Yay! More fanfic! Thanks to little-star14 and beyond random for the request! (I'll get yours up ASAP, little-star14! Promise!)

Enjoy! I owns nothing!

"Brother! Don't be too long! Winry's still waiting for us at shop, and you know how scary she gets when we make her wait!" Though Alphonse was standing a ways away in the doorway of the small shop, Edward could hear the tremors of the armor in his brother's voice. Scaredy cat. The blonde alchemist continued to wind through the maze of bookshelves in the dusty pawn shop, stopping only every so often to marvel at something which had chanced to catch his eye.

"A little bit of waiting isn't going to kill her, Al. I'll take my sweet time, thank you." Edward replied, picking up and examining a rusted, old globe, before setting it down and moving on to find another treasure.

"You could stand to be a bit more courteous, Brother." The disapproval was evident in Al's voice, though no emotion could show on his steel face. "I'll be waiting with Winry... Come find us when you're done looking for... whatever you're looking for..." By this time, the elder brother had effectively stopped paying any mind to the outside world and waved his had dismissively at the suit of armor behind him, sensing his cue to respond.

"Yeah.. m'kay, Al..." The heavy clanging of metal on metal was the only indication of his brother's actual departure from the store. Alone in the store, Edward finally found the peace and quiet he was looking for and continued on his search through the shop. Stooping down to survey some leather gloves at eye-level, the Fullmetal Alchemist didn't even seem to notice the brusque man who now stood directly behind him.

"Looking for something in particular?" Edward shot up from his bent over position, the hairs on his neck standing on end and his breath catching in his throat at the unexpected company. Turning around, he found himself face-to-face with the shopkeeper: a stout, burly man with a thin grey beard which matched the greyed hairs, interspersed amongst the faded brunette, surrounding his temples. He wore a kind smile, obviously not accustomed to having a customer in his humble shop, and Edward felt a little embarrassed at having been so startled by such a amiable old man.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, actually! I'm looking for some new textbooks on alchemy... I've read all the ones back in Central already... Anything you can help me with?" He figured that if anyone could find something in this garbage heap, it would be the owner himself. The creased eyelids opened to reveal brilliant green irises, sparkling with the enormity of the man's smile.

"Hmm... So you're an alchemist, huh?" His smile opened wide to reveal rows of semi-white, beautifully straight teeth. "Well, it sure is nice to see people your age taking an interest in the art! I dabble in the craft myself!" Edward sighed unintelligibly. He didn't have time to listen to another story about how 'alchemy is an art' and 'I do it for the hell of it when I get the chance to try my hand at the stuff'. Alchemy was a science.. and as such, alchemists were scientists. It wasn't just some craft to be dabbled in.

"Yeah, that's nice... So, do you have any nice books you'd like to share, or am I just wasting my time here, pops?" His patience was wearing thin. Though the majority of him didn't care about making his brother and Winry wait for him, his subconscious continually nagged him on how doing so would be simply rude. As the old man smiled even brighter and stole a wink at Edward, a small shiver made its way up the blonde's spine and he instantly got chills.

"I think I just might have what you're looking for! You see, it's a very old book, filled with plenty of the ancient trade-secrets of alchemy, dating back right up to its founding!" There was no way Edward could contain his excitement now! Ancient secrets? The founding of modern-day alchemy? No doubt there would be all sorts of information about the Philosopher's Stone and human transmutation!

"Wow! Really?!" At seeing the sudden change in the teen's demeanor, the man gave a haughty chuckle.

"Yes, really! You're in for a real treat, kid!" The man laughed good-naturedly through his speech and Edward found his happy-go-lucky attitude to be contagious.

"Now you're talking! Lead the way, gramps!" With a swift turn, the shopkeeper led the two of them to a back room behind the counter. If Edward could have ever imagined there could be another store equal to this one, he would've been proved wrong upon entering the back room. It was even more disgusting than the front of the shop! The teenaged alchemist could hardly contain his frown of disapproval. How could the old man find anything in this dump?

As if to answer Edward's unvoiced question, the man led him back through a winding pathway, which wasn't completely cleared of books and other fallen objects, and produced a large, green leather-bound textbook from one of the many bookshelves.

"Here it is! The crown jewel of all alchemy texts! Written in code so not just anyone can decipher its contents!" He handed it to Edward without another word, who was practically hopping up and down in sheer excitement.

"This is great!" He exclaimed, running his clothed fingers over the soft binding, hardly caring that the years of dust were dirtying his white gloves.

"Please, have a look inside! As I said, not everyone can decipher its contents, so you might want to just be sure-"

"-I've got all the time in the world to figure this stupid thing out! And besides, my brother and mechanic are waiting for me to get done in here." Edward interjected, swiveling around to search for the exit.

"Mechanic?" The man parroted. The blonde rubbed the nape of his neck with his right arm, trying to stop the blush from spreading over his face.

"Well, yeah... I have auto mail, you see. Just like a lot of the folks around here.." They were in Rush Valley after all... What else do people come here for? A flicker of an unrecognized emotion flashed across the green eyes, and Edward simply brushed it off as the pity he so often received upon people learning of his artificial limbs.

"But you're just a boy... Can't be older than seventeen!" The man sputtered. Fully prepared for a (yet another) comment about his height, Edward blew up at the man before processing what he had actually said.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT H-" he blinked. "Seventeen? Pops, do you need your eyes checked? Don't you want to say something along the lines of 'you're the size of a flea!' or 'sure hope I don't accidentally step on you!'?" The man laughed, not at him, but with him, Edward noticed. He couldn't stop the smile which spread across his face.

"Height doesn't have anything to do with age, kid. You have the physique of a well-endowed adult." Okay... creepy. Well-endowed? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Uh... well thank you, I guess." Edward, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable in the small shop, shifted his eyes around and tried to subtly distance himself from the man. However, in his excitement, he hadn't paid attention to where he had been going, and the room was so terribly dark that it was hard enough to see anything in front of his face, let alone an exit.

"You're very welcome, son." The man smiled gently at him, and Edward slowly berated himself for calling the man creepy. He's just being nice, he thought, and he probably doesn't get a lot of customers in this place so he's just awkward with small talk.

"So... How much are you asking for the book?" Edward asked suddenly, wishing to just hurry up this little conversation and leave the pawn shop the way he came.

"Tell you what: I'd normally charge you about 1,500 cenz for this text, but if you can decipher the first paragraph for me, I'll give it to you free of charge!" For once, Edward's face mirrored the man's. He would do anything for a free product, even if he did have more than enough money to pay for his lifestyle. And what's more, the geezer would be testing him on alchemy! What a joke!

"You've got yourself a deal!" Edward grinned, before throwing the book down on an aged wooden table, quickly flipping open to the first page. As he began to read the first sentence, he suddenly felt something damp and cold cover his mouth and nose as his right arm was held tightly behind his back.

"Hey!" His voice was muffled through the rag and it steadily became harder for Edward to breathe. Each time he sucked in a lungful of air, his throat would burn and his vision would become hazy.

The last thing he saw were bright, sparkling green eyes before his world went black.

"Al?" Weakly, Edward struggled to open his heavy eyes against the drug which had taken him. His surroundings were far too dark to be distinguishable, and his memory was a blur. What happened to me? He tried to sit himself up, or at least rub his eyes, before realizing the extent of his situation. He was tied down, restrained, to a medical table of sorts; wrists, ankles, and chest fastened securely to the metal surface.

"Alphonse?" He called out again, straining his ears for the familiar clanking of his brother's metal suit.

"Hey! Alphonse!"

"Will you shut up over there?" A man stepped from the shadows, his reddish-blonde hair falling over his eyes, which were narrowed in annoyance. Edward immediately began to question him, demanding to know where he was and where the shopkeep had gone off to, but was effectively silenced with a primitive slap across the face.

"Charlie, don't bruise him up too badly. The doctor said he wants him in good condition for the procedure." A new voice joined them, and was followed by the arrival of a tall and lean raven haired man with a kind face. Charlie's eyes narrowed further as he regarded his companion with a cold glare. Edward interjected, not caring about the lingering threat of another hit from the strawberry blonde.

"What the hell are you talking about? Where am I? Where's my brother?" He yelled at the tall man. Charlie snickered.

"Who?" He chortled through his laughter, and Edward suddenly knew he was messing with him. "We weren't informed there had been anyone else with you.." Edward struggled in his restraints, grinding his teeth together in anger.

"My brother, Dimwit! The big clanking suit of armor that always follows me around! Where is he?" Edward growled. Charlie's smile immediately disappeared at the boy's "name calling" and the heated glare returned, accompanied by a scowl across his face.

"If you're going to keep mouthing off like that, kid, we might have to teach you a little lesson!" It may have been an empty threat to Edward, but to Charlie, it was an incredibly tempting offer.

"Do your worst, you bastard!" Edward snarled, meeting the challenge with dangerous eyes. Charlie made a growling noise at the back of his throat and lunged for the alchemist.

"Why you-" A gunshot fired, causing all three men to flinch.

"Charles! Quit scaring the patient!" Through the darkness, Edward struggled to see the newcomer, though he was certain he already knew who it was. He could recognize that voice anywhere now.
"But, Doc, he was acting out! I only wanted to deal him a fitting punishment." The shopkeep chose that moment to step into the light, the smile now gone from his face, and stared down at Edward who shrunk considerably under his gaze. The way this wan was staring at him... it wasn't normal... Like he was a piece of meat.

"I'll be the one to decided what his rewards and disciplines shall be." He gave the young alchemist a slight smile, which Edward returned with a scowl.

"Were you mouthing off to my co-workers, Mr. Elric?" Edward started at the use of his name by this complete stranger.

"How do you-?"

"-know your name when we only just met?" The man smiled knowingly. "I've actually been watching you for some time, Fullmetal Alchemist. Your blonde hair, golden eyes, perfectly tanned skin: all these features that make you such a perfect human specimen that I just couldn't ignore you!" His eyes glinted maliciously, and Edward shuddered under his stare, wishing more than anything that he could just shrivel up and disappear.

"P-perfect... sp- spec..."

"Yes, the perfect specimen." The stout man gently raised a swollen hand and stroked the left side of Edward's face, where Charlie had struck him earlier. "You see, Edward, I've always thought you were beautiful... Everything about you radiates it!... And now, I only wish to make you even more beautiful than you already are.." Edward struggled in his restraints, jerking his face away from the doctor's touch and cringing away from him as best he could.

"You're fucking crazy, Old Man! What're you planning to do!" The green eyes glinted mysteriously in the lamplight for a moment before the smile broke across his face again and he covered Edward's face with another drugged cloth.

"Wait and see, my dear boy. Wait and see..." His world faded to black.

It had been three days since Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, had gone missing. He and his brother had journeyed to Rush Valley to pay a visit to their childhood friend (and mechanic) Winry Rockbell. Apparently, during the trip, Alphonse had left his older brother in a pawn shop by himself so that Edward could look for whatever it was he was so intent on finding, and when Edward hadn't returned by the time dinner was being served, Al went to search for him and came up empty handed as he suspected.

Assuming his brother was being stubborn, per usual, the friends had waited a full day before finally contacting Central Headquarters and asking for Colonel Roy Mustang.

Said Colonel was currently pacing his office, wearing down a thick line in the carpeted floor beneath him and he scuffed his heavy boots along the fabric. The expression on his face was one of pure concern and agitation.

"Where could he possibly be?! He's one child!" Colonel Mustang whirled around on his heel sharply and sent a few papers flying off of his desk from the sheer momentum of his turn. Lieutenant Hawkeye sent him an poisonous glare from behind her lashes and began to retrieve the fallen reports, stepping around the fuming alchemist.

"Sir, please calm down. I'm sure Major Elric can handle himself." While Mustang largely agreed with his Lieutenant, he couldn't suppress the nagging feeling in his chest that maybe they shouldn't just sit back and "let him handle it" this time. He had come to think of the Elrics as his own sons, and Edward, even more so... Though he would never admit that much to anyone other than his own subconscious.

Fullmetal had never been gone for longer than a days time. Then again, he'd never exactly been kidnapped before, either. The endless stream of thoughts and scenarios racing through Roy's mind was beginning to give him a headache...

"Don't we have any leads yet?" He pinched the bridge of his nose, and screwed his eyes tight together, hoping to ease the pounding ache. "Are there any indications as to where he could have gone?" Heymans Breda and Kain Fuery looked up from their work, silently shaking their heads in denial, before hurriedly placing more calls around the country in search of the missing alchemist. As the Colonel was still haunched over his desk, hands splayed out and head hung low, Hawkeye voiced the responses of the subordinates.

"No, sir. Nothing."

"Fuck." His right fist slammed down on the cedar surface, and Hawkeye aimed her gun at her foul-mouthed superior.

"Colonel..." She warned. Silently, he threw up his hands in surrender, not even daring to turn around and face the threat of his Lieutenant's gun barrel.

"I got it, Lieutenant..." Without pause, Riza replaced the weapon in its holster on her hip and resumed gathering the papers on the floor.

"Thank you, sir." The Colonel stared out of his office window, admiring a pair of swallows which happened to pass by the glass during their flight. What I wouldn't give for Fullmetal to be that free right now. I'd rather him run around freely, than be cooped up somewhere that no one can find him...

"Havoc!" The sudden exclamation startled the Second Lieutenant, who had just been about to help Hawkeye sort the disheveled paperwork, and he resorted to his years of training, immediately snapping his heels together and saluting him as he always had in the academy. The Colonel never moved from his position at the desk.

"Sir!"

"I want Fullmetal found. Take all measures necessary to locate him." Hawkeye glanced up at the Colonel in question, watching as the charcoal-blue eyes glinted mischeviously, even in the shadows of the small office.

"Yes, sir!" Jean Havoc raced out of the office, shooting Riza an apologetic look, and the office was once again silent. Roy Mustang stared out the window and watched the wind create a solid road for the fallen leaves to run on, for the carefree birds to fly... It all made him sick. Knowing that somewhere... somewhere, possibly far, far away... Fullmetal may be looking at the same sky with the hope of being rescued in mind.

"Hold on, Edward... We're coming."

Everything hurt.

He had no inkling as to how long he had been unconscious... or what had happened to put him in such a world of pain... but he knew that he was going to kill that fucking shopkeep.

Steadily, Edward propped himself up on his hands, the metal in his auto mail scraping against the floor with a harsh, yet gratifying, sound. At least his auto mail hadn't been removed... His stomach hurt just imagining how vulnerable that would have left him... This way he had a chance to fight back, though naked as the day he was born.

As he surveyed his left arm, he noticed a couple of fresh scars rising from the skin, but quickly pushed them out of his mind and attempted to stand up.

This action resulted in three things.

First, as Edward tried to use his legs to push himself upright, he realized (too late) that his left leg had been removed, and abruptly fell over, smacking his face against the wall with a sickening crunch.

Second, Edward realized that this "wall" had actually been the side of a metal cage, resembling a kennel of sorts, that he was locked inside of. Had he not been blinded by the pain emitted from his bleeding face and throbbing right leg, he might have cared a little more.

And, third, as he glanced down at before-mentioned leg to see what was causing him such insurmountable pain, Edward realized exactly what the doctor had done to him after knocking him unconscious.

His leg... was not human.

It still had his tanned flesh, the same flesh the covered his arm and chest and face... But the anatomy was all wrong. It was as though someone had taken his entire leg (foot excluded) and twisted it around one-hundred and eighty degrees so that his knee could now bend backwards instead of forwards. Like an animal, Edward realized with a start. Like a dog...

He was partly animal, partly human. Experimented on by an outwardly insane alchemist.

Chimera. A voice echoed in his mind. He was a chimera... This was what the doctor had created from his "raw material"... a human chimera. But, by the look of Edward's backwards leg, the doctor had failed... or wasn't finished. By experiencing such immense pain at having put only a portion of his weight onto the limb, Edward knew that it wasn't able to support him at all, meaning there was no way he was about to get up and start walking out of this hellhole.

I'm a chimera... I'm... not human anymore. What's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to Al?! His baby brother... the boy he'd risked everything for... completely alone in the world. No one else knew how to bind his soul to the armor, and if he got hurt, there would be no one to piece him back together. The tears freely rolled down his cheeks. Edward normally wasn't one to outwardly show the pain he was feeling, but with the combination of the physical pain in his body and the emotional pain which came with the knowledge that he had failed his only family, he allowed the tears to fall.

And, finally exhausted, he succumbed to the darkness.

"Wake up, stupid." The darkness swirled around him like a thick blanket, lessening some at the voices, but keeping its tight grip around him, refusing to let him leave it.

"Hey, chimera, you alive in there?" Who was talking? Why couldn't they just be quiet? Didn't they know he had a splitting headache? Refusing to leave the comforting darkness, Edward shut his eyes tighter against the noise, hoping it would all just leave him alone.

"Guess I'll find out..." Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped up the length of his spine, shattering the darkness and causing Edward's eyes to fly open with a startled yelp as he was dragged from the cage. The pain was blinding and spread all the way up his back and into his brain... but what...?

As his brain struggled to sort the data it was receiving from his sensory organs, Edward began to truly hope he was severely concussed.

Charles... the red headed man from earlier... was holding him up by his tail. The frightened, wide-eyed look must have shown on Edward's face because his captor was suddenly laughing and calling for his companion.

"Haha! Johannes! Check it out! The freak didn't even realize he had a fucking tail!" The man, whom Edward now knew as Johannes, stepped from the shadows and looked on the scene in utter disapproval.

"Come on, Charlie... that's enough. Can't you see the poor thing is scared out of his fucking mind?" While this was only partially true, Edward wasn't stupid enough to correct him. In reality, his world was only that of pain... His entire body felt like it was being split in half as Charles continued to hold him in the air by his elongated spine. Tears leaked down the sides of his face and his face contorted in utter agony and embarrassment at being naked in front of these men.

Abruptly, he was falling and, not having enough time to react to this, fell directly on the crown of his head. Charles was rounding on Johannes, anger flashing in his eyes, and Edward knew better than to move. It wasn't as if he had anywhere to go, anyhow...

"When did you suddenly go soft?" Johannes seemed afraid at first, but his expression suddenly changed to that of defiance as he stood his ground against his acquaintance.

"You're getting out of hand..." Charles looked like he was more than ready to share some harsh words with the other man, but the door slammed open and effectively cut him off. The doctor bounded down the stairway, that unnerving smile forever in place, and looked excitedly at Edward lying motionless on the floor.

"Ah! Our patient is awake! Strap him to the operating table, will you, Charles?" The red head grabbed Edward by the his long hair, brushing up against a sensitive area which caused him to yelp in surprise. Ears, too? Fucking hell, what more does this crazy bastard want from me?!

"Yeah. Sure thing, Doc." Seemingly without effort, Charles threw Edward down onto the table and, after seeing the boy doing nothing to get away from them, decidedly strapped down only his ankle and chest. First mistake, bastard...

At that moment, a clanking off to his right captured the alchemist's attention and he turned his head to watch as the doctor carried an auto mail limb over to where he was restrained. No... not just an auto mail limb. It was a left leg, stopping right above the knee, and it was it the same condition as his newly mutilated flesh leg.

"Well, Edward, what do you think? I was waiting for someone like you to experiment on so that I could attach my little invention to them. What's say we try it on, hmm?" Edward began to resist, he knew he wasn't able to go anywhere, but that didn't mean he was just going to lie here while they attached that thing to his leg!

"Get that fucking thing away from me! You bastard! How could you do this to me!?" Charles worked to hold down his auto mail arm, twisting it painfully so, causing the blonde to grip his teeth in anger and frustration. But still he fought, moving the port just out of the doctor's reach each time he came close to connecting the prosthetic.

"Hold him down, Charles." The brute only grunted his response and leaned over Edward to hold down his left leg, and stop his thrashing.

"No!" He lost. He was completely unable to move and the doctor quickly began connecting the nerves from his open port to the auto mail. In mere seconds, the leg would be attached and the young alchemist would be in a world of pain. Almost escaping Edward's notice, the doctor warned the assistant and counted down quietly, only barely breathing the words.

"No! Stop!" His world split into brilliant colors and he was screaming, eyes rolling back into his head as he nearly blacked out from the pain. But he kept himself awake. He had to. It was now, or never...

Charles removed his body from on top of him, and Edward sucked in a mouthful of air: once, twice, a third time... and then pressed his right hand to his left. There was a blinding alchemic reaction as the restraints released him and immediately wound themselves around the assailants, trapping them the way they had trapped him. With a crash, Edward fell to the floor, his right leg still unable to support his weight, but found that it got easier as he stood back up and continued moving. Soon, he was running with an uneven gait, making a bee-line for the stairway.

"Stop him! Don't let him get away!" The angry voices and shouts followed him all the way up the stairs, but he was gone before they even had the chance to rip the alchemic bonds off of them. Up the stairs, across the hall, out the door, and into the streets.

Freedom.

Edward didn't stop running... He couldn't... Not until he was sure they could never catch him again. He didn't pay attention to the stares he received as he raced down the street, tail and ears flying in the wind behind his naked form, along with the tears that streaked down his face.

The sun began to set and he finally stopped running, his right knee nearly giving out beneath him in pain and exhaustion. What could he do now?

"No leads yet, Sir..." the gloved hand slammed down on the wood for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Raising himself up from the desk, he kept his eyes lowered to the wood so he wouldn't completely lose his temper at his subordinates.

"Someone had better have some news on this case pretty damn soon, or I swear on my mother's grave I will turn you all to ash!" That comment caused everyone to leave the office.

"Colonel Mustang?" A voice sounded near the door, obviously frightened by all the military personnel who had just run from the office, fearing for their lives. Mustang raised his head to spot a young red-haired secretary standing in his doorway.

"Yes?" She nervously adjusted her skirt, tugging it down, before responding.

"There's an outside call for you on line three. He says his name is Edward Elric-" The Colonel threw her out the door before she could utter another word and yanked the receiver up to his ear, nearly screaming at the person on the other end.

"Edward?"

"Colonel?" The voice on the line was timid, very unlike the Fullmetal Alchemist... But it was so heartbreakingly familiar that Mustang heaved a sigh of relief before flooding the boy with questions.

"Edward where are you? What happened?... Where the hell have you been?" The line was silent for a long while; occasionally small scratches could be heard from the bad connection, but the boy said nothing.

"I... I'm sorry... I just.." When he finally spoke, Roy noticed the shakiness of his voice, the way his breath but short after each word. The scratching noises... They weren't scratches at all... It was sniffling...

Edward was crying.

"...Edward... Are you alright?" If Roy hadn't been worried before, he sure as hell was worried now! A bitter laugh sounded over the line, and the Colonel felt his heart tug dangerously at his next words:

"Yeah... I'm alive... Can you come pick me up?" Alive? What was that supposed to mean? He kept his tone calming, nonetheless, trying to do anything in his power to reassure his subordinate that everything would be alright. He glanced outside at the pouring rain splashing to the streets, and desperately hoped that the alchemist was somewhere dry.

"Of course. Where are you right now?"

"Hughes' phone booth.." The answer stopped his heart and he shut his eyes against the memories. Anywhere but there...

"Alright, stay there, Fullmetal. That's an order. Keep out of the rain. Well be there as soon as we possibly can... just hold on.." He just prayed that, for once, his subordinate would actually follow an order that Mustang gave him.

"Rodger that." The line went dead. The Colonel slowly lowered the phone back into its cradle and stared at it for a momentary pause before snapping into action.

"Havoc!" The disheveled head of blonde hair poked into the office, seemingly afraid to return to the Flame Alchemist's 'lair'. "Prepare a car!" The cigarette nearly fell from the Second Lieutenant's mouth as he watched his superior shrug on his coat, Hawkeye mirroring him.

"Sir?"

"Now! Havoc!" The Second Lieutenant was out the door faster than he thought possible, immediately running outside to start up his vehicle.

Hold on, Edward..

Ordering his companions to stay in the car, Mustang ran to the phone booth, standing alone and tall in the park. It somehow seemed ominous... That the place where his best friend had been brutally murdered, was also where Edward had chosen to hide... He stepped inside, opening up the door and shaking the water from his hair and jacket, when he noticed the boy seated in one of the corners.

"Fullmetal?" The head moved slightly at the name, but the rest of the figure remained motionless, huddled in on itself like a small child desperate for warmth. The Colonel slowly crouched down, throwing his jacket over the blonde's shoulders upon realizing he was naked and shivering.

"Edward... Look at me, please." After a moment's hesitation, the child peered back at him, eyes of gold shining in the moonlight. The orbs held no discernible emotion... no trace of feeling or understanding. Mustang struggled to maintain his control on the situation before him when all he wanted was to wrap the kid up and hold him forever so that nothing could hurt him anymore.

"Are you alright?" Roy placed a gentle hand on the boy's face, smiling slightly when Edward actually leaned towards his touch, and wiped away the tears that began to fall. He cleared his throat suddenly.

"M-my leg... is there anything you can do for it, Colonel? I don't mind all the other stuff... But..." The older alchemist glanced down in confusion to understand what he could be referring to, but almost screamed when his brain finally figured out what it was that he was seeing.

"I-I can't walk on it... I don't think he was finished transmuting me and some of the bones don't really line up correctly.." He gestured to the leg as he spoke, pointing out areas where the bones connected unnaturally and the skin jutted out unnervingly so. The golden tail fluttered uselessly off to the side, keeping out of harms way, and Roy struggled to find words to say to the young alchemist.

"Edward... what...?" Fullmetal sighed deeply and combed through his hair, allowing a pair of soft brown triangles to poke through from the spot where he had previously hidden them.

"You're a... a chimera..." Roy sputtered, not knowing what else he could do besides state the obvious. Edward averted his eyes so that they, instead, focused on his new tail.

"Yeah.." Mustang lovingly stroked Edward's cheek, as tears slipped from both of their eyes.

"I'm so sorry... We'll find the people who did this to you, Fullmetal. I swear, they'll pay for this!" Edward nodded halfheartedly, appearing as though he didn't really believe anything his commanding officer was telling him. After a short pause, Edward once again spoke, breaking the silence.

"Is... is Al okay?" The Colonel smiled down at Edward, taking the opportunity to reach over and pull the boy to his chest. Though surprised at the action, the teenager didn't refuse him, and Roy held him tightly, resting his chin comfortably between the large animal ears perched atop his head.

"Yes, Edward... Alphonse is just fine. Worried about you.. but healthy as a horse." He could feel Edward's smile through the military jacket as they held one another.

"That's good.." Edward relented, snuggling just a little bit closer to the only other source of warmth in the phone booth, still shivering from the cool night air. Another moment of silence, the question barely hanging on to the tip of the Colonel's tongue.

"Are... you okay?" Edward appeared to be slightly shocked and glanced up at Mustang with his wide golden eyes, still moist from his unshed tears. A crooked grin flashed across his features after a moment and he laughed genuinely, leaning back to punch the Colonel in the arm with his flesh hand.

"Don't get all soft on me, you Bastard! I've lived through much worse than this before haven't I?" The boy's laughter was contagious and soon Mustang's somber attitude broke and he, too, laughed along with his subordinate. Abruptly, Roy stood from his place on the ground and opened up the sliding door of the phone booth, before offering his hand to the young chimera.

"Come on," Roy smiled, "Let's go home."

MY HANDS FUCKING HURT! I'M DONE! **throws computer angrily against the wall** O.o Aw, SHOOT! I still have more stories to write! X(

Review pwees!

**talking to laptop** I'm sorry, baby! I didn't mean it! Talk to me, sweetums!