang finished in the shower, put on clean clothes, and walked to his study. The sobering thought of Hughes last night would prevent him from eating breakfast. Add to that the thought of a comatose Edward and lunch wasn't looking likely either. He sat at his desk and worked through a few different leads on Edward's code once again. As usual, nothing worked. Sometime later he stood from his desk, ran a comb through his hair and pulled on his uniform. He locked up and left his house at 7:30 a.m. sharp.
All throughout the day, Mustang felt as if he was in a haze. Hawkeye noticed and was worried about him. Her superior was acting more distant than he usually did and his manner was a lot colder to the people he was required to meet with. At lunchtime, Hawkeye drew him to the side.
"What's wrong?" she inquired. He just shook his head.
"...I feel... helpless..." he admitted after a few moments of silence, "Worse than when we fought that humunculus. At least then, I could help fight. Right now though... I'm perfectly capable, but I can't do anything..."
"Sir, with all due respect," Hawkeye started, being brutally honest, "You're being completely ridiculous. If Edward were awake right now, he would be using rather colorful language to describe your behavior."
"…Yeah…" he muttered, running a hand through his rumbled black hair, "He would. Still though, I can't help but worry about the shrimp…" Mustang stared off into the distance and Hawkeye waited for a moment, patiently, while he sorted out his thoughts. "Col…" he started again, slowly, "I think… I think I might know how to break the code…"
"Yes?" she said, knowing what was coming next.
"Cancel all of the afternoons and get me someplace secure at the library. I need a few of the older reference books." He ordered with a snappish tone and Hawkeye leapt into action. In twenty minutes, the pair was locked into a far room in the library with a team outside to guard the door.
A young man stood outside of the Central Hospital, grinning at the doors.
"Well, well, Mr. Al-che-mist, I guess I'm paying you a visit!" The grin grew wider and he walked through the doors. He walked straight to the stairs and went up to the correct floor, where a single soldier sat, gun slung across his lap, asleep. The soldier was ignored and he walked into the room.
On the bed lay Edward Elric, still unmoving and oblivious to the waking world. Th man walked up and laid a hand lovingly on his cheek.
"Time to wake up Mr. Al-che-mist~!" he sang quietly. He closed his eyes and descended into the world of dreams to retrieve the military dog. After all, he was the Truth and it wouldn't do to let his puppets cut their own strings.
Edward floated in the silence, golden eyes half open and golden hair floating around him. His automail, the ones that Winry had made for him, were hooked up, but he couldn't move anything. If he moved, then the pain came, constricting his chest so tight that it was impossible to do anything but allow the blood to spew from his throat in some hope to alleviate the pressure. He'd been like this for a while now, but something felt like it was changing.
A ripple brushed his left foot, pushing the limb back slightly. He braced himself, but the searing never came. Slowly, his eyes opened the rest of the way, searching the darkness in front of him. The black was turning to white though, and something was rushing towards him. It smacked into him half a second later and the black lake turned into a white nothingness. Before him stood the Gate.
"No!" he shouted, scared that there wasn't any pain, "No! Not yet! I can't come to you!" His feet began to pull themselves towards the monstrosity. "NO!" he screamed, NO! I HAVE TO FIND AL!" He turned, trying to run, to drag, do anything to get away. But the pulling force was stronger than he was and a wave of pain hit his cheek. "No…" he slid backwards, collapsing to his knees. "No…" Pain seared across his forehead and his chest at the same time. "no.." As he began to cough again, violently, a golden figure appeared before him. He strained to look at the eyes, always the eyes, always tell by the eye, but the cough was too much and he fell to the darkness lapping in waves at the edges of his vision.
AUTHOR'S RAMLING EXCUSES
Alright, here's the truth; I don't know exactly where I"m going with this story, but I'm trying to figure it out. I'm also starting work as a lifeguard and a swim instructor, so I'm running a bit short on time with finals coming up. You guys're unfortunately towards the bottom of my priority list right now because real life is getting in the way. Again.
Thank you to TearsDrippingDown, purpleswans, Victorious-Mind, Little Did You Know, Dfire, Asbit, lotrprincess, anony, and AlchemyAuAg. I'll try to respond to reviews from Chappy 5 and this one through PMing, I'm tired of typing them all in here. See you guys (well, not really, unless I know you in person...) later!