Golden - Roy/Ed

Fire In His Eyes

When Roy got the call that there was a gifted Alchemist in a southeastern town named Resembool, the first thing he thought of was the Ishvalan attack on that town many years ago, in the civil war.

When he was instructed to go and see for himself this gifted Alchemist, he expected a man 30 or 40 years, but what he found made his blood cold in a way it had not since Ishval.

He knocked on the Elric homes front door and waited, Riza right by his side, and when they got no answer for a while, he pushed the door and stifled his surprise with how easy it opened. He and Riza inspected the home before Roy stumbled on the basement, and horror crept into his bones.

A near perfect human transmutation array drawn solidly in white chalk along the floor, blood that was clearly weeks old splattered in the center of it, with cracks along the stone floor. Books were knocked over, and there was blood outside of the circle smeared along the ground. Then, anger hit his bones.

How could a grown man not know the taboo of this, how could anyone commit such a terrible crime, and how could anyone walk away.

"They're not out back either," Riza says, her voice steady behind him. "What is this?" She asks as soon as she sees the array.

His anger deepens, "where are they?" He snarls at Riza, a faint look of horror on her face, "find the Elric brothers now!"

She leads him out of the basement, and they find their way to Rockbell AutoMail the following day. A dog with a metal front leg barks at them harshly as they climb the steps and knock on the door. Anger still in Roy's features, he prepares to face the man who tried to commit human transmutation as a little old woman opens the door.

Roy forces the door open completely and stomps past her, his mind set in his rage. He spots them almost immediately.

He expects a grown man, not a child. Not a broken child sitting in a wheelchair with only one arm and one leg, eyes dead and face grim.

Roy stomps to the child, grabs him by the front of his shirt and pulls him close to his face, "we went to your house, we saw the floor, what was that?" Roy demanded, his voice snarling and angry, "what did you do?"

Realization alit in the child's eyes, and he looked down, sorrow in his face as he let out a shuddering breath. "We're sorry," a child's voice came from the suit of armor that walked over to him and set its hand on the arm holding the Elric kid, "we didn't mean it." Roy looked at it as it repeated 'we're sorry' a few times while shaking, its voice so childlike and sad that Roy's heart broke a little.

The realization hit Roy hard as he looked at the suit of armor, "wait, are you-" he cut himself off and set the kid back down onto the wheelchair. After the explanation offered by Pinako Rockbell, Alphonse Elric (a ten-year-old child whose soul is now bound to armor), and Edward Elric. He found himself in awe of the child, and an eleven-year-old boy capable of things some men would never be able to do in their whole lives.

Alphonse had seemed the most sorrowful, "we just wanted to see our mother smile again."

"I tried, and I failed." Edward said, his voice low, "you can't bring the dead back to life. Not ever."

"I heard of rumors of a brilliant Alchemist living here so I came to check them out, but the last thing I expected was a boy skilled enough to attempt human transmutation, or advanced enough to bond a soul to a suit of armor." And Roy looked at these two children and thought of the horror they just went through, and then of all the things the military would make them do, and he made the decision anyway. "I'd say he's more than qualified to become a State Alchemist," Roy saw the look in Ed's eyes shift, and could hear the awe in his own voice, "should he choose to accept the position, they'd be required to serve the military in times of emergency, in return he'd receive privileges and access to things he may otherwise be restricted from." He thought for a moment, the lost look still in Edwards' eyes and couldn't help himself, "given time he may be able to find a way to restore their body's, or even more."

At that statement, Pinako slapped her pipe harshly against the ashtray, "right after he came stumbling to my door covered in blood and half dead, I went over to their house to see what they'd done," Pinakos face looked pale, "what was there, whatever that thing was, it wasn't human. Alchemy created that abomination, it nearly killed them! And you want to throw those boys headlong long into it?" Pinako screamed at him from across the table, "would you really have them put through that kind of hell again?" Anger present all over her, Roy sighed.

"The decision is theirs to make." He turned to the brothers, "will you move forward? Or will you sit in that chair wallowing in your self-pity? Will you stand up and seize the chance the military can give you? If you believe there's a possibility of getting your body's back you should do whatever it takes, even if the way ahead lies through a river of mud." As Roy spoke, he could see firelight in Edwards' eyes, and he turned and left.

Im 5_0_5 on ao3, if you want to read this there.