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The Sound of Silence	By : ZaKai Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 11394 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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A/N: Please
be aware that this story addresses the serious
issue of child abuse.� If you
feel uncomfortable with this, I would invite you to refrain from reading this
story.� I have no desire to hurt or
offend anyone.�

This story is a divergence
story, and a very tiny bit alternative
universe.� It is pretty much the same up until after Barry the Chopper,
after that it is completely different.�
One major change to be aware of is that there are no homunculi.

The Sound of Silence

Prologue

Questions

First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye turned off the car and
listened as the rain beat heavily on the thin metal roof.� It made a hollow sound that seemed to
reverberate through her whole being.� She
wanted this all to be over; just wanted it all to be a bad dream.�

But it was no dream.

There would be no waking up, no escape from this living
nightmare.�

Thunder boomed, followed immediately by a flash of lightning,
and she felt a chill pass through her.� Despite
the uniform and the heavy black trench coat, the cold damp weather was seeped
into her, taking its toll on her body.

Grabbing the keys, she pulled them from the ignition and
opened the door.� Without bothering with
an umbrella, Riza hurried through the raging storm to the building.� The rain was cold and it drenched her hair
and overcoat, but it didn�t matter.� This
storm would soon be gone, leaving the world a cleaner, fresher place.

Opening the door and stepping inside the prison, she felt as
though she were entering the real storm. But there was nothing natural about this
one; the world wouldn�t be better for it.

With trembling fingers, she brushed at the damp strands of
blonde hair stuck to her face, as she spoke briefly with one of the guards.� They knew who she was; they were expecting
her.�

When she�d called to request a visit with the prisoner,
they�d denied her access; said she was wasting her time.� He hadn�t said anything, and he wasn�t going
to; not to them, and not to her.

Not that it mattered.

He was guilty.

Plain and simple.

But still, she requested the visit.� It had taken time and a lot of pressure on
her part, but after pulling every string she could, Riza had finally gotten her
request granted.

Two guards were chosen to escort her.� They lead her to a heavy metal door which
unlocked with a small electric clicking sound.�
As the door opened, a long sterile hallway was reveled that seemed to
stretch on forever.

They passed through the doorway and after a moment the loud
booming of the closing door reverberated through the cold, gray walls of the
hallway, making her shudder.� She
wondered if this was how it would feel being shut up in a tomb� But then,
wasn�t that what this place was?�

A grave for the living?�

A place to put society�s unwanted
population.� �

The living dead��

The sound of their shoes against the hard floor echoed
hollowly around them as the guards led her down a dim corridor to a small, cold
interrogation room.� A small flimsy table
sat in the middle of the floor with a metal chair on each side.� She pulled one of the chairs out, sat down, then grimaced.� The
cold from the chair oozed through her clothing and touched her skin in a
violating manner that made her want to stand.�
When they left her alone to retrieve the prisoner, she rubbed her hands
together trying to generate some feeling in them.

Riza waited, shifting uncomfortably on the chair.� She tried to be patient, but she was failing
miserably.� Nervous apprehension caused
her heart to pound heavily in her chest.�
Would she be able to get him to talk to her, to tell her why he had done
it��

Three days ago she would have never thought this was what
she�d be doing with her Friday night.�

No.

Not at all.

It seemed her whole world had been turned upside-down since
it happened.� At first she had felt shock
and disbelief, but that had slowly given way to hurt and confusion.� She had so many questions� The blonde woman
didn�t know what was going to happen, and although she was desperately trying
to get information from those in authority, a part of her didn�t want to know.� Part of her just wanted to separate herself from all of this.

Her feelings were so conflicted�

The sound of a lock clicking met her ears and she looked up
to see the door open and a guard walk in.�
Behind him, a short eighteen-year-old with greasy blond hair, held up in
a pony tail, walked in as he was prodded by another guard from behind.

Ed�s hands were locked securely in a large slat of iron that
kept his palms from touching.� Heavy
chains ran down from his wrists to his feet, and then from foot to foot.� The eighteen year old looked pale and tired;
dark circles under his eyes betrayed the fact that he hadn�t been sleeping. The
bland gray of the prison clothes didn�t help his appearance at all, making him look washed out and dead� just like the rest
of this place.�

The guards had her stand while one of them pulled the table
onto its side and folded the legs under it.�
Apparently it was for her �safety�.�
He leaned the now flat table against one wall and slid two of the chairs
beside it.

When he was finished, the guard sat the remaining two chairs
in a way that they were facing each other, but not within touching range.�

So many precautions were being taken.

She didn�t blame them.

They were afraid of what he was capable of, but she
wasn�t.� What had been done,
hadn�t been done with alchemy.� She
didn�t believe he would try to hurt her.

Or perhaps�

She didn�t want to believe it�

The guards had Ed sit in one of the chairs and she sat in
the other before they moved to one side of the room to stand watch.

�Would you please leave us?� Riza asked.� If these men were in the room, she knew for
certain that Ed would hold his tongue.�
If they left, she might have a chance.

The two men looked at each other nervously, then one said, �Ma�am��
Are you sure you want to be left alone with him?� He�s a very dangerous alchemist��

�I�m not afraid,� she responded in clipped tones.� If only she believed it�� Please go.��
The two men looked at each other again, but finally did as she
requested.�

Riza sighed tiredly, and gazed hard at the young alchemist
again.� His eyes were cast down in his
lap, refusing to look at her.� Here was
the cause of all the trouble.� Why had he
done it?� She didn�t know.�

No one knew.

He�d refused to talk to anyone about it� about anything.

Riza doubted there would even be a trial.�

He had done it.�

There were witnesses.

His own brother was one of them�

But why he had
done it still remained a mystery, and Riza wouldn�t rest until she found out.

�You don�t look very good,� she said softly.� His head lifted slightly, and he peered at
her through greasy bangs.�

For a moment she didn�t think he�d say anything, but he
surprised her by whispering, �Neither do you��

The lieutenant smiled ruefully.� �I guess that�s true.�

An uneasy silence filled the room for few long minutes
before she spoke again.� �Alphonse has
been staying with me.�

That seemed to get his attention and his head lifted so that
he looked her in the eyes.� He didn�t
need to speak for her to know the question that was on his mind.

�He�s doing okay, but...�
He hasn�t slept well, and I think he�s getting sick.� You know his little body is still quite
frail�� She trailed off at the look of anguish
in his eyes.� Of course Ed knew how frail
Al�s body was.� He was the one who had
gotten it back after all.�

Riza decided not to tell Ed about Al�s nightmares, about the
terrified screaming in the middle of the night that she couldn�t calm him from�� From how the teenager was taking what she�d
already said, she wasn�t sure he�d be able to handle it.�

Too much guilt.

�Ed�� Riza began
gently.� �I� I need to know��

The alchemist looked down into his lap, but he didn�t look
away quickly enough for her to not catch the look of fear and shame in his
eyes.

�Please�� Her voice
caught and she stopped.� The blonde woman
had no desire to cry in front of him, but try as she might the tears formed and
one trickled down her cheek.� �I just
don�t understand Ed��

�No one understands�� his tortured whisper tore at her
already wounded heart.

She blinked and another tear silently escaped her eye.� �We would if you�d just tell us.��

�You say you want to know, but you really don�t.� If I tell you, you�ll wish you never knew��
he said quietly.

She pressed her lips together for a moment.� She wanted to know, but she was afraid
too.� She had to decide�

Finally she said, her voice shaking, �Ed, I want to know.�

With eyes filled with an unknown suffering, he looked at
her, then away again, but in that moment she saw him consider her request.� �Ed��
Riza whispered, �Please�tell me why you killed Colonel Mustang��

--

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The Sound of Silence