Recovering
Night had settled swiftly in Central. The winter chill was quite unsettling, so there was hardly a mouse stirring outside.
It was the perfect opportunity for one to circulate without being seen by any unfriendly eyes, a thing most fortunate. For if anyone had seen the woman and the man she was helping to walk up to her house, it could have meant certain trouble.
Sarah huffed slightly as Maes started leaning too heavily on her. She couldn’t blame the man for her predicament though. She would have preferred it if Maes had remained a couple of days more at Dr. Knox’s house, so he could regain some more strength.
It wasn’t possible though. Colonel Mustang had already said that they couldn’t risk having Maes at one spot at all times. There was a chance that Douglas would finally see through the ruse they pulled on her, and then she would leave no stone unturned till she found Maes and finished him off. Medical facilities and doctors would be the first to be searched for any answers they could provide.
Still, Maes would require some basic medical attention for a few days more at least. That was why Sarah brought Maes to her house. As the woman herself reasoned, they were very few who knew about her previous job as a nurse or her servitude in Ishbal. And if there was anyone who remembered the name Sarah, they would certainly remember a certain Sarah Kasem – her husband’s last name.
In other words, it would take a while before anyone would make the connection and her house could be a safe sanctuary for a while.
“All right, Maes,” she murmured, heaving the man upright. “You will have to lean on the wall for a while till I get the key out.”
“Okay.”
Sarah registered the slurred tone and scrutinised Maes’s face carefully. The man’s gaze was slightly unfocused, and she could detect some mild heat when she touched his cheek.
It was as she had feared. The venture in the outside world was starting to pay its toll on the still frail Maes. Sarah could now only hope that a few hours of healing rest would suffice before there was any serious relapse. She quickly dug out the key from her purse and opened the door.
“Just a few more steps, Maes,” she said, trying to sound encouraging. “You’ll get to lie down soon.”
This time, the only answer she got was a small moan of acknowledgement. Sighing, she dragged the man upstairs; then opened the door to another room. It was a small one, but it was sufficiently furnished with some medicine, a bed and an IV.
“Here we go,” she said gently. “Just a little bit more, Maes.” And with that, she placed him on the bed as gently as possible.
But Maes didn’t say anything. He had drifted off the moment his body came in contact with the mattress. All Sarah could do was make sure that his wounds didn’t reopen after all that strain; then place the IV on his arm. It didn’t take a great mind to see that Maes would be sleeping for quite many hours after that.
That gave her the chance to plan a few more arrangements. She had already told Gracia that she and Alice would go back to their home, not wishing to impose on the woman any longer. However, Sarah could still spare a few more days before she went back to work, so she could stay in the house. In that way, she made sure that she kept a careful watch on Maes – as well as Alice, so that the the girl wouldn’t discover Maes by accident. If need be, she could easily take Alice to Gracia after school to keep Elysia some company.
This could still prove very hard though. She would be on her own this time and doubly careful because of that, while carrying on with her life as normal in order to avoid any suspicions.
She could only hope it would be enough.
“All right, it’s clean now,” Ed announced, looking carefully at the chest plate. However, the darkness of the night made things difficult for him, and he wouldn’t be able to find any more stains even if there were any. He could only hope that Al wouldn’t notice either way.
Speaking of which, the – now open – suit of armour had grown pretty quiet. Indeed, he hardly said anything as he sat at a small set of stairs, staring at nothing in particular.
“Al?”
Alphonse finally looked up. “Hm?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Al said softly. “I’m just confused.”
Ed sighed, already guessing what the problem was. “Al, what happened at the Devil’s Nest wasn’t your fault.”
“No, it’s not that,” Al said at once, shaking his head. “Although…”
Ed cocked his head and regarded his brother curiously. “Although what?”
And then, Al finally said it.
“When Martel died… I remembered what happened back then… when we tried to revive mom.”
Ed felt like his heart missed a beat. “You mean… everything?”
Al nodded. “Including the Gate.”
A sigh escaped Ed’s lips, and the young alchemist sat down beside Alphonse. He kept down a groan of pain at the discomfort, cursing the fact that his injuries didn’t allow him to move as freely as he wanted. “I didn’t want you to remember.”
“Yeah… I know why now. It was terrifying,” Al said. He bowed his head in a saddened manner. “And I didn’t find out anything about Human Transmutation either.”
“I know,” Ed said.
“But… I saw Beregond.”
If Ed was surprised before, now he was utterly stunned. He stared at Alphonse incredulously. “What?!”
Al just nodded though. “That probably shows how far I had gone inside the Gate before you pulled me back. But…” and at that Alphonse looked at Ed with eyes reflecting his puzzlement, “I don’t get it. We were trying to revive Mom. Why did I see him?”
Ed shook his head. “I don’t know, Al. It could be because it’s not possible to bring back what’s dead; so we were offered the next best thing in exchange for what we lost.”
“Someone who was about to awake,” Al said, catching on.
“Yeah.”
That made Al sigh. “So, basically, we didn’t really find out anything more than we already knew.”
“No, we did.”
Now it was Al’s turn to look at Ed dubiously. “What are you talking about?”
“Think about it, Al,” Ed said. “Do you remember what the Führer said about the Homunculi and Lab 5? While we were back at the hospital in Central?”
Al shifted a bit, his body posture clearly showing he was thinking. “Yeah… He said that they could be connected to traitors within the military, that’s why he wanted them caught.”
“Exactly,” Ed said. “And yet he ordered that all the chimeras should be executed on the spot. If the Führer really wanted the traitors caught, as he claimed, then he should have kept at least some of those chimeras alive and have them spit any kind of information they had.”
“You know, you’re right,” Al said, his red eyes slightly widening at the realisation. “And it was strange that the Führer himself came to the Devil’s Nest instead of calling for reinforcements from the nearby military base.”
“Yeah, that’s not making much sense either,” Ed agreed.
Al faced Ed. “Do you think the Colonel might know something about that? It could have to do with the war in Liore.”
Ed pursed his lips. “Maybe. But I don’t want to talk to him just yet. Besides, I think I know what he’s going to say.”
“What’s that?” Al asked, intrigued.
“Stick to the military and observe till we get our answers.”
Al nodded. “Yeah… that sounds like him.”
Ed didn’t say anything this time. He merely stared at his hands in silence, until he finally got up, patting Al on the shoulder.
“Come on. Let’s go check on Teacher.”
Al complied.
Though the mansion was dark, it didn’t mean that there weren’t people inside - or rather, creatures only resembling humans. Pride and Envy were there, keeping an unconscious Greed under chained bonds and waiting for their mistress to come to the main room. As for Wrath, he was standing a bit further away, keeping his arms crossed and giving the impression that he was hardly acknowledging anyone.
None of them was surprised when Lyra appeared instead. In fact, Envy grinned knowingly and looked straight into Lyra’s eyes.
“It looks you decided to get into a young body again,” he said. “What did you do with the other one?”
“It’s destroyed,” Lyra answered, quite pleased with herself. “I need to put one final touch to my plan, but it can wait. Now we have other business at hand.” She looked at Greed, scrutinising every detail of his face. “He’s paralysed. Does that mean we have the skeleton?”
Pride nodded. “The Crimson Alchemist was more than willing to offer his services,” he said. He handed the large bag to his – formerly – old mistress.
Lyra smiled as she took the bag, checking the contents inside. “A job well-done indeed, Pride.” Still holding the bag in her hands, she faced the unconscious homunculus. “Wake up, Greed.”
Greed complied, groaning. He blinked, certainly not expecting to find himself in the mansion and looking at a young woman. But, as he still stared at her, he understood with whom he was dealing.
“Well, well. That’s an unpleasant surprise,” he said dryly.
Lyra shrugged her shoulders. “It serves you right, ‘Ultimate Shield’. I warned you to stay out of my way.”
Greed just snorted and looked at the other three Homunculi. “And I see you got yourself some new toys to play with.” He locked his gaze on Wrath. “In fact, you stole one from me.”
“Nobody stole me,” Wrath said, his voice scratchy and snappish. “I just don’t want to be with weaklings like you.”
“There will come a time soon enough that you’ll regret that decision,” Greed said, shaking his head. He turned to face Pride. “And who’s this?”
Dante decided to indulge the homunculus. “This one’s Pride. I created him almost 60 years ago.”
Greed smirked. “A homunculus that ages. I have to admit that you outdid yourself this time, hag.”
Surprisingly enough, that made the woman chuckle. “You still know how to sweet-talk a woman, I see. It’s no wonder I was attracted to the man you were based on.” However, at the next moment, her face became quite serious and she took one step closer to Greed. “Why did you leave me?”
“You gave me life and the appropriate name,” Greed said candidly. “If I stayed with you, my greed wouldn’t be satisfied.”
“I see,” Lyra said. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, as though contemplating matters carefully. “And what if you work with me now?”
Greed knew just the right answer for that question.
“Not in a thousand years, bitch!”
Lyra sighed in mock defeat. “Then you leave me no choice. It’s time to correct my mistake.”
And with that word flowing out of her lips, she threw the bag right in Greed’s feet. The homunculus remained there, unable to move, eyes wide open, witnessing Lyra drawing another array around him.
“You really got… bad taste…” he managed to say through clenched teeth.
Lyra didn’t bother to say anything. She simply stood up and connected her palms together. At the next moment, blue light surrounded Greed, and the homunculus started writhing in agony and pain. Then retching sounds filled the room, and Greed collapsed on the ground, vomiting red stones that had been his life-force for years untold.
But Lyra didn’t concern herself with that. She cast just one glance at Wrath’s direction.
“Finish him off.”
Wrath didn’t need to be told twice. Transmuting a spear from the floor, he walked up to Greed’s side.
One swooshing sound later, Greed’s head had rolled on the floor; whereas the rest of the body remained lifeless and motionless right where it had fallen. And it was to everyone’s grim satisfaction when, seconds later, the body itself vanished, leaving nothing but red pulp.
“It is done,” Lyra’s voice echoed coldly within the room. “And he won’t be missed.”
The other homunculi said nothing.
“Envy,” Lyra said then. “Do you remember that secret room in the library?”
Envy nodded.
“I have Syndow there. Bring him here at once,” she smiled cruelly. “He will serve fine as a scapegoat for a poor old woman’s death.”
Envy walked out of the room without a word. Five minutes later though, he returned empty-handed.
Lyra stared at him incredulously. “What is this? Where’s he?”
“He’s not where you put him. The door was open.”
Lyra cursed under her breath. “How is that possible?!” Her hands clenched into fists and she shook her head. “No matter. Without knowing anyone in this city and no money in his pocket, he’s doomed anyway. We can simply hide the body.”
“If that’s what you want,” Envy said. “When do we leave for Liore?”
Lyra smiled. “As soon as possible. We have to meet our destiny, after all.”
Winry was sitting on a chair in a corridor of the hospital, resting her arms on her legs and shoulders slumped forward. Her eyes were focused on nothing in particular, and if anyone had been close enough, they would have probably heard the strange mantra that was flowing out of her lips in a continuous murmur.
“It will be okay…”
It was something she needed to believe in, especially after the attack inside Mr. Curtis’ shop and Izumi’s resolution to settle the score on her own. And when she saw the couple returning to the hospital in an even worse shape than in the one they left, all she could do was repeat the small prayer with even more determination.
Because then the boys would return safely too.
She didn’t find out from Mr. Curtis or Izumi – the couple didn’t even have to tell her anything. She had heard everything from the radio and the passer-bys in the corridor. After all, a major raid that involved the police, the military, several alchemists and even animal-like humans was hardly an inconspicuous even, even in a place like Dublith.
So now Winry waited tensely on the chair, hoping that she would hear those familiar metallic footsteps and Ed and Al’s apologies for having her worry.
But, so far, the only one that had come through the door was an elderly, limping man, quite dishevelled and emaciated. The thing that really made the man prove a pitiable sight, however, was the desperation with which he was clutching what seemed to be a notebook even in his state of confusion and loss.
“Can I help you?” Winry asked apprehensively, since there was no nurse around presently.
The man actually flinched at the sound of her voice, only to calm down somewhat when he locked his gaze on her.
“I’m… afraid you can’t,” he said. “I have to make a phone-call.”
“The phone is over there,” Winry said, pointing to the device on the wall. She searched her pockets dug out some change. “Here, you’ll need these.”
“Oh yes…” the elderly man said. “Thank you.”
“Winry?”
Both man and girl turned around at the sound of the voice. Ed had just entered the door, followed closely behind by Al.
“Did you see Teacher?” Ed asked again.
Winry opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t get the chance to answer. At that moment, the elderly man gasped and looked at both newcomers with a mixture of utter relief and joy.
“It’s you! You’re exactly as he describes you!”
Ed and Al stared at the man quizzically, certainly taken aback by these words. But the man didn’t stop.
“Is Sergeant Beregond with you? Where is he?”
Now all three children thought that was downright suspicious.
“He’s not here,” Ed finally replied, regarding the man as though ready to fight, bandages or not. “And who are you?”
The elderly man extended his hand, suffering to let go of the notebook for a moment.
“I’m Professor Ronald Syndow. And I’m afraid your friend is in grave trouble.”
TBC…
It was the perfect opportunity for one to circulate without being seen by any unfriendly eyes, a thing most fortunate. For if anyone had seen the woman and the man she was helping to walk up to her house, it could have meant certain trouble.
Sarah huffed slightly as Maes started leaning too heavily on her. She couldn’t blame the man for her predicament though. She would have preferred it if Maes had remained a couple of days more at Dr. Knox’s house, so he could regain some more strength.
It wasn’t possible though. Colonel Mustang had already said that they couldn’t risk having Maes at one spot at all times. There was a chance that Douglas would finally see through the ruse they pulled on her, and then she would leave no stone unturned till she found Maes and finished him off. Medical facilities and doctors would be the first to be searched for any answers they could provide.
Still, Maes would require some basic medical attention for a few days more at least. That was why Sarah brought Maes to her house. As the woman herself reasoned, they were very few who knew about her previous job as a nurse or her servitude in Ishbal. And if there was anyone who remembered the name Sarah, they would certainly remember a certain Sarah Kasem – her husband’s last name.
In other words, it would take a while before anyone would make the connection and her house could be a safe sanctuary for a while.
“All right, Maes,” she murmured, heaving the man upright. “You will have to lean on the wall for a while till I get the key out.”
“Okay.”
Sarah registered the slurred tone and scrutinised Maes’s face carefully. The man’s gaze was slightly unfocused, and she could detect some mild heat when she touched his cheek.
It was as she had feared. The venture in the outside world was starting to pay its toll on the still frail Maes. Sarah could now only hope that a few hours of healing rest would suffice before there was any serious relapse. She quickly dug out the key from her purse and opened the door.
“Just a few more steps, Maes,” she said, trying to sound encouraging. “You’ll get to lie down soon.”
This time, the only answer she got was a small moan of acknowledgement. Sighing, she dragged the man upstairs; then opened the door to another room. It was a small one, but it was sufficiently furnished with some medicine, a bed and an IV.
“Here we go,” she said gently. “Just a little bit more, Maes.” And with that, she placed him on the bed as gently as possible.
But Maes didn’t say anything. He had drifted off the moment his body came in contact with the mattress. All Sarah could do was make sure that his wounds didn’t reopen after all that strain; then place the IV on his arm. It didn’t take a great mind to see that Maes would be sleeping for quite many hours after that.
That gave her the chance to plan a few more arrangements. She had already told Gracia that she and Alice would go back to their home, not wishing to impose on the woman any longer. However, Sarah could still spare a few more days before she went back to work, so she could stay in the house. In that way, she made sure that she kept a careful watch on Maes – as well as Alice, so that the the girl wouldn’t discover Maes by accident. If need be, she could easily take Alice to Gracia after school to keep Elysia some company.
This could still prove very hard though. She would be on her own this time and doubly careful because of that, while carrying on with her life as normal in order to avoid any suspicions.
She could only hope it would be enough.
“All right, it’s clean now,” Ed announced, looking carefully at the chest plate. However, the darkness of the night made things difficult for him, and he wouldn’t be able to find any more stains even if there were any. He could only hope that Al wouldn’t notice either way.
Speaking of which, the – now open – suit of armour had grown pretty quiet. Indeed, he hardly said anything as he sat at a small set of stairs, staring at nothing in particular.
“Al?”
Alphonse finally looked up. “Hm?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Al said softly. “I’m just confused.”
Ed sighed, already guessing what the problem was. “Al, what happened at the Devil’s Nest wasn’t your fault.”
“No, it’s not that,” Al said at once, shaking his head. “Although…”
Ed cocked his head and regarded his brother curiously. “Although what?”
And then, Al finally said it.
“When Martel died… I remembered what happened back then… when we tried to revive mom.”
Ed felt like his heart missed a beat. “You mean… everything?”
Al nodded. “Including the Gate.”
A sigh escaped Ed’s lips, and the young alchemist sat down beside Alphonse. He kept down a groan of pain at the discomfort, cursing the fact that his injuries didn’t allow him to move as freely as he wanted. “I didn’t want you to remember.”
“Yeah… I know why now. It was terrifying,” Al said. He bowed his head in a saddened manner. “And I didn’t find out anything about Human Transmutation either.”
“I know,” Ed said.
“But… I saw Beregond.”
If Ed was surprised before, now he was utterly stunned. He stared at Alphonse incredulously. “What?!”
Al just nodded though. “That probably shows how far I had gone inside the Gate before you pulled me back. But…” and at that Alphonse looked at Ed with eyes reflecting his puzzlement, “I don’t get it. We were trying to revive Mom. Why did I see him?”
Ed shook his head. “I don’t know, Al. It could be because it’s not possible to bring back what’s dead; so we were offered the next best thing in exchange for what we lost.”
“Someone who was about to awake,” Al said, catching on.
“Yeah.”
That made Al sigh. “So, basically, we didn’t really find out anything more than we already knew.”
“No, we did.”
Now it was Al’s turn to look at Ed dubiously. “What are you talking about?”
“Think about it, Al,” Ed said. “Do you remember what the Führer said about the Homunculi and Lab 5? While we were back at the hospital in Central?”
Al shifted a bit, his body posture clearly showing he was thinking. “Yeah… He said that they could be connected to traitors within the military, that’s why he wanted them caught.”
“Exactly,” Ed said. “And yet he ordered that all the chimeras should be executed on the spot. If the Führer really wanted the traitors caught, as he claimed, then he should have kept at least some of those chimeras alive and have them spit any kind of information they had.”
“You know, you’re right,” Al said, his red eyes slightly widening at the realisation. “And it was strange that the Führer himself came to the Devil’s Nest instead of calling for reinforcements from the nearby military base.”
“Yeah, that’s not making much sense either,” Ed agreed.
Al faced Ed. “Do you think the Colonel might know something about that? It could have to do with the war in Liore.”
Ed pursed his lips. “Maybe. But I don’t want to talk to him just yet. Besides, I think I know what he’s going to say.”
“What’s that?” Al asked, intrigued.
“Stick to the military and observe till we get our answers.”
Al nodded. “Yeah… that sounds like him.”
Ed didn’t say anything this time. He merely stared at his hands in silence, until he finally got up, patting Al on the shoulder.
“Come on. Let’s go check on Teacher.”
Al complied.
Though the mansion was dark, it didn’t mean that there weren’t people inside - or rather, creatures only resembling humans. Pride and Envy were there, keeping an unconscious Greed under chained bonds and waiting for their mistress to come to the main room. As for Wrath, he was standing a bit further away, keeping his arms crossed and giving the impression that he was hardly acknowledging anyone.
None of them was surprised when Lyra appeared instead. In fact, Envy grinned knowingly and looked straight into Lyra’s eyes.
“It looks you decided to get into a young body again,” he said. “What did you do with the other one?”
“It’s destroyed,” Lyra answered, quite pleased with herself. “I need to put one final touch to my plan, but it can wait. Now we have other business at hand.” She looked at Greed, scrutinising every detail of his face. “He’s paralysed. Does that mean we have the skeleton?”
Pride nodded. “The Crimson Alchemist was more than willing to offer his services,” he said. He handed the large bag to his – formerly – old mistress.
Lyra smiled as she took the bag, checking the contents inside. “A job well-done indeed, Pride.” Still holding the bag in her hands, she faced the unconscious homunculus. “Wake up, Greed.”
Greed complied, groaning. He blinked, certainly not expecting to find himself in the mansion and looking at a young woman. But, as he still stared at her, he understood with whom he was dealing.
“Well, well. That’s an unpleasant surprise,” he said dryly.
Lyra shrugged her shoulders. “It serves you right, ‘Ultimate Shield’. I warned you to stay out of my way.”
Greed just snorted and looked at the other three Homunculi. “And I see you got yourself some new toys to play with.” He locked his gaze on Wrath. “In fact, you stole one from me.”
“Nobody stole me,” Wrath said, his voice scratchy and snappish. “I just don’t want to be with weaklings like you.”
“There will come a time soon enough that you’ll regret that decision,” Greed said, shaking his head. He turned to face Pride. “And who’s this?”
Dante decided to indulge the homunculus. “This one’s Pride. I created him almost 60 years ago.”
Greed smirked. “A homunculus that ages. I have to admit that you outdid yourself this time, hag.”
Surprisingly enough, that made the woman chuckle. “You still know how to sweet-talk a woman, I see. It’s no wonder I was attracted to the man you were based on.” However, at the next moment, her face became quite serious and she took one step closer to Greed. “Why did you leave me?”
“You gave me life and the appropriate name,” Greed said candidly. “If I stayed with you, my greed wouldn’t be satisfied.”
“I see,” Lyra said. She tapped her chin thoughtfully, as though contemplating matters carefully. “And what if you work with me now?”
Greed knew just the right answer for that question.
“Not in a thousand years, bitch!”
Lyra sighed in mock defeat. “Then you leave me no choice. It’s time to correct my mistake.”
And with that word flowing out of her lips, she threw the bag right in Greed’s feet. The homunculus remained there, unable to move, eyes wide open, witnessing Lyra drawing another array around him.
“You really got… bad taste…” he managed to say through clenched teeth.
Lyra didn’t bother to say anything. She simply stood up and connected her palms together. At the next moment, blue light surrounded Greed, and the homunculus started writhing in agony and pain. Then retching sounds filled the room, and Greed collapsed on the ground, vomiting red stones that had been his life-force for years untold.
But Lyra didn’t concern herself with that. She cast just one glance at Wrath’s direction.
“Finish him off.”
Wrath didn’t need to be told twice. Transmuting a spear from the floor, he walked up to Greed’s side.
One swooshing sound later, Greed’s head had rolled on the floor; whereas the rest of the body remained lifeless and motionless right where it had fallen. And it was to everyone’s grim satisfaction when, seconds later, the body itself vanished, leaving nothing but red pulp.
“It is done,” Lyra’s voice echoed coldly within the room. “And he won’t be missed.”
The other homunculi said nothing.
“Envy,” Lyra said then. “Do you remember that secret room in the library?”
Envy nodded.
“I have Syndow there. Bring him here at once,” she smiled cruelly. “He will serve fine as a scapegoat for a poor old woman’s death.”
Envy walked out of the room without a word. Five minutes later though, he returned empty-handed.
Lyra stared at him incredulously. “What is this? Where’s he?”
“He’s not where you put him. The door was open.”
Lyra cursed under her breath. “How is that possible?!” Her hands clenched into fists and she shook her head. “No matter. Without knowing anyone in this city and no money in his pocket, he’s doomed anyway. We can simply hide the body.”
“If that’s what you want,” Envy said. “When do we leave for Liore?”
Lyra smiled. “As soon as possible. We have to meet our destiny, after all.”
Winry was sitting on a chair in a corridor of the hospital, resting her arms on her legs and shoulders slumped forward. Her eyes were focused on nothing in particular, and if anyone had been close enough, they would have probably heard the strange mantra that was flowing out of her lips in a continuous murmur.
“It will be okay…”
It was something she needed to believe in, especially after the attack inside Mr. Curtis’ shop and Izumi’s resolution to settle the score on her own. And when she saw the couple returning to the hospital in an even worse shape than in the one they left, all she could do was repeat the small prayer with even more determination.
Because then the boys would return safely too.
She didn’t find out from Mr. Curtis or Izumi – the couple didn’t even have to tell her anything. She had heard everything from the radio and the passer-bys in the corridor. After all, a major raid that involved the police, the military, several alchemists and even animal-like humans was hardly an inconspicuous even, even in a place like Dublith.
So now Winry waited tensely on the chair, hoping that she would hear those familiar metallic footsteps and Ed and Al’s apologies for having her worry.
But, so far, the only one that had come through the door was an elderly, limping man, quite dishevelled and emaciated. The thing that really made the man prove a pitiable sight, however, was the desperation with which he was clutching what seemed to be a notebook even in his state of confusion and loss.
“Can I help you?” Winry asked apprehensively, since there was no nurse around presently.
The man actually flinched at the sound of her voice, only to calm down somewhat when he locked his gaze on her.
“I’m… afraid you can’t,” he said. “I have to make a phone-call.”
“The phone is over there,” Winry said, pointing to the device on the wall. She searched her pockets dug out some change. “Here, you’ll need these.”
“Oh yes…” the elderly man said. “Thank you.”
“Winry?”
Both man and girl turned around at the sound of the voice. Ed had just entered the door, followed closely behind by Al.
“Did you see Teacher?” Ed asked again.
Winry opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t get the chance to answer. At that moment, the elderly man gasped and looked at both newcomers with a mixture of utter relief and joy.
“It’s you! You’re exactly as he describes you!”
Ed and Al stared at the man quizzically, certainly taken aback by these words. But the man didn’t stop.
“Is Sergeant Beregond with you? Where is he?”
Now all three children thought that was downright suspicious.
“He’s not here,” Ed finally replied, regarding the man as though ready to fight, bandages or not. “And who are you?”
The elderly man extended his hand, suffering to let go of the notebook for a moment.
“I’m Professor Ronald Syndow. And I’m afraid your friend is in grave trouble.”
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