Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/12228954.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Fullmetal_Alchemist_-_All_Media_Types
  Character:
      Edward_Elric, Roy_Mustang, Maes_Hughes
  Additional Tags:
      Kidnapping, Drug_Use, Drug_Addiction, Parental_Roy_Mustang, Parental_Maes
      Hughes, Human_Trafficking
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-09-30 Chapters: 10/? Words: 29782
****** Mea Culpa ******
by theclosetpianist
Summary
     Ed and Al are given the task of investigating a possible tax evasion
     case. The mission doesn't go quite as planned when Alphonse is
     murdered and Ed is taken captive by a drug and human trafficking
     ring. It's up to Mustang and his team to rescue the young State
     Alchemist before it's too late.
Notes
     I already have a majority of this fic written but I'm honestly really
     struggling getting through it. I don't know if anyone will like it or
     not. So if you want me to continue please let me know! A comment
     would really mean the world.
     Trigger warning: this story does contain descriptions of rape and
     mentions of thoughts of suicide so please proceed with caution!!
***** Chapter 1 *****
It was supposed to be a normal mission. Earlier that week Edward Elric had even
griped how dull the tax evasion crime was. What business did he have with this
case? After all it had nothing to do with the Philosopher's Stone, the entire
reason Edward had joined the military in the first place.
 Now Edward wished he had fought Mustang on the mission more. He wished he had
flat out refused to take it. He wished he acted like the petulant,
inexperienced child some thought he was. He wished he had thrown a tantrum,
kicking and screaming, doing anything to avoid going to this god-forsaken city.
Then maybe none of this would ever had happened.
 "No, Alphonse!" Edward screeched, his voice breaking with a form of desperate
fear. He gazed on in horror, watching as an alchemist dressed entirely in black
knelt over his brother's disassembled body. The suit of armor's legs and arms
had been destroyed by alchemy, making struggle impossible. Ed's automail arm
had been destroyed, it was still attached to the port but the wires had been
fried, rendering the limb useless. His three remaining appendages were being
held down by the weight of two of the other attackers.
 "Brother." Alphonse's broken, terrified whisper reached the elder brother's
ear, sending Ed's heart into an uneven frenzy. Ed watched as his brother's
breastplate was removed, revealing the delicate blood seal inside.
 "Oh my, what do we have here?" The black clad alchemist sneered.  "What a
strange symbol. It wouldn't have anything to do with human transmutation, now
would it?" He asked condescendingly. "Oh dear," he clicked his tongue with mock
disapproval, "naughty boy."
 Edward and Alphonse had just arrived in the city of Aprusborough. It was
supposed to be a simple mission. It was just tax evasion. How could this have
happened?
 Edward watched as the man reached down into Al's chest cavity.
 "Don't you touch him!" He growled, trying to sound more intimidating and
menacing than he currently was. But the man simply laughed, the sound
assaulting Ed's ears.
 "Why not?" He asked. "We have no use for him anyway."
 The train had pulled into the station late, a comfortable darkness blanketed
the sky. Alphonse and Edward had checked into the hotel and then, upon Edward's
complaint of hunger, decided to stop by food stand to curb his appetite until
morning. Edward purchased grilled chicken from the man behind the stand and a
glazed pastry for desert. They paid the man his cenz and continued back toward
the hotel to get some rest before their investigation in the morning. The food
had been mediocre but it was to be excepted of a stand on the side of the
street and it served its purpose. With Edward's voracious appetite, he didn't
complain. 
 The streets grew deserted as people returned to their homes in the late hours
to sleep. With the moon absent in the sky, the night was dark and the roads
hard to see. Soon the two brothers realized they were lost. They wandered
hoping to accidentally stumble across their hotel.
 They turned a corner and walked by a pitch-black alley. Suddenly Edward felt
his feet swept out from under him. One bright alchemical flash later the young
alchemist found his right arm useless and pinned under two heavy men. He
watched as Alphonse's limbs were torn apart by the black clad alchemist. And
that brought them to their current situation. Completely helpless.
 Edward watched as the man's hand wandered dangerously closer to his brother's
blood seal, his source of life. “I said leave him the fuck alone!” Edward
screamed, but the man didn’t pause. "No please! Please stop!" He begged.
 "I am sorry," the man cackled, not sounding sorry in the least, "but you see
it's you we want, he will only get in the way." And just like that, the man
wiped Alphonse's blood seal away, erasing the boy from existence.
 Edward watched as Alphonse's metal vessel jerked and contorted in death. He
heard his younger brother’s strangled shout. And then nothing. Nothing. His
brother was gone. Just like that. One minute they had been walking down the
street, trying to get back to their room. The next, Alphonse had been cruelly
wiped from existence. His brother was gone. They had gone out to get food. For
Edward. And now his brother was gone. And it was all his fault.
 If he hadn't taken the mission. If he hadn't demanded they get food. Alphonse
would be alive. But he wasn't alive. His brother was gone. And it was all his
fault.
 Edward didn't even scream. His throat had closed his eyes wide with shock. The
pain of his brother's death was physical. Like a poison racing through is
veins, spreading an unspeakable agony as it went. His ears rang. He saw nothing
other than the empty shell that was once his brother. The empty shell that he
had forced his brother into when he made that horrible, life altering mistake
five years ago.
 He had condemned his brother to a life of sensory deprivation, trapped in a
metal container because of his stupidity. And now he had condemned his brother
to death because of his own ineptitude. He was a failure as a brother. He was
supposed to keep Alphonse safe. But Alphonse was dead. And it was all his
fault.
 Edward stared unseeingly at his brother's body. Completely forgetting his
surroundings. He didn't even feel as the hands pinning him down shifted,
applying less pressure for a split second. If he had been in his right mind he
could have escaped. But he couldn't think. He couldn't breathe.
 "Knock him out." Edward didn't hear the command over the ringing in his ears.
He didn’t even notice the sickly-sweet cloth placed over his nose and mouth. He
barely noticed himself sink into oblivion.
 "Pick him up and get him in the car. We're him back to the base. I have a
feeling he will be quite popular. And judging by that reaction to the tin can
over there, I know exactly how to deal with him." The man gave a disgusting
smile. One of his two lackeys grabbed Edward with rough hands and threw him
over his shoulder. They walked out of the darkened alley and over to an equally
dark vehicle. They opened the trunk and threw Edward's limp body in, not caring
if they injured the boy in the process.
 "Be careful! We wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face," snapped their leader.
The henchman muttered an insincere apology.
 "What do we do with the metal scrap?" 
 "Leave it, we have no use for the armor."
 -o0o-
 "Sir."
 "Morning, Hawkeye. And before you point your gun at me I'm already starting my
paperwork. Though I don't understand why you won't allow me a moment to wake up
in the morning." The Colonel grumbled.
 "Sir." The Colonel looked up, finally registering the serious tone in his
subordinate's voice. He saw a hint of concern etched into her usually impassive
face.
 "What is it, Hawkeye?" The First Lieutenant had her commanding officer's
undivided attention.
 "Colonel Mustang, what was the city you assigned Major Elric to? For the tax
evasion case against a one James Tamayo."
 "That was Aprusborough if my memory serves me." A tense silence stretched in
front of the two military officers. Hawkeye shuffled the files in her arms
nervously. "What is it, Hawkeye?" The snapped retort would have sounded
impatient and annoyed to those who didn't know the Colonel, but Riza heard the
worried undertones in the man's voice.
 "Did the Elric brothers report in this morning?"
 Mustang hesitated. "No, they did not."
 "Sir, there have been reports of a drug and human trafficking ring within the
city of Aprusborough."
 Mustang felt his stomach drop.
 -o0o-
 Edward's limp body was dragged through the narrow, dimly lit halls of the
trafficking rings hideout. The place was disguised as a bar, but it's true
purpose was one much sinister. Ed was moved into a room with a queen-sized bed
right in the middle and a bathroom off to the side and was thrown facedown onto
the mattress.
 "Good, now get out." The boss commanded. The one who had drugged Edward
earlier in the alleyway obediently ducked out of the room.
 Now alone with the unconscious boy, a terrifying, possessive grin spread
across the man’s face. His name was Henrik Lohrenz. He had shaggy, dark hair
and dark blue eyes. He was tall and of medium build. The muscles that encircled
his skeleton were not overly large or bulging, but were certainly not weak.
 Henrik walked over to the young man, rolled him over onto his back and gently
arranged him in the middle of the bed. He let his hands run leisurely up and
down the blond's body. He felt the strong muscles under his clothes and smiled.
It wasn't often he found one so well built and so good looking. He let his
fingers wander down to Edward's pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them, before
gently pulling them off, leaving the boxers underneath unaltered. Edward's body
limply jerked with each tug. Next, he lifted the boy into a sitting position
and worked off his shirt. He released the blond and watched him fall lifelessly
back to the mattress. Ed hadn't twitched throughout the process.
 Henrik removed the boy's automail arm, the wires had been fried beyond repair
and he would be easier to manage without them. However, he left the leg in
place, simply for ease of transportation. If he ever needed to move his
captive, it would be easier to let him walk instead of dragging a deadweight.
 Next, he worked on the young man's binds. He knotted long, strong cloths
around his ankles and wrist and then secured them to the bed posts.
 He leaned back to admire his work. He simply couldn't wait to have his way
with his new toy.
 -o0o-
 "We're taking this case." Mustang said with conviction.
 "I wouldn't have it any other way, sir."
 "I'm going with you, Roy." Mustang and Hawkeye both turned to see Maes Hughes
standing in the office door way, determination and frustration marring his
usually jovial face. "I heard the news, I was assigned to the case as well. Ed
is a good kid, I'd hate to see anything happen to him or his brother. I
promised them both a roof over their heads when they came back to Central after
all." Maes concluded with a sad smile.
 "Alright, glad to have you aboard, Maes. Let's go figure out what sort of
trouble that stupid boy has landed himself into this time. Hawkeye, gather the
team, the brass wants all hands on deck."
 “It’s a good thing the train ride is so long, then I’ll have a chance to show
you all the new pictures I took of Elicia!” Mustang suppressed a groan.
 -o0o-
 Everything felt so heavy. He tried unsuccessfully to open his eyes, it felt
like the lids were weighed down with lead. He tried weakly to move his limbs
but found himself unable. Upon further inspection, he realized they were
restrained.
 Henrik watched as the boy slowly came around. He groaned and tugged loosely at
his restraints. Henrik thumbed open one of his eyes, watching it roll drunkenly
in its socket, trying to escape the light that assaulted his pupil. He waited
for the boy to escape the clutches of the drug and return to lucidity.
 As his senses began to sharpen, Edward took note of his surroundings. He knew
his legs were securely tied down and his arms held above his head. Or arm,
rather, he thought as he noticed his automail was missing. He felt something
soft below him. A mattress he deduced. He was tied to a bed. As he moved his
limbs he felt silky sheets rub beautifully against his skin. Wait, skin? Edward
forced his eyes open and waited for the burn of the bright lights to disappear.
He lifted his head weakly to look at his body and saw he had been stripped down
to his underwear.
 "Good morning," a voice off to his right said. Edward jerked and swiveled his
head toward the sound. A man with dark hair and dark blue eyes was sitting in a
chair at his bedside. "You've been out for quite a while, I had begun to worry
you wouldn't wake. That would have been quite the little catastrophe."
 "Who the fuck are you calling little??" Edward growled, feeling a familiar
rage burn at the insult. The man laughed.
 "Looks like you've got fire in you! Don't worry, we'll soon see to that."
 "Who the fuck are you? What do you want?"
 "My, my, so many questions," crooned the dark-haired man. "You may refer to me
as Henrik. And as for what I want. Well," he let a hand slid languidly across
the blond's abdomen, "shouldn't that be obvious?"
 "Get your fucking hands off me, you perverted creep!" Edward jerked away from
Henrik's hand.
 "Oh, come on, you know you deserve it after what you did." What I did?Edward
thought to himself. What did I do?Henrik simply laughed at Edward's mildly
confused expression. "Don't you remember?" He leaned down and whispered into
Edward's ear words that chilled the blond Alchemist to the bone. “You let your
brother die.”
 Memory hit Ed like a ton of bricks. The pain of his brother's untimely demise
returned tenfold. "No," he whispered.
 "Oh yes," a smile entered the man's voice. "He is dead and it's all your
fault. You should have saved him. Instead you laid back and watched as your
brother was slaughtered. What kind of family are you?"
 "N-no, I couldn't help him. I tried but I..." Edward argued weakly. But grief
clouded his vision. He couldn't think. It hurt so much. Alphonse was his only
reason to keep moving. But now that he was gone, Edward felt his life's purpose
slip right through his fingers. He had never really cared about returning his
limbs. He only wanted his brother's body back. Now he would give anything to
have his brother back in that suit of armor.
 "You know you could have. You could have easily fought off those two men. But
you didn't. Isn't it your job to protect your family? And you couldn't even do
that. Now your poor, dear brother is dead because of your failure." Edward let
out a strangled sob. Ed had always tried to act so strong. For his brother's
sake. But with Al gone, what was the point?
 "No," he whimpered. "Please, God."
 "You deserve everything that's going to happen to you." This time Edward
didn't even flinch at the hand that traveled his body. He accepted the
punishment grimly. He deserved a hell of a lot more. He deserved death.
Henrik smiled at Ed's reaction. "It must hurt, knowing you caused your
brother's death." Ed couldn't stop the pained expression that danced across his
face. "Don't worry, I may have something to help you with that. You don't
deserve the luxury of comfort, but I think I'll make this one exception."
Henrik reached into nightstand drawer beside him and pulled out a small black
case. He opened it to reveal a small vial and a syringe. He filled the syringe
with the vial's liquid contents and inched the needle closer to the tender
crook of Edward's elbow. Ed didn't pull away. "Do you want it?" Edward didn't
answer. "I asked, do you want it?" He repeated slowly, menacingly.
 Edward paused. He didn't deserve comfort. He deserved to suffer. He deserved
every bit of torture he knew he would be subjected to. But he couldn't take it,
the pain. The knowledge that his brother was dead. That he was finally alone in
the world. It hurt. It was an ache that started in his chest and spread through
his bones. "...Yes," he whispered, his lips betraying him. Henrik sneered.
 "Well then, who am I to deny?" The needle pierced Edward's skin and sunk deep
into his vein. He depressed the plunger, sending the syringe's contents
spiraling through Edward's circulatory system. The feeling was indescribable. A
warm, comfortable fire spread through his veins, filling his entire body. His
awareness of world around him disappeared, too preoccupied with the glorious,
mind numbing euphoria. He felt every muscle in his body relax as he sunk deeper
into the mattress.
 The moan that escaped the blond's lips sent Henrik's blood rushing south. Ed’s
eyes rolled to the back of his head in complete ecstasy. His previously tense
muscles went completely limp as the drug took effect. Henrik grabbed Ed's face
roughly and jerked his head from side to side, searching for lucidity and
smiling when he received no response. "Good boy," he slapped Ed's face lightly.
 He let his hands trace Edward's torso muscles, feeling him shiver beneath his
touch. He traveled south and let his hand linger between Ed's legs, feeling him
through his boxers. His eyes widened slightly in a happy shock, pleasantly
surprised to find that, despite the boy's short stature, he was still hung
proudly even while soft.
 Henrik untied Edward, knowing he was too doped up to attempt escape. He
thumbed the waistband on the boxers, savoring the sight before him, before
slipping the boxers off and tossing them aside.
 Henrik lifted the soft, limp cock into his hand, stroking the organ, trying to
coax blood to the area. He took Edward in his mouth, his tongue swirling and
tracing the tip expertly, letting his hand cover what part of the length his
mouth could not reach. Ed began to harden his dick growing. He moaned, too
drugged to even bother policing his reactions to the external stimulus. Henrik
sucked, letting Edward harden even further, reveling in the beautiful noises
coming from the blond's mouth, feeling himself harden. Henrik sat back at
looked at Ed's rock hard dick, tracing the veins that travelled up and down the
length. Edward rolled his hips, almost trying in his drunken state to jack
himself off in Henrik's hand. He let go, watching the length twitch from lack
of stimulus. Edward whined softly.
 "Oh, don't worry, love," Henrik purred, "I'll give you something better."
Henrik reached into the nightstand drawer once again and grabbed the container
of oil. He repositioned himself between Ed's legs, spreading them and bending
them at the knees.
 Henrik drizzled some of the oil into his hand and slid a finger into Ed's
sensitive hole feeling it clench around him. Edward let out a surprised gasp,
Henrik looked up to see Ed's drug filled gaze widen with ecstasy. He slowly
slid the finger in and out feeling the muscle loosen. He added another finger,
then a third, watching Edward lose himself, his hips weakly rolling into
Henrik's hand.
 Once Henrik declared Edward loose enough, he drizzled some oil on his own cock
and pressed the throbbing length against Ed’s hole feeling the resistance give
way under the pressure. Henrik let out a husky sigh as he entered Edward,
feeling his warm insides envelop him and swallow him. Edward let out a loud
moan at the intrusion. He thrust into Ed slowly, unable to stop the small moan
of pleasure that escaped his lips. Even drugged out of his mind, the young man
was fucking amazing. “God you’re so fucking tight.” Henrik began to thrust
faster, harder, losing himself.
 “You like that?” Henrik grunted. He lowered himself down onto Edward, laying
on top of the man, their chests pressing into one another. He pressed his lips
roughly into Edward’s, forcing his tongue into the man’s mouth, still thrusting
into his cock into Edward’s ass. Ed began moaning louder into Henrik’s mouth,
the sounds muffled.
 Henrik thrust harder and harder into Ed, no longer caring about hurting the
boy, watching his limp body toss to and fro. The bed groaned and creaked in
protest to the rough treatment. Edward too was vocalizing his response, he was
crying out with each thrust, panting, his eyes half lidded in a drugged
pleasure. He bit Ed’s lip, rolling it between his teeth but Edward was too
preoccupied to notice.
 A knock at the door drew his attention. Most people would panic and scream a
frantic “stay out” through the door, but sex was no longer taboo to them,
especially in their line of work. No one really cared. After all Henrik had
performed in front of an audience before. Though a simple knock was an unspoken
common courtesy.
 “Come in,” he called, still fucking Edward. The door opened, revealing his
right hand, Kai Kreutzer, the same man who had helped kidnap the young
alchemist in the first place. “What is it?” He asked, his voice gravelly with
lust. His thrusts had slowed, no longer the skin slapping, bed rocking frenzy
it had been, so he could hear Kai’s response.
 “New clients are here, I thought you would wish to speak with them
personally.”
 “Yes, I would thank you. Keep them occupied while I finish up with this fuck
toy.” Henrik grabbed a fistful of blond hair roughly, nearly tearing it out by
the roots, and jerked his head back exposing his throat. Henrik placed his
tongue at the base of Ed’s clavicle and dragged it upward to his chin.
 “Is he good, boss?”
 "Oh, he’s good alright. Now get out so I can fuck his brains out.” Kai nodded
and closed the door behind him off to distract their new customers while his
boss finished up.
 Henrik sped back up to his previous pace, pounding Edward into the mattress.
“Oh, yeah, you’re so fucking good,” he breathed. He kissed him again virtually
fucking Ed’s mouth with his tongue.
 Henrik felt his body begin to tingle as he reached his climax. “Oh fuck, oh
fuck!” His thrusts grew more frantic, almost desperate, craving release. The
tension in his body grew to an almost unbearable level before he came violently
deep within Edward. Henrik collapsed on top of Edward, letting his entire
weight crush the boy. His body twitched with aftershocks forcing his softening
cock to poke deeper into Edward’s ass, almost like he was still fucking him. He
lay there panting on top Edward, trying to catch his breath. Edward was moaning
in pleasure, his mouth wide open and his eyes half closed. Once some strength
returned to Henrik he lifted his head and resumed his tongue fucking of the
boy’s mouth.
 “You’re so fucking good,” he breathed between pants.
 “I’m good.” Edward repeated vacantly as he gazed sightlessly upward. The drug
had forced his pupils to dilate unnaturally, turning his aureate gaze near
black. Only if you looked closely could you see the small rim of gold that
encircled the large pupils.
 “Fuck yeah, you’re good. You’re such a good boy.” Henrik smiled sinisterly
down and his toy, pushing a finger into Edward’s open mouth to poke his tongue.
 “I’m good,” Edward said again, drunkenly, his words slurring together.Oh yes,
Henrik thought, I’m going to have so much fun with this one.
 Henrik slid out of the blond, who let out a breath at the sensation, and
watched as his thick white cum oozed out of Edward’s abused hole and onto
mattress. Ed’s sphincter opened and closed, the muscles not quite sure how to
return to their original state after the intense beating.
 Henrik rolled off Ed and shoved his spent cock back in his pants and was
nearly out the door before he paused. He looked back and saw Ed’s erect dick
twitching weakly against his stomach, searching for friction. Henrik took pity
on him and sat once again on the bed. He took Ed’s penis in his hand and
stroked up and down. The reaction was immediate. Ed groaned with passion his
cock giving one huge twitch. Henrik moved his hand faster traveling Ed’s entire
length. He was rough and jacked Ed with an intensity that most would cringe
against but Edward didn’t seem to care. Or perhaps he was too drugged to
notice. Edward’s entire body began to tense as he neared his peak. Finally, his
back arched as cum sprang from his tip in white, wispy ribbons. Ed collapsed
back into the mattress unconscious, the drug and the exhaustion finally proving
too much.
 "You’re going to be so fucking sore in the morning,” Henrik growled into Ed’s
ear. “I’ll be surprised if you’re able to walk at all. But then again, you do
deserve it.” And with that he walked off to greet his new customers, not even
bothering to clean the boy.
 The entire time Edward had not been aware of being fucked, too drugged up to
comprehend much of anything. But God had it felt good, it’s pleasuring
aftershocks almost reaching his dreamscape.
***** Chapter 2 *****
It was a five-hour train ride from Central City to Aprusborough and never
before had five hours felt so close to thirty for Colonel Mustang. He sat rigid
in his window seat gazing at the landscape as it zoomed by. He could hear his
subordinates quietly talking and joking amongst themselves. How they could joke
while their task loomed above them like a dark storm cloud was beyond him. All
this sitting was making the war hero antsy. He was a soldier, trained to keep
moving and keep fighting. Sitting stationary made his luckily ungloved fingers
twitch. He felt like a pond without a current, heavy and stagnant. But there
was nothing he could do. So instead the Colonel sat cold and stoic in his seat
willing the train to churn its wheels faster.
A tap on the shoulder jerked Mustang out of his reverie. He tore his eyes away
from the window and saw Maes, his hand still partially outstretched, sitting
across from him.
“Fancy a game of poker, Roy-boy?” The Lieutenant Colonel asked. Havoc sat next
to Hughes while Hawkeye was seated next to the Colonel himself. All three
looked at their commanding officer expectantly.
“How can you consider playing a game of cards at a time like this, Hughes?”
Mustang asked almost nonchalantly, just barely containing his annoyance.
“A time like this is exactly the right time for cards!” Hughes exclaimed.
“Look,” he added softly, “I know you’re worried about the boys. But glaring out
the window and working yourself into a frenzy isn’t going to do them or you any
good. You’ll just make yourself sick, and then you’ll be just about as useful
as you are on a rainy day.” Roy sniffed indignantly. “So,” Maes continued,
“instead of sitting there pouting, join us for a hopefully friendly round of
poker. Save your thinking cap for when you really need it.” His old friend
winked and smiled kindly at him. Maes knew how Roy was, if he didn’t pull the
Colonel out of it, he’d work himself sick.
Mustang held his hands up in acquiescence and waited for Hughes to deal his
hand. Kain Fuery, Vato Falman, and Heymans Breda sat in the train booth across
the aisle from the rest of the team. They watched as what started as a friendly
poker game morphed into an all-out war with accusations of cheating and Hawkeye
having to restrain herself from pulling her gun so she wouldn’t frighten their
fellow passengers. Mustang and Hughes sat back, seething, muttering words that
had something to do with “cheating.” Havoc watched on and smirked at the senior
officers’ antics.
-o0o-
“Hello, sirs! My name is Henrik Lohrenz, I’m so happy you could make it to my
fine establishment.” Henrik plastered his customer service smile across his
face as he approached his two new patrons. “Kai, our new employee is in the
back, go help him out and teach him the ropes while I finish up here.” He said
aside to his right hand. Kai nodded and walked off. “Welcome to The Jaded
Tiger, where we take care of all your needs…” Henrik’s voice faded away as Kai
made his way down the winding narrow halls of the establishment.
 He opened the door revealing the blond lying unconscious on the bed in the
same position Henrik had left him, naked, soiled with not quite dry cum and his
flaccid dick lying in a pool of his own seed. Oh, Kai would show the kid the
ropes all right. Unfortunately, he was a busy man and didn’t really have much
time to really enjoy himself and savor the experience. He had to just make a
quick session out of it. Being the boss’s right hand, he had business to take
care of. There truly is no rest for the wicked, Kai sighed to himself. Oh well.
He removed his pants and boxers, not bothering with the shirt, and positioned
himself at Edward’s entrance.
 He didn’t mind having the boss’s sloppy seconds. This kid was fucking
gorgeous. Ever since he pinned him down in the alley and saw his gold hair
splayed against the pavement he knew he had to have a go at him. Passion had
clung stubbornly to his groin ever since. One look at Edward’s pliant body
already had Kai’s dick hardening.
 He pressed his tip against Ed’s hole. He slid past the boy’s muscle ring with
no resistance, the blond still extremely loose from the pounding Henrik had
given him earlier. Kai wasn’t about to complain though. Kai hadn’t even
bothered applying more oil, using what was left over from Henrik’s session and
even the man’s own semen as lubricant. Good,Kai thought, saves me time.
 Edward was so limp and unresponsive it wasn’t really fair to call the act
between the two sex. Kai was merely using Ed’s body to masturbate. Ed didn’t
even harden at the treatment, his cock still as soft as it was when Kai entered
the room. But that didn’t make Kai any less excited. He took what he could get.
 Kai fucked the poor boy hard, not caring about Ed’s wellbeing or comfort. But
the boy was so loose and lubed up from leftover cum he doubted it would be an
issue. It didn’t take long for Kai to reach his climax, adding his own seed to
the collection beginning to grow in Edward’s intestines. Kai picked himself off
Ed then quickly stuck a finger in Ed’s ass, collecting some of the white goop
onto the digit. He then shoved the cum soaked finger into Ed’s mouth, swirling
around his tongue.
 “I bet that fucking tastes good, huh kid? Oh, don’t worry there’s gonna be
plenty more where that came from, you’re gonna be staying here a while. So,
enjoy.” Kai dried his hand in Edward’s hair, tossing a few locks to cover the
the boy’s slack face. Kai dressed himself and left the room.
 He roamed the halls looking for Celeste, their resident housekeeper as they
liked to call her. Her basic job was to take care of, feed, and bathe the
boss’s toys. He found her tending to one of the other dolls, a woman in her mid
twenties.
 “Celeste,” the white blond head swiveled to look at him, “I’ve got another one
for you. You just about done here?”
 “All finished,” she said quietly, her posture submissive.
 “Room 3C. Don’t worry he’s doped half way to hell so you shouldn’t have a
problem. Didn’t even wake when I was with him.” The double meaning to his words
was not lost on Celeste. ‘When I was with him,’ she knew what that meant.
 “I’ll see to him immediately, sir.”
 “Good girl. Make sure you treat him right, a face and body like his is gonna
get us a pretty penny. And once you’re finished be sure to tie him back up.”
 “Yes, sir.” Celeste grabbed her bag of supplies and made her way down the
halls to room 3C.
 -o0o-
 The trained arrived at the station late in the afternoon. The seven military
officers stepped onto the platform, stretching the stiffness out of their
joints after such a long journey. Six looked toward their commanding officer,
awaiting orders.
 “Alright first we question the stationmaster, ask what time the train from
Central arrived so we can figure out our time frame.” Mustang instructed the
group. They pushed their way past the crowds and slowly made their way to the
Information and Services booth.
 “Hello, how may I help you sirs?” The woman behind the desk asked pleasantly.
 “Colonel Roy Mustang of the Central military,” Mustang flashed his credentials
to the woman, “we want to know when the train that departed from Central City
yesterday at 3:00pm arrived at the station.” The woman shuffled some papers and
looked at her records.
 “It arrived right as scheduled, sir, 8:03pm.”
 “Thank you very much ma’am, you’ve been very helpful.” Mustang winked at the
woman who blushed and lead his team off.
 “Alright, so the train arrives at 8 o’clock, a little late to be busting down
doors, even for official business. It’s starting to get dark early this time of
year, must have been pitch black by then. So, what do the Elrics do?” Mustang
thinks aloud. They walk down the streets headed to their hotel.
 “It’s late and they’re lugging around their bags, they’re probably exhausted
from the long train ride,” Maes said, following Mustang’s train of thought.
“So, they do the same thing we’re doing, they go back to their hotel and unload
everything.”
 “Where were they staying?”
 “Same place we are, Hotel Aprus.”
 -o0o-
 Celeste regarded the unconscious boy before her with sadness. His limbs
arranged haphazardly on the mattress. Hair covered his face. Skin sticky with
cum, glistening and pale. The only indication he was alive was the slight
movement of his chest. Celeste walked over to him and gently brushed the blond
hair out of his face. She was struck at how young he was. He barely looked over
16. She had seen them young before, but every time it made her sick to her
stomach. She rearranged his limbs so he lay more comfortably on the bed.
 She went off to the bathroom and dampened a wash rag. She gently began to wash
the dried cum off his stomach and groin. She hated invading his privacy but she
knew it was better than him lying in filth. It was at moments like this that
she was glad her patient was unconscious. She ran the rag over his chest and
face, cleaning off the salty sweat.
 Once finished with the boy’s front she directed her attention to another area.
Celeste truly hated this part, cleaning cum out of the boy’s hole, but she
steeled herself. It had to be done. Celeste reached into her bag and pulled out
her repurposed dental mouth prop. She propped Ed’s legs up, giving her better
access and slipped the tool into Edward’s ass, forcing the hole to widen enough
for her to clean and then leaving the prop there to keep the hole open.
 Celeste didn’t see any tearing which was both a blessing and a curse. If there
had been too much damage Edward would have been given a break but he would have
been in incredible agony, and it was doubtful Henrik would take mercy and give
the boy more of the drug to dull his pain.
 She saw his muscles begin to clench around the prop then heard him moan. She
looked up and saw his eyes opening and rolling sightlessly in their sockets.
The moved up to his face and soothingly smoothed back his hair.
 "Shh shh, it’s all right you’re okay,” she tried to reassure him. His pupils
were still blown she knew from the effects of the drugs but they had begun to
shrink down to their original size.
 “W-where?” He stuttered drunkenly.
 “Jaded Tiger Bar. It’s a cover for a drug and human trafficking ring,” she
didn’t bother sugar coating it. In this state, the boy probably wouldn’t be
able to read in between the lines anyway. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice portrayed
complete sincerity.
 “Where Henry?” Edward’s words blending into each other.
 Henry? “You mean Henrik?” Celeste asked uncertainly. Edward hummed.
 “I’m good,” he said. Celeste smiled sadly, the boy barely coherent in his drug
filled haze.
 “Yes, you’re very good. Now I’m going to help you, okay? I’m just gonna get
you clean. Just lie still and try to relax.” Edward didn’t seem to understand
her words. His head slowly rolling in confusion.
 She moved back down to Edward’s hips and readjusted the prop that had slip
lose. Ed yelped, aware of the sensation. Celeste muttered soothing nonsense and
continued her work. She used the cloth to clean the white cum out of Ed’s hole,
the muscles twitching with the attention. Soon Ed began to moan. Celeste looked
between his legs and saw his length began to harden. She sighed and elected to
ignore it.
 Once she was satisfied Celeste removed the prop, ignoring Ed’s quiet whine.
She reached down to the floor and grabbed Edward’s boxers and slowly working
them up his legs and letting them sit naturally on his hips.
 “I’m gonna go get you some food and water. Wait here.” She told him, unsure if
he heard. Edward seemed a bit too preoccupied. She tied his hand to the
headboard. He watched her with lack of comprehension in his eyes. “I’m sorry,
but they’ll kill me if they find out I left you untied. Even for a moment. I’ll
be right back.”
 -o0o-
 Mustang and his team arrived at Hotel Aprus. The walk hadn’t been long, only
15 minutes or so. The city could have been called beautiful, but their grim
task chased any beauty from their eyes. The Hotel was tall, nearly 12 stories
Mustang guessed. It was old looking, but not decrepit or run down. It was built
with the architecture of a past era. They walked through the large hotel doors
and walked up to the front desk.
 “Hello, welcome to Hotel Aprus! Name please.”
 “Colonel Roy Mustang.”
 “Ah yes Colonel, you booked four rooms with two beds each?”
 “That is correct.”
 “Excellent! They are all ready for you. Here are your keys, your rooms are on
the tenth floor. Enjoy your stay!”
 “Thank you very much, miss. But before I go I would like to ask you a few
questions.” Roy leaned casually against the counter.
 “I’m happy to help in any way that I can,” the receptionist said, a serious
look on her face.
 “I want to know if Edward and Alphonse Elric checked into their rooms last
night. And if so, what time did they arrive at the hotel.”
 “Alright give me one moment please,” she thumbed through her notes and
registries, chasing papers around the desk. “Oh yes! Misters Elric arrived at
the hotel at about 8:15pm and checked into their room 923 on the ninth floor.”
 “Did they leave the hotel at any time?”
 “Oh, I’m sorry but I wasn’t working at the time, but I can find out who was
and give you their information.” The woman offered helpfully.
 “Yes please, ma’am,” the Colonel smiled, “that would be wonderful.”
 The woman stood up and wandered off to find her coworkers. Mustang picked the
keys off the counter and handed them out to his subordinates. Two to a room,
with Hawkeye having a room to herself.
 “You all go on up, I’ll wait here for word from the receptionist.” Mustang
commanded. They all shuffled off leaving Maes behind with his roommate.
 “Well, bunk buddy,” Hughes elbowed his friend, “just like old times, eh?” The
Colonel could barely repress a sigh.
 -o0o-
 Everything felt so fucking good. His entire body tingled, a euphoria spreading
throughout his entire being. He felt like he was floating. Edward was still
caught up in his drug induced high, but he was beginning to respond to
environment a bit more than before. He noticed movement off to his right.
 Celeste reentered the room to see the boy hadn’t moved from his position but
luckily remained conscious. Or at least as conscious as could be expected. She
gently set the tray of food down on the night stand with a muted clank.
 Edward looked over at the noise then gazed up at Celeste with clouded eyes. He
wasn’t quite sure what was going on. But the girl with white hair seemed nice.
She smiled at him.
 “Are you an angel?” He heard himself ask but his words sounded garbled, he
absently wondered how understandable his question was. But the girl laughed so
she must have understood.
 “No, my dear, I’m only here to help.” Her voice sounded like it was coming
through cotton. He felt her mess with something around his wrist, he felt a
pressure build up and then his arm flopped back down as the pressure was
released. What was that? Ed thought, his opium filled mind not quite keeping up
with his surroundings. After a while, far too long for his sharp mind, he
realized he had been untied. He didn’t even remember being tied up in the first
place. When did that happen?
 He tried to drag his arm down to his side but it felt like lead. Why was it so
heavy? Then he felt the girl help guide his arm where he wanted it.
 “Okay, I’m gonna sit you up now.” Sit up?Oh, right he was lying down. He felt
arms wrap around his torso and suddenly he was lifted into the air. His head
fell backwards, his neck unable to support its weight. He let out a startled
cry at the sudden movement. He felt like he was hurdling through the air but in
reality, his upper body was simply being lifted, resting against Celeste’s
chest while she rearranged the pillows against the headboard for him to lean
against. Edward felt as he landed against something soft. What was that? He let
out a confused vocalization. Then he remembered, oh right, she wanted me to sit
up. I’m sitting up now. Right?
 “Don’t worry, everything is okay.” She stroked his hair soothingly. Celeste
reached over to grab the the bowl of broth. Ed’s head drooped listlessly to the
side and came to rest on his shoulder. He smiled as another wave of euphoria
crashed into him, scrambling his already jumbled thought process. He looked at
the world around him but something seemed off about it. Why does everything
look strange? What is it?
 “Side…ways?” Edward croaked brokenly, his head still propped on his shoulder.
Celeste looked back at him holding the bowl in her hands.
 “What was that?” She asked, confused.
 “Sideways,” Edward repeated, his mind too garbled to properly enunciate his
confusion. Celeste frowned at him, not fully understanding. Then it hit her.
She balanced the soup on her lap then used one hand to slowly tilt Ed’s head
upright.
 “Better?”
 Ed’s eyes traveled the room. “Yeah,” he replied absently.
 “Okay I’ve got some food for you. It’s just some simple broth. I’m gonna help
you eat, understand?” She said slowly, knowing he wasn’t entirely coherent yet.
 “…food?” Food... I know this. I get to eat now?He was growing mildly
frustrated with his mind’s sluggishness but the complete euphoria racing
through his body made it completely worth it.
 “Yes, see?” She held up a spoonful of broth.
 Edward opened his mouth and Celeste gently dribbled the liquid down his
throat. It was good. It was really good! Ed opened his mouth for more,
realizing how hungry he was. It felt like Celeste couldn’t shovel the food into
his mouth fast enough. Soon, much to Ed’s dismay, the bowl was completely
drained. Celeste reached back over to the tray and grabbed the small bread roll
placed precariously on it.
 “Okay, I have some bread here, I’m gonna break it into small bites but you
have to remember to chew.” She tore off pieces and fed them to Ed. Luckily
nothing went wrong, he didn’t choke which made Celeste sigh with relief. She
ruffled the boy’s hair, she couldn’t help but see him as the kid he was. “Do
you have a name?”
 He thought a moment, trying to clear the fog. “Edward.”
 “It’s nice to meet you Edward! My name is Celeste.” She said with a sweet
smile. She saw his eyes begin to droop, what little lucidity they help
vanishing. She helped Edward onto his back again and with guilt in her heart
she tied Ed’s arm and legs back up. She tugged a blanket over him, offering
what little she could, and left the boy alone.
 She felt the familiar twinge of anger pierce her good heart. This shouldn’t be
happening to that boy.But the anger was quickly chased away as she remembered
her situation. She wanted to help, but she had her own people to protect.
 
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     Leave a review! It would mean a lot to see. I hope you guys enjoy the
     new chapter!
The receptionist returned with a small note card in hand. “Colonel Mustang,
this is the name and address of the receptionist who worked here the night the
Elric Brothers were here.”
 “Thank you very much, this information is invaluable.” The Colonel and the
Lieutenant Colonel turned to leaved but were called back by a timid voice.
 “Sir,” the receptionist caught his attention, she looked worried, picking at
her fingers nervously. “Are those boys in some kind of trouble? They both
seemed so nice. Strange, but kind.”
 The Colonel hesitated, debating how much he should tell the woman. “They might
be, and it’s our job to make sure we get them out of it and home safe and
sound. Don’t worry, ma’am, I’m not one to give up easily.” The woman nodded
gratefully. “And one last question miss, may we have the key to Ed and Al’s
room?”
 “Yes, certainly.” She rummaged around for the key before handing it to them.
“Good luck, Colonel.”
 The two men turn their backs and headed toward the elevators. “Let’s get back
to the rest of the team.”
 “Are we all going to...” Hughes looked at the handwritten note card,
“Christoph Koenig’s apartment?”
 “No, that’ll just be you and me. Havoc and Hawkeye will search Ed’s room and
the others will search the surrounding area. Maybe if luck is on our side we’ll
find something close to the hotel.”
 “Bit of a stretch there don’t you think, Roy-Boy?”
 Mustang twitched at the nickname but ignored it. “I’m hoping maybe this time
we’ll get lucky. Besides, as of now we have no evidence that Ed and Al left the
hotel of their own volition after arriving. We know they were here, I think it
wise to keep the investigation close to home, at least for now. We can branch
out once we have more information.” Maes nodded in agreement. It was a solid
plan.
 The two caught up with the rest of the team and relayed the plan. “It’s
getting late, we’ll continue the investigation tomorrow, bright and early.” The
group nodded in agreement and all split up to go to their rooms and rest for
the night.
 Once in their room, the two war vets unpacked their clothes and got ready for
the night. They lay in their beds, a silence stretching before them. Finally,
Hughes broke it.
 “We’ll find them, Roy.”
 “I know, Maes.”
 -o0o-
 Pain rolled through his body as Edward regained consciousness. God, everything
hurt. His shoulder ached from being held in such an uncomfortable position
overnight. His legs felt weak and the area between his legs burned and ached
with pain. He knew what had happened to him the day before. It was hazy, and he
couldn’t remember fine details, but he remembered liking it. He was disgusted
in himself. But then he remembered he deserved it.
 The drug had worn off during the night. Leaving him alone with his agony and
his terribly lucid thoughts. Ed could have tolerated the physical pain. He
couldn’t care less about that. But as his mind returned to him so did his
memories of Alphonse, and his brother’s final moments. Agony ripped through his
chest, a grief filled sob escaping his throat. He felt hot tears stream down
his face. He felt his walls crumbling. He felt himself break down.
 “Please give him back,” Edward whispered. He didn’t know to who. He didn’t
care. He’d beg anyone who would listen. He’d suffer a lifetime of agony and
torture and pain. If only he could have his brother back.
 It felt like he lay there for hours biting back his own wails. His physical
pains were nearly forgotten, overpowered by the storm of grief that tore
through his body. Soon the storm began to die down, leaving an aching, empty
cavity in his chest. He began to focus on the physical pain in his boy,
desperate to feel anything, reveling in the aching pain that twisted throughout
every muscle in his body.
 He tried to remember what had been done to him, pushing past the fog in his
memories. In retrospect, he realized they had not been gentle with him, as
proved by the ache deep in his bowels. But in the moment, he had been so caught
up in the drug filled passion that he hadn’t even noticed the harsh treatment.
How many had come to him yesterday? Two?He thought, unable to remember Kai, who
had visited while he was knocked out. He remembered the first man, the one who
had killed- no he couldn’t think of that, it hurt too much. The first man had
fucked him so hard he fell unconscious. Then he remembered waking up to another
person. Who was it? He remembered a woman with white blond hair. What did she
say her name was? Celeste, he recalled. She hadn’t forced herself on him the
way the other one had. She had been kind to him. She had even fed him. Part of
him hated her, for showing him a kindness he didn’t deserve, but a very small
voice in his head wished for her return.
 “Good morning,” a familiar voice by the door drew Ed’s attention. Henrik stood
in the doorway, looking down at the barely clothed State Alchemist. “Did you
rest well?” He sneered, knowing full well Ed’s sleep had been anything but
restful. Ed remained silent. “Oh, come now, don’t be that way!” He crooned,
sauntering closer to Ed. “After all,” his fingers traced Ed’s bulge through his
boxers, “I think we’ve grown to know each other well.”
 Ed tried to repress a shiver from the attention. He didn’t flinch away from
the contact. He deserved to be used like this. He honestly didn’t care what
happened to him anymore. It didn’t really matter, without Alphonse what purpose
did he serve?
 “Such a good boy,” praised Henrik, noticing the absence of the fight he had
seen in the boy when they first brought him in. The fire that once burned
bright in Edward had been reduced to a pitiful coal. “Since you’re so well-
behaved today, I’ve got another gift for you.” Henrik took out the same little
black case he had yesterday. A need burned deep in Edward.
 “Please,” he whispered brokenly, twisting his restrained arm to give easier
access to the vein in his elbow. He would do anything for that euphoric escape
again. Henrik’s smile dripped with acid. Everything was going perfectly. He
loved when his toys behaved themselves. He had Ed right where he wanted him,
hooked on the drug and begging for more.
 “Since you asked so nicely,” Henrik smoothed Ed’s oily hair back, “after all,
we’ve arranged some visitors for you today.” The needle sunk into Ed’s arm.
 “Visitors?” Ed lifted his head to look at Henrik, confusion lighting up his
auric gaze before its intelligent spark was glazed over. His head thumped back
onto the pillow and a pleased sigh escaped his mouth, his confusion completely
forgotten.
 "That’s right, my golden boy,” said Henrik, untying Ed’s limbs and tossing
them aside. “They’re going to have so much fun with you.”
 -o0o-
 “Wake up.” Roy woke from his nightmarescape to a pillow in the face, jerking
upright with a gasp, trying to get his baring. He looked around the room,
remembering where he was and released a relieved sigh. He knew he must look
like a mess, bed sheets twisted around his body. His hair clung to his face,
drenched in sweat. Mustang wiped his face, trying to get his heart rate under
control.
 Roy’s memory of the night’s dream was fragmented and fuzzy but fueled with
fear. The dream had switched rapidly from the blood-soaked sands of Ishval to
the horrifying imaging of Edward lying dead in some alleyway, screaming at Roy,
asking why he had abandoned him.
 Maes thankfully said nothing about Roy’s sorry state. He simply kicked the
covers off and went to retrieve the pillow he had thrown at his friend.
 “It’s seven o’clock, time to go.” Hughes informed him. The two got ready in
silence, Roy too shaken from his dream and Hughes knowing to give him some
space to compose himself. Roy tousled gel in his hair and straightened the
wrinkles out of his blue military uniform before following Hughes to meet the
rest of the team downstairs for breakfast.
 The five others were already waiting for them down at the breakfast buffet.
Roy’s stomach was still churning from the nightmare but he forced himself to
choke down a few bites of eggs and toast.
 “Breda, Falman and Fuery, you guys cover the area around the hotel. Look for
anything that might help us. Ask some store owners around to see if they’ve
seen anything suspicious. Hawkeye, Havoc, you investigate the Elric’s hotel
room. Look for signs of a struggle.” Mustang reminded them all of their duties
and was met with a chorus of ‘yes sirs’s.
 After eating their fill, Hughes and Mustang left the hotel to question
Christoph Koenig, the receptionist on duty the night of Ed and Al’s arrival.
They hailed a taxi and gave him the address. The ride seemed to stretch on
forever (why on Earth would the man live so far away from his place of
employment?) and with each passing second Mustang could feel his impatience
mounting. He wanted to get to the bottom of this.
 Mr. Koenig lived in a small but nice-looking house. It’s brick walls were
well-cleaned and its lawn was decorated with colorful flower bushes. They
walked up the brick path to the green painted door and tapped the knocker
against its brass backing. They waited a moment, praying that Koenig was home.
They released the breath they hadn’t realized they held when the door slowly
creaked open to reveal an elderly gentleman with white hair and a cane. He
frowned when he saw the military men.
 “How may I help you gentlemen?” Christoph Koenig asked politely, his voice
croaking with age.
 “Mr. Koenig, I am Colonel Mustang and this,” he gestured towards Maes, “is
Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. We have a few simple questions for you. It will only
take a moment of your time. May we come in?” The old man nodded and stepped
aside, allowing his guests to step across the threshold.
 “Would you gentlemen like some tea?” Koenig asked hospitably as they walked
through the entrance way.
 “No, thank you, sir. We only plan to be here a moment then we’ll be on our
way.” They walked the short distance to the living room before the three sat
down at a round, white coffee table.
 “You work at Hotel Aprus as a night receptionist, is that correct?” Maes
asked.
 “Yes, I do, good sirs. Though may I ask, what is all this about?”
 “A valued State Alchemist and his brother have gone missing. We want to know
if you saw a teenager with blonde hair with a man in armor leave the hotel any
time after 8:00pm the night before last?” Christoph scratched his balding head.
 “Oh, my, now you’re really testing an old man’s memory.”
 “Please, sir. Their lives may be in danger.” Mustang implored. Mr. Koenig
straightened his back as far as his old bones would allow and furrowed his brow
deep in thought.
 “I may have seen them…” he trailed. “But you must understand my memory is not
what it used to be. I’m not sure what time I saw them, if it was even them at
all.”
 “Do you remember them returning to the hotel.”
 “I’m sorry, Colonel, I just don’t know.”
 “That’s all right, Mr. Koenig. Thank you very much for your time.” Mustang
chased away the downtrodden expression that threatened to mar his features. The
man nodded with a sorrowful expression and expressed his condolences before
leading the two military officers out.
 “Not exactly the most reliable witness.” Maes commented dryly.
 “Most certainly not,” Mustang agreed and heaved a huge sigh. “Let’s hope the
others had better luck than us.”
 “First let’s go get some lunch.” Hughes held up a hand as he saw Roy open his
mouth to protest. “I don’t want to hear it, Colonel, we’ve got a long ride back
to the hotel and neither of us have eaten since breakfast. And don’t think I
didn’t notice the measly portion you declared a full meal,” Maes scolded.
“Besides, I’m starving and would you really deny your old friend the comfort of
a warm meal?”
 -o0o-
 “Right this way, gentlemen.” Henrik led the two casually dressed men down the
narrow passageways. “I’m sure you’ll find this one perfectly satisfactory. He
is heavily drugged, so him fighting back won’t be an issue. You may do as you
please with him, although I must ask you to refrain from leaving any lasting
marks on him. He is quite new and we would like to milk him for what he’s
worth.”
 Henrik opened the door and stood aside, granting the two men entrance.
“Enjoy!” He smiled and closed the door behind them.
 "Jesus, fuck,” the red-haired man exclaimed, “Henrik wasn’t fucking around
when he said this kid was a beaut.”
 “We certainly struck gold with this one,” his brunette partner replied. “Good
thing too, because he cost a fucking mint.”
 They ran their hands over Ed’s lean muscles. The blond barely twitched. The
customers smiled hungrily. The brunette slowly worked off Edward’s boxers,
savoring how the cloth slid on Ed’s tan skin. They slipped out of their own
clothes and worked their cocks to coax the flow of blood. Once hard, they
flipped Edward onto his stomach and lifted his hips up so his lower body was
balanced on his knees, his ass up in the air. The red head rested his back
against the head board lifting the boy’s head to rest on his lap while the
brunette positioned himself at Ed’s displayed behind, spreading his legs a bit
to provide better access.
 They were much gentler than Henrik and Kai had been the day before. The
brunette pushed into Ed slowly and with a steady rhythm, his deep breaths
accenting each stoke. The red head grabbed Ed’s long hair and guided his cock
into the blond’s mouth, forcing his head up and down, feeling his length slide
down Ed’s throat.
 Ed was vaguely aware of something happening to him. He felt his body move but
not of his own accord. He paid no mind to it, too distracted by the pleasant
hum in his bones. He felt himself being rocked gently, rhythmically. Was he on
a boat, the waves lapping against the side of the vessel to cause the movement?
The motion was soothing, allowing him to focus on the pleasant sensation in his
lower body. It came in slow waves, sending tingles throughout his body to
accompany the ever-present hum.
 He let his mind wander absently. He felt thoughts float around his head but
before he could grasp them they soon disappeared back into the fog. He let
himself relax, relishing in the pleasant high induced by the unnatural drug.
His vision swam, not seeing the room he was in, but indistinct shapes and
colors. He watched them with interest. Geometric patterns churned in front of
his eyes, dyed a pretty shade of green before shifting to blue, then purple,
then red, touching every color of the spectrum.
 The sounds that swarmed around his ears were odd and Ed tried to make sense of
them but everything was garbled. He heard breathing noises followed by another
sound. Were people talking? Or was it some groan? Ed couldn’t make sense of it,
the sounds not quite penetrating the cotton in his ears. He let the hum of the
outside world fade back into the background, creating a pleasant hum in the
back of his head.
 Suddenly he was aware of a rising tension in his groin. The feeling was both
pleasant and unpleasant, craving a sort of release. Then a giant wave of
euphoria hit him like a train. It ripped through him with an almost painful
intensity, stars burst wildly in his vision. He felt himself cry out in
ecstasy, panting as the feeling faded away.
 He felt a slimy liquid squirt into his mouth. Were they feeding him? He
swallowed reflexively, almost grimacing at the strange taste and texture. Soon
a second helping of the slime was poured down his throat. He wanted to spit it
back out but his body wasn’t exactly functioning at its highest efficiency so
his throat muscles betrayed him and sent the sticky liquid spiraling toward his
stomach.
 Soon the warmth that had pressed against him disappeared, letting and
uncomfortable coldness seep into his bones. Ed whined at the loss of contact
but the no one was there to hear his drugged, slurred cries.
 -o0o-
 For lunch Hughes and Mustang ate at a small Cretan influenced café, eating
sandwiches and drinking tea. The sandwiches were good tasting and close to the
real thing but something about them wasn’t quite right, a few missing
ingredients leaving a sort of emptiness in the dish.
 The tea, on the other hand, was delicious. The leaves were imported and
treated with care before being submerged in hot water and served to the two men
sitting outside under the café’s awning. Personally, Mustang preferred Xingese
teas. The drinks from the eastern country were lighter and held more floral
hints while Cretan teas where spicy and robust with an Earthy aroma.
 Hughes chattered on about something or other, most likely gushing about his
wife and daughter. Roy hummed politely, adding comments, or asking questions
when appropriate, but his mind kept wandering with worry, the boys’ plight
weighing heavily on his mind. Maes was entirely aware of his friend’s struggle
but kept up the chatter, hoping to shoo away the rain cloud from over Roy’s
head.
 They paid the check, thanked the waiter for his good service and continued
their mission.
"Don’t worry, Roy,” Maes reassured, “I’m sure the others must have found
something useful.” He smiled kindly. Mustang returned the smile weakly,
grateful at his friend’s attempt to cheer him up.
“Let’s hope so. Before I lost my entire goddamned mind.”
The ride back to the hotel seemed to stretch on even longer than it had before.
Roy spent most of the time daydreaming about nothing specific, trying to keep
his mind from wandering to the boys, and the horrors they must be going
through. He couldn’t think of that. Not right now. He had to be strong. For
them and for his team. Many people were counting on him and Roy would be damned
if he let any of them down.
Maes watched his friend sink further into his reverie, Roy’s brow furrowing in
thought. Hughes was worried about his friend. Maes knew how he was, no matter
how much Roy feigned indifference, he would defend anyone under his command
with every drop of strength in his body. He would defend them with his own life
if need be. Maes knew Roy felt especially responsible for the youngest State
Alchemist in the world, no matter how much he tried to deny it. Mustang was the
one to plant the idea of the military in the 10-year-old’s head and there were
times he wished he hadn’t. The military was no place for a child, no matter how
useful that child was. Maes feared for Roy when they finally did find the boys.
More likely than not Edward and Alphonse had been kidnapped by a human
trafficking ring. He didn’t even want to think what sort of horribly depraved
things were happening to the young genius and his brother. He feared the
condition they would find them in and knew in the back of his mind Ed would
never be the same. And he also knew that Roy would blame himself for all of it.
Roy had been the one to send them to Aprusborough but there was no way he could
have known this would happen. The military didn’t even have knowledge of the
ring when the case was assigned. No one could have predicted this. Of course,
Roy wouldn’t see it that way.
“Ten thousand cenz, please.” The taxi driver’s demand jerked both Roy and Maes
out of their thoughts, finally realizing they had reached their destination.
They paid the man his money and stepped out of the taxi in front of the hotel.
They and the rest of the team rendezvoused in the lobby and then headed back up
to their leader’s room to discuss their findings.
“Our investigation unfortunately didn’t pan out,” Mustang grumbled, “please
tell me the five of you faired better.”
“Havoc and I looked through the Elric’s room,” Hawkeye began, “their belongings
were all present, but the beds were not slept in.”
“Room keeping could have come to clean before we got there.” Hughes suggested.
“Very good point, Hughes. Havoc, go downstairs and ask if Ed and Al’s room have
been serviced since their arrival.”
“Yes, sir, Colonel Mustang.” Havoc hurried off to perform his duty. The Colonel
turned to the three other men in the room.
“Breda, did you Falman and Fuery find anything of note?”
“In fact, we did, sir,” Breda said, happy to deliver a solid lead,
“unfortunately we found nothing in the area immediately around the hotel, so we
spread our search a little, and asked shop keepers if they had seen Ed or
Alphonse. We came across a man who runs a food stand. He claims that he saw
them late on the night they arrived in Aprusborough. They ordered some food and
then left.” A grin spread across Mustang’s face. Finally, they were getting
somewhere.
“Well done, boys.”
“I ran into a worker in the hallway,” Havoc said, walking back into the room,
“he said that when we arrived the room had been declared off limits and the
staff was forbidden from entering. So no one has stepped foot in the room other
than the Elrics and ourselves.”
“Alright so the last place Ed and Al were seen that we’re aware of is the food
stand,” Mustang thought aloud. “It’s late now, but tomorrow we’re going to pay
the man a visit. I have some questions of my own. It’ll also give us a chance
to retrace their steps and hopefully find some more leads. Everyone back to
your rooms, get some good rest.” Roy dismisses his team. “We have a long day
tomorrow.”
-o0o-
Celeste walked in to Ed’s room to clean him and get him ready for the night. Ed
was lying facedown, his hips still up in the air in a submissive position. The
blond shifted, aware of a new presence in the room. That was a good sign,
showing he was at least somewhat lucid and aware of his surroundings.
She went about her routine and quickly checked Ed’s hole for damage, pleased to
see none. Ed moaned uncomfortably at the intrusion, letting his body flop over
onto its side.
“Hey, Ed,” she smoothed back his hair comfortingly.
“Celeste?” Ed blinked up at her in confusion. She was surprised he recognized
her, let alone remembered her name.
“That’s right, buddy,” she smiled, “how are you feeling?” She looked at his
pupils. They were still a little larger than normal, but they looked much
better than the night before. Ed thought a for moment, his mind still a little
slow.
“Numb,” he decided. “Can I have some more?”
“Some more of what?”
“The drug.” Celeste felt her heart break for the blond.
“First, let’s focus on getting you cleaned up, okay?” She distracted him. “I’m
going to help you take a bath, let’s try to stand up, all right?” He nodded
drunkenly. She helped him sit up and moved him to the edge of the bed, swinging
his legs over the side so they rested on the floor.
“All right, we’re going to stand you up on the count of three, yeah?” Edward
nodded. “One… two…” she put Ed’s arm over her shoulder and wrapped her hand
around his torso, “three!” In one swift motion, she lifted Ed to an upright
position. Ed’s knees buckled at the sudden weight forced upon them, but Celeste
caught him and forced him to stay on his feet.
Once Ed got his balance Celeste ushered him slowly into the bathroom and
carefully lowered the drugged teen into the tub, turning on the water and
adjusting it to a pleasant warmth. Ed lazily watched the water begin to fill
the tub. She tied up her long, white blond hair in a high pony tail, keeping it
out of the way. Once the tub was full Ed placed his hands on the surface of the
water, playing with the surface tension. Celeste wetted a wash cloth and dabbed
a bit of soap onto it, working up a lather, then set to work scrubbing the
filth off Edward’s body. He watched her with a strange expression.
“Is there something on my face?” She grinned at him.
“You’re so nice. I like you.” Ed slurred.
“Thank you very much, Ed. You don’t see a lot of kindness around these parts so
I know how much one small act can mean. Besides,” she sighed to herself, “with
all the wrong around us, I just want to do something right.”
“Why are you here then?” His head almost drooped too far to the side before
Celeste caught him. Her heart twisted painfully. She couldn’t bring herself to
think about it, let alone answer.
“To make people like you happy in any way I can,” she deflected. “What happened
to you to land you in such an awful place as this?” She changed the subject.
She realized the question may have been a bad idea when Ed grew very somber,
tears filling his eyes. Celeste looked at him, alarmed. “What’s wrong?” She
asked, wiping away his tears.
“Alphonse.” Ed wailed, a loud sob ripping its way out of him. Celeste pulled
him close to her chest and rubbed his back soothingly, not minding the water
that soaked her clothes. He cried loudly onto her shoulder. She whispered
quietly into his ear, trying to calm him and provide what comfort she could to
the distraught boy. Soon he began to quiet down, his sobs dissolving into
nothing. She gently peeled him away and looked at his face.
“What were we talking about?” He asked vacantly. Celeste strained a smile.
“Nothing,” she said, not daring to bring up the conversation again, no matter
how curious she was. “I was just about to wash your hair.”
She grabbed a cup and dipped it into the bath, filling it with water. She
wetted Ed’s hair, then worked some shampoo into it. Ed sighed with comfort, his
still too dilated eyes drifting shut as Celeste massaged his scalp.
Ed’s body began to relax, swaying listlessly. Celeste tapped his cheeks, trying
to wake him up before he was pulled into a drugged slumber. Ed opened his eyes.
They were glazed over and lacked the lucidity they held not long ago. She
hurriedly rinsed the shampoo from Ed’s hair, knowing he wouldn’t be in the
conscious realm much longer. She drained the water and dried him off the best
she could before moving to help him stand. She managed to get him out of the
tub before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his knees collapsed.
With a frightened squeal, she managed to slow his descent to the floor but
didn’t possess the strength to stop it completely. He landed on the tile in a
crumpled heap, his head cradled safely in her lap. Thankfully, he didn’t seem
injured so she dried him the rest of the way, paying special attention to his
automail leg so it didn’t rust.
It took her a while to drag the limp form back to the bed and was near
impossible for her to lift him back onto the mattress. Ed was surprisingly
heavy for one so small. She figured the weight was due to the metal limbs and
the huge muscles that spanned his body. She arranged him more comfortably on
the mattress then fetched a fresh pair of boxers provided by the Jaded Tiger
and worked them onto the boy’s hips. Obediently, she tied him back up and laid
a blanket overtop his cold form.
“Goodnight, Edward,” she kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair motherly.
“Sweet dreams.” 
***** Chapter 4 *****
Ed awoke to the familiar ache deep in his bones. It did not surprise him. He
was expecting it. He was hoping for it. As the fog of sleep faded away, Ed
found himself to be disappointed. The pain was dull and easily ignored. He
wanted it to hurt more. He needed it to hurt more. After everything he had
done, he deserved more. He clenched his flesh hand, feeling his nails sink into
his skin. The pain in his hand dulled the agony he felt in his heart. Though
not for long.
Look at what I’ve become,Ed thought bitterly. He used to be so strong and
proud, confident in his own skill. Now he hated his own skin, his own
existence. Look at what he had been reduced to. Funny, how a single moment
could change everything. But Ed was all to familiar with that. He more than one
of those single moments in his short life, they had altered his entire destiny
and his outlook on the world.
He heard the door creak open. He lifted his head and saw Henrik standing in the
doorway. He had been expecting this too.
“Oh good, already awake I see.” Henrik smiled. “What, not even a ‘good
morning’?” He pouted when Ed remained silent, walking over to the prone blond.
“Good morning,” Ed said, his voice monotone.
“That’s a good boy.” Henrik ran his hands over Ed’s body, tracing his muscles,
paying special attention to the bulge between his legs. Ed remained silent but
did nothing to fight the blood that rushed south. Henrik smiled has he felt Ed
harden beneath him.
“Will you please give me the drug today?” Ed asked. He didn’t care how pathetic
he sounded. Henrik chuckled and stroked Ed’s hair.
“Well,” Henrik hummed, “I could, but you’ll have to do something for me.” He
untied Ed’s hand and pulled him into a sitting position before unzipping his
pants. “After all it wouldn’t be fair for me to do you a service without
payment, right?”
Ed reached down and freed Henrik’s length from the cloth surrounding it. He
began to stroke it before Henrik stopped him.
“Not with your hand,” he said, reaching up to trace Ed’s lips with his fingers.
Ed felt dread and disgust run through his body, but obeyed, willing to do just
about anything for that escape. He bent down and took the man into his mouth.
Henrik was half hard but more blood filled him with a few flicks and swirls of
Ed’s tongue. Ed forced Henrik deep down into his throat, almost choking with
each bob of his head.
Henrik grabbed a fistful of Ed’s gold hair by the roots and forced his cock
deeper into Ed’s throat. Ed couldn’t stop the disgusting choking noises that
followed but the dark-haired man didn’t relent. He used Ed’s hair to control
his head, forcing him to bob up and down his hard member with great intensity.
Ed felt his lips brush the base of the man’s cock with each stoke. It felt like
his hair was being torn out. He tried to fight the gag reflex that threatened
to expel his stomach contents. He lifted his hand to weakly push against
Henrik’s chest, his panic filled survival instincts kicking in. He couldn’t
breathe.
Ed felt Henrik twitch in his throat, his thrusts becoming more frantic and his
groans deepening in his chest. Ed felt tears streaming down his throat, a
result of gagging nonstop. Henrik shoved Ed’s face deep in his crotch, letting
his balls brush the boy’s chin, and came deep into the boy’s throat. Ed
struggled to swallow the cum that was forced so deep into his esophagus.
Henrik released Ed’s hair and the boy pulled back spluttering, gasping for the
breath he had been deprived. Henrik combed his fingers through Ed’s gold locks,
slowly easing apart the tangles as Edward coughed and struggled to catch his
breath.
“Such a good boy,” he crooned, “I have a different reward planned for you, but
I think you’ll like this one. Tell me, boy, have you ever had whiskey?”
-o0o-
Roy heard the alarm sound off to his right, followed by Maes’s low grumble and
a soft thud as he hit the snooze button. Roy had already been awake for hours,
his mind churning. He thought about their new lead. They finally had Ed’s last
known location. A simple food stand not far from the hotel.
“Good morning,” Maes said grumpily as he rolled out of bed.
“Maybe you should try rolling out the other side of the bed, Maes. Hopefully
then you’ll be in a better mood.” Roy said jokingly.
“I feel like I got no sleep!” Maes groaned, placing his hands on his lower back
and stretching, feeling his joints pop. “I’m getting too fucking old.”
“You’re not even 30, Maes.”
“Too old!”
“All right, all right,” Roy chuckled, “just get ready, grandpa.” The two washed
and changed, getting prepared for the day ahead of them.
They met the rest of the team down stairs and the seven departed for their
destination, the last known location of the brothers Elric.
-o0o-
“Whiskey? No, I’ve never drank.” Ed said, somewhat embarrassed at his own lack
of experience.
“Never drank before??” Henrik guffawed. “Oh, well, here’s to your first time.”
He retrieved a bottle of amber liquid and poured Ed a rather generous serving,
more than enough to put the boy on the floor in no time. “You have new clients
today and they prefer you drunk not drugged. So, drink up.” Ed took the glass
with his remaining hand and peered down at its contents. He gave it a cautious
sniff and reeled back, his nose wrinkling in disgust. Angrily, Henrik pushed
the glass close to his face again.
“You’d better drain this cup, or I promise you, you won’t like what happens
next.” He said dangerously, his eyes flashing. “Drink it quick. I want you
drunk by the time they get here. Don’t want to keep our loyal patrons waiting,
now do we?”
Obediently Ed poured some of the liquid into his mouth. It tasted absolutely
disgusting and it burned! Ed coughed as the foul drink slid down his throat.
Henrik glared at him, silently urging him to hurry up. Edward drank as fast as
he could. When the glass was half drained, Ed noticed he felt a little strange.
His face had gone a little numb and tingled. He smiled at the new sensation and
poked his half numb nose curiously. Henrik tapped the glass, reminding Ed his
job wasn’t finished. Ed rose the glass to his lips, his movements jerkier than
he remembered them being, and gulped down more of the amber fire. Once the last
drop was drunk he noticed he definitely felt strange. He felt very warm and his
body tingled pleasantly. He started to giggle, suddenly very happy.
“I’ll let that alcohol work its way into your system,” Henrik watched the
giggly blond before him. “I’m going to go see to our guests. I’ll be back.”
-o0o-
The man who ran the food stand was a portly fellow with a kind smile. He wore
blue jeans and plaid shirt covered with a grease-stained apron. He was tending
to the food on his grill when the military officers walked up to him.
“Oh, I remember you boys from yesterday!” He exclaimed, gesturing to Breda,
Falman and Feury. “Got some more questions for me, do ya?”
“Johnathan Parker?” Mustang asked.
“Ah, please, call me Johnny, everyone does.”
“Very well, Johnny,” Mustang said to the jovial man before introducing himself
and the team. “We understand you saw a young boy with a suit of armor late a
few days ago.”
“Why yes, sir, I did! A strange lot they were.”
“Could you describe their behavior?”
“Well they didn’t act no different than any other Joe Shmoe on the street. Both
seemed happy enough, especially the blond one. You shoulda seen the way his
face light up when I handed him his order. Seeing that kinda expression to food
is exactly why I’m in the business!” He cried, flipping a patty on the grill.
“They didn’t seem to be in any distress?” Maes chimed in.
“Distress? Oh, heavens, no. Happy as larks those two. They didn’t stay long
though. Bought their food and headed off.”
“Which direction did they go when they left?” Mustang asked.
“Back the way they came.” Johnny pointed down the street that led back to the
hotel.
“Alright, sir, thank you very much for your time and we apologize for any
inconvenience this may have caused.”
“No need to apologize! You boys drop by anytime. I got the best BBQ this side
of Aprusborough!”
-o0o-
“All right, boy, our clients are ready for you.” Henrik walked back into the
room and over to the teen. Ed was swaying slightly in bed, a lopsided smile
spread across his face. His cheeks were dusted a rosy pink.
“Can I have sum’more o’ tha’ stuff?” Edward slurred.
Henrik ignored him, threw Ed’s arm over his shoulder, and lifted him to his
feet. Ed’s vision swarmed and the entire room spun wildly. Henrik caught the
boy as his knees buckled. Ed began giggling giddily as he clung to the older
man. Henrik pulled Ed to his feet and led the boy out of the room and down the
hall. Ed tried to keep up with the man’s slow pace but he kept fumbling,
tripping over his feet. Henrik didn’t even wait for the boy to regain his
bearings, simply dragging the drunken boy to the men he would service.
They entered a room filled with four men. Henrik lifted Ed slightly, letting
the boy get his feet back under him before setting him down, his large hands
wrapped around Ed’s shoulders to hold him upright.
“Here you are, gentlemen,” Henrik said to the four, “this one is our most
popular and has had nothing but excellent reviews. I’m sure you will be most
happy with him. I have a special offer for you,” Henrik reached into his pocket
and pulled out a large vial. “This will completely numb the boy’s throat and
you can face fuck him all you want without worry of him losing his lunch on
you. For a price, of course.” The men agreed hungrily, taking the vial and
Henrik let Ed go and stepped out, leaving him alone with the four vultures.
Ed swayed dangerously on his feet, the room spinning before his eyes. Two of
the men stepped up and grabbed him before his knees could fail, their hands
wandering.
“Hey there, gorgeous.”
“Jesus Christ, look at those eyes.”
“You got a name, pretty boy?”
Ed felt hands rubbing his body but didn’t have the mental capacity to really
understand what was going on. He vaguely registered there were four men around
him but everything was spinning he could barely see their faces.
“Edward,” he replied, his tone reduced to that of a child. His name was
chorused back at him, voices filled with lust.
The hands continued to rub him, forcing him upright again when he swayed or
stumbled. He felt nimble fingers attack his nipples, rubbing and twisting them.
Ed gasped with pleasure.
“Oh, do you like that, Ed?”
“Yeah feelz gud,” Ed’s words ran into each other. Soon he felt something wet
run across his nipples. Two of the men had their faces pressed into Ed’s chest,
their tongues swirling around the hard nubs. Edward felt hands travel down to
rub his soft bulge. He groaned, happy with the attention.
“Ooh he likes that,” a voice laughed. Edward vaguely registered that he had
been stripped of his boxers and they were now laying down by his ankles.
Someone hugged him from behind and he felt something hard press into the large
muscles of his backside. Another knelt in front of Edward and looked up at him
with a lewd expression. Edward watched him, not quite sure what he was doing.
Then the man took Ed’s dick into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the tip,
feeling the organ harden and grow. Ed threw his head back to rest on the chest
of the man behind him and gave a cry. His knees buckled, but strong arms caught
him and help him upright.
“God, look at that face!”
“Oh, he fucking loves that.”
“Do you like feeling your cock in another man’s mouth, Edward?” A voice
whispered in his ear. There was so much sensory input Edward’s mind was
completely overwhelmed. He was pretty sure hands were still rubbing him but
there was so much going on it was difficult for the drunk boy to comprehend.
“Likkit!” Ed managed to slur, sounding like a child. Laughter trickled around
him.
A hand snaked down to cup Ed’s ass, spreading his cheeks, a finger prodding his
hole. The digit worked its way past Ed’s ring, feeling it clench at the sudden
intrusion. Ed moaned, stars burst in his vision and his legs turned to jelly.
Ed’s muscles relaxed and he went limp in the man’s arms, unable to control his
body.
“Let’s give him that new numbing stuff and having some fun.” Ed felt something
trickle down his throat. It tasted bittersweet.
They dragged the boy and threw him on the bed, one positioned himself at Ed’s
back and another at Ed’s mouth while the other two watched, stroking
themselves. They took turns, rotating between positions, each of Ed’s holes
being fucked mercilessly. They pounded Ed’s ass hard and slid their members
balls deep into Ed’s numb throat, the medicine insuring Ed didn’t gag or vomit.
Soon they grew impatient and all four set to work on the drunk boy, two sliding
down his throat and the remaining two pumping him from behind in unison.
Ed was too drunk to comprehend what was going on around him. All he felt was a
flurry of sensations, not being able to distinguish them. He knew in the back
of his mind they were being very rough with him. He felt his body jerk
uncontrollably as the men had their way with him.
Then Ed felt a terrible pain deep in his bowels, his cries were muffled by the
cocks in his mouth. His ass tore, unable to take two at once, especially at the
speed they were going. He tried to get away but strong hands held him down, and
in Ed’s inebriated state there was nothing he could do. He tensed and bore
through the pain. Soon darkness began to creep around the edges of his vision
before blissfully stealing away his consciousness. The four felt the boy go
limp. One of the men used Ed’s hair to jerk his head up, still pushing into his
mouth. He saw Ed’s expression was slack and his eyes closed.
“Poor thing can’t take a beating.”
“Good, I like ‘em passed out.”
“Hmm, looks like he’s bleeding a little.”
“Who the fuck cares we paid for him, didn’t we? We should be able to do what
ever the fuck we want to him.” He accented his anger with a powerful thrust.
Ed’s limp form jerked.
As they neared their peak, the four crowded over Ed, squirting their load into
the teen’s face, hair and chest.
They gathered their clothes and left the boy laying haphazardly on the
mattress, naked, bleeding, and covered in filth.
-o0o-
“Alright so Edward and Alphonse arrive at the hotel late, too late to conduct
an official investigation.” Mustang went through the Elrics actions, trying to
piece together what happened the night of their disappearance. “Edward gets
hungry, so they go out looking for food. They make it to the food stand, then
what?”
“Most likely they headed back to the hotel.” Havoc supplied.
“Right, so the quickest route back would be right down this street, exactly
where Johnny pointed us.” Mustang thought aloud. They made their way slowly
along the route. “Check down the alleyways, if Ed and Al were attacked, it
would make most sense to drag them into a secluded area.”
-o0o-
Henrik walked into the room to retrieve Edward and take him back to his own
quarters. The boy was still laying unconscious on the bed where the four
patrons had left him. Henrik walked over and noticed a dark stain around Ed’s
hips. He lifted one of the boy’s legs and saw blood seeping slowly from his
hole. Henrik saw red. Ed would be useless, out of commission for at least a few
days. And that meant no revenue.
“WAKE UP!!” Henrik reeled back and slapped Ed across the face hard, a sound
like a broomstick handle snapping echoed around the room. Ed’s head jerked to
the side. He gasped and opened his eyes, pain and shock rousing him from his
alcohol induced sleep. His golden orbs rolled in their sockets. He groaned
drunkenly in pain. Henrik grabbed Ed’s arm and yanked him roughly out of bed.
“Get up!” He shouted.
“Whazz happn’ng?” Ed slurred, struggling to get to his feet.
Henrik pulled Ed out of the room and down the hall. Ed staggered and struggled
to keep up, bumping into the wall a few times. Henrik jerked his arm and kept
him moving. Ed swayed dangerously before his eyes rolled up, exposing his
whites, before he passed out. Henrik released his arm and allowed the boy to
fall to the floor in a crumpled heap. The dark-haired man let out a shout of
rage and kicked the limp figure in the ribs.
“You stupid boy! Do you have any idea how much money you’re wasting me!” He
screamed, picking up Ed by the neck and slamming his head against the wall,
cutting off his air supply. “Now I have to wait until you can be used again!”
Ed twitched and jerked weakly in the man’s grip, his arms and legs tapping
softly against the wall behind him. His tongue lolled limply out the side of
his mouth and his eye lids fluttered, revealing the balls beneath them,
frantically dashing back and forth. Ed chocked weakly but didn’t regain
consciousness.
Henrik forced a deep breath and released the boy, letting him hit the ground
and slump forward, his forehead hitting the ground. Henrik grabbed Ed by the
wrist and dragged him the rest of the way to the room, his body sliding across
the tile. He opened the door and threw Ed inside, the boy landed a few feet
away, his body twisted at an uncomfortable angle.
“You can sleep on the floor tonight, you piece of garbage!” Henrik slammed the
door behind him.
Henrik ran into Celeste as he stomped angrily down the hall. He noticed she was
walking toward Edward’s room.
“No!” He grabbed her wrist and twisted it painfully. “Leave him in his filth.
You are forbidden from entering that room tonight and if I find out you
disobeyed there will be consequences.” His grip on her hand tightened and she
whimpered.
“I understand! I won’t go near him!”
“Good, you can clean up the idiot in the morning.” Henrik walked off. Celeste
felt fear strike her heart. Fear not for herself but for Edward.
Oh, child, what did they do to you?
-o0o-
“Boss,” Havoc’s voice drifted out of one of the alleyways he had been scouting.
He sounded horrified. “You’re gonna wanna take a took at this.”
Mustang felt rooted to the spot, fearing what his subordinate was calling him
over to witness. Visions of Ed’s half decayed body danced in front of his eyes.
He forced himself to move. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, he
reminded himself. He turned the corner. The sight before him made nearly made
him drop to his knees.
It was Alphonse. Or what was left of him. His arms and legs were missing, blown
off by alchemy. His chest plate had been removed, revealing his blood seal.
Mustang looked inside to see the life symbol half smeared away.
“Oh, dear god, no,” he heard a distraught whisper. Maes stood behind him,
looking down at Alphonse with grief stricken eyes. “Is he…?” Mustang nodded.
“No.” Maes let out a small sob. Roy looked around at the rest of his team.
Havoc was resting on his knees, his head bowed. Fuery and Falman had their arms
wrapped around each other’s shoulders, not bothering to stop the tide of tears
that streamed down their face. Breda was struggling to keep a strong face and
failing miserably. Riza looked to be in shock, her wide eyes gazed unseeingly
at the dead boy.
Absently, Roy wondered how he must look. Did he look distraught? In shock?
Uncaring? Apathetic? He couldn’t tell. All he felt was numb.
He searched the alleyway quickly, searching for the elder brother but finding
no trace of him. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“Edward, where are you?”
***** Chapter 5 *****
Ed woke up in pain like he had the mornings before, but something was different
this time. The pain was worse this time. The ache that usually accompanied
consciousness was dialed up to a piercing throb. It felt like nails where being
driven into his skull. A layer of sweat covered his body and he felt both warm
and freezing, like he had a fever. His stomach churned awfully. He moved
slightly and had to bite back a shocked cry of pain. He looked down himself,
vaguely registering the fact he was still naked, and saw a red liquid between
his legs. Blood? I’m bleeding?The churning in his stomach increased.
Ed dragged himself to the bathroom, ignoring the pain, threw his upper body
onto the toilet and vomited, his frame shaking. Once he was finished, he rested
his head on the seat, his hair plastered to his face. God, everything fucking
hurts.
Ed didn’t move, afraid that any slight disturbance in his vestibular sense
could send what little contents he had left in his stomach rising up again. He
thought back to the day before and… his mind came back blank. He couldn’t
remember anything. His memory wasn’t just hazy, it was black. Gone. The last
thing he remembered was draining the glass Henrik had given him of its amber
contents and being guided down the hall to a new room. After that, nothing. The
alcohol.Well, that explained the memory gap and the intense nausea. He had a
hangover.
Ed tried to induce what could have happened during his black out, almost happy
to have a clear head this time. Judging by the pain and the blood covering his
low body, he could guess his clients got a little too rough with him. But why
did his neck and ribs hurt as well? He almost attributed that to the rough
reaming. But then why did he wake up on the floor? Perhaps he had mouthed off
to Henrik and gotten himself slapped around a bit. Or perhaps when Henrik saw
him bleeding he lost it. Judging by his sorry state, it was most likely that
Celeste had been forbidden from tending to him. That was the first time she
hadn’t shown up.
Once his stomach had settled, Ed pushed himself upright and climbed to his
feet. He staggered over to the mirror and regarded his reflection. He looked
like hell warmed over. His hair was frizzy and clung uncomfortably to his neck,
soaked with sweat. A strange sticky crust stuck to his face, hair, and chest.
Ed’s nose wrinkled in disgust, identifying the substance immediately. He
glanced down at his neck and saw finger shaped bruises embellishing his skin.
Someone tried to strangle me,he noted detachedly. He continued to take stock of
his injuries, looking down at the large bruise on his side over his ribs. Ed
touched the bruise gingerly, tracing the ribs, checking for any breaks, pleased
when he found none.
Ed limped over to the bath and let the water run, turning up the heat and
drizzling some bath soap under the running faucet, watching it bubble. Once the
tub had filled enough, he turned it off and gingerly stepped in, wincing as his
wounds stretched. He wet a bath rag and slowly began washing the dried semen
off his body, feeling dirty. He then reached down and tried to clean the wounds
inside him the best he could, watching blood turn the water between his legs
pink. He laid back, feeling the warmth seeping into his cold bones. He got out
of the tub and drained it, knowing his body was clean but still feeling dirty.
He walked into the main room, looking through the drawers, happy to find a pair
of boxers for him to put on. He flopped down into the bed, still feeling
unwell.
He let himself fall back asleep.
-o0o-
Ed was able to get another five hours of sleep before he was shaken awake by a
certain blonde. The pain in his head and the nausea in his stomach had lessened
considerably but were still present. Celeste smiled down at him.
“Hey, how are you doing?”
“Better,” he said truthfully. “I woke earlier this morning and managed to take
a bath. I cleaned the…” Ed fidgeted, “tears as well as I could.” Celeste’s
expression grew pained at his words.
“I see, I’ll help you clean them a bit more if that’s all right with you?”
Ed nodded, it needed to be done. She helped him onto his stomach, peeled back
his boxers, and set to work. Ed didn’t even wince during the entire process.
This would have surprised Celeste if not for the fact that Edward had two false
limbs. It seems the boy had seen quite a bit of pain in the lifetime. Her heart
ached for him.
“Will Henrik give me more of the drug today?” He asked once Celeste was
finished. He sat up and looked at her.
“I’m so sorry but I don’t think so. He usually only gives that if you’re
working. But since you’re hurt you can’t.” Ed sighed in disappointment. Celeste
stroked his hair. “So, what did you do before you came here? What did you study
in school?” She tried to distract him, trying not to bring up his capture
again.
“I actually don’t go to school,” Ed chuckled, “haven’t since I was about
seven.” Celeste frowned at that.
“Why not?” Her tone was slightly disappointed.
“I had other ambitions. Besides, school had nothing to offer me that I didn’t
already know.”
“What sort of ambitions?”
“I studied to be an alchemist.”
“Woah an alchemist! That’s amazing! No wonder you dropped out of school, it
must have been so easy for you! You must be a genius.” Ed laughed, embarrassed.
“How did you learn?”
“I mostly taught myself in the beginning, but later I sought out a teacher. I
found a woman, an incredible alchemist, and begged her to teach me. She agreed
on one condition.”
“What condition?”
“She took me in a boat and dropped me off on an island in the middle of a huge
lake. She gave me a knife and forbade me from using alchemy to survive.”
“Oh, my goodness, she sounds terrible!” Celeste exclaimed
“She can be pretty scary, but I wouldn’t have any other teacher.” Ed then
continued his story. “She said ‘all is one, one is all,’ and gave me one month
to figure it out.”
“What did it mean?”
“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to spend a month on a deserted island to figured
that out.” He grinned at her.
“Are you kidding me? I would die within the first hour!” She giggled.
“I don’t know about that,” his expression grew serious. “You’ve been here and
you seem to be surviving just fine.” She smiled sadly at him.
“Yeah, I suppose I am.” She ruffled his hair affectionately. “Thank you, Ed.
So, what did you do for work then? Just fixing stuff with alchemy for people?”
“Nah, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” He said, stretching nonchalantly.
“Try me,” she challenged. He looked at her curiously.
“I took the State Alchemist Exam and joined the military.” Then it clicked. All
the scattered jigsaw pieces finally fell into place. Celeste felt her jaw go
slack with shock. A young boy with golden hair. The youngest State Alchemist in
the world.
“You’re the Fullmetal Alchemist,” her voice was barely above a whisper. Didn’t
the boy usually travel with a companion? She heard a rumor it was his brother.
Edward had mentioned someone named Alphonse in a drugged haze before bursting
into tears. Could it be…was his companion dead?
“Yep. Or at least the sorry excuse of what’s left of him. Without my automail
arm, I can’t perform alchemy. Not like I’d try to escape anyway. Not much point
in that.”
“Why not?” Ed waited an eternity before answering, his expression mournful.
“I don’t have anything to go back to. At least here I can get some peace, even
if it is artificial.”
“Edward…”
“I’m tired,” he said dismissively. “I’m gonna try to get some rest.” He laid
down and turned his back to her, effectively ending the conversation. He didn’t
want to talk about it any more. He didn’t want to think about it. It all hurt
too much, and without that drug, there was no escaping it. Thankfully, Celeste
didn’t push him.
“Alright, sleep well. I’ll bring you some food in a while.”
-o0o-
The days went by slowly and his lucid mind was aware of each passing second.
Apparently, Henrik didn’t consider him a flight risk because he was left
untied, but his door remained tightly locked. Ed spent most of his time pacing
the floor or sleeping away his boredom. His room had no windows or clocks so he
couldn’t tell exactly how much time had passed.
Celeste noticed his boredom and brought him some of her old textbooks. She
apologized for the boring material but Edward didn’t mind, he preferred reading
educational books to fiction. He had spent most of his childhood reading his
father’s alchemy books while other children read stories of great adventure and
adversity. They all teased him and called him boring. Little did they know that
while they read about such adventures, he went out and lived them. But it
seemed those days had come to an end for Edward.
The scientific texts had been a godsend for Ed, distracting him from his
horribly clear, sober mind and the painful thoughts it contained. He read a
chemistry book and, although it taught him nothing he didn’t already know, it
was a nice reminder. Next, he read a neuroscience book. He found the subject
very interesting, especially sections that applied chemistry. Soon he blew
through all the books that he had been given and started reading them over a
second time.
Over the many days Ed felt his wounds slowly healing and his bruises fading to
a pale yellow. It no longer hurt to move. He knew Henrik would come for him
again soon.
-o0o-
“It’s been two weeks.”
“Just give it time, Roy. I’m sure more leads will turn up soon.”
“I’ve given it time, Maes! More than enough time! And still we have nothing!”
Mustang accented the last word by sweeping a file off their hotel room’s desk,
watching the papers fly into the air and drift slowly to the floor. He pinched
the bridge of his nose and heaved a sign. Maes regarded his friend from his
chair, his head cocked to one side, before walking over to the dresser and
throwing a change of civilian clothes at the blue-clad man.
“Get dressed. We’re going out.” Maes informed him, putting on some more
comfortable clothes for himself as well.
“Out? We can’t, we still have stuff to go over.”
“What is left to go over that we haven’t combed through a million times
already, Roy? You need a break. Hell, I need a break! Now get fucking dressed!”
He said, putting on a no-nonsense expression. Roy huffed and shuffled off to
the bathroom. Once properly clothed the two left their stuffy hotel room and
hit the streets.
“Where are you taking me, Maes?” Mustang asked as they walked down the darkened
streets.
“You and I are going to a bar, my dear friend. We’re going to get roaring
drunk. And goddammit we’re gonna have fun and not stress about this case for
one night. Now, come on, we’re here.” The two looked up and the sign above the
bar’s entrance.
“The Jaded Tiger?” Roy read incredulously. “Come on, really?”
“Unless you have any better ideas, Roy.”
“Yeah, go back to the hotel and get back to work.”
“I said better ideas, Roy.” Maes pushed his friend inside.
-o0o-
Edward heard the door open and looked up to see Kai glaring at him.
“I’ve got a present for you, boy.” Kai held up a needle filled with clear
contents. Ed felt his heart soar. Finally, peace. “You’ve got clients.” The
needle pierced Ed’s vein. He felt the familiar rush of euphoria, his eyes
glazed over, and allowed himself to be towed away by the older man.
-o0o-
Henrik watched the two men walk into his bar. His eyes were automatically drawn
to the shorter of the two. He was beautifully exotic, seeming to be of Xingese
descent. His tousled black hair framed his face. He would fetch quite the
pretty penny. Henrik wanted him. His bespectacled companion was very good
looking as well, though not as catching as his eastern friend. They both would
be very useful to the depraved man.
“How may I help you gentlemen?” Henrik asked them, wiping down the bar.
“Two shots of tequila please.”
“Coming right up!” Henrik turned his back to fix a very special drink for the
gentlemen. He slipped a tasteless tranquilizer into each of the shot glasses
and poured tequila overtop. “Here you are, gentlemen!” He placed the laced
drinks down for them and turned away.
“To Alphonse,” Hughes rose his glass.
“To Alphonse.” They both downed their drinks. They continued their
conversation, talking about something or other before they both complained
about a strange drowsiness. Henrik watched out of the corner of his eye as the
men rose and staggered a few paces before collapsing to the ground, out cold. A
few of the other bar goers looked at the men on the floor in indifference but
no one moved to help. They were all loyal patrons of the establishment and they
knew exactly what kind of business was run there.
“Sir, we are running out of space.” Henrik turned to see Kai.
“Put them in the blond’s room and chain them to the bedpost. They can stay on
the floor until more space can be cleared out for them.”
“Yes, sir. And Edward is with his new clients as you requested.”
“Well done, Kai.”
Kai nodded and went to work, dragging the two new toys to their new room. 
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
     Sorry this chapter is a bit short. I hope you all like it, I feel
     like my writing has been kinda subpar recently. I’ve been having a
     little trouble with writing recently. Writer’s block and honestly
     keeping myself motivated has proven to be difficult. It would mean a
     lot if you dropped a review, let me know how I’m doing.
The first thing he was aware of when he returned to consciousness was a
terrible ache in his neck. Roy was on the floor bent over, his chin touching
his chest. He lifted his head and moved his hand to rub his aching neck
ruefully. That’s when he noticed the restraints. Manacles wrapped around his
wrists and chained him to the bottom posts of a bed. The chains were long
enough, allowing for some, though severely limited, movement. Roy reached into
his pocket for his gloves but they were gone. Damn, he thought to himself. He
looked at his surroundings and noticed he was in a bedroom, the only other
occupant was Maes who sat slumped on the floor next to him.
“Maes,” Roy shook his unconscious friend, trying to rouse him. “Maes, wake up!”
Maes groaned and looked around confusedly.
“What the fuck? Where are we?” His voice was thick with sleep.
“I don’t know. Last thing I remember we were at the bar.”
“Are we in a fucking bedroom?” Maes asked rhetorically. “What is going on?”
“Maes,” Roy whispered, suddenly realizing their situation with horror. “I think
we found the trafficking ring.”
-o0o-
“Sir, our patrons are finished with the blond boy. Should I return him to his
quarters?”
“No, thank you, Peter. I’ll tend to him myself.” Henrik dismissed the worker,
who nodded respectfully and went off to complete his other duties.
Henrik stepped into the guest room to collect Edward. The boy was laying on the
bed breathing heavily, his eyes half lidded, his chest and face covered in
seed. He pulled Ed’s boxers up, grabbed the boy’s arm and dragged him out of
the bed. Ed’s legs hit the ground with a thud, his head hung limply by his
shoulders.
“Come on, boy, let’s go meet your new roommates.” Ed tried to keep up with
Henrik’s pace but his legs wouldn’t cooperate and Ed spent most of the journey
being dragged along by the arm.
When Henrik stepped into the room, Ed dangling limply at his side, he was met
with a gasp. He looked up to see the two men were now awake.
“Oh, hello, gentlemen! I’m glad to see you back with us. Welcome to my fine-”
“Edward?” The man of Xingese decent cut him off. This caught Henrik by
surprise, his eyes widening marginally. He looked down at Ed then back at the
man.
“Oh, so is that his name?” Henrik feigned interest. “I always referred to him
as my little golden toy.” Henrik lifted Ed’s head and licked his jawline,
ignoring both men’s enraged growls. “I’m assuming you know the boy?” He asked,
letting Ed’s head drop back onto his chest. Roy and Maes said nothing, their
expressions smoldering. “Well then, I’ll let you three get reacquainted.” He
threw Edward down at Roy and Maes’ feet, the two trying their best to slow Ed’s
descent.
Henrik stepped into the bathroom, wet a rag, and then returned to the main
room. He threw it at Roy.
“Here, I’ll even allow you to clean him as a show of good faith.” Henrik
grinned at them. “See, even I can be agreeable.” He locked the door behind him,
leaving the two men alone with their barely conscious subordinate.
“Ed! Come on, Fullmetal, snap out of it.” Roy shook the boy but he barely
seemed to notice.
“Roy,” Maes’ whisper drew his attention, “look at his eyes.” Roy followed his
friend’s gaze. Ed’s eyes were near black, only a small ring of gold visible
around the frighteningly large pupils.
“Jesus Christ, what did they give him?” Roy breathed.
“I think I know. I have a feeling it’s a Cretan drug called Xenapia. It causes
a loss in lucidity and awareness. One of the side effects is extreme pupil
dilation.” Maes informed. Roy looked at him curiously.
“How do you know about it?”
“I’m in investigations remember? It’s my job to know about it.” Maes seemed
proud of his knowledge. He looked back down at Ed and sobered. “Come on, we
should at least try to clean him up.” His voice was quiet.
Roy looked down at Ed and froze in horror. He finally noticed thick, white
slime covering him.
“Is that-?” Roy dropped the dripping rag. Maes said nothing, his enraged
expression speaking a thousand words. He picked up the cloth and quietly,
gently began cleaning the boy. Ed barely twitched at the treatment. “Jesus
Christ,” Roy said, his voice strained. “Jesus Christ, Maes!”
“It’s okay, Roy. He’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna get him out of here and he’s
going to be fine.”
“How?!” Mustang shouted incredulously. “For God’s sake, look at him! How can
you say he’s going to be fine?” Maes grabbed his shoulder roughly and shook
him.
“Because we’re going to fix him! We’re going to break him out of this shit hole
and we’re going to help him! Snap out of it! Are you going to sit there and cry
or are you going to do something about it?”
Roy sat back, stunned. He shouldn’t have been surprised, Maes was never the one
to let him wallow. Always there to bring him back when he lost himself. The two
sat in silence, Roy deep in thought and Maes busying himself with Ed. Soon,
Mustang laid his hand on Maes’s and took the rag from him.
“Let me do the rest.”
“Are you sure?”
“You were right. I’m not going to sit here and cry, I’m going to do something
about it.” He said with conviction, wiping the semen from Ed’s chest.
-o0o-
It seemed like hours had past. The three remained on the floor, Ed laid across
the two men’s laps. Roy’s subordinate had barely stirred the entire time,
staring sightlessly at the ceiling, enraptured by his high.
“Maes, are you sure this is normal?” Roy asked, worried. “He’s been out of it
for a long time…”
“He’s small. And they took his arm. The drug is going to affect him more than
most.” They both looked down at Ed, hoping to receive an enraged shout at the
short comment, but they were met with a blissfully blank expression and
clouded, half lidded eyes.
“Is there anyway to wake him up?”
“No, unfortunately not. We’ll just have to wait it out.”
Roy sighed in frustration. They finally found the brat and now he was too
drugged up to get any answers out of him. How could this have happened? How
could I have let this happen?
Before Roy could spiral into a cruel descent of self-hatred and blame the door
opened and broke his train of thought. A young woman stepped in, her white
blond hair tied back. Her eyes went wide with surprise, nearly dropping her
tray of food, when she saw Roy and Maes chained to the floor with Ed. The two
men shifted protectively over their vulnerable subordinate. Seeing their
stance, the girl smiled.
“Hello,” she started, “don’t worry, I’m just here to take care of Ed.” Roy’s
eyes narrowed, regarding the girl suspiciously. “My name is Celeste. Do you two
know Ed?” Roy and Maes looked at each other, debating how much they should tell
her.
“Yes.” Roy said simply.
Celeste smiled and nodded. Of course, she didn’t expect them to trust her right
away. They had just been kidnapped and now found that someone obviously
important to them had been kept in the same place for weeks. She decided she
would do most of the talking.
“Oh, I’m glad to hear that. It might do Ed some good to have some familiar
faces around. Maybe it’ll cheer him up a bit. He’s a good kid.”
“Who are you?” Maes asked, still regarding her with distrust.
“Celeste,” she repeated with a kind smile. “I’m in charge of taking care of our
wards, washing them, feeding them. I’ve been tending to Edward since he got
here.” Their expressions changed, looking almost grateful. “Would it be all
right if I got closer to look at him and make sure he’s okay?” She asked
permission. After a moments consideration and a conversation shared with a
glance, they nodded and shifted back, giving the girl room.
Celeste set the tray on the nightstand and knelt down. She brushed some golden
locks out of his face with a motherly affection. Ed shifted at the touch, his
head turning toward her.
“Ce…leste?” His previously cloudy eyes contained the barest of hints of a
spark.
“Hey,” her smile was soft, as if afraid to break him. “You’ve got some visitors
here for you.”
“Visitors?” His speech was slow and disjunct.
“No, Ed, not that kind of visitor,” Celeste looked grey, “they’re your
friends.”
Ed lolled his head toward Roy, his pupils blown and eyes half closed. He stared
at them for a long second, confusion marring his features.
“Ba...stard?” Roy had never been happier to hear that insulting nickname. Maes
sniggered.
“Yeah, that’s right, Ed,” Roy smiled down at him.
“I’ll let you three spend some time together.” Celeste stood up. “Try to get
him to eat. Just make sure he’s sitting up straight and if he starts losing
lucidity stop feeding. Keep him talking to keep him awake.” Maes looked up at
her.
“Thank you, Celeste.”
“Don’t mention it, I’m happy to help in anyway I can.” And with that she left
the men alone.
“Where Celeste?” Ed slurred, struggling drunkenly to sit up but failing
miserably. Roy put a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
“It’s okay, she just stepped out for a bit.”
“You really here?” Ed looked at Roy and Maes with a dimmed desperation, as if
afraid in his drugged haze that the two in front of him would just disappear.
“Yeah, buddy,” Maes ruffled his hair. “We’re really here.”
“Why here?”
“We’re going to get you out of here, Ed, we promise.” Roy said strongly, hoping
his message pierced the fog of Ed’s mind.
“No,” Ed began to struggle again, “no please, don’t take me. Please, don’t take
me!” He pushed against their chests, trying to get away, but the two stronger
men held him in place.
“Ed!” Roy shouted, surprised. “What’s wrong?”
“Please, I don’t want to leave. Don’t take me away.” Tears collected in Ed’s
eyes, threatening to spill over.
“Ed, what are you talking about?” Mustang asked, bewildered. “Ed, you don’t
belong here. You have to go home!”
“No, no, no, no, no, no…” Ed repeated over and over again, his hysteria rising.
He began to sob, tears streaming down his face. Roy lifted his subordinate up
to his chest and held him, Maes rubbing Ed’s back comfortingly. They both
muttered reassurances into his ear, trying to calm him down. Ed continued to
cry, harsh sobs wracking his body.
“It’s okay, Edward, it’s okay.” Maes tried to comfort but the fear and worry in
his voice betrayed him. Ed’s cries were muffled as he pressed his face into
Roy’s shoulder.
Ed’s sobs began to fade slowly and he relaxed against Roy’s chest. Mustang
gently grasped his shoulders and pushed him back so they could see the boy’s
face. He looked slightly confused.
“Why was I crying?” Roy and Maes looked at each other with horror.
“Nothing, Ed,” Hughes reassured, “we’re just gonna help you eat a little,
okay?”
“Okay."
They situated Ed so his back was propped against Roy’s chest, who held him
upright. Hughes dipped the spoon into the bowl full of broth and gently eased
it into Ed’s mouth. Ed swallowed the broth and greedily opened his mouth for
more. Maes continued to feed him, worrying all the while that the boy might
choke in his less-than-lucid state. Thankfully, the young genius was able to
finish his meal in peace.
Once Ed was finished with his meal his head began to droop to the side, the
small spark of intelligence that lit his eyes being replaced by a lackluster
cloud.
“Ah, no, come on, Ed,” Roy exclaimed, tapping the boy’s cheek. “Wake up!” But
Edward was out for the count, the drug stealing away his consciousness, sending
him spiraling into an unnatural sleep. He slumped forward, his forehead hitting
the Colonel’s chest.
“Great,” Hughes muttered. “Jesus, what have they done to the kid?”
“Come on,” Roy urged. “Let’s try to get him into bed.”
Together they hoisted Edward onto the bed. It wasn’t easy. Their chains limited
their movements so much so that they couldn’t even get up on the bed
themselves. Ed was no help either, his limp body difficult to maneuver. Once
they finally got Ed situated, Maes and Roy covered his barely clothed body with
the blanket before settling back down on the hardwood floor to get some sleep.
Their attention was drawn when the door opened. Celeste walked in, her arms
full.
“I brought you some pillows and blankets,” she said, placing the bedding down
at their feet. “I’m sorry, I know it’s not much. Also,” she lowered her voice
to a whisper and knelt down next to them, “I managed to sneak this from the
kitchen.” She produced two small loaves of bread from her pockets. “You’re not
supposed to be fed until tomorrow, but I didn’t want you to go hungry. Try to
eat it all and don’t leave crumbs. Henrik won’t be happy if he finds out.” She
shivered at the thought.
“Thank you,” Maes said gratefully and regarded her with interest. “You don’t
want to be here, do you?” Her face saddened and she looked away.
“No, but I don’t have a choice.” She stood up and walked back to the door.
“Good night, take care of Edward. He doesn’t deserve this.” And with that, she
was gone.
***** Chapter 7 *****
Edward was jolted out of sleep to a door slamming. He shot up in bed to see
Henrik walking toward him. The dark-haired man grabbed his golden locks
roughly.
“Good morning, did you enjoy your happy reunion?”
Reunion?His memory of the events from the previous night was foggy at best and
absent at worse. He vaguely remembered two men in the room with him. They
didn’t use him like most of the men he’d seen recently. He remembered kind
hands and soft voices. Who were they? They sound so familiar.
“Let him go!” A baritone voice commanded. Edward felt his eyes widen. It can’t
be, Ed thought. With Henrik’s fingers still entangled in his hair, Ed was
unable to move his head. He strained his eyes to look to his left. There he saw
Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes and his commanding officer Colonel Mustang
sitting on the floor, chained to the bed. Their eyes were like molten lead,
glaring at Henrik. No, they can’t be here!
“Ah, but you see our dear boy here has some clients to entertain!” Henrik
sneered. “But you know, now that I look at him I think I might to have a little
fun with him first.”
“Don’t fucking touch him!”
“You fucking asshole!”
Roy and Maes shouted obscenities at the monster before them. They tugged
desperately at their chains, trying everything to get free. Henrik simply
laughed.
The dark-haired man grabbed Ed’s arm and stabbed it with a needle. Ed struggled
but Henrik’s strong arms held him down. Soon everything around Ed began to
swirl, his senses dulled.
Roy watched the drug take hold of Ed, the spark of awareness fading from his
eyes. Ed’s one arm fell limply at his side and his head fell forward. Henrik’s
hands ran up and downs the blond’s body, paying special attention to his
sensitive nipples. Edward let out a soft moan of pleasure.
“Stop it!” Maes yelled.
“Now why would I do that?” Henrik sneered. “Edward here seems to be enjoying
it.”
Henrik laid Ed back down and worked off his boxers. He grabbed the bottle of
lube, wet his fingers and shoved two into Ed’s hole. Ed groaned at the
intrusion.
“Don’t touch him, you fucking perverted bastard!” Roy’s voice burned as hot as
his alchemy. He had never before felt so helpless. Chained to a bed and forced
to watch as his subordinate, a young man he was supposed to take care of, was
violated right before his eyes.
“Here, I’ll make a deal with you,” Henrik said. “If you two keep your mouths
shut, I’ll be gentle with little Edward here. He might even enjoy it.” He
combed his fingers through Ed’s hair calmly. “But if either of you make so much
as a peep,” he grabbed Ed’s hair roughly by the roots and jerked his head to
the side, “I’ll make sure he bleeds. Do we have a deal?” Wisely Mustang and
Hughes kept their mouths shut. “Excellent, I’m glad we can come to an
agreement!”
Henrik yanked Edward upright and situated him so he was on his knees facing the
two men on the floor, giving them an excellent view of everything happening to
the blond. Hughes knew what the disgusting man was doing. He was testing them,
challenging them, daring them to speak up. ‘I’m going to rape him right in
front of you,’ Henrik’s smile seemed to say, ‘and there’s nothing you can do
about it.’
Ed tried drunkenly to raise his head off his chest but his movements were jerky
and uncoordinated. His gold hair cascaded loosely over his shoulders, not
contained in his signature braid. His eyes half lidded and his pupils were
huge. His gaze swept vaguely over Roy and Maes but he didn’t seem aware of
their presence.
The dark-haired man spread Ed’s knees further apart, giving him better access.
Henrik reinserted his slick fingers into Ed, working the muscles to loosen
them, scissoring open his hole. He felt Ed clench around him. Henrik gently
eased to muscles apart again. He slid his fingers in and out of Ed, exploring.
He felt Ed adjust around him, so he added a third finger, then a fourth. He
worked himself deep inside Ed, searching for a specific spot. Then he found it.
Edward jerked and moaned lewdly. Henrik poked the sensitive nerve bundle deep
in Ed’s ass again. Ed gave the same reaction. He unconsciously ground his hips
in Henrik’s hand, seeking for more. His head fell back onto the older man’s
shoulder, his mouth contorted into a grimace of pleasure.
“Oh, yeah, you like that, don’t you?” Henrik breathed into Ed’s ear.
Roy’s lunch almost made a reappearance as he was forced to watch Ed’s dick
stand up and increase in size in response to the stimulus. Roy’s face was
twisted into an expression of rage. He couldn’t stand the sight of Edward being
taken advantage of like this, too drugged and unaware of his surroundings to
fight back. Maes put a hand on his shoulder, reminding him to keep his cool.
However, the bespectacled man’s expression revealed his own rage at the
situation, showing how much he wanted to kill the man himself.
“Don’t look so glum, gentlemen,” Henrik said. “Edward looks like he’s enjoying
himself.” Indeed, he did. “Let’s give him something he’ll enjoy even more.”
Henrik let Ed rest back against his chest while he slid off his pants, pulling
them down to his knees.
He had a knife strapped to his thigh. The sight of the knife held a certain
potential danger, like a coiled snake resting on the ground in front of you,
daring you to tread on it. If either of the men on the floor breathed a word
the snake would strike.
One of Henrik’s arms wound around Ed’s chest and grabbed one of his nipples,
tweaking and rolling it between his forefinger and thumb. He used his free hand
to guide his hard dick, pressing it against Ed’s now loose hole. Ed let out a
tiny squeak as Henrik’s tip forced its way inside him.
“Stop!” Roy shouted before he could stop himself. Henrik took a moment to
regard the man coldly before he violently shoved the rest of his length inside
Edward. The blond shouted in a mixture of pain and ecstasy. Henrik unsheathed
the blade on his thigh and held it to his captive’s exposed throat. He fucked
him without mercy, pumping in and out, thrusting in balls deep with every
stroke. The bed rocked and groaned under the beating. Henrik shoved himself as
deep as he could inside Edward before finally stopping. Edward’s head fell
back, his mouth agape. He was breathing heavily and let out a small whine of
pain.
“Anything else you boys would like to say?” Henrik asked nonchalantly, letting
the blade press into Ed’s neck, but not deep enough to draw blood. The military
men remained silent. “Good.”
Henrik slowly began pumping into Ed again, his gentle actions the complete
antithesis of what they had been. Henrik still had the blade resting against
Ed’s neck, serving as a reminder. Each stroke was slow and deliberate, causing
Ed to moan in pleasure.
“That feels better, now doesn’t it, my little toy?” Ed let out a sigh in
response. A low chuckle resonated deep in Henrik’s chest. “See?” He asked the
two men. “All you have to do his listen to what I say and you’ll find I can be
quite reasonable.” His voice was thick with lust as he continued to pump Ed’s
ass.
Soon Henrik began to thrust a little harder. Not enough to hurt the receiving
man, but enough to show that Henrik was obviously nearing his climax. Thank
god,Roy thought, just let it be over.Henrik began to moan, thrusting into Ed
with desperation before he came deep in the blond with a shout.
“Oh, yeah,” his voice was like gravel, “you feel so fucking good, kid.” He
pulled out of Ed, cum oozing from the blond’s beaten hole, and dressed himself.
“Oh, poor boy, you haven’t finished yet, have you?” Ed’s dick was twitching
weakly, begging for attention. “I’ll make you boys one more deal.” He directed
his voice toward Roy and Maes. “Either I can fuck little Edward here with this
knife,” he gestured with the blade, watching as the men’s eyes widened with
horror, “or the Xingese beauty over here can help our little boy finish.”
Maes looked over at his friend with dread. Roy himself looked sick but he knew
he didn’t have a choice. If he had to choose between defiling his own
subordinate or watching him get stabbed with a knife over and over again, he’d
chose the former without hesitation.
“I’ll do it.” Roy said with reluctant conviction. Henrik’s sneer widened.
“Oh my, such a quick response!” He laughed. “It’s almost like you’ve wanted to
touch Edward from the beginning.” Roy decided not to grace the comment with a
response. He never thought of his subordinate in that way, but he was willing
to do anything to protect him. Especially after he’d failed so many times. It
was his fault Ed was here in the first place.
Henrik moved Ed so he was sitting at the edge of the bed, his mismatched legs
dangling over the sides. He grabbed Ed’s rock hard dick and shook it
suggestively toward Roy. The Colonel crept closer and put his head between Ed’s
thighs. He took a moment to mourn, hoping, even praying to a god he didn’t
believe in that someone would save them. Begging God not to make him do this to
Ed. But God didn’t answer.
Roy looked at the blond’s dick as it stood proud before him. He was surprised
at the sheer length and girth of it, not excepting such from one so small. He
took Ed’s cock in his mouth, feeling it twitch in pleasure at it’s new
environment. Roy was almost happy Ed was drugged out of his mind, too high to
be aware of what was being done to him. But the completely uncontrolled noises
of pleasure escaping his incoherent soldier were tearing Roy apart.
Roy used his tongue to swirl around Edward’s tip. He had never sucked a dick
before but every girl he had taken to bed had used the move on him and he
remember the bursts of pleasure they brought. Judging by Ed’s moans he figured
he was doing something right. He felt Henrik’s hand grab his hair and forced
his head down, causing Ed’s dick to slide all the way down his throat. Roy felt
his lips touch the base of Ed’s cock. He started to gag.
“Deep throat him.” Henrik commanded. “Or I’ll have my way with him.”
Roy let out a chocked hum of agreement, having no choice. Henrik let him go and
Roy quickly came up for air, gasping and coughing. Henrik gestured for him to
continue. Reluctantly, the Colonel took Ed back in his mouth. He bobbed his
head up and down, choking every time Ed’s dick touched the back of his throat.
Ed began moaning louder, his hips rolling, before he came with a shout. Strings
of hot seed shot into Roy’s mouth. He took Ed’s dick out of his mouth but
before he could spit out Ed’s semen a hand clamped over his lips.
“Swallow it.” Henrik ordered. Roy reluctantly swallowed, trying to convince
himself it was something else. “Good job.” Henrik smiled and tapped Roy’s
cheek.
“You’re disgusting.” Roy spat.
“Say what you will, but I’m not the one who just swallowed a mouthful of a
kid’s cum.” Henrik said indifferently. He stood up and picked up an incoherent
Edward.
“Where are you taking him?” Hughes demanded.
“Like I said earlier, our little Ed has clients to entertain this afternoon.”
-o0o-
Today had been a difficult day for Celeste. One of Henrik’s prisoners had been
scheduled to meet with some clients but she came down with a terrible fever.
Henrik was about to send the poor girl in anyway to punish her for getting sick
but Celeste had implored him to reconsider. He’d lost his temper with her. He
had been carrying Edward, presumably to take him to see his own clients. He
threw Ed to the ground and slammed her against the wall, choking her.
‘It’s your fault she got sick!’ Henrik had screamed at her. ‘You’re supposed to
keep them clean! She’s useless now!’
As punishment, he forced her to take the girl’s place and pleasure the clients
for her. They hadn’t been gentle with her. Even a few hours later now she was
still in some pain. But she ignored it, she had other duties to fulfill and
people to take care of. She walked down the hall toward the kitchen.
“Good afternoon, Carla,” she greeted the red-haired cook kindly. “Two meals
please.”
“Hey there, Celeste,” Carla smiled back. “Are you all right? I heard you took
Maya’s place.” She said somberly.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to get some good rest tonight.”
“Here’s the food,” she handed her the meals. “Take care of yourself, Celeste.”
The cook patted the blonde’s hand kindly before going back to tend to her food.
Celeste carried the meals down the hall, thinking about the two men she was
bringing the food to. She could tell they were worried but not for themselves.
They were worried for her young charge Edward. She wondered how the two men
knew him. She stopped outside their room, managing to get the door open with
her full hands and kicked it closed once inside. She looked around and saw the
two men on the floor.
“Hello,” she smiled and knelt in front of them. “I’ve brought you some food.”
She handed them the bowls of stew and small loaves of bread.
“Thank you, Celeste.” Hughes said gratefully. “It seems you’re the only happy
face we see around here.” He laughed.
“So much glum around here I figured a little happiness is needed every now and
then.” She beamed at them but Maes could tell her smile was a bit forced.
“Did something happen today?” Roy picked up on the break in her composure as
well. Celeste sighed.
“Nothing you need to worry about. It’s just been one hell of a day.” She looked
at the men’s slumped shoulders and somber expressions. “For both of us it
seems.”
“You can say that again.” Maes growled angrily. Celeste regarded them, sadness
and pity in her pale blue eyes.
“Are you two going to be all right?” It was a stupid question, she knew it was,
but she felt compelled to ask anyway.
“We’ll be fine,” Maes forced a smile. “Will you be all right?” Celeste’s return
smile was equally as forced.
“Don’t you worry, I’ll be just fine.” She moved to get up to leave but Roy’s
voice stopped her.
“Celeste, do you mind if I ask how old you are?” The question caught her off
guard.
“Uh, I’m 23.” She replied.
“What are you doing here?” Roy asked bluntly, not bothering to beat around the
bush. “You obviously hate what they do here. Why stay?”
Celeste looked at him in shock, unsure how to answer. She sat back on the floor
and was silent, staring holes into the floor. After what seemed like an
eternity she looked back up to them with tears in her eyes.
“I don’t have a choice,” she cried, “if I don’t work for them, they’ll kill my
little sister!”
She let out a sob and broke down. She hunched over, weeping. Roy and Maes sat
back and gave her room to cry. They figured Henrik was holding something over
her, forcing her to work for him. Once Celeste’s tears had slowed she continued
her story.
“Our parents died when we were young and we had no one to take us in. We ended
up on the streets.” She explained, hiccuping. “So, I had to raise Eve by
myself. I tried to get a job but no one would hire me. Then I found The Jaded
Tiger and managed to get a job as a bartender. That’s when they caught me.
“Henrik approached me and offered me a deal. He said that he would give us
money and a place to stay. He would pay for Eve to go to school. She finally
had a chance to live a better life.” She wiped away her tears, trying to
compose herself. “In return, I had to work for Henrik. I figured his intentions
were less than savory but I had no idea it would be anything like this. So, I
agreed. I just wanted to help my sister! We didn’t have a home, we were
starving! I didn’t have a choice!” She was melting into hysteria again.
“It’s all right, Celeste.” Maes consoled her. “You were just looking out for
family. Anyone would have done the same.”
“Thank you.” She said gratefully, sniffling. “I tried to get out, to run away.
But Henrik figured me out. He beat me and said that if I ever tried to run he
would hunt us down and he would kill Eve. And even if I did run, where would I
go? We’d be back on the streets. Everything I have belongs to him.”
They all sat in silence, digesting the story. Celeste could barely look either
of them in the eye, too ashamed of what she considered a great failure. Roy put
a calming hand on her shoulder.
“You’re very brave to go through all of this for your sister. I’m sure she
knows how much you love her.” Celeste let out a small sob. “You remind me a lot
of Ed in that way.” Celeste looked up in interest.
“How so?” She asked.
“Ed made a mistake when he was young. He also lost his parents at a young age.
So, he joined the military to take care of his brother. He sold his own soul to
take care of Al.” Roy told enough of the story to get his point across, leaving
out more sensitive details only high military officials were privy to. The
truth of the Elric brothers’ past.
“Poor boy, I can’t believe joined the military so young.” She lamented.
“You don’t seem too shocked.” Maes noticed. The blonde smiled sheepishly.
“Edward told me he took the State Alchemist exam. I figured he must be the
Fullmetal Alchemist because of his age.” She explained. “I can’t believe he’s
been through so much, and now he’s in this god forsaken place.”
“He’s certainly endured more than most.” Mustang agreed sadly, a pang of guilt
running through his chest. It was his fault Ed had gotten into this mess in the
first place. “Thank you for taking care of him.” Celeste smiled back at him.
“Ed’s a good kid. I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I wanted to do something
to help.” She was silent for a moment, thinking, before she risked asking.
“What happened to Edward’s brother? The one you spoke about?” She saw the pain
and danced across their faces and she knew the answer before it crossed their
lips.
“Alphonse is dead. We found his body while investigating Edward’s
disappearance.” Maes explained with sorrow. Celeste bowed her head. “Does
Edward know?”
“I think he does.” She said. “I was talking to him a while ago. He said his
brother’s name and broke down sobbing. I didn’t want to ask him about it again,
he’s hurt enough.”
“Jesus Christ.” Hughes breathed, rubbing his face.
“Edward is strong, I’m sure he’ll get through this.” Celeste reassured. She
glanced at the clock on the nightstand and stood up. “I have to get back to
work. Henrik won’t be happy if he finds out I’ve been talking to you instead of
doing my chores.” She said fearfully. She paused at the door and looked back at
the men. “You know,” she said, “I don’t think I ever got your names.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes.”
“Colonel Roy Mustang. I am the Fullmetal Alchemist’s commanding officer.”
She smiled at them.
“Pleasure to meet you gentlemen.”
***** Chapter 8 *****
Chapter Notes
     Sorry for another short chapter. I haven’t been feeling the best
     recently and writing is kind of difficult for me right now. I hope
     you enjoy it anyway. I’m sorry I don’t have a set schedule for
     chapter releases. It’s just sort of whenever I have the energy. But
     it really would mean the world to me if you dropped a review. I would
     really like to hear what you think. All I ask is that you please be
     kind. I’m kinda nervous putting my writing up as it is. Well enough
     rambling, enjoy the new chapter:)
When Edward was brought back to his room his high had faded but still burned
dimly in his mind. He knew his thoughts weren’t entirely coherent, but he was
at least able to keep a simple train of thought for a few minutes. His escort,
a man he had seen around the place but didn’t know the name of, shoved him into
the small living space and slammed the door behind him. Edward stumbled but
somehow managed by some sort of miracle to keep his feet beneath him.
He knew his two superior officers were openly eyeing him with concern. Edward
considered feigning incoherency. He didn’t want to get into a conversation with
the men. He knew what they would say. They would try to come up with an escape
plan. They would ask Edward if he was hurt, what had been done to him. He
didn’t want to face these questions, for a large part of him wasn’t sure he
wanted to leave at all. At least here he had access to the beautiful, mind
numbing bliss he so craved. He didn’t care what he had to do or the tortures he
had to endure to get it. Without that precious liquid, he was trapped within
the wretched confines of his own mind, with nothing to control the awful
thoughts that circulated through his head. He could already feel those thoughts
returning along with his lucidity. Pain, anguish, self hatred, fear, anger,
hopelessness. Everything came rushing back with frightening intensity. He
wouldn’t dare think of a life without the drug. A life with nothing but those
thoughts. He knew he would not be able to bear long. He would fall by his own
hand before long.
Though the thought of deceiving his superiors to avoid the confrontation was so
appealing, Edward decided not to act the drunkard. He walked closer and paused
before the two military men, not moving. They searched his eyes, trying to
gauge how strong a hold the drug had on him.
Ed’s pupils were still rather large, but not the endless void they had been.
His golden irises were easily visible but their vibrant color looked dull and
washed away. He looked back at them with a mixture of sorrow and apathy, a sort
of resignation to his plight.
“Edward, are you okay?” Maes asked slowly, as if worried the young alchemist
wouldn’t understand. Edward said nothing. He crawled onto his bed curled up
facing away from the two men, drawing the blanket up to his shoulders. “Ed,
come on, talk to us.” He didn’t utter a word.
“Edward, enough,” Roy drew as much cold authority into his voice as he could,
“you will speak to us, am I clear? That’s an order.”
“I quit.” Ed said simply. Maes and Roy sat in stunned silence.
“What?” Mustang asked dumbly.
“I quit.” He repeated. “Now you have no right to order me to do anything.”
Edward has lost his will to care. He had no reason to be in the military
anymore. His sole purpose was to find the Philosopher’s stone for his brother.
To get his brother’s body back. To fix everything he had destroyed. But
Alphonse was dead. He had no purpose. The military meant nothing to him.
“Ed…” Maes trailed off, unsure of what to say to the distraught teen. Edward
said nothing.
“Edward look at us.” Roy commanded, his voice soft. Ed remained stationary.
“Look at us.” He said more forcefully, his voice deepening with an almost
menacing tone, but everyone in the room could tell his heart was not quite into
it. Slowly Ed rolled over to face the men, but he did not look them in the eye.
“Ed, please. It’s been a month. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. When we
found Alphonse,” Edward flinched, “we feared you dead as well.”
Edward stubbornly remained silent but he looked up to meet his comrades’ gazes.
He could fear in their eyes. Anger at their own helplessness. Worry for Edward.
Pity for his plight. Annoyance at his stubbornness. Joy that they had finally,
after so long, found him. Those emotions shook the alchemist to the core. Ed
didn’t want to see any of it. His heart clenched painfully in his chest. He
didn’t want their worry.
“We know you’re scared,” Maes said softly. “But I promise you, we’re going to
get out of here. We’re going to bring you home.”
“No.” Ed said.
“No?” Maes and Roy repeated dumbly.
“No. I’m not leaving.”
“What the fuck do you mean you’re not leaving?” Roy growled angrily.
“I have no reason to.”
“No reason to?” Roy was seething. “Is that what you think?” His voice rose.
“So, are you going to tell me that my team and I searched for nothing? That
Maes and I have been dragged to this God forsaken shit hole for no reason at
all. That after all this fighting, all this searching, we find the empty shell
of my subordinate?!” Edward studied his blanket. “So, after everything we have
all gone through, you’re just going to give up. You’re just going to lie down
and take it.”
“If it means I can get more of that drug, then yes.”
“Drugs?! That’s what this is about?!” Roy shouted. “You’re willing to get raped
and beaten on a daily basis for drugs?”
“If it means I can forget then yes!” Edward sat up in bed and glared angrily at
his commanding officer, rage burning through him. “My brother is dead! He was
the only reason I had to live! I joined the military for him! I stayed alive
for him! I wanted to kill myself the minute I realized my mistake in that
basement. But I couldn’t because I had to take care of my brother! I couldn’t
leave him alone, not after everything.” Edward shouted, tears spilling down his
face. “But he’s gone now! He was the only family I had and now he’s gone! And
all I have left is pain and I can’t bear it!”
“You think you have nothing?” Maes asked softly, his heart ached for the
sobbing, distraught boy before him. “What about Winry? What about your Aunt
Pinako? Did you just take them along for the ride?”
“What about us?” Roy continued Maes’ point. “What about your military family?
Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda, Falman, Feury, Armstrong? Or are we just a means to an
end for you?” That made Ed hesitate.
“N-no. But-”
“Well then how can you say you’re alone?”
“You don’t understand!” Edward shouted. “He was the only one who’s been through
what I’ve been through! He’s the only one that understood the pain because he
went through it too! None of you have seen the truth or experienced what we’ve
gone through so you could never truly understand.”
“No, Edward, we haven’t. And we won’t really be able to understand.” Roy
conceded. “But we do understand pain.” He continued. “You think I haven’t done
things I don’t regret? You think I haven’t given up?” Ed looked down. “I killed
thousands in Ishval, Ed. Thousands.”
“Roy…” Maes whispered in his friend’s ear but Mustang ignored him.
“I carry the guilty of every single one of those deaths every second I’m alive.
And some days it feels like it’s crushing me.” He ploughed on. “I even tried to
kill myself as atonement for my sins.” Edward looked up at him in alarm. “I
held a gun to my head and I would have pulled the trigger if Maes hadn’t
stopped me. I was pissed at him for stopping me. For taking away my only change
at peace. At salvation.
“But then life carried on. I was promoted and transferred to Central. I was
given the chance to do good. Especially where you and your brother were
concerned. I had the opportunity to help two orphaned children get their bodies
back.
“I won’t lie to you, it still hurts. And the pain never really goes away. But
it gets better. You learn to live with it. You learn to live in spite of it.
And you’re going to learn how to do it too. That’s why you have to come home.
So, you can continue fighting. For yourself. And for the family you have left
in the Rockbells and in us.
“But I can’t! I don’t want to fight! I’ve been fighting ever since my mother
died. I just want rest! I’m exhausted, I can’t spend the rest of my life like
this. I can’t!”
“You don’t have to, Ed.” Maes comforted. “We’re going to help you through it.
You’re not going to be alone in this, we promise.”
“Please,” Ed weeped. “Please don’t take me away. Please I beg you. Please I
need it. I need that drug please! Please I need it!” Ed continued on with his
lament until his words dissolved into unintelligible blabbering. Edward almost
forgot about the two men in the room, too consumed by his anguish. Roy and Maes
mercifully remained silent and let the boy grieve, knowing they had pushed him
far enough for the night.
For hours Ed continued to sob into his pillow. His muscles began to cramp and
tire. He could feel the effects of dehydration flicking through his body. But
he still continued to wail.
Celeste quietly popped her head in and saw Ed’s state before quickly
retreating, presumably to procure supplies to help the boy. A few minutes later
she returned with a tray. It held a glass full of ice cold water, a brown glass
bottle, and a cloth.
“Edward?” She asked, trying to draw his attention. He didn’t pay any notice to
her. She set the tray down on the nightstand and sat down by his head. She
soothingly stroked his hair and tried to coax him out of the ball he had curled
himself into. “Edward it’s okay. I just need you to sit up for me.”
“Please leave me alone!” He begged, his voice sounded broken.
“I will, I promise. I just need you to drink some water for me. You’ve been
crying and I know must be so thirsty. I’ve even managed to put some ice in the
water for you!” Henrik rarely allowed his captives the luxury. They were always
given water at room temperature. “Just drink a bit for me and I’ll give you
something to help you sleep.”
At that Ed perked up. He lifted his head and looked at her hopefully, praying
for a dose of the drug to sweep away his consciousness. He sat up and took the
cold glass from her hands and took a tentative sip before quickly draining it
of its contents. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was.
“Good,” Celeste praised him, ruffling his hair. “Now lay back.” He did as he
was bid. Celeste reached back over to the tray and grabbed the brown, glass
bottle and the rag. She unscrewed the bottle’s cap and poured a thimble’s worth
of the liquid onto the cloth. “I’m sorry, Ed,” she apologized upon seeing the
look of dismay and disappointment on his face. “This is all I could sneak away,
Henrik keeps everything stronger locked up tight. But don’t worry, this will
help you sleep.” She gently laid the cloth over Ed’s nose and mouth. He
breathed in the sickly-sweet fumes and watched as his vision tunneled before
going completely black.
Celeste felt Edward go limp and sink further into the mattress. She smoothed
back his hair tenderly, feeling her motherly instincts kick in. She draped the
blanket over his muscled frame, noticing how the muscles seemed to be losing
their mass during his prolonged stay.
With Edward situated, she stood up from the bed and prepared to take her leave
before a familiar baritone voice stopped her.
“Celeste,” Mustang called, “please, I think we need to have a conversation.”
***** Chapter 9 *****
“Celeste,” Mustang called, “please, I think we need to have a conversation.”
She knew what they wanted. She knew what they would ask of her: the impossible.
Celeste desperately wanted to pretend that she hadn’t heard him, to continue
out the door and down the hall, to go home and hug her dear sister. Her body
betrayed her and she froze.
“I can’t,” her voice was a desperate whisper, almost swept away by a tiny draft
in the room.
“Celeste, please,” Maes begged. “Just hear us out, and then you can decide what
to do from there.” He reasoned.
Celeste hesitated. It would be so easy for her to just walk away. The men were
chained to the bedposts, they could not stop her. But for so long she had
ignored the goings on around her. She turned a blind eye to the heinous
atrocities taking place all around her. She did nothing to aid those in need,
simply cleaning up the mess afterwards, sweeping away the evidence.
Celeste felt herself steel. No more. No more would she be the helpless little
girl, unable to help those around her.
She walked over to the men and perched herself on the bed. Celeste felt fear
nearly stop her heart. If Henrik discovered the conversation about to be
whispered between the three… she didn’t want to think of what he would do. She
worried the hem of her shirt.
“If we can guarantee the safety of yourself and your sister, would you be
willing to help us.” Roy asked.
“How could you possibly do that?” Celeste inquired. “You don’t realize what
Henrik is capable of! If he finds out he will-” she couldn’t force the rest of
the sentence pass her lips.
“The rest of my team is out there right now looking for us.” Roy whispered
urgently, trying to get her to understand. “They have no idea where we are,”
neither Hughes nor Mustang had told the rest of his team about their little
nighttime drinking excursion, “and they’ll have no idea where to look.
“Look at Ed,” Roy commanded. Celeste fixed her gaze to the floor. “Look at
him!” He repeated more forcefully. Slowly the white-haired girl turned her head
toward the blonde laying limply on the bed. She felt a surge of protective
instincts run through her. She wanted so desperately to keep him safe, but she
knew that her own blood came first. She had to protect her sister before all
else. “He’s not going to last much longer, physically or mentally. We need to
get him out.
“We’re chained to the floor we can’t do anything!” He almost shouted. “But you
can.” Determination filled Mustang’s gaze. “If you just get to my team and tell
them what’s happening, they can get your sister away from Henrik.”
“How do I know I can trust them?” Celeste asked doubtfully, fear marring her
voice. “How do I know they can keep her safe?”
“They’re used to dealing with covert operations, they are perfectly capable of
keeping your sister and yourself safe. I will stake my life on it.” Roy said
with conviction. “They’ve been able to help stage the death of one of my former
subordinates,” he tried to convince her, thinking of Maria Ross who was living
her life out in Xing now, “I’m sure they can handle keeping a little girl out
of harm’s way.”
Celeste didn’t look convinced. She didn’t know if she was willing risk her
sister’s life. She wanted so desperately to help the men. To save Edward. To
finally put that monster Henrik behind bars where belongs. But the fierce fear
that burned in her stomach nearly paralyzed her. Celeste’s sister was her
entire life. Every action she made was to keep Eve safe, regardless of her own
welfare.
“If you go to them, I promise you they will rescue you and your sister first.
You both will be first priority. My team will get your sister and bring her to
safety before they attempt a rescue here.” Roy assured her.
“How can you promise something like that?” She doubted him.
“I am their superior officer, they must obey my command without question, even
if they disagree.” Roy said. “And they respect me, they’ve never let me down
before.”
“Please, Celeste,” Maes begged.
“I-I don’t know!” Celeste shook her head, unable to think past the flurry of
emotions swirling in her head. “I need to think! I’m sorry!” Without another
word, she ran out of the room.
“What are we going to do if she doesn’t agree?” Hughes asked.
“I don’t know, Maes,” the Colonel admitted. “But one way or another we’re
getting the fuck out of here.”
-o0o-
Celeste floated through her nightly rounds like a wraith, there but not really
there. The Colonel’s words occupied her thoughts. She had the power to save all
the people she took care of, but how could she at the risk of her sister’s
life?
She tended for a man with whip marks, cleaning the wounds as gently as she
could, apologizing when he cried out in pain. She helped a woman who had been
handled a bit too roughly. Whether the tears that silently streamed down her
face were born of pain or shame, Celeste wasn’t sure, but if she had to guess
she would say both. She comforted the woman as best as she could, knowing no
amount of comfort would assuage her personal agony, but feeling compelled to
help nonetheless. She helped a girl of about 14 bathe, too young to be there.
Celeste struggled to keep the girl’s head above the bath water as she slipped
deeper into the tub, the drug having a very strong hold on her mind. Celeste
went from room to room, seeing horror story after horror story. She helped
clean up the mess, wiping away the evidence, helping Henrik get away with it.
You could stop this, a little voice in her head told her, you could help them,
you could stop Henrik. If only you weren’t such a coward.The voice provoked
her.
Shut up, she told it. Just shut up. She couldn’t help them. She had to take
care of her sister.
But if she helped them, she and her sister would be saved. Along with everyone
Henrik and his men had wronged.
If something went wrong her sister would be dead.
If everything went right they could live a normal life.
Keep quiet.
Help them.
Don’t risk everything.
Save them.
Do nothing.
Do something!
“Stop!” Celeste clutched her head, breathing heavily, her fingers threatening
to pull out her hair by the roots. The let out a small sob, the dichotomy
between her thoughts threatening to rip her mind in half. She didn’t know what
she would do.
“Celeste?” The blonde woman turned at the sound of her name. She saw one of her
fellow captives, a woman about her age who helped her take care of the others.
“Is everything all right?” Celeste realized her shout had been screamed aloud.
“Yes,” she said shaking her head to clear it, embarrassed to have been caught.
“Everything is fine, it’s just been a long day.” The other girl smiled
understandingly.
“Why don’t you go home to Eve?” The woman put a comforting hand on Celeste’s
shoulder. “You’ve covered for me more than once, I think it’s about time I
returned the favor!”
“Thank you.” Celeste said gratefully. “I think some rest will do me good.” She
turned, about to walk away.
“Wait, Celeste!” The woman called. “Agatha from the kitchen asked me to give
this to you.” She handed Celeste a sandwich. Her stomach gave an appreciative
growl, she had barely eaten that day, too busy to sit down. The sandwich looked
delicious. “She noticed you seemed to be running yourself into the ground.” The
girl gave a knowing smile. “Take care of yourself Celeste.”
The two women bound by similar circumstance nodded to each other and said their
goodnights and goodbyes. Celeste put away her supplies, gathered her things,
and hurried home to the only family she had left.
-o0o-
The sky above her was dark and unyielding, yet it somehow managed to offer a
blanket of comfort to the poor, tormented woman. Under the darkness of the
night, no one would see her tears and she hurried along the sidewalk, passing
alleyway after alleyway. She always had a deep appreciation for the night.
Everything was quiet, most tucked away in their beds, lost within their own
dreams. She felt safe. No one was around to hurt her.
Rarely did Celeste get out during the daytime. She was trapped with Henrik and
his unending chores. She wasn’t free to see her sister until late at night,
after Eve had already gone to sleep.
Celeste walked down the barely lit sidewalk, silently biting into the sandwich
Agatha from the kitchen had sent her. It was even more delicious than it
looked, but that may have been because she was so hungry.
 She continued on her way when a loud crash to her right nearly made Celeste
jump out of her skin. Her stomach leapt into her throat, stopping her breath,
and her heart skipped sporadically. Had one of Henrik’s men come to take her
back? Did Henrik learn of the Colonel’s treasonous plot and send his lackey to
kill her? She tried to run but her feet felt rooted to the ground.
A cat had knocked over a silver trash and was pawing through its contents,
presumably searching for a meal. Celeste laughed with relief, chiding herself
for getting so scared.
The cat’s tawny fur hung in mats off its heart-achingly thin frame. Its hips
jutted out and its legs seemed almost too weak to support its body. It eyed her
warily.
Celeste looked at the cat with pity. It looked even thinner and hungrier than
she did. She glanced down at her half-eaten sandwich, then back at the cat and
contemplated. Celeste took the meat out of her sandwich and softly tossed it at
the emaciated animal. The cat jumped and skittered away before slowly inching
back and sniffing the ham. It licked the meat experimentally before taking it
in its mouth and running off.
Celeste smiled to herself and bit into the rest of her sandwich. It didn’t
taste as good as it did before, just bread, lettuce, and mayo. But she didn’t
mind. Food was food to her at this point, she would eat anything. And knowing
that she had been able to help the animal made the meal even more satisfying.
She continued her path to home, finishing the sandwich along the way. She
arrived at her building, walking up 2 flights to her apartment door. She
fumbled with the keys before quietly unlocking the door and pushing it open.
Much to her surprise the lights in the apartment were still on.
“Welcome home!” Eve called, running in from the living room.
“Eve! What on Earth are you doing awake? It’s a school night!” Celeste scolded
her younger sibling.
“I know,” Eve looked at the floor looking properly chastised. “But I hardly see
you anymore, you’re always so busy. I’ve missed you.” She looked up and pouted.
Celeste felt the stern expression melt from her face. She smiled and pulled Eve
into a big bear hug.
“I know, and I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay. I know you’re working so hard so I can go to school.”
“I just want to make sure you have the best I can give you.”
“I love you so much, Celeste. Thank you for taking care of me.” Eve whispered
into her sister’s shoulder.
“Hey,” Celeste pulled her sister away and look at her. “Maybe one day I’ll be
able to come home more often and spend more time with you.” Eve’s eyes glowed
and her smile widened. “Now come on, you’ve stayed up late enough. Back to
bed.”
After she set Eve to bed, Celeste stayed awake for a few more hours, her mind
churning. She had made up her mind. She knew what she was going to do. The next
day she would go to the Colonel and talk to him. She didn’t want to sit idly by
anymore. She wanted to do something. She hoped she was making the right
decision.
***** Chapter 10 *****
Chapter Notes
     I’m going to try to finish this story but I feel like I’m not a good
     enough writer and I’m just wasting my time and letting you guys down.
     Will you tell me if you want me to continue or not? I could really
     use some encouragement right now. And please excuse any typos or
     errors.
     Warning: Proceed with caution with this chapter. It gets very…
     violent. It was definitely a very difficult scene to write. If it
     becomes too much for anyone please stop reading. Take care of
     yourselves.
“Wake up!” A deep, angry voice jerked Roy out of his slumber. He pushed himself
up from the floor, his back aching from sleeping in such an uncomfortable
position, and saw Henrik cross the threshold. He carried a riding crop with
him, his grip on the leather handle so tight that it turned his knuckles white.
The dark-haired man’s eyes burned like hot coal, his mouth twisted into a
fierce, cruel sneer. He looked positively livid, and for the first time, Roy
felt a trill of fear go through his body, the type of fear one felt when they
found themselves facing a rabid, wild animal.
Ed looked him with fear-filled eyes. Henrik grabbed Ed’s hair and yanked him
forward onto his knees, shoving his head into the mattress, his hips in the air
in a submissive, vulnerable position. Henrik pulled Ed’s boxers roughly down to
his knees. Ed tried to struggle but with a yowl of rage Henrik brought the
riding crop down on Ed’s back. Then again. And again. Edward cried out in a
mixture of shock and pain, angry, red welts already forming on his skin. No one
in the room had experienced this level of rage from Henrik. The man had only
expressed a cool mania, far from the hot anger he now displayed. It shocked the
three deep to their cores.
“I was made a fool of!” Henrik raved. “They stole from me! They swindled me!
They’ll pay.” Henrik was nearly foaming at this mouth, his eyes wide and tinged
with insanity. “But first I’m going to take out of your ass, little Edward.”
He unbuckled his pants before whipping out his dick, jacking it furiously to
harden it. Then, without warning, he shoved himself inside the blond without
bothering to prepare him. Ed’s eyes went wide and he screamed.Roy had never
heard such a sound come from his subordinate. It reminded him of Ishval, the
sound eerily similar to that his targets would make as their skin bubbled and
their flesh melted off their bones. He heard both himself and Maes screaming at
Henrik, begging him to stop, to take them instead.
The dark-haired sadist didn’t even twitch at the military men’s enraged shouts.
He pounded Ed without mercy. Red stained Henrik’s dick and dripped languidly
down Ed’s thighs.
The blond screamed himself hoarse before his voice finally gave out, his face
twisted in a silent howl of agony. Every muscle in his body was tensed in pain.
His brain was unable to form conscious thought, delirious with agony. God
granted mercy on the poor Alchemist and he sunk into unconsciousness, his body
sagging limply.
“No!” Henrik screamed, beating Ed with the riding crop, red welts and angry
gashes marring the skin on his back. “Don’t you fucking pass out on me! I’m not
done with you!” He moved to Edward’s head picked him up by the hair. His eyes
were closed and his jaw slack. Henrik plunged his blood covered dick deep into
Ed’s throat. He fucked Ed hard, the blond making weak chocking noises with each
stroke, blood, saliva and precum dripping from his chin. Roy and Maes could see
Ed’s throat visibly swell as Henrik fucked him, his gags muffled around the
man’s cock. He barely stirred despite the harsh treatment.
“Stop it, please!” Roy screamed. “You’re choking him!”
Henrik ignored him, fucking Ed harder. His groans grew louder, signaling his
impending release. He shoved Ed’s face into his crotch, holding him by the back
of the head, and came screaming deep in Ed’s throat. Henrik breathed deeply,
riding out the remainder of his orgasm, letting his cock soften in Ed’s mouth,
the blond still choking weakly around his shaft.
“I can always rely on that pretty face of yours to cheer me up after a hard
day,” Henrik said, stroking Ed’s hair. He slid out and long stings of cum
poured out of Ed’s mouth, covering his chest. Henrik dressed himself and
smoothed his clothes, grabbed Ed’s hair by the roots and threw him onto the
floor by Maes and Roy. “Enjoy sloppy seconds,” he sneered, and sauntered out
the door. The two captives struggled to lift their fallen comrade onto their
laps and assess the damage done.
“Ed,” Roy tapped his face lightly, trying to rouse him. He used his sleeve to
wipe cum from Ed’s lips. “Ed, can you hear me.” Ed gave no response.
“Jesus, Roy,” Maes breathed. “There’s a lot of blood.” Roy could see the fear
and worry in his friend’s eyes and he struggled to swallow his own terror. He
had to remain calm for Edward’s sake.
“Just try to keep pressure on it the best you can.” Roy said more calmly than
he felt. Hughes struggled to remove his jacket despite the manacles around his
wrists, which prevented him from taking off the clothing entirely. He used the
still military uniform to staunch the flow of blood oozing from Edward’s abused
hole. Both men looked sick.
“I hope Celeste gets here soon,” Hughes prayed. They both felt helpless.
Chained to the bed, they couldn’t even bring Ed into the bathroom to clean him
and dress his wounds.
“She’ll be here.” Roy sounded more confident then he felt, but he forced
himself to believe his own words. He didn’t have a choice. If Celeste didn’t
show up to help, he worried Ed wouldn’t make it. “Ed’s going to be fine.”
.o0o.
It was early morning when Celeste got into work. Not that she would really call
it work. Slavery would be a better description. Blackmail. Torture. She hated
it. Her anger toward Henrik and everything he had done had grown tenfold
overnight. Her dreams had been filled with screams, pleads for help and death.
She woke up seething. No more would she be complacent. Though she thought she
made up her mind, a sliver of doubt still remained. What if it went wrong? She
had to take care of her little sister. What if the Colonel and his men failed?
Henrik would kill Eve, she knew it. Or he would kill Celeste, leaving Eve at
the mercy of the state. She wanted desperate to help, but Eve was all she had
left, and losing her sister would destroy her.
She walked down the hallway toward the kitchen.
“Good morning,” she greeted the cook. “Do you need any help? Henrik hasn’t
given me any duties for the day.”
“Yes, just wipe down the counters for me. I’ve got lots of meals to prepare
today.” The cook requested. Celeste picked up a white rag and some bleach and
set to work scrubbing the granite countertops clean. She didn’t mind cleaning.
It was soothing, repetitive. She definitely preferred it to her usual chores.
“I’m not surprised Henrik hasn’t left any instructions for you. I heard
whispers around that he’s worked himself up into a frenzy. A new client managed
to swindle him, although for the life of me I can’t figure out how he managed
to do that. It’s not often anyone pulls one over on Henrik. I certainly don’t
pity the poor sod who happens upon Henrik’s path today.”
Celeste froze, her mind immediately going to Edward. The blond had quickly
become Henrik’s new favorite toy, and if he was as angry as the cook said he
was, she feared for the little alchemist’s life.
Celeste hurried through her chore and quickly fled the kitchen, hurrying down
the corridor to Edward’s room. She threw open the door and the site that
greeted her nearly brought her to her knees retching.
Edward way sprawled unconscious on the laps of the two military men. His skin
was pale, almost grey, and clammy, his bangs clung uncomfortably to his face.
His breathing was labored, his jaw slack and his chest heaving slightly. His
legs and groin were stained red with blood and Maes was desperately trying to
staunch the flow with his jacket. The two men looked up at her, desperation and
wild fear in their eyes.
“Please, help him!” Mustang begged.
Celeste sprung to action immediately. She pulled away Hughes’ hands to assess
the damage. Edward was covered in bruises and blood oozed sluggishly from his
hole. Immediately recognizing that the damage done to Edward was beyond her
ability, she gently peeled the blond from the grasp of his superiors and lifted
him into her arms. He was heavy but his weight was manageable, she sent a quick
thank you to God that Edward didn’t have his automail arm or else she didn’t
think she would be able to carry him.
“I’m taking him to the nurse,” she said, her voice quivering. Roy and Maes
nodded mutely, shock and fear stealing their voices. She fled the room, Edward
hanging limply in her arms, and ran off to find aid, leaving Roy and Maes
sitting numbly on the floor, their iron military personas bent and buckled.
.o0o.
Time felt disjunct and discordant. It could have been hours since Edward was
whisked away from them. Or perhaps it had only been minutes. Or it could have
even been days. Anxiety and fear swirled in the Colonel’s mind, distorting his
perception of time. He looked over at the Lieutenant Colonel and saw the man
was not fairing any better. His face was pale and his eyes gazed unseeingly at
something far off in the distance. His chained hands were clenched on his
knees, but even that gesture could not hide the tremors that spread from his
fingers all the way to his forearms.
“He’s going to be fine,” Mustang said, his voice empty and emotionless.
“Celeste took him to get help. He’s going to be fine.” The Colonel felt his
eyes grow distant, he stared off at the far wall. He couldn’t bring himself to
look at his friend, fearing that Maes’ razor sharp mind would catch the lie in
his gaze. Mustang couldn’t even believe his own words. Who could, after
witnessing the violence Ed was forced to endure. Henrik pumping in and out of
Edward’s tiny body, the blood that poured down his legs, the glazed look in the
young alchemist’s eyes before he went limp, like a man close to death…
“Stop thinking, Roy,” Mustang jumped at Maes’s voice. “Like you said, he’s
going to be fine. Stop thinking.” Hughes’ voice dripped with conviction and his
eyes were filled with determination. Roy looked at his old friend and sent him
a cynical smile. He could never hide anything from Maes, which was both a good
thing and a bad thing. But now, he was grateful for Maes’ presence. If Roy were
alone, his thoughts would consume him, driving him to insanity, but Maes kept
him from the brink. Without him, Roy would have killed himself a long time ago.
“We’re gonna get out of here, and we’re gonna get Ed help, okay?”
“Okay.” Roy nodded his head shakily. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath,
centering himself. “What just happened may be a good thing.”
“How so?” Maes sent him a curious look.
“You saw him,” Roy gestured vaguely toward the bed, “he was unraveling. This
entire time he’s been careful, making sure no real damage has been done to Ed.
But something happened. He’s not thinking, and if we play our cards right, we
might be able to spin that to our advantage.” Maes nodded in agreement.
“Any ideas?”
“Unfortunately, not at the moment.” Mustang sighed in disappointment. “For now,
we have to wait for news on Ed. Then we can go from there.” Chains rattled as
Maes laid a comforting hand on the Colonel’s shoulder.
“Ed is strong,” Maes said. “He was orphaned at a young age. He’s lost two of
his limbs and went through automail surgery. He’s even survived life in the
military. He’s gonna get through this. He’s not going to let this beat him.
Hell, I’m not going to let it.”
“We’re going to take care of him”
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