In Times of Trouble
Chapter Four
Uncertainty
Resembool
Riza and Pinako were up preparing breakfast when the boys came downstairs, Yuery holding Maes' hand and carefully leading him with William trailing slowly behind them. Riza forced a smile as she heard them coming, not wanting them to pick up on the stress they had all been under the last few hours. "Good Morning boys, who's ready for breakfast?"
"Morning Nainai. Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Yuery asked as he looked around. He couldn't remember a time where his Dad and Yeye missed breakfast with them, unless Yeye was out of town.
"Well, Daddy had to go work, Mommy's upstairs resting. You can go see her after breakfast." Riza said calmly. "Your new sister came last night."
Yuery and William both jumped back up from the table excitedly but were ordered back to breakfast before they made their escape. Maes likely would have followed them had he not already been strapped into his highchair. He was never far behind his brothers after all.
Riza smiled sympathetically at the boys. She knew they had to be excited, however, she was not going to let them escape without eating. Winry needed every minute of sleep she could manage and the boys were going to be jumping around all day now. Riza was glad for the distraction of their excitement. She would have loved to join her boys in their search of her husband but both her grandchildren and her youngest child needed her home.
Pinako smiled at the children as she placed a stack of pancakes in front of each of them. Sweets for breakfast were a special occasion thing so this served to prevent further whining as they dug in. Pinako then excused herself to warn Winry the boys would be up soon and bring her a tray of eggs, sausage, and pancakes.
"Have we heard anything new?" Winry asked as she ate her breakfast, her new daughter laid beside her in a cradle.
"Nothing since Edward left. They're probably still looking. I'm sure everything is going to turn out fine in the end." Pinako said as she looked over the baby. "That man is as stubbornly lucky as Ed and Al you know."
"Yes he is. I just worry about when their luck finally runs out." Winry replied. "Ed isn't ready to take over the country Granny. He doesn't even want the job he has right now. I don't know how he's going to handle 'acting fuhrer' no matter how long of a term it would be."
Stop fretting so much girl, you'll spoil your milk and the baby won't want it." Pinako said as she fluffed up a pillow to place behind Winry.
"Oh Granny you know that's just a myth." Winry said with a sigh as she sat back against the new pillow. Granny fussed over her for a few more minutes before they heard the boys and Riza 'quietly' coming up the stairs. This then sounded like a small stampede instead of the usual invasion sounds.
Yuery and William barreled into the room and onto her bed before Maes came in holding Riza's hand with Tad in her arms. Yuery jumped down from the bed and helped Maes climb up before coming back. Winry now had an arm around Maes on her left with William leaning on her side on the right. Yuery was sitting carefully on her legs and Riza placed Tad down next to them while she to sort through the best responses to the questions she knew would be coming.
Riza scooped little Trisha up from her bassinet and turned to Winry to ask who was holding her first. Winry saw the question in her eyes, "Maes first, then William, then Yuery. Edward was very insistent, Maes is the next youngest, he gets to hold her first…well except for Tad but I don't think he can hold her, we'll just have to give them some bonding time in a little bit."
Riza nodded as she situated the baby in Maes arms. Maes stared down at the baby now sitting in his arms. She yawned at that moment and Maes gasped, until she moved he had not decided if she were a real baby. His eyes widen as he pushed her back out of his arms. The adults laughed gently at him as Riza, who had never moved a hand away from the baby, handed her to William instead.
William smiled down at his new sister before kissing her forehead before smiling up at the adults excitedly. They let Will hold her a bit longer before taking her back and handing her off to Yuery.
Yuery hugged her to him and kissed her head before looking up at his Mommy to smile at her. Winry hugged both Yuery and William to her as Maes snuggled up in her lap. Baby Trisha seemed happy to stay in Yuery's arms for the moment so Riza grabbed Ed's camera to take a couple of photographs of the young mother and her children. She knew Ed would want to see this moment and would be sad that he missed it.
Riza then gently took Trisha to lay her down next to Tad so the two babies could see each other in the crib next to Winry's bed. Once again she took a couple of photographs to show Roy and Ed later. Winry looked tired still, but when Riza suggested taking the boys back downstairs for awhile Winry refused. She wanted to keep the children close to her right now as they awaited news.
Central Command
Fuhrer's Office
8 am
"Did you at least nap on the couch?" Alex Armstrong asked in a surprisingly quiet voice as he handed a cup of coffee to Heymans Breda.
"When something goes wrong in the field, we wait. We stay and we wait. That's how Team Mustang operates." Breda said with a shrug. "This isn't my first all nighter Alex and it won't be my last.I told you that yesterday."
"That would be a no then." Alex said with a sigh. "Do you really think the Fuhrer would want one of his men to stay up all night like this?"
"When Vato and I were caught up in the border skirmish, Jean, Riza, Kain, and Roy stayed in the office for three days. When Edward and Alphonse were missing after that train hostage situation, we waited in the office to hear, going home only long enough to eat and change…Roy never even left that long. When we were all separated before Promised Day, we checked in with each other everyday. It nearly killed Roy that the boys were forced to go into hiding without contact." Breda said with a sigh. "So, yes, if he were here he would understand why I was here all night. If you called Resembool right now Jean Havoc would still be in the office. If you called their house, Riza and Edward would still be awake too… though since he is their family that goes without saying."
"You shouldn't have talked me into going home, I should have stayed with you last night."
"Nonsense. You are acting in the Fuhrer's stead until he or Ed get back. You needed to sleep. We can't have Olivier taking your place." Breda said before glancing at the clock. "The rest of the staff will be here soon Sir. Since we have decided to keep it quiet, I suggest you retreat to the office and I will bring you the latest news as it comes in."
"Very well, Colonel Breda. Do try not to fall asleep at your desk." Armstrong said just before the door opened to the rest of the Fuhrer's staff arriving.
"Why is General Armstrong here?" asked one of the junior secretaries, Sgt Michael Darlin. "I thought we weren't scheduled to switch until next week?"
"Yes however the Fuhrer had a few things to take care of so he asked that General Armstrong work from his office today." Breda said which was strictly speaking true, though left out a few key steps.
Half a mile South of the Crash
"We should have headed East sir." Kain Fuery said as he stumbled along after the Fuhrer.
"You should have stayed with the train, as I said at the time." Fuhrer Roy Mustang replied as he wiped blood off of his forehead before pausing for a moment to let the younger smaller man catch his breath.
"I couldn't let you wander off by yourself sir. You have a head injury and I am your bodyguard for this trip." Fuery said with a huff.
"He shot four men Fuery. I couldn't just let him go." Mustang replied. "However, you shouldn't out here. Go back and stay with the prisoner. I'll be fine."
"What if there are more of them?"
"Then, as I said last night, I clearly need to clean house." Mustang replied a bit impatiently. His head hurt and he was tired and he just wanted to get to his kids.
"I still can't believe Jones did this." Fuery said sadly. "He seemed like such a nice guy."
"They always do. That's why I loathe to include new staff."
"He's been with us since Promised Day!" Fuery said with a frustrated sigh. "He wasn't acting like himself when we got on the train. Is it possible he was drugged or something?"
"I don't know or care right now Kain. I just want to make sure my children are safe!" Mustang said.
This wasn't the first time they had argued over this since Roy had alchemically tied Jones to a tree and started walking roughly toward Resembool. Once the train derailed Jones had attacked the rest of the staff and then attempted to attack Fuery and Mustang. Mustang had fought with Jones to keep Fuery safe and get him away from the other passengers before trapping the man.
Truthfully, Roy agreed Jones was acting strange and that was exactly why he needed to get to his children. Whatever had been done to Jones, it had turned a loyal soldier against him, it could happen to anyone close to his boys. Roy needed to be sure they were safe.
Fuery was concerned with Roy's headwound, but he knew enough about these things to guess it as mostly superficial. Heck, he was probably going to end up with a second matching scar to his son but he could live with that at long as they were alright.
After Roy's encounter with that wizard, Roy was spooked. He couldn't swear to his family's safety and now with this he was terrified. He didn't know if the train derailment was intentional or if Jones just took advantage of the accident. Roy was terrified of the second option. If it was the second option then it was entirely possible originally Jones would have followed him all the way out to Resembool. To his home. To his family.
If Fuery was right and Jones was not behaving according to his normal behavior…well that was why he was headed home. Roy was aware enough to his mind's racing circular thought process. He didn't care. Though he did try again to talk Fuery to turn back.
"Sir. By now someone had to have noticed the accident. All those people would take awhile to get off but soon they are going to look for you, possibly even first. Someone is going to contact your sons to tell them you're missing, and one or the other or both are going to come looking for you." Fuery said, taking a deep breath when Mustang actually stopped walking as if he was listening. "What happens if the boys come across Jones, Sir? What if they are wandering around out here in the woods right now looking for you? What if someone told them you were kidnapped?"
"You're right Fuery. I-…We need to go back. I can't have someone letting Jones loose." Mustang said before turning around to head back up the path, to Fuery's relief. Now he just had to get his boss back to civilization and get his head wound treated. Then Fuery could finally rest, and check in with Sheska who had to be worried by now too.
Near Crash Site
Severus Snape had delivered Edward as Alphonse had been, just over the hill where no one would notice. He had taken time however to gather what he needed, he joined Edward so that if necessary he could help locate the fuhrer. They made their way to the scene, and were greeted by Alphonse, and a handful of soldiers who noticed Ed's arrival saluted him. He quickly waved them away barking out. "Don't worry about etiquette right now, move the injured. We can worry about rank later."
Alphonse nodded to the soldiers as he joined his brother to speak quietly. "The majority don't know Dad's car was attached to the end yet. It decoupled and is about fifty yards into the woods. No one is alive aboard, but the four that are dead were shot once, in the head. I think it may have been an inside job Brother."
"Because we need this in our lives." Ed said with a sigh. "Any idea which direction they went? Or how many it was that took Dad?"
"According to what Breda told me, Dad only have six people with him. All office staff. Jones and Fuery are unaccounted for but I can't imagine Fuery being involved."
"That's a hard one to sell me, I agree. I'm having a hard time believing Jones was involved either though. Perhaps they were boarded? No signs of a struggle?"
"Outside of Dad's cabin, no. Dad's cabin tells a different story. He fought back. Hard. He didn't use fire, but with tight quarters and two other people to worry about-"
"Yeah, no. Dad would have avoided Flame Alchemy in that situation. Okay. Which way to look?" Edward said as they kept walking until they reached the car. He saw it as his brother pointed, clearly Dad had gone south, a few trees in that direction were burned.
Severus followed behind silently. Something seemed off to him, but he didn't wish to voice it until he was sure. The tingle of magic was in the air around the first cabin though, as if a spell had been recently cast…
They walked quickly but quietly for ten minutes before they came across a strange sight. Jones was pinned from the neck down against a tree with the most complex stonework Edward had seen in months. He started to walk closer to examine the man but was stopped by a hand thrown across his chest. Snape stood in front of them with his eyes narrowed.
Jones had begun to struggle as soon as he had seen the boys, the expression on his face told Snape more than anything else. He had spent months in the metaphorical Lion's Den. He knew the Imperious Curse when he saw it. The glazed eyes. The blank expression. The single minded desire to complete the task given. Judging by the way he strained, Snape it had something to do with the First Family.
"Do not release him." Snape said coldly. "He is operating under a curse. I believe you will find he is the one who killed your soldiers, and was hunting your father. Do you recognize the stonework?"
"No. It had to have been Dad though." Al said thoughtfully. "Fuery isn't an alchemist, and if there isn't a random kidnapper out here it had to have been him."
"We cannot guarantee there isn't a second party involved in this. The curse leaves no lasting signs once the task is complete. Even the victim will not remember what they have done under its influence. Once it fades off of Jones, I believe you said, he will not remember anything after he had the spell placed on him until he wakes up. That does not make him any less dangerous. Leave him for now, we will come back for him after we find your father."
"So what you're saying is Jones did this, but he was being treated like a puppet when he did and he is not normally a threat to my Dad?" Al asked as Ed scoffed.
"Whether he is or isn't, he'll be demoted and transferred for this if nothing else." Edward said. "Dad and Fuery can't be expected to continue to work with him after he tried to kill them."
"Fuery could very well be under the curse as well Edward." Snape said simply as he now took the lead, fingering his wand but leaving it in his pocket for now. He didn't like this, whoever had done this had gotten far to close to the Boy. The Boy was likely the intended final target, and they needed to find out what they could as quickly as possible before returning to him. Right now he was safely hidden, which would explain the use of Mustang.
"Tell me more about this spell." Edward said as they walked along.
"Very well. There are three unforgivable curses. When used they are an automatic one way trip to Azkaban. The Cruciatus curse brings pain beyond imagination. Though Aurors are sometime taught to fight the effects, as are certain other groups. Then there is the Imperious Curse. It is mind control, what Jones is currently under. It is undetectable once lifted. The victim will be held accountable for events they do not remember." Snape said, pushing aside some branches and taking note of the light blood left behind from the last person who passed through here. It was still tacky, suggesting less than an hour had passed, possibly two with the humidity. "Again, some people are taught to fight this curse. Some are harder to control to begin with."
"So, these curses can be overcome then?" Edward asked with a frown. He too had noticed the blood trail and hoped his father wasn't injured, or at least not severely. This was once again a situation he did not think he wanted to deal with, but he had decided as soon as he heard it was fightable that he would be having Snape teach him to fight it. "Wait. You said three."
"You've seen the third Edward. The night you became a father. The Killing Curse. There is no defense. No deflection. Once it is cast you die. Which one exception, your son." Snape said quietly. "When he cast it on the boy, from what you have told me, something went wrong. It rebounded on him instead. The only thing my research has come up with was that Lily must have cast a powerful protection spell on her baby that night, sealed with her blood. He couldn't touch the boy because his mother died to save him. Dumbledore agrees, unfortunately. I told him nothing of what you said, of course, however he looked over the site himself and came to that conclusion once he learned the boy had lived."
"So is he still protected or was it a one time only kind of thing?" Edward asked, the idea that Yuery was that close to death terrified him all over again, just like the night it happened. It had been years since he thought of that night, intentionally pushing it down to the back of his mind with the rest of his childhood trauma.
"It would have been a one time thing I'm afraid. It is possible to expand such a spell, but only with the blood of more relatives, and he has none living." Snape said sadly. "Even if he did, it wouldn't be an option for you, you would have to send him to live with them and we all know that isn't something any of us want to happen."
"No. No it's not. I'm keeping my son, and I'll keep him safe." Edward said with a frown. "Something's wrong. One of them has been injured. Possibly either a deep wound or a head wound with this blood trail. We need to hurry."
With that the three of them fell silent as the continued deeper into the woods in search of the others.
A/N:
For those who were wanting to keep track.
Children of the Series
Elrics and Mustangs
Yuery Elric born (officially) August 2nd, 1913 Fullmetal Dadchemist (1913-14) (His birthday was altered from July 31st when adopted)
(Journey Begins 1914)
William Elric born December 3rd, 1914 Journey Ends(Introduced)/ Starting Over (enters the story) (1914-15)
( Ghosts of the Past 1916)
Maes Elric born March 28th, 1917 Seeking Answers (1917)
Thaddeus Mustang born August 15th, 1918 Drums of War (1918)
Trisha Elric born November 12th, 1918 In Times of Trouble (1918)
Other Children (Mentioned so far)
Nina Tucker 1909-1914 Journey Begins
Elicia Hughes February 2nd, 1911 Fullmetal Dadchemist
Ana Hughes April, 1915 (Promised Day) Journey Ends
Huan Zhang Yao 1913 When in Xing
Ping Yao April, 1915 (Promised Day) Journey Ends
Tevy Yao June 1917 Seeking Answers
Emiyo Wang 1914 When in Xing
Miyo Wang June 1917 Seeking Answers
Boa Zhang 1908 When in Xing
Hannah 1908 Starting Over
Daniel 1912 Starting Over