Golden Scales Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

o.O.0.O.o

It was right around midday. Warm sunshine streamed in through the open windows, bleaching the floorboards with squares of concentrated light. Chilly but pleasant breezes rolled over the room like fog. With those breezes came the woodsy scent of the upcoming autumn season. An annoying array of noise pulsed from Winry's new wind-chime, but lounging in the chair I merely flicked my ear-fin and continued reading.

For once, I was not upset, angry, or stressed. My shoulders no longer possessed their usual tension. My expression remained relaxed. I even swished my tail back and forth as I consumed the volume in my hands. Adding to my aura, Den lay snuggled on my lap instead of the sunspot on the floor. I didn't even mind this. Ever since my return to Resembool, Den had seemingly decided that I was his favorite person to sleep on. After a while, I grew accustomed to the dog's presence.

And so I read my book without a care in the world. Not even the wind-chimes could draw out the slightest bit of irritation. But, of course, a moment like this couldn't go undisturbed for long.

RIIIING!

Every nerve in my body jumped, as well as the dog on my lap. Den whined as my book hit the floor with an unceremonious plop. Ignoring this, I glared daggers at the telephone stationed atop the table right next to me. I growled slightly before yanking the receiver off the stand and answering,

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Colonel Roy Mustang. I'm calling to check on— Wait, Fullmetal?! Is that you?"

My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. All I could think to reply was, "Uhhhh…..No?"

The voice on the other end chuckled. "Very funny, Fullmetal. I know that's you. I'm actually glad you picked up. How are you doing?"

I could practically feel the fluid oozing from my gills. "W-What do you care, Bastard?!"

"I care because you're my subordinate, Edward," the man answered earnestly, "Also, you went missing for three weeks, came back, and then locked yourself in your mechanic's house for a month. That sounds pretty fishy to me."

I drew in a light gasp. My world seemed to slow to a crawl. Did he know? How did he find out? A thousand questions swirled in my head, but before I could make sense of them Mustang continued,

"You know, the team's been taking bets on how long it's going to take you to come back to Central. I've got money on a few more weeks."

Come back? He expected me to come back? I relaxed a little. Maybe he didn't know after all.

I sighed and gripped the receiver a bit tighter. "Well, Mustang… It looks like everyone is losing that bet. I… I-I'm not coming back."

A short pause. Then he asked, "What do you mean you're 'not coming back'? Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No… not exactly."

A sigh could be heard from the other end. "Look, Fullmetal, whatever it is I'm sure we can fix it. You'll be back on your feet in no time. I've even saved a few possible leads for you guys."

I was about to shout at him to just drop it. But then I stopped myself and thought for a bit. In the long term, I would be very, very glad that I did stop to think. Because had I not stopped to think, a certain realization might not have occurred to me at that crucial point in time in my life. A realization that would not only save my tail, but Al's as well.

And after it finally clicked in my head, the sensation of sheer relief would be engraved into my brain forever. The best sensation in the world. The feeling of every weight on one's shoulders being lifted. The feeling of one's lifetime of problems and stress being washed away. The feeling of a holy spirit's hand offering ultimate salvation and forgiveness, and mustering enough of one's courage and self-forgiveness to take that hand.

When the realization finally hit me, every bit of pain, sorrow, and lingering guilt burned to ashes. Every single muscle in my body relaxed. I dropped the receiver and fell into the chair, where I stared at the ceiling for a good long while. Even the faint voice of the man on the other end could not rip me from this dreamy state. It took me a solid minute to finally notice the world around me, and that my phone call with Colonel Roy Mustang had not yet ended.

Said man had begun to become impatient with the silence. When my newly freed gaze flicked to the receiver again, the man's irritated voice was threatening to send a troop over to the Rockbell house to find me. Finally, my vision focused again, and the world resumed spinning.

I picked up the receiver again and quickly said, "Those leads won't be necessary, Mustang."

"…and if I get word that you— Wait, what?"

"The leads won't be necessary," I repeated, my smile evident in my voice, "You want to know why?"

Mustang sighed impatiently. "Why, Fullmetal?"

Emotion seemed to choke me. I didn't even care that a small tear welled in my bottom left eyelid as I savored the truth in my next words.

"I've already found a way to get Al's body back."

o.O.0.O.o

I wore a dreamy half-smile as I returned the receiver to the stand. After a few more minutes of speaking with my former commanding officer, we'd arranged a visit for them to come see Al after we retrieved his body. I had mentally decided that that sounded like a good time to tell them the truth. Or rather, show them.

Not long after I hung up the phone, the sound of footsteps crunching on the gravel driveway floated through the windows. Instinctively, I whipped my head around to see who it was and prepared myself to slip down the shouting chute in case it wasn't one of my housemates. However, this time, when my gaze met three figures in the driveway, I relaxed and slunk back into my previous position.

A few moments later, Pinako, Winry and Alphonse slipped through the front door, burdened with large grocery bags. Den launched himself off of me (kicking me in the stomach in the process) and bounded happily into the kitchen to greet them. I remained in the chair, rubbing my stomach as I watched my housemates organize the groceries.

Eventually, things settled down again. By the time Winry poked her head in the living room to check on me, my dreamy half-smile had returned.

"What are you smiling about, Ed?" she asked, a smile of her own stretching her lips.

Alphonse stepped into the room. "Brother! You wouldn't believe what we found at— Ed? What's so funny?"

A contented sigh escaped me before I answered, "Oh nothing really… I just figured something out is all. I'll tell you later."

The two standing in the doorway shared a glance and shrugged. Alphonse continued, "So we found this old lady at the market who was selling—"

From that point forward, I was only half-listening. How could I pay attention when something so much bigger occupied my mind? Nevertheless, I nodded and made comments as my brother related his tale. Later. I'd tell them later.

Much, much later. When it counted the most.

o.O.0.O.o

A man in casual attire sat hunched over an aged wooden desk, staring intently at the many parchments and maps that lay spread across its surface. The space in which he occupied was poorly lit, but the man didn't seem to care. He squinted through the dim illumination without relent, scanning the pages and landmarks ferociously. His state of mind couldn't quite be described as desperate, but it was damn close. He teetered between resulting to drastic measures and disbanding the cause altogether. Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought he'd be where he was now.

And where he was now wasn't exactly the best place to be.

The man released a sigh as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. His brown, short hair. Until recently, he took great pride in his abilities to change so easily. It had been the only real thing he had going for him. Now it just made him look like a joke. A con. A lie. And he couldn't even stomach the thought of returning to his natural state anymore. Not when that part of him had been the last monster that thousands upon thousands of innocent souls had seen before departing this world by his hands.

His natural state had become somewhat of a taboo to him now. In that image he saw a demon. A ruthless demon on puppetry strings, abiding by the will of his masterful "father." His lip curled up in disgust at the thought of that despicable creature now. The first homunculus. The dwarf in the flask. The power-hungry rat that sought to end the world as they knew it. His natural state only served to remind William of what that thing did to him.

And what William did under his command.

The man winced, as he always did as his mind glanced over that thought. He shook his head vigorously to rid his mind of it. Drawing in a deep breath, he refocused on his maps. His hazel eyes scanned the parchment critically, gleaning whatever new knowledge they could find from it.

It had already been established that Beth would remain "loyal" to Father and act as a spy for them. It was in this area that her expertise was put to good use. Allister would be their hound, so to speak. He'd keep a nose out for the siren and its movements. Greed would work to prevent any unforeseen happenings, meaning he'd intervene should any outside forces disrupt their progress. Which left William in charge of planning out their courses of action once they gained enough strength.

At the moment, they only had enough manpower to knock out the other homunculi. Although, if William could convince Selena to join their cause, they'd be in a lot better shape. And with Beth on their side, they may be able to convince the siren himself to fight, and just maybe the witch sisters.

William knew it was wishful thinking, but they had to try.

Just as he began tracing possible railway routes on his maps, the doors flew open and the sound of unmistakable clicking heels hastened into the small study. William whirled around to see Beth struggling to catch her breath.

"They…. He's… I saw…" she panted.

William rolled his eyes. "What is it, Beth? Spit it out!"

She straightened. "They're sending Sloth! They're taking him now!"

In that short moment after the last word left the woman's lips, the world seemed to zoom in on William's terrified expression. His hazel eyes couldn't have opened any wider, and his lungs couldn't have filled any higher. Through the panicked and jumbled mess of his brain, he picked out and asked but one question.

"Where is he."