The Empath Alchemist {Edward Elric X Reader}

13

The General gritted his teeth as he stumbled through the dark as quickly as his body could move. Warm liquid seeped through his sweatshirt and out of the hole in his shoulder, and he grasped the wound to prevent the bleeding as best as possible. He almost thanked the Homunculus who wounded him for dragging him closer to the Central Command Center, where phone booths surrounded the outskirts of the building. Then again, there wasn't much to thank it for considering the physical state it put him in.

General Maes Hughes was a good man. A man who spoiled his daughter to hell and loved his wife endlessly. He was a man who helped his best friend raise a child that he had grown fond of, though the poor soul had known nothing about raising children. He was a man who offered a place to stay in his domestic home to friends, acquaintances, and strangers the moment he discovered they didn't have a place to stay. He pushed his own tasks aside to help a pair of brothers throughout their journey and a young girl who was struggling with self discovery. He was bubbly, kind, and incredibly level headed. He was a good man.

As his vision went blurry, eyes focusing and unfocusing as he shuffled to a phone booth in sights, he thought back to all the things he'd spent time doing in the military. Everything that led up to him getting chased down by an artificial human, one who had the ability to morph its body into anyone they desired. Everything that led up to him being dragged away, him managing to pull his gun to shoot and break free, to being shot in the arm as he ran away in search of someone. Anyone.

He had to talk to Roy. He had to tell him what was happening, and how Pride was unleashed onto the country of Amestris. He managed to distract the Homunculi, for what it was worth. He just hoped that he could stay alive to tell Roy about the incident in detail. He was going to stay alive, dammit. For Elicia, for Gracia. He had to stay alive.

"Come on, come on," he grunted to himself as he dragged his weight into the phone booth. His blood stained hand left prints on the door and the phone handles. He leaned his body against the glass, looking around for the Homunculus that had been right behind him only moments ago. Maes panted, tilting his head back and waiting for Roy's home phone to pick up. His hazel eyes darted around the empty area. It was far too empty for his liking.

"Hello, Colonel Mustang residence."

"Roy," Maes gasped, hissing and moving the phone to press between his ear and shoulder so that he could hold his wound. The soft sound of blood dripping resounded throughout the small booth.

"Hughes, is that you? What's wrong?!"

"Listen! Lust found out about us, Havoc and Ed are likely being exposed to Pride right now. I got pulled away-"

Time seemed to stop when a cool metal pressed against the side of his head. Maes gulped, chest rising and falling erratically. The world started spinning as his very life seemed to flash before his eyes. He could feel the eerie smile burning into him from the side and Roy's voice shouting his name over and over again grew muffled, as if it had been submerged under water.

Maes slowly moved his eyes to the side, and his stomach twisted at the sight he saw. Standing at his side, with a gun to his temple, was the figure of his beloved wife. Her light golden brown hair, her green eyes, and soft peach skin all looked identical to Gracia's features, except it all felt horribly inhumane and cold. The look in her suddenly strange eyes told him that this was not his wife, and that he was not going to make it home to dinner.

"Roy," he cut off the Flame Alchemist's panicked voice. He breathed in and closed his eyes, a lump forming in his throat. "Don't do anything crazy. Please."

Maes hung up.

"That was rather smart of you," his wife's mouth moved, but the voice that came from it was far from hers.