Summary: Edward takes a bullet for Roy during the fight against a psychotic criminal alchemist. Parental!Roy and injured!Edward.

Maniac laughter echoing, bouncing off the walls of a secluded, dark alley. The only thing to be seen in the ominous orange light cast by flickering flames were two State Alchemists, staring down into the darker side of the alley at their opponent.

Roy Mustang and Edward Elric were both breathing unusually heavily, having come out of the fight with only their lives, nothing more. The ends of Roy's hair were singed (not that anyone would be able to tell, as Roy's hair was already dark to begin with), and Ed's golden blond hair had come loose from its braid at some point and now hung mostly in his face.

Exhausted, but triumphant, the two alchemists strode forward.

"Not bad, Fullmetal," said Roy, as he and the younger came towards the criminal they had been chasing. "Thanks for backing me up."

Edward shrugged and tossed his head. "It's not like I wanted to," he said carelessly. "I just helped you out 'cause Al would have my head if I let you die. But you're welcome anyways."

"Right…" said Roy, and dropped the subject.

Roy, with the help of his subordinates, had been working day and night to track down the notorious criminal who called himself "Shredder." This criminal had committed many crimes, a few of which that had resulted in death, but the worst part about it was the fact that "Shredder" was an alchemist, which made him a bit harder to take down.

But, earlier that same evening, Roy and Ed had met Shredder head-on, quite by accident, while making their way back to the Central Command. Shredder had pounced them - a mistake he seemed to regret the moment he realized Roy and Ed were State Alchemists.

The fight had cost both Edward and Roy their energy, but nothing more, which was a huge blessing, as it could have been much worse. Along with having experience using alchemy, Shredder also seemed to have much experience with guns, of which he carried three, so it was lucky they made it out with their lives.

Shredder's three guns had been destroyed through Ed's alchemy, while Roy kept Shredder distracted.

"Shredder," said Roy, as he and Ed stepped from the light of the fire behind them, started by Roy himself during the fight, "you can come quietly, or we'll be forced to use more physical methods."

The criminal cackled; he'd done it multiple times during the fight, breaking into hysteric laughter, like he found the whole thing terribly amusing. Roy noticed Ed's clenched fist and grinding teeth, but said nothing.

"Come quietly, you say?" howled Shredder, panting to get his breath back. His skin, which had before been quite pale, was now a hideous combination of charred black and chocolate brown, with patches of white where Roy's fire hadn't given him two (or three) degree burns. "I'll make all the noise I want! And what're you gonna do 'bout it?"

"You shut up!" snapped Ed furiously, jabbing a finger at Shredder, though he didn't come any closer. "You're gonna do time, Shredder. Hard time, if you're not executed!"

This only served to egg Shredder on. He laughed more madly than ever. "Oh, I'm sorry, kid!" he said with fake, mock shock. "I didn't know the military was bringing mere children into the field! Just how desperate are those pathetic-"

One kick from Ed's prosthetic leg was all it took, and Shredder's scarred, charred face hit the ground, and he laid there, suffering numerous wounds at the hands of those he had sought to attack, unconscious.

"Fullmetal…" Roy said.

"He had it coming to him," said Ed defensively, crossing his arms over his chest, like it explained everything. "And anyways, it's not like I hit him hard."

"You knocked him out."

Ed blew his bangs out of his face, just to display his annoyance. Instead of addressing the problem, he muttered sarcastically, "Figure that out on your own, Colonel?"

Roy resisted the urge to smack the twit and instead settled for approaching the now unconscious Shredder. "Well, looks like we won't have to worry about this one for a while," he said, and he looked over his shoulder at Ed. "You got any communication device on you? We're gonna need backup."

"Nah, Shredder smashed it when he punched me that one time," said Ed, uncrossing and recrossing his arms. "What's your excuse? You drop yours again?"

"No," said Roy flatly, putting his hands on his hips and rummaging through his pockets - he was sure he had some handcuffs with him. "Hmm...doesn't look like I have anything…"

Mental note: start carrying around handcuffs. Then again, he hadn't been expecting Shredder to just show up, or else he would've brought the necessary equipment.

"Don't ask me to transmute anything," said Ed, putting up his hands before Roy could even think the question. "Frankly, I'm so exhausted I doubt I'd be able to transmute a pencil into a few toothpicks."

Roy wasn't one to talk; he was exhausted himself, too, so he really couldn't blame Edward, even if the kid was a child prodigy.

"Well, looks like we'll have to drag him back to central ourselves," said Roy, brushing his hands together, being careful that he didn't ignite a spark when he did. "Give me a hand."

"Whatever, Colonel Jerk," muttered Ed, and he started off after Roy. "So, what's the deal on this Shredder guy anyways? I know he's a former inmate, but what's he after?"

"Nothing," said Roy. "As far as we know, this guy's murdering innocent people without any set goal in mind. The crimes he commit aren't in any way connected. My guess is, being a former criminal wasn't good enough for him. He wanted back in the action as soon as he was released from prison."

Ed scoffed. "That's just twisted."

"Yeah, it is," said Roy. "He's definitely prepared for anything, that's for sure. We've been able to gather, through several witness reports, that he carries four guns with him at all times. That, plus his alchemy, makes him extremely dangerous. We're lucky to have caught him tonight."

"Four guns…" said Ed under his breath, and he suddenly paused, halting dead in his tracks. "Four guns, you said?" he asked, for clarification, and Roy turned to him, putting his back towards Shredder.

"Yeah," said Roy, "that's right. Four guns."

Ed mentally counted. "But...we only destroyed three," he said. "Shredder only used three while we were fighting, which means…"

At the end of the alley, Shredder, who had only been feigning unconsciousness, reached towards his final gun; the one he kept hidden, strapped to his thigh, just for situations like this.

Ed gave a gasp. "There's one more gun, and-"

A flash of silver caught his eye, coming from the direction of the shadowy alley. Shredder had pulled out his fourth and final weapon; his trump card, and he was aiming it to shoot right at Roy's turned back.

"Colonal, he's armed-!" Edward shouted, and he acted without thinking.

The trigger was pulled, and a loud BANG! filled the recent silence. At the same time, Edward grabbed Roy by his forearms, put himself between the criminal and the colonal, then swung Roy out of harm's way, practically throwing him against the alley's wall.

It hurt, a little - the back of Roy's head stung considerably from the impact on the bricks - but he had other problems to face right now.

BAM.

And it was done. Edward, standing where Roy had stood moments before, suddenly sucked in a deep intake of breath, like he wanted to scream but couldn't. Roy only stared, and then, a small tinkle tinkle! broke the silence again, and he looked briefly in that direction.

A blood-coated bullet had clattered to the ground.

The bullet had gone straight through Ed. Straight through his midsection, entering through his abdomen and exiting via his back.

It should have happened in slow motion. This was the kind of things in surreal horror films, the type of thing to happen in the heat of battle, the kind of turning point that should have happened in slow-motion.

But it didn't.

Because reality just didn't work that way.

The gun had been fired. Ed had been shot through. One moment, the young alchemist prodigy was standing there, gasping in a silent scream, and the next moment, he was nothing more than a bloody, crumpled heap on the ground.

There was a beat. Roy's heart drummed in his ears.

And then, the trance ended.

Roy scrambled to his feet and charged over like his life depended on it (even though someone's life did depend on it). The entire time, he mentally kicked and screamed at himself.

You idiot! You IDIOT! You knew Shredder carried four guns, how could you stop at three!? This is your fault! YOUR FAULT, IDIOT!

In the sky above, thunder crackled. A storm was approaching. Figures. Just another way to set the mood. The horrible, ominous mood.

Roy crashed to his knees and, as quickly as he could while still trying to be gentle, gathered the young alchemist into his arms.

"Fullmetal," Roy gasped, shaking the youngest of his subordinates desperately. "Come on, come on, Fullmetal, talk to me."

Edward didn't move. The only thing Roy's shaking brought was the boy's head lolling in unconsciousness before finally resting against Roy's shoulder.

"Dangit, Edward, talk to me!" shrieked Roy, for the first time since he could remember calling Edward by his name and not his alias.

This finally elicited a response, albeit a weak one, when Edward moaned painfully and couched twice. Roy felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders, and another from his chest; the kid was still alive, thank goodness…

"Shaddup...y'jerk…" muttered Ed furiously between weak coughs, shutting his eyes.

Roy felt so stupid, for so many reasons. "You...you shoved me," he said, before he could rethink his decision. Edward cracked open molten eyes, like melted gold, and stared at him dazedly. "You put yourself in my place, you saved my life."

Ed let out a hoarse sound between a cough and a laugh. "Y...Yeah," he said. "I...I don't...don't know what I was thinkin'..."

Roy, instead of answering, grabbed a fistful of Ed's red trench coat and pressed it to the wound. Ed hissed through his teeth, but other than that, gave no signs to show he was in pain.

"The...exit…" Ed moaned pitifully (even though the kid would surely destroy anyone who even thought he was "pitiful").

"I know, I know, I'll get to that," said Roy, reaching around to apply pressure to the second wound - the exit wound - on Edward's back. "Hang in there, kid, just hang in there…"

Crap, there's so much blood!

"C'mon, Ed, don't you go dying on me," said Roy, sitting Edward upright, leaning Ed against his chest, so either of his hands could apply pressure to either of the wounds. Edward's breathing was heavy and erratic, anything but normal, and glancing down told Roy that Ed was beginning to lose consciousness.

"I...won't…" Ed murmured tiredly. "I'll just…" He slumped further. "Y-You...j-jerk…" He shut his eyes...

"No! No, no, you can't do that, Ed, you can't," said Roy, grabbing Ed's shoulder and shaking him. "You've gotta stay awake for me, alright? Look at me."

Tired, glazed eyes stared into his dark ones.

"There, see? You focus on me, alright? Calm down. Don't work yourself up."

Ed didn't answer verbally. He simply nodded and shut his eyes, staying conscious but not aware.

Hysterical cackling suddenly drew Roy's attention from the young bleeding boy in his arms, back to the criminal who'd shot Ed in the first place. Shredder was laughing madly, the pistol, which Roy now assumed only had one bullet left in its barrel before being shot (so now it was empty), lying forgotten on the pavement.

"D'awww, how sweet!" said Shredder, making a fake puppy-dog face with widened, terrifying bulging eyes that could hardly be qualified as human. "Mr. Tough Flame Alchemist isn't so tough when a poor little brat like him gets hurt, is he?"

Edward cracked open his eyes and growled - literally growled - at Shredder through his teeth for calling him a "little brat", but then, he dropped the menacing act all at once with a sharp cry of pain, clutching his stomach.

"This is why mere children shouldn't be running around as dogs of the military! They could get hurt, you know!"cackled Shredder, and Roy raised his head, narrowing his eyes, while Ed did the exact opposite, squeezing his eyes shut and hiding his face.

Shredder ran his tongue along his yellowed teeth, his burned hair framing his burned face like two greasy curtains, hideous mouth curved into a grin at Roy's obvious fury. "Aw, did I strike a nerve?" he jeered. "How awful of me!"

And he cackled again, like a dying hyena.

This is what finally made Roy snap.

Literally snap.

He snapped his fingers, created a small fire, channeled the oxygen into the air from one place to another, and the entire end of the alleyway burst into flames. Shredder's laughter turned into howls and screeches of immense pain, but the most horrifying thing about it was the fact that the laughter was still there, amongst the shrieks.

Despite being burned to death, Shredder was still laughing, like he found the whole thing hilarious.

It was sickening. It was twisted. Wait, on second thought...no, it was worse than sickening. It was worse than twisted.

"C-Colonal…" Ed coughed, and suddenly, Roy was jerked back to the urgency of the situation. He'd been so blinded by hatred towards Shredder that he had nearly forgotten about the injured boy before him.

"...Right," said Roy. "Hang on, Ed…" He removed the boy's cloak entirely and tied it firmly around Ed's waist like a child might do with their sweatshirt, covering both the wounds. Ed hissed and winced, but didn't protest. Roy then shrugged off his own blue military jacket and wrapped it around Ed's shoulders; the last thing he needed was for the cold to make Ed sick.

"Alright," said Roy, glancing at the fire still burning strongly at the other end of the alley, "I've gotta get you out of here...alright, up you go…" Without waiting for a response, he slipped one arm beneath Ed's knees and the other around his shoulders. Then, despite his exhaustion, he hoisted the young alchemist into his arms, turned, and tore down the sidewalk, ignoring Ed's weak protests.

If he didn't hurry…if he didn't get Ed medical attention soon...

...Well...he didn't want to think about that.

Hey everyone! So this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fanfiction from this fandom, and so far I like the way it's going! Unfortunately, it's not going to be too long, maybe two or three more chapters, but I figured it'd be too much to try and shove into a one-shot, so that's why it's multiple chapters.

Oh, and just in case anyone's wondering, I haven't finished the FMA series yet. I'm currently reading the mangas, watching Brotherhood, and then occasionally watching an episode of the 2003 series, just for the heck of it. :)

Oh, and if you guys have any ideas you want me to use for this fic, go ahead and let me know. I may or may not use them, depending on what they are, but hey, any idea is a good idea, so let me have 'em. XD

Anyways, let me know what you think of this so far, 'kay? :) Review if you fancy! :)