Wild! Chapter 24

[meredavey]

Title: Wild
Author: meredavey
Series: Brotherhood (although it can stand on its own)
Pairing: Roy/Ed
Rating: NC-17
Word Count for this chapter: 2,077  (29,276 overall)
Summary: Ed decides he wants to find love, something wild, something vibrant and above all something passionate.

A man just a bit older than Roy opened up the door to the house, an eyebrow raised in question. Ed cleared his throat from Roy’s back. “Uhm, hi. Do you think we could come in?”

The man took a good look at their mud splattered forms and the fact that Ed was being carried and he motioned them inside with a wave of his hand. Roy planted Ed on the floor in front of the fire.

“How long do you think it will take to get your knee to feel better?” he asked.

Ed rubbed at it for a few moments. “Not long, I don’t think.” He rubbed it again. “The warmth is loosening the joints.”

Roy rubbed his nose and turned to the man who let them in. “I’m sorry to disturb you, we were looking for someone. Adam Velaz.”

“Oh,” the man said, “that’s me. Why are you looking for me?”

Ed looked up from his place on the floor. He blinked for a moment as the fire flicked shadows across the man’s face and for a moment – but no. “We need to go down into the sewers. The tunnels. We were told you were the expert on that type of thing.”

“I am.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m curious as to why you’d want to go down beneath the town. There’s nothing of interest down there. It’s mostly empty.”

Ed sat forward. “Do you think you can tell us a bit about it? We’re doing some research and it would be really helpful if you could uh, help us out a bit with it. We did come all the way up here to talk to you,” Ed said hopefully.

Adam frowned. “I don’t even know your names,” he said softly. “I don’t know who you are, I don’t even know why I should help you. You could be serial killers for all I know.”

“I apprehended a serial killer once,” Ed supplied helpfully.

“Apprehended a serial killer?” Adam said thoughtfully, “Hmm.” Roy shot Ed a dark glance as Adam continued, “That means you’re not anyone normal, that you’re either with the police or the military.” He tapped his chin and pointed a finger at Roy. “It’s obvious you’re in the military. The stance and posture you move in are obviously military. You though,” he turned to Ed, “are strange. Sometimes you move in a military fashion, other times not. The military also isn’t keen on working with outsiders, so I’d assume you were in the police, but you look too young for that.” His eyes lingered between the two of them. “So. You’re obviously here for something important. Now, why don’t you tell me what you’re up to and then perhaps I can help you. Equivalent exchange.”

Ed gasped, “You’re an alchemist!” and Adam jerked his head over with a lift of his mouth.

“Yes I am. I take it you are as well?”

Ed’s mouth moved, but no sound came out, instead there was a sour look to his lips. “I used to be.”

“Used to be?”

“I lost my alchemy a few years ago.”

“Yet, you still act like an alchemist…”

“Just because I preform alchemy does not mean that I’m not an alchemist. I still think like one, I still understand alchemy, I draw arrays, I know how they work, I devise new ways-!”

Adam held his hands up, “I didn’t mean any offense. But now I’ve got a very good clue as to who you are, Edward Elric. There is only one person in this entire world who still understands alchemy yet lacks it. The great Fullmetal Alchemist.”

“Not any more I’m not.”

“You’ll still always be the Hero of the People to a lot of individuals in this country. You inspired people. You made people fall in love with you. You are considered a great man.”

Ed frowned and picked at his pants. “I’m not great at much anymore.”

Adam sat down in a chair and waved Mustang into another.

“I highly doubt that. You wouldn’t be here if you were useless, am I right Roy Mustang?”

Roy raised an eyebrow, shrugged and leaned back into his chair. “Yes. That’s very true. Edward here is still great, even among his peers. He is considered a legend after all.”

Edward looked at him, scowled and pointed, “I’m going to assume that is all your fault anyways. I’ve been travelling for years – I don’t know why people haven’t forgotten about me yet.”

“You’re unforgettable,” Adam supplied, “Now, why not tell me what brings you all the way out here.”

Ed gave a soft snort, and leaned back on his hands. “It’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

“We don’t.” Roy said grimly and Adam turned to face him, planting hands on his knees.

“Tell me quickly then, and perhaps I can help you.”

Roy briefly outlined everything that had occurred, leaving out the mention of El Dorado and Adam whistled as he leaned back into his chair once more.

“Well. I can certainly tell you that you came to the right person.” He frowned. “So Abigail wants to meet at seven?” he glanced at his clock. “Then it’s high time we were off, and perhaps we can make it there before her.”

“You’re not staying here?”

Adam turned to face him. “Of course not, I’d love another chance to explore those tunnels. There is so much left undiscovered.”

“Speaking of undiscovered things, you said you know a little bit about what’s inside those tunnels?”

Adam nodded, “I do, but we should talk on our way. Walking these paths after dark isn’t terribly much fun. It’s easy to get hurt, lost or killed.”

Ed shivered and they all stood. The rain was still dripping from the sky, almost acting as if it were a sulky child, Ed thought with a bit of irritation. He huffed and slipped on a puddle. Both Adam and Roy grabbed him before he could hit the ground. He grumbled as he regained his feet and wouldn’t look at either of them as embarrassment suffused him.

Roy’s hand closed on his shoulder and squeezed. Ed wondered whether it was to give him confidence or if it was for some other reason. He looked up but Roy’s face was unreadable, that perfect, blank mask in place.

He huffed and they set off down the path once more. Adam began to fill them in on some of the things they should expect to see in the tunnels and sewers.

“I’ll start with the sewers, those are the easiest to talk about. The sewers flood often and quickly. It is the cause of some unknown water source. We have looked for it, but it seems to be hidden away very well in the mountains. I have a feeling alchemy might be causing it, but I’m not entirely sure.” He lifted his shoulders a bit against the rain. “So we have to watch out for water rise. There are very few exits in the sewers, always keep an eye out for one in case you need to use it. The sewers themselves are massive. You wouldn’t think a small town like ours would need such large sewers, but apparently they do. Much of them are old, and perhaps this town used to be bigger. It certainly seems that way. We shouldn’t run into many animals down in there. Mostly rats, a few homeless people who drifted this way, teenagers, a few other odd creatures and that’s about it.”

By this point they were getting close to the cemetery and it gave Ed pause. “Hey Adam?” he asked.

“Yeah?”

“That patch of land there – what is it?”

Adam shrugged. “I don’t known. Random stones are strewn about. We try not to cross it, it’s probably a bog with all the sinking land.”

“You’ve never explored it?” Ed inquired a little sharply.

Adam narrowed his eyes again. “No, why? And don’t fob me off, give me the truth.”

Ed huffed, “It’s a cemetery. There’s corpses and coffins in that field. Looks like a mass burial.”

Adam’s mouth became a thin line. “I don’t know anything about that, there hasn’t been a mass burial here ever as far as I was aware. No one in the past three hundred years has mentioned anything.”

“Hm. Well, you did say they were really old, right Roy?”

“Yes. They’re probably older than three hundred years.”

Ed frowned. “How are they so well preserved then? I know that bones can last for hundreds of years – but the condition!”

Adam shrugged. “The dry air probably.”

“But if the ground is sinking…there’s obviously water.”

“That must all be new, Edward,” Roy used his warning voice, “Now leave Adam alone so he can finish telling us about the tunnels.”

If Adam realized Roy had essentially told Ed to shut up, he didn’t show it.

“Well, besides the water, the tunnels are very much like the sewers except they lack human life. They too twist and turn and it’s hard to make out where some parts begin and other’s end. It’s very much a maze.”

“Anything else?”

“I don’t know what you want to hear – it’s just easier to experience it for yourself. Other than the fact I’ve only ever found the single entrance and exit. It’s very dark inside, so make sure you bring a light.”

Ed shivered at the image it had created. “Weird.”

Adam nodded, “It is. But…at the same time it’s interesting. I always wonder why those tunnels were built, why they were created. There must have been a special reason!”

Ed was slowly forming a picture in his head about what the tunnels were for. “Did it look like some were caved in?”

Adam nodded. “Almost as if someone preformed alchemy and it all came down on their heads. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were human bodies buried in there.”

Ed and Roy’s eyes met as they approached the town. It seemed that things definitely were not as they seemed.

“Have you ever heard stories about underground cities here?” Ed asked with caution.

Adam grinned. “Plenty! The one about the Princess for example, but mostly it just seemed to say, ‘don’t wait too long to get what you want, otherwise you might lose it’, there are other’s about hidden cities and hidden religions…a bunch of them, but they’re not just from here, they’re also from the surrounding towns.”

Ed nodded as if it had confirmed what he thought. Adam seemed to think they were up to something suspicious, “Why?”

“That’s what we’re investigating, if there was any history or truth to this ‘hidden cities’, perhaps they could give us some of the history of this area. I enjoy history,” Ed lied with ease, “and it would make a good study to see if they used alchemy here.”

“Aha,” Adam breathed, “You’re studying the progress of alchemy! I knew you were up to something suspicious!”

He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll take you down into the tunnels as long as you allow me to map them and use the information therein.”

Ed looked at him hard, “Unfortunately this is…military business, so anything you see you can’t speak a word of to anyone. Feel free to map the tunnels if you like though. You’re welcome to do so.”

Adam huffed but acknowledged the request with a bow of his head.

Roy nodded to Abigail who was waiting by the side of the inn. “I guess we all got here early.”

Abigail waved as they approached and when they had all shaken hands and greeted each other she looked at Roy. “I got your terrain maps and the maps of the surrounding area.” She pulled out a pack and handed it over. “Hopefully these will be what you were looking for. I had to call on some favors, so you owe me one Roy.”

Roy smiled. “Thank you. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“I think I’ll save my favor for later,” she told him, “Good luck, and hopefully I’ll see you all in one piece tomorrow.” She tossed a wave over her shoulder as she turned from them and Ed sighed a bit before turning to Adam.

“So where is this entrance?”

Adam led them to the hole in the ground and they peered in.

“Looks dangerous, doesn’t it?” Ed inquired.

“Very,” Roy told him.

“Extremely,” Adam added.

Ed grinned and jumped in.