"So let me get this straight – you want to go to Resembool, a tiny town in scenic middle of nowhere, to meet an alchemist prodigy who apparently works for the state, that none of us has ever heard of, who will have the greatest chance of explaining this… mess?"
"Pretty much."
"This is friggin' ridiculous." Havoc pulled a lighter out of his pocket, but before he could light the cigarette protruding from his mouth, Hawkeye snatched it away and placed it in her own pocket. She shook her head disapprovingly.
"Well… against my better judgment, I say we do it." Hughes stood tall, determined. "Even if it's just to give Roy some peace of mind."
"Wait – 'we'?" Fuery nearly squeaked. He would follow his superiors to the grave, but he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to be mixed up in this disaster in making.
Breda practically leaped out of his seat. "Yes! I say we all take the day off from work and go to visit this Resembool place right now, so we can get everything sorted out with the General!" Falman smirked, while Havoc punched the air in mock enthusiasm. Truthfully, he would rather be sorting through paperwork than involved in this freakshow.
"No!" Hughes put an end to Breda's excitement rather quickly. "First of all, look at the weather! We're in the middle of a goddamn thunderstorm! We won't be able to go anywhere until tomorrow. And secondly, by 'we', I mean myself, the General, and…" He turned to Lieutenant Hawkeye expectantly.
Roy's heart pounded painfully in time with the throbbing in his head. What if she said no? What if she didn't want to be involved any more than she already is? The worst part was, Roy couldn't blame her if she did.
"I'll go."
Roy exhaled, not even aware that he had been holding his breath. Thank you.
"So what do we do now?" Falman, always the logical one, asked quietly. "Just continue on with our day?"
Roy groaned inwardly. How could he possibly go about his work under these circumstances? He had enough trouble focusing on his work to begin with… He certainly wouldn't be able to concentrate now.
Hughes noticed Roy's uneasiness, the way his shoulders tightened and the shifting of his weight. "Well… You can all carry on with your day. But the General needs rest. It's not like he does any work anyway." Normally Roy would have glowered at the remark and replied with a sharp comeback, but he was too exhausted from the events of the morning to say anything. He just wanted to go home, collapse in his bed, and sleep for a week… or at least until tomorrow.
"Wait, Chief, you're gonna leave us with mean ol' Hawkeye?" Havoc was practically astonished. "She'll eat us alive! You know what she's like! She'll pull a gun on us and blow our brains out, just like that!" He pressed his fingers into the shape of a gun and put them against his head.
Hawkeye leaned in close to Havoc, her eyes narrowed in a predatory glare. "Yes that's right Havoc, you'll be stuck in a tiny little office with mean ol' me." Havoc seemed to shrink in his chair.
"Wait, aren't you Mustang's bodyguard? Shouldn't you be with him, making sure no assassins or humoncu-whatevers get him?" Breda inquired hopefully. He didn't want to be stuck with mean ol' Hawkeye either.
"I'll be with him." Hughes grinned. "I might not have the eyes of a hawk, but I'm pretty sure I can take on assassins and humoncu-whatevers." Roy swallowed, the irony of the statement not escaping him. "Besides, Elicia would be so happy to have Daddy and Uncle Roy come home early!"
Riza nodded. "I'll hold down the fort here. I'll make sure the boys get their work done. Right, men?"
"Right!" The soldiers all stammered, except for Fuery. He leaned in towards Falman, and whispered, "I don't think the Lieutenant's scary. I think she's kinda pretty, actually." Falman facepalmed.
"Okay!" Hughes grabbed Roy's elbow and started to yank him towards the doorway. "As long as everything's ship-shape here, we're heading out! My precious Elicia is waiting for us!" Roy tried to free himself from his grip, or at least ask him how he was going to get some rest while at a four-year-old's party, but it was to no avail. Hawkeye saluted him, her face unreadable. Roy tried to salute back as he was being dragged into the hall, but all he did was awkwardly bang his arm against the doorframe.
After the hurried steps of the two comrades faded away, Breda scowled. "Like Havoc mentioned earlier, this is friggin' ridiculous."
"You know what else is friggin' ridiculous?" Something gleamed in Hawkeye's hand. "The fact that you're still talking instead of doing your work." There was a clatter as all the soldiers reached for their pens and papers, and began writing furiously.
Falman grumbled beside Fuery. "Do you still think she's pretty?"
-間奏-
Roy felt incredibly out of place, a piece of chocolate cake and a plastic cup of punch before him, a balloon tied around his wrist. Elicia had knotted the balloon's string around his arm, so that "he wouldn't lose it." It floated a few feet above him, bobbing up and down as he toyed with his plastic fork. He hadn't touched the cake at all, even though it looked delicious. Gracia's food always was.
The sounds of the party reverberated throughout the small but cozy home. Small children giggled and hollered as they played with the giant stuffed bear Elicia had opened earlier; Hughes had been right, it was huge. A radio played country music, a favorite of the Hughes family. Gracia was dancing with Maes, laughing as they watched the children play. Confetti and balloons were strewn haphazardly throughout the house, and cake crumbs clung to every surface.
It was a small party, the perfect party, the kind Roy wished he could have had growing up. But he couldn't feel anything.
In the wake of the chaotic morning, his mind had decided to cope by shutting down all emotional responses. He distanced himself from the Hughes' family, not saying much more than "hello" to Gracia, and "happy birthday" to little Elicia. It was so strange, he decided, to see Gracia smile. The last time he had seen her smile was the day before Hughes had… But did that even happen? Hughes was here, right now.
His hands shook. What did this all mean? Once someone is dead, they can never come back. It was one of the laws that governed the universe. Even with alchemy, it was impossible. Therefore, Hughes had never died. But that didn't make sense. Then again, none of this does.
Roy was snapped out of his thoughts by a small hand tugging on his sleeve. Before heading to the Hughes house, Maes had been kind enough to drop him off at his house so he could change out of his oppressive military uniform into civilian clothes.
"Uncle Roy, why aren't you eating?" Elicia stared up at him with wide, sparkling eyes.
"I'm just not hungry, Elicia." He tried to smile, the corners of his mouth wavering uncertainly.
"But it's really good, Uncle Roy! Mommy made it! With real chocolate!" She raised her hands in the air in awe, as though it was impossible for something so amazing, so astounding, to possibly exist. The other children crowded around her, testifying the cake's deliciousness.
"It's the best thing I've ever ated, Mr. Mustang!"
"It will make your tummy do a dance!"
"It's so good your brain will 'splode!"
Roy wasn't quite sure if he wanted his tummy to dance or his brain to explode, but he took a bite of the moist cake to appease the kids all the same. To be honest, they weren't exaggerating that much – it really was that good. But he couldn't enjoy it.
"See? I tried it. Yummy!"
"But you have to eat all of it!" Elicia spread her arms wide, accidentally smacking the boy beside her. A chorus of agreement rose from the other children.
"Oh, leave Mr. Mustang alone!" Maes and Gracia shooed the kids away from their new friend. "There's a plenty of things you can do without bugging him. Why don't you set up that new board game, what was it, Chutes and Ladders?"
There was a near deafening cheer from the kids as they dashed into Elicia's room. That was followed by several loud banging sounds as they searched about for the game. Gracia shook her head. "I'd better help them, before they completely destroy her room. I can tell it's going to take hours to clean it." She turned to Roy. "Are you sure there's nothing I can get you?"
"Nope, you worry about the kids. The cake's wonderful, by the way." Gracia smiled warmly in response, before making her way through the confetti and wrapping paper strewn hallway towards her daughter's room.
Hughes pulled out a chair and sat beside his friend, brushing a few crumbs off the table. "They're so messy. But I guess I can't really blame them. I was the same way." He noticed Roy gripping his cup of punch tightly. "Hey, cheer up. You got out of having to do any work today! And tomorrow, I promise, we'll get everything sorted out. We'll talk to the metal boy, and hopefully he'll have some answers for us." He took his glasses off and cleaned them with a napkin. "And if he doesn't, we'll just have to find the answers on our own."
Roy took a swig of his juice, barely managing to swallow the red liquid. I wish it would be that simple, Maes, I really do. But nothing ever is. What will we find waiting for us, in scenic middle of nowhere? A boy with metal limbs and a child without a body… or no one at all?
Please, God, if you're up there, just this once, can everything turn out all right?
-間奏-
"Five hundred sens says that the Chief has lost his mind."
Havoc waved a few bills in the air, walking backward so he could face his lagging comrades. They could be so slow sometimes, especially after a long day of relentless paperwork. Their footsteps were loud and unsteady on the cracked sidewalk as they walked home from work. Thankfully, the storm had finally passed, so they didn't have to worry about getting wet.
"I don't think that's funny." Fuery pushed his glasses up. "General Mustang isn't crazy. He's a great man. He's probably the sanest out of all of us!"
"Remember, this is coming from the same man who said that the Lieutenant was pretty, even when she threatened us with a loaded gun." Falman scowled at the sergeant.
Breda's forehead wrinkled. "Wow Fuery, you have questionable taste in women."
Falman chuckled. "Naw, maybe he just likes feisty women. Especially in the bedroom – "
One could virtually feel the heat radiating from Fuery's face. "What… no, no! Not like that – "
"It's cool Fuery, your secret is safe with us." Breda slapped the young man's shoulder, practically sending him falling headfirst.
"Anyways," Havoc emphasized, "Nobody – except for Fuery, who, no offence sergeant, doesn't count – has answered my question!"
Falman and Breda exchanged looks. "I don't think he's necessarily crazy…" Falman tugged on his collar. "I just think that maybe… well… look, he was a human weapon. We all fought in Ishval, but he easily saw the worst of it. He had to watch people burn, writhe in pain… pain that he caused! The damage that must have done to him…"
"But Ishval was years ago," Havoc argued. "If it really had made something snap up there" – he tapped his skull – "Then why is it just happening now?" Nobody answered. He turned around and walked forwards again, shoving the bills into his pocket as he went. "Exactly. No one has an answer."
"I'm pretty sure that if Hawkeye caught us discussing our superior's mental health, she'd fire a few rounds into our heads." Breda looked around in search of a blond sniper. "Who's to say she's not following us right now?"
Everyone stopped. Four heads moved back and forth as they examined their surroundings. "We're just being paranoid," Falman stated calmly. "There's no way she'd follow us."
"But what if she did!" Havoc exclaimed. "By God, she'd have my head mounted over her fireplace!"
Breda held a finger up for quiet. After a few anxious moments of unsettled breathing, there was a rustling sound. The men backed away towards the road, in the opposite direction of the noise.
"Don't… move." Falman whispered. "Maybe she can only sense movement. If we keep really quiet and still, she'll think we're gone."
"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Havoc and Breda said in unison. Fuery decided to take Falman's advice; it was better than nothing. He froze on the spot, even holding his breath.
After what seemed like an eternity, a few strands of grass at the edge of the sidewalk parted and a mouse scampered into view. It stood on its hind legs, sniffing the air with its white snout, whiskers quivering.
"Are you serious? Are you goddamn serious?" Havoc was practically jumping with outrage. "We were scared over a frickin' mouse?"
The rodents nose twitched, and it focused red eyes on the soldiers. With an obnoxious squeak, like a battle cry, it sped towards the men.
What ensued was a mad dash to the opposite side of the road, in the hopes that the furry creature wouldn't follow across the asphalt. There were several high-pitched screams, ones that you would expect to hear from a schoolgirl, not full-grown adults. They breathed heavily on the other side, fearfully scanning the road for signs of the mouse, but it was gone.
"Let's never speak about this, to anyone, ever." Breda was as white as a sheet.
"Agreed." They returned to the other side of the road, and resumed their walk home.
"By the way, Fuery," Falman inquired, "Don't you love animals? I would have thought you'd have picked it up and kept it."
Fuery shook his head furiously. "Oh no, not mice. They're so… rodent-y."
Havoc shrugged. "I thought we already discussed this. He only likes feisty women, which in a way, are a bit like ani-"
"Stop already!" Fuery was, for lack of a better word, pissed.
The men laughed heartily. After their scare, it was great to be able to have a little fun. "You know who else likes feisty women?" Havoc continued, eyes shining. "Barry the Chopper!"
Silence greeted his words. "Uh, who exactly is Barry the Chopper?" Breda stared in confusion.
"I think General Mustang mentioned him." Falman stroked his chin. "He was part of his… I suppose you could call it a story…"
"I guess I just remembered him saying that Barry liked feisty women, then." Havoc frowned. He didn't know anybody named Barry! Where had that come from? To be honest, he wasn't even paying that much attention to the Chief's story until he got to the Promised Day, where things got a bit more interesting.
"He didn't say anything much about Barry, just that he was a serial killer who helped them get into that laboratory." Fuery piped up.
"Then how do you know?" Falman looked astonished.
"Because, I…" Havoc didn't know. Was it possible that the Chief wasn't crazy? That this Barry guy really existed, that everything he said was true…
"I need a smoke." Havoc frantically checked his pockets for his cigarettes. He pulled one out, slightly bent but otherwise fine. He then checked for his lighter.
"Dammit! Hawkeye still has my lighter!"
AN: This was a less serious chapter, and mostly filler, but some important things did happen. I was originally going to make this a very long chapter, containing everything up to their arrival in Resembool, but decided to cut it in half to avoid updating too late. The next chapter - I promise! - will feature a lot of Royai, as well as reveal what's up with Ed and Al. As always, reviews are loved.