Welcome back, y'all! I hope y'all are doing well! Sorry, it took so long to get this chapter out, I've been procrastinating a little bit. I finished Death Note and it was amazing! Thank y'all so much for favoriting and reading this fic! This fic recently hit over 2000 views and I'm so grateful to y'all for reading. I would like to apologize for my writing style, I hope it doesn't turn anyone off. I've been worrying about that a little. Anyways enough about my worrying. Feel free to leave a comment, I really love reading them! Anyways, enjoy!
Roy was surprised when Hawkeye told him the Fuhrer wanted to speak with him. He didn't know the man very well at all; he'd only been around him a few times throughout his career. So he was curious, to say the least when he went to the man's office.
It had been a whole two weeks since Ed had gone missing, he was surprised that Bradley hadn't called him sooner to talk to him about why Fullmetal had disappeared under his watch.
"Fuhrer Bradley, sir." He saluted the man.
"At ease, Colonel Mustang." The Fuhrer smiled, waving his hand.
Roy stood stiffly as Bradley stood from his desk and turned to the window. He swallowed roughly and waited for the man to admonish him.
"How long has it been the Drachman's took Fullmetal?" The man finally asked, voice curious.
"T-Two weeks, sir. My team has been looking for anything that would help us find him. Unfortunately, we can't find anything through my sources."
"I'm not surprised; the Drachman's are very hard to track usually."
"Usually, sir?"
Bradley finally turned around, faint amusement on his face. "An hour ago, an informant of ours embedded in Drachma, rendezvoused with his handler, he found something interesting."
Mustang's heart froze in his throat. Did they discover Ed, please let that be the case!
"Did they find Fullmetal?"
Bradley shook his head. "No, but they discovered that there had been many movements made over the border into this town called Antyau."
"Antyau? Isn't that town abandoned, sir? What would be of any interest to the Drachman's there?"
Bradley nodded, the amusement slipping off his face, "That's what has me curious as well. Up until a month or two, the movements were occasional, occurring every few weeks at most. Within the past month to two weeks ago, the movements have increased to every other day. Our informant informed us that there was movement seen two days after Fullmetal's capture."
"Then, Fullmetal must have been taken there." Roy kept his tone level, trying not to let the man know how desperate he was and felt.
"It is a possibility, Colonel Mustang. However, we can't be sure."
"You're probably right, sir." Roy felt himself deflate, the news of movement across the border had gotten his hopes up even though he knew there was a small chance it could've been the kid.
"That possibility is too small for me to ignore. Therefore I am sending my informant into Drachma to see what the Drachman's are doing in Antyau. They will report back to me next week with their findings."
That was a good idea, Roy realized. Weekly report ins would be more reliable when figuring out if there were any changes to the movements. It would also allow them to know if the Drachman's were converging in a specific place in Antyau.
"Thank you, sir. I'm very grateful that you're looking into it." Roy made to stand, but Bradley stopped him with a wave of his hand.
"Hold on a minute, Colonel Mustang. Our informant isn't the only reason I asked for you. I believe that you would make for a good leader for the task force that will be investigating the movements across the border, and maybe you'll find your subordinate."
Roy was sure that he was a sight to behold. The leader of Amestris just told him that he was going to be in charge of a considerable task force investigating another country. It was rare that Fuhrer Bradley ever did that.
The man's mirthful laugh broke him out of his daze, and he quickly snapped his attention back to his leader.
"You're probably right, sir." Roy felt himself deflate, the news of movement across the border had gotten his hopes up even though he knew there was a small chance it could've been the kid.
"That slight possibility is too much for me to ignore. Therefore I am sending my informant into Drachma to see what the Drachman's are doing in Antyau. They will report back to me next week with their findings."
That was a good idea, Roy realized. Weekly report ins would be more reliable when figuring out if there were any changes to the movements. It would also allow them to know if the Drachman's were converging in a specific place in Antyau.
"Thank you, sir. I'm very grateful that you're looking into it." Roy made to stand, but Bradley stopped him with a wave of his hand.
"Hold on a minute, Colonel Mustang. Our informant isn't the only reason I asked for you. I believe that you would make for a good leader for the task force that will be investigating the movements across the border, and maybe you'll find your subordinate."
Roy was sure that he was a sight to behold. The leader of Amestris just told him that he was going to be in charge of a considerable task force investigating another country. It was rare that Fuhrer Bradley ever did that.
The man's mirthful laugh broke him out of his daze, and he quickly snapped his attention back to his leader.
"Don't look so surprised, Colonel Mustang. I've been very impressed with your performance and how you handled missions these past few years. Amestris is very lucky to have you."
Well Damn.
Roy's shocked expression falls from his face, and he reaches his hand forward to shake Bradley's.
"I'm very grateful. Thank you, sir. I know it must've not been an easy decision."
"Not at all, Colonel Mustang. There's no one else that I'd rather have." The man held out his hand for Roy to shake.
"This means a lot, Fuhrer Bradley; I won't let you down." He said, taking the hand and returning the gesture.
"You're dismissed. The meetings start on Monday, and you have permission to bring in anyone that you see fit."
Roy quickly left the office with a smirk on his face. He closed the door quietly and turned to Hawkeye and nodded.
She caught up to his side, and it was silent before she said something. "Good news, sir?"
Roy tried to suppress the smirk on his face, but it wouldn't go away.
"Fuhrer Bradley put me in charge of a task force in charge of tracking Drachman movements around the town of Antyau."
Hawkeye didn't make a sound. He turned to his lieutenant, expecting to see a shocked expression on her face, and was slightly disappointed not to see any hint of surprise on her face.
"You aren't surprised, lieutenant?"
"No, sir. I believed that Fuhrer Bradley would do something like this a while ago."
"You believe in me too much, Lieutenant." His smirk drops from his face, and he set his eyes on the path in front of them.
"No, sir, I wouldn't have told that I would follow you into hell if I didn't believe in you." She says, smile plain as day in her voice, but not showing on her face when he looks at her from the corner of his eye.
His lips curl up in a smile for the first time since Ed's capture, and he hums what might be a small laugh.
"Something funny, sir?"
"No, Lieutenant, nothing at all." It takes a while for the smirk to escape his lips when they get back to his office, and the smirk doesn't go away when he explains the situation to his team.
Maybe, their informant would come through, and they'd be able to find Ed soon.
"Break time, you maggots!" A heavily accented voice broke through the bustle of activity in the tunnel of the mine.
Ed groans inwardly in relief, letting the pickaxe fall from his grip. His back and shoulder muscles scream in protest as he reaches down to grab his sweat-soaked tank top. His hand combs through his sweat-soaked bangs, brushing them away from his eyes.
Pulling the tank top over his shoulder, he makes his way to the mouth of the mine, nearly sighing in relief as the late Autumn air blows in his face.
He quickly grabs his lunch before the horde of other miners could swarm the area. He sat heavily on a tree stump, watching the activity around him as people made their way from the deepest recesses of the tunnels.
It'd been the same scene day in and day out for two weeks. He'd kept his head down, ensured that he didn't attract attention from the soldiers, and made sure he collected the same amount of crystals daily.
Mining was grueling work, and he was amazed at how none of the people working with him hadn't complained once. Even though it was grueling, he'd rather be in the mines almost all day instead of the barracks, taking care of the sick.
The barracks were a group of seven buildings, filled with fifty people in each barrack. Unfortunately, there were more people than beds, which meant that each person had a bunkmate.
The close quarters also meant that disease spread easily. Currently, the mumps was spreading around many people in the barracks, and what had the Drachman's done about it?
They had done nothing, absolutely nothing.
The Drachman's appeared to care very little for the health of their workers. At the minimum, they allowed one thirty-minute break during the workday, fed them, well if you could call what they gave out to eat food.
He was sure the poor food and the spread of disease caused so many people to die each day.
Oh yeah, that was another thing. A lot of people died. His second-day here, he saw a boy, no older than seven, keel over from heatstroke.
He shakes his head; he doesn't want to remember the boy's parents holding his lifeless body, begging a soldier to take him to the real infirmary.
The soldier looked at them, turned to look at his comrade, who nodded and shot them both in the head.
Their memory of their brain matter spattering against the brown dirt causes Ed to shudder and nearly brings back the panic of the nightmare from the night before.
Calm down, breathe. Just keep your head down, and you're fine. Ed takes a deep, steadying breath, calming his heart. He swallows the heaviness down quickly.
All these deaths really shouldn't have bothered him as much as they did, he tells himself. He'd seen the bodies of dead people before, hell he'd stumbled upon one searching for their false serial killer.
Granted, he'd had a panic attack and passed out, but over the past few years, he's seen more horrors than anyone his age should be seeing.
Maybe the critical difference was seeing them killed right in front of him, helpless to do anything but watch.
He sighs, dragging his fingers through his bangs. None of this death was his fault; he just didn't know why he couldn't tell that to his mind and heart. It hurt, it hurt watching all of these malnourished people.
God, his heart ached for these people. He couldn't look any of them in the eyes for more than a few seconds; their emptiness was startling. How long had they been in these conditions? It made him sick to think about.
Ed had to bite back the hot rage that built up inside of him. He was going to keep his promise, and he was going to get them out of here. None of these people deserved the treatment that they were receiving.
This place is going to be nothing but bricks when I'm done here. That was a promise Ed was determined to keep; these people were going to get justice. He'd make sure of it.
"A-Are you E-Ed?"
Ed nearly jumps at the small voice that broke through his tremulous thoughts. He turns, ready to scold the person, only stopping once he sees the little boy standing in front of him.
The boy looks up at him with nervous, large hazel eyes and fluffy, light blond hair. The boy shrinks slightly when he looks him up and down, curling tiny fingers into his dirty shirt.
"What can I do for you, kid?" He bends down to the kid's level, smiling at the small boy. He notes how little the boy looked, trying not to frown at the small cut on his forehead.
"M-M-Mr. Jack told me to find you." The kid stammered, blue eyes darting nervously around.
"What does he need me for?" He places his flesh hand on the kid's shoulder, heart falling as he notices the kid's shivering.
"What's he need me for?" He asks the kid again when he doesn't answer.
The kid relaxes slightly as if suddenly realizing that Ed wasn't going to harm him. "He didn't say. He just said "'bring back the blonde boy with the metal arm.'"
He ruffles the kid's hair, distantly wondering why Jack would send such a small kid to look after him in a large crowd. Now that he thought about it, this had been the first day that he'd seen the kid around.
He stood up, turning to the kid. "Well, let's go."
He sets off in the direction he knew Jack was. He was interested in seeing what the man wanted from him. Gentle pressure on his flesh hand causes him to look down, eyes widening in surprise. The boy had latched onto his hand, looking around nervously as Ed walked to his destination.
Ed didn't know what to do. Should he pry the kid's hand away? Let it stay there? What to do, what to do!
He settled for letting the kid hold his hand, a look at the small boy told him that the kid was probably terrified.
He didn't have any more time to think about the boy before he was at his destination. Jack sat on a log beside his wife, Diana. She was his height with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Jack looked up from beside his wife, smiling when he saw Ed and the young boy.
He stood up when Ed reached them, ruffling the boy's hair. "Thank you for finding him, Ryler."
The small boy squeaked and hid behind Ed's leg. Ed resisted a little chuckle as he looked down at the boy.
"You needed me?" He sighs, turning his attention to the older man.
Jack nods, glancing at Ryler. "The kid arrived here this morning. A soldier came into our barrack and said that the kid's parents were alchemists. The kid refused to help them."
Ed shot the man a glare and cursed the Drachman bastards.
"How do they expect a tiny kid to know anything about alchemy?" He hisses through his teeth, glancing at the older man.
The older man is silent, pale from the realization of what the Drachman's want to do to this kid.
Bending down to the kid's level, he takes the boy in properly. Ryler didn't look like an alchemist; he looked like any normal kid.
"How old are you, Ryler?" He asks the kid gently, heart aching at those big blue eyes.
"Ummmm…" Ryler's brow narrowed, attempting to remember his age. The boy's eyes lit up as he finally remembered, flashing a small grin.
"I'm five!" He squeaks, looking up at Ed and Jack with those bright blue eyes.
Whipping around, Ed watches Jack's face once again change to horror as he hears the boy's age. This little boy was placed in one of the worst imaginable places in the camp. He shouldn't have been in the camp in the first place.
Words fail Ed and the man beside him as they stare at the small boy.
It was horrifying. Horrifying, to realize that the Drachman's wanted to break this innocent little boy's mind, wanting to turn him into one of their pawns. This little boy had to of had parents looking for him, people who loved him. He had to have people who were worrying their hearts out over him.
Kneeling, Ed ruffled the boy's hair, smiling lightly when the boy scowled at the mess his hair had become.
"Where're your parents, kid?"
The small boy shrugged, and his eyes filled with worry. "I dunno, I was with them, and then suddenly, my head hurt, and I woke up here." The young boy's voice trembled.
Ed pulled the small boy into a hug, noting just how little he truly was. The kid shook in his embrace.
"I'm sure they'll find you soon." He reassures the boy.
"Promise?" Those small blue eyes bore into Ed, making his heart ache for the little child.
Ed nodded, ruffling the boy's hair. "I promise. I'm sure it won't be but a few days."
Standing up, Ed turned to Jack and nodded to him before walking a short distance, waiting for the man to follow him.
"Where's he going to sleep? Who's going to take care of him? He's freaking five! He's too young to even be in this hellhole." He hisses quietly to the man, golden eyes narrowing.
"Well…" The man started, glancing at the small boy and smiling when he saw Diana talking to him.
"I was...um...considering making him your bunkmate, and I was hoping that you'd be willing to look after, make sure nobody tries to hurt him.
Ed turned to look at the kid and then back at Jack, eyes wide. He didn't know what she should have said to the man. He wanted to tell the man no, but as he watched the small boy fiddle with his shirt, his heart rebelled against him.
It should've been simple for him to tell the man no. The kid probably would fare better with an adult looking after him; it shouldn't be his responsibility, but yet something wasn't allowing him to tell himself that.
Ed doesn't like to get attached to people. It always ends badly. He knows that. It always did. It happened with Nina. He swallows the lump in his throat when he thinks of her. It still hurts all of these years later.
He thinks he lost the ability to form emotional attachment after that; it made it much easier to carry on his mission when he didn't grow attached. It was best that way, even though it made him feel lonely a lot.
Just tell him no. The kid will be better off without you.
He watched the kid as he turned those too pure eyes on him. Suddenly, a feeling came over him, a feeling that only comes over him when he's with Al, and someone is threatening to harm his little brother.
It was a feeling of protectiveness, the desire to keep someone safe. He felt it every time he and Al went on a dangerous mission.
So how could he ignore the feeling of protectiveness that waved over him as he looked at the kid who was reminding him so much of Al?
His heart started to ache suddenly as the sudden surge of protectiveness reminds him of his little brother.
God, he missed him. The ache only worsens when he watches the little boy curl in on himself, probably missing his parents and perhaps siblings.
Maybe that's what prompts him to say what he says next.
"Alright." He says, walking back to the small boy.
"Hey, Ryler." He calls the boy's name, and the boy jolts slightly.
Looking into big blue eyes, Ed made himself a promise that he was determined to keep.
I'm not going to fail him, not like Al or Nina. Even if it kills me, I'm going to get him home.
He was done with failing everyone in his life; he was done with making Winry cry; he was done with feeling like a failure and feeling sorry for himself. He was going to get through this, and he and Ryler were going to get back to their family.
He was going to fight to his last breath to finish what these Drachman's started, and that was a promise he was determined to keep. For the miner's sake, Al's sake. He was not going down without a proper fight.
He had a reason a new reason to defy the rules now, and that's what he was going to do.
So, what do we think of Ryler? Shall we form a circle of protection around him? He's going to be important to Ed's growth throughout the rest of the fic. I hope it doesn't feel too OOC to want to protect Ryler, I have a feeling he really loves kids and kids love him. Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Thanks!