Cruel Alchemy Chapter 10: Journey to Redemption pI, a fullmetal alchemist fanfic

Disclaimer: Own Fullmetal Alchemist I do not, own it never I will. No, I have NOT been watching Star Wars O.o

Note: I know, I know . . . it's been forever since an update, but I really want to redeem myself and give you wonderful readers a good chapter. I can only hope that I accomplish said task. I hate spitting out excuses, but my computer got some freaky ass virus when I was looking for Edgar Allan Poe info and I lost everything . . . yeah, EVERYTHING. Needless to say I've been working on trying to recover all that info and have had no progress so I gave up and figured "What the hell? I guess I'll start over . . . ". What I mean by that is the fact that I had chapter ten about 25 percent done already, and now I have to start from scratch. tear Not to mention for the last few months I've been in the process of moving so, well, I suppose I need a computer to write fanfiction right? XD

On another note, I NEED AN EDITOR/ BETA READER/ WHAT'CHA MA CALL IT person! My Audit gave up, my "Editor" never did . . . anything, and I just don't have the time or patients to go through all my chapters and fix them. So, if you'd be willing to do this job and STICK to it, I'd 1) love you and 2) draw you a thank you picture for your efforts! Whatever you want too! If you ask for the job, let me know in a review and I'll e-mail you the details. Now let's see if I can keep my end of my own bargen XD

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Chapter Ten : Journey For Redemption (Part One)

Rain . . . go figure.

Roy fought back his rage at the weather man for saying that it'd be a clear, sunny day when it obviously wasn't. Under other circumstances the Colonel would've slammed a fist against his steering wheel and cursed the living day-lights out of a man he didn't even know, but with Ed sitting motionlessly in the passenger seat, he found that it probably wasn't in his best intrests to do so. His eyes kept reverting from the blonde, to the street ahead of him, both showing no signs of improvement in condtions.

"H-Hey Ed . . . " he began, his voice strangely pleansant."Where is it that I'm taking you anyways?" Roy once again brought his midnight gaze to fall onto the boy, hoping for any sign of a response, or life for that matter.

Luckily it seemed that Ed got the message and he returned the eye contact."Anywhere . . . but home." he muttered, his brows twitching slightly from the effort of restraint he was clearly excersizing.

Mustang stared at the boy blankly, his mouth gaping open a bit."S-Sure." he replied, trying his best to seem composed."Would you like to just stay at . . ." he paused, bringing his optics back to the moist road." . . . My house?"

For a moment, Edward's eyes went wide and almost looked as if he were frightened, but they slowly relaxed and Ed found his voice again."Alright." Fullmetal quickly snatched his sight away from the Colonel and stared emotionlessly out the window once more.

Damn . . . He returned to being dead. Roy thought feverishly, biting his bottom lip with a quick glance at the blonde. He didn't have much time to stare when a car swirved infront of his car and cause Mustang to hit the breaks immediately. After taking a moment to catch his breath he lunged his head out the window and screamed,"BE CAREFUL YOU IDIOT!" Much to his surprise, his sudden outburst seemed to get a chuckled out of Ed before the boy returned to his previous state. Pulling his head back into the car, Roy wiped his face with the fabric of his sleeve and gently pushed the gas pedal to start them back up.

He didn't even bother to stop by the small alchemist's home to pick up some things for him, but instead just slowly treaded to his own house, still as large as ever. Roy took his time to park in his garage, feeling the need to ease Ed into the scenery.

"We're here Full Metal . . . " he whispered, slowly bringing his eyes to fall onto the small alchemist."Do you need anythi-" he started, interrupted by the abrupt motion of the car door opening and the blonde leaving at an even faster pace."Guess not."

Getting out of the car himself, Roy ran a hand through his hair all the way down his neck, locking the car doors behind him."This is going to be quite the experience." he muttered to himself as he walked into his house through a side door in the garage. When he got inside he looked around and found Ed to be nowhere in sight."Guess he just wants to be alone, who could blame him? Might as well take this oppertunity to look over some paperwork and actually get some work done."

With that, Roy trudged groggily up to his office on the third floor and threw his jacket off, tossing it onto some unoticed furniture. He fell lazily into his desk chair and pulled a thick folder from one of the drawers. Hesitantly, he opened the folder.

FILE ON : TOBIAS MUSTANG (A.K.A - RYAN STRATUS)

CHARGES AGAINST HIM/HER : 1ST DEGREE MURDER, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, WORKING ILLEGALLY, AND MAN SLAUGHTER.

Without even paying much attention to the rest of the first page of his file, Roy glared heavily at the name before him."If it wasn't for that bastard, Elric wouldn't be suffering so much and my life might've been alittle happier from the beginning." He clentched his teeth so tight to the point of being audiable. I will make you pay dearly for what you have done to the people I love. The next time I see you, it'll be the last time. His thoughts ran violently and dark, bringing out a side of the man he hadn't experienced for the longest time. As the night wore on, his mood didn't improve, but instead increasingly got worse, so much that he couldn't bare to look at the papers anymore and stormed out of his office and into his bedroom. Despite still being fully dressed in the outfit he had been in all day, Mustang fell forward onto his bed and kicked off his boots. He forced himself onto his back and undid the first couple of buttons of his white shirt, his mind wondering just about everywhere it could be. To his surprise, it seemed the constant worry of the past few days and anger boiling up inside him finally caught up with him and made the Colonel incredibly tired."I hope . . . Ed found a place to sleep." he whispered softly before shutting his eyes and allowing himself to rest.

Instead of a morning with a rising sun, and a constant exposure to the over-dramatized light, the beginning of the day was cold and merky. Rain no longer poured from the sky, but the roads were sopping wet and the surrounding trees were lower to the ground then usual, all the extra weight bringing their branches downwards. Even the scent of the previous day lingered heavily in the air, it's stench filling Edward's nostrils as he inhaled slowly, watching the grass sway in the sparatic wind. He continued to stare mindlessly until he heard a confident knocking at his room door."Y-Yes?" he questioned, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I made breakfast if you want any. It's down in the kitchen." Roy responded just as softly, his confidence gone.

The blonde stared at the closed door for what seemed to be the longest time, his eyes fogging over slightly."Ok . . . Thanks."

Mustang stood silently infront of the barrier between them, his fists clentching so tightly that his nails dug into the skin of his palms, blood slowly trickling down the side of his hand. Without pursuing a conversastion, although he very much wanted to, Roy let go of his grip and sighed quietly to himself. He turned his back to the door and, at the pace of someone with mud on their shoes, made his way back to the kitchen.

It felt like days before the older man saw Ed's blonde hair enter the room, quickly wiping away the jam that rested on his cheek from his meal of toast and bacon. His mouth hung open for a moment, his bottom lip quivering with hesitation before he mentioned,"I put your food in the microwave. All you have to do is set it for a minute and press start."

The boy lazily brought Roy into his vision and nodded, dragging his souless body to said contraption and pushed his finger against the buttons. As the microwave hummed throughout the kitchen, Ed made no movement and neither did Mustang. Picking up an old dated newspaper, the Colonel scanned over the already-read print and, thinking he was pretty clever, paid no mind to the blonde, hoping that without attention he might become human again if only for a moment. Strangely enough, it seemed to work as Edward pulled his freshly warmed plate out of the machine and poured himself a glass of orange juice, carrying both over to the opposite side of the table that Roy sat. He placed them down infront of him and grabbed his fork and knife, cutting through the white of the egg, eventually slicing the yolk in half. Ed paused, watching the yellow substance spew out and ooze over the rest; it made him think.

Mustang couldn't help but purposely bend a corner of his paper so that his eyes could see the small alchemist from the corner of his vision. When he noticed no movement he brought a closed fist to his mouth and cleared his throat as non-chalantly as he could. FullMetal jumped and looked at Roy with the first emotion the Colonel had seen in awhile; anger.

"You did that on purpose." Ed mumbled, a light blush gracing his cheeks from embarassment.

Roy smirked,"You're imagining things. I merely had a piece of toast stuck in my throat." He looked up from 'reading' and smirked,"If it'll make you feel better, here-" At that moment, the man paused so he could pose in a very feminine manner, his right wrist falling downwards as if to fan the air, while the other hand rested over his mouth, the pinky dramatically pointing to the sky."Excuuuse me!" Mustang's voice emphasized the first word as his tone reached a pitch a man's voice should never reach.

Edward had no response, his face pale from utter horror and his eyes contorted by the rest of his strange expression. As Roy continued to hold his posture, a smile slowly crept onto the boy's face, a giggle following afterwards that he was unable to hold back. The giggle quickly morphed into a laugh and the older man's body slowly relaxed, his face perplexed.

"Ed . . . " Mustang whispered, his voice small and surprised. The blonde continued his laughter to the point of tears welling up in his eyes. When they began to pour over, the small alchemist wiped his face perfusely, the sound of his amusement filling the entire room.

Roy couldn't take his eyes off of him, unable to believe what he was witnessing, and even more that he was the cause of it. His body reacted far faster then his brain, causing him to getting up from his seat and to Ed's side, his arms embracing the blonde. FullMetal haulted his laughter with a gasp and felt the need to hold his breath.

"W-What's wrong Colonel?" he stammered, blushing to the tips of his ears.

Mustang smiled widely, very unlike his usual character, and replied,"You laughed! You actually laughed! I'm so happy I could-" his voice faded as the thought of kissing the other came to mind and reason finally taking hold of him.

The tiny alchemist looked down at the arm holding his shoulders, one of Roy's hands in view. He wiggled his arms just right and gently rested one of his own hands on top of it, the other grasping the fabric of Roy's sleeve."You could . . . what?" his voice sounded small, but inviting as he brought his golden eyes to fall on the Colonel's.

Mustang stared back, loosing himself in those pools of loneliness and want, bringing his mouth closer to the other's."I could kiss you."

Without hesitation, they pressed their lips softly together, the feel of their skin touching exciting them both. Roy released the kiss and barely opened his eyes, taking in the sight of the boy's face as it gazed back at him as if begging for more. Mustang couldn't help but oblidge the other's request and brought their mouths to entwine once more, this time parting his lips slightly. His tongue pressed needingly against the surface of Ed's lips and was granted entry, dancing with its new-found friend within their playground know as FullMetal's crevice. Edward's grip tightened on the other's sleeve, having never been so deeply kissed before and was beginning to feel faint. The Colonel noticed and hummed for the blonde to breath through his nose; luckily, he seemed to get the message and relaxed.

He couldn't make sense of it . . . Roy had never wanted so much to take a person and ravage him as much as he did this boy, and yet he's a male and what felt like half his age; logic didn't seem to be in play in this interaction at all. Infact, it felt like, at that moment, as if none of that even mattered and all Mustang could think about was the heat flowing through his body and the throbbing sensastion he was feeling in his groin.

But then suddenly, something flickered in his brain and he stopped his exploration of the blonde's mouth. Roy lazily opened his eyes and stared down at the beet-red, panting face of the other, still connected to him by a string of spit that fell from Ed's tongue, to the corner of the man's lower lip. The boy's eyes gazed back at him, fogged over by the passion they had just shared.

"W-Why'd you stop?" Ed asked, his voice faint and slightly pleading.

Roy opened his mouth, taking a small breath in to calm his pacing heart,"We shouldn't be doing this . . . " he responded, his cheeks flushed from delayed embarassment, bringing a hand to rest over his lips.

Edward's brows furrowed deeply, his lips quivering and his shoulders shaking."Shouldn't be doing this?" he repeated angrily,"SHOULDN'T BE DOING THIS?"

Mustang took a step back, unaware as to the cause of the boys sudden rage.

Realising that he suprised his commanding officer he came on stronger,"I just lost my brother whom I've been trying to get back his body for, risking life and limb for many years to do so, a psychopathic Homunculli is after me and is willing to take anything to ge me, and you're saying that I shouldn't be doing something like this with you?" Though his voice was weakened his tone still came out ever so angrily.

Roy was confused, but never the less unwilling to continue what they had just been engaged in despite his want."That's right. We can't do this . . . Not when you're in this kind of condition-"

"Condition! The thing is Colonel, I'm perfectly fine! I haven't been injured or anything; it's EVERYONE AROUND ME THAT GET'S HURT!" Ed tried his hardest to shout but his voice cracked and he let out a strained cough. Mustang leaned toward him but the blonde held up a threating hand,"Perhaps you're right. We shouldn't do something that'd probably make me forget all my worries for the first time in months. Instead I'll just go back to my room and leave you alone so that maybe you won't get hurt too . . . " Ed's voice was barely above a whisper but Roy finally understood why he was mad.

"Ed." He began, letting his arms fall lifelessly to his sides,"The thing is-" he paused, awaiting permission to continue which he reluctantly recieved."I just don't want to do anything to you that you may regret later when things have become alittle more normal." Roy tried his best to muster up a smile but came up with something alittle more simpathetic looking."I'm going to go to my office and leave the rest of the house to you. You're welcome to interrupt me anytime, but this-" he waved a hands between the two of them,"won't happen until I think you're really prepared to accept the consequences."

Edward couldn't help but let all his anger melt away and nod with his eyes plastered to his feet. Roy walked away slowly, giving the boy one last glance before he left his sight completely, leaving the other alone and somewhat spiteful. The boy lifted his gaze and slowly inspected the kitchen and the scenery outside the sliding glass doors that covered half of the wall. The merky atmosphere was uninviting to anyone normal, but since when was Ed considered normal? He lazily dragged himself to one of the glass doors and slid it open, walking onto the patio. To his surprise his eyes got a treat; bushed of pink and red roses created a circle which, in the center, laid a statue of a weeping soldier with a rifle standing directly up that had a helmet hanging off the top. The small alchemist pondered the statue, longing to understand who the man was and who it was that he lost. In his mind he found himself sitting next to that man, holding the helmet of the suit of armor that his brothers soul accupied for many years and telling the other that he understood his pain. He created a face for the soldier in his fantasy and they stared at each other and conversed about their missing comrades, laughing and crying for hours until it felt as if all that had happened was a part of this strange fantasy as well and that when the real world came back into focus this would all be over and his brother and himself could continue to live their stange, but happy lives.

A sneeze graced the boys nose and shot him back into the reality he loathed but was unfortunatley stuck in. Rubbing a finger under his nostrils he walked back inside and shut the door quietly behind him. Ed rubbed his hand up and down his arm, finally realising how cold it was and remembered the room he had been in with the Colonel during his first visit and the fireplace that exsisted there. Slapping both his cheeks simultaniously Ed put the memories of that room out of his mind before scurrying over to it and quickly making his way inside. When he latched the door behind him he took a good look around, something that he didn't really get a chance to do the previous visit and was amazed at how sterile the entire place, not to mention the entire house, was. Was Mustang some kind of closet neat freak? His desk never looked this clean . . .

The small alchemist found a box of matches and lit one holding it under the fresh pieces of firewood he had also put in place and waited until a fire had been brewed before throwing the rest of the match inside and shutting the black, metal gate. Ed found a soft, cotton blanket with a stitched picture of the alchemist symbol on in and tightly wrapped it around himself, curling up on the couch, and stared mindlessly at the flames. His eye lids became unbearably heavy, causing him to shut his eyes, and for the first time in along time Ed was able to doze straight off into a dreamless sleep.

Roy was in his office shifting from paper to paper trying to find a mission statement the Riza had told him to proof read when the phone rang. He grumpily snatched it off it's stand and put it between his cheek and shoulder to continue to search. He came to a sudden hault when he heard the Fuhrer's voice on the other side and held the phone properly with his hand.

"Yes sir?" he asked promptly.

"No need to be all stiff Roy, I just called because something came up and I need you out on the field." The Fuhrer responded sing-songly, his tone too cheerful as usual.

"On the field? What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing major. It's just some Outlaw Alchemist-Wannabe attacking random things like an idiot and I'd really like it taken care of quickly."

Roy's brow twitched,"Quickly? Is there an important meeting you have to attend sir?"

A laugh graced the ear piece of the phone,"Well you see, my wife insisted that we go see and opera and my son has been looking forward to it which was quite cute I thought and I don't want to dissapoint him-"

Mustang rubbed his temple agitatedly and interrupted,"Sir, you're beginning to sound like Major Hughes."

The Fuhrer laughed louder this time and agreed, saying his goodbyes and hanging up the phone. Roy sat there with the dial tone in his ear and sighed heavily. He put the reciever back in its cradle and glared at the mess of papers before him,"He wants me to work on my day off just so he can go to an opera with his wife and kid? That bastard! Just wait until I'm Fuhrer . . . "

Despite his hate for the leader of their military at the moment he got up, got dressed, and slipped his specially made gloves over his chilled hands and made his way downstairs. For a moment he had forgotten that FullMetal was even there, until he reached the door and was overwhelmed by that feeling of haven forgotten something. He felt that he wasn't in any sort of rush so he looked around for a bit before walking past his reading room, the sound of the fire crackling inside catching his attention. Roy grabbed the handle and quietly let himself inside, Edward filling his dark optics. A tiny grin escaped his lips and he gently sat down beside the boy, staring at him ever so sweetly. Mustang brough his hand to the blonde's cheek and felt the cold skin beneath his gloves. He brushed a few loose hairs out of the boy's face and pulled the blanket to rest properly on the other, warming him up almost instantly. Ed softly let out a breath and snuggled against the cotton, Roy's name whispered from his lips. Mustang blinked and let out a laugh, looking away and resting his elbows on his knees for a moment before pushing himself up and walking out the room, soon to leave his house and drive off completely unoticed by the one person he wanted to be with the most.

When the Colonel arrived at his destination, all was silent. He made sure to park his car where he knew it'd be uneffected by any controversy that was bound to happen. Just as he rounded a corner a fruit stand burst into flames, sending chunks of honeydew and contalope melons flying in every direction. Roy quickly rounded the corner once more and leaned against the wall, peering over the edge of the corner slowly, catching a glimps of a man, paler then what was normal with an arm that appeared to be inflamed and buldging in places an arm should never have protruding. He pulled his head back and thought for a moment, finding the solution to be quite simple. Mustang flung himself from behind his hiding place, tumbled against the ground like a childs ball, and landed in a crouch, lifting his head to come eye to eye with this deformed monster of a man. He snapped his fingers, the sound echoing in the silence of the moment, and sent out a spark that launched its self directly at the man, lighting his sickly-colored skin aflame almost immediately.

Wiping himself off, the Colonel got to his feet and watched the horrid display before him, being somewhat reminded of the time FullMetal and himself had a conjoined mission. Beind reminded of the boy gave the man a sinking feeling in his gut, causing him to grasp his uniform above his belly button and clench it tightly. I want to be home . . . he thought, feeling a tad bit childish for doing so. Roy turned his back to the melting deformity, taking a few steps in the direction of his car when he caught a strange smell in the air. He spun on his heels, his eyes widening when he saw the mans body bubbling outwards as if he was a pot of water reaching the boiling point. The Colonel had never seen such a reaction to his flames when it hit him . . . Upon his arrive this man had blown a fruit stand up, which could only mean that arm of his had the power to cause objects to explode. Why hadn't he realised this crucial fact? Perhaps he was too distracted by his eagerness to return home, but none of that mattered at the moment. With all the strength in his legs he pushed himself forward and ran as fast as he could to the wall that he had hidden behind previously and lept behind it for cover, placing his arms above his head as he did so.

The mutant exploded with a huge blast, debrit flying through the air violenty and the surrounding buildings tumbling to the ground, including the building shielding Roy.

Hours passed and the Central command heard of the events, immediately sending a team to investigate. By the time the group had arrived, all that was left of that section of town was rubble and a large amount of smoke clouding the area like an ominous aura suggesting the worst. Maes had smuggled his way into being the head of the team and called out harshly to the others,"Don't leave any rock unturned or any place unsearched! The Colonel had to be around here somewhere and none of us are leaving until he is found!"

The team soluted the Major and began their frantic search. Hughes wiped the sweat off his brow, rearranging his glasses for the best possible sight as he began to lift rocks from a large pile of rubble and throwing them aside. Roy, you're alive, you've GOT to be, so where the hell are you?! Maes gripped a small cluster of rocks and threw them off to the side, his heart racing painfully against his chest with each piece of rubble, fearing the senario that would occur if Roy wasn't found. The scenes started to play in his head of repeat, as if to motivate him to his limits. He sniffed, letting out a cough as the smoke filled his lungs like a drag from a cigaret, a glimps of navy blue catching his peripheral vision. The Major's heart felt as if it would rip through his skin at any moment, his hands moving like a force of their own as he tore through the debris to reveal Roy, bleeding profusely and clearly unconsious.

"OVER HERE!" Maes screamed at the top of his lung, dusting off the man's face, his eyes tear up."Roy . . . " he took in a harsh breath, a forced smile emerging on his face,"You look like shit."

After Word :

That only took alittle more then a year :D God, I'm horrible . . . I'M SO SORRY!! The note at the top is what really happened at the time, but that was then and this is now. Before I explain shit, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yes, that's all there is to that, now to my excuses! For the past year and whatever I've moved to and from California probably too many times to be legal and have been forced to procrastinate on too much crap, including this fic, but of course the writers block from Satan himself didn't seem to help either. I'll try to whip our chapter 11 by the end of this month but I need to spend some time to figure out where I was going with this story. STILL NEED A BETA READER or a slave . . . which ever floats your boat. I just get so tired of reading these things over and over to find mistakes so I really hope someone is interested? I'll love you:D