Heading To Liore
“Beregond?”
Beregond opened his eyes slowly. He didn’t know where he was at first. However, when he saw Hughes’ face hovering over him, his memories caught up with him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” he said.
“It’s fine. I’m more concerned about your back actually,” Hughes answered. “Sleeping on a chair can’t be all that comfortable.”
Indeed, Beregond had fallen asleep on a chair in Alice’s room while watching over the little girl. And that was where he had remained until Hughes apparently decided to wake him up.
Beregond smiled. “I’m used to it.” Rubbing the last remnants of sleep off his eyes, he looked around in a curious manner. “Where are the others?”
“They’ve gone out. Sarah had to take Alice to school, while Ed and Al went to see Winry at the hotel.”
“Oh,” Beregond noted thoughtfully. He sighed ruefully. “I wish they had told me about it.”
“They figured you needed the rest, that’s why they didn’t wake you,” Hughes said.
“But we have a train to catch!” Beregond exclaimed.
“They know,” Hughes replied. “They told me that you would meet them at the station at 12.00.”
Beregond sighed. It was just like Ed to leave something till the last minute. Their train to Liore was supposed to leave at that very time. If they were a minute late and missed the train, that could mean trouble with the higher-ranking officers. Beregond had already more than his fill of that in this second lifetime.
Still, the Gondorian knew that there was nothing for it. Whether he liked it or not, Ed not only outranked him, but he was also very, very stubborn. He wouldn’t have been able to stop him even if he had tried.
“Beregond?”
Beregond’s thoughts were cut off at the sound of Hughes’ voice. He berated himself for drifting off like that and faced his friend again. “Yes?”
“There’s a reason I woke you up.”
Beregond raised his eyebrow in curiosity. “What is it?”
Maes straightened his glasses in a nervous manner. “I want you to make a phone-call.”
When Ed and Al arrived at the hotel, the receptionist directed them to Winry’s room. Al thanked the man politely, but Ed wasn’t feeling particularly talkative this morning. After all, he wasn’t sure what Winry wanted from him, and he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know.
Even so, he knocked on the door. “Winry?”
There was no answer. Ed and Al exchanged a look before the teen alchemist knocked on the door again.
“Winry?”
No luck. The girl didn’t respond this time either. To the boys, that could only mean one thing.
“WINRY!” Ed and Al immediately smashed the door and hurried inside, expecting to find the place dishevelled and their friend gone.
The girl wasn’t only there, however, but she also jumped up from the couch with a great battle cry and threw a wrench in the direction of the crash. Ed let out an exclamation of pain and fell on the ground, a lump already forming on his forehead. Al squeaked and retreated a few steps, taken aback at the sudden counter-attack.
“Ed? Al?” Winry asked in the end, her tone groggy with sleep. She first looked at the suit of armour, then at the teen alchemist on the floor.
Only then did she realise what happened.
“Oops… Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly. She lowered the second wrench she had been about to throw at the ‘intruders’, and she sat on a chair with a sigh. “It’s your fault, though. You should have knocked.”
“We did knock,” Ed grumbled, getting back on his feet.
“I don’t think crashing a door can be considered knocking,” the girl pointed out.
“Well, if someone had answered the door in the first place, then this wouldn’t have happened!” Ed retorted, scowling.
“Give me a break, I was working all night,” Winry answered. “The least you can do is show some gratitude.”
The boys looked at Winry curiously. “What were you working on?” Ed asked.
Winry settled with just pointing at the table nearby. Ed and Al turned, and they caught themselves staring in wonder at a silver-hued automail arm and leg.
“Is that… for me?” Ed asked, feeling almost at a loss for words.
Winry nodded. “It’s made of mithril. Beregond figured you would need it while fighting in Liore,” she explained. She flicked the plating, and a small melodious sound filled the room. “Very light, but harder than steel. You should have no problem with it.”
“So that’s what you were planning back at the train,” Al exclaimed.
“Pretty much,” WInry answered with a smile. “Now come on, Ed, sit down so I can install it on you. Al… you’d better fix that door. I don’t need an audience while I’m operating.”
Surprised, Al looked at the door, noticing that there was already a group of people commenting on the door’s state. Glad for once that he couldn’t blush, Al bowed his head slightly in a gesture of apology and walked up to the ruined door.
A clap later, the door was back to normal. So, satisfied, Al faced Ed and Winry again…
… only to see them staring at him incredulously.
“What?” the suit of armour asked, but it soon dawned on him. He staggered backwards, looking at his hands in disbelief. “I… I clapped!”
“Yeah,” Ed answered, his amber-coloured eyes still wide open.
“But how? I couldn’t… Oh…” Al’s voice trailed off. “It’s because I remembered what happened at the Gate, isn’t it?”
Ed nodded. “You know what that means, right?”
Al let out a sigh. “Dante will want to come after us more than ever if Scar fails to create the philosopher’s stone.”
“Unfortunately,” Ed said. The boy’s features creased to a small frown as he contemplated matters. “Use your alchemy as little as possible. If people think that you still can only use transmutation circles, it will work to our advantage.”
“Okay,” Al said with a nod. Suddenly, his red eyes flickered in a mischievous glint. “Brother?”
“Hm? Yeah, Al?” Ed asked, not minding Winry as she took out his automail arm.
“I’m as good as you now.”
Ed froze at the realisation. Al was right. Before, Ed was the powerful alchemist, whereas Al provided physical strength. But now, Al was both a powerful alchemist and a better fighter.
The equation was disrupted.
Damn it.
Ed didn’t have the chance to think about it much longer, though. At that moment, Winry installed the mithril arm on him.
Ed’s scream rang throughout the building.
The sound of ringing filled Roy’s office, but Roy himself hardly paid attention to it. He was busy signing one last stack of papers before he headed for the station. Besides, he knew that Riza would answer the phone anyway.
Sure enough, Riza stood up and picked up the receiver. Roy fleetingly heard her speaking on the phone for a while, and he thought that would be that.
He certainly didn’t expect to see her walk up to him, a very serious look on her face.
“Colonel, your brother has just called and he wishes to speak with you. I suggest you don’t use the military lines since they’re not meant for personal conversations.”
Roy frowned, quite surprised at her words.
My brother?
However, something in Riza’s expression made him catch on.
“Did he leave a number?” he asked, sounding nonchalant.
“Here you are, Sir,” Riza answered, handing him a small piece of paper. “You’d better be quick about it.”
“Don’t worry,” was all that Roy said before grabbing his overcoat and walking out. As soon as he found a phone-booth, he walked inside and dialled the number Riza had given him.
“Hello?” another voice replied at the other end of the line.
Roy couldn’t help but smirk slightly. He knew that voice only too well.
“Brother, huh?” he asked. “Too bad I only have sisters.”
“Hughes had already told me that, but I couldn’t transmute myself into a woman,” Beregond said dryly.
Roy couldn’t help it. He smiled. “I suppose not. Did Hughes talk you into phoning me?”
“You have to admit, he’s persuasive.”
“I know.”
“He also loves his family very much.”
Ah… so that’s the problem, Roy thought, sighing a bit. “Beregond, there’s a reason he’s hiding. I thought you understood that.”
“I do, Sir,” Beregond replied, his tone gentle. “But I also know what it means to be separated from your child.”
Roy winced inwardly. It was no wonder Hughes had managed to convince the Gondorian so easily. Beregond used to have a family too and, though he never showed it openly, he was still pained by the loss. He certainly wouldn’t want anyone else to go through such pain.
“Colonel, you had told me some time ago that I could always speak to you freely,” Beregond said at that moment.
“And I meant it,” Roy answered.
“Then there’s something I feel I should point out,” the Gondorian said. “You’ve said that both the Führer and Colonel Douglas will travel to Liore in order to observe matters there.”
“Yes.”
“And we’ll be there as well, so they can keep an eye on us too.”
“Yes.”
“That means their focus is shifting. There won’t be any surveillance in Central,” Beregond said.
Roy frowned at this. He had to admit that Beregond had a point, but…
“It won’t stay that way for long.”
“It’s still a chance,” Beregond said. “And, besides, Sir… I believe Hughes might take advantage of the situation anyway, although he’d preferred it if you knew about it.”
Roy now realised that there was nothing for it. He’d have to relent.
“Understood. You can tell Hughes that he can go to Gracia when the coast clears,” he finally said. “But he should still watch out.”
“It will be done,” Beregond said. “I’m sure Mrs Abbot will help him.”
“I’m sure of it too,” Roy said, resting his back against the booth. “I’ll see you at the station, Sergeant.”
“Farewell for the time being, Sir.”
And with that, they hung up.
“Done,” Winry declared, wiping her hands on a piece of cloth. “Tell me what you think, Ed.”
Ed didn’t get up at once. He first flexed his automail fingers and toes, looking at the metal digits moving with fluent precision. It was strange to see such a light-coloured automail on him, but he liked it. Winry had certainly outdone herself.
However, he truly appreciated the new automail when he stood up and took a few steps forwards. He froze and stared at both fake limbs in sheer disbelief.
“Brother? What’s wrong?” Alphonse asked. He hadn’t expected that kind of reaction.
“Wrong?” Ed echoed, a broad grin crossing his features. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it! It’s perfect!” Before Winry and Al could stop him, Ed made a series of cartwheels around the room, all the while positively beaming. “It’s almost as light as my real limbs!”
“I take it you approve,” Winry noted with a smile. Her eyes shone with a mischievous glint. “Now, about the cost of the automail…”
Ed winced. He should have realised that things were too good to be true.
Surprisingly enough, though, the girl started laughing.
“I’m just kidding, Ed. It’s not going to be as expensive as the previous time,” she said. “I’ll just charge the work done on the assembly, since Beregond was the one that provided the materials.”
“Oh! Thanks, Winry!” Ed replied, smiling once again.
“Not me… him,” Winry answered. She paused, regarding the brothers in a thoughtful manner. “He really cares about you two. Very much like an uncle.”
Ed and Al exchanged a small glance before turning to the girl once more.
“We know, Winry.”
Winry’s expression had become quite serious though. “So… I know he’ll look after you in Liore.”
Al’s eyes dimmed slightly at those words. “Winry…”
“That doesn’t mean you can do whatever comes to your head, okay?” she continued, her eyes now stubbornly locked downwards. “You have a quest to see through, get it?”
Ed and Al didn’t speak for some time, unsure what to say. And just when the suit of armour plucked up the courage to speak, Winry looked up, her smile back on her face.
“All right, now shoo,” she declared in a weak tone, waving her hand dismissively. “You have a train to catch.”
“Aren’t you coming?” Ed asked, sounding surprised.
Winry shook her head. “I want to see Mr. and Mrs. Hughes while I’m here.”
Both boys flinched at those words, and they shifted their weight in an embarrassed manner.
“What?” Winry didn’t understand what the problem was.
Ed looked at Al in pleading way, hoping that his brother would get them out of this awkward situation. Al shook his head, though; he was out of ideas as well.
It couldn’t be helped anymore. Winry deserved to learn the truth, so Ed decided to tell her just that.
“Winry… you’d better sit down.”
Beregond was sitting at one of the benches at the train station, tapping his foot nervously. He looked around once more to find any sign of Ed and Al, but he didn’t see anything. Sighing, he rested his back once more against his seat.
A hand rested on his in reassurance.
“They’ll be here,” Sarah said. “We were just the first to arrive.”
Beregond nodded, but there was a very troubled expression on his features.
“A part of me wants them here so that they won’t get into any trouble,” he confessed in a quiet tone. “Another wants them to miss the train.”
Sarah bowed her head. “I know the feeling.”
Beregond nodded his understanding and he placed his free hand on her shoulder. Yes, Sarah knew the feeling. After all, there was someone else heading to war; someone as important to the woman as her late husband had been, if not more. That was why she had accompanied Beregond to the station after leaving Alice at her school.
“By the way, I spoke to the Colonel,” he said, remembering himself. “Hughes can go see Gracia, provided you keep an eye on him.”
“All right,” Sarah answered. “And while you’ll be away, we’ll look for any more evidence against the Führer.”
“Good,” Beregond said. However, he couldn’t help but also feel troubled. “Will you manage it on your own?”
Sarah was quite honest about things. “No. But we can always ask Scieszka’s help as well. And… I think it’s time she learnt about Hughes too.”
Beregond winced. “At this rate, Hughes’ resurrection from the dead will become the top gossip in Central.”
Sarah chuckled. “I don’t think anyone who’s on the know would risk disclosing such information to just anyone. It would sound too unbelievable.”
“That’s true, I suppose,” Beregond mused.
And with that, they both fell silent, getting lost in thought. That is, until a hesitant voice sounded quite close to them.
“Mrs. Abbot?”
Beregond and Sarah lifted their gaze, surprised to see that it was a young woman with glasses. The Gondorian hadn’t seen her before, but Sarah obviously recognised her.
“Scieszka? What are you doing here?” she asked, standing up to greet her friend.
“I just wanted to see someone off,” Scieszka replied timidly. Just then, she caught sight of Beregond, who still regarded her curiously. “Um… I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you had company. I should go.”
“It’s fine,” Sarah said calmly, gripping the girl gently by the arm to make her stay put. She nodded in Beregond’s direction. “He’s a friend of Ed and Al. He’s heading for Liore too.”
Scieszka blinked a bit, staring at Beregond, and then looked back at Sarah. “Does he… know?” she asked nervously.
Sarah nodded, and Scieszka relaxed quite visibly. She bowed her head apologetically to Beregond.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said in a polite manner. “It’s just that a lot of things have been happening lately.”
“I understand. There’s no need for an apology,” Beregond replied, waving his hand dismissively.
Scieszka made a motion to speak again, but she never had the chance. Just then, Coonel Mustang entered the station in the company of his unit. Beregond noticed the young girl looking at Falman, while Sarah directed her gaze to Havoc. Smiling inwardly, Beregond slipped away and walked up to Roy to salute him.
“At ease,” Roy said, saluting back. “Everything’s been taken care of?”
“Yes, Sir,” Beregond replied.
However, Roy looked around, raising one of his eyebrows. “And yet I don’t see Ed and Al anywhere.”
“Here!” Ed’s voice sounded above the crowd at that moment.
Beregond, Roy and the others turned around, just in time to see the teen alchemist dragging Faenel with him and pushing his way through another group of soldiers nearby. Alphonse was following closely behind, apologising all the way like always. Winry, on the other hand, seemed quite subdued, her face pale and worn out.
Beregond knew the reason behind the girl’s weariness, of course. Still, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. He couldn’t even guess for how long she had worked on Ed’s mithril automail.
Still, it looked like it was worth it. As he watched the young alchemist place Faenel inside the last compartment with the military horses, Beregond couldn’t help but notice that Ed’s step was lighter and livelier than before.
“So, boys,” Roy said, looking at Ed and Al curiously and a smirk crossing his features. “You decided you couldn’t leave all the fun to us?”
“Oh, be grateful,” Ed retorted. “You need someone to clean the mess you’re bound to do.”
Beregond shook his head mentally at the banter, knowing perfectly well that that was Ed’s way of reporting for duty.
Just then, he also noticed that Winry had in the meantime walked away discreetly to talk to Scieszka and Sarah. Judging by the dumbfounded look on Scieszka’s face, Beregond realised that they were making some certain arrangement concerning Hughes.
It was also a fortunate thing that the train whistle covered the poor girl’s scream of disbelief at hearing of her boss’s revival.
“Beregond? Ready to go?”
It was Al who asked that, regarding the Gondorian curiously.
Beregond nodded absentmindedly, looking at the train, then at the other soldiers and, lastly, to Winry, Sarah and Scieszka.
“Tomorrow will be certain to bring worse than today, for many days to come. And there is nothing more that I can do to help it. The board is set, and the pieces are moving.”
“What?” Al asked, confused.
“Nothing. That’s what an acquaintance of mine said long ago,” Beregond replied quietly, and he boarded the train.
The last thing he saw was Havoc and Sarah exchanging a glance full of meaning and mouth three words in the form of farewell.
I love you.
Gracia looked at the clock on the table to check the time. Seeing that it was getting late, she turned to her daughter, who was sitting at the table and drawing on a piece of paper.
“Elysia, it’s time for bed.”
The girl nodded, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She extended her arms upwards so that Gracia would pick her up and sighed once she settled in her mother’s arms. By the time Gracia went upstairs and placed Elysia on the bed, Elysia had fallen asleep.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Gracia whispered and kissed her daughter on the forehead. Making sure that she didn’t make any noise as she walked out the room, she got ready to turn in too.
Just then, she thought she heard a knock on the door, something that surprised her. The hour was quite late and she wasn’t really expecting anyone. So, she dismissed the sound as a figment of her imagination. That is, until there was a second knock.
The woman didn’t like that. Nevertheless, she went down the stairs and looked outside the window to see who it was. She could clearly see Sarah, and her friend wasn’t alone. Winry and Scieszka were with her, as well as another, taller figure, whose face she couldn’t make out.
Fearing that something must have happened, Gracia quickly opened the door.
“Sarah, what’s going--”
Gracia’s words died in her throat, and all she could do was stare at a face she believed she would never see again. She took a few steps back, feeling her eyes widening tenfold.
“H-how--?”
Sarah walked in, placing her hand on Gracia’s shoulder in reassurance.
“It’s a long story, so you’d better sit down,” she said, already prodding the woman towards the sofa.
“So, what can you guys tell me about Liore?”
Ed and Al turned to Beregond, surprised at that unexpected question. The Gondorian was sitting by the window, a curious look on his features.
“What do you want to know?” Ed asked cautiously.
“Have you been there before?”
“We have,” Al replied with a nod. “Almost a year ago.”
Beregond nodded his understanding. “Were things as bad then as they are now?”
“No, not really,” Ed replied. “In fact, the town was pretty much loaded because of a certain priest and his lies.”
“A priest?” Beregond echoed as the story started sounding familiar. “Wait a minute… Are we talking about the same priest that used a fake philosopher’s stone so he could present himself as an emissary of a god?”
Ed and Al nodded.
Beregond sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“It couldn’t be helped, I guess,” Ed said, shrugging his shoulders. “The homunculi wanted their fallout, so they made one.” His gaze drifted to the direction of Kimblee, who was sitting a little farther away. “And they plan to finish the job.”
“Let it go, Brother,” Al said. “It’s not worth it.”
“Alphonse is right,” Beregond said. “It’s not in our place to judge who the military hires or not; we have other matters to worry about.”
Ed didn’t say anything to that. He realised that Al and Beregond had a point.
“So…” Beregond asked in a nonchalant manner at that moment, “Did you meet anyone else in Liore except for the priest?”
Ed crossed his arms and closed his eyes. “Nope. None that I can remember.”
“Come on, Brother,” Al said, his tone slightly chiding. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten Rose.”
“Who?” Beregond asked.
“A girl we met while we were in Liore,” Al answered. “She used to work for the priest, until she understood that he was a fake.”
“Oh.” Beregond pursed his lips momentarily. “So… You think she’s still in Liore?”
“Probably,” Al said.
“My question is: why do you want to know?” Ed said, looking Beregond from the corner of his eye.
“I just wanted to know,” the Gondorian replied simply, and he left it at that.
Ed wished he could believe that.
Sarah didn’t realise how long she spoke, sitting on the sofa in Hughes’ house. Nevertheless, she kept talking, hardly paying attention to the shocked faces of Gracia and Scieszka, or Maes and Winry’s knowing expressions; until she finally finished her part of the story.
“And that’s about it,” she said in the end. “By Roy’s orders, we’ve been keeping Maes out of sight since.”
“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t say something before,” Scieszka said at that moment. “I was blaming Colonel Mustang for nothing.”
“I couldn’t tell you. We wanted your grudge to be genuine,” Sarah replied with a shake of her head. “We even meant to keep it a secret longer, but there’s been a change of plans.”
“A change?” Gracia asked, not really understanding.
“The enemy has made their first move. Now it’s time we made ours,” Sarah explained. She smiled wanly. “However, Maes wanted to set things right for your sake, Gracia.”
The woman seemed to have barely acknowledged Sarah, though. Her eyes were locked on Maes, still regarding him in a mixture of disbelief and hope.
“I should have realised something was wrong,” she said quietly. “They wouldn’t let me see your body. They wouldn’t even say what had happened to you.”
“I know,” Maes said. He reached for her in mild hesitation and held both her hands in his. “I wish I could somehow--”
“Shh,” she replied, nuzzling his nose gently. “It doesn’t matter now.” She leaned forward, burying herself in his arms and resting her head on Maes’ chest. “You’re back.”
“We still have to be careful,” Maes pointed out.
“That’s why Scieszka and I will work in the field instead,” Sarah said. “However, we need to start making people understand that the military isn’t what it seems. To do that, we’ll have to start confiding in people we can trust.”
“Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Bloch are decent people,” Maes said. “They’ll be able to help you and get you information from inside Headquarters now that Roy is gone.”
“That will do the trick,” Sarah said. “And I suggest we make copies of the evidence we’ve found so far. We don’t need the homunculi to get their hands on our only proof.”
“But where will you keep those copies?” Winry asked curiously.
Maes turned to the girl, his face quite serious.
“Winry… when do you leave for Resembool?”
The girl blinked in surprise.
TBC…
Beregond opened his eyes slowly. He didn’t know where he was at first. However, when he saw Hughes’ face hovering over him, his memories caught up with him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” he said.
“It’s fine. I’m more concerned about your back actually,” Hughes answered. “Sleeping on a chair can’t be all that comfortable.”
Indeed, Beregond had fallen asleep on a chair in Alice’s room while watching over the little girl. And that was where he had remained until Hughes apparently decided to wake him up.
Beregond smiled. “I’m used to it.” Rubbing the last remnants of sleep off his eyes, he looked around in a curious manner. “Where are the others?”
“They’ve gone out. Sarah had to take Alice to school, while Ed and Al went to see Winry at the hotel.”
“Oh,” Beregond noted thoughtfully. He sighed ruefully. “I wish they had told me about it.”
“They figured you needed the rest, that’s why they didn’t wake you,” Hughes said.
“But we have a train to catch!” Beregond exclaimed.
“They know,” Hughes replied. “They told me that you would meet them at the station at 12.00.”
Beregond sighed. It was just like Ed to leave something till the last minute. Their train to Liore was supposed to leave at that very time. If they were a minute late and missed the train, that could mean trouble with the higher-ranking officers. Beregond had already more than his fill of that in this second lifetime.
Still, the Gondorian knew that there was nothing for it. Whether he liked it or not, Ed not only outranked him, but he was also very, very stubborn. He wouldn’t have been able to stop him even if he had tried.
“Beregond?”
Beregond’s thoughts were cut off at the sound of Hughes’ voice. He berated himself for drifting off like that and faced his friend again. “Yes?”
“There’s a reason I woke you up.”
Beregond raised his eyebrow in curiosity. “What is it?”
Maes straightened his glasses in a nervous manner. “I want you to make a phone-call.”
When Ed and Al arrived at the hotel, the receptionist directed them to Winry’s room. Al thanked the man politely, but Ed wasn’t feeling particularly talkative this morning. After all, he wasn’t sure what Winry wanted from him, and he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know.
Even so, he knocked on the door. “Winry?”
There was no answer. Ed and Al exchanged a look before the teen alchemist knocked on the door again.
“Winry?”
No luck. The girl didn’t respond this time either. To the boys, that could only mean one thing.
“WINRY!” Ed and Al immediately smashed the door and hurried inside, expecting to find the place dishevelled and their friend gone.
The girl wasn’t only there, however, but she also jumped up from the couch with a great battle cry and threw a wrench in the direction of the crash. Ed let out an exclamation of pain and fell on the ground, a lump already forming on his forehead. Al squeaked and retreated a few steps, taken aback at the sudden counter-attack.
“Ed? Al?” Winry asked in the end, her tone groggy with sleep. She first looked at the suit of armour, then at the teen alchemist on the floor.
Only then did she realise what happened.
“Oops… Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly. She lowered the second wrench she had been about to throw at the ‘intruders’, and she sat on a chair with a sigh. “It’s your fault, though. You should have knocked.”
“We did knock,” Ed grumbled, getting back on his feet.
“I don’t think crashing a door can be considered knocking,” the girl pointed out.
“Well, if someone had answered the door in the first place, then this wouldn’t have happened!” Ed retorted, scowling.
“Give me a break, I was working all night,” Winry answered. “The least you can do is show some gratitude.”
The boys looked at Winry curiously. “What were you working on?” Ed asked.
Winry settled with just pointing at the table nearby. Ed and Al turned, and they caught themselves staring in wonder at a silver-hued automail arm and leg.
“Is that… for me?” Ed asked, feeling almost at a loss for words.
Winry nodded. “It’s made of mithril. Beregond figured you would need it while fighting in Liore,” she explained. She flicked the plating, and a small melodious sound filled the room. “Very light, but harder than steel. You should have no problem with it.”
“So that’s what you were planning back at the train,” Al exclaimed.
“Pretty much,” WInry answered with a smile. “Now come on, Ed, sit down so I can install it on you. Al… you’d better fix that door. I don’t need an audience while I’m operating.”
Surprised, Al looked at the door, noticing that there was already a group of people commenting on the door’s state. Glad for once that he couldn’t blush, Al bowed his head slightly in a gesture of apology and walked up to the ruined door.
A clap later, the door was back to normal. So, satisfied, Al faced Ed and Winry again…
… only to see them staring at him incredulously.
“What?” the suit of armour asked, but it soon dawned on him. He staggered backwards, looking at his hands in disbelief. “I… I clapped!”
“Yeah,” Ed answered, his amber-coloured eyes still wide open.
“But how? I couldn’t… Oh…” Al’s voice trailed off. “It’s because I remembered what happened at the Gate, isn’t it?”
Ed nodded. “You know what that means, right?”
Al let out a sigh. “Dante will want to come after us more than ever if Scar fails to create the philosopher’s stone.”
“Unfortunately,” Ed said. The boy’s features creased to a small frown as he contemplated matters. “Use your alchemy as little as possible. If people think that you still can only use transmutation circles, it will work to our advantage.”
“Okay,” Al said with a nod. Suddenly, his red eyes flickered in a mischievous glint. “Brother?”
“Hm? Yeah, Al?” Ed asked, not minding Winry as she took out his automail arm.
“I’m as good as you now.”
Ed froze at the realisation. Al was right. Before, Ed was the powerful alchemist, whereas Al provided physical strength. But now, Al was both a powerful alchemist and a better fighter.
The equation was disrupted.
Damn it.
Ed didn’t have the chance to think about it much longer, though. At that moment, Winry installed the mithril arm on him.
Ed’s scream rang throughout the building.
The sound of ringing filled Roy’s office, but Roy himself hardly paid attention to it. He was busy signing one last stack of papers before he headed for the station. Besides, he knew that Riza would answer the phone anyway.
Sure enough, Riza stood up and picked up the receiver. Roy fleetingly heard her speaking on the phone for a while, and he thought that would be that.
He certainly didn’t expect to see her walk up to him, a very serious look on her face.
“Colonel, your brother has just called and he wishes to speak with you. I suggest you don’t use the military lines since they’re not meant for personal conversations.”
Roy frowned, quite surprised at her words.
My brother?
However, something in Riza’s expression made him catch on.
“Did he leave a number?” he asked, sounding nonchalant.
“Here you are, Sir,” Riza answered, handing him a small piece of paper. “You’d better be quick about it.”
“Don’t worry,” was all that Roy said before grabbing his overcoat and walking out. As soon as he found a phone-booth, he walked inside and dialled the number Riza had given him.
“Hello?” another voice replied at the other end of the line.
Roy couldn’t help but smirk slightly. He knew that voice only too well.
“Brother, huh?” he asked. “Too bad I only have sisters.”
“Hughes had already told me that, but I couldn’t transmute myself into a woman,” Beregond said dryly.
Roy couldn’t help it. He smiled. “I suppose not. Did Hughes talk you into phoning me?”
“You have to admit, he’s persuasive.”
“I know.”
“He also loves his family very much.”
Ah… so that’s the problem, Roy thought, sighing a bit. “Beregond, there’s a reason he’s hiding. I thought you understood that.”
“I do, Sir,” Beregond replied, his tone gentle. “But I also know what it means to be separated from your child.”
Roy winced inwardly. It was no wonder Hughes had managed to convince the Gondorian so easily. Beregond used to have a family too and, though he never showed it openly, he was still pained by the loss. He certainly wouldn’t want anyone else to go through such pain.
“Colonel, you had told me some time ago that I could always speak to you freely,” Beregond said at that moment.
“And I meant it,” Roy answered.
“Then there’s something I feel I should point out,” the Gondorian said. “You’ve said that both the Führer and Colonel Douglas will travel to Liore in order to observe matters there.”
“Yes.”
“And we’ll be there as well, so they can keep an eye on us too.”
“Yes.”
“That means their focus is shifting. There won’t be any surveillance in Central,” Beregond said.
Roy frowned at this. He had to admit that Beregond had a point, but…
“It won’t stay that way for long.”
“It’s still a chance,” Beregond said. “And, besides, Sir… I believe Hughes might take advantage of the situation anyway, although he’d preferred it if you knew about it.”
Roy now realised that there was nothing for it. He’d have to relent.
“Understood. You can tell Hughes that he can go to Gracia when the coast clears,” he finally said. “But he should still watch out.”
“It will be done,” Beregond said. “I’m sure Mrs Abbot will help him.”
“I’m sure of it too,” Roy said, resting his back against the booth. “I’ll see you at the station, Sergeant.”
“Farewell for the time being, Sir.”
And with that, they hung up.
“Done,” Winry declared, wiping her hands on a piece of cloth. “Tell me what you think, Ed.”
Ed didn’t get up at once. He first flexed his automail fingers and toes, looking at the metal digits moving with fluent precision. It was strange to see such a light-coloured automail on him, but he liked it. Winry had certainly outdone herself.
However, he truly appreciated the new automail when he stood up and took a few steps forwards. He froze and stared at both fake limbs in sheer disbelief.
“Brother? What’s wrong?” Alphonse asked. He hadn’t expected that kind of reaction.
“Wrong?” Ed echoed, a broad grin crossing his features. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it! It’s perfect!” Before Winry and Al could stop him, Ed made a series of cartwheels around the room, all the while positively beaming. “It’s almost as light as my real limbs!”
“I take it you approve,” Winry noted with a smile. Her eyes shone with a mischievous glint. “Now, about the cost of the automail…”
Ed winced. He should have realised that things were too good to be true.
Surprisingly enough, though, the girl started laughing.
“I’m just kidding, Ed. It’s not going to be as expensive as the previous time,” she said. “I’ll just charge the work done on the assembly, since Beregond was the one that provided the materials.”
“Oh! Thanks, Winry!” Ed replied, smiling once again.
“Not me… him,” Winry answered. She paused, regarding the brothers in a thoughtful manner. “He really cares about you two. Very much like an uncle.”
Ed and Al exchanged a small glance before turning to the girl once more.
“We know, Winry.”
Winry’s expression had become quite serious though. “So… I know he’ll look after you in Liore.”
Al’s eyes dimmed slightly at those words. “Winry…”
“That doesn’t mean you can do whatever comes to your head, okay?” she continued, her eyes now stubbornly locked downwards. “You have a quest to see through, get it?”
Ed and Al didn’t speak for some time, unsure what to say. And just when the suit of armour plucked up the courage to speak, Winry looked up, her smile back on her face.
“All right, now shoo,” she declared in a weak tone, waving her hand dismissively. “You have a train to catch.”
“Aren’t you coming?” Ed asked, sounding surprised.
Winry shook her head. “I want to see Mr. and Mrs. Hughes while I’m here.”
Both boys flinched at those words, and they shifted their weight in an embarrassed manner.
“What?” Winry didn’t understand what the problem was.
Ed looked at Al in pleading way, hoping that his brother would get them out of this awkward situation. Al shook his head, though; he was out of ideas as well.
It couldn’t be helped anymore. Winry deserved to learn the truth, so Ed decided to tell her just that.
“Winry… you’d better sit down.”
Beregond was sitting at one of the benches at the train station, tapping his foot nervously. He looked around once more to find any sign of Ed and Al, but he didn’t see anything. Sighing, he rested his back once more against his seat.
A hand rested on his in reassurance.
“They’ll be here,” Sarah said. “We were just the first to arrive.”
Beregond nodded, but there was a very troubled expression on his features.
“A part of me wants them here so that they won’t get into any trouble,” he confessed in a quiet tone. “Another wants them to miss the train.”
Sarah bowed her head. “I know the feeling.”
Beregond nodded his understanding and he placed his free hand on her shoulder. Yes, Sarah knew the feeling. After all, there was someone else heading to war; someone as important to the woman as her late husband had been, if not more. That was why she had accompanied Beregond to the station after leaving Alice at her school.
“By the way, I spoke to the Colonel,” he said, remembering himself. “Hughes can go see Gracia, provided you keep an eye on him.”
“All right,” Sarah answered. “And while you’ll be away, we’ll look for any more evidence against the Führer.”
“Good,” Beregond said. However, he couldn’t help but also feel troubled. “Will you manage it on your own?”
Sarah was quite honest about things. “No. But we can always ask Scieszka’s help as well. And… I think it’s time she learnt about Hughes too.”
Beregond winced. “At this rate, Hughes’ resurrection from the dead will become the top gossip in Central.”
Sarah chuckled. “I don’t think anyone who’s on the know would risk disclosing such information to just anyone. It would sound too unbelievable.”
“That’s true, I suppose,” Beregond mused.
And with that, they both fell silent, getting lost in thought. That is, until a hesitant voice sounded quite close to them.
“Mrs. Abbot?”
Beregond and Sarah lifted their gaze, surprised to see that it was a young woman with glasses. The Gondorian hadn’t seen her before, but Sarah obviously recognised her.
“Scieszka? What are you doing here?” she asked, standing up to greet her friend.
“I just wanted to see someone off,” Scieszka replied timidly. Just then, she caught sight of Beregond, who still regarded her curiously. “Um… I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you had company. I should go.”
“It’s fine,” Sarah said calmly, gripping the girl gently by the arm to make her stay put. She nodded in Beregond’s direction. “He’s a friend of Ed and Al. He’s heading for Liore too.”
Scieszka blinked a bit, staring at Beregond, and then looked back at Sarah. “Does he… know?” she asked nervously.
Sarah nodded, and Scieszka relaxed quite visibly. She bowed her head apologetically to Beregond.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said in a polite manner. “It’s just that a lot of things have been happening lately.”
“I understand. There’s no need for an apology,” Beregond replied, waving his hand dismissively.
Scieszka made a motion to speak again, but she never had the chance. Just then, Coonel Mustang entered the station in the company of his unit. Beregond noticed the young girl looking at Falman, while Sarah directed her gaze to Havoc. Smiling inwardly, Beregond slipped away and walked up to Roy to salute him.
“At ease,” Roy said, saluting back. “Everything’s been taken care of?”
“Yes, Sir,” Beregond replied.
However, Roy looked around, raising one of his eyebrows. “And yet I don’t see Ed and Al anywhere.”
“Here!” Ed’s voice sounded above the crowd at that moment.
Beregond, Roy and the others turned around, just in time to see the teen alchemist dragging Faenel with him and pushing his way through another group of soldiers nearby. Alphonse was following closely behind, apologising all the way like always. Winry, on the other hand, seemed quite subdued, her face pale and worn out.
Beregond knew the reason behind the girl’s weariness, of course. Still, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. He couldn’t even guess for how long she had worked on Ed’s mithril automail.
Still, it looked like it was worth it. As he watched the young alchemist place Faenel inside the last compartment with the military horses, Beregond couldn’t help but notice that Ed’s step was lighter and livelier than before.
“So, boys,” Roy said, looking at Ed and Al curiously and a smirk crossing his features. “You decided you couldn’t leave all the fun to us?”
“Oh, be grateful,” Ed retorted. “You need someone to clean the mess you’re bound to do.”
Beregond shook his head mentally at the banter, knowing perfectly well that that was Ed’s way of reporting for duty.
Just then, he also noticed that Winry had in the meantime walked away discreetly to talk to Scieszka and Sarah. Judging by the dumbfounded look on Scieszka’s face, Beregond realised that they were making some certain arrangement concerning Hughes.
It was also a fortunate thing that the train whistle covered the poor girl’s scream of disbelief at hearing of her boss’s revival.
“Beregond? Ready to go?”
It was Al who asked that, regarding the Gondorian curiously.
Beregond nodded absentmindedly, looking at the train, then at the other soldiers and, lastly, to Winry, Sarah and Scieszka.
“Tomorrow will be certain to bring worse than today, for many days to come. And there is nothing more that I can do to help it. The board is set, and the pieces are moving.”
“What?” Al asked, confused.
“Nothing. That’s what an acquaintance of mine said long ago,” Beregond replied quietly, and he boarded the train.
The last thing he saw was Havoc and Sarah exchanging a glance full of meaning and mouth three words in the form of farewell.
I love you.
Gracia looked at the clock on the table to check the time. Seeing that it was getting late, she turned to her daughter, who was sitting at the table and drawing on a piece of paper.
“Elysia, it’s time for bed.”
The girl nodded, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She extended her arms upwards so that Gracia would pick her up and sighed once she settled in her mother’s arms. By the time Gracia went upstairs and placed Elysia on the bed, Elysia had fallen asleep.
“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Gracia whispered and kissed her daughter on the forehead. Making sure that she didn’t make any noise as she walked out the room, she got ready to turn in too.
Just then, she thought she heard a knock on the door, something that surprised her. The hour was quite late and she wasn’t really expecting anyone. So, she dismissed the sound as a figment of her imagination. That is, until there was a second knock.
The woman didn’t like that. Nevertheless, she went down the stairs and looked outside the window to see who it was. She could clearly see Sarah, and her friend wasn’t alone. Winry and Scieszka were with her, as well as another, taller figure, whose face she couldn’t make out.
Fearing that something must have happened, Gracia quickly opened the door.
“Sarah, what’s going--”
Gracia’s words died in her throat, and all she could do was stare at a face she believed she would never see again. She took a few steps back, feeling her eyes widening tenfold.
“H-how--?”
Sarah walked in, placing her hand on Gracia’s shoulder in reassurance.
“It’s a long story, so you’d better sit down,” she said, already prodding the woman towards the sofa.
“So, what can you guys tell me about Liore?”
Ed and Al turned to Beregond, surprised at that unexpected question. The Gondorian was sitting by the window, a curious look on his features.
“What do you want to know?” Ed asked cautiously.
“Have you been there before?”
“We have,” Al replied with a nod. “Almost a year ago.”
Beregond nodded his understanding. “Were things as bad then as they are now?”
“No, not really,” Ed replied. “In fact, the town was pretty much loaded because of a certain priest and his lies.”
“A priest?” Beregond echoed as the story started sounding familiar. “Wait a minute… Are we talking about the same priest that used a fake philosopher’s stone so he could present himself as an emissary of a god?”
Ed and Al nodded.
Beregond sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“It couldn’t be helped, I guess,” Ed said, shrugging his shoulders. “The homunculi wanted their fallout, so they made one.” His gaze drifted to the direction of Kimblee, who was sitting a little farther away. “And they plan to finish the job.”
“Let it go, Brother,” Al said. “It’s not worth it.”
“Alphonse is right,” Beregond said. “It’s not in our place to judge who the military hires or not; we have other matters to worry about.”
Ed didn’t say anything to that. He realised that Al and Beregond had a point.
“So…” Beregond asked in a nonchalant manner at that moment, “Did you meet anyone else in Liore except for the priest?”
Ed crossed his arms and closed his eyes. “Nope. None that I can remember.”
“Come on, Brother,” Al said, his tone slightly chiding. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten Rose.”
“Who?” Beregond asked.
“A girl we met while we were in Liore,” Al answered. “She used to work for the priest, until she understood that he was a fake.”
“Oh.” Beregond pursed his lips momentarily. “So… You think she’s still in Liore?”
“Probably,” Al said.
“My question is: why do you want to know?” Ed said, looking Beregond from the corner of his eye.
“I just wanted to know,” the Gondorian replied simply, and he left it at that.
Ed wished he could believe that.
Sarah didn’t realise how long she spoke, sitting on the sofa in Hughes’ house. Nevertheless, she kept talking, hardly paying attention to the shocked faces of Gracia and Scieszka, or Maes and Winry’s knowing expressions; until she finally finished her part of the story.
“And that’s about it,” she said in the end. “By Roy’s orders, we’ve been keeping Maes out of sight since.”
“What I don’t understand is why you didn’t say something before,” Scieszka said at that moment. “I was blaming Colonel Mustang for nothing.”
“I couldn’t tell you. We wanted your grudge to be genuine,” Sarah replied with a shake of her head. “We even meant to keep it a secret longer, but there’s been a change of plans.”
“A change?” Gracia asked, not really understanding.
“The enemy has made their first move. Now it’s time we made ours,” Sarah explained. She smiled wanly. “However, Maes wanted to set things right for your sake, Gracia.”
The woman seemed to have barely acknowledged Sarah, though. Her eyes were locked on Maes, still regarding him in a mixture of disbelief and hope.
“I should have realised something was wrong,” she said quietly. “They wouldn’t let me see your body. They wouldn’t even say what had happened to you.”
“I know,” Maes said. He reached for her in mild hesitation and held both her hands in his. “I wish I could somehow--”
“Shh,” she replied, nuzzling his nose gently. “It doesn’t matter now.” She leaned forward, burying herself in his arms and resting her head on Maes’ chest. “You’re back.”
“We still have to be careful,” Maes pointed out.
“That’s why Scieszka and I will work in the field instead,” Sarah said. “However, we need to start making people understand that the military isn’t what it seems. To do that, we’ll have to start confiding in people we can trust.”
“Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Bloch are decent people,” Maes said. “They’ll be able to help you and get you information from inside Headquarters now that Roy is gone.”
“That will do the trick,” Sarah said. “And I suggest we make copies of the evidence we’ve found so far. We don’t need the homunculi to get their hands on our only proof.”
“But where will you keep those copies?” Winry asked curiously.
Maes turned to the girl, his face quite serious.
“Winry… when do you leave for Resembool?”
The girl blinked in surprise.
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