(A/N) Hello again! First, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who left such wonderful reviews and comments! You're all amazing and I really appreciate your insight and support. Also, I am so tired right now from work today that this chapter may not actually be comprehensible, but I wanted to get it finished before next week because I have a couple exams. I don't know if this is the last chapter or not, but I would like to explore another story. I love the angst and all, but I find my skills lie more in the adventure writing. But again, thank you so much for your super nice reviews and I hope you guys like this chapter!

Chapter 6: A Person's Worth

Fear pulsed through his veins. Pure, undeniable terror tore through his body, causing every hair on his neck to stand on end. His senses heightened, and he felt like he could hear even the faintest breeze slipping through the crack under the door. His pupils dilated, his nerves felt exposed, and the only thing going through his mind was "I have to stop him".

"What the hell?!"

Roy rushed forward and grabbed Ed's wrists roughly, pulling his hands as far apart as he possibly could. He had to keep them from coming together – from activating the array. He dragged his feet as he moved, hoping to destroy as much of the circle as possible.

Edward kept his eyes firmly on the ground. He didn't even resist the force on his hands.

Roy practically growled, stepping right into Ed's personal space. "Do you really think human transmutation is the answer!? That you'll be able to bring Walsh back to life!?"

When Ed still wouldn't answer, Roy lost it. He grabbed the boy by his chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Answer me!"

Finally, finally, Ed reacted. He slapped the Colonel's hands away and stepped back. "You don't know a damn thing! Get off me!"

"Then you had better start explaining yourself! I will not let you do this again!" Roy knew yelling probably wasn't the best way to handle the situation, but he didn't know what else to do. His youngest subordinate, his youngest family member, was moments away from ruining his life. And damnit, he was scared.

Ed crossed his arms and glared at the Colonel. "Would you just get the hell out!? I don't have anything to say to you!"

Roy also crossed his arms, returning the glare and holding his position. He wouldn't leave. He couldn't leave.

And for minutes, they just stood there in a stalemate. Neither yielding to the other, yet neither willing to back down.

Eventually, Ed huffed a breath and covered his eyes with his metal hand. "Do you really think I would do it again? Do you think I'm stupid enough to try to resurrect another person?"

"You can't really deny the evidence, Fullmetal."

Ed kicked at a stack of papers, scattering a few into the circle. "I know human transmutation on the dead doesn't work! I know you can't bring people back to life!"

Roy bent over and picked up a few of the papers. It was all research on human transmutation. He didn't realize just how much information there was. And how on earth did Ed manage to get his hands on it all in one night? It was infuriating to see. "The just what the hell are you doing!?"

"Don't you understand the meaning of go away? Or did all that paperwork fry your braincells?" Ed started picking up some of his papers, just to keep himself busy and moving. He needed to keep his hands occupied, and his eyes on anything but the Colonel.

A moment of silence passed before a hand on his shoulder startled Ed out of his cleaning. He made the mistake of looking up, where he met Roy's eyes.

They weren't full of anger, or disappointment, or even curiosity. All they held was sympathy and concern. Roy didn't need to say anything for Ed to understand that he wasn't leaving.

Defeated, Ed looked away and clenched his fists. "I wasn't trying to bring Walsh back. I know you can't revive the dead." He subconsciously rubbed at his shoulder port. "I've learned that much, at least.

"I just… I haven't done a single thing right in so long. Nina, Jeremy, and my brother. They've all been hurt and suffered, because of me. I just need to do something right for once."

Roy stepped closer, surprised by the unusual amount of information being shared and its sincerity, but not insensitive enough to interrupt the boy.

"I thought that maybe I could adjust the array, and…" Ed shook his head to clear his thoughts. "God I'm so stupid."

"You're not- "

"I thought I could trade my life for Al's body!"

Roy was taken aback by the sudden outburst. He'd never thought Ed could use human transmutation in that way, then again, Ed was always surprising him with his stupid genius.

Roy gently grabbed Ed by the shoulders and turned him so they were facing each other. "Not to make things worse than they already are, but yes, you are stupid. What on earth made you think that was a good idea?"

Ed had nothing left to say, nothing left to explain. All he wanted to do was either curl up in a ball and sleep, or hop the next train to Resembool.

And Roy could sense the underlying defeat in the boy's tone. "There are so many things we need to discuss," He held up his hand when he saw Ed about to protest. "Not right now, but we will need to discuss them in the future. Just, Fullmetal, what were you thinking? Do you honestly believe Alphonse could ever be happy in a body his brother sacrificed his life for?"

"I wasn't going to go through with it."

"Fullmetal, when I walked in you were one second away from activating this array. If I hadn't gotten here when I did, well you know what would've happened."

"I'd been standing like that for hours. Like I told you, I wasn't going to activate it."

That certainly surprised Roy. So Ed did all this research and work, even drew the circle out, but hadn't planned on activating it? "Why?"

"I…" He swallowed thickly. "My life is worth enough to get Al back. It wouldn't have been an equivalent exchange."

"I'm in over my head with this." Roy thought. How was he supposed to handle this? He had the emotional awareness of a toaster, and this child in front of him was overflowing with sincerity.

"Edward, look at me."

The boy complied, giving no fight.

Roy stepped forward, and despite every single one of his natural instincts screaming at him to turn around and run the other way, he wrapped his arms around the kid's small frame.

That earned him a surprised squeak.

"While I am very relieved that you decided not to go through with the transmutation, your reasons are far from appropriate.

"You can't just compare two lives and attempt to determine whether they are equal. Each person brings their own strengths to the world, and trying to assign a value to their worth is like trying to… like trying to…" Roy leaned back and smirked at the boy. "Well it's like trying to get a spark on a rainy day."

Ed looked up at him thoughtfully, trying to fully understand the philosophy laid before him. He didn't quite understand, but he nodded anyways to show that he understood Roy's point.

The colonel released Ed from the hug and started scuffing up the circle. "I fully expect you to destroy this research, and the sources you got it from. And this floor will need to be scrubbed so thoroughly that I expect layers of stain to be removed."

Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the floor just outside the circle, erasing the chalk in a flash of light and cloud of dust. "I didn't use any resources for my notes. All of this is from memory."

"Not to flatter you, but this is really extensive knowledge you gathered all from memory." Roy said as he helped clean up the papers. "I don't think a shredder will be enough to destroy all this."

Ed collected the last sheet and straightened his posture with a nervous stiffness. "Colonel… will you help me with these? I want them burned, but I need to be there when you do it."

Roy looked at him thoughtfully and nodded. "I will. Now grab your coat, we're leaving."

"What? Right now? It's the middle of the day! Somebody will see us!"

"We'll destroy them tonight. For right now, I'm going to get something to eat, and you're coming with me."

Ed crossed his arms and dug his feet into the ground. "I'm not hungry and I'm not going anywhere."

Roy shoved all the notes into a folder and grabbed Ed's jacket, throwing it at him right after. "I am not leaving you alone right now. While I won't push you to talk about anything right now, this is partially my fault for letting you leave after Mrs. Walsh confronted you yesterday. Now put on your shoes and let's go, I don't have all day."

The Colonel turned on his heel and headed into the hall, with a small smile on his face. He stopped and waited, since he could hear the boy scrambling to get his boots on.

Maybe he wasn't the best superior, and maybe he didn't always know how to handle tough situations, but in the end, his subordinates always trusted him to say and do the right things. And that's all he needed to know. Edward trusted him.