Gold and Charcoal

Gold and Charcoal
Chapter 13
Fighting is like Foreplay

While Alphonse had preferred to push Roy to learn by himself, Edward took pleasure in correcting the man each time he was wrong and snorting at him the answers he lacked. While it was right down frustrating to never have anything to snarl back, it was also a nice way to collect information quickly and fill certain holes in the head splitting puzzle alchemy was.

A blond soldier – Alphonse had called him Brosh – had delivered a pile of rare alchemy books in the afternoon. The note that came with them informed everybody these had come directly from Armstrong’s family collection, which had – of course - been passed down for generation and generation. They were in remarkable condition for their age. Edward attacked these with the same appetite he attacked food.

As result, as long as there was sunlight – and even after – Roy and Edward spent their time reading and discussing, a few dozen of books permanently covering the bed almost entirely. They sat in this sea of knowledge and looked like they were both enjoying themselves perfectly. It pleased Al and incited him to join them often, lying in the middle of the bed over one or the other’s legs and bickering with his brother as to who got to read this or that book first (Alphonse always won).

It wasn’t that Roy and Edward didn’t fight – in fact they couldn’t go very long without snipping at each other – but it remained verbal fencing and the only things that were thrown were insults. It wasn’t worth the effort to scowl them for that. As long as nobody bled, Alphonse ignored them entirely – or almost. The younger Elric wasn’t above tickling his brother’s feet when Edward got peculiarly virulent. It was almost guaranteed to distract the short one long enough for him to forget what he was upset about in the first place. Ed was quick to anger, but just as quick to forget the upsetting incident. Roy didn’t want to think about what it would be like if the boy was the kind to hold grudges.

Roy learned a few new things during his forced rest, notably that even though Edward gloated his little brother was smarter, he was the genius when it came to alchemy. Whenever Alphonse hit a problem during his research, he called for his brother. Of course, these days he tended to pick up his books and come over to the bed instead. It turned out several new theories or arrays that were included in Alphonse’s writings were partly or mostly from Edward. Al confessed his brother’s best work was actually kept private, unknown to everybody but the boys. The elder didn’t seem to care about the kind of fame these publications could have brought him. Quite the contrary really, judging from the disgusted scowl Roy obtained when he tested the ground.

“The last thing I need is for those fuckers to come over and try to discuss my theories,” snarled Edward. “I’m not studying alchemy for them and I don’t have the patience to deal with their stupidity.”

“What’s your reason for studying it?”

“I’m good at it,” shrugged Ed, explaining nothing at all. “Better than all of them. I know things they don’t and I don’t care to try and explain. They’re not smart enough for it anyway.”

Roy didn’t reply.

-

They had no visitors, but Alphonse was often seen talking on the phone in the kitchen, as if to keep the injured pair from hearing. Although, it probably was simply to keep them from interrupting him with requests for ‘more food’ and ‘more books’ or general whines of alleged boredom.

Somehow, Roy would have thought it would take longer to get Edward to talk about human transmutation. But, while the boy was not overjoyed by the subject, he was willing to speak of it and answer certain questions.

“You’re positive there’s never been a single successful case?”

“Of course.” Edward snorted. “I’m telling you, it’s impossible. If it was, I’d know. Everybody who tried died or was crippled.”

“Oh?” Roy eyed the automail openly.

“Yeah, I tried to resurrect the cat,” answered Ed mockingly. “You actually said it yourself. There’s just nothing equivalent for a soul.”

“Another soul, perhaps?” mused Roy. “Has anyone tried that?”

“Yeah, somebody did. He tried to give a young woman to get another one back. Didn’t work any better.”

“I mean, perhaps their own would do. Tearing an unwilling soul from its body must be too hard, but offering their own?”

“It isn’t that hard, to take a soul from a body. Killing is fairly easy.” Ed’s voice had lowered darkly; he quickly chased the edge out of it. “ But anyway, that’s what you were saying before, isn’t it? Sacrificing yourself to achieve the goal? It would be pretty pointless to kill yourself trying to bring somebody back. If you care enough to die for them, well they probably care enough to prefer not to come back at that price.”

“That’s a rare thought from you,” noted Mustang, serious.

“Are you calling me selfish?” Edward flicked his bangs out of his face. “ Feh. I could take lessons from you. I have somebody else I think about.”

Roy drank from his glass of water, replying nonchalantly. “You think I don’t? I just believe he’s doing fine without me. He’s not a toy, he can actually think on his own.”

“Oh, shut up.” Edward’s stomach gave a growl, changing the conversation subject entirely. “Damn, I’m hungry. I’m sick of grilled cheese, but I don’t want to suggest he tries anything else. Don’t you feel good enough to get up and cook something? Like, lasagna?” There was a sparkle of hope in the gold eyes gazing at Roy.

“I’m not arguing with your brother. I have more sense than you. He should decide I’m fine soon now.” Roy was amused and intrigued by Edward’s visible disappointment. “What is it with you and lasagna anyway? You hate milk, and cheese is made from it.”

“Cheese is different,” nodded Ed enthusiastically. “It’s better. It’s pure genius to make something so good out of milk. Milk alone is horrible.”

“You might have grown as tall – if not taller – than your brother if you didn’t hate it so much.”

Ed protested violently, as expected. “I used to drink some! Mom always made me finish it. It didn’t help, he outgrew me when he was, like, ten! It’s not the milk, damnit!!”

Alphonse was close enough to have heard Edward’s outburst, if not the exact words. He left new books at Roy’s side and asked, with a little dread, “What are you ranting about, Niisan?”

“His size,” answered Roy with a smile.

“I don’t know why I asked.” Al stared at the bed, no doubt wondering if he dared to join them when they were in this mood.

“Would you shut up?!”

Edward flung a book toward Roy. Alphonse caught it with an outraged cry, “Niisan! That’s Armstrong’s book! It’s expensive! Don’t throw things around!”

“Sorry, Al.” Ed flipped a book open, and one might have thought he was going to sulk and read, but he closed it again. “This one’s mine,” he said, making another throw.

The book harmlessly hit Roy’s raised forearm, falling into his lap. “Thank you for sharing your possessions. I’m surprised, you don’t look old enough to understand the concept.”

“I can share some more, if you’d like.”

They both ignored Al’s protests, which led to the younger blond deciding to return the attitude and go do some reading of his own on the nest made from the couches.

Books flew, some of them thrown hard enough to actually hurt. Roy didn’t fight back, only blocking, smirking, and examining his new acquisitions. Luckily, the volumes made the trip across the bed without any harm. Of course, alchemy could probably be used to fix them if they did sustain some damage.

Growing frustrated – and running out of books to pitch - Ed taunted, “Afraid to fight back?”

“If you insist…” Roy reached back for his glass of water. The splash of water was directed to Edward’s face, soaking hair and shirt at once. “Like that?”

Twitch. Twitch. No verbal comeback found and no books at hand to throw. Predicable reaction incoming.

“You’re asking for it!” Edward leaped across the bed.

And there we go.

“Niisan!” Alphonse helplessly watched them struggle a few seconds then huffed a ‘kids’ and returned to his text. Roy figured Al knew Ed wasn’t much of a danger without automail. And it was true. Edward was spirited, but no amount of squirming could free him from Roy’s hold as the man twisted his only arm in his back and knelt across his legs. Without automail and alchemy, the short blond was just that, a short blond kid. With lots of anger though.

“Ow! Get off me, damnit! Pervert!”

“What did I do? You attacked me. Now, are you done trying to claw my eyes out?”

Edward didn’t stop struggling. He started to whine. “Let gooo. Alllll.”

“I’m not helping you!” came the sulky answer. “ You started it!”

“I didn’t!”

“You did!”

“He called me small!”

“No, he didn’t!” All the same, Al asked, calmer, “Roy, get off my brother.”

The mongrel shifted away. “Sorry. I hope I didn’t crush you, Shokun.”

“Arg, leave me alone!”

Edward smacked his face into the mattress in defeat. He was still grumbling moodily under his breath, which helped to ease the strange feeling that was bothering Roy. He just didn’t like facing an Edward that was crippled and couldn’t properly fight back. Oh, he wasn’t saying the boy was defenseless – Roy thought he had earned a few more bruises in their tussle – but Ed was not match for the older man like this. It was disturbing.

When Ed didn’t move for some time, only making a few sounds that sounded suspiciously like muffled whimpers, the mongrel looked over and realized there was blood smearing the immaculate sheet. He shouldn’t have felt bad about it, yet…well he did get the odd feeling that he’d picked on a child. Edward was technically still a child, but he could usually compete with adults. Not today though. Roy had been too rough, considering the situation.

Well then.

One hand landed at Ed’s neck, clenching on his whole shoulder and hauling the boy up and on Mustang’s thighs. The man’s right hand had darted blindly to find the lotion bottle – it was half empty by now – as he planned to apply it immediately over the raw skin.

There was a howl. “What the hell are you doing? It hurts! That’s my cracked shoulder!”

“Yes, I think your squeal told me about that. Sorry, but you’re bleeding all over my side.” He poked the bleeding patch of flesh that ran all along the automail port. It didn’t look very good. “ That was smart, now you’re going to take longer to heal.”

“You provoked me! And I don’t squeal! And OW! Stop poking!”

“Breathing is a provocation to you. I don’t exactly feel like dying to humor you.”

“You’re annoying.”

“You’re exasperating.”

“I can’t stand you.”

“I can’t stand either of you!” raved Al is the background.

Roy didn’t spare the younger Elric a glance – although he did register the protest and almost felt like contesting that judgment – since he was too busy snipping at Edward. “By all means, show me the door and I’ll be glad to leave.”

“As if. You haven’t won yet.”

“I hadn’t noticed we were playing a game. Can I know the rules?”

“You’re not going anywhere until you…uh…stop being like that.” Edward huffed, his breath pushing against his bangs. “All…snarky.”

“You mean, until I shut up? That might happen one day…like, say, the day I die.”

“Would you stop with all the death comments? It’s not funny!”

“Could you two just, cut it out? I’m on the phone!”

Roy was slightly confused. He hadn’t heard the phone ring at all. How lame, to be too absorbed into pointless arguing to notice anything else. The pair of bickering males went quiet, allowing Roy to finish what he was doing and giving Al the chance to hear what the person on the other end was telling him.

“Okay. Thank you. We’ll be right over.” The phone was left aside and Al rubbed the back of his neck, glancing tiredly at the others. “Winry says she’ll needs to have a look at you, Niisan. She says she has other automail that might fit you fine, but she’s worried about the port first, since you bleed a lot.”

“That’s Roy’s fault,” sulked Ed.

Edward left Mustang’s lap and tried to slide down the bed to his feet. Four seconds later he was sitting down again, hissing and holding his arm to his chest. If he’d had a right arm, he would have been clutching his injured shoulder. “Fuck, ow! Why does it hurt? It didn’t hurt this morning!”

“That’s your fault, Niisan. You just had to start a fight again, didn’t you? You don’t learn.” Al attempted to pick up his older brother, which did not sit well with the latter.

“I’m not five! Don’t touch me!”

“It’s going to take forever to get there if you try to walk.”

“You aren’t carrying me!” Ed edged away.

“Don’t be so difficult, Niisan!” The grey eyes were pleading, but it didn’t seem to soften Edward. “Why are you always so stubborn? Winry is waiting for us!”

Roy stepped in. “Am I staying here?”

“No way. You’re coming along. You look well enough now.”

“Then, I’ll take care of him.” Catching Edward was easy, but trying to take him into one’s arm was nearly impossible with his thrashing. “Stop that, you’re being childish, Shokun.”

“I wouldn’t be acting as a child if you didn’t treat me like one! I’m fine! I can walk!”

Roy and Alphonse stared at each other. It was their fault? They started it? For the love of- As if acting of his own, Roy’s hand curled and bestowed a knock to the back of Edward’s head.

“Ow!”

“Sorry, Alphonse. Couldn’t be helped.”

“You hit me, and you apologize to him?” Ed took a swing, but Roy blocked easily. The blond glowered. “Just wait until I have two arms again!”

“All right then,” said Al, giving up. “Let’s go.”

Roy followed the younger blond, affecting to ignore the cursing Edward that wobbled after them. It was very predictable that Ed would fall behind, his hissing farther and farther behind them. Eventually they turned a corner and paused to wait. Al flipped his silver watch open and measured the passing time. When his brother finally came around, Alphonse only quirked an eyebrow in a motion much too alike to Roy’s. The man in question thought he must have been rubbing off on Al.

Edward still wouldn’t admit simply walking put a strain on his injury. “I’m fi-ne.”

“There’s blood on the floor,” remarked Al, worry painting itself on his face. “Niisan…I think it’s worse than it looks.” He reached out, intending to slide under Edward’s arm to give him support.

Ed stepped back, almost tripping and finally using the wall to regain his balance and push himself back at them. “Would you stop that? I said I’m okay!”

“No you’re not.” Firmly, the mongrel caught Edward by the shoulders, intending to haul him up on his shoulder. By accident, his left hand’s fingers plunged into the automail port’s opening. The digits went far in, brushing against something that made the blond cry out loudly and clench his hand into Roy’s white shirt, shuddering violently. Snatching his hand back, Roy had to use both arms to catch a suddenly limp Edward.

Ed was unresponsive for a few seconds, leaning entirely into Roy’s embrace with weak knees. Something close to panic swept through the older male’s mind. Damn, what had he done? Killed some nerves and knocked Ed out with the sheer pain of it? Was the boy disabled for real now? “I’m sorry! Are you all right? Edward?”

There was a weak answer breathed against the fabric of his clothes. “Fuck you.”

“He’s fine,” said Al hurriedly – it almost sounded like a squeak - looking away. “Just take him along already.” He was already moving on, not looking back at them.

Ed didn’t fight – barely grumbled – this time. He traveled the rest of the way in Roy’s arms, held very carefully with his blond head against the white shirt. It reminded Roy he had pitched water at the boy. Ed’s hair and shirt were wet and progressively soaking his own white clothing to transparency.

Mustang was confused. Edward was sulking, face crimsoned in what the man might have taken for anger if Al wasn’t just as red from what was unmistakably embarrassment. Thinking back on it, Roy realized Edward’s cry might not have been one of pain.

“How sensible are those nerves?” Roy inquired with suspicion.

“Very…” Alphonse coughed and stumbled on his words. “You usually don’t want anything to touch them because pressure is painful – not as bad as connecting automail, but still far from pleasant - but sometimes light touches bring different reactions.” He finished with a squeak and four words that confirmed Roy’s suspicions. “ Niisan is very sensitive…”

“Shut. Up.”

They all heeded Edward’s words and nobody uttered a sound as they strode down the empty hallways, the pair of footsteps echoing.

They made it to Winry’s in one piece and without further incidents. Mustang was glad, because this was one hell of a puzzling situation. He hadn’t intended to do anything, and certainly not that. What was supposed to do about it? It was weird. This had never happened with women… Really, Roy just wanted to get rid of his live package as soon as possible; this was an incident better forgotten. Although, what the mechanic girl said when she opened the door didn’t really help.

“Eh? What’s wrong, Ed? You look tired and you’re red. Don’t tell me you’re sick as well.”

Al rubbed his forehead, eyes averted. “Winry, please, let’s not talk about that.”

“Huh?”

Ten minutes later Roy and Alphonse were being sent back home. Winry didn’t want them hovering around and neither did Edward. Alphonse seem to want to argue and stay anyway, but Hawkeye had only needed to give him a certain look for the boy to grab the pet’s collar and bolt out the door.

“Ow, throat!”

“Sorry, Roy. But…with Hawkeye…when she gives that look, you run. Fast. Because it means she’s about to introduce to you her sidekick, the Gun. It’s scarier than the Wrench. I really hate when she does that. It’s scary.”

“You know far too many scary people.”

“Yes, we do.”

They walked back, the eerie silence creeping on them. Roy had the urge to glance over his shoulder, wondering if he’d see a man with a knife trying to cut him to pieces. Okay, that wouldn’t be scary or anything of the sort, but it made him want to stay on his guards. Beside, the people who had been killed had been blown up, according to gossip he’d heard some time ago. If it was an alchemist, then it was frightening.

Al had noticed too. “There wasn’t anybody when we came this way either…”

“I’m assuming this is about the murderer again.”

“Yeah, that’s also what I think. Um, Roy, if there’s anything happening…just stay out of my way. It’ll be easy for me.”

“As long as it’s not a sin, you can beat it, is that it?”

It had been meant as somewhat of a joke, but the nod Al gave in answer was very serious. “Yeah.”

They were a little more careful, but they did not see or hear anything to alarm them.

“There’s a soldier up ahead,” noted Roy two corners later, as they reached their own quarters.

“Oh, I think that’s Brosh.” Al unlocked the door for Roy and motioned for him to go in. “I’m going to go have a talk with him. Then I think I’ll drag him back with me to get Niisan. I can’t carry him, I need my arms free, just in case. Whatever is going on looks serious, if nobody dares to come out at all. You should be fine here, even alone. I don’t think anybody would actually target you. All the victims were blondies.”

Roy didn’t spill anything about Envy. “If anything happens, I’ll scream like a girl.”

Al smiled. “Yeah, you do that.”

Roy was glad to close the heavy door. For some reason, he did feel safe in here, despite the fact the windows would be ridiculously easy to break if anybody really wanted to come get him.

The mongrel took two steps before freezing, caught with the nasty impression he was being watched. He turned and immediately spotted the intruder. Entirely clad in black, the man was hanging from the ceiling, curved blades planted there at an angle for support.

When the stranger saw he had been found out, he pulled his feet away from the walls, showing that he had grips of metal on those too, and balanced himself down to slide his other blades from the ceiling. He fell to the floor, crouched menacingly on the spot like a scorpion.

Roy felt his lips curl up. There was always something, wasn’t it?

Roy eyed the black-clad intruder with mixed feelings; he didn’t know if he wanted to roll his eyes or laugh. “Please, Hughes, I thought we went over this before. You are not a ninja.”

“I feel pretty damn ninja right now.”

“You made holes all over the walls. That’s lame. A ninja shouldn’t leave such traces.” The intruder pulled his mask down his chin, showing a square jaw that was usually covered with stubble. Not today. Roy displayed surprise. “Did you shave?”

“You’re shocked because I shaved my face for once? Geez, how should I feel about finding you prancing around with a collar?”

“I don’t prance.” Now, this wasn’t the place to play. Roy steeled his voice. “Hughes, how did you get here and why?”

“That’s a good one. Why? To get you out, obviously. It took us some time, but we got it right. We came in by the kitchen’s window if you want to know.”

“But it’s impossible to escape. It’s already crazy enough you got in wearing that.”

“Not impossible apparently, since I got in fairly easily. Although it’s true I’m inhumanely good. Maybe it’s impossible for everybody else.” Waving a hand, Hughes interrupted his gloating. “Leaving can’t be that hard. We only have to bypass a few soldiers. We’re experts at avoiding those by now.” Hughes tugged his mask off entirely, showing short bla-no, wait. His hair was clearly blond now, puzzling Roy further. “Yeah, that’s why I shaved. I know you probably can’t be as ninja as me, and it would be hard leaving the way I came in. Instead, we’ll leave in style.”

“Hughes. Blond hair? You know dying your hair calls for death penalty,” stressed Roy.

“I think sneaking in here is already worth death penalty. Don’t sweat.” Maes called, “Hey, Hayate. Come out.”

From under the bed, a dog appeared, dragging a bag. Roy nearly gagged, recognizing the dog. “But…I thought…he got killed.” His brain was put to harsh work to find a suitable explanation. “ I suppose….Gluttony got another dog. It’s full of them out there. He probably didn’t know exactly which one it was…”

Hughes raised an eyebrow. “Who did what? Well, apparently Hayate didn’t die. He’s doing good. Brought us back your message.”

“I clearly said not to come. Why didn’t you listen?”

Hughes didn’t look impressed with Roy’s attitude. “Don’t you know us by now? As if we’d leave you here. Hayate led me here.” The ninja wannabe reached down for the bag, giving the dog a pat. “Well, enough talk, we have to hurry.”

“Hurry to what? In case you haven’t noticed, I have black hair and a collar. Their name is on it. I’m not going anywhere easily.”

“Relax. I’m smarter than you, remember? Let me handle this. There’s a reason we have a bag with us.” Hughes emptied its content and pulled Roy to the bathroom. “Come on, we need to do your hair too.”

“You’re not serious.”

“What, you aren’t game? Afraid?”

“Who, me?” That idea deserved a snort. “ Never.”

It was quick. Hughes wet Mustang’s hair, applied an ugly yellow moss, rubbed it through his skull, let it dry ten minutes and washed it off. Roy found himself with hair slightly darker than Hughes’, but still clearly blond.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Roy decided he definitely didn’t want to be a real blondie. It looked horrible and killed his sex appeal. It barely looked any better on Hughes.

“This looks so fake,” he complained.

“They’ll buy it,” chided Hughes, smacking the back of Roy’s head. “Can’t back out now, so quit the whining and dress up.” Hughes all but forced Roy into a uniform. “It took us a few tries to get one your size. I hope the soldiers won’t be found any time soon.”

They hid the collar as best as possible with the uniform’s collar and walked back out of the bathroom. “You’re crazy Hughes. There are chimeras and traps and alchemists and…”

“Relax I said,” repeated Hughes. There wasn’t a hint of worry in his voice, as if this was something he did everyday. “The guys are taking care of it. Securing the escape route and all that.”

“You dragged Fury and Farman in this too?”

“They wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re a team, even if you’re damn slow on catching up to that.”

Roy decided to concentrate on the task at hand, aka making their way out of this place alive. “What about you? You can’t go out as a ninja.”

“Oh, I’ve got my own uniform underneath. Couldn’t just walk in, since they check identity. But the security is very lax when you leave.”

“Yes, I noticed that as well. Well, hurry. We have to leave before Alphonse comes back.” Hughes nodded and started to peel his black suit off.

Yes, they had to be gone before Al saw them. In fact, it would be better if Roy never saw the Elrics ever again. There was an odd pull in the man’s guts, and it puzzled him. Regrets? Well, perhaps. Overall, he’d had much fun here. He’d almost have liked to stay.

Envy. The image of the monster came to him, and suddenly Roy had no more regrets. He was going home with Hughes and the others. He needed to keep them away from Envy, somehow. If he weren’t involved with the Elrics, maybe everything would be fine. There was no way to know. Perhaps he should convince the others to move somewhere else. Yeah, that might help. Hard to tell, when your enemy can look like anybody and everybody, including the friends you trust the most. Either way, it was better if Roy was with his friends.

The door creaked. “I’m back,” announced a voice. Automatically, Hughes snatched a dagger. “Niisan wasn’t done so-“ Alphonse saw the intruder just as he was giving the door a push back to close it. “Who-“

At the same time Al began to ask about Hughes, Roy was reaching to hold the intruder’s wrists. “Hold it!” But too late, the knife was gone, slicing through the air toward the blondie.

Alphonse jumped back and swiftly raised his left arm, deflecting the weapon and brushing his hands together in the same movement to transmute a blade. He eyed the black-clad man wearily, ready to defend himself.

“Hughes, quiet,” ordered Roy, still holding his friend’s wrists. “I’m sorry Alphonse. Are you injured?”

“I’m fine,” Al said crisply. “ Who is that?”

“That’s…my friend, Maes. Hughes, that’s Alphonse Elric. Attack him again and I’ll have to throttle you before his brother gets to us,” explained Roy.

Hughes pried his hands free and Roy let him do so, knowing things were clear between them. If Roy said not to touch, Hughes wouldn’t. The ninja wannabe ruffled his hair, a little confused still. “Sorry about that, kid.”

Al acknowledged the apology with a nod but kept his automail under blade form, focusing on the pet. He had reached the logical conclusion. “So the cavalry is here and you’re leaving.”

“Are you going to try and stop us?” That was not a situation Roy wanted to deal with, for various reasons.

“You won’t be able to go anywhere like that,” replied Al, simply. “The hair is rather well done, the uniforms fit, but they check for collars automatically. They’ll know something is off.” Al stepped forward to look at their uniforms more closely. “ On top of that, your ranks are too low for blondies. The second they notice, it’s over. You’ll be caught, without a doubt. You know the penalty for dying your hair a different color.”

“We can try to go back the way I came,” suggested Hughes in a murmur meant only for Roy.

The pet mongrel shrugged grimly. “No, it’s fine. I’ll try my luck. You’ll leave first. If they see me, I’ll break into a run. They won’t catch me easily.”

“They have alchemists,” countered Alphonse, shaking his head and running his human hand on his automail weapon absently. “You’d really have to get rid of the collar to have a chance. They’re hard to transmute, you really need the key to do it right.”

“Which your brother must have.” What was the boy getting at?

“He usually keeps it in his automail,” neutrally commented Al, actually handing Roy the solution on a silver platter.

“You mean…” The pet strode to the bed and caught the twisted lump of metal that used to be Edward’s automail. He pulled at it, breaking away bits and pieces. It had been mangled and cut through like no humans could have done; Lust’s work, surely. Pulling open the forearm, Roy found out there was a narrow hollow space there. And indeed, there was a small key resting in it. It must have been easy for Ed to make the key sink through the metal to rest there. There wasn’t anywhere safer to keep a key then in your own body, was there? Roy pulled at the uniform’s neck, fingers seeking the small hole he knew was right after the C of the Elric name. He found it, and soon there was a soft click and the collar’s weight was leaving his neck. Roy caught the falling object and blinked at it wonderingly. It had silver on the surface but the engraved letters were darker, indicating it was made of a different alloy inside.

It was weird, to suddenly be free of this weight. He’d had it for what, a week? Ten days? Long enough for a paler line to appear on his throat. The collar was casually dropped on the bed and swiftly forgotten. Roy arranged the uniform’s collar again and found it hid the mark perfectly. There were no bumps either this time. At first glance, he was nothing but a common soldier.

“Thank you Alphonse.”

“Mn?” Al blinked innocent grey eyes at him. “I haven’t done anything. I’m talking to Brosh, and learning that everybody is freaked because there’s been yet another murder last night. Two victims, in fact. They’re keeping everybody in to search everywhere for the murderer. They’re pretty disorganized on this side, actually. Brosh didn’t have a clue what he was supposed to do. There are probably a lot more soldiers wandering aimlessly around. They probably need orders from a…Major, per example,” noted Alphonse, glancing at Roy’s shoulders again. Then he looked at Hughes, who had finished stepping out of his ninja garbs to entirely expose his own blue uniform. “Or a First Lieutenant.”

“Got that.”

“Got what?” It would have been hard to radiate more innocence.

Roy grinned a ‘heh’ and turned to his friend. “Well then…come on, First Lieutenant Hughes. We have places to be, and it’s not here.”

“Major.” Maes saluted, and it looked real enough. The mongrels didn’t grin, but they saw each other’s hidden smile. This might just be the craziest thing they’d ever done. “But, sir, what do we do about the dog?”

Roy walked to the window and shoved at it violently until there was a crack large enough for the animal to get through. “Hayate, go. You remember where’s the hole, don’t you? Go, go find Fury.”

The young dog wagged its tail and jumped, scampering away. Roy briefly wondered if Envy was out there, but decided at this point the sin had no reason to go after the dog. If Envy was there, he’d come after Hughes and him. And if that happened…well, they’d improvise.

“Let’s go, First Lieutenant.”

Al extended an arm before them. “Wait a minute. I said the hair didn’t match the ranks, didn’t I? Major can do, but Lieutenants are never blondies. Beside, it looks really bad on you, Roy.”

“I noticed. What do you suggest we do about it?”

“Oh, just stay put.” The boy clapped and reached to place a hand on the men’s heads. Hughes started under the alchemical reaction performed on his hair but Roy’s hand on his arm informed him it was alright. “Brown suits you a little better. It looks more natural.”

“And this doesn’t count as human transmutation or anything?” inquired Roy.

“No, because I didn’t touch your hair, only the hair dye.”

“I see.” Roy ruffled his hair without finding any odd feel to it. He glanced back at Al; the boy was now gazing at the wall thoughtfully, hands in his pockets and pointedly ignoring the mongrels. Roy almost said something, but in the end he didn’t. There was nothing to say.

-

The impersonators wandered away, the door closing shut behind them. “This way Hughes.” The corridor was empty, allowing them to converse – although they did so in low tones. “What exactly is the plan? Is it really just to walk out the door?”

“Why not? Think about it. Hair dye is highly illegal. It’s hard enough to obtain out there, it’s unthinkable anyone would be able to find it here, a pet less than anybody else.” Roy nudged Hughes, reminding the man with glasses to keep a rigid posture. They weren’t lounging here. “ Second, your collar is gone. I doubt blondies are usually careless enough to leave the key where their pets can find it. Third, you’re not alone. Pets don’t escape in pairs. Now what are the odds two pets got their collars off, found hair dye for two, and scampered off together? It’s even less likely to them somebody go in to help a pet escape, since nobody ever sneaked in.” Hughes pushed up his glasses with a cocky grin. “They never faced the invincible ninja before.”

“Cut the ninja nonsense, Hughes.”

“Hey, the ninja is saving you. Have some respect.”

Still not a sound beside their own voices. It was slightly unnerving, but at least there couldn’t be a problem if there was nobody to cause it. Roy cast casual but watchful glances about, wondering just how dangerous the murderer was and if there was any chance he was actually roaming the corridors at the moment.

“We’re not out yet,” finally argued Roy.

“Give it a minute,” countered Hughes. “It’s a foolproof plan. If somehow they are still suspicious of us, Fury and Farman are there to save the day. They have one of those wonderful pepper bombs. If there’s trouble, do watch out for your eyes. They should also have an escape route secured and a good hole to hide out until the fire is out. Lastly, well they have firearms. They can cover us. Chimeras are a pain from close up, but you can take them down easily from afar.”

“We have guns too, with our uniforms.”

“Can you shoot and run at once? It’s a little difficult. Just trust them.”

Roy let the issue go, turning his attention to something that intrigued him. “Where did you get firearms and a pepper bomb anyway?”

“Oh, through Lyra. She’s pretty good.”

“It must have cost a fortune.”

“Only an arm and a leg. Not ours, fortunately. But, yeah, that’s why it took us so long. I got us a rebate though, by offering to give her back those pictures I took lately. I said that otherwise I’d have to sell them so we could afford her outrageous prices.” He chuckled evilly. “ It’s not my fault she hasn’t learned to close her curtains yet.”

She hasn’t learned to close her curtains yet.

An unpleasant echo that made Roy stop dead in his tracks and Hughes lift wondering eyebrows at him. “Problem, Major?”

Roy shook his head. “No, nothing. Just a déjà-vu. Let’s move on, First Lieutenant.”

They finally got to meet other living souls, a pair of soldiers - a man and a woman - who looked just as confused as announced. Roy couldn’t tell their ranks, but while his Major uniform had three stripes and one star, they only had three stripes and no star. He was clearly above them.

“You two!” Roy barked in their backs, watching them jump and whirl around with inner glee. “What kind of guard is this? We’re on the lookout for a murderer using alchemy, you could both be dead by now!”

“Sir!”

“M-major! We’re sorry, we weren’t told anything, except to be in this corridor.”

Roy made a show of pulling a disgusted face. “It’s no wonder the murderer has been free for so long with this kind of organization. I just told you, we’re trying to capture the murderer. Your job is to watch this corridor and make sure no citizens leave their quarters. If you see anybody even remotely suspicious, arrest them or call backup. Clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

They moved on, Roy leading the way. If he remembered correctly, Clara’s clinic was this way…then they just had to go on, turn right, and there would be stairs leading out of here to the gates. Right.

“You’d be great in the military,” breathed Hughes at his side. “You have the posture right and you’d enjoy all the yelling at your subordinates.”

“I’d hate it you mean. All that paperwork isn’t for me.” Roy was satisfied to note Clara’s door. Good, they were almost there. “Just keep quiet, we should be out in a nick of time. If there’s a hold up and I snap my fingers, it means you run. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

They met more soldiers near the exit, but these did not look so lost, holding their positions with watchful gazes. Roy nodded approvingly at them but did not slow down or show any hesitation. Then, they were at the stairs.

There was the gate, just fifty feet away. It was the weakest point of the wall, only guarded by a handful of soldiers – some of them were certainly alchemists but their uniforms hid the wrists bands so it was impossible to pin point them– and chimeras. Roy had not seen them on his way in, since he had been unconscious at the time. He’d seen them from afar of course, but that was it.

They couldn’t afford to hesitate or look too curious, but Roy allowed himself to examine the creatures briefly. There were six, two chained on the right side of the gates, two sitting on the opposite side and two more held leashed by two soldiers. On the right – the chained ones - they seemed to be a mix of alligator and dog, with ugly long muzzles and legs long enough to allow them to outrun any human. The ones on leashes were probably dog and bird of prey, dangerous beaks in places of their muzzles and large wings currently curved in their backs. As for the ones on the left, who just lounged on the warm stones, it was hard to tell what they were precisely. They were smaller with a long body, crazy neck and long tail and covered in scales all over. Snake and…cat? They could surely bite hard, judging from the fangs emerging from their mouths.

“What are you doing here?”

Roy was about to snap back orders or something, but he realized the man who spoke to him had the same stripes and star he had. Damn, another Major. They were equals, so this man had the right to oppose him. Furthermore, this guy had a solid built, indicating that knocking him out in one move would be difficult. He wondered if he should snap his fingers now and hope Fury and Farman were ready. No, not yet. They were still too far from the gates. Quick, quick, he had to improvise.

“Oh, there you are, Major.”

All three men turned around to see Gracia come to them, smiling brightly. “General Armstrong is too busy to escort me outside right now but this is important.” She caught Roy and Hughes each by one arm and pulled them forward. “I’ll appoint you to be my escort then. Come along.”

“Wait, lady-“

“Major Halling, is it?” asked Gracia, polite but condescending. “I am in a hurry. If you have something to object, take it up with the General, please. Thank you.”

Hughes gave Roy a look, but the former pet could only shrug. Less than thirty seconds later, they were on the other side and getting steered away firmly by the blonde woman. It was that easy.

“It’s a shame, isn’t it? We had a date today - or I’m fairly sure he thought it was a date - but then they kept everybody in for some ridiculous reason.”

“I heard it was about the murderer,” said Roy, still a little dumbfounded the great escape had turned out as nothing but a simple walk out the door.

“I know. But if the killer is an alchemist, he’s probably blond. Which means he would just stay inside today, like everybody else. They won’t find him like that, even if they search everybody’s quarters. Oh, they might have some fancy plan to drag him out, but I doubt it. The men in charge are not the brightest, I assure you. It would be better if the Fuhrer took care of it, but, as usual, he’s too busy for such things. There are many rumors lately…”

Roy reacted to Gracia’s words, hit by something. “Wait…what do you mean, probably blond? I thought only blonds knew alchemy?”

“Mostly because they’re the only ones allowed to study it,” answered Gracia. “ I’m not an alchemist or a scientist, I can’t answer that question more precisely, but there has been an exception or two. They said it was because one of their parents was blond, but it still means the hair color does not say everything about a person.” She patted Roy’s arm, smiling. “Wouldn’t you agree, Roy?”

“Of course, lady.”

“Call me Gracia.”

“Thank you very much for your help, Gracia,” began Roy. “But why did you do that? It could be dangerous for you.”

“I grew out here, you know.” The woman’s face was full of sadness again. “But my hair…they wouldn’t let my parents keep me. They tried to hide me, but when I was seven, they came.”

That explained the woman’s behavior and hinted at her present destination as well. “I assume you’re heading to visit your family?”

Gracia nodded. “I rarely see them, but I like to keep an eye on their welfare.” She gave a small laugh. “Armstrong wanted to meet my family today. I’m worried he might have wanted to ask my father for my hand.”

“Is Armstrong your suitor?”

“One of them. My choices are few. I’m getting old. I must have children within five years or it’s over for me. Armstrong is not my ideal man, but he is still better than Nash. Nash...well he has two adorable boys already, and he treats them well…but he’s also working for them…since he’s a good alchemist…and I can’t support their methods.”

Blond brothers? It rang a bell. “These boys wouldn’t happen to be named Russell and Fletcher, would they?”

“Oh, you know them? It’s too bad Edward and Alphonse act so hostile toward others. They are the only four boys that advanced in alchemy. They could get along.”

“I know who they are.” Roy had entirely forgotten about Hughes, or even about where they were. New source of information! “What…methods are you talking about? Using humans to create chimeras?”

“Oh, I disagree with that too, but I meant-“

Before their conversation could go any further, they were interrupted by a pair of men; a short mongrel and a commoner with grey-white hair. Following them was Black Hayate. It was good to know the puppy had found his way back to his master safe and sound.

“So much for us being the backup plan, you entirely ignored us.”

“Who is the lady?”

Roy nodded to the two men. “Fury, Farman. This is lady Gracia. She gracefully lent us her help. There was no need for any fighting at all.” Because Vato still looked suspicious, Roy added, “ She came from here it seems.”

“Come on, we better get going,” said the commoner. “Don’t forget, there are soldiers out here too. You two have to get rid of those suits immediately. There might be a search for you.”

Roy wanted to protest. Hey, he was getting important information about alchemy here, the rest could wait a little, no?

“The lady needs somebody to escort her to her family,” said Hughes, hastily. “I’ll do it. You can all leave.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me. I often come alone. I’ll be fine.” Gracia waved and walked away, leaving the two men gaping after her. “Good luck, Roy.”

Both Roy and Hughes would have gone after her, but their friends’ dirty glares told them to just hurry up and follow. They were too visible; uniforms were always remarked out here. Fury and Vato went on, arms in arms like any other amorous couple around, and the mongrels in disguise followed from afar, the crowd parting before them with frightful respect.

“She’s beautiful,” sighed Hughes.

“What’s with you?” Roy turned curious eyes to his friend, only now realizing Hughes had been unnaturally quiet while they had been with Gracia. Hughes couldn’t possibly be crushing on Gracia, could he? “ She’s out of your reach.”

“But she came from here…”

“She’s blonde and if she doesn’t marry and have blond children within five years, she’ll die. That says enough about your chances. Beside, her suitor would crush you, if you survive his sight that is...”

“You’re cruel. Well, I suppose I’ll never see her again.” There was lingering sadness in those words, and it found an echo in Roy’s own heart. He’d never see any of them again. Edward, Alphonse, Armstrong, Winry, Hawkeye, Havoc, Gracia, Rose, Clara, Catherine - well he wouldn’t miss Envy, that was for sure, but the boys… It had been fun.

“Let’s go home.”

-

The End!

Of part 1!