In Search For Answers
As dawn came, the military headquarters in Central City was bustling with life. Even so, no one knew that on the top floor of the building, inside the Führer’s office, a woman known as Colonel Juliette Douglas was having a strange conversation with the leader of the State over the phone.
“Yes, there has been no news of them as of yet,” Sloth said. “They were last seen in Rush Valley and that’s it.”
“This is extra work for me since you lost track of them. I’m pretty busy, you know,” Pride said in a scolding manner. “However, we might still be able to find them. They must have had reason to head south. What is here that is important to the boys?”
Sloth didn’t answer at once, as she looked for the Fullmetal’s case file in one of the drawers in her desk. As soon as she found it, she scanned it quickly to find the information she wanted. “Their teacher lives in a town called Dublith. They may be there.”
“Very well,” Pride said. “I’ll make sure I’ll pass through Dublith as part of my inspection trip. If they are there, it means they haven’t given up on creating the philosopher’s stone, which works to our advantage.”
“Nevertheless, we should give them further motive soon. The Lab 5 incident has already proven a severe blow to them.”
“Speaking of which, what have you done with the files? We don’t want any more people to come across them any time soon.”
“I’ve already hidden them. And I’ve also destroyed the files concerning the war in Ishbal.”
Pride didn’t speak for several moments, clearly in thought. “That was a bold movement. Let us hope it has gone unnoticed.”
“There’s most probably at least one alchemist that knows the truth. We might as well get rid of any evidence to back up any allegations uttered against our person,” Sloth said.
“Whoever they are that try to debunk us, the fact that they decided to keep their mouths shut at the moment shows that they don’t have a plan to confront us,” Pride argued. “That should give you enough time to find them.”
“Of course. I’ve already started a search to find any alchemists that could have been near the vicinity of Brigadier General Hughes’ execution.”
“Excellent. Did anyone try to contact Mustang?”
“No.”
“Good,” Pride mused. “I think it’s time we give our dog another bone to bite.”
Sloth chuckled, but there was hardly any mirth detected in that deceivingly sweet voice. “Of course. I’ll phone you as soon as I have results.”
And with that, the female homunculus hung up. As soon as she put the receiver down, she walked up to the door and called the soldier that was standing on guard.
“I wish to speak to Colonel Roy Mustang. Bring him here at once.”
The wild boy was still sleeping, which was something of a blessing after the shock that he went through the night before. Nevertheless, Winry was appointed the task of staying with him in the room in case he wanted anything once he was up.
This was also the excuse for Izumi and the boys to talk in private. It was true that Sig was with them, but he had made it perfectly clear he had no intention of participating in the conversation. His job was to make sure no one tried to eavesdrop.
And so, Ed and Al started explaining to Izumi how things really stood. It was Ed who said most of the story, even though Al piped in occasionally in order to provide that extra bit of information that happened to escape Ed’s memory. It took them longer than expected, but by the time they were done, Izumi had come to know everything – including the companion that was now helping the boys on their quest.
She had also grown very quiet, taking in everything that her apprentices told her without so much as twitching an eyebrow. She didn’t even say anything long after the brothers were done; she just closed her eyes as though trying to process everything in her mind. Neither Ed nor Al knew what to make of this reaction, but they both knew that it was to their best interest not to pry for any response.
It was a lesson that they had learned the hard way long ago.
After ten minutes of silence, the boys’ patience finally paid off.
“So… The homunculi tried to force you to make the philosopher’s stone?” Izumi asked with her gaze now locked on the Elrics.
Ed and Al nodded.
“And when you refused, they threatened you with the life of that other friend of yours?”
The boys nodded once more.
Izumi rested her back against the chair, her expression clearly troubled. “I see. So you think they might still be after you - or even your escort, if what you say about him is true.”
“Yeah,” Al replied. “They want to use any good alchemists they can get their hands on.”
“But that also proves you were wrong to suspect the child,” Izumi continued on, facing Ed. “If anything, they might use him too if they find out about him and his ability.”
“I know: if he weren’t human, then logically he wouldn’t be able to perform alchemy,” Ed said. “Still, there’s something about that kid that worries me. If he can use alchemy without even clapping, much like Beregond, it must be because he was… at the gate…” As realisation hit Ed, his voice died in his throat and the words trailed off. He thought he heard Al calling him and asking him what was wrong, but Ed didn’t pay attention to him anymore. He had gotten lost in his memories and finally reached the answer to the question that had been plaguing him ever since he saw the boy.
“Teacher! I remembered!” he exclaimed at once. He was so excited that he immediately stood up, almost toppling the chair out of its place.
“Remember what?” Izumi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I remembered where I saw that boy before!” Ed explained. “I saw him back at the gate! He was among the shadows that guard it!”
Izumi widened her eyes, for the first time actually looking shocked. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m positive!” Ed said. However, he was so focused on trying Izumi to believe him that he didn’t notice Al’s very peculiar body posture. For the suit of armour was sitting quite rigidly now, his gauntlets clenched into fists and his eyes dimmed in thought.
After all, little did Ed know that a terrible suspicion had entered his little brother’s mind.
“So… are you suggesting that the boy is from your friend’s world too?” Izumi asked, just as oblivious to Al’s thoughts.
Ed opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped midway. He understood that what he was saying was far-fetched.
After all, such accidents don’t happen twice.
“I don’t know,” he said in the end, shaking slightly his head. “I can only tell you what I saw.”
It seemed that it was an answer that satisfied Izumi for now, because she didn’t argue any further. Still, Ed didn’t like the look on her face when she suddenly stood up and headed for the door.
“Teacher?”
“There’s something I want to confirm,” she replied, though she didn’t turn around to look at him. “Stay here till I get back.”
“But Teacher…” Al started.
Izumi just walked out, giving the boys one last warning.
“Don’t upset the boy.”
All the boys could do was stare at the closed door, unsure what to make of that reaction. They looked at Sig’s direction, hoping that he would be able to give them some kind of answer.
He didn’t. He simply walked out of the door also, a very curious – even worried, from what the boys could see – look on his face.
When Sig found Izumi, she was in their bedroom with her back to him. She didn’t seem to acknowledge his presence as she picked up a bottle and unscrewed its lid.
“Izumi.”
She didn’t seem surprised to hear him from so close. And it seemed that she was perfectly aware what he was about to say to her, because she didn’t allow him to continue.
“Please make sure that those two don’t make any trouble. I’ll return soon.”
“You are going there… aren’t you?”
She only took a pill out of the bottle and swallowed it before putting the lid back on. Still, her silence proved incriminating enough.
“Izumi…”
“Just let me go.”
At that tone, Sig knew that there was no way he could dissuade his wife from what she was about to do. So he simply stepped aside when she walked out the door, hardly looking at him in the eyes.
The squeal of laughter filled the Hughes’ residence that morning and for a good reason, too. Sarah and Elysia had spent all morning playing with Elysia’s dolls and stuffed puppets, and the game ended with quite the bang when the woman started tickling Elysia. Gracia stepped outside the kitchen for a while and watched her friend and daughter with a small smile.
It was Sarah who first noticed Gracia. She sobered a bit and looked at her direction curiously.
“Do you want any help in the kitchen?”
“No, everything is taken care of,” Gracia assured her friend. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to take Elysia now so she can have her bath.”
Elysia’s expression at this showed that she didn’t really like that idea at all. “Can I stay and play with Aunt Sarah five more minutes?” she asked, remembering to be polite.
However, Gracia shook her head. “You’re done playing for now, young lady. It’s time to get clean for lunch.”
Elysia couldn’t argue with that, so she just nodded and walked up to her mother to be picked up. Smiling, Gracia decided to indulge Elysia and wrapped her arms around the little girl.
“Sarah dear… will you put the toys back in their place, please?” she asked, looking in Sarah’s direction.
“You don’t have to ask,” Sarah replied with a smile of her own. And so, as soon as Gracia walked away with Elysia toward the bathroom, Sarah started folding the stuffed puppets and placing them carefully in the box where Elysia kept her toys. She was almost done when, suddenly, the phone rang.
Gracia hadn’t finished with Elysia’s bath yet though; Sarah could still hear water splashing in the inner room. That meant that Sarah herself would have to answer it instead.
But who could be calling at this time of day? Neither she nor Gracia were expecting any phone-calls.
Although…
At the second ring, Sarah had placed the last toy in the box and secured everything with a small lock. At the third, she was already hurrying in the phone’s direction, calling out to Gracia that she would get that. And when the phone was about to go off for a fourth time, Sarah picked up the receiver and said: “Hello?”
“Sarah?”
She smiled, for she understood immediately who it was. “Yes,” she answered. “It’s been a while.”
A very loud sound from a motor engine passing by almost made her jump. She looked at the receiver in a suspicious manner for a brief moment and then placed it back in her ear. “Where are you?”
“Sorry about that,” Havoc said, a goofy grin evident even in his voice. “Mustang said that I shouldn’t use the military lines in case they’re tapped, so I used my lunch break as a pretext to go outside of Headquarters and call you. I’m in a phone booth close to a motorway.”
“Good thinking, though I might have trouble hearing you now,” she said with a tease.
“I’ll tap it in Morse code for you,” Havoc said, playing along.
She clicked her tongue. “I don’t know it.”
“How about smoke signals then?”
Sarah couldn’t help it; she giggled.
“I love it when you laugh, did you know that?”
Though Havoc spoke softly this time, Sarah managed to pick up every single word loud and clear. She blushed. “Stop it, you didn’t call me for that,” she said, not sounding as chiding as she would have liked; because she loved it when he made her laugh.
“Right, sorry,” Havoc answered, finally sobering. “Boss said that you might have to go to the archives’ room to find some things for him. Will you be able to go today?”
“Of course,” Sarah said. “Just tell me what I will be looking for.”
“Anything concerning Colonel Juliette Douglas.”
Sarah wasn’t really surprised at that request. Roy had already told her of his suspicions about the Führer’s secretary, and now it was time to find evidence to back it up. Because of that, she was quite calm when she answered:
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Once the lunch break was over, Havoc slowly took the way back to the office, leaving behind a light trail of smoke because of the cigarette that was hanging on his lips. A couple of privates instantly stood at attention and saluted when he passed them by, but he simply told them in a bored manner: “As you were.” After all, he had other things in his mind at present to pay attention to such typicality.
What really startled him was the reaction of his friends when he opened the door of the office. Riza had looked up in mild concern; Breda and Falman had stood up, their tension written all over their features; whereas Fuery had looked downright anxious.
“Lieutenant Havoc,” the woman said simply, her expression softening somewhat. She sat down again, an action that was soon followed by the others as well.
Havoc raised an eyebrow and looked at each and everyone curiously. “What’s going on? Is there a surprise inspection going on?”
“That would have been a lot less nerve-wracking, I can tell you that,” Fuery said ruefully.
“Then what…?” But Havoc didn’t continue, for it was then that he noticed someone very important was missing.
“Where’s the Colonel?” he asked.
“With Douglas,” Breda said. “She sent word that she wanted to see him.”
Havoc frowned. “That’s odd.”
“You can say that again,” Falman replied.
“So how long has he been gone?”
“Twenty minutes,” Riza answered.
If Havoc ever meant to comment on that, he never got the chance, because it was then that the door opened again and Roy walked in. Everyone was shocked to see the Colonel’s grim expression and they had no idea what to make of it.
“Sir?” Fuery finally asked in hesitation.
Roy ignored the question that was left unuttered for the present and went to sit behind his desk instead.
“Colonel?”
Roy only placed his hands on the desk and knitted his fingers.
“Boss?”
This time Roy graced his subordinates with a small, sober look before he hid his face behind the knitted fingers… and started laughing so hard that it took him about five minutes before he managed to explain to the others what was it Douglas had asked of him.
Even Riza couldn’t help but smile a bit at the irony of the situation. “An alchemist is suspected to be with that fearsome Ishbalan terrorist group we’re after, huh?”
“He must be very elusive,” Falman said in a serious tone, yet still grinning.
“Why, I think he’s right under our very noses,” Breda said, acting as though thinking hard at the prospect of such a grievous situation.
“Indeed,” Roy said with a smile. “Everything’s off the record, of course.”
“Of course,” all the soldiers said at once, saluting.
“Good. Now that that has been taken care of… Have you made the phone-call?” Roy asked Havoc.
“Yes, Sir,” Havoc replied. “Although I’m not sure what it is you’re hoping to find.”
“I will know once Mrs. Abbot checks those files.”
After Sarah hung up, she decided to see to her errand at once. Claiming that she was called from the library for an important file organization problem, she told Gracia that she would have to leave and she should not worry about Alice, because Sarah herself would pick her from school once the matter that came up was finally settled. Gracia didn’t really understand why Sarah was so needed over something that didn’t seem all that challenging for any other librarian to handle, but Sarah threw it all into bureaucracy and its insufficient way of handling things.
Gracia didn’t object this time. And so, almost an hour later, Sarah was walking through the entrance of the military Headquarters and heading where the archives’ room was.
Hmm… one young private appointed as the curator, Sarah thought. Big mistake.
“Excuse me?” she uttered.
The young private lifted his gaze from the list he was holding and looked at Sarah. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I’ve come from the State Library. I was asked to check on the name registries and certificates in this room. We have to see which files and names have gone missing after that fire that almost destroyed the library.”
The private blinked.
“Is there something wrong?” Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
“No, um…” the young private stopped momentarily, deciding to be more tactful about matters. “It’s just that I wasn’t informed about a thing like this.”
Sarah acted surprised at this. “Not informed?” she said. “It wasn’t you that I spoke to on the phone then?”
The young private shook his head. “You must mean sergeant-major Powel. I’m sorry, but he left three hours ago.”
“Well, I don’t know who it was, but I was assured that I could pass by anytime I wished so I could work. That’s why I got this in the first place.” And with that, Sarah held up her special permission so that the private could see it. “Now will you please let me in? I have a little girl to pick up from school afterwards.”
The private immediately nodded. “Yes, of course! Go right in! I’m sorry for inconveniencing you.”
She murmured her thanks and walked inside the archives’ room without looking back at him. Once she was sure that there wasn’t anyone around watching her, she made a bee-line for the files of the enlisted officers.
It was to her great dismay, however, when she discovered that there were no files with the name Juliette Douglas on them. It was as though the woman never existed – which was nothing further from the truth.
So why?
Sarah could only suspect one reason, especially after Colonel Mustang convinced her about Douglas’s dubious nature.
Whatever was in those files, it certainly wasn’t in favour of the Führer’s secretary.
Ed glared at the locked door of the bedroom he and Al shared. He didn’t want to be there at all, but could he really argue with the Teacher’s husband? And besides, it wasn’t that that annoyed Ed the most; it was the fact that he even had a guard outside the door as though this place was some form of prison!
“Damn it, Mason! Will you let me out already?!” he cried, banging once at the door.
“Sorry,” Mason’s voice sounded through the door. “Boss said I shouldn’t let you out and, let’s face it, I’d rather I complied with his orders.”
Ed huffed in frustration.
“Fine. Can you at least tell me where Teacher went?”
“I’m not sure,” Mason said, his voice sounding as though thinking about it. “She asked me to prepare a boat for her, so my guess is she has gone to the island again.”
The island? Ed was now more curious than never, because he still remembered her words only too clearly – she wanted to confirm something.
But what could there be on the island that needed confirming?
It was the sound of chalk sliding on the floor that finally cut Ed off from his musings. Feeling a bit surprised, Ed turned around and noticed why Al had been so quiet in the last five minutes: he was drawing a transmutation circle.
“What are you doing?” he asked curiously.
Al immediately placed a finger close to the crack that served the suit of armour as mouth in order to shush his brother. “With any luck, Winry is still below us.”
“So?”
Al just activated the circle. A few seconds later, Ed understood what his brother had done. He had simply calculated where exactly the light in the room below was, so he could then transmute it to a crude version of a telephone.
“Winry?” Al said close to the speaker. “Winry, are you there?”
“Yes, I am,” Winry’s voice sounded clearly through the transmuted gadget. “But what’s with the phone on the ceiling?”
“Basically, we can’t get out of the room,” Al replied. “However, there was something that I wanted to ask you.”
“Well, I hope it’s important. Your transmutation has scared the boy and now he’s hiding behind me,” Winry said, hardly concealing her scolding tone. “Just what did you guys do to him?”
“We’re sorry about that one,” Al said apologetically. “But it is important, trust me.”
There was a small pause.
“Okay then, go ahead.”
“While the boy was sleeping, did you notice his right arm?” Al asked.
Ed now knelt beside Al. He didn’t know why Al would ask such a question, but he knew this: if his brother asked it, it meant that he had to listen to the answer as well.
“Well, yeah…” Winry said. “You know, it’s an odd coincidence. He has a scar from a bite right where Ed used to have one too.”
Ed felt like his heart suddenly missed a beat. And he could only look at Al in a horrified manner when his little brother ended the communication with a hushed “Thanks.”
“Al…” His voice betrayed him, so he tried again. “What… what was that about?”
Al’s eyes dimmed as he looked at Ed in what could only be described a sad manner. “Brother… you said you saw the boy at the gate. That’s where our bodies are too, remember?”
“Don’t say it!” Ed cried at once. He already suspected where Al was getting at, but he didn’t want to believe it; he couldn’t. “You have it wrong, okay? They’re not the same limbs!”
“How many people can get animal bites in the same place, Brother?” Al reasoned calmly. “And how many people have mismatched arms and legs without said limbs being artificial?”
“Drop it, Al!” Ed warned. “Those limbs were taken to the Gate in exchange for Mum and you! It was equivalent exchange!”
“Nevertheless, we already figured there is a way for us to get them back. And Beregond got his own body back when he was brought here.”
“His body!” Ed all but cried. “So why would this boy have my--?!” He never finished his sentence, because a sound that resembled awfully much a snarl tore out of his chest and he clapped.
“Brother, no!” Al immediately wrapped his arms around Ed’s body to prevent him from performing any alchemy. He didn’t know what Ed could do in his anger, but he didn’t care to find out either.
“Let go, Alphonse!” Ed growled, struggling to get away.
“No!”
“I said: let me go!”
“Not when you’re like this!”
“I need to know, damn it!”
“And you will!” Al said as soothingly as he could under the circumstances, hoping that it was enough to appease his brother. “We both will.”
Ed breathed hard, attempting to free himself from Al’s vice-grip one last time before finally accepting his defeat. Al was right, they would find out. But not when he was blinded by fury.
On the other hand… if that boy really had his limbs…
Ed trembled even at the thought of that possibility.
The moment Izumi arrived at the island, she immediately headed to the centre of it. She knew that there was a strange formation of stone pillars placed there long ago by people driven by sacred religions and beliefs, and it was that place she wanted to see.
It was also a place that she knew quite well, because she had been there before.
She scrutinised her surroundings thoughtfully, finally deciding that there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary there; not at first glance anyway.
But then she let her gaze drift to the ground. And her experienced eye caught sight of the thin trail on the ground that was still visible – if only barely.
It was the trail of something crawling away from the centre of the formation.
“No…”
Her shock didn’t last long, because a new series of violent spasms racked her body, forcing her to cough out blood. She tried to control herself, but it wasn’t possible; and soon the ground was covered in red. Finally, weakened and betrayed by the very body she had strived to make strong, she fell into a swoon and lost consciousness.
TBC…
“Yes, there has been no news of them as of yet,” Sloth said. “They were last seen in Rush Valley and that’s it.”
“This is extra work for me since you lost track of them. I’m pretty busy, you know,” Pride said in a scolding manner. “However, we might still be able to find them. They must have had reason to head south. What is here that is important to the boys?”
Sloth didn’t answer at once, as she looked for the Fullmetal’s case file in one of the drawers in her desk. As soon as she found it, she scanned it quickly to find the information she wanted. “Their teacher lives in a town called Dublith. They may be there.”
“Very well,” Pride said. “I’ll make sure I’ll pass through Dublith as part of my inspection trip. If they are there, it means they haven’t given up on creating the philosopher’s stone, which works to our advantage.”
“Nevertheless, we should give them further motive soon. The Lab 5 incident has already proven a severe blow to them.”
“Speaking of which, what have you done with the files? We don’t want any more people to come across them any time soon.”
“I’ve already hidden them. And I’ve also destroyed the files concerning the war in Ishbal.”
Pride didn’t speak for several moments, clearly in thought. “That was a bold movement. Let us hope it has gone unnoticed.”
“There’s most probably at least one alchemist that knows the truth. We might as well get rid of any evidence to back up any allegations uttered against our person,” Sloth said.
“Whoever they are that try to debunk us, the fact that they decided to keep their mouths shut at the moment shows that they don’t have a plan to confront us,” Pride argued. “That should give you enough time to find them.”
“Of course. I’ve already started a search to find any alchemists that could have been near the vicinity of Brigadier General Hughes’ execution.”
“Excellent. Did anyone try to contact Mustang?”
“No.”
“Good,” Pride mused. “I think it’s time we give our dog another bone to bite.”
Sloth chuckled, but there was hardly any mirth detected in that deceivingly sweet voice. “Of course. I’ll phone you as soon as I have results.”
And with that, the female homunculus hung up. As soon as she put the receiver down, she walked up to the door and called the soldier that was standing on guard.
“I wish to speak to Colonel Roy Mustang. Bring him here at once.”
The wild boy was still sleeping, which was something of a blessing after the shock that he went through the night before. Nevertheless, Winry was appointed the task of staying with him in the room in case he wanted anything once he was up.
This was also the excuse for Izumi and the boys to talk in private. It was true that Sig was with them, but he had made it perfectly clear he had no intention of participating in the conversation. His job was to make sure no one tried to eavesdrop.
And so, Ed and Al started explaining to Izumi how things really stood. It was Ed who said most of the story, even though Al piped in occasionally in order to provide that extra bit of information that happened to escape Ed’s memory. It took them longer than expected, but by the time they were done, Izumi had come to know everything – including the companion that was now helping the boys on their quest.
She had also grown very quiet, taking in everything that her apprentices told her without so much as twitching an eyebrow. She didn’t even say anything long after the brothers were done; she just closed her eyes as though trying to process everything in her mind. Neither Ed nor Al knew what to make of this reaction, but they both knew that it was to their best interest not to pry for any response.
It was a lesson that they had learned the hard way long ago.
After ten minutes of silence, the boys’ patience finally paid off.
“So… The homunculi tried to force you to make the philosopher’s stone?” Izumi asked with her gaze now locked on the Elrics.
Ed and Al nodded.
“And when you refused, they threatened you with the life of that other friend of yours?”
The boys nodded once more.
Izumi rested her back against the chair, her expression clearly troubled. “I see. So you think they might still be after you - or even your escort, if what you say about him is true.”
“Yeah,” Al replied. “They want to use any good alchemists they can get their hands on.”
“But that also proves you were wrong to suspect the child,” Izumi continued on, facing Ed. “If anything, they might use him too if they find out about him and his ability.”
“I know: if he weren’t human, then logically he wouldn’t be able to perform alchemy,” Ed said. “Still, there’s something about that kid that worries me. If he can use alchemy without even clapping, much like Beregond, it must be because he was… at the gate…” As realisation hit Ed, his voice died in his throat and the words trailed off. He thought he heard Al calling him and asking him what was wrong, but Ed didn’t pay attention to him anymore. He had gotten lost in his memories and finally reached the answer to the question that had been plaguing him ever since he saw the boy.
“Teacher! I remembered!” he exclaimed at once. He was so excited that he immediately stood up, almost toppling the chair out of its place.
“Remember what?” Izumi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I remembered where I saw that boy before!” Ed explained. “I saw him back at the gate! He was among the shadows that guard it!”
Izumi widened her eyes, for the first time actually looking shocked. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m positive!” Ed said. However, he was so focused on trying Izumi to believe him that he didn’t notice Al’s very peculiar body posture. For the suit of armour was sitting quite rigidly now, his gauntlets clenched into fists and his eyes dimmed in thought.
After all, little did Ed know that a terrible suspicion had entered his little brother’s mind.
“So… are you suggesting that the boy is from your friend’s world too?” Izumi asked, just as oblivious to Al’s thoughts.
Ed opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped midway. He understood that what he was saying was far-fetched.
After all, such accidents don’t happen twice.
“I don’t know,” he said in the end, shaking slightly his head. “I can only tell you what I saw.”
It seemed that it was an answer that satisfied Izumi for now, because she didn’t argue any further. Still, Ed didn’t like the look on her face when she suddenly stood up and headed for the door.
“Teacher?”
“There’s something I want to confirm,” she replied, though she didn’t turn around to look at him. “Stay here till I get back.”
“But Teacher…” Al started.
Izumi just walked out, giving the boys one last warning.
“Don’t upset the boy.”
All the boys could do was stare at the closed door, unsure what to make of that reaction. They looked at Sig’s direction, hoping that he would be able to give them some kind of answer.
He didn’t. He simply walked out of the door also, a very curious – even worried, from what the boys could see – look on his face.
When Sig found Izumi, she was in their bedroom with her back to him. She didn’t seem to acknowledge his presence as she picked up a bottle and unscrewed its lid.
“Izumi.”
She didn’t seem surprised to hear him from so close. And it seemed that she was perfectly aware what he was about to say to her, because she didn’t allow him to continue.
“Please make sure that those two don’t make any trouble. I’ll return soon.”
“You are going there… aren’t you?”
She only took a pill out of the bottle and swallowed it before putting the lid back on. Still, her silence proved incriminating enough.
“Izumi…”
“Just let me go.”
At that tone, Sig knew that there was no way he could dissuade his wife from what she was about to do. So he simply stepped aside when she walked out the door, hardly looking at him in the eyes.
The squeal of laughter filled the Hughes’ residence that morning and for a good reason, too. Sarah and Elysia had spent all morning playing with Elysia’s dolls and stuffed puppets, and the game ended with quite the bang when the woman started tickling Elysia. Gracia stepped outside the kitchen for a while and watched her friend and daughter with a small smile.
It was Sarah who first noticed Gracia. She sobered a bit and looked at her direction curiously.
“Do you want any help in the kitchen?”
“No, everything is taken care of,” Gracia assured her friend. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to take Elysia now so she can have her bath.”
Elysia’s expression at this showed that she didn’t really like that idea at all. “Can I stay and play with Aunt Sarah five more minutes?” she asked, remembering to be polite.
However, Gracia shook her head. “You’re done playing for now, young lady. It’s time to get clean for lunch.”
Elysia couldn’t argue with that, so she just nodded and walked up to her mother to be picked up. Smiling, Gracia decided to indulge Elysia and wrapped her arms around the little girl.
“Sarah dear… will you put the toys back in their place, please?” she asked, looking in Sarah’s direction.
“You don’t have to ask,” Sarah replied with a smile of her own. And so, as soon as Gracia walked away with Elysia toward the bathroom, Sarah started folding the stuffed puppets and placing them carefully in the box where Elysia kept her toys. She was almost done when, suddenly, the phone rang.
Gracia hadn’t finished with Elysia’s bath yet though; Sarah could still hear water splashing in the inner room. That meant that Sarah herself would have to answer it instead.
But who could be calling at this time of day? Neither she nor Gracia were expecting any phone-calls.
Although…
At the second ring, Sarah had placed the last toy in the box and secured everything with a small lock. At the third, she was already hurrying in the phone’s direction, calling out to Gracia that she would get that. And when the phone was about to go off for a fourth time, Sarah picked up the receiver and said: “Hello?”
“Sarah?”
She smiled, for she understood immediately who it was. “Yes,” she answered. “It’s been a while.”
A very loud sound from a motor engine passing by almost made her jump. She looked at the receiver in a suspicious manner for a brief moment and then placed it back in her ear. “Where are you?”
“Sorry about that,” Havoc said, a goofy grin evident even in his voice. “Mustang said that I shouldn’t use the military lines in case they’re tapped, so I used my lunch break as a pretext to go outside of Headquarters and call you. I’m in a phone booth close to a motorway.”
“Good thinking, though I might have trouble hearing you now,” she said with a tease.
“I’ll tap it in Morse code for you,” Havoc said, playing along.
She clicked her tongue. “I don’t know it.”
“How about smoke signals then?”
Sarah couldn’t help it; she giggled.
“I love it when you laugh, did you know that?”
Though Havoc spoke softly this time, Sarah managed to pick up every single word loud and clear. She blushed. “Stop it, you didn’t call me for that,” she said, not sounding as chiding as she would have liked; because she loved it when he made her laugh.
“Right, sorry,” Havoc answered, finally sobering. “Boss said that you might have to go to the archives’ room to find some things for him. Will you be able to go today?”
“Of course,” Sarah said. “Just tell me what I will be looking for.”
“Anything concerning Colonel Juliette Douglas.”
Sarah wasn’t really surprised at that request. Roy had already told her of his suspicions about the Führer’s secretary, and now it was time to find evidence to back it up. Because of that, she was quite calm when she answered:
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Once the lunch break was over, Havoc slowly took the way back to the office, leaving behind a light trail of smoke because of the cigarette that was hanging on his lips. A couple of privates instantly stood at attention and saluted when he passed them by, but he simply told them in a bored manner: “As you were.” After all, he had other things in his mind at present to pay attention to such typicality.
What really startled him was the reaction of his friends when he opened the door of the office. Riza had looked up in mild concern; Breda and Falman had stood up, their tension written all over their features; whereas Fuery had looked downright anxious.
“Lieutenant Havoc,” the woman said simply, her expression softening somewhat. She sat down again, an action that was soon followed by the others as well.
Havoc raised an eyebrow and looked at each and everyone curiously. “What’s going on? Is there a surprise inspection going on?”
“That would have been a lot less nerve-wracking, I can tell you that,” Fuery said ruefully.
“Then what…?” But Havoc didn’t continue, for it was then that he noticed someone very important was missing.
“Where’s the Colonel?” he asked.
“With Douglas,” Breda said. “She sent word that she wanted to see him.”
Havoc frowned. “That’s odd.”
“You can say that again,” Falman replied.
“So how long has he been gone?”
“Twenty minutes,” Riza answered.
If Havoc ever meant to comment on that, he never got the chance, because it was then that the door opened again and Roy walked in. Everyone was shocked to see the Colonel’s grim expression and they had no idea what to make of it.
“Sir?” Fuery finally asked in hesitation.
Roy ignored the question that was left unuttered for the present and went to sit behind his desk instead.
“Colonel?”
Roy only placed his hands on the desk and knitted his fingers.
“Boss?”
This time Roy graced his subordinates with a small, sober look before he hid his face behind the knitted fingers… and started laughing so hard that it took him about five minutes before he managed to explain to the others what was it Douglas had asked of him.
Even Riza couldn’t help but smile a bit at the irony of the situation. “An alchemist is suspected to be with that fearsome Ishbalan terrorist group we’re after, huh?”
“He must be very elusive,” Falman said in a serious tone, yet still grinning.
“Why, I think he’s right under our very noses,” Breda said, acting as though thinking hard at the prospect of such a grievous situation.
“Indeed,” Roy said with a smile. “Everything’s off the record, of course.”
“Of course,” all the soldiers said at once, saluting.
“Good. Now that that has been taken care of… Have you made the phone-call?” Roy asked Havoc.
“Yes, Sir,” Havoc replied. “Although I’m not sure what it is you’re hoping to find.”
“I will know once Mrs. Abbot checks those files.”
After Sarah hung up, she decided to see to her errand at once. Claiming that she was called from the library for an important file organization problem, she told Gracia that she would have to leave and she should not worry about Alice, because Sarah herself would pick her from school once the matter that came up was finally settled. Gracia didn’t really understand why Sarah was so needed over something that didn’t seem all that challenging for any other librarian to handle, but Sarah threw it all into bureaucracy and its insufficient way of handling things.
Gracia didn’t object this time. And so, almost an hour later, Sarah was walking through the entrance of the military Headquarters and heading where the archives’ room was.
Hmm… one young private appointed as the curator, Sarah thought. Big mistake.
“Excuse me?” she uttered.
The young private lifted his gaze from the list he was holding and looked at Sarah. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I’ve come from the State Library. I was asked to check on the name registries and certificates in this room. We have to see which files and names have gone missing after that fire that almost destroyed the library.”
The private blinked.
“Is there something wrong?” Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
“No, um…” the young private stopped momentarily, deciding to be more tactful about matters. “It’s just that I wasn’t informed about a thing like this.”
Sarah acted surprised at this. “Not informed?” she said. “It wasn’t you that I spoke to on the phone then?”
The young private shook his head. “You must mean sergeant-major Powel. I’m sorry, but he left three hours ago.”
“Well, I don’t know who it was, but I was assured that I could pass by anytime I wished so I could work. That’s why I got this in the first place.” And with that, Sarah held up her special permission so that the private could see it. “Now will you please let me in? I have a little girl to pick up from school afterwards.”
The private immediately nodded. “Yes, of course! Go right in! I’m sorry for inconveniencing you.”
She murmured her thanks and walked inside the archives’ room without looking back at him. Once she was sure that there wasn’t anyone around watching her, she made a bee-line for the files of the enlisted officers.
It was to her great dismay, however, when she discovered that there were no files with the name Juliette Douglas on them. It was as though the woman never existed – which was nothing further from the truth.
So why?
Sarah could only suspect one reason, especially after Colonel Mustang convinced her about Douglas’s dubious nature.
Whatever was in those files, it certainly wasn’t in favour of the Führer’s secretary.
Ed glared at the locked door of the bedroom he and Al shared. He didn’t want to be there at all, but could he really argue with the Teacher’s husband? And besides, it wasn’t that that annoyed Ed the most; it was the fact that he even had a guard outside the door as though this place was some form of prison!
“Damn it, Mason! Will you let me out already?!” he cried, banging once at the door.
“Sorry,” Mason’s voice sounded through the door. “Boss said I shouldn’t let you out and, let’s face it, I’d rather I complied with his orders.”
Ed huffed in frustration.
“Fine. Can you at least tell me where Teacher went?”
“I’m not sure,” Mason said, his voice sounding as though thinking about it. “She asked me to prepare a boat for her, so my guess is she has gone to the island again.”
The island? Ed was now more curious than never, because he still remembered her words only too clearly – she wanted to confirm something.
But what could there be on the island that needed confirming?
It was the sound of chalk sliding on the floor that finally cut Ed off from his musings. Feeling a bit surprised, Ed turned around and noticed why Al had been so quiet in the last five minutes: he was drawing a transmutation circle.
“What are you doing?” he asked curiously.
Al immediately placed a finger close to the crack that served the suit of armour as mouth in order to shush his brother. “With any luck, Winry is still below us.”
“So?”
Al just activated the circle. A few seconds later, Ed understood what his brother had done. He had simply calculated where exactly the light in the room below was, so he could then transmute it to a crude version of a telephone.
“Winry?” Al said close to the speaker. “Winry, are you there?”
“Yes, I am,” Winry’s voice sounded clearly through the transmuted gadget. “But what’s with the phone on the ceiling?”
“Basically, we can’t get out of the room,” Al replied. “However, there was something that I wanted to ask you.”
“Well, I hope it’s important. Your transmutation has scared the boy and now he’s hiding behind me,” Winry said, hardly concealing her scolding tone. “Just what did you guys do to him?”
“We’re sorry about that one,” Al said apologetically. “But it is important, trust me.”
There was a small pause.
“Okay then, go ahead.”
“While the boy was sleeping, did you notice his right arm?” Al asked.
Ed now knelt beside Al. He didn’t know why Al would ask such a question, but he knew this: if his brother asked it, it meant that he had to listen to the answer as well.
“Well, yeah…” Winry said. “You know, it’s an odd coincidence. He has a scar from a bite right where Ed used to have one too.”
Ed felt like his heart suddenly missed a beat. And he could only look at Al in a horrified manner when his little brother ended the communication with a hushed “Thanks.”
“Al…” His voice betrayed him, so he tried again. “What… what was that about?”
Al’s eyes dimmed as he looked at Ed in what could only be described a sad manner. “Brother… you said you saw the boy at the gate. That’s where our bodies are too, remember?”
“Don’t say it!” Ed cried at once. He already suspected where Al was getting at, but he didn’t want to believe it; he couldn’t. “You have it wrong, okay? They’re not the same limbs!”
“How many people can get animal bites in the same place, Brother?” Al reasoned calmly. “And how many people have mismatched arms and legs without said limbs being artificial?”
“Drop it, Al!” Ed warned. “Those limbs were taken to the Gate in exchange for Mum and you! It was equivalent exchange!”
“Nevertheless, we already figured there is a way for us to get them back. And Beregond got his own body back when he was brought here.”
“His body!” Ed all but cried. “So why would this boy have my--?!” He never finished his sentence, because a sound that resembled awfully much a snarl tore out of his chest and he clapped.
“Brother, no!” Al immediately wrapped his arms around Ed’s body to prevent him from performing any alchemy. He didn’t know what Ed could do in his anger, but he didn’t care to find out either.
“Let go, Alphonse!” Ed growled, struggling to get away.
“No!”
“I said: let me go!”
“Not when you’re like this!”
“I need to know, damn it!”
“And you will!” Al said as soothingly as he could under the circumstances, hoping that it was enough to appease his brother. “We both will.”
Ed breathed hard, attempting to free himself from Al’s vice-grip one last time before finally accepting his defeat. Al was right, they would find out. But not when he was blinded by fury.
On the other hand… if that boy really had his limbs…
Ed trembled even at the thought of that possibility.
The moment Izumi arrived at the island, she immediately headed to the centre of it. She knew that there was a strange formation of stone pillars placed there long ago by people driven by sacred religions and beliefs, and it was that place she wanted to see.
It was also a place that she knew quite well, because she had been there before.
She scrutinised her surroundings thoughtfully, finally deciding that there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary there; not at first glance anyway.
But then she let her gaze drift to the ground. And her experienced eye caught sight of the thin trail on the ground that was still visible – if only barely.
It was the trail of something crawling away from the centre of the formation.
“No…”
Her shock didn’t last long, because a new series of violent spasms racked her body, forcing her to cough out blood. She tried to control herself, but it wasn’t possible; and soon the ground was covered in red. Finally, weakened and betrayed by the very body she had strived to make strong, she fell into a swoon and lost consciousness.
TBC…
Subtitles
- Brother's Debt
- Fullmetal Body, Fullmetal Heart
- A Quiet Day
- In The Night
- Two Men's Faces
- Transfer
- Making Plans
- Shadows Of The Past
- Underworld
- The Price Of Immortality
- Departure
- The Key
- Enemy Revealed
- A Step Back
- A Step Closer To The Truth
- A Race
- Rush Valley
- Responsibility
- Izumi
- Time To Stand Still
- Wild Child
- Encounter
- Riddles In The Dark
- In Search For Answers
- A Teacher's Mistakes
- Complications
- Visits
- The Nature Of A Homunculus
- Dante Of The Deep Forest
- Kidnapped
- Fight At The Devil's Nest
- Innocence Lost
- Blood Spilt
- Recovering
- Bearers Of Ill News
- The Flame Alchemist
- True Colours
- Markings On The Ground
- The Mission
- Heading To Liore
- Change Of Plans
- The Scar
- Holy Mother
- A Mother's Face
- Final Moments