Chapter 11: Setting Off

Ed and Al stood at Brigadier General Hughes' grave. Two bouquets of flowers rested in front of the stone. "Hey Hughes… sorry we haven't been by to see you. So much has happened to us that it was impossible to visit…" Ed said, staring sadly down at the grave.

"At least your death wasn't in vain… we found out everything and stopped them from doing too much harm to the state." Al said, shaking his head.

"We can't promise we'll keep ourselves out of danger, General Mustang warned us that something has been lurking around Central. Danger always seems to enjoy latching itself onto us, so this may latch onto us as well. We promise not to push ourselves, though. Please, keep watching over us until this is over…" Ed said, touching the grave with his automail.

Both brothers had their backs to the pathway and didn't notice the woman and child with flowers coming up behind them.

"Momma, who's that at daddy's grave?" Elicia asked, gripping Gracia's hand tightly.

"I… don't know…" Gracia said uncertainly as she examined their backs. She couldn't help but feel surprised as she finally recognised Ed's hair, even though it wasn't in a braid.

"Edward…?" She asked tentatively.

Ed turned and smiled at her. "Hey Gracia… it's been a while…"

Elicia's eyes widened as she recognised his voice. She ran up to him and hugged him, almost knocking him over.

"Hey, Elicia…" He said, kneeling and returning her hug.

"Alphonse…?" Gracia asked, looking at him.

Al smiled as he looked at her. "Hello Mrs. Hughes."

Elicia stared at him in surprise before running over and giving him a hug.

Gracia smiled as she placed the flowers on Hughes' grave. "Would you boys like to come have some tea? It seems we have a lot of catching up to do."

Ed and Al nodded as Al let Elicia climb onto his back.

"Oh, Alphonse, you don't have to…"

"It's all right, Mrs. Hughes." He said, motioning for her to lead the way.

Gracia shook her head as she led the brothers away from Hughes' grave.

Ed muttered under his breath so Elicia wouldn't hear the curses as he noticed the time. "Al, we'd better get going or else we won't be able to say goodbye to Winry."

Al winced at the thought. "She'd be so mad at us…"

"…And I'd take the punishment." Ed moaned.

Gracia couldn't help but smile in amusement at them. "Then you had better finish your tea and pie quickly. It was wonderful to see you again. I'm glad you are doing all right."

"Thanks for everything Gracia. It was good to see you again." Ed said quickly.

"Thank you very much Mrs. Hughes." Al said with a nod. The brothers quickly finished what remained of their tea and ran for the door.

"Wait!" Elicia called out, freezing them in their tracks.

"What is it, Elicia?" Al asked, kneeling.

"Uhm…" She said shyly, before passing Al a folded sheet of paper.

"Keep it with you?" She asked as Al opened it and smiled.

"I will… thanks."

She passed a folded sheet of paper to Ed as well.

When Ed saw it, he smiled and rubbed her head with his left hand. "Thanks a lot, Elicia."

"Come on, we've gotta get changed before we head to the station." Al said worriedly as Gracia joined Elicia on the steps as the brothers ran towards the road with a backward wave.

"I'm glad we met you boys… and I know Maes is too…" She said quietly as she led Elicia back inside.

Neither brother noticed the glowing eyes watching them from the unusually dark shadows of a nearby alleyway.

Winry looked up at the clock as a train announced its arrival with a shrieking whistle.

The clock chimed quarter to six loudly to warn passengers with trains that would be leaving soon.

"Where are they…?" She muttered, glancing quickly towards the entrance to the station before turning her attention back to the clock. She noticed something in that quick glance that forced her to look back at the entrance, rubbing her eyes. She thought she was imagining things as Ed and Al walked up the last steps to the station.

Ed was wearing the same black outfit he had worn all those years before being taken by the Gate with a red jacket draped over his suitcase.

Al was a negative reflection of his older brother wearing a beige outfit of a similar design, with a black jacket draped over his suitcase.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight, but a metallic glint at Ed's right hip made that smile fade quickly as a sinking feeling made her worry about what was on the end of that chain. The smile was back as the brothers approached her. "It's about time you two showed up. I was getting worried."

"Don't worry about us Winry; we wouldn't let you leave without seeing you off." Al said as he snatched one of her suitcases.

Ed picked up her other one, both ignoring her protests as they went towards the train heading for Risembool.

As Al went off to gather information on whether the methods to get to Liore had changed in the last year, Winry and Ed stood staring at the open door to the train car.

"So what was it General Mustang wanted to talk to you about…?" Winry asked quietly. Her question was barely audible over the noise of the station.

Ed looked away sadly before pulling out the silver pocket watch with the crest of the military engraved on it.

Winry forced herself to fight the temptation to rip the damning thing from his belt. Her eyes widened as he opened it and she saw the engraving before he closed it quickly and put it back in his pocket.

"The likelihood that I'll be used as a 'human weapon' is lower now that Dante ain't around to pull the strings, so I decided to stay with the State Alchemists for now."

She nodded in understanding as she looked away. "Just don't get hurt… Come back to Risembool safely…"

"Don't worry, we intend to." He was caught off guard as she suddenly hugged him. "Uh… Winry…?"

"You two are stubborn idiots… You do whatever you want no matter what others say to convince you otherwise…"

"Yeah… that's us alright. There's nothing around that would cause us problems this time though, so just wait for us to return. I promise we'll come back unharmed." He said as he returned her hug.

The train screamed its first warning, forcing them to break up as she hopped into the train's doorway.

Al ran up, panting. "Sorry it took so long!" He said as Winry threw her arms around him.

"Watch out for that idiot of a brother you have, will you? And please watch yourself too." She said, not noticing the irritated glare that Ed was giving her.

Al chuckled as he returned her hug. "Don't worry about us Winry. We'll be fine."

The train screamed its final warning as the doors began to close, forcing her to let go of Al. "See you back in Risembool." She said before heading to her seat, making sure to get a window seat so she could wave goodbye.

The brothers stood and watched the train leave before heading off to their own.