AN: Hello everyone! Thank you again to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed Puppet! You guys are the gasoline to my Calcifer! ^_^

I guess I'm back a lot earlier than I figured before. I went on a writing spree and finished Chapter Eighteen and am already working on Chapter Nineteen so I thought I might as well share it with you. I'm a horrible person, updating so sporadically, but I want to get as much out as quickly as I can for you all! So here's chapter Eighteen. Enjoy!

Puppet Chapter Eighteen

The cold feel of metal under his hand was steadying, strengthening in its firm solidity, even if it was completely motionless. Dancing along the intricate yet brazen design of the automail, Roy's fingers took in every detail, soaking every tiny scratch and indention of the metal into himself. Eyes focused loosely on Ed's peaceful face, the General's mind roamed freely as he leaned forward in the highly uncomfortable metal fold-out chair. The dark lashes that fanned out on the high cheekbones caught his attention now and then, as did the occasional twitch of Ed's lips during his sleep. After a few minutes Mustang drew back his hand from Ed's automail one, looking across at where Al was clutching Ed's flesh left hand. The teenager had been asleep for about an hour but Mustang had no urge to wake the boy.

They've both been through so much. They need their rest while this calm lasts.

The tiniest smile tugged at the corner of the man's mouth as he regarded the slumbering brothers. It felt like it had been ages since he'd seen them both together in such a vulnerable position. Exhaustion had to catch up sometime though. As did other things. And just like that, the General's smile diminished completely and he leaned back, away from the Elrics.

"Starving" the doctor had said. What kind of commander- no, friend- am I if I ignored such an obvious thing. Of course Ed would be starving when he finally woke up, and dehydrated, and exhausted. But he'd seemed almost… okay.

The image of Ed's too-familiar scowl flitted through Mustang's head and he had to set his folded hands in front of his mouth to hold in the helpless sigh. Glancing back over at Alphonse, his frame relaxed. The boy was like some kind of guardian for his brother, clinging hard to his hand even when they were both asleep. Al was such an astounding person…

The coolness of winter was approaching quickly, and it was obvious in the way that the chill was seeping through the house. Roy stared at his ceiling, just waiting. He knew it was almost dawn, and he was glad that the weekend had arrived, even though he would be making an appearance tomorrow for a quick meeting anyway. A quick meeting that would probably keep him in the office for at least a few hours. But he didn't really have it in him to be stressed about that right now. That would come later. For now, he knew that what was coming was so much more important. Like clockwork, a muffled noise broke through the silence that he had been nestled in like a blanket. He sat up slowly, reaching over and swiftly lighting the candle on his bedside table with the box of matches that waited. Pushing himself to the edge of his bed, he then reached out for his watch, barely giving the military insignia on the outside a glance before flicking it open.

It was nearing four thirty in the morning.

Well, this was later than usual, actually. If he'd managed to get any sleep he might have appreciated the lateness of the hour. As it was, he just ran his hands over his face and through his hair, roughly messing the locks of black back into place before he stood with a huge sigh. He tightened the belt on his robe, grabbed the candelabra, and headed downstairs. The staircase creaked softly under his feet and he took a moment to pause and listen, making sure that the sounds were still coming, steadily louder now. He made it to the bottom of the stairs and immediately turned away from the front door, following the hallway that led into the living room of the house. The whispered cries and trembling sobs had his steps faltering but he pressed forward anyway, going straight to the coffee table and setting down the candelabra before finally letting his eyes settle on Al.

The boy was curled so far into Roy's couch that the General was surprised he hadn't yet disappeared completely into the dark leather and pale blankets. The pillow that Al had been using had somehow ended up five feet away from the couch. Mustang rubbed his eyes briefly, almost smiling at Al's sleeping habits before the next sob from the shaking boy had him crouching down, expression clean of all amusement. It took many seconds of shaking Al by the shoulders before the boy finally began to surface, wide raw umber eyes turning on him with shock before the expression softened to exasperation.

'I woke you again, General.'

Roy mustered up a crooked smile, 'That's alright, Al. I wasn't sleeping.'

The silence then came back, like it had just been waiting for the younger Elric to awaken before wrapping Roy back into its folds. But he didn't really have time nor want for that right now, looking into Al's shadowed eyes.

'Al, I was just about to make coffee. Would you like that peppermint tea again?'

The boy's features brightened a fraction and the smile came almost naturally to his face, 'That sounds great! Do you want help?'

'No, I'll take care of it,' Roy climbed to his feet and paused before ruffling Al's already wild and tangled hair, 'why don't you fix your sheets and get comfortable.'

At the quick affirmative, Roy began making his way out of the room, but not before pausing to grab the pillow and fling it at Al, who gave a startled yelp. Another twitching smile fought Roy's lips but he wouldn't- couldn't give into it. Now that he was actually up and moving around, that blank darkness shifted into a visceral smog that curled inside of his heart and head, blackening and infecting his every thought. Ed was still gone and not only was he left to try and put himself back together, but he couldn't let Alphonse be alone in this so he had to try and help the teenager as well. Obviously he was helping Al better than he was himself. But that's just how he was wasn't he?

I don't really deserve to be helped at all, anyway, he thought bitterly as he began heating water for the coffee and tea.

Minutes passed and he was just finished putting the liquids into two separate mugs before opening up a bottle and sloshing a fair amount of sharp-scented clear liquid into his own mug. He was going to need some kind of help if he was going to be able to get on his feet and go to that meeting in a few hours.

He made his way back through the halls and into the living room, being cautious to make sure he handed Alphonse the right mug before he took a seat on the couch beside the boy. Pausing to tug on a glove and snap his fingers, he sat back contentedly and sipped on his bitter, slightly sour coffee while staring into the new fire that was blazing in the hearth across the room. The minutes passed in companionable silence, which had become pretty normal over the past few months.

Until Al set his mug on the coffee table and drew himself back onto the couch- legs and all- tucking his limbs to his body before resting his chin on his knees and glancing over at Roy.

'I dreamed that Ed came into Central Command,' Al started, voice quiet and so tender, so raw and open that Roy felt a brief stab of guilt for not having the courage to meet the boy's eyes, 'he walked right past all of us. We went chasing after him, of course, but for some reason we couldn't go fast enough. Couldn't really get to him. We followed him up the steps onto the roof and… well… we were only a step or two away from him but couldn't stop him. He jumped right off the edge. And the worst… the worst part was that I could hear him hit the ground below, and he let out this kind of scream, like an animal or something, and then there was just nothing. We were frozen and I could only stare at the place where he stepped off.'

Roy could picture it clearly, and was disquieted by the choking sounds that Al struggled to get his words through. The tears were flowing thickly down the boy's face now, and Roy couldn't do any more than glance over at him before returning his eyes to the fire. Pungent, oily guilt was spreading through his gut, following the sear of alcohol that was burning through him. He took an inappropriately large gulp of his alcohol-infused coffee before clearing his throat.

'That sounds horrible,' was all he could manage, battling for better words, but he just didn't know how to handle this situation. He wished Hawkeye was there. She was always so great at comforting people.

There were sharp inhales that signified Al's attempt to gather himself back up, and Roy felt another surge of regret, knowing that the boy would feel better if he just let himself cry. When the General turned to tell Al just that, though, dark golden eyes caught and trapped his. The gleaming, reddened quality of them had Roy unable to look away. Distress usually made Roy become awkward and want to retreat, but this was Alphonse Elric, and he just couldn't.

'Why… why do you think I dreamed that?' the wavering of Al's voice just made that sharp twinge twist painfully in Roy's chest.

'Why do you think you had that dream?' he answered quietly after a few long moments.

Al broke eye contact to gaze down at his hands, which were clutching his legs tight enough that Roy could see the shaking of the boy's muscles, 'I… I'm scared. About Ed. I'm scared it's too late. I'm scared that something really bad has already happened to him. What do you… what do you think he's doing right now? Right this moment?'

Tilting his head back, Mustang stared at the ceiling as he contemplated his answer. What did he think Ed was doing right at that moment?

An image of the blonde sipping at his honey whiskey and giving Roy a crooked grin across the whole foot of air between them at the bar came into his mind. Of golden eyes lighting with laughter at some sardonic joke Roy had made. Of a wrinkled nose when the blonde helped Roy home from the bar. Arms wrapped around him, his own arms wrapped around Ed…

'He's probably thinking about you,' Mustang answered simply, straightening back up on the couch and forcing a smile for Alphonse, 'he's probably trying to figure out how to get back to you.'

They were optimistic and sweet lies, Mustang knew. All he could imagine was their Edward bound to a chair in some fucking basement being tortured, or lying at the back of a cage somewhere. He couldn't tell Al that. But maybe there were also other ways to reassure the younger Elric.

'I have them too,' he struggled for another smile when Al's puzzled gaze settled on him, 'the dreams. About Edward. They started coming right after he went missing, and I've had them ever since. I think they're normal- they let out our fears during the night and when we're asleep to make up for trying to hide it during the day. Our dreams show us a lot of what we try to hide from ourselves. It would make sense that you would dream about Ed giving up.'

Al nodded slowly, before tentatively reaching out and wrapping his shaking fingers around Mustang's wrist, 'What are your dreams about him like?'

Thinking about it, Roy quickly filtered out the ones where he raised a gun and shot Ed down in cold blood. That was not something he planned on sharing with anyone, ever. Or the ones where Ed was a cowering child in Ishval that Roy lit on fire without a second thought. Or the ones where Ed was being taken apart piece by piece right in front of him…

'Sometimes I dream that there's a glass wall between Edward and me. And no matter how much I hit it, shoot it, and use alchemy on it, it never cracks. And I see Ed on the other side, beating against the glass and shouting something. But I can't hear what he's saying.'

The fingers around his wrist tightened briefly before Al let go and curled back into himself. A chirping began floating along the air distantly and Mustang felt a sudden rush of anger at the coming of the dawn. But then, resigning himself to the approaching sunlight, he let out a sigh and climbed to his feet, just the slightest bit lightheaded and unsteady. He swallowed the rest of his coffee and turned to Al, setting a hand on the boy's head gently.

'You should get back to sleep, Alphonse. I have to go into the office for an hour or two but after that we can start researching again, alright?'

The boy nodded but didn't make any movements to lay down and relax, so Roy just shrugged and headed back towards the kitchen. Before he completely left the room, though, Al's soft voice floated out to him.

'Be careful how much you put in your next cup. Your breath already smells like alcohol.'

The words weren't meant to be rude or accusatory but Roy's heart stung like a bullet had just shot through it. With self-loathing filling his veins, he dropped the empty mug in the sink before heading straight upstairs to his shower.

Hopefully all of this will just wash away…

The strained sigh right in front of him ripped him out of the daydream, and he rose quickly when he saw that Ed was awake and trying to sit up on his elbows. Mustang pressed the blonde's shoulders gently, pressing Ed back into the sheets and pillows.

'Don't move yet, Edward. How are you feeling?'

'Like Hawkeye ran me over and Winry beat me with wrenches,' Ed croaked weakly, squinting as he turned his head towards Roy. The way that golden hair splayed over the stark white sheets had Mustang's heart seizing yet again in relief and disbelief.

He's really back. He's alright.

'Strange. I can actually see you,' the murmur was Ed's voice, but it lacked a lot of something. Confused, Mustang sat back down in his chair after dragging it closer to the bed.

'What do you mean by that?'

'I mean I can actually see you! Not just hear you. I must be really going insane, huh?' a shadow of Ed's usual cheeky grin flashed over the blonde's face before smoothing out into a humorless smile, 'That means I should be able to see Hughes, then, right? I would really like to see Hughes.'

Heart folding into itself so tightly that he could have sworn his breath stopped, Mustang got back to his feet unsteadily and made his way to the door. That… anything but that, he could have handled.

Why Hughes…? Obviously Ed thought I was some sort of figment of his imagination but… why Hughes?

Maybe it's because Ed just woke up, but Mustang knew he didn't have the strength to try and bring Ed back to the present this time. Not after that. He swallowed tightly as he left the room, the door clicking shut softly behind him just in time for him to hear Al's drowsy voice begin to speak.

The next few minutes he spent just standing outside the door with the Lieutenants that stood guard. Every now and then he would glance at Hawkeye and Havoc, but they kept their expressions totally blank. It was comforting, and Roy showed his gratitude by leaving to grab coffee for them. Leaving the hospital felt wrong, but the sunlight that was fighting the icy wind felt invigorating against his skin, making him almost feel alive again.

Ed. Is. Here. He reminded himself yet again, and his spirits did lift the slightest bit the more he repeated it to himself, Anybody would be damaged if they were ripped from their home and their family for two years. Ed is no different. But he is still Edward Elric.

He went to the closest diner, got four cups of coffee and a vanilla tea before making his way back to the hospital, slowing his pace when he realized he was approaching. He considered the option of going to Western Command to do paperwork- fill out the transfer papers that would get him a secure transport for Ed back to Central. Or he could go see Winry, who was no doubt working on the automail update that Edward needed. He could think of a thousand things to do, and yet his hesitant feet still carried him back through the hospital to Ed's room. Handing out coffee to his subordinates, who gave grateful nods and a smirk from Havoc, he stalled again.

Until Hawkeye gave him this knowing look, her lips pursed and eyes warm but sharp. He knew her well enough to know exactly what that look said.

"No matter what you're feeling, Ed needs you."

He gave her something that he hoped resembled a smile before gathering up his faltering courage and pushing through the door once again. The sight that he walked into made him stop for a moment to take it in, warmth washing away whatever nervous thoughts he had been having.

Al had moved onto the bed, squashed against his brother tightly and talking animatedly while Ed smiled, probably more amused by Al's exuberance than Fuery's disastrous attempt at an elegant date. When Ed noticed Mustang at the door though, something conflicted fluttered through his eyes, and that made the General a bit anxious. It was like Ed was seeing a ghost. As they stared at one another, though, the look began to fade and apology was clear in those golden pools. That simple knowing and shared grief passed between them. Mustang gave a barely perceptible nod, a silent acknowledgement that he understood. His heart was still struggling between going icy and trying to strangle itself, but he did his best to brush the pesky emotions aside.

Moving forward, he dispensed the cups between the three of them and took his seat on the metal chair once again. Ed took one whiff of the coffee before moaning loudly in such a way that had both Roy and Al's eyebrows rising. But apparently the blonde didn't care what they thought as he proceeded to tear the lid off of his cup and blister his tongue with the steaming liquid.

'Slow, Edward. This is the first thing other than water that you've had in… well, at least a week.'

Surprisingly, Ed immediately slowed down to just sipping the drink.

'Thanks, Mustang. This was just what I needed,' Ed murmured, staring down into the cup.

And just like that, this tense quietness swept over the three of them. Al looked lost and concerned as he weighed the sudden heaviness, but Roy didn't even try to analyze it. They'd talked to the doctor. They knew what Ed's diagnosis was and it wasn't a pretty one. He wondered how Ed was going to take it.

It's not as if war hysteria was something that could be easily treated, either, since it was completely psychological.

But, like the doctor said, that was only half the problem. Or that was the theory so far. There was still something mysteriously physical going on.

'Ed… how much do you remember?' Maybe it wasn't the best question to break the silence with, but Roy had to know.

The blonde's body stiffened and his fingers gave a spasm where they gripped his cup. His voice was light in an obviously forced way when he answered, 'Everything, more or less. Things get hazy when I try to remember what happened after we got to Helltem. But I remember everything before that… well, except for that year gap.'

'Doctor Nelson believes he knows why you're struggling with your memory. Part of it at least. And why you might be struggling with other things.'

Ed's eyes shot up to him and again, Mustang's breath was taken away by the incredible gold coloring. Nobody had eyes like Ed's. Not even Hohenheim had- nobody had eyes this bright, this so close to being actual jewels.

'Doctor Nelson… Doctor Isaac Nelson…' Ed became distracted almost instantly and Mustang shared a look with Al, 'Is Isaac from the compound alright? Did you get him medical attention?'

That's right. The man Ed had beaten over half to death.

Roy leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and folding his hands in front of his mouth, 'Yes, he's fine Edward. Don't you want to know what we think is affecting you?'

'War hysteria,' Ed shrugged at the surprised looks he received, 'I heard the doctor talking about it before I passed out that last time. I think I heard about that a long time ago. It has something to do with my mind, right? Not the brain but the actual psychological whatever?'

'That's right, Ed. War hysteria usually manifests itself in soldiers returning from war or battle, but we've seen it before in other cases…'

Ed's brow rose, 'Such as?'

Mustang straightened back in his seat and crossed his arms uncomfortably. Was this too soon for Ed? He'd been through a lot of trauma, so was it really wise to throw all of this on him all at once? But the curiosity and need for answers in the blonde's eyes had Mustang's caution crumbling.

'Well, natural disasters, torture, sexual assault, basically anything that traumatically harms a person in some way can cause it. Or so that's the unofficial theory. Really it is a term that's only supposed to be applied to veterans but Doctor Nelson has already put the diagnosis for you in his files.'

The General's stomach sank after he finished, crossing his arms tighter against himself at the vacant expression that had come over Ed's face. The look that had appeared as soon as "sexual assault" had slipped from Mustang's mouth. He supposed he'd already anticipated it, already predicted what had happened, especially given Artabanus' behavior when the man came into the hospital. But still, it made something hot and vicious start cracking through his ribcage at the same moment that something cold and nauseous slipped down his body. The fury was hard to contain but the last thing Roy wanted was for Ed to close himself off. He wanted to demand what exactly had happened right at that moment, but the more logical side knew that would be the worst thing to do.

Ed was already too fragile. One push and he might break completely.

Al's arms slid around his brother and the Elrics began swaying slightly. It looked ridiculous and awkward, but Ed's eyes slowly began to clear once again and he smiled over at his brother softly. Roy's heart reached out to them and he wanted nothing more than to be part of that moment, but he knew better than to come between those brothers. Maybe once he and Ed were alone he would have the chance to show Ed just how much that absence had hurt. How much Ed mattered to him. Chest clenching at the thought of being so vulnerable, he cleared his throat.

'Along with memory loss, stress and high anxiety are signs of war hysteria. So is sleep deprivation, nightmares, flashbacks, things like that. Maybe those aren't that… apparent, at the moment. But they most likely will manifest eventually,' keeping his tone neutral was difficult as memories of his own struggle after Ishval tried to surface. Some of that had most likely leaked into his voice anyway, but the Elrics didn't comment on it, only gave him curious looks.

'So that's what I have to look forward to. Wonderful,' Ed said, his words underlined by a darkness that Mustang could empathize with completely.

The way the blonde just looked completely exhausted for a moment made Mustang rethink the wisdom of putting all this on him at once. But other than a short moment that Ed zoned out, he'd been handling it quite well. As in, he wasn't having another episode from the stress of the situation. Mustang was taking that as a good sign.

He was taking anything he could get as good signs, like the way Ed's eyes were mostly clear when they rested back on his for a few long moments.

'How… how is James and the other children?'

Of course Ed would want to know about that. Of all the things Ed could have asked about, of course it was about the safety of others. It was so classically him that the General felt a swell of relief.

'They're all okay. All here in the hospital with us, in the recovery ward.'

Relief radiated from Ed and seemed to fill the previously tense room. A wavering smile plastered itself across the young teacher's face and he seemed to withdraw within himself a bit, 'How is James? Is he alright? What has he been saying? What have any of them been saying?'

And that was the hard part, 'Not much,' Mustang admitted quietly, glancing between Ed and Al regretfully, 'they've all been fairly silent, no matter how much Hawkeye and Breda try to talk to them. You've actually been talking more than they are.'

Ed's smile turned self-deprecating as the blonde looked down into his coffee once again, avoiding everybody's eyes, 'Well, they've been through a lot worse than me. Have you conducted physicals on them yet?'

'The doctors want to wait until the kids are comfortable here in the hospital first before doing something so stressful… why?'

Ed sighed and leaned back into his pillows, barely glancing at Al when the younger Elric put a steadying hand on his arm before fixating back on Mustang, 'You'll find signs of torture, probably. Maybe sexual assault. And all the boys will be-' Ed swallowed thickly, wincing and curling his shoulders further inward, '-they'll be missing their genitalia.'

Ice and nausea pulsed through Mustang and he had to swallow against the burning in his throat as his head began to spin.

At Al's horrified cry, Ed turned to his brother with a weak smile, obviously still struck with some sort of guilt- survivor's guilt, Roy's mind supplied to him, 'Don't worry Al, they didn't do that to me. But I'm pretty sure I was the exception to the rule.'

It was just too much. Roy hung his head and raked his fingers through his hair, heart pounding and head whirling.

Just what the fuck did Ed witness over the past year? What he went through… how is he even sitting here, talking and smiling? The scars on his body, the episodes he's been having, how can he still even fake a smile?

Roy knew he hadn't been giving Ed enough credit. Maybe he had, hoping that Ed would return to normal and that Ed was strong enough to battle his way through this. But he'd been way to naïve, or hopeful, or selfish. Now he found himself stunned at the strength Ed was showing right then. Only someone as strong and spirited as Ed could still be acting even remotely normal. How had Roy ever expected something different?

It was going to be a struggle, the General acknowledged with pain. It was going to be such a struggle in trying to help Ed back to normality. If there was ever a chance of normality again.

It's not fucking fair. After everything Ed went through, all that time, for the majority of his life, why is it turning out like this? Why did he have to go through that too? There's no way to balance that. Not enough joy and happiness in the world could make up for what Ed and those children went through. Where's the equivalent exchange in that?

'Mustang…' Ed's voice was soft and strained, and his face was twisted with a silent agony when Roy looked up, 'I'm going to be alright… eventually. Don't worry about me. We need to concentrate on getting the rest of the kids back and stopping the Ukreytans.'

And here was Ed, again trying to support everyone else and give Mustang a direction to work his frustration through. It made the General want to shake the blonde, to hold him and never let him go, to hide him from the rest of the world. But he could only give a shaky sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose to stall the oncoming migraine,

'Intelligence and Investigations are sweeping through the ruins of Helltem already, searching the compound and the separate bunkers surrounding it. As soon as we have a lead where the Ukreytans might have gone north, we'll be on the move. We have three teams cycling through sleep and recreation, so we'll be ready at any given moment. Trust me, Ed, we're doing all we can to find them. The real question is, what do you want to do? Doctor Nelson has made it clear that he wants you hospitalized for at least another three weeks,' when Ed automatically opened his mouth to protest, Mustang raised a hand to hold off the boy's complaints, 'to avoid another violent episode like the one you had in Helltem. We still don't know what exactly is going on with you, and although Doctor Nelson believes a lot of it is psychological, he's been fighting to keep you under his care and not that of some head doctor. But of course it's your choice, Edward. Do you want to stay here under Doctor Nelson's care, or return to Central where you would be required to go into inpatient therapy at one of the new mental institutes?'

Ed didn't answer right away, just shifted between glaring around the room as if the very space was offending him, to sinking inward and having darkness flit across his face every now and then. The minutes passed and Mustang let them, wanting Ed to figure things out for himself. The General didn't think Ed had many opportunities to make choices over the past two years, so that was yet another thing they had to work on. Ed needed to become comfortable taking charge again. It wouldn't take that long, Roy figured, since Ed had always bounced back rather quickly. The small struggles like making choices, walking on his own, and being free to do what he wanted would be easy to remember for the blonde. It was the rest that Roy worried about. The flashbacks, the episodes, the darkness or blankness that would cloud the younger man's beautiful features occasionally.

Roy knew from personal experience that those would last much longer… years… decades, probably. And it killed him knowing that he couldn't protect Ed from this. Couldn't protect him from himself.

'I want to see James,' Ed finally said, as if completely forgetting about the previous topic. But the strain in his body showed that he'd taken Mustang's words to heart. A choice would have to be made, and Roy knew which one Ed would take. The blonde was never the sort of person who would willingly go to a place where he would have to talk about himself- his feelings and experiences. There was no way Ed was going to choose to go to Central. For now, Mustang contented himself on remaining predominantly in the West.

Maybe I should just request for a temporary transfer, he thought to himself. After thinking it over for a millisecond, he agreed with himself and added it to the long list of things he needed to complete the next time he made it to Western Command.

'Are you sure you're ready for that, Edward?'

A glower fixed itself onto the blonde's face and Al gave a weak laugh at the look, 'Of course I'm ready. If I wasn't ready I wouldn't have said I wanted to see him.'

'Just like you were ready to go to Helltem with us?'

That made both of the Elrics fall into a somber silence. But Ed didn't appear angry. Instead, he just lifted one of those fine golden brows and shrugged lightly, 'I need to see James, whether I'm ready or not.'

'Alright then,' the General murmured gently, smiling kindly at his once-subordinate. Those days at the bar with the two of them talking alchemic theory and trading jibes seemed so long ago… 'let's take you to him, then. He'll be glad to see you, I'm sure. And to hear that the nightmare is over.'

Almost over, he corrected himself while analyzing the shimmering, beautiful blonde that was pulling himself off the bed with the help of his loyal younger brother, we still have to find the other children, the Ukreytans, and stop whatever they're attempting here. And Artabanus… he has to be taken care of. But the nightmare is almost over. Almost…

AN: I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you liked, disliked, or find confusing through a review? Feedback is much appreciated, as that is how I grow.