Disclaimer; I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N; Once again, I'm offering apologies. I can't even promise that the next one will be out sooner, though I'd like to point out that it's not been a year yet! So, progress! I love this story to bits, and I wish I had more motivation to just blast through it all to the end. There are still a few more chapters to go, so thank you to everyone who is still with me! I promise I'll try my hardest to get the next one out before Christmas!

Chapter Twelve

The place was a maze.

That was the first thought that drifted through Mustang's mind as he crawled awkwardly through the hole that the cat had decided to take them through. The strange feline was clever, but it hadn't seemed to realise the startlingly obvious fact that they, as humans, were a lot bigger than it. Still, they managed to get through, no matter how uncomfortable it was, and now Mustang found himself standing in a long, stone corridor, dimly lit only by sporadic torches on the walls, as his men struggled through after him. The place instantly gave him an odd, closed in feeling, and dread and sickness seemed to rumble in his stomach as he realised, in an instant, that Edward had been forced to stay down here for the duration of his capture.

"What is this place?" Hawkeye murmured, sharp eyes taking in everything as she stood beside him; she showed no sign of having just crawled through a hole in an undignified manner and, not for the first time in his life, Mustang found himself somewhat envying her poise.

He shook himself. Now, when they were so close, was no time to allow silly thoughts to linger.

"I don't know," he said grimly. "But I don't like the look of it."

"Is the boss really down here?" Breda asked uneasily, looking around; of them all, his sizeable stomach had had the most trouble getting through, but even he had managed it, in the end.

"That cat seems to think so," Hawkeye said impassively, though her eyes were narrowed in concern. She, too, had realised something was odd about the animal and she dreaded what that meant.

The cat in question was half way down the corridor, staring at them with golden eyes. Its tail was twitching impatiently, evidently waiting for them to hurry up and follow, and every muscle was bunched as though tensed to spring. Its eyes seemed to bore into Mustang, bringing to life every fear he had had through the course of this search.

If he was right, if the reason that this cat was so strange was because it had been transmuted in some way with Edward, then what would that mean? They didn't even fully know, yet, how the transmutation with Nina's dog had affected Edward, and now a cat was showing up with same symptoms that Alexander had shown.

For a moment, Mustang cursed Edward's stubborn silence. Mustang had long-ago realised that something was different after that failed transmutation, but the lengths Edward had gone to in order to keep his secret had prevented him from really looking any further. He had been content to wait and watch and observe what he could.

Now, though, that silence was a detriment. If Edward had just told them what was happening, if he had trusted them and let anyone them in, then maybe they would know a little more about what they were walking into.

And maybe they could have protected him better so that he wouldn't have been captured in the first place.

'You better be alive, Fullmetal,' he thought, one of his hands, hidden in his pocket, bunching into a tight fist. 'I have too many things to say to you for you to die on me now.'

Noting that the last of the group had made it through, and, suddenly feeling oddly anxious at the loss of time (it had taken no more than a few minutes, but even that felt like too long), Mustang gave them a curt signal and moved ahead, toward the impatient cat. It seemed to calm, however, as it realised that they were finally moving on, and it waited until they reached it before darting ahead.

Every corridor looked the same, and it gave the impression of a long, never-ending portal that lead to nowhere. Every time they turned a corner to reveal the same, bland expanse of stone, Mustang felt the ball of dread in his stomach tighten. How could something so large have been built right below Central, without anyone realising? Admittedly, Central itself was so large that this was likely just a fraction of the underground system, but the sheer magnitude of what had been developed here was astonishing.

And it was even more so to realise that it had been developed to pander to the whims of a madmen obsessed with creating Chimera like Edward.

'Chimera?'

He almost paused as the word ran across his mind. Not once, since he had understood, somewhat, what had happened to Edward, and realised why Cooper had taken the teenager, had he ever bestowed him with that title. Subconsciously, perhaps, he had shied away from it, still remembering the poor state of the original Chimera that had given Shou Tucker his title in the first place. He had met other Chimera since, too, proper ones that could shift their forms. Edward was nothing like any of them.

And yet, if he really thought about it, what else would they call him? He was a human that had been melded, somewhat, with an animal, just like a Chimera. He was no longer fully human, even if he was an incomplete Chimera.

He eyed the cat hurrying ahead of them. It was moving gracefully yet in a hurried manner, its eyes directed forward in a firm, intent way. The single-minded desire to get to its location, regardless of anything else, was so reminiscent of…

But it couldn't have happened, not again. Chimera transformations were an abomination, and the subject was extremely lucky if they survived once. What would a second transmutation do? Surely, surely, if Edward had gone through it again, he would be…

But then, for what other reason would Cooper have kidnapped Edward, who had already been transmuted?

"Sir, there's a door up ahead," Hawkeye said urgently, breaking into his thoughts.

A door, finally! The sudden break in the bland expanse of wall was somehow startling and welcome all at once, if only because it was unexpected. It was firmly shut, and Mustang found himself hurrying toward it, not even noticing that the cat had made to turn the corner, turning back in frustration when it realised they were not following.

Quickly, grasping the handle, Mustang flicked his hand, and all the soldiers with him leveled their guns at the doorway, ready to take on any enemy that may tumble out. Wondering if this was it, if they had finally reached the end, Mustang inhaled quietly and turned the handle.

The room on the other side, however, was quiet and empty. It looked like a tiny study, and there was an odd, pungent odour in the air that made sickness roil in his stomach. He would never, ever forget the smell of blood and rotting death, not as long as he lived.

It seemed to be coming from behind another door, on the other side of the room, and he both wanted and didn't want to know what was on the other side. Before he made a decision, however, he felt the leg of his pants being pulled.

Looking down, he saw that it was the cat, having caught the material between its teeth so it could tug. It was clearing trying to tell him to move away from here, to return to following it, but it was the desperation that was in the cat's eyes that made him freeze for a brief second. It was the desperation of a being that knew time was running out.

"Move out," he commanded. "We will thoroughly investigate this room later."

The men and women with him nodded solemnly, some with pinched expressions. Not even waiting to see if they were following, Mustang rushed out of the room, throwing decorum and procedure out the window as he raced after the cat. The cat's frantic behaviour was worrying, and he had to wonder just how close they were going to cut this.

Thankfully, however, it wasn't long before they reached another door. This one was larger and tougher looking than the others, and the cat instantly went to it, scratching frantically on the metal before looking back at Mustang with pleading eyes. They needed to get in there, those eyes seemed to say. And they needed to get in there now.

Perhaps, then, it was time to blow subtlety out of the water.

The cat must have seen something in his eyes, before it darted out of the way even before Mustang clapped, once, grimly, clicking his fingers with a sharp snap barely a second after. Fire, fierce and vibrant, streamed through the air like an arrow, and hit the door with a resounding bang that tore the door straight off its hinges. In the exact same moment, an answering light flashed through the now open room, and a very familiar scream echoed around them.

As he rushed forward, Mustang had the strangest sensation of déjà vu. He had been here before, acting in the exact same way. He had been moments too late then, too, and he had heard that pain-filled scream that told him he had failed, even as he threw himself into the room. He found himself almost mirroring his actions from the day, the memory having seared itself in his mind long ago, and a ball of fire sped across the room to crash into the man kneeling beside an array, a large, demonic smile on his face. For a second, the form was interposed with Tucker, and the room was that fateful study… and then the memory faded and it was Cooper who was being blasted across the room, burned and smoking and perhaps not even alive, in the cold, stone room.

But he was already moving toward the bound teenager in the middle of the array, and other snap broke the cuffs that chained him to the pole. He was barely even aware of the gun shots that took down the other man in the room, a hulking brute that had roared and charged the moment Cooper went down.

Freed from the handcuffs, Edward slumped sideways, and Mustang caught him before he hit the ground. It was somewhat startling to see him, after they had been searching for him for so long, and for a long moment he just stared down at the teenager, drinking in the sight of him. He was here and he was…

Realisation abruptly slammed into him. He didn't even know if the boy was alive yet. Fumbling slightly, he reached down to press his fingers against Edward's wrist, and was rewarded when he felt the pulse; weak and fluttering, true, but there. Against all the odds, Edward was still alive.

Noting that his team was taking care of Cooper and the other man, Mustang finally looked around. There was nothing in this room apart from the pole that had been cemented into the floor and what looked like a cage just outside of the circle. Almost as though she had felt his eyes on it, Hawkeye stepped forward to pick it up just after he had seen it.

"There's a bird in here, sir," she said with a faint frown, and Mustang realised that the frantic twittering he had heard, and paid no attention to, had come from it. She righted the cage to show a small, yellow bird beating its wings on the cage. "Do you think…?"

"That may have been the animal that Cooper had intended on transmuting with Fullmetal," Mustang said with a frown. "But why was it outside the circle?"

Then he looked at Edward and realised that he didn't have to look far to find the answer.

His flesh leg was still outstretched, the only limb that was currently straight, and there was a scuff mark on the concrete under his heel. Likely, at the last moment, he had kicked out and forced the bird cage out of the array. Which meant that, in the end, Cooper had tried to transmute him with nothing.

Mustang might have celebrated this achievement. But they also had absolutely no idea what this would have done to Edward, and the fact that he hadn't even stirred since they came in was worrying. Last time, he had at least managed to open his eyes for a few, brief moments.

This time, however, he was completely out.

"We need to find the exit," he said quietly. "Fullmetal needs to get to a hospital. Now."

"Yes, sir," Hawkeye said, before her brow furrowed. "The only way in and out, so far, seems to be the tunnel the cat took us through, however."

Mustang looked at the cat. It was sitting nearby, watching the proceedings with intelligent gold eyes, its tail swishing from side to side. When it noticed Mustang's eyes on it, it tilted its head slightly, as though to ask him what he wanted.

Somewhat unnerved, Mustang cleared his throat.

"Do you know where another exit is?" he asked, feeling a little silly.

The cat cocked its head, evidently thinking about this for a moment, before it shook his head. Well, there went that idea. Strangely intelligent or not, it appeared that the cat only knew so much. Likely, it hadn't managed to come across another exit in its time here.

"We'll go back the way we came," Hawkeye said decisively. She looked at him evenly. "I'm sure we can make our own exit from there."

Mustang was not Edward; he was not going to grin at the prospect of actually being allowed to blow a wall to pieces. He nodded, instead, in a dignified manner.

"Very well," he said. "Once we have gotten Fullmetal to hospital, we will come back and search this place from top to bottom."

"We may be better off starting that tomorrow, sir," Breda said with a small yawn, approaching them. "I think we all need a good rest."

"I agree," Hawkeye said quietly. "No one has gotten much sleep these last few days."

"You're right," Mustang said, a little reluctantly. "Please ensure Cooper and that man is taken into custody…"

"Sorry, sir," another soldier spoke up wearily. "They're both dead."

"We had to shoot the large man several times," Hawkeye said impassively. "And your initial shot killed Cooper outright."

Well, it seemed that they wouldn't be getting any information out of those two. To be honest, though, Mustang found that he was a little relieved; just like Tucker, they really had gotten what they deserved, and they were no longer a problem within this world. They would never come back to cause harm again.

Slowly, securing his grip around Edward, he stood. It struck him, for a moment, that Edward really had gotten a little bigger; he had seemed oddly small the last time he had done this, after he had been transmuted partially with Alexander. Back then, he had seemed like such a child.

'Just when did you go and grow up?' he couldn't help but wonder.

Regardless, though, he was here and he was alive. That was a small miracle in itself, and Mustang knew the relief coursing through him would not go away for some time. It had been touch and go for a second, but they had saved him, just as they had promised.

He was safe.

And, this time, Mustang would damn well keep him that way.

FULLMETALALCHEMIST

Alphonse rushed through the hospital corridors as fast as he could go in his wheelchair, barely aware of Winry hurrying after him. Careening dangerously around a corner, and half surprised that he didn't just tip straight over, he made a beeline for an open doorway and rolled straight in.

"Brother!" he said, drawing all attention to him. "Is he here? He's here, isn't he?"

Mustang recovered from the sudden entrance first, and he gave Alphonse a small smile.

"He's here, Alphonse," he said, gesturing him closer. "Come and see. We found him."

Breath catching, barely daring to believe it, Alphonse slowly rolled forward, toward the bed Mustang and Hawkeye, who was with him, were standing beside. The doctor with them stood aside with a small, sympathetic smile.

And then, there he was.

Gold hair splayed on the pillow and eyes shut, he was tucked firmly into the hospital bed. Apart from scratches and the bandages, he could very well have looked like he was sleeping. His eyes slowly welled with tears' his brother was here.

"You found him," he said, rubbing his hand over his eyes before the tears could spill. They felt odd, just like they had when he cried upon waking for the first time after getting his body back; all his bodily functions were taking time to get used to. "You really found him. Thank you."

His heart felt like it could burst. There had been a tiny part of him that had started to wonder if his brother would ever return to him. To see him now, alive, was better than anything he could have hoped for. He wanted to reach out, hold Edward and never let go.

"Don't thank us," Mustang said quietly, shaking his head. "It was the least we could do for him, after everything he's done."

Alphonse drew in a deep, steadying breath, and looked up at Winry. She was staring intently at Edward, relief in her eyes, as she held the handles of his wheelchair in a white-knuckled grip. She didn't appear to know how to react yet, but she was likely seconds away from throwing herself forward and clutching her brother to herself. If she had her way, she'd probably be bundling him off to Risembool, where she could keep an eye on him twenty four-seven, within the hour.

"Has he woken, yet?" he asked the doctor.

"Not yet," the doctor said, shaking his head. "We've run some tests to make sure he is truly alright now, and then we simply have to wait for his body to heal enough to wake."

"Right," Alphonse said. He felt his body relaxing; he hadn't realised he had been so tense since Edward first went missing. "Do… do you mind if I stay here with him?"

"As long as you're relaxing too, I see no problem with it," the doctor said, smiling kindly. "I'll get a nurse to take you back to your room tonight."

"Thank you," Alphonse said quietly, heartfelt.

The doctor patted him gently on the shoulder and then left, murmuring something about test results. Alphonse didn't really pay much attention to him, though; his eyes were too busy drinking in the sight of his older brother.

"Alphonse, I'm sorry you weren't able to come here straight away," Mustang said with a sigh. "The doctors wished to run some tests before they allowed any other visitors."

Alphonse shook his head. All the frustration he had felt for the last hour, after Fuery had whirled into his room and told him, breathlessly, that they had found Edward, seemed to have completely disappeared now that he was here beside him. But he had never blamed the officers for the wait; he had known, logically, why he was forced to stay in his room, and he was just glad that he was able to come here sooner rather than later.

The wait had been more the worth that one, defining point when he could see his brother with his own eyes.

"What sort of tests are they running?" Winry asked, subdued.

"Internal scans, mostly," Hawkeye said with a small smile at the girl. "Edward doesn't appear to be terribly injured; though, considering the nature of Cooper's obsession, we felt it prudent to get some head scans done."

"Head scans?" Alphonse asked with a frown. "Is this about…?"

"Yes," Mustang said bluntly, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence, as though he didn't want to hear the words spoken. He hesitated for a moment before forging on. "We caught him as he began another transmutation."

Alphonse felt his blood run cold. He still didn't really understand what had happened to Edward all those months ago, due in part to Edward's stubborn pretence that everything was fine, but he did know a thing or two about Chimera transmutations by now. The idea that someone had tried to do that again to his brother…

Well, he could honestly say that Edward was probably lucky to be alive. The thought shook him.

"We'll tell you the details later," Mustang said grimly, probably noticing how Alphonse had gone white at his words. "Tomorrow, the team will be storming the area and collecting as much information and evidence as we can."

"To use against Cooper?" Winry asked, scowl clear in her voice.

"No," Mustang said, his eyes dark and unfathomable. "There was an… accident, and Cooper was killed. His accomplice was killed while resisting the soldiers. Neither of them will be returning."

'Good.' The savageness of the thought shocked him a little, but Alphonse found that he fully agreed with the sentiment. The idea that the men who had kidnapped Edward and likely hurt him would never be coming back was appreciated. From a glance at the conflicted expression on Winry's face, she likely agreed with him.

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything else, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Colonel Mustang?" It was the doctor from before, and there was a troubled look on his face. "May I have a word?"

"Certainly," Mustang said smoothly, sharing a quick glance at Hawkeye.

He strode from the room with a nod to the doctor, but left the door ajar. Looking at Hawkeye, feeling a little concerned, Alphonse saw her purse her lips. Then she met his eyes and she slowly nodded toward the open door, confirming what he had thought; Mustang had left the door open for a reason. Winry and Alphonse shared a look and then made their way over quietly, shadowed soundlessly by Hawkeye.

"What can I do for you, doctor?" Mustang asked as they approached.

"Some of the scans have returned," the doctor said, concern clear in his voice. "And they are… odd."

"In what way?" Mustang asked; the glimpse Alphonse could get through the doorway said that he was frowning slightly.

"I…" The doctor hesitated and then shook his head. "I am unsure what to tell you. It's like nothing I have ever seen before. Imagine, if you will, that the brain is made of a series of pathways." He drew in a deep breath. "The pathways in Mr Elric's brain do not appear to be connecting to the right areas."

"What does that mean?" Mustang asked sharply.

"…It may mean that Mr Elric might not ever wake up," the doctor admitted. "And if he does wake, he might not be the same." He hesitated again. "In saying this, however, I would like to make it clear that the pathways are not severed. They are simply going in directions I am unused to seeing. You are saying he may have gotten caught in a partial Chimera transmutation? Then that may be what is causing some of it. The most recent transmutation, however, may have damaged his brain beyond repair."

Alphonse felt like he was sinking as he listened, numbly, to each word the doctor was saying. He wasn't sure he wanted to believe it. Edward was here, Edward had been rescued, but they may have been too late to save his mind? Edward might never wake up?

Edward might wake up, but never be the same?

His hands were shaking on the arm rests, he realised. This must have been why the doctor had wanted to speak to Mustang alone. He didn't want to say what he had to say in front of Alphonse, still young, still sick, still a little too unstable to hear that his older brother may be irreparably damaged in some way. There was an odd roaring in his ears, and he barely even noticed as Winry turned his wheelchair and pushed him away.

He did, however, see when he was beside Edward's bed again. He took in the sight of his brother, lying in the hospital bed. He hadn't even twitched

'It's a trick, a lie,' he realised numbly. 'He's here, right here, right in front of me.'

But he couldn't deny the doctor's words. They rung in his head, so loud in his ears that he couldn't hear anything else. This time, when the tears formed, he simply let them fall.

'But maybe we didn't really manage to rescue him after all.'

Coming Up; Chapter Thirteen; As the investigation into Cooper's demented plans continue, a week passes beside Edward's bed, without the slightest sign of consciousness. Was the last transmutation truly too much for him to handle?

Thanks to;

percab8531, Dragon Courage, Grell Phantomhive, Blitza, ElizabethBathog, NekoTora243, Steel Heart Alchemist, Night Phoenix Whisper and L4V3nd3r

I received all your reviews, and each of them are what kept me coming back each time. Finally, the other day, I reread them, and I realised that I have to keep going. And so I fought my way through this chapter until the end, determined to get it out for everyone still with me. Thank you for your reviews, they mean a lot, and they keep me at it!