Chapter 5: Acting Like Children
Mustang stayed up late that night, long after he told Al to go to bed. He sat in the same chair, drinking brandy instead of coffee, thinking about what was next now that he gave Al all the information he could on the boy's past.
He knew what had to be done. Ed disappeared while bringing back Al, so it seemed obvious that Ed was wherever Al's body was for all those years. Which meant to get Ed back, they had to try human transmutation.
He couldn't get rid of the feeling of dread whenever he thought about the subject. It wasn't that long ago that he seriously thought about attempting human transmutation himself, not once, but twice. He even developed his own theory for it, and the only reason he didn't go through with it was his fear of death.
He knew would happen if they were caught: he would probably get executed, although he thought, or rather, hoped, Al was young enough to get away with just spending a very long time in prison. And that was if they survived the transmutation. There was a good chance it would fail, and Al, him, or even both of them wouldn't get through it alive.
Al had already lost so much, the last thing Mustang wanted to see was for him to lose anything more. Which really only left one option…
Yes, this life would definitely have some use after all.
"You were right, Lieutenant, I cannot make calm decisions when it comes to those brothers." He swallowed the last of his brandy, knowing full well just how incredibly stupid and stubborn he was being, and went to bed before his oncoming headache got any worse.
"Do you know how you are going to find Edward?" Mustang asked the next morning during breakfast.
"I'm not sure, but I want to do some research in the Central Library," Al replied.
"Very well, I can take you there today if you like," he said, getting up to leave. He didn't say that several years ago he read almost everything the library had relating to the subject of bio-alchemy and human transmutation. The truth was, there wasn't a whole lot the Central Library had to offer in those subjects. Human transmutation was the ultimate taboo, thus books even dealing with the subject were rare. Bio-alchemy involving actual animals was a morally gray area, thus most books on the subject never went beyond laboratory mice. Which meant they were fairly useless when it came to the extreme complexity of human transmutation. Mustang figured Al would be through with everything the library had to offer within a few days.
Al was in the Central Library every day for the next week. Mustang really wasn't surprised at the extra time, since the boy was much more dedicated to his research than he was when he studied human transmutation years ago. However, every time he came to pick up Al on his way home, there were surprisingly few books surrounding the boy. Mustang wondered about this, but he had an idea of what the boy was doing. On the day there were only two books out, he finally decided to look into what Al was researching.
That night, once Al was asleep, Mustang went to the library and started going through all the notes the boy had made about human transmutation. There was more than Mustang thought there would be, however, and much of it involved the brothers' failed attempt to transmute their mother. His suspicions were right; Al was trying to remember what they did that night, in order to serve as a basis of how he was going to bring back Ed. Mustang read through some of the notes, and realized Al's theory was slightly different from his own. After some more skimming, he put down the notes and began to think. If the two theories were combined, taking the strongest points from each one, perhaps that was the answer to finding Ed.
He closed his eyes and pictured the array of his own theory, down to the last detail. He destroyed all his notes once he realized he couldn't go through with it, but that didn't matter. It was still perfectly etched in his mind.
Mustang sighed. Maes would have probably killed him for doing this, even if it was to bring back Ed. Except now he wasn't there to punch him in the face and make him realize how foolish and irrational he was acting. Hawkeye, might, though. Not punch him in the face, but at least tell him he was letting his emotions control him.
But she wasn't here either, and so Mustang found some blank paper and started sketching his human transmutation array, then Al's, and then started to compare the two. It wasn't until several hours later that he finally hid his own notes and went to bed.
The next morning, Al asked if he could spend the day at home, going over his notes.
"Does that mean you've gone through that entire library already?" Mustang asked, looking at him closely.
Al fidgeted. "Well, um, not really. I want to see what I have so far, and see what other things I need to research. There's a lot of information I want to organize."
Mustang took a sip of coffee. Most likely the boy was going to spend the day writing down his human transmutation theory, which meant he was done researching and would soon want to test his results. "Very well then, but on one condition. I know how involved you get when you set your mind on something, so I want you to make sure you take a break and eat something while I'm gone."
Al looked a little relieved, and nodded in agreement.
When Mustang got home that day, he checked on Al in the library. Rather than getting the boy's attention as he stood in the doorway, however, he quietly made his way to the desk, and peered over Al's shoulder.
"I figured you would be studying human transmutation," he finally said.
Al jumped from his seat at the words, nearly knocking Mustang on the chin. He then turned around, looking stunned, and even guilty.
"You know what happened the last time you tried human transmutation, Alphonse," Mustang said as he raised his head. "Are you really willing to risk everything just for the slim chance of getting your brother back?"
Al's shock immediately turned to determination. "I don't care what I have to do in order to get back my brother, even if it means risking everything. I swear I will find him."
Mustang looked at him for a moment. Yes, he would do something very foolish. "Several years ago I developed a theory for human transmutation. I soon abandoned it, however, because the risks were much too great." He then walked over to a corner in the library, pulled out a book, and took out the notes he hid the night before. He then walked back to the desk and dropped them in front of Al. "But then again, I was not trying to bring back my only family member."
Al looked up at him, once again surprised, and then looked back down at the notes.
"I said I would help you find your brother, Alphonse, and I fully intend to keep my word." He paused before continuing. "Your previous theory was sound, but I found some ways to improve it by combining our two theories."
"Wouldn't that just mix everything up?"
"Not if you do it right. Look here," he said, pointing to some equations. "You evaluated the definite integral for this side, and assumed it was the same for the other side. That will work, but to get a more exact answer you should have calculated it. See the difference?"
Al nodded. Mustang then went through all the changes with him, explaining everything in detail.
When he was done, Al looked up at him with curiosity and some suspicion. "Why are you doing this? You said you gave up the idea of human transmutation because it was too dangerous, so why are you helping me with it now?"
"It's because it is so dangerous, Alphonse. I know how much your brother means to you, and I know you would gladly risk death to get your brother back. However, I am not willing to lose a new State Alchemist due to a failed human transmutation. Therefore, since I cannot convince you to not try it, my only other option is to make sure you have the best chance of success."
Al looked at him for a moment, and seemed to accept his answer.
"Now that you have an improved theory, I suspect you want to try it as soon as possible," he continued. "Therefore, I shall make the necessary arrangements, and inform you when they are done." He then left the library, giving Al some time to go over the new theory a few more times.
Mustang hadn't really thought of where they would try the transmutation, as he was too busy wondering if they should even do it. He knew doing it in Central was essentially impossible, since it would generate enough energy to light up the entire house, or whatever building they might use. Naturally such a light would be investigated, and they'd be caught in no time.
Doing it out in the middle of nowhere would be the safest place. Not too remote, either, because he wanted to be close to some sort of civilization if things went wrong and someone needed medical attention.
Which meant the best place to try the transmutation was in the brothers' home village, Rizenboul. Not only was the location good, a small village in the middle of nowhere, but also it would help Al to be around the people he knew best. Never mind those same people would probably raise hell with Al for trying human transmutation, but that was probably a good thing, making Al realize how much other people were against what he was planning to do.
Everything was settled, then. Tomorrow he would file for time off, then buy two train tickets to Rizenboul. He figured they would be there in a week at the latest.
Three days later, Mustang stood with Al on the platform in Central station, waiting for their train to arrive. He was wearing a coat and tie, doing his best to forget about the military for the next few days. That included completely ignoring the files Lieutenant Hawkeye left on his desk to take with him and work on while he was away. Al stood there in his usual shirt and blue denim pants, carrying his suitcase, occasionally looking down the tracks to see if anything was coming.
Getting to this point wasn't as easy as Mustang had thought it would be, as Lieutenant Hawkeye almost prevented him from going. Almost immediately after he filed for leave, she came over to talk to him about what he was doing. Well, more like he stood there as she lectured him for letting his emotions get the better of him, which were always strong when it involved those brothers. He had to promise her that he wouldn't do anything irrational, although he was sure Hawkeye knew he wasn't intending to keep that promise. He figured those files he left on his desk was her way of keeping an eye on him when she couldn't be there personally. If he was too busy doing paperwork, maybe he wouldn't have the chance to do anything irrational. Decent strategy, but Hawkeye should have known he wouldn't do that paperwork regardless of the circumstances. He would rather spend his entire time in Risenboul watching the grass grow.
Finally their train arrived. They waited as the passengers arriving at Central got off, and then boarded the train. Mustang sat across from Al, their suitcases on the overhead rack above their seats, both of them watching the activity outside the window until well after the train departed.
Most of the trip to Risenboul was spent in silence. Mustang figured they both had plenty on their minds as it was. For Al it was undoubtedly the prospect of finding Ed. For Mustang, however, his thoughts were on more immediate things.
He had been to Risenboul twice before. The first time was on a stormy night, six years ago. That was when he first met Ed and Al, right after their failed human transmutation. He watched their house glow with the energy of the transmutation, then followed as a suit of armor carried a severely injured boy to another house.
Mustang had stood outside that house for several minutes. The sign in front said "Automail Rockbell." Out of all the houses in the entire country, he had to be standing in front of the one that was once the home of the two doctors he was ordered to shoot during the Ishbal war. He knew there was an orphan girl inside, and if he remembered right a grandmother. But there were also two boys who had no parents, had just lost who knows what else because of the failed transmutation, and he would be damned if he let his fears get in the way of helping them. Thus, he entered the house, went up to the lighted room, stayed only long enough to say what he needed to say, and then went back to Central and waited for them.
The second time Mustang was in Risenboul was almost five years later, after the Lior incident. He had just caught up to Ed and Al, who were wanted by the military. If there was ever a time he wanted to strangle Ed, that was it. He could've killed those brothers for running off without letting him help them.
But that wasn't the point. The point was, he finally told Ed and Al, and Winry Rockbell and everyone else who was there, what happened during that day he shot those two doctors. It really was the only way to explain things, why he was chasing after Ed and Al. He admitted why he wanted to get to the top, so that he would never have to follow any senseless orders again. Thus, he was chasing Ed and Al not because he was ordered to, but because he was seriously pissed at them.
After that, they all went to the Rockbell house, even had dinner and spent the night. It seemed like the remaining Rockbells forgave him in a way, or at least understood the circumstances more, because the tension between him and them was considerably lower. Not gone, that may never happen, but at least he didn't feel so uncomfortable in their house. He hoped all that tension wouldn't reappear once he came back.
They didn't arrive at Risenboul until the next day. Mustang wasn't entirely sure if there would be someone to greet them, since he wasn't sure if Al had had enough time to write home and say he was coming back. He didn't think so, and sure enough, when they pulled into the tiny station, there was no one recognizable waiting.
"Do you know where the inn is?" Mustang asked once they got off the train. He didn't remember seeing one last time he was here, but then again, he didn't have much of a chance to look around the village.
"Um, there is none," Al replied, looking slightly confused. "This village is so small, it doesn't really need an inn. If someone does need a room, they usually just spend the night at someone's house. Don't worry, though, Auntie Pinako has enough room."
Mustang figured this would happen, but had to make sure there wasn't any real alternative. After all, one night at the Rockbell's with a large number of other friendly military personnel was one thing, spending a few days there all by himself was quite another. But he would just have to deal with it, just like he did twice before. "Shall we go then?" he finally said.
Al nodded, and the two left the small train station, heading for the Rockbells.