Guess who is back with the sequel as promised? Me! It's finally summer and I have time to write again! I had so much fun writing "In His Own Hell" and I can't wait to work on this sequel. I hope you guys enjoy this story just as much. This first chapter will definitely be more Mustang centric and how he is dealing with the events of the previous story. I hope you guys like it!

To anyone who has not read "In His Own Hell," I highly recommend reading that story first. Otherwise, you'll probably be extremely confused.

I still do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

*four months later*

"Colonel, you need to get up. I know that the winter ball is tonight and we don't have work, but Alphonse will be here soon," Havoc said as he shook Mustang's shoulder.

Mustang let out a groan and finally sat up in his bed. He ran a hand through his hair. He had completely forgotten about the winter ball that evening, and he desperately wished that he didn't have to go. Despite being a target of the Drachman military, Fuhrer Bradley deemed it mandatory that he still attend this event. If he was honest with himself, he was dreading the ball more than he usually would. Since it was close to Christmas, everyone would be in high spirits and happy to be spending time with their friends and family. While he was still surrounded by his loyal friends and subordinates, a key part to his family was still missing.

He got up and went to the bathroom in his and Havoc's room to splash some cold water on his face. Ever since he was rescued, Bradley "suggested" that he live in the dorms. After hearing about Vincent's warning that the Drachmans would return for him, his team felt that this was the best decision. It would be difficult for the Drachmans to get to him if he was surrounded by soldiers. Havoc had volunteered to room with him, which he was actually very grateful for. Hawkeye had also moved back into the dorms to keep a close eye on him. Since she was living in the dorms, she allowed Alphonse to stay at her apartment whenever he was in Central, which he was a majority of the time unless he was paying the Rockbell's a visit.

Mustang dried his face off and stared at his reflection in the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes seemed even darker than normal. That wasn't a surprise. The past four months haven't exactly been kind to him. He opened the cabinet in the bathroom and was met with the sight of a familiar pill bottle with a note attached to it. He sighed as he read the note to himself again.

You are not weak.

That was a reminder that he was needing more and more each and every time he took one of those pills. They induced a dreamless sleep, which was the only way he could get any sleep at all. He frowned slightly as he remembered the events that led up to him getting these pills.

*flashback*

Mustang checked his pocket watch. It was exactly eight o'clock in the morning. He yawned as he sat down at his desk and stared at his paperwork. It had only been two weeks since he and his team returned to Central. General Raven had suggested that he take some time off, and his team had definitely encouraged him to do so, but he refused. As per the Fuhrer's orders, he was not allowed to go anywhere aside from Central Command and his dorm. Even then, he was never to be alone, so there was really no point in avoiding work. Bradley said it was just a precaution to protect one of the military's strongest alchemists until they found Fullmetal and settled this dispute with Drachma. He nearly gave a bitter laugh at the irony. Now he was trying to take precautions, but he didn't think it was necessary to warn him about the Drachman spies in Kanon. He really didn't understand that man. Aside from that, sitting around doing nothing was not going to help them find Ed, although he wasn't doing a whole lot anyway. Bradley had already sent spies of their own into Drachma to see if they could locate the young alchemist, but they haven't reported anything useful yet.

He rubbed his eyes in a vain attempt to wake himself up. He went another night with absolutely no sleep. Upon waking up in the hospital in South City, he discovered very quickly that he wanted to avoid sleep as much as possible. Every time he fell asleep, he would dream that he was back in the Drachman base with Ed, unable to do anything as the poor kid was mercilessly tortured. He hadn't told anyone about what happened to him and Ed during those five days of hell. Even when the Fuhrer wanted him to give his account of what happened to him and the other generals, he left out anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. If he had to guess, he had probably slept a total of twenty hours since he had returned. He would fake sleeping when he was in the dorm with Havoc, not wanting to worry him any more than he already was. He was brought out of his thoughts when Hawkeye entered his office.

"I see you and Havoc are early today, sir," Hawkeye observed as she walked in the office with a mug in her hands, "I made some tea and figured you might want some. You've been drinking too much coffee lately."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he said, not even taking his eyes off his paperwork even though he made no move to actually do any of it.

He yawned again before grabbing the mug of steaming hot tea. He needed to stay awake. He had to let his team think that he was okay. Rooming with Havoc already made that difficult enough. He took a sip of tea and was surprised at how sweet it was. He had been expecting something more bitter.

"What kind of tea is this, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"It's wild sweet orange tea."

The name alone made sense. He finally got himself started on his paperwork as he drank more of the tea. There was something really familiar about the taste, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. A few minutes later, Hawkeye walked back into his office with more paperwork, but this time she wasn't alone.

"Hey, Roy! How's it going?" a jovial voice rang through the previously silent office.

Mustang looked up from his paperwork to see Maes Hughes walking up to his desk. He nearly groaned. He really wasn't in the mood to be bombarded with photos, so he turned his attention back to his paperwork.

"Fine," he replied curtly.

"Is Al coming to visit today?" the Lieutenant Colonel asked, trying to make polite conversation.

"Yes, he's supposed to be here sometime after lunch."

Much to his surprise, Hughes didn't try to show him any of his infinite number of photos. The Lieutenant Colonel looked to Hawkeye, who simply nodded at him in return. Since his focus was still on his paperwork, he didn't notice the silent exchange between Hughes and Hawkeye. He continued filling out the never-ending pile of papers as he finished the last of his tea. He was starting to feel slightly drowsy, but he blamed that on the lack of sleep from the past two weeks. He stared at the mug in a contemplative manner.

"You know what this tea reminds me of, Lieutenant? The medicine I used to take as a kid when I was sick to put me to sleep. It was just as sweet…."

Mustang's voice trailed off and his eyes widened when he realized what Hawkeye had done. He stared in disbelief at his First Lieutenant.

"You drugged me?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Panic set in immediately. He had to make himself throw up. He couldn't go back into that nightmare. Unfortunately for him, his team had planned on him trying to make a break for it. He shot up from his chair and bolted toward the door, but Hughes wrapped his arms around him. Mustang twisted and turned to free himself and he succeeded.

"Havoc! Breda!" Hughes called.

Just as he made it out the door, Havoc and Breda grabbed his arms. The Colonel thrashed against their hold on him, but the medicine was kicking in and his movements were starting to grow sluggish. That certainly didn't stop him from trying, though. Hughes and Hawkeye ran over to help Havoc and Breda. Hughes grabbed Mustang around his waist while Hawkeye managed to grab his legs. Between the four of them, they were able to carry the still struggling Colonel back into his office, but it was with much difficulty. The four of them were fairly strong individuals, but Mustang was desperate. If the drug hadn't already started to take effect, he probably would have escaped them.

"Let go of me!" Mustang demanded.

His eyes were starting to droop shut. He fought to keep them open, but that was a battle that he was quickly losing. He had to get free. He couldn't fall asleep. He needed to stay awake. His struggles soon became nonexistent and he sagged in the arms of his friend and subordinates.

"I'm sorry, Roy," Hughes said in a strained voice as he and the others carried him toward the various couches in the office.

They set him down on one of the couches. They stood by, even though it wasn't necessary. The medicine was already in full effect. Mustang tried in vain to keep his eyes open, but it was no use. As his eyes slowly closed, the mixture of anger, confusion, and hurt in them was unable to go unnoticed. Right before he was fully pulled into unconsciousness, he felt someone lift his head to slip a pillow underneath it while someone else settled a blanket on top of him. His last coherent thought was that his team had no idea what nightmares they were putting him through.

*later that evening*

Mustang could hear voices around him as he started to wake back up, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He vaguely heard the sound of a door shutting. It took a bit of effort, but he managed to open his eyes. He slowly sat up and tossed the blanket off him.

"Roy?"

The Colonel looked up to see his best friend sitting on the edge of the couch across from his. He nearly started shaking with rage. Hughes obviously noticed because he had stiffened considerably, unsure of how his friend was going to react. Mustang looked out the window and saw that it was nearly dark out. He checked his pocket watch and saw that it was just after seven o'clock. He'd been asleep for eleven hours. He ran a hand through his hair and met his friend's gaze.

"Was drugging me really necessary, Maes?" he asked in an eerily calm voice.

"Roy, you haven't slept properly in weeks," Hughes put a hand up when he saw that Mustang was about to interrupt, "Don't you dare say anything about Havoc seeing you sleep, because he hasn't. He's seen you faking it. He's known you long enough to know the difference. You need to take care of yourself and you're not even though your team, Al, and myself have told you to. Drugging you seemed like the only option to actually make you sleep."

Mustang looked away. He couldn't exactly argue with the fact that he had gone against everyone's wishes for him to take better care of himself. However, it didn't change the fact that he was still extremely pissed off at Maes and his team.

"Keeping yourself awake and letting your health deteriorate isn't going to do anything to help Ed, Roy. We've tried to get you to go to a therapist. If you didn't want to see a therapist, you are well aware that you could go to anyone on your team or myself if you needed to talk. I know you feel awful about what happened to Ed, bottling up those feelings is going to do nothing but tear you apart."

The Colonel's head snapped back toward his friend. For a reason he couldn't exactly explain, rage coursed through his veins.

"You think that's why I don't sleep? Because I feel guilty? I do feel guilty. I will never be able to forgive myself for the fact that I didn't save my youngest subordinate like I promised him I would and he's now a prisoner of Drachma, but that's not why I can't sleep. I haven't told anyone why, and there is a very specific reason for that."

"Why?" Hughes asked, a little overconfident that he would be able to handle the answer. "I'm sure all of us will understand how you're feeling. There isn't anything that you can't tell us."

Mustang's eyes flashed dangerously. He was about to mentally snap.

"You really want to know why, Maes? Fine. I'll tell you what happened," Mustang began, his voice getting progressively louder, "Over the course of those five days, I watched Ed get his chest slashed, every one of his fingers broken, and four of his ribs broken. I didn't just get to watch it. Vincent made me participate in some of it. He had me whip Ed and rip every one of his fingernails off. I didn't exactly have much of a choice. If I didn't, Vincent threatened to make him suffer through worse. Do you have any idea of what it's like to have to torture your own subordinate?"

Hughes could only stare at his friend with wide eyes. What surprised him even more was that Mustang wasn't done, his voice still getting louder. He was practically yelling by this point.

"Vincent killed Ed. Actually killed him. He forced Ed's head into a tub of water and didn't pull him out until he had drowned, then he resuscitated Ed. Do you know why? Just to prove that he could kill Ed at anytime, and so he could hold it over my head that he was the reason that Ed was alive. Not long after that, we were separated for two days. I was drugged for all that time, but Ed was awake for every second of it. He was given a hallucinogen that made him think that Vincent was me torturing him. Vincent carved into Ed's stomach that he was the property of Drachma and did other things that I don't even know about because Ed wouldn't tell me." He paused and stood up so he towered over Hughes. "Worst of all, Vincent raped Edward. Multiple times. After Ed had his lips crudely sewn shut, Vincent threatened Ed that if he fought back when he did it that he would do the same to me. Ed actually let him. Do you have any idea how it makes me feel to know that one of the boys that I see as a son let himself be sexually assaulted so that I wasn't? You said that everyone would understand how I was feeling, but you can't possibly even begin to understand that!

"It's already bad enough that I lived through it, but I didn't want to tell anyone so that they wouldn't have to even imagine Ed going through that. Every time I go to sleep, I relive all of it. I see him getting tortured and I can't do anything to stop it. That's why I don't sleep. I want to be at my best so I can help Ed as soon as the moment comes that we can, but I can't go back to that hell, and that's what you all trapped me in for the past eleven hours."

Hughes was completely pale and his mouth was open, at a complete loss for words.

"Roy, I'm-"

Mustang didn't let him finish before he stormed out of his office. He froze as soon as he opened the door. All of his team was still there, and he could tell by the looks on their faces that they heard everything. He wasn't exactly being quiet. Fuery was throwing up into a nearby trashcan. Havoc and Breda looked like they were doing everything they could not to break down. He couldn't blame them. He knew that they saw Ed like a younger brother and they didn't want to hear about anything bad happening to him, but that obviously didn't happen. Even normally stoic Falman had the blood completely drained from his face, turning it a sickly gray color. What made his heart nearly stop was that he saw Alphonse with them. Hawkeye was standing next to him with a hand on his arm, obviously trying to comfort him, but she looked like she was barely able to keep her composure for once. Unable to face Al at the moment, or anyone on his team for that matter, he ran. He didn't stop running until he reached the gate in front of Central Command.

He wanted to leave Central. He wanted to go straight to Drachma and look for Edward, but he knew that wasn't logical. Not being able to do anything to help him for the time being was killing him, though. He couldn't even imagine what the poor kid was going through right now. He felt like he was failing both Ed and Al, and it made him angry. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Alphonse.

"Al," he breathed, "I'm...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for you to hear all that. You shouldn't have had to find out what happened to Ed like you did. I let my anger get the better of me, and I shouldn't have."

He hung his head, ashamed of himself. He was surprised when Al pulled him into a hug. After a moment of shock, he returned the embrace.

"Colonel, it's okay. After hearing everything that you and brother went through, I can understand why you snapped. I don't blame you for anything, even if you think I should for what you had to do to brother. You said that you had a choice, but everyone knows that you really didn't."

The two stood in the embrace in silence, both needing each other's presence. The silence was comforting in a way, but it was also tense. There were other things those two needed to address. Mustang finally gathered the courage to break it.

"How are you doing, Al?"

Normally that would be a vague question, but Al knew exactly what the Colonel meant.

"Honestly, not great. I can't even imagine the pain that brother must have been in or how scared he was. I don't even want to think about what's happening to him now."

It was barely noticeable, but Al's hollow voice slightly cracked at the end. He was trying so hard to be strong like his older brother, but this was obviously very difficult for him. Mustang was about to say something else when Al pulled away and handed him a small bottle with a note attached to it.

"I-I need to go, but Lieutenant Hawkeye asked me to give you those. She said they're supposed to induce a dreamless sleep. I volunteered to give them to you after what happened today. I know you're probably still angry, but your team had good intentions. We were all worried about you, but we didn't know your nightmares were that bad. Just remember, asking for help is never a sign of weakness."

*end flashback*

Mustang felt almost embarrassed as he remembered that day. He was ashamed that he let himself get to a point that his team had to go to such drastic measures to get him to properly take care of himself. Since then, he tried being more open with his team about how he was doing. That was harder for him the past couple of weeks because he wasn't doing too well. None of the generals had heard from the spies sent into Drachma for three weeks. Before they were officially missing, they hadn't found anything that could help the military track down his subordinate. The more time that went by with no word on Edward, the worse his depression and anxiety got.

He set the bottle of pills back in the cabinet and got dressed for the day. As much as he was dreading the winter ball that evening, he was glad that he would at least get to see Alphonse. The younger Elric had made a habit of visiting him a few times a week while he was in Central. Since the Colonel wasn't allowed to do much, he came to really appreciate Al's visits. He had just finished getting dressed when he heard a knock at the door.

"Hey, Al!" he greeted and stepped aside so the suit of armor could enter. "What have you been up to?"

"I spent some time at the library today doing some research on the Philosopher's Stone."

"Any new leads?" the Colonel asked, genuinely curious.

"I found something that looks promising…." Al started, but trailed off.

"Is something wrong?"

Al sighed.

"I've just had a hard time doing research without brother. This was something we were supposed to do together. It just doesn't feel right doing it alone."

Mustang simply nodded. Al had never told him that before, but it didn't surprise him at all. Much like himself, Al had been doing worse the longer his brother was missing. Mustang tried to avoid that topic the rest of the time that Al was there. They settled for just discussing alchemy. Al pulled out the various books he had brought to show Mustang. The Colonel and younger Elric actually have learned a lot from each other during their visits over the past few weeks. They both had studied alchemy in very different ways, and while Mustang would never reveal anything about flame alchemy, he still had a lot of knowledge that he would love to share with Al. As it came time for the Colonel to get ready for the ball, Al began packing up the books. He was about to leave when Mustang stopped him.

"Thank you for coming, Alphonse. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Colonel. I very much enjoy it."

The simple response meant the world to Mustang. He would probably never admit it to anyone, but one of his biggest fears about the Elric brothers finding out how he felt about them was that they wouldn't feel the same way and reject him. That definitely wasn't the case as the he discovered from Ed and back in Kanon and Al over the last few weeks. Once Al left, he let out a sigh and got ready for the ball.

*two hours later*

Mustang tried not to groan as Havoc pulled into the parking lot of the Renaissance hotel. Since this was one of the largest military events of the year, it had to be held at the biggest hotel in all of Central, which also had the grandest ballroom. As much as he was sick of only seeing his dorm and Central Command, he really didn't want to be in a ballroom full of people for several hours. He, Havoc, Breda, and Falman got out of the car and headed toward the entrance of the hotel. Hughes, Gracia, Hawkeye, and Fuery were outside waiting for them. Seeing Hughes and Gracia made him a little sad. Everyone in the military attending the ball was allowed to bring a guest if they so desired. He had invited Al to come and the rest of the team practically begged him to go, but he had politely declined. It was understandable, though. He knew he would feel out of place being at a military event without his brother, so no one pressured him into going.

Gracia greeted Mustang with a hug as the four caught up to the rest, mentioning something about Elicia wanting to visit her Uncle Roy soon. They all were about to enter the hotel when Mustang saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked across the street from the hotel and froze. There was a boy standing across the street, his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. The boy's lips were also sewn shut, making Mustang think that he might be in a nightmare. He nearly collapsed when his eyes met the golden ones. He was actually staring at Edward Elric.

"Sir, is something wrong?" Hawkeye asked, putting a hand on his arm.

"Edward," Mustang whispered.

A car passed along the street in front of Ed, then he was gone. As quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared.

"Edward!" Mustang yelled as he bolted across the street.

"Colonel!" Hawkeye called as she made to go after him.

"Stay here, we'll bring him back," Hughes ordered as he and Havoc ran after Mustang.

Mustang ran down the street, desperately looking for any sign of his subordinate. He wasn't sure how long he had been running or how far he had gone, but he had to find Ed. There was nothing more in the world he wanted than to find him, hold him, and never let him go again. That served as his fuel to keep running. He only stopped when he could no longer breathe. He looked around, but saw nothing. At this point, Hughes and Havoc were finally able to catch up to him.

"He was here," he mumbled, "He...he was here. I saw him. I would know those golden eyes anywhere."

It nearly broke Hughes's heart to see his best friend like this, and he had to break it to him that Ed was never there.

"Roy," Hughes said, the sadness evident in his voice, "Ed's not here. I'm so sorry. I know how much it means to you that you find him-"

He was cut off when Mustang grabbed him roughly by the shoulders.

"I know what I saw, Maes. He was here. I don't know what I can do to make you believe me, but I saw him."

"Boss, I know this has been a hard few months for you. We all want Ed back, but we know that you do most of all. Since that's all you've been thinking about the last few months, your mind is probably playing tricks on you. Please, you need to come back to the ball with us. Everyone's worried about you," Havoc tried to reason.

Mustang took a few shaky breaths, then he released his friend's shoulders.

"You're probably right, Havoc."

He couldn't help but glance around one last time before he allowed Hughes and Havoc to lead him back toward the hotel.

*break*

Ed looked down on the three men from the rooftop, unable to say anything. He wanted to alert them of his presence, but he couldn't even move. He stiffened when a pair of arms wrapped around him.

"Your commanding officer has really lost it, hasn't he?" Vincent hissed in his ear.

He pulled the young alchemist away from the edge of the rooftop. He walked around in front of him and took his face in his hands, forcing their eyes to meet.

"We've been preparing you for this, Edward. Are you ready?"

Ed gave no indication of a response. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't have. He didn't even realize that tears had been welling up in his eyes until one fell down his cheek and Vincent wiped it away.

"Don't worry, you and Colonel Mustang will be reunited soon enough."

And there's the first chapter! The flashback scene wound up being a lot longer than I planned originally, but oh well. Anyways, let me know what you think! I should be updating fairly soon!