“Sir, the west wing has been secured!” one of the soldiers said, saluting Maes.
“The east wing has been secured as well, Sir!” a sergeant also reported, putting his gun back in his holster.
“Good job,” Maes replied, nodding in approval. “See to it that the soldiers who have put up a fight be placed in trucks so they can be transferred to the tribunal. We will sort the lot out later.”
“Understood,” both soldiers said, and they saluted respectively before walking out. Maes simply waved his head in an absentminded manner, and he resumed examining the room he was currently in. The Führer’s office.
Maes had to admit that he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary at first glance. The room was as typical as they come. Even so, the brigadier general couldn’t help but feel as though he was missing something important. For he still remembered the last time that he had been here, and there was a question that kept plaguing his mind. How did Lust manage to enter the military headquarters without being noticed?
It could be argued that it had been very late at night and so nobody on the graveyard shift had noticed her. On the other hand, was it really that possible for a woman who looked nothing like military personnel go by without anyone noticing her? If anything, a guy would have certainly turn around to give her the once over.
So how did she do it?
Just then, Maes spotted what he had been looking for. The wooden floor behind Bradley’s desk was scratched as if something heavy was dragged on it. And, if the curved lines were any indication, it meant that that something was actually a door.
Frowning, Maes regarded the bookcase in front of him with quite the scrutiny, then lit up a lighter to see what would happen. The little flame danced for a moment, and then it pointed to the direction of the bookcase, proving that there was an air current in the particular place.
Maes didn’t waste any time. He fumbled the edge of the bookcase so that he would find an opening big enough to stick his hands in; and then he started pulling with all his strength. The bookcase finally budged with a heavy groan, revealing the secret that was hiding behind it.
An elevator. And, unless Maes was sorely mistaken, it only lead downwards. The man wasn’t sure what could possibly be underground, but he decided he had to investigate. Pulling the elevator door shut, he pressed the button that pointed downwards and, moments later, Maes started descending to the depths of hell.
Maes didn’t know how long he was cooped up in that elevator. But finally, after what felt like an eternity, the elevator came to a halt. Maes opened the door slowly, shivering as the chill which permeated the atmosphere practically pierced him through and through. Still, he braced himself with all the courage he could muster and he continued on. His steps echoed throughout the corridor almost like thunderclaps, making Maes more than just a little nervous. Before even realising it, he had taken out his knives and prepared himself for anything that might spring out from the shadows.
Nothing happened though. Not even when he walked towards the only lit room he could see, and finally came across a sight he never expected. Ed was there, kneeling next to an emaciated boy who was trying to hide his nakedness with Ed’s red overcoat… and both of them were leaning over Beregond, who had his eyes closed.
“Stay… Stay…” Ed kept whispering, holding the bloodied form close to him.
“Ed!” Maes rushed forward and knelt down as well, staring at the Gondorian’s broken form incredulously. “What happened?!”
The boy looked up at him. “Mr. Hughes… Call for an ambulance… Please.”
Maes stared at the boy, scarcely believing his ears. The voice was trembling and weak; yet he still recognised it.
“Al? How…?”
“Damn it, Hughes, just call for an ambulance!” Ed snapped.
Maes didn’t have to be told again. Nodding his understanding, he hurried out to send for help.
------------------------------
Ed knew perfectly well where he was when he saw the Gate before him again, and he also knew what had come to pass. Envy had won, and he was taken to the beyond of which he had only caught a glimpse before. So when it opened and the snake-like hands of death came for him, he had accepted his defeat without struggle.
His only regret was that he knew Al was with him. His brother wouldn’t stand a chance against two Homunculi. But, at least, they would be together once the Gate closed behind them. He could already hear the awful creaking sound as the great door was getting shut once more.
But…it never closed. Warmth surrounded him instead, and a comforting voice that sounded like the chiming of bells rang in his ears.
The voice seemed so familiar…
At the next moment though, the warmth and the voice were gone, and pain pulled Ed out of unconsciousness. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he immediately gritted his teeth to stop himself from crying out. However, the screams that sounded not too far from him make him look on his left in surprise. He knew those screams; he had heard them before, when he was eleven years old.
“Alphonse?!”
It couldn’t be…
He didn’t dare hope…
The emaciated, trembling flesh body shifted. “Brother… it hurts…” the familiar voice said tensely, and the dove-grey eyes that Ed would have given anything to see again locked on him.
“Alphonse!” Ed tried to push himself to his feet, but his arm and leg were hurting too much.
That didn’t stop him; it wouldn’t. He crawled close to Al, heart pounding rapidly on his chest and wanting to cry out for other reasons then the pain he was feeling.
He almost did when he felt the flesh beneath cautious fingertips.
“It’s you… it’s really you…”
Alphonse nodded, a broad smile tugging on his lips at last. “Your arm and leg… they’re back too.”
Ed blinked. “What are you…?” But then his eyes caught sight of his right hand and he gasped in amazement.
No way…
He instantly lifted his sleeve and looked at his shoulder, where he saw proof that it was so; the scar he got from the fox-bite was there.
“How…?”
“I don’t know…I was at the gate and then…I heard a voice and something pulled me away…” Al said. He lifted a hand weakly. “Help me up.”
Ed stared, unsure. “You’re hurting… you shouldn’t force yourself.”
“The pain’s almost gone,” Al reassured him. “Don’t you feel it?”
Yes, Ed could feel it. His limbs weren’t hurting anymore. All that remained was a dull tingling sensation, and that was decreasing rapidly too. He subconsciously moved his fingers, still not believing that he was looking at flesh digits instead of mechanical.
“Brother…”
“Yeah… sorry Al…” Ed mumbled and helped his brother up. He raised an eyebrow at noticing Al’s condition and he shook his head in disapproval. “Let’s see what I can do about that…” Ed said. And with that, he took off his trenchcoat and placed it over Alphonse.
“Thank you…” Al whispered, a faint blush visible on his cheeks.
Ed just smiled, his joy almost indescribable. Al was whole again.
And yet… the teen alchemist also wanted to cry.
Why?
Suddenly, a gasp escaped Al’s lips and he rushed forward, pain and joy all forgotten. Stunned, Ed turned around, and he saw what upset his brother: the bloodied and unmoving form that his brother was now shaking violently.
Finally, Ed understood. And at the next moment, he hurried at Beregond’s side also.
“Beregond? Beregond, answer me! BEREGOND!”
There was no response; not a verbal one anyway; for Ed saw clearly the pallid colour on Beregond’s face.
“Brother… he… he can’t…” Al faltered, looking at Ed for affirmation.
No. No, he couldn’t be.
Not now.
Without thinking, Ed grabbed the sword that was lying close to him and placed it close to the man’s lips.
Please…
The seconds passed and yet there was no fogging. No indication that Beregond was, in fact, breathing.
“No… no…” Ed’s voice came out shaky, panicked at the realisation that crept on the back of his mind. Trying to control himself, he placed his ear close to where he knew Beregond’s heart should be beating.
Should… but wasn’t.
“Damn it!” He locked his gaze on the slack face before him. “Don’t you dare!” he muttered, as though Beregond somehow still heard him.
Nothing changed. Unable to take it, Ed let his fist fall brutally on Beregond’s chest. Again. And again.
“Damn it, do you dare!” At the fourth, strongest hit, Al grabbed his hand and stopped him.
“I feel a pulse…”
Ed’s eyes widened ten-fold and he immediately leaned forward to hear that blessed breathing he had been striving for.
It was there… faint and shallow, but there. At that moment, Ed could only wish for one thing.
“Stay… Stay…”
Ed curled closer to himself, clenching tightly the blanket had been placed on him. The memories that haunted him felt as f they chilled him to the very bone.
“Brother, you okay?”
The teen alchemist looked up, almost surprised to realise that he was in a hospital room with Alphonse. He blinked once, twice, and then he shook his head. Al was so weak that he had to be carried to the hospital and placed under intensive treatment; and yet he was still worried about his older brother.
“I’m fine, Al. I was just… thinking,” he replied. “Where’s Hughes?”
“He went to talk to Major Armstrong,” Al said. “They brought the Colonel in and he wants to check on him.”
“Check on him?” Ed echoed, perplexed. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure, but… they do say the Führer’s dead,” Al said. “Burned in his own home.”
Ed frowned. “Burned, huh?” he sighed and rested his back against the chair he was sitting on. “I guess we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Yeah.”
Silence followed for many long moment, during which Ed kept his gaze locked on the door.
“He’ll be fine, brother,” Al said. “He has to be.”
“I know,” Ed replied at once, nodding emphatically. “I’m just surprised they didn’t come to check up on us yet.”
That was only half true and both boys were aware of it. Even so, they waited patiently for anyone to come and see them. They hated being kept in the dark in such a way.
Finally, the door clicked open, making Ed and Al tense. Their eagerness was subdued, however, for it turned out to be lieutenant Hawkeye and Hughes. Riza stopped momentarily on her tracks, her doe-like eyes fixed on the emaciated form of Al.
“So it’s true,” she murmured, and a small smile appeared on her lips. “You finally got your bodies back.”
“Hard to believe, right?” Maes said, a big grin gracing his features. “So, Ed, how are you feeling?”
Ed frowned. “Frankly, I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. He motioned his right hand, all the while staring at it. “I keep thinking that it didn’t really happen, but it is my arm.”
Riza nodded her understanding. “It’s only natural. You will get used to the idea sooner or later.”
“Actually it will take me more time to get used to the idea that I won’t have a clanking, hollow suit of armour following me around all the time,” the teen alchemist replied, regarding Al teasingly.
Al couldn’t help but chuckle as well, albeit weakly. “I think that makes two of us, brother,” he said, and he faced Maes. “How’s the Colonel, mr. Hughes?”
Hughes straightened his glasses. “It was touch and go for a while, but he’ll live. They placed him a couple of rooms away from here, so you can go see him when he wakes up.”
“Just what I needed. Watching Mustang flirting with every nurse that will be fawning over him,” Ed said with a snort. His mirth was short-lived, however. Overwhelmed by curiosity, he decided to ask what had really been plaguing his mind. “What about Beregond? Any news from him?”
Riza’s jaw tightened at that, and Hughes practically flinched; that was something Ed didn’t like at all.
“What’s wrong?”
That was probably a question that crossed Al’s mind as well, for he looked at Riza and Hughes apprehensively too.
The woman exchanged a brief glance with Hughes. When Hughes nodded in silent agreement, Riza finally spoke.
“The doctors have managed to stabilise his condition after treating his broken arm and the burns on his chest. He opened his eyes about a quarter of an hour ago.”
“So that’s good, right?” Al asked, hope quite audible in his voice.
“It should have been,” Riza answered.
“But…?” Ed said, his hands clenched into fists.
“But… he’s unresponsive, Edward. For the last quarter of an hour, he’s been staring ahead without acknowledging any presence or sound within the room.”
Ed was sure that he heard Al gasping, but he couldn’t do even that; he was too stunned. Beregond was actually…?
No. No, it wasn’t that. It wasn’t that at all. Ed shook his head and laughed before he could help it. Everyone stared at him in shock, probably wondering if he had gone mad. But Ed didn’t care, for he had already figured it out.
“Brother…” Al started.
“I can’t believe you guys fell for it again,” Ed said, still laughing. “It’s that same old trick again.” It had to be.
Riza bit her lower lip, looking at him almost pitifully now. “Edward…”
“No,” Ed said, holding up his hand. “I’m telling you, he’s doing it again. He probably got scared by the doctors and he’s faking a mental breakdown all over again.”
“Ed…” Hughes placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder; but Ed pulled away angrily.
“No! I’m telling you, he’s faking it!” he snapped. “He just needs to see a familiar face, that’s all.”
“Ed… I was there. I called him by name,” Hughes said softly. “He didn’t respond.”
“No!” They had to be wrong; they had to be. “Where is he?”
“He’s in the next room… Edward!”
But Ed didn’t stop to listen to Riza. He rushed out of the room and burst into the one where Beregond was.
“Beregond? It’s me.”
Yet the Gondorian didn’t move. He remained on his bed, his lips parted and a dead gaze in his eyes.
“Damn it, it’s not funny, okay?” the young man exclaimed, and he grabbed the man by the shoulders. “I know you can hear me!”
There was no answer, nothing that showed that Beregond acknowledged his surroundings.
“Just look at me, will you?” Ed said, his voice hoarsening with emotion. His hands clenched around the man’s shirt and he shook him violently. “Do something!”
Beregond simply lay there, and Ed felt the blood boiling in his veins.
“SNAP OUT OF IT!” he screamed, the sound of a slap filling the air.
“ED, THAT’S ENOUGH!” At the next moment, Hughes wrapped his arms around the young man and tried to pull him away, but Ed kept struggling against him. He had seen Beregond blink and lift his gaze to look at him.
“No, let me go! I’m telling you, he’s faking it!” Ed kept crying. “WAKE UP!”
But all his pleas fell into deaf ears.
Ed sat on the chair, keeping his head bowed and his elbows resting on his knees. His bangs hid his face from the rest of the world, and he refused to look up even when Hughes tried to talk to him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Al was wringing his hands in a nervous manner and keeping his gaze on the door. The younger brother was just as worried about Beregond as Ed, and he wanted to know what was wrong with the Gondorian.
Finally, the door opened, and a man in his late thirties came in. He looked briefly at everyone present in the room, and his eyes immediately rested on Riza’s form.
“Lieutenant Hawkeye…” he said, and he extended his hand in a handshake. “I’m sorry we’re meeting under such bad circumstances.”
“I agree, Dr. Thornlace,” Riza replied, completing the handshake. She motioned her free hand in the direction of the boys and Maes. “This is Brigadier General Hughes, a friend of Beregond’s, and these are Edward and Alphonse; Beregond served as their escort.”
“Are you a doctor?” Ed asked, his amber-coloured eyes practically piercing the man though. This wasn’t the time for introductions. He just wanted answers.
Thornlace nodded politely. “Indeed. A psychologist, to be exact.”
Ed snorted. “Then your services aren’t required. Beregond doesn’t need a shrink.”
“Edward!” Riza exclaimed, but Thornlace waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
“I know he doesn’t. That’s why I’m here,” he said. “I specialize in the connections between the three basic parts of a human existence. Need I remind you what they are, Mr. Elric?”
Ed huffed. “The body, the mind and the soul.”
“Exactly,” Thornlace said, and he took a seat. “I saw your escort, Mr. Elric. This is nothing wrong with him physically, and he does react to extreme external stimuli. You slapped him, correct?” he smiled a bit when Ed glared at him. “You made quite the commotion. One of the doctors, a certain Dr. Beckett, told me all about it upon my arrival.”
“Fine, I did. Sue me. Did you check on Beregond or what?” Ed asked, still keeping the doctor under his piercing gaze.
Thornlace, however, sighed. “I know what you hope for, but I’m afraid I’ll only disappoint you,” he said. “Mr. Beregond sees, but he can’t recognize anything. He can hear, but the sounds mean nothing to him. He can’t move without assistance and, if he’s in any way aware of his current situation, he isn’t able to speak of it.”
“But he looked at brother…” Al said softly.
Thornlace shook his head. “It was a mere reflex. No different than how an animal would have reacted to a violent act.”
“What does that mean?” Maes asked, although something in his tone indicated that he already suspected the answer.
Thornlace pursed his lips for a brief moment.
“It means that the entire personality, the complex feelings and thoughts that defined your friend as Beregond… are gone.”
“The east wing has been secured as well, Sir!” a sergeant also reported, putting his gun back in his holster.
“Good job,” Maes replied, nodding in approval. “See to it that the soldiers who have put up a fight be placed in trucks so they can be transferred to the tribunal. We will sort the lot out later.”
“Understood,” both soldiers said, and they saluted respectively before walking out. Maes simply waved his head in an absentminded manner, and he resumed examining the room he was currently in. The Führer’s office.
Maes had to admit that he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary at first glance. The room was as typical as they come. Even so, the brigadier general couldn’t help but feel as though he was missing something important. For he still remembered the last time that he had been here, and there was a question that kept plaguing his mind. How did Lust manage to enter the military headquarters without being noticed?
It could be argued that it had been very late at night and so nobody on the graveyard shift had noticed her. On the other hand, was it really that possible for a woman who looked nothing like military personnel go by without anyone noticing her? If anything, a guy would have certainly turn around to give her the once over.
So how did she do it?
Just then, Maes spotted what he had been looking for. The wooden floor behind Bradley’s desk was scratched as if something heavy was dragged on it. And, if the curved lines were any indication, it meant that that something was actually a door.
Frowning, Maes regarded the bookcase in front of him with quite the scrutiny, then lit up a lighter to see what would happen. The little flame danced for a moment, and then it pointed to the direction of the bookcase, proving that there was an air current in the particular place.
Maes didn’t waste any time. He fumbled the edge of the bookcase so that he would find an opening big enough to stick his hands in; and then he started pulling with all his strength. The bookcase finally budged with a heavy groan, revealing the secret that was hiding behind it.
An elevator. And, unless Maes was sorely mistaken, it only lead downwards. The man wasn’t sure what could possibly be underground, but he decided he had to investigate. Pulling the elevator door shut, he pressed the button that pointed downwards and, moments later, Maes started descending to the depths of hell.
Maes didn’t know how long he was cooped up in that elevator. But finally, after what felt like an eternity, the elevator came to a halt. Maes opened the door slowly, shivering as the chill which permeated the atmosphere practically pierced him through and through. Still, he braced himself with all the courage he could muster and he continued on. His steps echoed throughout the corridor almost like thunderclaps, making Maes more than just a little nervous. Before even realising it, he had taken out his knives and prepared himself for anything that might spring out from the shadows.
Nothing happened though. Not even when he walked towards the only lit room he could see, and finally came across a sight he never expected. Ed was there, kneeling next to an emaciated boy who was trying to hide his nakedness with Ed’s red overcoat… and both of them were leaning over Beregond, who had his eyes closed.
“Stay… Stay…” Ed kept whispering, holding the bloodied form close to him.
“Ed!” Maes rushed forward and knelt down as well, staring at the Gondorian’s broken form incredulously. “What happened?!”
The boy looked up at him. “Mr. Hughes… Call for an ambulance… Please.”
Maes stared at the boy, scarcely believing his ears. The voice was trembling and weak; yet he still recognised it.
“Al? How…?”
“Damn it, Hughes, just call for an ambulance!” Ed snapped.
Maes didn’t have to be told again. Nodding his understanding, he hurried out to send for help.
------------------------------
Ed knew perfectly well where he was when he saw the Gate before him again, and he also knew what had come to pass. Envy had won, and he was taken to the beyond of which he had only caught a glimpse before. So when it opened and the snake-like hands of death came for him, he had accepted his defeat without struggle.
His only regret was that he knew Al was with him. His brother wouldn’t stand a chance against two Homunculi. But, at least, they would be together once the Gate closed behind them. He could already hear the awful creaking sound as the great door was getting shut once more.
But…it never closed. Warmth surrounded him instead, and a comforting voice that sounded like the chiming of bells rang in his ears.
The voice seemed so familiar…
At the next moment though, the warmth and the voice were gone, and pain pulled Ed out of unconsciousness. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he immediately gritted his teeth to stop himself from crying out. However, the screams that sounded not too far from him make him look on his left in surprise. He knew those screams; he had heard them before, when he was eleven years old.
“Alphonse?!”
It couldn’t be…
He didn’t dare hope…
The emaciated, trembling flesh body shifted. “Brother… it hurts…” the familiar voice said tensely, and the dove-grey eyes that Ed would have given anything to see again locked on him.
“Alphonse!” Ed tried to push himself to his feet, but his arm and leg were hurting too much.
That didn’t stop him; it wouldn’t. He crawled close to Al, heart pounding rapidly on his chest and wanting to cry out for other reasons then the pain he was feeling.
He almost did when he felt the flesh beneath cautious fingertips.
“It’s you… it’s really you…”
Alphonse nodded, a broad smile tugging on his lips at last. “Your arm and leg… they’re back too.”
Ed blinked. “What are you…?” But then his eyes caught sight of his right hand and he gasped in amazement.
No way…
He instantly lifted his sleeve and looked at his shoulder, where he saw proof that it was so; the scar he got from the fox-bite was there.
“How…?”
“I don’t know…I was at the gate and then…I heard a voice and something pulled me away…” Al said. He lifted a hand weakly. “Help me up.”
Ed stared, unsure. “You’re hurting… you shouldn’t force yourself.”
“The pain’s almost gone,” Al reassured him. “Don’t you feel it?”
Yes, Ed could feel it. His limbs weren’t hurting anymore. All that remained was a dull tingling sensation, and that was decreasing rapidly too. He subconsciously moved his fingers, still not believing that he was looking at flesh digits instead of mechanical.
“Brother…”
“Yeah… sorry Al…” Ed mumbled and helped his brother up. He raised an eyebrow at noticing Al’s condition and he shook his head in disapproval. “Let’s see what I can do about that…” Ed said. And with that, he took off his trenchcoat and placed it over Alphonse.
“Thank you…” Al whispered, a faint blush visible on his cheeks.
Ed just smiled, his joy almost indescribable. Al was whole again.
And yet… the teen alchemist also wanted to cry.
Why?
Suddenly, a gasp escaped Al’s lips and he rushed forward, pain and joy all forgotten. Stunned, Ed turned around, and he saw what upset his brother: the bloodied and unmoving form that his brother was now shaking violently.
Finally, Ed understood. And at the next moment, he hurried at Beregond’s side also.
“Beregond? Beregond, answer me! BEREGOND!”
There was no response; not a verbal one anyway; for Ed saw clearly the pallid colour on Beregond’s face.
“Brother… he… he can’t…” Al faltered, looking at Ed for affirmation.
No. No, he couldn’t be.
Not now.
Without thinking, Ed grabbed the sword that was lying close to him and placed it close to the man’s lips.
Please…
The seconds passed and yet there was no fogging. No indication that Beregond was, in fact, breathing.
“No… no…” Ed’s voice came out shaky, panicked at the realisation that crept on the back of his mind. Trying to control himself, he placed his ear close to where he knew Beregond’s heart should be beating.
Should… but wasn’t.
“Damn it!” He locked his gaze on the slack face before him. “Don’t you dare!” he muttered, as though Beregond somehow still heard him.
Nothing changed. Unable to take it, Ed let his fist fall brutally on Beregond’s chest. Again. And again.
“Damn it, do you dare!” At the fourth, strongest hit, Al grabbed his hand and stopped him.
“I feel a pulse…”
Ed’s eyes widened ten-fold and he immediately leaned forward to hear that blessed breathing he had been striving for.
It was there… faint and shallow, but there. At that moment, Ed could only wish for one thing.
“Stay… Stay…”
Ed curled closer to himself, clenching tightly the blanket had been placed on him. The memories that haunted him felt as f they chilled him to the very bone.
“Brother, you okay?”
The teen alchemist looked up, almost surprised to realise that he was in a hospital room with Alphonse. He blinked once, twice, and then he shook his head. Al was so weak that he had to be carried to the hospital and placed under intensive treatment; and yet he was still worried about his older brother.
“I’m fine, Al. I was just… thinking,” he replied. “Where’s Hughes?”
“He went to talk to Major Armstrong,” Al said. “They brought the Colonel in and he wants to check on him.”
“Check on him?” Ed echoed, perplexed. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure, but… they do say the Führer’s dead,” Al said. “Burned in his own home.”
Ed frowned. “Burned, huh?” he sighed and rested his back against the chair he was sitting on. “I guess we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Yeah.”
Silence followed for many long moment, during which Ed kept his gaze locked on the door.
“He’ll be fine, brother,” Al said. “He has to be.”
“I know,” Ed replied at once, nodding emphatically. “I’m just surprised they didn’t come to check up on us yet.”
That was only half true and both boys were aware of it. Even so, they waited patiently for anyone to come and see them. They hated being kept in the dark in such a way.
Finally, the door clicked open, making Ed and Al tense. Their eagerness was subdued, however, for it turned out to be lieutenant Hawkeye and Hughes. Riza stopped momentarily on her tracks, her doe-like eyes fixed on the emaciated form of Al.
“So it’s true,” she murmured, and a small smile appeared on her lips. “You finally got your bodies back.”
“Hard to believe, right?” Maes said, a big grin gracing his features. “So, Ed, how are you feeling?”
Ed frowned. “Frankly, I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. He motioned his right hand, all the while staring at it. “I keep thinking that it didn’t really happen, but it is my arm.”
Riza nodded her understanding. “It’s only natural. You will get used to the idea sooner or later.”
“Actually it will take me more time to get used to the idea that I won’t have a clanking, hollow suit of armour following me around all the time,” the teen alchemist replied, regarding Al teasingly.
Al couldn’t help but chuckle as well, albeit weakly. “I think that makes two of us, brother,” he said, and he faced Maes. “How’s the Colonel, mr. Hughes?”
Hughes straightened his glasses. “It was touch and go for a while, but he’ll live. They placed him a couple of rooms away from here, so you can go see him when he wakes up.”
“Just what I needed. Watching Mustang flirting with every nurse that will be fawning over him,” Ed said with a snort. His mirth was short-lived, however. Overwhelmed by curiosity, he decided to ask what had really been plaguing his mind. “What about Beregond? Any news from him?”
Riza’s jaw tightened at that, and Hughes practically flinched; that was something Ed didn’t like at all.
“What’s wrong?”
That was probably a question that crossed Al’s mind as well, for he looked at Riza and Hughes apprehensively too.
The woman exchanged a brief glance with Hughes. When Hughes nodded in silent agreement, Riza finally spoke.
“The doctors have managed to stabilise his condition after treating his broken arm and the burns on his chest. He opened his eyes about a quarter of an hour ago.”
“So that’s good, right?” Al asked, hope quite audible in his voice.
“It should have been,” Riza answered.
“But…?” Ed said, his hands clenched into fists.
“But… he’s unresponsive, Edward. For the last quarter of an hour, he’s been staring ahead without acknowledging any presence or sound within the room.”
Ed was sure that he heard Al gasping, but he couldn’t do even that; he was too stunned. Beregond was actually…?
No. No, it wasn’t that. It wasn’t that at all. Ed shook his head and laughed before he could help it. Everyone stared at him in shock, probably wondering if he had gone mad. But Ed didn’t care, for he had already figured it out.
“Brother…” Al started.
“I can’t believe you guys fell for it again,” Ed said, still laughing. “It’s that same old trick again.” It had to be.
Riza bit her lower lip, looking at him almost pitifully now. “Edward…”
“No,” Ed said, holding up his hand. “I’m telling you, he’s doing it again. He probably got scared by the doctors and he’s faking a mental breakdown all over again.”
“Ed…” Hughes placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder; but Ed pulled away angrily.
“No! I’m telling you, he’s faking it!” he snapped. “He just needs to see a familiar face, that’s all.”
“Ed… I was there. I called him by name,” Hughes said softly. “He didn’t respond.”
“No!” They had to be wrong; they had to be. “Where is he?”
“He’s in the next room… Edward!”
But Ed didn’t stop to listen to Riza. He rushed out of the room and burst into the one where Beregond was.
“Beregond? It’s me.”
Yet the Gondorian didn’t move. He remained on his bed, his lips parted and a dead gaze in his eyes.
“Damn it, it’s not funny, okay?” the young man exclaimed, and he grabbed the man by the shoulders. “I know you can hear me!”
There was no answer, nothing that showed that Beregond acknowledged his surroundings.
“Just look at me, will you?” Ed said, his voice hoarsening with emotion. His hands clenched around the man’s shirt and he shook him violently. “Do something!”
Beregond simply lay there, and Ed felt the blood boiling in his veins.
“SNAP OUT OF IT!” he screamed, the sound of a slap filling the air.
“ED, THAT’S ENOUGH!” At the next moment, Hughes wrapped his arms around the young man and tried to pull him away, but Ed kept struggling against him. He had seen Beregond blink and lift his gaze to look at him.
“No, let me go! I’m telling you, he’s faking it!” Ed kept crying. “WAKE UP!”
But all his pleas fell into deaf ears.
Ed sat on the chair, keeping his head bowed and his elbows resting on his knees. His bangs hid his face from the rest of the world, and he refused to look up even when Hughes tried to talk to him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Al was wringing his hands in a nervous manner and keeping his gaze on the door. The younger brother was just as worried about Beregond as Ed, and he wanted to know what was wrong with the Gondorian.
Finally, the door opened, and a man in his late thirties came in. He looked briefly at everyone present in the room, and his eyes immediately rested on Riza’s form.
“Lieutenant Hawkeye…” he said, and he extended his hand in a handshake. “I’m sorry we’re meeting under such bad circumstances.”
“I agree, Dr. Thornlace,” Riza replied, completing the handshake. She motioned her free hand in the direction of the boys and Maes. “This is Brigadier General Hughes, a friend of Beregond’s, and these are Edward and Alphonse; Beregond served as their escort.”
“Are you a doctor?” Ed asked, his amber-coloured eyes practically piercing the man though. This wasn’t the time for introductions. He just wanted answers.
Thornlace nodded politely. “Indeed. A psychologist, to be exact.”
Ed snorted. “Then your services aren’t required. Beregond doesn’t need a shrink.”
“Edward!” Riza exclaimed, but Thornlace waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
“I know he doesn’t. That’s why I’m here,” he said. “I specialize in the connections between the three basic parts of a human existence. Need I remind you what they are, Mr. Elric?”
Ed huffed. “The body, the mind and the soul.”
“Exactly,” Thornlace said, and he took a seat. “I saw your escort, Mr. Elric. This is nothing wrong with him physically, and he does react to extreme external stimuli. You slapped him, correct?” he smiled a bit when Ed glared at him. “You made quite the commotion. One of the doctors, a certain Dr. Beckett, told me all about it upon my arrival.”
“Fine, I did. Sue me. Did you check on Beregond or what?” Ed asked, still keeping the doctor under his piercing gaze.
Thornlace, however, sighed. “I know what you hope for, but I’m afraid I’ll only disappoint you,” he said. “Mr. Beregond sees, but he can’t recognize anything. He can hear, but the sounds mean nothing to him. He can’t move without assistance and, if he’s in any way aware of his current situation, he isn’t able to speak of it.”
“But he looked at brother…” Al said softly.
Thornlace shook his head. “It was a mere reflex. No different than how an animal would have reacted to a violent act.”
“What does that mean?” Maes asked, although something in his tone indicated that he already suspected the answer.
Thornlace pursed his lips for a brief moment.
“It means that the entire personality, the complex feelings and thoughts that defined your friend as Beregond… are gone.”
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