Fullmetal Alchemist Fan Fiction ❯ And The Sun Will Rise ❯ The flames erupt ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: World & characters are the property of Arakawa Hiromu & Square-ENIX. However, the fic itself belongs to us (Lenihan & OKami). We have to stress that - sadly - we're not making any money from this.
Rating: Chapter 1 is rated PG. Highest rate will be NC-17
Pairing: Roy - Fury. Support the military.
Warnings: for chapter 1: some angst
OKami's Note: Whee! I like co-authoring and I asked Lenihan if she'd work with me. And she said yes!! Writing this fic was so much fun!! XDD
Lenihan's Note: *glances up at OKami's note* I've got nothing really to add, I think she summed up everything quite well. ^^ It's a fun fic to write, but then, I'm addicted to angst, so this fits perfectly. *evil smirk* Enjoy reading it and I'll be off writing my part for the second chapter. Have fun~! XD

Chapter 1: The Flames Erupt

Whoever thought the sun would come crashing down
My life in flames, my tears concrete the pain
I feel the end, the darkest, deepest riverbed
My book of life ain't complete without you here.
(Sweetbox: Everything's gonna be all right)

The black military car drove along the streets of Central city with a dignified speed. Lieutenant Hawkeye was a great driver; when Colonel Mustang had to go somewhere, he always asked the blonde woman to come along.
The Colonel sat on the front seat, gazing out on the window. Old memories ran through his mind; images flashed before him, painting a shadow on the canvas of reality.
Sergeant Major Cain Fury settled down comfortably on the back seat. He bowed his head back, closed his eyes and he was humming a slow song quietly.
Fury's murmur and the engine's roar lulled the colonel into a waking dream. His friend… his best friend passed away just recently, leaving a gaping hole in the black-haired man's soul.
He missed Maes.
But his visions were shattered by a loud sound; when the colonel blinked to the side, he saw a motorcycle closing on them.
Hawkeye narrowed her eyes as the guy in helmet and goggles signaled her to stop. She lowered the window and shouted out, slowing down a little.
"What?"
"Oil running!" The guy shouted back and Hawkeye stepped on the brake. They stopped so suddenly, that Roy nearly knocked down the windscreen and Fury almost landed between the front seats.
"What happened?" He asked on a frightened voice as he adjusted his glasses.
The rider stopped as well, took off his helmet and goggles and was staring at the car worryingly. Hawkeye opened the door and hurried behind the vehicle. Indeed; there was a thick trace of oil behind them. A sudden chill run down the Lieutenant's spine as she realized, what danger they were in.
"Hawkeye, what is the matter?" Roy questioned.
"The oil is running, Sir." The blonde woman saluted. "It's dangerous to go any further. I'll call a mechanic."
She went to the rider and bowed briefly.
"Thank you. It looks very bad; we could have died if you haven't noticed."
"Hey, anything for such a beautiful lady!" The guy smiled. "Do I have a chance to see you again and perhaps have a coffee with you?"
Hawkeye's face softened a shade.
"Tomorrow at eight in Café Veronica. And I'll pay."
The guy pulled out his briefcase hastily and handed a card to the woman.
"My number. If anything comes up, just call me." He smiled again, took his helmet, his goggles and drove off. Hawkeye pocketed the card and headed to the barbershop near them to make a phone call.
Roy in the meantime opened the door and walked round the car. He examined the oil-trace and nodded. It is a wonder that it didn't catch a spark and exploded. He glanced to Fury and smiled a little. The small soldier's hands were clasped on a silent prayer. Roy sighed. As an alchemist and a soldier, he never really believed in God. Although… Perhaps if he did, it would be easier now.
He remembered passing a candy-store he knew; the colonel liked sweets and they dropped in sometimes with Maes to buy something. Maybe… Gracia and Elysia wouldn't mind. It's a lame excuse but chocolate makes one happy, doesn't it…?
Not wanting to disturb Fury, he headed back to find the store. He never noticed the man in the long coat standing in the shadows of a little alley.
Fury whispered the final "amen" and looked up. The colonel was nowhere to be found; the small soldier scratched his head in confusion but then shrugged, leaned back and continued humming his song.

It was about lunchtime; there were only a few passer-bys on the streets. When the colonel headed back with a small box of chocolate, the vicinity seemed deserted save the man in the coat, who stood about three meters behind the car and in his hand…
Mustang dropped the box and raced towards the car shouting, "Stop!" but it didn't help; the burning match fell on the ground, igniting the oil. The colonel's eyes widened.
"FURY!! GET OUT, IT'S GONNA BLOW!!"
Time slowed down; the colonel seemed to float in the air. The car-door opened, and Fury launched out trying to get away from the vehicle. The man still holding the matchbox laughed like a maniac. Roy could only hope, Hawkeye heard his shout and understood and she won't step out of the shop. For now, Fury was in greater danger; the colonel caught up with him and maneuvered behind his subordinate, shielding him. Laughter echoed in the air…
And the next moment, the Hell broke free.
The explosion rattled the buildings and the barbershop's window shattered. The cloud of flames caught the maniac, burning his body to ashes and cinder. Blazing hot wind swept away the two soldiers with great force, throwing them into the air and to a wall.
The last thing Roy felt was a sharp pain in his skull and he blacked out.

Hawkeye stood up, shook the glass shards off of her uniform and ran out, calling for her comrades. The car was a burning wreck. People came out of the nearby buildings wanting to know, what happened; talking, shouting, crying was heard. Hawkeye shot a frantic look around.
She nearly jumped from joy as she spotted Fury and the colonel lying on the ground. She ran to them and dropped on her knees.
Fury's ears rang a little from the loud sound but otherwise, he felt quite all right. But as he turned to the colonel, his eyes widened from horror.
The tall dark man was motionless and a puddle of blood was spreading slowly under his head. After a moment of panic, Fury started to check on the injured man. The time Hawkeye reached them, he already knew, what happened.
"Lieutenant, call the ambulance! The colonel has a concussion!"
Hawkeye nodded and disappeared. Fury turned back to his superior and with trembling hands he swept the black bangs out of the pale forehead. Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. As he turned, he saw a kid staring back at him.
"Is this yours?" The child asked and handed out a pair of black-rimmed glasses. Fury took them. He never noticed he lost his glasses. The left lens cracked, but apart from that they were intact.
"Thank you."
"Is he all right?" The kid pointed towards the colonel. Fury felt tears gathering in his eyes.
"I don't know yet."
Somebody fetched an extinguisher and began to put the fire out. The Police, the Fire Brigade and the Ambulance arrived ten minutes after.
Hawkeye put a hand on Fury's shoulder as the small soldier was watching the medics to put the colonel into the car.
"He'll be in the best hands."
"Thank God." Fury let out a relieved sigh and collapsed into the Lieutenant's arms.

***

Pain. That was the first coherent thought that crossed Roy's mind. His head throbbed and he felt as stiff as a board. A low grunt escaped from his lips when he tried to shift into a more comfortable position, sending more than a dozen different pains through his body.
"… God," he gasped hoarsely. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to lay motionless for a while. At least long enough until the pain had subsided and he was able to remember what exactly had happened.
It took a while longer before Roy realized something was terribly wrong. It was barely noticeable, though, since he assumed it was normal. The room in which he lay was enveloped in darkness, but he thought it was night and it was always dark at night. This darkness wasn't like the usual one, thought. It was closer to a perpetual darkness.
He put a hand in front of his face and waved it a bit back and forth. His mind registered the movement, but his eyes didn't. A slow panic crept into his heart as he pushed himself up, ignoring the agony caused by this action. His hand groped for the switch of a lamp - any lamp - and he turned the lights on as soon as he found one. Hoping for a miracle, reassurance that his inner fear was somehow misplaced, he waited for the room to light up.
But nothing happened.
He pushed the switch several times, unable to accept the obvious. No matter what he tried, thought, the blackness remained. He stared in horror in front of him as things fell together in place. The car… Sergeant Major Fury… The explosion. He had tried to save Sergeant Major Fury from the gas explosion. And it was that explosion that had turned him blind.
The blow was crushing. He was blind. He, Roy Mustang, was blind. He would never be able to do his work again; he would be forever dependant on others. Despair built up inside him and he wished he could cry. But that wouldn't satisfy the pain in his heart. Thus he remained sitting, apathetically staring in front of him, unable to shed a single tear.

***

Aimlessly, Cain Fury wandered through the halls of the hospital. Only two more days and he would be free to go back to his dorm. It would be at least better than staying here. Hospitals always slightly depress him, with all the wounded and ill people. Maybe that was what had driven him to learn about nursing the injured in the first place, in hope to help them getting better.
He walked through a familiar hall now and his eyes automatically searched for the familiar numbers. 218… his room. 224… the room of Colonel Roy Mustang, who had tried to save him from the explosion. Fury hesitated, wondering if he should enter the room. The doctor had told him the Colonel could wake up any minute.
He decided to give it a try and pushed the door quietly open. The young man regretted his choice almost instantly when he saw Mustang sitting right up on his bed. But the Colonel must have noticed him by now - there was seldom anything that escaped from Mustang's attention - so going back wasn't really an option.
"Um… Sir?" Fury asked softly. Mustang didn't react. "Sir?" Fury repeated as he drew closer to the dark man. "You shouldn't be doing that, sir. You're not completely recovered yet. It would really be better if you- sir?" Surprised, the young Sergeant Major glanced down at the hand that had taken hold of his shirt.
"Tell me, Sergeant Major," Mustang said in an unemotional voice, "is it day or night?"
"Eh? Um… it's day, sir," he replied dutifully while his heart beat faster under the touch of his superior. "Why did you want to know?"
Mustang's hand lost all power and fell limply beside him on the bed. "I see. Thank you, Sergeant Major." His voice remained frighteningly unemotional, but his face reflected his defeat.
Fury didn't need more to draw a conclusion.
"Sir?" He did his best to sound optimistic and reassuring. "You'd better lie down." He placed his hands on Mustang's shoulders and pushed him gently back down on the bed. Mustang did obediently as the young man told him, although Fury doubted he even knew what was said. When he looked at the deep charcoal black eyes of Mustang, he noticed that the usual spark had faded away and that they were dull and empty.
"Don't worry, sir," he told the older man. "Everything will be alright."

The door opened and a young doctor came in.
"Ah, um, Sergeant Fury, right…?"
"Sergeant Major," the small soldier corrected absent-mindedly.
"Oh, sorry. I see the colonel is awake? That's a good start." He stepped closer but his smile faded as he looked at Fury's face.
"What, is something wrong? Colonel, how are you feeling?"
No answer. The doctor leaned closer and checked Mustang's pulse.
"Pulse normal. Sir, what is wrong?"
Still no answer. The black eyes were empty, the handsome face held a distant expression of despair.
"Um, doctor… I think… I think there's something wrong…" Fury kept down his voice, it was barely audible. "…With his vision."
The doctor shielded the colonel's eyes from the light then took his hand away.
"Uh-huh. This is no good." He looked up at the small soldier. "His disoriented state is quite understandable, considering his moderate concussion. And it seems the hit on the back of his head affected the brain's vision center as well."
A pale hand's movement cut in, grabbing the doctor's coat.
"Doctor… What happened…?"
"You had an accident, Colonel. You suffered a moderate concussion and several bruises."
"Why can't I see?"
"Sometimes a concussion causes temporary or permanent impairment in one's vision…"
"When will I see again?"
The doctor opened his mouth then closed it. Fury knew, what bothers him. Doctors still had a lot to learn about the human body. The brain was a mystery to them and it was nearly impossible to predict, how long it would take until the patient recovers - if he recovered at all.
"We're not sure." The doctor spoke up. "It could be days, weeks, maybe a month. You have to be patient, Colonel Mustang. Please, rest now. I'll come back soon to make some tests."
The doctor dragged Fury out as well. The small soldier turned to him.
"Doctor, I attended medical courses. Is it really possible, that the Colonel won't be able to see again?"
The young man sighed wearily. For a moment, he looked like an old, tired professor.
"Yes, it is. We can't do anything, but wait. However, if there's no improvement in his state even after one month, he'll be probably…"
"Removed from the military," Fury whispered. He felt like the world would crumble around him. The Colonel… will be blind for the rest of his life? No, that's not possible. God can't allow that…
He felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw the young doctor smiling on him.
"I'm Philip Locke, by the way. Now, Sergeant Major, go back to your room and rest. Oh, and I'll get your glasses repaired."
Fury nodded with a smile but his heart felt cold.

***

"Roy? Roy, come on! What's keeping you? Don't you know how long I've been waiting here?"
Mustang blinked surprised at the familiar sound. "Maes?" he asked uncertainly. His penetrating gaze scanned the area, searching for the tall figure of his beloved. "Where are you?"
"I'm right here, Roy," Hughes laughed as he reached out to touch Mustang's shoulder. "You've taken your sweet time, haven't you? You were always the lazier one of the two of us." Two green eyes looked at him, twinkling with joy behind slim-framed glasses. "How's my little Roydoing?"
Mustang had been leaning against him, but that remark irritated him as usual. "I'm not much smaller than you are, Maes," he snapped.
Hughes laughed again. "You know, you look a lot like the young Edward when you react like that. But I prefer your black hair and eyes over the golden quality of our Full metal Alchemist. Besides, you're more mature than he is… even though there isn't that much of a difference."
"Oh, shut up, Maes." He pulled his lover closer for a long, rough kiss and the whole world seemed to explode when their lips touched each other. Feeling dizzy and light-headed, he finally broke off the kiss and he panted heavily.
Hughes smiled at him and ran a hand through Roy's black silken hair. "I guess that was worth waiting for," he joked. "I missed it, you know." He sank down on the soft carpet of grass and pulled the Alchemist next to him.
"Missed what?" Mustang said with a rueful smile. "My kisses or me?"
"Hmm," Hughes answered as he nibbled on Roy's ear. "Both, I think." Mustang leaned backwards, relaxing and enjoying the tickling touch of his lover. Everything seemed perfect and all his worries and stress from his job were far, far away.
"Roy, do you love me?"
"Hm?" Surprised, Mustang looked up. "Of course I do, you silly. You know I do. That's why we're here, right?"
"Look at me, Roy and answer my question again."
Wondering what kind of game this was, he turned his head towards Hughes and smiled as he looked deeply into those green eyes. "Maes… I-" The words stuck in his throat and the smile faded away from his face. Hughes' form seemed to dissolve into thin air and he saw a flicker of flames in the corner of his eyes. "What the…"
"Do you love me, Roy?" Hughes repeated. "Look at me and tell me if you love me."
"Maes, what's happening? Why is everything turning black? Maes? Maes?!" His lover was gone! Frantically, Roy groped around, trying to find Hughes. He couldn't see a single thing anymore, everything was black now - no, even darker than black. "Maes, where are you?"
"I'm right here, Roy," sounded hollowly behind him.
Mustang turned around. "Where? I can't see anything, Maes!"
"Right here, Roy… I'm right here… Right here… Right here… Right here, Roy…"

Roy bolted upright on the bed and nearly cried out as his body protested violently against the sudden movement. His shoulders hurt like Hell and the colonel whimpered in pain. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back and another on his arm.
"What is it?" A melodious female voice asked frightened. "Are you in pain? Should I call Doctor Locke?"
"What… what?" Roypanted. "Black… everything is so black; I can't see a damn thing…"
"Ssh, calm down. Your eyes don't work now, that's why you can't see." The female voice was warm, reassuring. "You had a nightmare but it's over now. I'm right here."
"Maes… I saw Maes… But then, everything went black…"
Roy heard a soft sigh and gentle hands pressed the colonel down to the bed and they caressed his forehead.
"It's all right now, calm down. It's okay. It's over. Try to sleep, hmm?"
"I… It was a dream."
"Yes, yes."
The colonel sighed deeply.
"You're a nurse, right?"
"Yes. I have the night shift today."
"Can I have some water?"
"Of course." The woman helped Roy to drink. "May I ask, who that Maes is…?"
"He… he was my best friend." Despite of his best will Roy felt tears gathering in his eyes. "He passed away just recently."
"Oh! I'm so sorry…" The nurse gasped. "Forgive me, I didn't want to…"
"It's all right…" But the man's voice hitched with a sob. When the nurse hugged him hesitantly, Roysimply forgot about everything and hugged back. His whole body shook from crying.