Roy Mustang was surprised, no, dumbfounded, but he wasn't about to let the eldest Elric child beside him know that. At the scene of the explosion, the Central City Mental Hospital, Colonel Roy Mustang was shown a picture of the only person unaccounted for, Valerie Hohenheim. Hohenheim's children usually had blond hair and golden eyes, but this one, the only one to take his name, had almost the exact opposite. Her hair and eyes were jet black, but her skin was clear and pale. It could be said for a child of Hohenheim to have a regal or cat-like face, but hers was thinner, more like a snake. In short, there was no family resemblance.
Though he tried to hide it, Edward Elric seemed to sense his surprise at the lack of family resemblance.
"I can see a look of surprise in your face. What's the matter, never seen a girl as pretty as my sister before, you perv?" the eldest Elric child teased. Ignoring the kid's teasing comments, the colonel replied cooly.
"Well, usually I'd expect there to be more resemblance, especially considering how much you look like your father," Mustang replied. Noticing the colonel's cool attitude, the kid held back further teasing remarks.
"Well that's because she's not blood related to us. Our mother found her lost in the streets one day, so she brought her in, and eventually she was like family."
"I see," the colonel muttered.
"But even if she doesn't look like she's related, she sure does act like it. Her alchemy's even more advanced than mine." As Edward Elric spoke, his eye glimmered with pride, and he kept his cool easily. It was almost as if he was talking about his own child rather than his sister.
'But I guess that's what it's like to be an elder sibling,' Roy Mustang thought to himself.
"So, I guess we'd better find her then."
"Yeah," Edward glanced down at the ground, wishing his brother was there with him, but because Winry still needed someone to go to Rush Valley with her, they had left him in Central so he could search for his sister.
"Sir!" a voice shouted from behind them. He rushed toward them and panted a bit as he halted before the Fullmetal and Flame Alchemists, and he caught his breath before delivering his news. "Sir, a young woman matching the description provided for Valerie Hohenheim was just seen by an officer purchasing a train ticket."
"She left the city?!" Mustang exclaimed. "Where was she going?"
"Somewhere called Dublith, sir," the soldier replied. Both Edward and Roy froze for a moment. At that exact moment, both were probably thinking the same thing, and both were probably regretting getting Edward off that train.
"Hey, Vallie?" The timid voice of her younger brother broke the silence as the two were walking home from school.
"Yes, Alphonse Elric?" He mentally winced as she called him more formal than siblings should, but he ignored the feeling and continued with his question.
"Do you think I'll be able to see Mom again?" To say she was surprised by the sudden question would be an appropriate description, but she reasoned it was because the date of the "event" was drawing ever closer.
"No."
"Eh?" Alphonse looked at her serious face, surprised. He was used to Ed's inspiration and comforting, so he didn't expect for his sister to answer so bluntly or honestly.
"I've warned you many times, I expect the transmutation to fail and for everyone to lose something important to them."
"I see," Alphonse replied quietly. They walked in silence for a while before he turned to her."Well, I think we're going to succeed," he stated stubbornly. His sister was about to negate his remark when she turned to him and saw the pure smile lingering on his face. Then she paused and nodded to the boy.
"Yes, I suppose you could be right."
"Wow! Winry, look at the sunset!" A cheerful, echoing voice exclaimed. It was very familiar to the girl.
'Wait...'
"Oh, wow! I'm surprised you even noticed that, Al. Sunsets aren't really a manly thing," Winry replied. The boy laughed sheepishly, and the girl hidden behind them paled as she heard the voices in the next seat over.
'Winry... And Al too. Of all the trains in the station, I just had to get on this one,' she thought as she tried to find a way to escape from being found. She thought she was safe once she had left the city, but to see her younger brother in a place like this...
Pulling the hood on her dark coat higher, she listened to the conversation behind her.
"It's kind of sad that Ed couldn't come," Winry noted, her tone darkening.
"Yeah.. But I'm sure he'll be able to meet up with us in Rush Valley!" the boy replied happily, brightening up the mood of the seat behind his sister. Winry didn't reply verbally, which made Valerie assume she replied with a look of some sort. Noticing how the silence grew awkward, the boy tried to change the subject.
"So, nice weather, huh?" Valerie almost had to feel bad for the kid's lack of social skill.
"Huh? Oh, yeah," Winry replied dazedly. Figuring the two of them were looking at the weather outside the train, Valerie took the opportunity to sneak out of the seat and into another car of the train. What she didn't see coming was the large body of her brother poking out of the seat and into the aisle.
"Ah!" Alphonse heard someone exclaim, and glancing over, he realized a person had tripped over his large metal leg.
"Oh, sorry!" Alphonse exclaimed as he leaned down to help the fallen girl. "Are you alright?" He asked her this out of reflex, and also because he saw she was clutching her knee with her hands. He tried to reach down to help her, but she batted his hands away as if on instinct.
"I-I'm fine," she stammered, pulling her hood down over her face and standing slowly. Alphonse looked closer at the girl. Something about her was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. She raced away without another word, and Alphonse watched her go curiously.
"What's wrong, Al?" Winry asked, noticing him staring in the direction of the cloaked girl.
"Nothing, she just seemed familiar," Alphonse replied, growing quiet afterward. This time, the silence was not awkward. Rather, it was thoughtful for both alchemist and mechanic. The silence was broken only a few moments later when the mechanic yawned.
"I'm going to try and get some sleep. I don't want to get to the automail capital of Amestris only to be too tired to do anything," Winry commented.
"Okay, I'll just be here," Alphonse replied with a happy tone. One could only assume he was smiling on the inside.
'The weird thing is, I thought she sounded sort of familiar too,' Winry thought to herself as she fell asleep, bringing on dreams, and nightmares, of her past.
"Winry, we're here." A metallic, yet soft, voice roused the blonde from her sleep, gently shaking her and calling her name. She pulled herself from the happiest memories of her life, and she smiled up at what remained of them.
"Sorry, Al. I was having such a good dream," she commented as she collected her things and disembarked from the train.
"I'm sorry for waking you, then," Alphonse apologized. Winry shook her head and kept walking. She examined the crowded streets, slowly forgetting about the dream and instead living one in the streets of Rush Valley.
"Hey, Winry!" Alphonse called from a crowd that had engulfed him, interested in his "full-body automail." The girl turned and giggled at the boy's predicament, and she helped him shoo the crowd away. "Thanks," Alphonse sighed. "We should probably find a phone and contact Brother. And we should also reserve beds at the military bunkhouse," Alphonse suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Winry agreed.
"What do you mean she was on our train?!" Alphonse exclaimed into the phone, disturbing his few neighbors. He and Winry took nearly the entire day getting to the bunkhouse, spending most of their time exploring the various shops and displays along the way. Only now was he learning he had missed the one opportunity he was going to have to see his sister for a while.
"She took a train to Dublith. We don't know why yet, but we do know that she must have passed through Rush Valley to get there. I'm in Dublith now, and I'll have to stay with Teacher, since you have my pocket watch," the tiny alchemist explained. If Alphonse had a heart, it would have skipped a beat. Something his brother had said set off alarms in his mind.
"I have your watch?" Alphonse questioned, looking through the few things he carried to check for it.
"Yeah, I gave it to you so you could get lodging at the bunkhouse, remember?" Edward replied, suddenly growing cold himself.
"No, I got a permit for the housing, so I never got your watch, remember?" Alphonse countered. "Here, I'll ask Winry if she knows who should have it, because if I don't and you don't, then that means..." He trailed off, not wanting to face the truth..
"It could have been stolen..." Edward finished for him.
"Brother, what are we going to do, if that is the case?" Alphonse questioned after a brief silence.
"We'll just have to find it. I'll call that colonel, and you can ask around Rush Valley, OK?" Alphonse nodded, then remembered that a nod couldn't be heard through a phone and responded verbally. Then he hung up the phone and walked in a way that would have been tired if an empty suit of armor could be tired, to Winry's room. Knocking on her door, he entered and found her sitting on her bed, poring over a book. Judging by the cover, it probably had something to do with mechanics and automail. She noticed him and set the book down beside her.
"What's wrong?" she asked familiarly. She patted the area of the bed beside her, offering it as a seat for him. He instead sat on the floor beside the bed, not wanting to take up too much space or crush the bed with his weight.
"Do you know who had Brother's pocket watch?" Alphonse asked quietly. Winry thought for a moment then nodded to herself.
"I think Ed said he put it in your stuff for us to use to get the rooms, but since you had that permit, I didn't think we'd need it, so I didn't mention it," she confessed. Alphonse, realizing he had lost his brother's State Alchemist watch, let his head drop, and he groaned loudly to himself.
"What's the matter?" Winry asked, surprised by his reaction.
"I've lost Brother's pocket watch!" He exclaimed loudly, his voice cracking from would-be tears.
"Don't worry! I'm sure it'll turn up! After all, it's not like anyone wouldn't recognize a state alchemist's watch, right?" Winry stated, trying to cheer up the armor. Then, she noticed something. "That's not all that's bothering you, is it?" He was silent for a long time before he spoke.
"She was there." His voice was so quiet, Winry almost couldn't hear it. "She was right there. I could've found her, and given her a big hug, and said 'let's go home,' but I didn't! She was right there, and I, her little brother, didn't even know. I should've found her! I should've known! I should've..." He didn't have tears to stop him. All he had was Winry, who was now hugging him from behind, her on her bed and he on the floor. He couldn't feel her warmth. All he could feel was her weight pressing down on his back, making him lean forward. She said nothing, only held his cold metal tightly, trying to somehow make him feel her warmth.
"I wish..."
"I know."
