Disclaimer: Characters in this fic are all SquareEnix branded. Fullmetal Alchemist was created by Hiromu Arakawa and Reno, Rude and Elena were created by Tetsuya Nomura…
And in the corner is a Moogle leading the way…
Those who Fight Further
"Just the two of us, a silver cross, and some strength that you won't believe" Our Lady Peace – Wipe that Smile off your Face
--
The quiet dusk sky suddenly turned dark and stormy, and as Winry Rockbell stared out of her window, lightning struck the ground a few meters away from her house. Seconds later the monstrous thunder cracked the heavens and large droplets of rain poured onto the ground. She sighed. Had only stepped away from her current work to gaze at the first stars of the night. It was as if someone upstairs didn't want her to leave the new automail arm unfinished. The rain outside pounded on the roof of the two-story house as Winry walked back over to her workbench and picked up a wrench. As she placed her tool at a loose screw, the thunder boomed again, causing her to jump and miss the screw completely.
"Damnit…" Winry muttered as her shaking subsided. She placed the wrench on the table next to the automail and headed downstairs. Her grandmother sat at the table with her pipe in hand. "This storm started suddenly…" Winry said, her voice trailing. Her Grandma Pinako grunted. They fell silent as Winry took a seat. The only things they heard were distant rumbles of thunder and rain hitting the rooftop and the ground outside. Din, a medium-sized black-and-white dog with an automail front left leg, lay under the table, lost in thoughts. His head perked up suddenly, tail wagging.
And then a knock at the door. Subtle at first because of the rain, then the knock became harder. Although Pinako heard it the first time. Her short legs made a soft thud as they hit the floor and she walked towards the door. A third knock sounded.
"Hold on, I'm coming!" Pinako grumbled and reached the door, turning the knob. She opened the door slightly and made a startled gasp as she flung the door all the way for Winry to see. "Oren!"
A casual wave. "… Hi Gram."
-
"All these years… I thought you, too, were dead," Pinako began after a long silence. She had escorted the visitors into the living room and sat them down, having Winry make some tea.
"I'm sorry."
"You have some nerve showing up after ten years," she continued as she thrust towels at both men.
"I've been… busy…" he stared at the towel. Pinako sighed.
"Do you still have that rod I modified for you?"
The man she called "Oren" smiled lopsidedly. "I use it every day." He looked at the taller, bald man, who agreed silently.
"So… what happened that made you come back here?"
Both men fell silent, though the taller was silent to begin with. "I'd… rather not discuss now, Gram." He thought for a minute as Din placed his head on the man's lap, begging to be pet. He complied as Winry arrived with tea and set the cups on the coffee table. As she sat down, she kept her eyes on the redhead. "Were they brought back from Ishval?"
Pinako nodded solemnly. "It broke Winry's heart to hear the news of her parents… and her brother," she subtly glared at the redhead. Winry glanced at Pinako. The two men drank their tea in the thick silence.
-
An hour passed as the storm subsided, leaving the silence thick between the four people sitting in the living room. A knock on the front door startled everybody and Pinako stood up.
"Now who could that be at this hour?" she asked no one in particular as she headed towards the door. Winry followed and eventually the two men on the couch did as well. Pinako opened the door, observing two blonde women just outside. One she recognized as Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. The other she couldn't place. Her bottle-blonde hair was cropped short and she wore the same navy suit the two men were wearing. After a few seconds, Hawkeye left.
"I'm looking for a couple of people," the shorter blonde started. "Have you seen—" she stopped as she spied the men behind the small woman and young blonde girl. And her brown eyes darkened. She darted past the habitants of the house and ran into the redhead, slamming into him hard enough to send him back into the taller man. "Damnit, Reno, you had me worried!" Her eyes softened as she turned back to the owner. She bowed curtly. "I'm sorry if my associate bothered you." She grabbed the redhead by his ponytail.
"Ow! Elena stop!" Reno complained as she began dragging him. He grabbed her wrist and forced the offending hand open. Pinako chuckled at Reno's apparent anagram of a name.
"I see," she started. "When you left, you decided to try and cut ties with us; first by changing your name…"
The blonde named Elena looked at the old woman suspiciously. "Cut ties? But… Reno doesn't have any family."
"I lied," Reno replied casually. He strolled past Elena and stepped in-between Pinako and Winry. "Rude, Elena… meet my Gram and my sister, Winry."
--
The night wore on and Pinako invited the trio to stay the rest of the night. She insisted that they also stay for breakfast as she handed blankets and pillows out. Reno stared at the soft pillow and warm-looking blanket, set them on the chair to mark where he'd sleep, and stepped outside for fresh air. Rude placed his sleepwear on the couch, leaving the sofa for Elena, and followed Reno. Elena looked on as Winry sat down on the sofa next to her.
"I never knew." Elena started. Winry nodded.
"I was four when they left for the war, so I don't remember him all that well." She stared at her hands in her lap. Elena looked down at Winry's small hands then back at her youthful face.
"You two have similar features. But I'm sure he was like any other big brother."
"I guess so," the younger blonde smiled smally and glanced out the window to see the front porch. She watched her apparent big brother out the window, talking to his tall friend.
-
"I'll introduce you to them in the morning," Reno replied as he took a long drag on his cigarette. He gazed at the stars and the crescent moon above them. He exhaled deeply. "Begetting memories that I've kept down for so long…"
Rude stared at the sky as well; his sunglasses kept safely in his inside breast pocket of his navy jacket. "At least the storm passed. You know, Reno," he turned to his shorter friend, "you could have told me about this place. I'm sure you could have vacationed here when we were still… well… before all of this happened."
Reno leaned back. "Yeah. We could have."
They were silent for a few minutes. Reno looked at Rude.
"But you know what?"
Rude made eye contact. "What?"
"I can't wait to taste Gram's cooking again," Reno smiled brightly. Above them, on her own balcony, Pinako smiled. She leaned over the edge.
"You always gorged on my cooking, Oren. And you're just so skinny! What happened?" she called down. Both men looked up.
"Call it high metabolism," Reno replied, still smiling.
"Call it whatever you want," Pinako retorted, "I'm gonna make you fat off my cooking."
Rude stifled a laugh. "I can't picture you fat, Reno."
"You've never tasted Gram's cooking, Rude," Reno shot back, smiling. Pinako stepped away from the edge of her balcony and went back inside, leaving Reno and Rude outside to themselves. Reno sighed. "I've gotta… I'm gonna take a walk…" he said after a couple minutes. He stepped off the porch and tossed his spent cigarette into the dirt, stepping on it for good measure.
"Where are you going?"
"Only for a walk. I won't be gone long," Reno replied and walked into the darkness. Rude shrugged and headed inside. He spied Winry and Elena in a full conversation about automail. It seemed Elena was genuinely interested. As Rude passed to the couch, however, Winry stopped talking and looked at the tall man.
"Where'd he go?"
"Reno? For a walk."
"What?" Winry exclaimed. "He doesn't know what's out there. It's freaking dark out there and he doesn't have a light!"
Rude brushed off the comment and merely stated, "He's a big boy. He can take care of himself."
-
-
Reno leaned against a large tree he spotted in front of a small cemetery. He was troubled by the recent events that led him back home: from the true fall of Shinra by Scar, and wanting to just stay away from that Roy Mustang. Out from the inside of his navy jacket, he brought out a bottle of Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum, wrapped in a paper bag. It was the last thing he'd bought in Midgar, before the fall. He opened it and took a swig, welcoming the warm liquid that trickled down his throat.
"That'll kill you, you know," a soft voice rang out from behind him.
"So what if it does? Imploding livers is what I do best," Reno replied sarcastically. He turned his head, spotting a lantern not far from him. He couldn't see who was holding onto it yet, but a feeling in his gut was saying it was a bad idea to stay where he was. He moved a couple steps away from the tree.
"Your eyes… they have a slight glow to them." The voice answered a few yards in front of him. Reno cocked an eyebrow and decided to put away the alcohol, reaching for his Electro-Mag Rod.
"Who are you?" he asked defensively. The lantern was raised to show a very beautiful woman's face. Her dark hair fell gracefully around her pale skin. Her blood-red lips were smiling softly.
"Just a weary wanderer, searching for someone. Perhaps you know him?"
"I doubt it, sweetie. I'd just returned here."
"Let's see anyways, shall we? Smallish, blonde. Walks around with a suit of armor…"
"Sorry, toots," Reno replied, "Don't know anyone like that."
The woman brooded. "Well then, you're no use to me." She tossed the lantern behind her. It exploded on impact with the ground and Reno could see her whole figure. Her body was very slim, with corpulent breasts, enhanced by her elegantly long, black dress. On her collarbone was a red tattoo: an elongated, winged dragon eating its own tail, circling a David's Star. She extended her right arm towards Reno, both arms covered by black gloves that nearly reached her shoulders. "It's too bad, really. You're quite the attractive man."
"And you're a very lovely lady," Reno replied, dropping down into a fighting stance, his left hand gripped on the handle of his weapon. "Tell me then, what's your true name?"
"Lust," she merely replied. The fingers on her right hand lengthened; the once delicate digits had become sharp daggers that caught Reno off-guard. He tried to dodge, but a second too late as the knife blade fingers pierced through his right shoulder, and was perforating the other side. The blade on Reno's backside gleamed in the firelight with a crimson colour. Instinctively he grabbed onto the blades in his shoulder. A searing blue light ran from his hand through the blades and into Lust herself. She screamed shortly and retracted her fingers. "What the Hell was that? What the Hell are you?" Reno didn't respond as he held onto his shoulder. A soft white glow emitted from the wound, startling the redhead. He quickly brought his hand away, observing that the wound was no longer.
"Hell if I know anymore," he muttered and glanced at his opponent. She'd stood up straight, recovered from the attack that had left them both confused.
The lantern fire had nearly died out to leave small embers in the air. Neither side noticed since they were staring at the other. Reno had his Mag Rod out, the weapon humming with the unused energy inside. Lust stood where she was. Suddenly she backed away slightly.
"We may have plans for you after all, boy…" she said and merely walked away. Reno stood, dumbfounded.
"We?"
He stood in his spot for a few more minutes as the lantern fire died out. And started back to Pinako's house.
--
It was 7 am in the Rockbell house as Reno woke from an uncomfortable position in the small chair he woke in. Winry was already awake. She gently set a cup of coffee in front of him, and held a glass of milk for herself.
"Should I wake them?" Winry asked, referring to Elena and Rude. Reno, upon looking at the way Elena slept, beamed at his sister slyly.
"Not yet… You got a camera handy?"
"Are you still hazing the poor woman, Reno?" muttered a sleepy Rude. He cracked one eye open, shut it again and reached for his sunglasses. Reno gave his friend a mock pout.
"I wanted it for the yearbook." He stood up and stretched painfully, then went over to the sofa. " 'Lena, wake up." He took a whiff of the air. "We're having an old-fashioned eggs and bacon breakfast."
Elena groaned and rolled over. Unfortunately for her, it was opposite the sofa back, and she fell off the small couch with a dull thump. But she kept sleeping. Reno thought for a moment and grabbed his pillow from the chair. He beat her over the head with it.
"Wakey, wakey! Eggs and Baikey!" he cried happily. Rude shook his head, smiling as he sat up. Winry was giggling. Elena groaned again and caught the pillow, whapping Reno in the leg with it.
"You're an asshole, you know that?" she growled and sat up. Reno stifled a laugh as he witnessed her "morning face". Her hair was all tangled atop her head; the sleep was still in her eyes.
"Well, good morning to you too, Your Majesty."
Pinako poked her head in from the kitchen. "Hey you four. Get ready for breakfast." Elena felt the top of her head and stood up fast.
"Dibs on bathroom!" she exclaimed and ran off in said direction. Winry smiled.
"I'm already dressed, so let me show you to the bathroom down here." She walked off towards the kitchen and the men followed. As they entered the kitchen, Reno had to stop and smell the breakfast. Rude, behind his smaller friend, noticed three holed in the right shoulder of his dress shirt.
"What happened to your shirt?" he asked Reno. The smaller blinked as he remembered Lust.
"I'll tell you later."
--
Breakfast went exceedingly well and soon Elena, Rude and Reno had to leave Pinako's to return to Central.
"I'll return for dinner sometime, Gram."
"You'd better return, boy!" Pinako called out from her porch. She waved until the three were out of sight. She sighed and smiled to herself. "Always the pig, that one." Winry opened the door to go inside.
"I'd better call Ed. Check to see how he's doing." She stepped inside and sat in the chair, dialing the telephone to the house she knew Edward and Alphonse Elric were staying at.
Ring…
Ring…
Ring…
Ring—click "Hello?"
Winry smiled. "Ed?"
-
"Winry, what's up? You never call me." Edward Elric replied.
"How's your arm? I'll kill you if it's busted again…""It's fine! Winry, you know I'd call if it was busted," Ed said nervously. Sometimes… sometimes his friend was quite scary. Especially with a wrench. "Are you okay? You never call…"
It's just that… My… do you remember the redhead in some of those pictures with your mom, you guys and my family?"
"… Kinda…" Ed was suspicious. First the redhead and his two friends come barging into Mustang's office, then Winry's asking if he remembers someone with the same flame-coloured hair.
"He… came back. Ed, I think that's my brother Oren."
"…"
"Ed? Edward?"Mouth agape, Edward was registering the mysterious redhead who just so happened to pop up. "I… I'm here. So what happened?"
"He showed up out of the blue last night. Grandma recognized him instantly, but it's been ten years since I last saw him. So I don't know if that even is my brother. Could you look into him for me?" And then Winry whispered so low that Ed could barely hear her. "I'll put in a free repair of your automail if you do. Just don't tell Grandma."
"I won't tell her. I'll do it." They hung up and Ed stared at the telephone. He, himself, had just turned five when Dr. Rockbell and his wife and son went to Ishval to help mend the wounded. And he stood there. The door opened as a large suit of armor and the blonde named Havoc walked in the house.
"Thanks, Mr. Havoc." The suit of armor said (in a young boy's voice). Havoc nodded and closed the door behind him. "Oniisan, you'll never guess what me and Mr. Havoc did today!"
Ed smiled. It had been a while since his younger brother Alphonse, whose soul was trapped inside the seven-foot suit of armor, was so excited.
"Central's zoo was awesome!" the suit began as his arms waved emphatically. "There were lions and gorillas and… and… beavers!"
"Beavers, Al?"
"Yeah! Beavers and bats and all sorts of fish. Oh we had a great time!"
"I'm glad you did. We really should take more time off once in a while."
"Next time will you go with us, Oniisan?"
Ed smiled. "Of course… did they have any tigers?"
"Siberian white and Bengal."
"Then I'm in for next time." Ed's face turned serious, telling Alphonse that they had something to do. "Al… Winry called."
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah. She wants us to do something for her." Edward wished he had a picture to show his massive sibling.
"What is it?"
"Track her brother."
--
An endnote from Fenice… two chapters out in less than a week. It's a good start, ne…? I hope so. I had to refer to my Fullmetal Manga for information like Din's name and detail of the Uroburos tattoo. I heart Lust. If you've played Final Fantasy VII or have read previous fics from me (that I've long since deleted), you'll almost know what's up with Reno. But for those who have never had the privilege of reading my deleted fics or have not played FFVII, all will be explained in the next chapter or so. I've a couple of cute pictures planned in this chapter, so if you want, check out my art gallery listed on my profile.
Fenice