Chapter 20

December 29th – December 30th

December 29th – Military Headquarters, Central

"I can tell you right now, everyone will be in uproar," Roy muttered. "The Fuhrer's gone, which means everyone with stripes will be scrambling for the position."

"You might be a pretty good candidate," Winry pointed out. "From a public standpoint."

"How?" Mustang huffed.

"Oh, say...if someone were to leak to the papers about the Fuhrer being a monster, about how you were the one to try to expose him, and finally brought him down...that might garner a lot of public support, wouldn't you say?" Winry elaborated.

"That's not a bad idea, sir," Riza pointed out, hiding a small smile.

"I'll blab to someone tomorrow," Winry offered.

Jade, Earnest, Joseph and the others had returned to the cellar. They had escaped with only minor wounds, for which Winry was deeply grateful. Ling was recovering nicely – he was currently dozing in Ed's room, with plans to find his way to Rush Valley tomorrow and seek out Ran-fan.

Secretly, Winry thought it was very cute – she was fairly certain the affectionate thoughts Ling radiated at the mention of Ran-fan weren't just friendly regard.

"Winry," Ed murmured, "What...what was Father talking about."

The question had bothered Ed all the way back the the military headquarters. Father, while clearly unhinged, had obviously known what he was talking about. And the words rang in Ed's ears, 'Mangeli doesn't have the finesse, the skill, to make something like you'.

Winry's eyes met his, and the look in them was almost...wary. "What he said was true...at least, to some extent."

"But how?" Al asked, sounding distressed. "How are you different from all the others-?"

"Many differences," Winry cut in. "For example, this-" she conjured her white fire in the palm of her hand "-none of them could do this. They all had the enhanced strength and agility that I have, but in them, the animal was all tangled up with the human. In me, the distinction is quite clear. I have wings growing out of my back, but I don't have a beak or feathers all over my body or anything of the sort."

"Might look a little on the strange side," Roy admitted.

"Oh, and these aren't?" Winry opened her wings.

"I like your wings," Al said suddenly. "They look pretty – and they make you look just like an angel."

Winry beamed. "Thanks, Al."

"What else is different?" Riza asked, curious in spite of herself.

"My enhanced healing rate," Winry supplied. "My ability to nullify alchemy, and see those with the Daemon within them or the Daemon's essence. And I don't think any of them had telepathy."

"Telepathy?" Ed echoed.

"Only mild," Winry shrugged. "I keep it blocked most of the time – just common courtesy, you know? Not to go poking through other people's private thoughts and all that, but there are some things I can't help."

"Like what?" Roy was starting to feel uncomfortable at the prospect of Winry being able to hear some of his thoughts.

"Emotions, mainly," Winry explained. "A strong feeling of love, hate, anger, compassion, any emotion...and I'll pick it up if I'm close by. Lies are the same – I can sense when someone's not telling the truth. I don't automatically know what the truth is – I need my telepathy for that – but I know when someone isn't being truthful."

Everyone digested that for several moments.

"I'm not a natural blonde," Riza said suddenly.

Winry raised her eyebrows. "Liar. Interesting test, by the way."

"But why are you so different?" Ed mused, with the air of one who was thinking aloud.

"Something obviously went wrong during the transmutation process," Winry said, not exactly lying, but certainly omitting. She wasn't sure why she was imposing such secrecy on her deal with Truth, all she knew was that she didn't feel comfortable with the others knowing. Not now.

"How do you know that?" Roy asked, his eyes wary.

"I have my sources. Earnest is Mangeli's son, and he told me most of what his father was planning." It was true – Earnest had told her a lot about what his father had planned. She'd just garnered the majority of her knowledge from what Truth gave her.

"Poor kid," Mustang sighed. "There's no record of Mangeli having a child – if there was, Earnest would have been removed from his custody. Mangeli would have been declared an unfit guardian for certain."

"No doubt about that," Winry chuckled. "But Earnest's alright...considering he was raised by a psychopath."

"What did he tell you?" Riza's face was honestly puzzled.

"The transmutation was meant to turn Mangeli's 'subjects' into chimeras and brainwash them at the same time. While I did get turned into a chimera, I slipped through the cracks on the brainwashing thing and the Daemon essence just didn't stick."

"I wonder why," Ed muttered.

Winry didn't reply.

"Well," Roy let out a gusty sigh. "There's not much we can do except sit and wait for the dust to settle."

"I'll second that," Winry chuckled. "Mind if I crash in your room?" she asked Ed and Al.

"I think we'll do the same," Ed groaned, staggering to his feet. "I'm beat."

The three teenagers – Al included – trooped out the door.

oooooooo

December 29th – Military Headquarters, Central

"I'm exhausted!" Winry exclaimed theatrically, laying on the second bed in Ed and Al's room.

Ling had taken the couch – Ed insisted it was so the 'mooching jerk' could sneak out whenever he wanted to. Winry thought the prince's rather furtive look put paid to that theory, but she had a good idea why he had looked that way.

After all, Winry had pulled Greed from his body, but she had done nothing about the Philosopher's Stone. And if Ling still had it...Winry thought that was a pretty good reason to be a little cautious.

To her surprise, Ed flopped down next to her on the sheets. "I'm not surprised you're beat," he said, "After all, you were the one doing the real fighting out there."

"Please," Winry snorted. "Like I'd have lasted five seconds if you guys hadn't kept the homunculi off me."

"Still, I'm pretty sure credit for that win goes to you. It was your strategy, after all," Ed pointed out.

"Maybe so," Winry rolled onto her stomach, noticing the pensive look on Ed's face. "What're you thinking about?"

"Deep and meaningful thoughts," Ed defended, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"About what?"

"You...me...us...I like that there's an 'us', you know that, right?"

"You may be the sweetest man I've ever dated," Winry grinned, kissing him on the lips.

When they drew away, Ed blinked. "Didn't you once tell me I'm the only man you've ever dated?"

"My point exactly. You're the sweetest man I've ever dated, in a pool of one."

"Why don't I feel flattered?" Ed grumbled, but kissed her again.

"That reminds me!" Winry shrieked suddenly. "How did your automail hold up?"

She pulled the metal arm towards her while Ed shook his head in sheer bemusement at the enigma that was Winry Rockbell.

oooooooo

December 29th – Military Headquarters, Central

Roy stared down at his papers without really seeing them. He was concentrating on breathing deeply, and trying not to think about the chaos about to be unleashed on the military.

He was also doing his best to drag his mind away from the picture of Envy transforming into Riza.

"Strange..." he murmured.

"What's strange, sir?" Riza asked, shuffling the forms stacked on top of her own desk.

"That, while Envy was the one to murder Hughes, I couldn't kill him."

"Only because Winry disabled Father before you could kill Envy."

Roy shook his head. "It's not that. It's that I don't think I could have killed him."

Riza looked at him, her eyes confused. "Why not, sir? If I may ask."

"He kept turning into you," Roy said softly.

"Sir?"

"Whenever I was about to strike out at him, or attack him with my flames...Envy turned into you," Roy snorted self-depreciatingly. "He knew I couldn't hurt him while he looked like you. I don't think I could have killed him while he was wearing your face. I suppose this makes me a coward, but in a way, I'm glad I got closure without actually having to do the deed myself."

Roy bent his head to his papers, and didn't look up again. Riza spent several minutes staring at him, completely lost. Was he saying...? Her brain began tallying all of these instances, all of these hints, coupling them with what Winry had told her...

For a moment, clarity was almost upon her.

But then the phone rang, and the moment was lost.

oooooooo

December 30th – Train 11, In Transit to Rush Valley

Ling sat on the train, ignoring the stares and whispers as people pointed him out as Xingese. 'Ignoring' wasn't really the right word – he didn't even notice them. He was staring out the window, and his mind was far too occupied with thoughts of another person.

Ran Fan.

Winry had told him it had been nearly a year since he'd become Greed. Nearly a year, in which Ran Fan had done...what? Where was she? What was she doing now?

He'd long ago accepted he could never act on his feelings towards his bodyguard. It was not because of cowardice – he'd had several indications over the years that she certainly returned his feelings – it was mainly because of their conflicting social status.

In the eyes of the kingdom, all Ran Fan could ever hope to be was his concubine, and he certainly wouldn't insult her by asking her to take a menial position in his life. He couldn't marry her – his father would insist on him taking a wife from one of the noble families. So Ling had simply filed his love for Ran Fan in the ever-growing pile of 'never to be'.

At least, that was before. Now...

Now, Ling found he simply didn't care.

Of course, that could have a lot to do with the Philosopher's Stone currently resting in his pocket.

Winry had managed to pull the homunculus from his body (though how Edward Elric's mechanic had gained such powers he couldn't understand), but she had done nothing about the Philosopher's Stone.

He'd felt nauseous when they returned to military headquarters, but chalked it up to an unsettled body. Until, lying on the couch in the Elric brother's room, he'd choked, gagged, and spat a small red stone onto the floor.

He'd known instantly what he was looking at.

It had been unmistakable. He'd snatched it from the floor and stuffed it into one of his pockets, keeping one hand curled around it at all times. With this, he could become emperor. And as the emperor...far from being above the law, he made the law.

If he became emperor, he could marry the woman he loved.

And now, he was on his way to see her.

The Elrics had told him that they had been planning to introduce Ran Fan to Winry to get automail attached, but something had interfered in their plans. Ling had no idea what had happened, but he supposed it didn't matter now. What was important was that he had no real idea of where to find Ran Fan – though Rush Valley, the so-called 'holy ground of automail', seemed the best place to start.

His fist clenched around the stone in his pocket, and his other hand unconsciously made the Xingian sign for good luck.

He had to find her.

oooooooo

December 30th – Main Street, Rush Valley

"Excuse me, have you seen a woman around here? She's about medium height, black hair, dark eyes..."

Ling had been asking the same question for the better part of an hour. And he'd been getting the same replies. While he got some vague mumbles about a woman who 'might have looked like that', the majority of the answers told him nothing.

Where was she?

oooooooo

December 30th – Outskirts of Rush Valley

Ling slumped onto a flat rock outside the town. He'd gone through the entire town without seeing Ran Fan, nor finding anyone who had seen her themselves.

Ling put his head in his hands. Amestris was a big country, with many automail mechanics – was it possible she'd gone somewhere else? And if she had, where? Or had she gone back to Xing?

Ling was just beginning to resign himself to a long, exhausting search when he heard a voice.

"Young Master?"

He froze. Slowly, his head rose from his hands, staring at the speaker.

She looked...older. She had grown a little – not much, maybe only a few inches or so. Her hair was a little longer, her skin darkened ever-so slightly by the sun. Her left arm was automail, reflecting the sharp glare of the sun. She had obviously been practicing – her sword was held in a loose grasp by her side, her skin was shining with sweat, and her clothes were covered in dust and dirt.

And Ling thought he'd never seen anything quite so beautiful in all his years at the emperor's court.

"Ran Fan!"

She was gaping at him, as immobile as if she had turned to granite.

It seemed perfectly natural to rise and go to her. Perfectly natural to take her in his arms. Perfectly natural to cup her face, and dip his head to kiss her. Perfectly natural to hold her just that bit tighter when she returned the kiss.

But the feeling of utter peace that washed through him was not what Ling had expected. Perhaps it was the lingering utter confidence of the immortal, perhaps it was simply that Ling had finally learned life was short. Whatever it was, he felt stunningly calm about this.

This was what he wanted. And to hell with anyone who said he couldn't have it, to hell with anyone who said it was wrong.

To hell with anyone who tried to take her from him.

Of course, Ling knew that Ran Fan would not have been happy if she heard that thought. She could protect herself far better then he could – and she knew it. He didn't doubt her abilities, he just couldn't help his possessive streak.

"Young Master?" she whispered when they drew away.

"I have the Philosopher's Stone," Ling whispered.

Then he kissed her again.

He was mildly irked that she was still calling him 'Young Master' – after kissing him, no less...but he wasn't overly worried.

After all, they had the Philosopher's Stone, and they had each other.

Everything else they would work out in time.

oooooooo

AN: I know that Ran-fan didn't go to Rush Valley in the latest manga chapters, but I conjured up the idea for this story after chapter 55, and I fully expected Ran-fan to go to Rush Valley and so set up my story like that.

Originally, I planned to have no romance between Ling and Ran Fan, but when I was actually writing this chapter, I couldn't resist. I just think they make such an adorable pairing...but they are hard to write, so if my characterisations are off, I apologise.