Their souls being separate made saving Ed possible, not easy, as Mustang was quickly finding out. They were in completely uncharted territory; there was no precedent, no method he could easily follow to put Edward back to normal again. The boys, who were undoubtedly more skilled than him in human transmutation, were at a loss, too.

It was frustrating all of them greatly. Two days with no progress at all was wearing them down. He'd hardly gotten any sleep at all in the past couple days, determined to make a breakthrough, and he was certain the same was true of the brothers. It worried him, but he said nothing. It didn't feel like it was his place to say anything. Besides, he'd be a hypocrite if he did so. He certainly had no intention of getting any sleep any time soon.

Mustang itched for a bottle once more, wanting nothing more than to drink until he passed out. His inability to make any progress was only hurting Ed and Al. It brought back memories of Ishval, of all the people he'd hurt then, too. He ached for the familiar warmth of alcohol to bury it all under a haze once more, let him forget for just a little while.

…He couldn't do that, though. He could already see Ed and Al's disappointed faces joining Hughes'. He took a deep breath, putting all of his focus back on his research once more. They were not beyond saving. He could still help them if he only stopped running away.

He felt the final piece of the puzzle click into place as he stared down at his notes, eyes widening. He stood abruptly, scrambling for something to write with. Had he really figured it out?

"Mr. Mustang?" he heard Al question from where he was sitting. He didn't even feel the need to correct him on his rank, for once. Pen in hand, he began furiously scratching out a sample circle. He couldn't get it on the paper fast enough.

Two heads peered over him, looking at his circle as he stepped back, breathing heavy. "You two know how to deal with transmuting souls, right?" he asked rhetorically. The brothers stiffened at that and he hurried to explain himself. "If we temporarily bind their souls to something else, unbinding them from each other will be much easier, and we can minimize the risk of trying to separate their bodies."

Al stood up straighter and Ed's eyes widened, tail flicking anxiously. "That…that could work!" Al exclaimed. Then, more subdued, "but it will be dangerous."

Mustang shook his head. "I don't think there's any way to do this that isn't dangerous. But this seems like the safest option we have." He turned to look at Ed, who nodded firmly, though his tail never stopped its anxious movement. His meaning was clear: Ed wanted to try, no matter how nervous it clearly was making him.

Mustang briskly walked to the door. "I'm going to call Hughes," he told them. "His wife's a nurse. She's the best option we have if anything goes wrong trying to separate their bodies."

Al nodded at that. "Good idea. We'll start working on the circle for…for their souls."

A quick phone call briefly explaining the situation had Hughes and Gracia both hurrying over. It seemed like no time had passed at all before there was a knock on the door, and Mustang rushed to let them in. Gracia immediately headed where Mustang pointed her, while Hughes stayed in his living room. "I'll keep Nina company out here," he said with a smile that seemed somewhat forced. "Can't leave her alone, after all. Besides, I doubt there's much I can do to help right now," he laughed sheepishly. "But if you do need anything, I'll be right here."

Mustang nodded at that. "Thank you," he said. That earned him a much more genuine smile from Hughes before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Go on, then," Hughes said. "The boys are waiting on you."

He walked back into the study to find Al hunched over a notebook, tightly gripping a pen. A circle was drawn in the middle of it. "I finished the circle," he said, anxiety clear in his voice. "And we came up with one to reverse the binding process on their souls, as well."

That was fast, he thought, awed. He was suddenly viscerally reminded of the fact that though they were both children, they were also alchemical prodigies. Hopefully their skill would make things run a little smoother.

"We decided on temporarily binding them to this notebook," Al continued. "Easiest thing we could find to draw a circle on." He hesitated for a moment before speaking once more. "It…should only be for a little bit, right? Just 'til we can get their bodies separated. He won't stay like that for long?"

Mustang softened at the question. "Of course," he answered, though he was unsure himself. If everything went off without a hitch, that would be the case, but there was no guarantee this would go smoothly.

But that wasn't what Al needed to hear right now. Or Ed, for that matter, because he was clearly listening despite him trying to act uninterested. He'd reassure them as much as they needed. "Are you ready?" he asked. They both nodded, Ed firmly with false bravado and Al hesitantly. "Let's begin, then."

Ed planted himself in front of the notebook. Al placed his trembling hands to the circle, all eyes drawn to it as it began to glow. Mustang felt his breath catch in his throat, heart squeezed in a vice as Edward collapsed on his side. No, not Edward, he reminded himself sternly. Just the body he was stuck in. It was still breathing normally; if he didn't know better, he'd say it was sleeping. He looked to Al, who nodded in confirmation. It was successful, then. Good. Onto the next step.

He quickly drew the circle he'd sketched out earlier on the floor with chalk before carefully grabbing the chimera's body, gently setting it in the center. He took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. He crouched to his knees, placing his hands on the circle as Gracia moved to join him with her medical supplies. Al came up next to him, planting his hands down, as well.

The circle glowed intensely. Mustang closed his eyes and breathed deeply. It wouldn't do to mess up now because he got a little too nervous.

He opened his eyes as the glow died down before panic seized him, gripping him tightly and refusing to let go. There were two separate bodies now, human and cat, but there was also blood everywhere. Red was quickly covering up lines of chalk and Mustang found himself unable to move. Alphonse seemed to be in a similar state. He shouldn't have done this. He knew trying to separate two bodies that had been fused was dangerous, would likely injure both parties involved. And yet he did it anyway. Now Edward was collapsed on the floor, bleeding.

Fortunately, Gracia was not fazed in the slightest. She crouched over Edward's body, beginning her work. Mustang stared, dazed, as she began cleaning and wrapping the wounds on Ed before moving over to do the same to the cat. She breathed a sigh of relief as she finished tending to the last of their injuries.

Mustang thought he heard someone saying his name, but it was fuzzy, as if the voice was underwater. He couldn't move, couldn't make himself respond at all. He just kept staring straight ahead, at the boy who lay unconscious and covered in wounds on his floor.

"Royboy!" he heard, before a hand clasped his shoulder firmly but gently. He blinked, turning his head to find Hughes looking at him, smiling gently. "You with me now?" he asked. Mustang nodded blankly.

"They're okay," Hughes continued. "Gracia got to them in plenty of time. Said it looked worse than it was." He inclined his head in their direction. "Look. They're breathing normal, Gracia said their pulses were fine. They're okay. Now you just have to finish what you started."

Mustang looked over at them, actually seeing them this time. Hughes was right. Just like before, it looked as though they were sleeping, if he ignored the bandages. His shoulders slumped in relief for a moment before he finally took in a very crucial detail he somehow missed.

"Shit," he breathed out. "His arm! And his leg!" The boy wasn't dying, but Mustang had still majorly fucked him over.

"No, he was already like that," he heard Al's voice say, significantly calmer than before. "From when we…the same accident I lost my body in."

Mustang allowed himself to relax marginally again. "Okay. Okay, let's finish this, then."

Al grabbed the notebook from earlier before returning to them. He hesitated momentarily. "I need something to draw the circles on them with," he said, clearly at a loss. Mustang was, too. He didn't think they could just draw on them with chalk.

Gracia once again came to their rescue, placing a dark vial and some cotton swabs in Alphonse's hand. He looked at her in confusion. "It's an iodine solution," she explained. "Works well as an antiseptic. Safe on skin, and should be dark enough to see the circle easily, even if it's a bit unconventional."

"Thank you!" Al exclaimed, hurriedly using the swabs to apply the iodine. She was right; the circles were very clearly visible on both of them. Al then drew another circle, on paper with pen this time. He activated that one first, undoing the binding between the two souls. He then grabbed the notebook, setting it between the bodies of Edward and the cat, crouching in front of his brother. Mustang moved over to the cat's body.

"Ready, sir?" Al asked, placing his hands on the circle. Mustang nodded, following suit. He swallowed nervously as the circles began to glow. As the glowing died down, they anxiously watched for any movement from the two bodies between them, any sign that they had succeeded.

Edward's eyes fluttered open, a brilliant golden color unlike anything Mustang had ever seen. He groaned in discomfort as Alphonse helped him sit up before tightly wrapping him in a hug that Edward returned as best as he could with only one arm. Mustang heard a loud meow from beneath him before the cat began moving, determined to leave the room despite only just being able to control his own body again. He heard a high-pitched cry of "Alexander!" come from the living room just a moment after the cat left. Looks like Nina found her cat.

Mustang collapsed to his knees, trembling. Between all the panic of the day and his long, sleepless nights, he was completely and utterly spent. Both brothers seemed to be in similar shape, Edward practically using his brother as a pillow when he looked at them. He felt a hand clasp his shoulder once more and looked up to see Hughes smiling down at him.

"You did it, Roy," he said, pride and fondness coloring his voice. "Now I think it's high time you get some rest." He offered his hand, which Mustang took gratefully, helping him to his knees. He noted Alphonse picking his brother up, much to Ed's indignation, presumably to do the same as Hughes was for him.

Mustang never even made it to his room. He collapsed in a chair in his living room, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.