Chapter 6: The Sacrifice

Not long after the Rockbell house was in view, Mustang saw someone come outside and stand on the front porch.

"Auntie Pinako!" Al shouted as he ran ahead. "I'm back!"

"You've met Colonel Mustang before, right?" he asked once Mustang finally got to the porch.

"Good afternoon," he replied, bowing slightly.

"He's been helping me a lot with finding out about the years I lost."

Pinako gave him a suspicious look before turning back to Al. "What brings you back home?"

He scratched his head before answering. "I, uh, just wanted to visit, and see how everyone was doing."

It was Al's turn to receive Pinako's suspicious look before she turned to Mustang. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Winry bursting through the door.

"Al! You're back! I was working in the shop so I didn't hear you walk up. How are you? Are you really a State Alchemist like Ed?"

Al smiled. "Yep, I'm a State Alchemist." He pulled out his silver pocket watch and showed it to Winry. "See, here's my clock."

"Wow, it's just like the one Ed had," she said, taking it. "Hey Al, since Ed wouldn't let me take apart his, can I open up yours? I promise to put everything back."

"Don't even think about it," he replied, snatching his watch back and putting it back in his pocket.

As the two exchanged glares at each other, Pinako turned back to Mustang.

"So, why are you with him?" she asked.

He had been thinking about that answer ever since they left Central. Telling the truth really wasn't an option, because he figured he'd be run out of town for encouraging Al to repeat that same mistake he made so many years ago. But there was another answer he could give, and it would also be the truth. It was something he had needed to say for a long time. Finally he replied, "Because I never apologized for the actions I took against your children."

Immediately Al and Winry stopped their glairing and looked at Mustang.

"I am deeply sorry for killing your son and daughter-in-law. You must know that I would never do anything of that nature again. Please accept my most sincere apology."

There was a moment of silence before Pinako responded. "When you were last here, I could see what a good man you are. When almost the entire military was after the Elric brothers, you made sure they were not captured. Perhaps there was a time when I might have blamed you for the deaths of my son and daughter, but that is no longer the case now. I accept your apology." She turned to Winry and asked, "Do you accept his apology?"

Mustang looked at her, and they made eye contact. He could see that this was harder for her than it was for Pinako. Finally Winry smiled weakly and said, "Yes."

Suddenly the air around him felt the lightest it had been in a very, very long time.

"Well, why don't you come in and get yourselves settled," Pinako finally said. She turned to Mustang and added, "We have a spare room for guests, although it's a little big for one person."

Mustang politely nodded. "I appreciate anything you have to offer."

Al still had his own room, since the Rockbells hadn't touched it since he left for Central. Which left Mustang with the fairly large guest room all to himself. He remembered last time he was here, Ed and Al spent the night in this room sleeping in actual beds, while most everyone else grabbed a spot to sleep wherever they could. No, that wasn't right, Al spent the night with his father, so they could get to know each other better. Still that was what, six, seven extra people spending the night? Mustang finally fell asleep sitting on the padded bench on the left wall of the room, with Hawkeye sitting next to him. He never did find out of she got any sleep that night. She had to, though, considering what a very long day that was.

There were three beds in the room, and Mustang took one at the end, closest to the door. He didn't have much to unpack, since he wasn't planning on staying for too long, depending on how the transmutation went. As he was unpacking, he halfway expected to find some kind of note in his suitcase from Hawkeye, or even those damn files. Obviously there was none, since he packed at home. However, he somehow got the feeling he'd be talking to her before he came back to Central.

After he finished unpacking, Mustang went downstairs. He saw that Al was already in the dining room, talking to Winry and Pinako about his time in Central.

All three of them looked up when Mustang walked into the room.

"So, Al told me he's been staying with you while he's been in Central. Is that true?" Pinako asked.

"Yes, that is true."

"I hope you've been taking good care of him," she replied. "Why don't you have a seat?"

"He's been helping me a lot with finding out about my lost memories," Al said as Mustang sat down at the table.

"Is this true too?"

"I gave Alphonse access to Edward's old military reports, as well as other documents pertaining to him."

"And what about him becoming a State Alchemist?"

"The reason I suggested Alphonse become a State Alchemist was so that he would have access to those files. It would be impossible for a civilian with no connection to the military to get that kind of information."

"So you only suggested he become a State Alchemist?"

"I was the one who decided to become a State Alchemist, Auntie," Al broke in. "I wanted to become a State Alchemist so I could find my brother."

Pinako merely took a puff on her pipe. "I knew you wouldn't listen to me. You can be just as stubborn as your brother, you know."

As Mustang was listening to the conversation, he felt the telltale pressure of yet another oncoming headache. Judging from the amount of pressure, it wasn't going to be a small one, either. He pondered if the stress of the day had anything to do with it, and maybe it did. He just hoped he would be pain free during the transmutation, and that he brought enough aspirin.

That night, when everyone had gone to bed, Mustang looked out the window in his room. It was amazing how many stars he could see out here in the country. It was also amazing how quiet it was. There was always some noise in Central City, no matter what time it was. Here, everything was still, and Mustang was beginning to realize just how much he liked it.

However, the stillness was soon interrupted by a faint knock at the door.

"Yes?" Mustang replied, turning to the sound.

The door opened, and Al quietly came in the room, closing the door behind him. "So, um," Al said, barely above a whisper, "when are we going to do it?"

"Would tomorrow be all right?"

Al nodded. "I don't think it would be a good idea to do it here, since I know Auntie Pinako would throw a fit if she found out. I know a place nearby that we could do it, though. It's by the stream at the bottom of a slope, so it's kinda hard to see when you walk by. That was one of our favorite hiding places."

Mustang nodded. "Very well. Tomorrow night we will do it, when everyone else is asleep. For right now, though, get some sleep. You know just how much energy is needed for human transmutation."

Al nodded, and quietly slipped out of the room.

Mustang let out a sigh once the boy left. He turned back to the window and looked at the stars a moment longer before going to bed.

The next morning, Mustang got up at his usual time out of habit. He lay there awake for a minute or two, wondering if he should get up, or try going back to sleep. During his medical leave he quickly found out just how much he liked sleeping in. Unfortunately, that was soon followed by his discovery of just how much Lieutenant Hawkeye enjoyed waking him up early for physical therapy. With a sigh, he finally gave up on sleep and got up, got dressed, and headed downstairs.

"I see you're an early riser," Pinako said once Mustang came down the stairs.

"The military wouldn't have it any other way," he replied with a small grin.

"Winry usually ends up working late at the shop, so she sleeps in a lot. I tell her to start earlier so she won't have to stay up so late, but she never listens. As for Al, he and his brother were always late sleepers."

"Do you mind if I make some coffee?"

"Go ahead. I usually don't make breakfast until later, but you're welcome to cook something now if you want."

Mustang nodded politely. "Thank you, but just coffee will be fine for now."

After the coffee was made, he poured himself a cup and stepped outside. Once again he was struck by how quiet everything was. There was no morning rush to work, no noisy streets, just calmness. Mustang had to admit it was relaxing not having to worry about reports or files, or wondering how to outsmart his superiors into giving him another promotion, or even trying to figure out were the hell Ed and Al ran off to again. He could easily get used to it, that's for sure. He sat down at the outside table and sipped his coffee until breakfast was called.

"So, enjoying the peace and quiet?" Pinako asked when he came inside.

"It is a pleasant change from all the noise in Central City."

Just then Al came down the stairs, followed by a very tired looking Winry.

"You were up late again, weren't you?" Pinako said as Winry sat down at the table.

"I wasn't up that late, Grandma. In fact, I went to bed not long after you did."

"So does that mean sleeping in late is becoming a habit for you?"

Winry didn't answer that, instead giving her grandmother an annoyed look before changing the subject. "Oh, Al, did you have any plans for today?"

"Well, I was thinking about going around the village and seeing if anything changed while I was gone, although-"

"Oh!" Winry said, cutting him off. "Nelly's cat had kittens not too long ago! I'm sure they're still around, if you want to go see them."

Al's face lit up at the mention of kittens. "I'd love to!" He turned to Mustang and added, "Did you want to come with us? Then I could give you a tour of the village."

Mustang was just barely able to hide his surprise. His immediate thought was to reject the offer, but then he saw the pleading look on Al's face. "I would enjoy a tour of your village, Alphonse," he replied.

The smile on Al's face seemed to light up the entire room.

It was a nice day for a walk, even though it was mildly overcast and a little warm. Winry lead the way, with Al right behind her and Mustang trailing a few steps behind. He halfway listened to the discussion in front of him about their childhood friends, and what they did together. It was mildly interesting to hear what growing up in the country was like, since Mustang grew up in a much more urban environment. The other half of his attention was focused on their surroundings. Despite being in the village twice, he never had much of a chance to take in the scenery.

The first stop was Nelly's house, to see the kittens. When they got to the house, a girl with dark hair came out, and seemed happy to see Al.

After saying hello to Al and Winry, she looked at Mustang and asked, "Who's that, Al?"

"This is Colonel Mustang, he's been helping me in Central City," he replied.

Nelly simply smiled and said hello, then brought out the kittens. It seemed like no one bothered to tell the villagers about Mustang's long history with Ed, Al, and even Winry.

Al was ecstatic when he saw the little balls of fluff. There were five of them, and they looked a little older, about the same size as kittens being sold in a pet shop. Mustang was content to simply watch Al and the others talk and play with the kittens, but soon one of them scampered over to him and started batting around one of his shoelaces.

"I think that one likes you," Al said as Mustang looked down at the kitten.

He bent down and gently picked it up, holding it at eye level. Almost immediately the kitten started chewing on his thumb. He had to admit it was cute, adorable, really.

"You look like you're going to be a real mouser," he said to the kitten. He watched it chew on his fingers for another moment before putting it down. Instead of immediately running away, however, the kitten stayed and started pouncing on Mustang's shoelaces for a few more minutes before finally returning to its littermates.

After a while Winry suggested they move on so they could see the rest of the village. Reluctantly Al agreed, and they said goodbye to Nelly.

Not long into the tour Mustang noticed he really didn't miss much of the village during his second visit. He somehow assumed there was more somewhere else, perhaps a central area with a few shops, but there wasn't. If Risenboul was this small, no wonder Al was so impressed with Central City. Even the small provincial cities would be huge compared to this.

What Mustang did see were a few farms, some houses, the tiny train station, and there was one small general store. The graveyard was only briefly pointed out, but Mustang made a note to come back sometime, alone. There were still two people he hadn't apologized to.

When they got to the river, Al and Winry pointed out the places where they played and sometimes fished. They soon came to a little ditch not far from the bank of the river, and Al seemed especially eager to point it out.

"This was one of our favorite hiding spots," Al said, looking at Mustang. He then ran down the fairly steep slope and added, "See, look, hardly anyone can see you down here, especially if you squat down."

Mustang walked to where he could fully see Al. It was a good spot, large and flat enough, and fairly hidden from view. He then carefully nodded, indicating he knew what Al was doing.

It was early in the afternoon when they returned home. There were some sandwiches lying on the table, and there were some metal clanks and a few dog whimpers coming from the shop.

"We're back, Grandma!"

Pinako's head peaked through the doorway. "Help yourself to the sandwiches I left. I'll be in here for a while giving Den his auto-mail tune up."

"I can help you with that," Winry offered while grabbing a sandwich and heading to the shop.

"You two can try fixing the loose railing on the porch when you're done eating," Pinako yelled from the shop.

"Um, okay," Al yelled back with some hesitation. He then turned to Mustang and asked, "Do you know anything about carpentry?"

Mustang was still staring at the shop in disbelief. "Not a thing," he replied without moving his head.

They both let out a sigh. This was going to take a while, and that was if they didn't end up breaking the whole thing.

After managing to splinter his fourth rail post, Al threw his hammer down in disgust and went inside. He soon came back with a piece of chalk, with a plotting look on his face.

Mustang instantly knew what Al was up to, and grinned in return. Why not fix the railing with the tools they knew best?

They were just finishing up the railing when Pinako came outside.

"So a hammer and some nails is too much for you two, huh?" she said after noticing the railing was now one solid piece of wood.

Their faces immediately fell.

"Hey, at least the railing is fixed," Al said defensively.

"And you'll never have to worry about it getting loose again," Mustang added.

Pinako merely let out a small chuckle and went inside.

That night, after everyone was finally in bed, Mustang stood next to the window in his room and waited. It had taken a while for everyone to get to bed, much longer than Mustang wanted. However, he managed to stay sane by reading a book, and eventually Winry came out of the shop and headed upstairs. He made a quick trip to the kitchen to get something, and then went upstairs to wait for everyone to fall asleep.

Twenty minutes later there was a faint knock on the door. Mustang turned to the noise and saw Al quietly slip in and close the door behind him.

"Before we do this, I have something to ask," he said softly. "What are we going to do for equivalent trade? We need something to exchange for my brother, and simply putting together all of the materials for a human body won't work because we aren't creating anything new. We're just trying to bring my brother back."

Mustang simply let out a small smile. He then left the room, patting Al on the shoulder on the way out.

A few minutes later they were outside the Rockbell house, both holding a lantern and a bucket of paint. The one problem with the transmutation spot was that there was no real good way to draw the array needed on bare earth without the chance of it getting blown away or erased by the wind. Paint would work, but it wouldn't be easy painting the complex array on the ground.

They silently made their way to the site Al pointed out earlier that day. The air was cool, but not chilly, and the sky was perfectly clear. The half-moon provided some light, but not a lot. Quite different then the first night the Elric brothers tried human transmutation, Mustang thought. It was a stormy night, as if nature itself was objecting to the transmutation. Just like a clichéd mystery or horror novel.

They got to work as soon as they reached the site. Mustang was right; all those complex symbols and letters were hard to draw with the brushes they had, not because they were too big, but because the brushes acted more like brooms to sweep the dirt away rather than putting paint on the ground. At one point Mustang began to think doing it at the Rockbell house really wasn't such a bad idea. At least then they would have a clean, solid floor.

After what felt like forever, Mustang looked up and waited for Al to finish up his part of the circle. Despite his resolve, he couldn't fight off his feeling of dread, knowing what would happen next.

"I will ask you this one more time, and please give me a truthful answer. Are you positive you want to do this, Alphonse?" he asked once they were both finished.

"I wanted to do this ever since the day I learned my brother disappeared," Al replied with determination. "Nothing will stop me from bringing him back."

Mustang nodded, and they both leaned over and put their hands on the transmutation circle. Instantly the circle began to glow, and Mustang could feel the immense power generated by the transmutation.

A second later, he was surrounded by bright light, with a huge doorway right in front of him.

"What the hell is this?" Mustang whispered to himself in disbelief.

"Ed! Ed! …Edward!"

Mustang snapped to attention and saw Al alternately pounding and pulling at the doors. Ed had to be on the other side, along with who knows what else. This couldn't be the gate to heaven, so maybe it was the gate to hell.

Mustang ran over to Al and helped him pull at the door. Finally a crack appeared, and ever so slowly it got bigger. Mustang could see that there was more light behind the door, but this light seemed to be moving in a way. Also, there were dark figures, or else just darkness, flickering about, as if eagerly waiting for the door to fully open. Some of them almost looked like heads, but most of them looked like very long arms. Like they were waiting to grab something. Mustang suddenly had a very bad feeling about them.

Then the door swung wide open, and then things started happening very quickly.

Ed was not on the other side of the door, at least, not right there. Instead, there was blackness, dotted with bright, inhuman eyes staring right at them. Suddenly those long black arms appeared, and in no time they were growing longer, reaching towards Al and Mustang.

Perhaps it was instinct more than anything else that drove Mustang to jump so quickly in front of Al. In any case, he got there right before those disgusting, hungry little arms did, and he was very thankful they concentrated almost completely on him, leaving Al free to find his brother.

"Al!" Mustang yelled as he was getting pulled to the other side of the gate. "Go find Ed!"

Al quickly nodded and ran ahead, calling out his brother's name.

Now all he had to do was keep these things busy until they came back. Mustang looked down and watched as the arms turned back into those unearthly black creatures, creatures that seemed to be feasting on him. They were concentrated on his right leg, and Mustang wanted to scream as he could actually feel the leg disappear.

"Al! Hurry up!" he yelled out instead. Mustang figured once they were done with his leg, they'd start going for other body parts.

A second later Al ran by, holding what looked like Ed. Now to get the hell out of here. Mustang fought harder against the black beings, until he heard a whisper coming from seemingly everywhere.

"You were that willing to get him back? We should have really charged a higher toll, even if that boy does have credit."

And then there was blackness.

"Ed! Ed, wake up!"

"Ungh…"

Mustang opened his eyes, and after a bit of focusing saw dark trees around him with stars overhead. It was all over with, and somehow he had made it back to the river, alive. He turned towards the voices, and saw through the smoke Al waking up a naked Ed, who also seemed to be missing his auto-mail. Only then did he notice his right leg was gone, the stump bleeding profusely. That needed a tourniquet… Off in the distance he could hear familiar female voices coming forward.

Roy closed his eyes in exhaustion and smiled. They were right. He had paid a very, very small toll for what he got in return.