A Face From The Past
Though Central Station was continuously bustling with life, there was a small area where there was hardly a mouse stirring. It was the area where the conductors placed some wagons, storing them for further use on another train when the occasion called for such a necessity. Most of those wagons were empty, and no one seemed to think twice about them once they were left in the storage area. So, no one considered to look inside a wagon that was abandoned there early in the morning. Otherwise, they would have probably come across their doom upon seeing the four violet-eyed creatures inside it.
“I don’t like the dark,” Gluttony whined softly, beady little eyes looking at every direction. “Where’s Dante?”
“Cut it out,” Wrath grumbled, sitting cross-legged in one of the corners of the wagon. “She went to find new quarters, remember?”
Lust snorted, even though she was still kept crucified on the furthest wall of the wagon. “Pride seems to be the luckiest one of us. He has a home to return to and people to look after him, regarding him as one of them.”
Gluttony looked in Lust’s direction, chubby hands wringing nervously. “Lust…”
“Don’t concern yourself with a traitor,” Sloth declared, her tone cold and filled with indifference. “She disobeyed Dante’s orders and jeopardised our goal.”
“So I am the traitor?” Lust said, her beautiful features marred with anger. “You were supposed to take care of the boys, yet you ran like a nursemaid after this infant the moment he started crying.” She looked at Wrath, her eyes reflecting her contempt. “What happened, Wrath? Was a single man too much for you?”
“Shut up!” Wrath exclaimed. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
Sloth, on the other hand, lowered her gaze. “That was different,” she said.
“Different how?” Lust asked, her piercing look unrelenting. “That man was standing between you and the Fullmetal Alchemist and you just left! Didn’t you want to please your master?” Her voice became acidic, its alluring quality gone as she got consumed by hatred for her fellow homunculi and their inability to think for themselves what was good for them.
“I did… But…” Sloth hesitated, and bit her lower lip in uncertainty.
“But what?” Lust all but cried in exasperation.
“He frightened me.”
Lust felt her eyes widening at that. Even Gluttony seemed surprised at that declaration; for, in his eyes, Dante was the only one the homunculi were supposed to be afraid of.
“That man… I used to think he was just like any other alchemist. An obsessed scientist with dreams of creating the Philosopher’s Stone. After all, why would he be with the Elric boys otherwise?” Sloth continued. “But… when I faced him in that tunnel and he locked his eyes on me, challenging me… There was something there that I hadn’t seen in anyone else before, not even Dante. It was as if…” she stopped, pursing her lips for a moment as she tried to think of the right words. “It was as if his soul was on fire.”
“No, not on fire,” Wrath said, his voice barely audible. “His soul is fire; the kind of fire that can’t be extinguished by the likes of us.”
The eerie silence that followed surrounded the four homunculi like an ominous cloak, making them shudder.
Central wasn’t always a large, advanced city, or indeed the capital of Amestris. There was a time that it used to be nothing more than a small town, occupied by peaceful folk who simply wanted to be left in peace. No, in the year 1915, there weren’t all that many buildings from that quiet era. In fact, the only place where anyone could spot a glimpse of Central’s former past was at the eastern parts of the city. Indeed, the particular area was riddled with old buildings and narrow stony streets, forming a sort of gigantic maze.
Still, Dante knew her way in the particular area only too well. Envy could definitely tell by the confidence with which his master moved, the baby cradled in his arms and her eyes darting in all directions as if in search of something.
“So… what are we doing here exactly?” the homunculus asked. “We’ve been walking for over an hour already.”
“I thought the answer was obvious,” Dante replied with a smile. “We can’t return to Dublith after all the things that happened there; we need a new base from where we can operate undetected once more.”
“And we had to come here for that kind of thing?” Envy insisted.
“This area holds many secrets that have been forgotten by most people,” the deceitfully young girl said before turning around another corner. Envy followed, quite surprised to see what sort of building came into his view.
“Hey… this looks like that temple Cornello built in Liore.”
Dante continued walking towards the structure. “Yes, I suppose there’s some resemblance,” she agreed softly. “However, this kind of temple belonged to a different religion; one that was abandoned a long time ago.”
She didn’t say anything else. She entered through the broken door and walked through the aisle to stand in front of a great coloured window. She handed the baby over to Envy, then connected her hands together as if in prayer, activating an alchemic circle on the window. In a matter of moments, a rumbling sound reverberated through the building, and a stony slab moved out of its place to reveal a hidden entrance on the floor. The baby squirmed at the loud noise, but he soon settled back in Dante’s arms and calmed down.
“Okay, how did you know about this?” Envy asked, as he and Dante started walking down the secret flight of stairs.
“It was one of the places the heretics used to hide from the hand of the law,” Dante answered.
“Heretics?” Envy echoed, not really understanding.
“Of course… You weren’t born then,” Dante mused. The baby made a couple of gurgling sounds in an agitated manner, but the woman placed a pacifier in his mouth. “Almost five hundred years ago, there was an argument among the alchemists, practically separating them into two opposing parties. There were those who believed that true alchemic power derived from the bowels of the earth alone, and there were those alchemists who believed that fire, as alchemy was called back then, was also a name of the soul, implying in this way that true alchemic power came from an alchemist’s soul as well. Theoretically speaking, if someone could apply such power from both the earth and their soul, they could transform the natural world around them and shape it as they saw fit.”
“So they died because of their beliefs,” Envy concluded, smirking in grim satisfaction.
Dante nodded. “And all this because they argued what was the right path to the universal truth and godhood.”
“When there’s no such thing as god,” the homunculus declared with snort.
She smiled cruelly. “Precisely.”
It was then that they reached to another door, heavily bolted. Even so, it was no match for Envy, who simply kicked the door open while Dante connected her hands again to light the candles. Light bathed the great hall that was revealed before the human and the homunculus, untouched by time, and Dante couldn’t help but smile broadly.
“This will do quite nicely.”
The sun shone through the trees, showering everything with its warm light. The fragrance of flowers permeated the atmosphere as Nature reawakened at this time of year, and anyone who passed by could hear the lively chirping of birds in search of a meal.
Faenel gave her master a little nudge, and Beregond complied with her wishes by patting her neck affectionately. Still, Beregond was distracted, pricking up his ears and taking in the sounds with a small smile on his lips. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed being surrounded by trees, away from the grey colours of the city.
“It’s almost spring again.”
The Gondorian nodded at Havoc’s comment. Both had been walking for some time, following the rest of Roy’s team towards Resembool. Ed, Al and Winry were ahead with Roy so that would show the colonel the way to Aunt Pinako’s house, thus giving the two men the chance for a private talk.
“How’s your hand?” Beregond asked, almost out of the blue.
Havoc held up his bandaged hand. “It could have been better, but it’s healing at least.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Nah, not really. It just itches me.”
Beregond couldn’t help but smile a bit. “That’s good actually. The wound will close soon… as long as you don’t punch Ed again.”
Havoc faced Beregond agape. “How did you…?”
Beregond raised an eyebrow. “I’m from another world, not blind. I saw the cut on Ed’s lip and the new bandages on your hand; it didn’t take me long to figure things out,” he said. “So what happened?”
Havoc didn’t answer though. He averted his gaze and kicked a small pebble away instead. Just when Beregond was about to ask him again, Havoc stiffened and looked ahead. Curious, Beregond followed the lieutenant’s example, and noticed that everyone had stopped on their tracks when the heard some strange noise just a few feet away from them.
“Hide!” Roy ordered, and everyone hid behind some bushes, hoping that they wouldn’t be noticed.
A minute passed, then two… and then a young man appeared, whimpering and sniffling like a small child. Everyone stared at him, recognizing him at once and yet not understanding what was wrong with him.
“Isn’t that Sergeant Bloch?” Riza finally asked in a whisper, uttering the question that crossed everyone’s minds. “What is he doing here?”
“No idea, but it sounds serious,” Winry mused, overhearing the woman. “I’d better go talk to him.” With that, the girl jumped out of the bushes and stepped in front of the still disheartened sergeant. “Sergeant Bloch?”
“Oh, hi,” Bloch said, not in the least surprised to see Winry so suddenly before him; he was too focused on his own grief. “Did you find Ed and Al?”
“Yes, we’re on our way back to my home,” Winry answered. “But… what’s wrong with you?”
That was apparently the wrong thing to ask, for Bloch started sniffling again. “LIEUTENANT ROSS!” he answered, practically in a wail.
Winry blinked, perplexed. “What about her?”
Unfortunately, Sergeant Bloch couldn’t say much in his upset state, so the team had no choice but to see for themselves what the problem was. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, the brothers, Roy, Riza and Beregond followed Sergeant Bloch back to Winry’s house and watched curiously the scene that was revealed to them… at Aunt Pinako’s porch, no less.
“I once saw an eagle with feathers black as obsidian,” the man that sat with Lieutenant Ross said. “The same colour as your hair, in fact.”
Ross blushed shyly. “You… really think so?” she asked, giggling like a schoolgirl.
The bespectacled man nodded with a smile. “I never thought I’d ever see such a beautiful colour. So I should thank you.”
“Oh my…” she said, her face now almost crimson. “This is too much of a compliment.”
That had Bloch revolt. “This is ridiculous! He makes one little polite comment, and she’s all over him!” he hissed.
“Yeah… I guess that is serious,” Riza whispered dryly, still watching the scene.
“It’s weird though,” Al noted as he his beside the woman. “I feel like I’ve seen this man somewhere before.”
Beregond locked his eyes on the suit of armour. “Are you sure about this, Al?”
“Not really; it’s just a feeling I have,” Al admitted. “What do you think, Brother?”
Al, however, didn’t get an answer.
“Brother?” Al looked to his left, only to see that Ed was no longer there. In fact, he was now running at full speed towards the porch. “Brother!”
Ed didn’t hear Al, though. He just lunged at the man and punched him straight on the jaw, practically sending him flying.
“YOU BASTARD!”
Ross stared at the teen alchemist, stunned to see him there so suddenly. “Edward?!”
Edward just towered over the dazed man, beside himself with fury. “YOU COME BACK AFTER MORE THAN TEN YEARS SO THAT I CAN SEE YOU FLIRT AROUND?! DAMN YOU, OLD MAN!”
To say that the people hiding behind the bushes were stunned would have been an understatement. Even Beregond stared at the man incredulously, his jaw as though about to drop at any second.
“That’s Hohenheim?” he breathed out.
“Father?” Al said, and then his flickers of eyes brightened. “I… I remember him! From the pictures! Dad, you’re home!”
With that, Al immediately jumped out of his hiding place too and ran towards Hohenheim. But, as he approached, his step became more hesitant and his joy more subdued, until he ended up walking up to Hohenheim quite nervously.
“Um…” he started, uncertain. “You probably don’t know who I am because of what I look like, but…”
Hohenheim smiled broadly, not in the least confused. “Alphonse… You sure got tall.”
Al gasped. “You recognised me?!”
Hohenheim nodded good-naturedly and stood up, then faced Ed, who was still regarding him warily. “What about you, Edward? Do you still hate milk?”
Though he knew his sons well, Hohenheim didn’t stop to think what kind of effect that sort of comment would have on Ed. The teen alchemist practically saw red and sent his father flying again.
“FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I’VE GOTTEN TALLER, BASTARD! NOT THAT YOU WOULD EVER NOTICE!”
Al looked as though a drop of sweat settled on his brow in his embarrassment. “Brother, you didn’t have to do that.”
“He had it coming,” Ed declared, dusting his hands and thus settled the matter.
“Just what is going on out there?” Pinako’s voice sounded from inside the house. Moments later, the woman herself appeared through the door, and the first thing she saw were Ed, Al and Hohenheim. Ross, on the other hand, fidgeted on her seat quite nervously, her face red all over. “Ah, I see you boys found your way back here without much problem.”
“I’m afraid nothing’s over, Dr. Pinako,” Roy said at that moment, deciding it was high time to come out of hiding. “We’re just trying to delay the inevitable as much as possible.”
Pinako looked at Roy, small wizened eyes narrowing dangerously. “You again,” she said. “Haven’t I told you that no State Alchemist is welcome in this house?”
“You have,” Roy said. “In this case, however, it couldn’t be helped.”
But Pinako wasn’t listening to Roy anymore. Her eyes were locked on the tall man who was coming to their direction, accompanied by Bloch and a young woman – another soldier. She gasped before she could help it, and the blood drained from her face all at once.
“It… It can’t be,” she faltered, her voice a mere whisper. And the same thought must have crossed Hohenheim’s mind too, for the bespectacled man stood up and stared at Beregond just as incredulously.
Beregond stopped in his tracks, unsure what to make of that kind of reaction; the boys kept looking back and forth at Pinako and their father, trying to figure out what they were missing. But fortunately, Roy saved the situation.
“It isn’t him,” he said. “I assure you, everything will be explained in due time. Can we step inside?”
Seeing as she had no other choice, Pinako accepted. And so, in less than half an hour, everyone was inside the house, keeping themselves on the alert because Hakuro’s men were still circulating around Resembool. It would take a while before the Führer’s men arrived in Central with their piece of news, and Roy preferred to avoid further trouble if it could be helped. Of course, Bradley would probably consider it strange that Roy didn’t bring the boys straight to Central as he was ordered, but Roy was good at coming up with reasonable excuses; this time wouldn’t be an exception either.
Still, Roy could do nothing about Ed’s foul temper. Indeed, after the encounter with his father, the teen alchemist simply remained seated on a chair with a great scowl on his face, indicating that he was in no mood to talk. By nightfall, however, Scieszka decided she had to address him.
“You okay, Ed?”
Ed looked at the girl, and then drifted his gaze to the other people inside the room. Al and Winry were sitting at a table nearby with Ross and Bloch, while Riza was by the door and standing guard. He could see no sign of Havoc and the other guys though, so Ed figured they were standing guard outside the room and even outside the house.
“Ed?”
Ed shrugged, finally answering Scieszka’s question. “I’ve been better.” He looked in Ross’ direction, glaring at her. “I could be spared of some certain… displays.”
Ross fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably, blushing furiously again. “You… You misunderstood me, Ed. He was just telling me about his travels, that’s all.”
“Of course he was,” Bloch grumbled, staring at his cup of coffee with a look of utter misery in his eyes.
“What’s got into you anyway?” Ross asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the young sergeant’s odd behaviour.
“I’m saying that you enjoyed hearing about his travels very much!”
“Well, I… haven’t been to the places he has,” Ross faltered, realising she’d been caught. “And he wears this nice perfume that no other soldier has…”
“Probably because they don’t want to smell like sissies,” Bloch countered.
“I hate that smell.”
Everyone stared at Ed, for the vehemence in his voice was only too detectable. Even so, Ed kept talking.
“He left our house when Al was barely two years old. Our mom said that he did some research on Alchemy; he still didn’t send us a single letter.” He paused, locking his eyes on the floor. “But his scent still lingered in the house, even years afterwards. I thought I would never have to smell that perfume again, but Lyra wore the same thing, back in Liore.”
“What?!” Al sat up, his body language signifying that he was dumbfounded. “You met Lyra in Liore?”
Ed nodded.
“But… didn’t she work for Dante?” Winry asked, aware of the girl’s history.
“She claims she left her,” Ed answered. “Although I’m not sure whether I should believe it or not.”
“Yeah,” Al mused, seeing his brother’s point. At the next moment, his eyes flickered as an idea formed in his mind. “You know… Dad knew Dante. We could ask…”
“No,” Ed snapped.
“But Brother, we’ve both seen what Dante’s capable of. We’ll probably need all the help we can get if we’re to face her.”
“We have Beregond; that’s all the help we need,” Ed declared.
“Speaking of which, where is he?” Winry asked, looking around the room.
“Outside,” Riza answered. “He wanted to check the perimeter so that we wouldn’t have any unpleasant surprises.”
Ed frowned at those words. “Alone?”
Riza shook her head. “Colonel Mustang is with him.”
“How come?” Al asked, quite surprised.
“I’m not sure,” Riza replied, and she resumed with her guarding duty.
“Well, Sir? You realise what’s the main problem with a frontal attack?” Beregond asked. Both men were standing by a small fence, engaged in deep conversation. After all, they had to discuss about their sparring, as well as Roy’s weakness.
“Yes,” Roy answered. “As you wield your sword, you change the air currents, keeping them constantly in flux. Even if I do pull up a flame, it doesn’t have any accuracy.”
“Exactly,” Beregond said. “You will have to figure out another tactic.”
“As well as the place where I can confront Bradley,” Roy mused, brows furrowed in thought. “Under the circumstances, a closed area seems the best option.”
“A room?” Beregond asked.
“Or a basement.”
“You might get caught in the flames,” the Gondorian pointed out.
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Roy said, a small smile tugging on his lips. “You already have your orders, Sergeant. Worrying about me isn’t one of them.”
“Yet things changed.”
The answer was a mere whisper, and it had Roy at a loss at first. That is, until he noticed Beregond looking in the direction of the house.
“Are you talking about Hohenheim?”
Beregond rested his back against the fence with a small sigh, crossing his arms. “Ed was so sure that he would never see his father again that he had Al believing it too; even I had started believing it. And I wanted to think that, if their father never came back, I could…” He stopped midway, deciding not to finish that train of thought. “Maybe I should step away.”
Roy raised an eyebrow at that. “You’ve been their companion for a whole year now. You can’t just step away.”
“They need their father,” Beregond argued.
“What they need is someone who can stick with them through thick and thin; especially Ed,” Roy said. “His father walked away when the boys were only infants; his mother died soon afterwards and Ed almost lost his brother in their attempt to bring her back. A little girl that was like a sister to him fell victim to her own father’s madness.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Beregond asked, frowning.
“Because you’re one of the few who haven’t gone out of his life yet,” Roy answered. “And, from what Havoc said, you had more than enough chances to do just that.”
Beregond stared at Roy in disbelief. “You know?”
Roy nodded. “Havoc screamed it at Ed yesterday.”
“After punching him,” the Gondorian mused as realisation caught up with him.
“Yes.” Roy paused, regarding Beregond intently. “And you do realise why Ed was angry with you in the first place.”
“He thought I abandoned him.”
“Just as he thought that I abandoned him.”
Both men turned around at the sound of that noise, surprised to see Hohenheim approaching them. The bespectacled man seemed calm, almost passive, keeping his hands in his pockets.
“Mr. Elric?” Beregond asked before he could help it.
“You’ll have to forgive my intrusion, but I couldn’t help overhearing you,” Hohenheim replied. “You two seem to know the boys quite well.”
“I have to,” Roy said, his expression unreadable. “They have been my subordinates for almost four years now.”
“While you have been their escort for a year,” Hohenheim said, locking his gaze on Beregond.
“That’s right,” The Gondorian said. “But I don’t see how--”
“Today is the 28th of February,” Hohenheim continued on. “The same day a good friend of mine died thirteen years ago. A friend whose face you now have.”
At the next moment, he drew his hand from his pocket and tossed a bone in Beregond’s direction. Alarmed, Roy tried to snap his fingers, only to realise in dismay that he didn’t have his gloves on. The Gondorian, on the other hand, simply caught the bone in mid-air, his reflexes proving quick and sure. Hohenheim stared at Beregond incredulously, certainly not expecting that.
“This is impossible,” he breathed out. “All homunculi freeze when they confront a part of the body they were based on. They are too paralyzed with fear.”
“Except I’m not a homunculus,” Beregond said and held up the bone. “So… whose bone is this?”
“William Brice’s,” Roy said, recovering from his initial shock, and he faced Hohenheim. “I’ve told you before that he isn’t that man.”
“Yes… I can see that now,” Hohenheim admitted. “And yet such likeness is unnatural.”
“It’s a long story,” Beregond replied, perhaps a bit more curtly than he would have liked. “But before I say anything else, I want to know who this William Brice was. I’m tired of hearing how much I look like him when I don’t even know that man.”
Hohenheim straightened his glasses, pondering on those words. “A logical request, I suppose,” he said finally. “Very well, I’ll tell you.”
Roy supposed that that was his cue to leave. Nodding in Beregond’s direction, he walked away into the shadows of the night. As for Beregond, he stared at Hohenheim, a look of anticipation in his eyes.
“Well?”
Hohenheim actually smiled at that.
“So alike…” he mused once more, and he started telling his story.
“You’re still here?” Pinako asked, Ed raising an eyebrow in curiosity. When she noticed Al, Winry and the others retiring in order to get some rest, she intended to enter the living room and turn off the lights. But the teen alchemist remained seated in his chair, regarding her closely. “It’s quite late, you know.”
“I’m aware of that,” Ed replied. “I was just waiting for you.”
Pinako raised an eyebrow. “Me? What for?”
“So we can talk. Without interruptions.”
Pinako’s jaw clenched on the pipe as a terrible suspicion crossed her mind. Even so, she tried to keep her expression neutral as she answered. “What about?”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve met Beregond, is it?”
Well, Ed certainly didn’t beat about the bush. Pinako frowned, acting surprised. “Of course it is, Ed. Where could I have possibly met him?”
It was a ruse, a last attempt to let the matter be. But Pinako had underestimated Ed’s stubbornness.
“Let me rephrase that then,” the boy said. “This isn’t the first time that you’ve seen Beregond’s face, is it?”
Pinako now knew that she would be battling a lost cause if she tried denying anything more. And so, she shook her head, sighing.
“No, it isn’t. Does it matter?”
“It matters to me,” Ed answered. Groaning in frustration, he stood up and started pacing up and down the room in an agitated manner. “In the last month or so, I keep seeing in my dreams someone who has Beregond’s face. It’s crazy, but I can’t shake off that feeling that I should know that man; I just don’t understand why.” He faced Pinako, looking at her hard. “All I know is that Mom and the old man knew him, as well as Winry’s parents. That means you must have known him too; I saw the look on your face when you saw Beregond.”
“Yes, I did know him,” Pinako answered softly. “He was a kind and gentle person… just like your mother was.”
That was exactly what Ed wanted to hear. He stopped in his tracks at once, but she just raised a hand in a sign that he should wait for her there. She got out of the room, then returned a few minutes later with a small photo album in her hands. After opening the album on the first page, she handed it to Ed. Though he frowned, Ed nevertheless decided to indulge the old woman and stared at the photo that dominated the page. His eyes widened when he saw himself, barely six months old, in the arms of his mother… and they weren’t alone. Hohenheim and Beregond’s look-alike stood to his mother’s left and right respectively.
“Then… he was real,” Ed murmured. Flesh fingers traced the form of the young man, taking in the love and care with which he looked in Trisha’s direction and held Ed’s tiny hand in his own. “Who was he, Aunt Pinako?”
Pinako’s lips tugged to a small, rueful smile.
“Your uncle.”
TBC…
“I don’t like the dark,” Gluttony whined softly, beady little eyes looking at every direction. “Where’s Dante?”
“Cut it out,” Wrath grumbled, sitting cross-legged in one of the corners of the wagon. “She went to find new quarters, remember?”
Lust snorted, even though she was still kept crucified on the furthest wall of the wagon. “Pride seems to be the luckiest one of us. He has a home to return to and people to look after him, regarding him as one of them.”
Gluttony looked in Lust’s direction, chubby hands wringing nervously. “Lust…”
“Don’t concern yourself with a traitor,” Sloth declared, her tone cold and filled with indifference. “She disobeyed Dante’s orders and jeopardised our goal.”
“So I am the traitor?” Lust said, her beautiful features marred with anger. “You were supposed to take care of the boys, yet you ran like a nursemaid after this infant the moment he started crying.” She looked at Wrath, her eyes reflecting her contempt. “What happened, Wrath? Was a single man too much for you?”
“Shut up!” Wrath exclaimed. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
Sloth, on the other hand, lowered her gaze. “That was different,” she said.
“Different how?” Lust asked, her piercing look unrelenting. “That man was standing between you and the Fullmetal Alchemist and you just left! Didn’t you want to please your master?” Her voice became acidic, its alluring quality gone as she got consumed by hatred for her fellow homunculi and their inability to think for themselves what was good for them.
“I did… But…” Sloth hesitated, and bit her lower lip in uncertainty.
“But what?” Lust all but cried in exasperation.
“He frightened me.”
Lust felt her eyes widening at that. Even Gluttony seemed surprised at that declaration; for, in his eyes, Dante was the only one the homunculi were supposed to be afraid of.
“That man… I used to think he was just like any other alchemist. An obsessed scientist with dreams of creating the Philosopher’s Stone. After all, why would he be with the Elric boys otherwise?” Sloth continued. “But… when I faced him in that tunnel and he locked his eyes on me, challenging me… There was something there that I hadn’t seen in anyone else before, not even Dante. It was as if…” she stopped, pursing her lips for a moment as she tried to think of the right words. “It was as if his soul was on fire.”
“No, not on fire,” Wrath said, his voice barely audible. “His soul is fire; the kind of fire that can’t be extinguished by the likes of us.”
The eerie silence that followed surrounded the four homunculi like an ominous cloak, making them shudder.
Central wasn’t always a large, advanced city, or indeed the capital of Amestris. There was a time that it used to be nothing more than a small town, occupied by peaceful folk who simply wanted to be left in peace. No, in the year 1915, there weren’t all that many buildings from that quiet era. In fact, the only place where anyone could spot a glimpse of Central’s former past was at the eastern parts of the city. Indeed, the particular area was riddled with old buildings and narrow stony streets, forming a sort of gigantic maze.
Still, Dante knew her way in the particular area only too well. Envy could definitely tell by the confidence with which his master moved, the baby cradled in his arms and her eyes darting in all directions as if in search of something.
“So… what are we doing here exactly?” the homunculus asked. “We’ve been walking for over an hour already.”
“I thought the answer was obvious,” Dante replied with a smile. “We can’t return to Dublith after all the things that happened there; we need a new base from where we can operate undetected once more.”
“And we had to come here for that kind of thing?” Envy insisted.
“This area holds many secrets that have been forgotten by most people,” the deceitfully young girl said before turning around another corner. Envy followed, quite surprised to see what sort of building came into his view.
“Hey… this looks like that temple Cornello built in Liore.”
Dante continued walking towards the structure. “Yes, I suppose there’s some resemblance,” she agreed softly. “However, this kind of temple belonged to a different religion; one that was abandoned a long time ago.”
She didn’t say anything else. She entered through the broken door and walked through the aisle to stand in front of a great coloured window. She handed the baby over to Envy, then connected her hands together as if in prayer, activating an alchemic circle on the window. In a matter of moments, a rumbling sound reverberated through the building, and a stony slab moved out of its place to reveal a hidden entrance on the floor. The baby squirmed at the loud noise, but he soon settled back in Dante’s arms and calmed down.
“Okay, how did you know about this?” Envy asked, as he and Dante started walking down the secret flight of stairs.
“It was one of the places the heretics used to hide from the hand of the law,” Dante answered.
“Heretics?” Envy echoed, not really understanding.
“Of course… You weren’t born then,” Dante mused. The baby made a couple of gurgling sounds in an agitated manner, but the woman placed a pacifier in his mouth. “Almost five hundred years ago, there was an argument among the alchemists, practically separating them into two opposing parties. There were those who believed that true alchemic power derived from the bowels of the earth alone, and there were those alchemists who believed that fire, as alchemy was called back then, was also a name of the soul, implying in this way that true alchemic power came from an alchemist’s soul as well. Theoretically speaking, if someone could apply such power from both the earth and their soul, they could transform the natural world around them and shape it as they saw fit.”
“So they died because of their beliefs,” Envy concluded, smirking in grim satisfaction.
Dante nodded. “And all this because they argued what was the right path to the universal truth and godhood.”
“When there’s no such thing as god,” the homunculus declared with snort.
She smiled cruelly. “Precisely.”
It was then that they reached to another door, heavily bolted. Even so, it was no match for Envy, who simply kicked the door open while Dante connected her hands again to light the candles. Light bathed the great hall that was revealed before the human and the homunculus, untouched by time, and Dante couldn’t help but smile broadly.
“This will do quite nicely.”
The sun shone through the trees, showering everything with its warm light. The fragrance of flowers permeated the atmosphere as Nature reawakened at this time of year, and anyone who passed by could hear the lively chirping of birds in search of a meal.
Faenel gave her master a little nudge, and Beregond complied with her wishes by patting her neck affectionately. Still, Beregond was distracted, pricking up his ears and taking in the sounds with a small smile on his lips. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed being surrounded by trees, away from the grey colours of the city.
“It’s almost spring again.”
The Gondorian nodded at Havoc’s comment. Both had been walking for some time, following the rest of Roy’s team towards Resembool. Ed, Al and Winry were ahead with Roy so that would show the colonel the way to Aunt Pinako’s house, thus giving the two men the chance for a private talk.
“How’s your hand?” Beregond asked, almost out of the blue.
Havoc held up his bandaged hand. “It could have been better, but it’s healing at least.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Nah, not really. It just itches me.”
Beregond couldn’t help but smile a bit. “That’s good actually. The wound will close soon… as long as you don’t punch Ed again.”
Havoc faced Beregond agape. “How did you…?”
Beregond raised an eyebrow. “I’m from another world, not blind. I saw the cut on Ed’s lip and the new bandages on your hand; it didn’t take me long to figure things out,” he said. “So what happened?”
Havoc didn’t answer though. He averted his gaze and kicked a small pebble away instead. Just when Beregond was about to ask him again, Havoc stiffened and looked ahead. Curious, Beregond followed the lieutenant’s example, and noticed that everyone had stopped on their tracks when the heard some strange noise just a few feet away from them.
“Hide!” Roy ordered, and everyone hid behind some bushes, hoping that they wouldn’t be noticed.
A minute passed, then two… and then a young man appeared, whimpering and sniffling like a small child. Everyone stared at him, recognizing him at once and yet not understanding what was wrong with him.
“Isn’t that Sergeant Bloch?” Riza finally asked in a whisper, uttering the question that crossed everyone’s minds. “What is he doing here?”
“No idea, but it sounds serious,” Winry mused, overhearing the woman. “I’d better go talk to him.” With that, the girl jumped out of the bushes and stepped in front of the still disheartened sergeant. “Sergeant Bloch?”
“Oh, hi,” Bloch said, not in the least surprised to see Winry so suddenly before him; he was too focused on his own grief. “Did you find Ed and Al?”
“Yes, we’re on our way back to my home,” Winry answered. “But… what’s wrong with you?”
That was apparently the wrong thing to ask, for Bloch started sniffling again. “LIEUTENANT ROSS!” he answered, practically in a wail.
Winry blinked, perplexed. “What about her?”
Unfortunately, Sergeant Bloch couldn’t say much in his upset state, so the team had no choice but to see for themselves what the problem was. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, the brothers, Roy, Riza and Beregond followed Sergeant Bloch back to Winry’s house and watched curiously the scene that was revealed to them… at Aunt Pinako’s porch, no less.
“I once saw an eagle with feathers black as obsidian,” the man that sat with Lieutenant Ross said. “The same colour as your hair, in fact.”
Ross blushed shyly. “You… really think so?” she asked, giggling like a schoolgirl.
The bespectacled man nodded with a smile. “I never thought I’d ever see such a beautiful colour. So I should thank you.”
“Oh my…” she said, her face now almost crimson. “This is too much of a compliment.”
That had Bloch revolt. “This is ridiculous! He makes one little polite comment, and she’s all over him!” he hissed.
“Yeah… I guess that is serious,” Riza whispered dryly, still watching the scene.
“It’s weird though,” Al noted as he his beside the woman. “I feel like I’ve seen this man somewhere before.”
Beregond locked his eyes on the suit of armour. “Are you sure about this, Al?”
“Not really; it’s just a feeling I have,” Al admitted. “What do you think, Brother?”
Al, however, didn’t get an answer.
“Brother?” Al looked to his left, only to see that Ed was no longer there. In fact, he was now running at full speed towards the porch. “Brother!”
Ed didn’t hear Al, though. He just lunged at the man and punched him straight on the jaw, practically sending him flying.
“YOU BASTARD!”
Ross stared at the teen alchemist, stunned to see him there so suddenly. “Edward?!”
Edward just towered over the dazed man, beside himself with fury. “YOU COME BACK AFTER MORE THAN TEN YEARS SO THAT I CAN SEE YOU FLIRT AROUND?! DAMN YOU, OLD MAN!”
To say that the people hiding behind the bushes were stunned would have been an understatement. Even Beregond stared at the man incredulously, his jaw as though about to drop at any second.
“That’s Hohenheim?” he breathed out.
“Father?” Al said, and then his flickers of eyes brightened. “I… I remember him! From the pictures! Dad, you’re home!”
With that, Al immediately jumped out of his hiding place too and ran towards Hohenheim. But, as he approached, his step became more hesitant and his joy more subdued, until he ended up walking up to Hohenheim quite nervously.
“Um…” he started, uncertain. “You probably don’t know who I am because of what I look like, but…”
Hohenheim smiled broadly, not in the least confused. “Alphonse… You sure got tall.”
Al gasped. “You recognised me?!”
Hohenheim nodded good-naturedly and stood up, then faced Ed, who was still regarding him warily. “What about you, Edward? Do you still hate milk?”
Though he knew his sons well, Hohenheim didn’t stop to think what kind of effect that sort of comment would have on Ed. The teen alchemist practically saw red and sent his father flying again.
“FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I’VE GOTTEN TALLER, BASTARD! NOT THAT YOU WOULD EVER NOTICE!”
Al looked as though a drop of sweat settled on his brow in his embarrassment. “Brother, you didn’t have to do that.”
“He had it coming,” Ed declared, dusting his hands and thus settled the matter.
“Just what is going on out there?” Pinako’s voice sounded from inside the house. Moments later, the woman herself appeared through the door, and the first thing she saw were Ed, Al and Hohenheim. Ross, on the other hand, fidgeted on her seat quite nervously, her face red all over. “Ah, I see you boys found your way back here without much problem.”
“I’m afraid nothing’s over, Dr. Pinako,” Roy said at that moment, deciding it was high time to come out of hiding. “We’re just trying to delay the inevitable as much as possible.”
Pinako looked at Roy, small wizened eyes narrowing dangerously. “You again,” she said. “Haven’t I told you that no State Alchemist is welcome in this house?”
“You have,” Roy said. “In this case, however, it couldn’t be helped.”
But Pinako wasn’t listening to Roy anymore. Her eyes were locked on the tall man who was coming to their direction, accompanied by Bloch and a young woman – another soldier. She gasped before she could help it, and the blood drained from her face all at once.
“It… It can’t be,” she faltered, her voice a mere whisper. And the same thought must have crossed Hohenheim’s mind too, for the bespectacled man stood up and stared at Beregond just as incredulously.
Beregond stopped in his tracks, unsure what to make of that kind of reaction; the boys kept looking back and forth at Pinako and their father, trying to figure out what they were missing. But fortunately, Roy saved the situation.
“It isn’t him,” he said. “I assure you, everything will be explained in due time. Can we step inside?”
Seeing as she had no other choice, Pinako accepted. And so, in less than half an hour, everyone was inside the house, keeping themselves on the alert because Hakuro’s men were still circulating around Resembool. It would take a while before the Führer’s men arrived in Central with their piece of news, and Roy preferred to avoid further trouble if it could be helped. Of course, Bradley would probably consider it strange that Roy didn’t bring the boys straight to Central as he was ordered, but Roy was good at coming up with reasonable excuses; this time wouldn’t be an exception either.
Still, Roy could do nothing about Ed’s foul temper. Indeed, after the encounter with his father, the teen alchemist simply remained seated on a chair with a great scowl on his face, indicating that he was in no mood to talk. By nightfall, however, Scieszka decided she had to address him.
“You okay, Ed?”
Ed looked at the girl, and then drifted his gaze to the other people inside the room. Al and Winry were sitting at a table nearby with Ross and Bloch, while Riza was by the door and standing guard. He could see no sign of Havoc and the other guys though, so Ed figured they were standing guard outside the room and even outside the house.
“Ed?”
Ed shrugged, finally answering Scieszka’s question. “I’ve been better.” He looked in Ross’ direction, glaring at her. “I could be spared of some certain… displays.”
Ross fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably, blushing furiously again. “You… You misunderstood me, Ed. He was just telling me about his travels, that’s all.”
“Of course he was,” Bloch grumbled, staring at his cup of coffee with a look of utter misery in his eyes.
“What’s got into you anyway?” Ross asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the young sergeant’s odd behaviour.
“I’m saying that you enjoyed hearing about his travels very much!”
“Well, I… haven’t been to the places he has,” Ross faltered, realising she’d been caught. “And he wears this nice perfume that no other soldier has…”
“Probably because they don’t want to smell like sissies,” Bloch countered.
“I hate that smell.”
Everyone stared at Ed, for the vehemence in his voice was only too detectable. Even so, Ed kept talking.
“He left our house when Al was barely two years old. Our mom said that he did some research on Alchemy; he still didn’t send us a single letter.” He paused, locking his eyes on the floor. “But his scent still lingered in the house, even years afterwards. I thought I would never have to smell that perfume again, but Lyra wore the same thing, back in Liore.”
“What?!” Al sat up, his body language signifying that he was dumbfounded. “You met Lyra in Liore?”
Ed nodded.
“But… didn’t she work for Dante?” Winry asked, aware of the girl’s history.
“She claims she left her,” Ed answered. “Although I’m not sure whether I should believe it or not.”
“Yeah,” Al mused, seeing his brother’s point. At the next moment, his eyes flickered as an idea formed in his mind. “You know… Dad knew Dante. We could ask…”
“No,” Ed snapped.
“But Brother, we’ve both seen what Dante’s capable of. We’ll probably need all the help we can get if we’re to face her.”
“We have Beregond; that’s all the help we need,” Ed declared.
“Speaking of which, where is he?” Winry asked, looking around the room.
“Outside,” Riza answered. “He wanted to check the perimeter so that we wouldn’t have any unpleasant surprises.”
Ed frowned at those words. “Alone?”
Riza shook her head. “Colonel Mustang is with him.”
“How come?” Al asked, quite surprised.
“I’m not sure,” Riza replied, and she resumed with her guarding duty.
“Well, Sir? You realise what’s the main problem with a frontal attack?” Beregond asked. Both men were standing by a small fence, engaged in deep conversation. After all, they had to discuss about their sparring, as well as Roy’s weakness.
“Yes,” Roy answered. “As you wield your sword, you change the air currents, keeping them constantly in flux. Even if I do pull up a flame, it doesn’t have any accuracy.”
“Exactly,” Beregond said. “You will have to figure out another tactic.”
“As well as the place where I can confront Bradley,” Roy mused, brows furrowed in thought. “Under the circumstances, a closed area seems the best option.”
“A room?” Beregond asked.
“Or a basement.”
“You might get caught in the flames,” the Gondorian pointed out.
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Roy said, a small smile tugging on his lips. “You already have your orders, Sergeant. Worrying about me isn’t one of them.”
“Yet things changed.”
The answer was a mere whisper, and it had Roy at a loss at first. That is, until he noticed Beregond looking in the direction of the house.
“Are you talking about Hohenheim?”
Beregond rested his back against the fence with a small sigh, crossing his arms. “Ed was so sure that he would never see his father again that he had Al believing it too; even I had started believing it. And I wanted to think that, if their father never came back, I could…” He stopped midway, deciding not to finish that train of thought. “Maybe I should step away.”
Roy raised an eyebrow at that. “You’ve been their companion for a whole year now. You can’t just step away.”
“They need their father,” Beregond argued.
“What they need is someone who can stick with them through thick and thin; especially Ed,” Roy said. “His father walked away when the boys were only infants; his mother died soon afterwards and Ed almost lost his brother in their attempt to bring her back. A little girl that was like a sister to him fell victim to her own father’s madness.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Beregond asked, frowning.
“Because you’re one of the few who haven’t gone out of his life yet,” Roy answered. “And, from what Havoc said, you had more than enough chances to do just that.”
Beregond stared at Roy in disbelief. “You know?”
Roy nodded. “Havoc screamed it at Ed yesterday.”
“After punching him,” the Gondorian mused as realisation caught up with him.
“Yes.” Roy paused, regarding Beregond intently. “And you do realise why Ed was angry with you in the first place.”
“He thought I abandoned him.”
“Just as he thought that I abandoned him.”
Both men turned around at the sound of that noise, surprised to see Hohenheim approaching them. The bespectacled man seemed calm, almost passive, keeping his hands in his pockets.
“Mr. Elric?” Beregond asked before he could help it.
“You’ll have to forgive my intrusion, but I couldn’t help overhearing you,” Hohenheim replied. “You two seem to know the boys quite well.”
“I have to,” Roy said, his expression unreadable. “They have been my subordinates for almost four years now.”
“While you have been their escort for a year,” Hohenheim said, locking his gaze on Beregond.
“That’s right,” The Gondorian said. “But I don’t see how--”
“Today is the 28th of February,” Hohenheim continued on. “The same day a good friend of mine died thirteen years ago. A friend whose face you now have.”
At the next moment, he drew his hand from his pocket and tossed a bone in Beregond’s direction. Alarmed, Roy tried to snap his fingers, only to realise in dismay that he didn’t have his gloves on. The Gondorian, on the other hand, simply caught the bone in mid-air, his reflexes proving quick and sure. Hohenheim stared at Beregond incredulously, certainly not expecting that.
“This is impossible,” he breathed out. “All homunculi freeze when they confront a part of the body they were based on. They are too paralyzed with fear.”
“Except I’m not a homunculus,” Beregond said and held up the bone. “So… whose bone is this?”
“William Brice’s,” Roy said, recovering from his initial shock, and he faced Hohenheim. “I’ve told you before that he isn’t that man.”
“Yes… I can see that now,” Hohenheim admitted. “And yet such likeness is unnatural.”
“It’s a long story,” Beregond replied, perhaps a bit more curtly than he would have liked. “But before I say anything else, I want to know who this William Brice was. I’m tired of hearing how much I look like him when I don’t even know that man.”
Hohenheim straightened his glasses, pondering on those words. “A logical request, I suppose,” he said finally. “Very well, I’ll tell you.”
Roy supposed that that was his cue to leave. Nodding in Beregond’s direction, he walked away into the shadows of the night. As for Beregond, he stared at Hohenheim, a look of anticipation in his eyes.
“Well?”
Hohenheim actually smiled at that.
“So alike…” he mused once more, and he started telling his story.
“You’re still here?” Pinako asked, Ed raising an eyebrow in curiosity. When she noticed Al, Winry and the others retiring in order to get some rest, she intended to enter the living room and turn off the lights. But the teen alchemist remained seated in his chair, regarding her closely. “It’s quite late, you know.”
“I’m aware of that,” Ed replied. “I was just waiting for you.”
Pinako raised an eyebrow. “Me? What for?”
“So we can talk. Without interruptions.”
Pinako’s jaw clenched on the pipe as a terrible suspicion crossed her mind. Even so, she tried to keep her expression neutral as she answered. “What about?”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve met Beregond, is it?”
Well, Ed certainly didn’t beat about the bush. Pinako frowned, acting surprised. “Of course it is, Ed. Where could I have possibly met him?”
It was a ruse, a last attempt to let the matter be. But Pinako had underestimated Ed’s stubbornness.
“Let me rephrase that then,” the boy said. “This isn’t the first time that you’ve seen Beregond’s face, is it?”
Pinako now knew that she would be battling a lost cause if she tried denying anything more. And so, she shook her head, sighing.
“No, it isn’t. Does it matter?”
“It matters to me,” Ed answered. Groaning in frustration, he stood up and started pacing up and down the room in an agitated manner. “In the last month or so, I keep seeing in my dreams someone who has Beregond’s face. It’s crazy, but I can’t shake off that feeling that I should know that man; I just don’t understand why.” He faced Pinako, looking at her hard. “All I know is that Mom and the old man knew him, as well as Winry’s parents. That means you must have known him too; I saw the look on your face when you saw Beregond.”
“Yes, I did know him,” Pinako answered softly. “He was a kind and gentle person… just like your mother was.”
That was exactly what Ed wanted to hear. He stopped in his tracks at once, but she just raised a hand in a sign that he should wait for her there. She got out of the room, then returned a few minutes later with a small photo album in her hands. After opening the album on the first page, she handed it to Ed. Though he frowned, Ed nevertheless decided to indulge the old woman and stared at the photo that dominated the page. His eyes widened when he saw himself, barely six months old, in the arms of his mother… and they weren’t alone. Hohenheim and Beregond’s look-alike stood to his mother’s left and right respectively.
“Then… he was real,” Ed murmured. Flesh fingers traced the form of the young man, taking in the love and care with which he looked in Trisha’s direction and held Ed’s tiny hand in his own. “Who was he, Aunt Pinako?”
Pinako’s lips tugged to a small, rueful smile.
“Your uncle.”
TBC…
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