Chapter 7: Aftermath

When Roy woke up, he was back at the Rockbell house, in the guest room. It was daylight, but he wasn't sure if it was morning or afternoon. He turned his head and saw Pinako rinsing out a rag in front of him.

"So, you're finally up," she said, folding the rag and putting on his forehead. "I'm really not sure if I should curse you or thank you for what you did. I suppose I should thank you, though, because those brothers are back together, and that's all they ever wanted."

Roy did not reply, but instead began focusing his attention on the fact he didn't have his right leg. It felt…very odd feeling the sheets come down over his thigh instead of his foot. He tried wiggling his toes, and then it really struck him. He only had one set of toes to move.

But he would just have to get used to that, just like he got used to the headaches and the slight limp that he tried his damnedest to hide. Roy then realized the irony and had to grin. Those things took his bad leg, the one that was affected by the stroke and never really recovered. Guess he wouldn't have to worry about that limp anymore.

"Al wants to see you, and I think Ed does too," Pinako said, interrupting Roy's thoughts. "I told them to wait a while after you woke up. Especially Ed, since he seems intent on blaming you for something."

Roy smiled. The transmutation couldn't be called a success until Ed was pissed at him for it.

"Speaking of Ed, he didn't come back with his auto-mail, or any other kind of replacement limbs. He's already wanting new auto-mail. That boy never could sit still. I'll be back later to change your bandages, get some rest until then."

Roy spoke up before she could leave. "Thank you for bringing me here and taking care of me while I was unconscious."

Pinako seemed a little surprised by his words. "You don't have to worry about that. As I said before, we really should be the ones thanking you." She then left the room, closing the door behind her.

When she was gone, Roy tried to get his thoughts in order. First was Ed. Ed was most likely pissed because Al became a State Alchemist. Roy figured there was probably a whole lot more than that going on in Ed's mind, but all of it could be dealt with later.

Second was the issue of not having a leg. Auto-mail was by far the best choice, perhaps the only choice considering his position in the military. He could ask the Rockbells to make him a leg, but that would mean staying here longer, probably a lot longer. Which wouldn't be too much of a problem, except he already took an extended medical leave after he got shot. Too many medical leaves might hurt his chances for Brigadier General.

Finally, there was the issue of contacting the military about the medical leave he would need, regardless of auto-mail. He could just call Lieutenant Hawkeye and have her take care of it, since that's essentially what she did last time. But that would require her coming over and getting a doctor's recommendation for time off, and that meant she could personally yell at him for doing something so stupid.

Roy sighed. Hawkeye would be here in no time once she heard about him anyway, so no use trying to avoid it. But the phone call could wait until tomorrow. Right now he was exhausted, he could feel a headache forming, and he was still having bad flashbacks of those things ripping off his leg. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to overtake him.

When Pinako came back a few hours later to change the bandages, Al was with her. He helped her take off the old bloody ones and put on new ones. During the entire process Roy lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. He wasn't quite ready to see the bloody stump his leg had become. Maybe after he stopped reliving the sensation of having his leg forcibly removed, almost bit-by-bit.

Once they were done, Pinako asked Roy if he was hungry.

"Not really," he replied. The thought of food made his stomach a little uneasy.

"I'll bring up a bowl of soup anyway. You need to eat something, you know," she said, then left the room.

Al spoke up once they were alone. "Ed said you planned all this, so that you could use it to manipulate us again. Is that really true?"

Roy turned his head to face him. He could see that Al was torn, not really believing his brother, but not really wanting to ignore him, either. "What do you think?"

"I don't think you did this to manipulate us, or threaten us or any of that other stuff Ed said. You promised to help me get my brother back, and you did."

"I'm glad to see Ed's habit of accusing me of everything hasn't rubbed off on you." Then again, it never had in the past. "To answer your question, I did not do this so I could have something to manipulate you with."

"Then why did you do it?"

Roy let out a smirk and replied, "I did it for my own personal reasons. You know, Al, one of these days you, your brother, and I need to have a long talk."

Al seemed a little curious about that, but rather than asking about it, he changed the subject. "There's also something else I wanted to say."

"What is it?"

"Thank you very much for bringing back my brother."

He smiled at Al's earnestness. "You're welcome, Al."

Then they heard Pinako coming up the steps, and soon she came in the room, holding a mug.

"Winry made this for you, so drink it until you feel like eating again. Ed didn't have an appetite after losing his limbs, either."

Roy managed to sit up by himself, and then was handed the mug. Slowly he took a sip. The soup was good, and maybe he was a little hungry. He would thank Winry next time he saw her.

"Al, remember when I said that Ed and I didn't get along very well?" Roy asked once he took a few sips.

"Yeah, why?"

"I understated the situation. He spent the entire time under my command wanting to punch me in the face. He usually hated me for some reason or another."

Al looked genuinely confused. "Why's that?"

"He'll be sure to tell you his side of the story if you ask him." Roy smirked, remembering the countless tantrums Ed threw. Of course, he set off a lot of them on purpose. Admittedly, that was immature on his part, and he did partially blame himself for their strained relationship. But it really was amusing to say just the right words to Ed, and then watch him erupt. Besides, Ed was probably going to dislike him no matter what he did, and Roy honestly didn't care if he was liked or not.

The next morning, Roy asked Pinako if he could use their telephone.

"We only have one downstairs by the kitchen, and I don't think you should be moving around that much." she replied. "If you really need to use it, though, I'm sure Al or Winry can help you down the stairs."

"Yes, it is important."

Pinako nodded, and called Al into the room to help him down the stairs.

Once they reached the phone, Al sat Roy down in the chair Winry placed by the phone. He thanked them, and dialed his office number.

"This is Lieutenant Hawkeye."

"Lieutenant, I-"

"Let me guess, Colonel, you acted according to your emotions."

Of course she knew. She always knew, sometimes even before he did. "Yes," he finally replied.

"Should I start on a medical leave request?" she asked, her voice softer now.

"Yes." He paused for a moment, then added, "Don't worry, Lieutenant, I only lost a leg."

"What do you mean by only, sir?" Gone was the softness, replaced by sharp disapproval.

Roy smiled. "I only had to pay a small toll."

For a second there was silence. "I will start the medical leave request right away, sir," she finally replied. Then there was a click as Hawkeye hung up.

Roy let out a little sigh as he put down the receiver. Despite her preference for strict discipline, Lieutenant Hawkeye rarely raised her voice. She didn't need to, since her curt words and intimidating looks were already threatening enough. However, Roy was quite sure she would be yelling quite loudly when she reached Risenboul, and he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

"Done with the phone?"

He looked over and saw Pinako bringing out some blueprints of auto-mail and putting them on the table.

"For now, yes," he replied. "One of my subordinates, Lieutenant Hawkeye, will be coming here to handle some military paperwork. Do you mind if she stays here for a day or two?"

Pinako took a puff from her pipe. "I remember her from the last time you were here. She's welcome to stay here as long as she likes."

"Thank you." He then turned his attention to the blueprints. "Is that Ed's auto-mail designs?"

"Yep. Ed can't stand not being able to move around. Since he hasn't grown much, using the same blueprints should speed things along." She turned to him and asked, "Are you going to be wanting auto-mail, too?"

Roy paused before answering. "Probably, although I might have to go back to Central City to get it. I don't know if I can stay here long enough for the rehabilitation."

Pinako managed a surprisingly sly smile. "You should know that there's no better auto-mail makers in Central City than us Rockbells."

Roy grinned at her confidence. "I'll keep that in mind."

Once Al helped Roy back to the guest room, he lingered in the room for a bit.

"I think I'm starting to remember what happened to me while I was in that armor," he finally said.

Roy was genuinely surprised at this. Seems he got a lot for just a leg. "What do you remember?"

"It's…I really can't describe it. There's nothing specific, just a few general feelings. I think I remember that my brother and I were always going places, never being in one place for long. It's really just a feeling of restlessness that I remember. Then I think I remember you, or at least someone in charge of us. I don't remember feeling any anger towards you, but I think I remember my brother not liking you."

Roy frowned. This could easily be Al's mind creating false memories based on what he read and heard. How could it not be, really? Al spent the last couple months reading about his past, immersing himself, in fact, it would only be natural that his mind would start believing it, enough to subconsciously recreate memories that weren't really there.

"Al, are you sure that this wasn't triggered by all that reading and hearing about your past?" he finally asked. "Human minds can be quite susceptible to suggestions, even more so when it's presented as fact."

He shook his head. "No, at least I don't think so. These really feel like memories, even if they aren't very clear."

Roy continued to frown. There wasn't much harm in Al recreating his memories from outside sources, especially if it helped him deal with losing all those years. But Roy just didn't want it to go too far, and have Al start claiming memories that never happened.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Al asked after a moment.

"Yes, actually, there is," Roy replied, his frown gone. "Tell Ed that I would like to see him."

"I don't see why I have to come to his room," Roy heard Ed mumble as Al helped him into the room. "

Al merely sighed as he helped his brother sit on the bed, then left the room.

"What do you want?" Ed snarled as soon as Al had left.

Roy grinned at the familiar attitude. "Nice to see you too, Ed. I merely wanted to see how you are doing. It's been a while since we last talked."

Ed seemed momentarily caught off guard. "Yeah, I suppose it has."

That was unusual, and Roy filed it away for later. For right now, though, it was time to spell a few things out for Ed.

"So," he began, "Did Al tell you that he finally became a State Alchemist, too?"

Ed's temper immediately flared up. "How the hell could you make him become a State Alchemist!"

"First of all, that was completely Al's decision. I'm sure he's told you that already. Second, may I remind you that you are still a State Alchemist, and that you will eventually be given assignments again. You are no longer wanted by the military, but they do want you to come back to work sooner rather than later. The only real difference is that now your brother will get paid to follow you around." Roy gave one of his usual smirks and added, "Although, since his work ethic seems to be better than yours, perhaps you'll be the one following him around instead."

That was obviously enough to get Ed going. In a display of his trademark tantrums, he jumped up from his seat on the bed and was about to let loose a barrage of insults, only to lose his balance and fall right back down. After that display of gracelessness, Ed merely stayed seated and glared at Roy.

"Did Al tell you why he wanted to become a State Alchemist?" Roy asked once the performance was over.

"He said he did it to gain access to my old military reports. I don't see why he had to go through all that just for those. You could've easily dug them up yourself and just give them to him."

Roy had to smirk at that. "Do you know how much information you accumulated during your assignments, and how much information there is regarding you?"

"It must've been a lot, since you had us going all the damn time."

"Exactly, Ed. If it was a few files, yes, I could've just given them to Al. However, in order to gain access to all the information that had anything to do with you, Al had to become a State Alchemist. Do you know how many strings I had to pull in order to get everything related to the Fifth Laboratory incident?"

Ed seemed more than a little shocked by that. "You mean, he read everything about that?"

"I had to fill in a few holes for him, but yes, he knows everything about the Fifth Laboratory, the homunculus, and whatever I could tell him about the philosopher's stone. I'm sure you could tell him even more about those subjects, since you were so close to them."

There was silence after that. "Did you tell him that we created a homunculus when we failed to bring back Mom?" Ed finally asked in a low voice.

"Was she the one who was the Fuehrer's secretary? No, I thought it would be best if you told him that."

"Good."

Roy paused. Knowing Ed, it sounded like he was never going to tell Al, thus keeping whatever guilt and regret associated with that away from his little brother. Which wouldn't be fair at all to either of them.

"You need to tell him, Ed. He has a right to know what you two did together, and as much as you may think otherwise, he was just as responsible for that as you."

Ed exploded. "How the hell do you know! You have no idea what happened!"

"I was there that night, remember? I know just how much you want to protect your little brother. But protecting him won't do any good, Ed. He needs to know the truth."

Ed scowled at him for a moment, then called Al to take him back to his room. Not surprisingly, the dirty looks continued until the two were gone.

Roy sighed as he felt a headache form. Talking to Ed was never easy, and almost impossible when it concerned touchy subjects like this. However, as much as Ed bitched and moaned, Roy knew that what he said would eventually reach him in some form or another. Sometimes it just took a long, long while.

That night Roy once again relived his moment at the doorway. Ever since the transmutation, every time he slept he saw those creepy black beings, usually ripping off his leg. The nightmares didn't bother him that much, really. It was one of the most traumatic events in his life, so naturally his brain would be fixated on that, and that resulted in the constant dreams.

Tonight was different, though. Tonight he didn't see those black things, but instead he saw the moving light that was on the other side of the doorway. It was more than saw, though; it was like he physically felt the light rushing into his brain. His head immediately began to hurt from all that energy swelling up inside, and a second later it felt like he was going to explode. If he could just hold on to that energy, be able to make all of it fit inside his head, then maybe he would know the secret of God. But he couldn't, and he could feel the power drain away almost as soon as it reached him. Of course it would. It was arrogant and foolish to think humans could ever hold on to that much power.

Roy woke up with a start. He could remember the feeling of having all that power rush through and leave his body. That was curious enough, but what really got his attention was that he could feel that all that energy wasn't completely gone from his body. It was as if he managed to hold on to just a tiny little part of whatever was beyond the doorway. Roy figured this probably happened to everyone who went beyond the doorway, and that meant…

He softly clapped his hands together, then touched the empty soup mug on his nightstand. Sure enough, the familiar red sparks flew, and the mug became a bowl.

Well, that meant he didn't have to worry about the array being ripped off on his gloves. It would probably be best to keep this secret from the military, though. After all, how could he explain how he suddenly got the ability to do transmutations without an array? However, that didn't mean he always had to hide it, just around people he didn't trust.

Al probably had this power now, too. That wouldn't be hard to explain. Al just never realized he had the same skill as his brother.He idly wondered how Ed would react to his brother's new skill.

He clapped his hands together and touched the bowl, turning it back into a mug. The convenience of his new skill was obvious, and he figured it would come in very handy during a pinch. Roy had to smile. This really would be quite useful.