Happy Boxing Day! Regardless of my own thoughts on this time of year, I hope everybody had a good holiday - no matter what you celebrate. Personally, I'm just happy I'm finished cooking... I made caramels from scratch on Christmas Eve (only for the second time ever!) and it's a crazy undertaking by itself, let alone handling about half the food on top of that. BUT. I still managed to get this together despite all that! I made a couple choices in this chapter after a lot of thought, and I'm not sure how they'll be received, but I'm really hopeful that it'll go over well. As always, pretty please let me know what you think, feedback means the world to me!
"Oh, this is so much better than doing this alone!" Winry giggled, beaming back at Lissa over her shoulder.
Lissa grinned and hefted the heavy bag of automail parts higher on her shoulder. "Because you have a pack mule this way, right?" she teased. After Ed had been sufficiently reprimanded over wrecking his automail again, Winry had explained she needed to get some parts together and dismissed the three alchemists—but truth be told, Lissa found she'd missed the other girl and had offered to accompany her on her shopping trip. The boys would be just fine on their own, though Ed seemed to think they'd die of boredom out in Rush Valley, and after all the stress and weirdness that had been plaguing them recently Lissa was glad of the break.
Winry laughed and waved her off. "No, silly. Because it's just nice having company, that's all." She slowed up and linked arms with Lissa and gave her a kinder smile. "Besides, with the way Ed's automail is busted up again… I'm glad to see you in one piece. What even happened in Dublith, Lissa? Or…" Her expression soured a bit. "Is this another one of those things you can't tell me?"
"I'd like to say no," Lissa muttered, twisting her mouth up, "but I can't really… I'm sorry, Win. I'd like to tell you more, I really would." She hated the lying, excluding Winry like this, so she aimed for a middle ground. "Ed told me your automail saved his ass, though. I…also owe you for a little, I may have…transmuted a piece of it myself in the middle of all of it. In the name of keeping the dummy from getting hurt, of course."
"Hmph. Well, you're making up for it by carrying all my stuff," Winry sighed, though she couldn't keep from smiling a bit. "I just wish he'd be more careful, he's always getting into so much trouble… At least there isn't much he can get up to here in Rush Valley."
Lissa smirked at her. "You know Ed and Al… They'll probably find some kind of mess."
"They'd better not," Winry grumbled. She perked right back up when she spotted the next store she needed, and promptly dragged Lissa in alongside her with strength her frame did not suggest she actually possessed. It was kind of startling, but Lissa didn't really mind it. Really, though she hadn't spent all that much time with Winry, she genuinely liked the other girl.
"Hm, let's see… Ed lost the whole top panel on his forearm, right?" Winry asked of her, flicking through rows of sheet metal.
Lissa nodded. "Yeah, he did. I would've tried to grab it but in the chaos there just wasn't time."
Winry waved her off, though. "Nah, don't worry about it. If it'd been damaged that badly I would've needed to replace it anyway, even if you had brought it back. It just means it'll take longer than he'll want—I need to completely rework the piece, and he's so picky about it since he transmutes it all the time…"
"Have you ever thought about just asking him to transmute it into the right shape for you?" Lissa asked, following Winry to the next aisle of the store.
The blonde's eyes narrowed. "I did think about it… But I don't trust him to do it to my specifications. He said once that it's easy to put it back to its original form, but to transmute it from scratch… I'm no alchemist, but I can imagine it'd be difficult to get it exactly right, especially since it's a composite metal."
"Steel and chrome, right?" Lissa mused, mostly to herself.
But Winry answered her anyway, not looking up from a rack of cables she'd begun to peruse. "Yup, seventeen percent chrome. He complained about it rusting so I upped the chrome last time to make it a little more resistant. I've thought about adding carbon, but steel is still the best option for somebody who does as much fighting as him, in my opinion. Besides, I'd have to totally reengineer my formula to do that… Don't tell Ed, but I have been working on it, just in case. I just know he doesn't want to wait around while I test it."
Lissa tapped her fingers on her forearm thoughtfully, the fabric of her glove creaking with the motion. "Seventeen percent chrome, eighty-three percent steel. Those are some pretty big amounts to work with."
"Huh?" Winry finally looked up at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well, remember how I told you before that I work with intangible elements?" Lissa twisted her fingers together as she spoke, considering it. "Usually I handle such trace amounts of whatever I'm transmuting that most people—most alchemists—wouldn't even be aware of them. I can manipulate all kinds of things hardly anyone else can."
The blonde nodded thoughtfully. "Right, like when you transmuted metal right out of the air back in Resembool."
"Exactly. The metal you're talking about, the composite for Ed's automail, it's in much larger quantities—but that doesn't make it any less important to maintain the blend and arrangement of the molecules themselves. I bet when most alchemists try to transmute automail from scratch, they can't actually control that arrangement perfectly over such a large area and end up creating weak spots inadvertently, just because they don't have the ability to feel the exact arrangement of the molecules within the metal. They only see the separate pieces, not the details on that level."
Lissa reached into one of the bags she'd been carrying and pulled out a length of wiring Winry had bought earlier. "If I ruin this, I'll pay you back," she promised, smirking. With a crackle of blue alchemic energy, Lissa tightened her fingers around the wire—and deconstructed several inches near the middle, letting the dust pool in her palm.
Then, summoning up her alchemy once more, she reconstructed the materials and brought it back together with the rest of the wiring. When she'd finished, Lissa handed the wire off to Winry for inspection. "Not even a seam," she pointed out, smirking.
"This…is copper-aluminum alloy," Winry murmured, surprised. "You transmuted it back perfectly. At least, as far as I can see."
Lissa rested a hand on her hip and grinned. "Maybe I can expedite the process just a bit? I can't temper metal for you, that's beyond my abilities…but as far as shaping goes, I might actually be able to help you out."
Winry matched her expression and passed the wire back, looking thrilled. "I'm willing to give you a shot, for sure."
The rest of their shopping took until sundown—partway through they stopped for lunch, eating at a little café near the shopping district and chatting amiably the whole time. Winry decided to stock up on a few other parts she needed, so by the end, Lissa was basically dragging bags through the dirt, her arm muscles aching. She did feel like she owed Winry for abusing part of her automail, though, so she didn't complain. As they passed through the center of town, nearly to their destination, they picked up ambient discussions about some fight that went down during the day. Lissa hoped desperately it didn't have to do with the boys…but she had a bad feeling about it nonetheless.
"We're back!" Winry announced cheerily, as they pushed past the front door of Mr. Garfiel's shop. "Did you guys catch the fight? We heard something went down on Main Street, but we didn't see it happen."
Lissa hauled her tired legs in behind Winry and nodded. "You better not have been…involved in…" Her jaw dropped. Ed stood above a boy she didn't recognize, some foreigner in a yellow jacket…with his entire automail arm in his hand. He'd been using it as a damned club on that kid!
"What happened to your arm?!" Winry screeched.
As Winry launched an attack, berating Ed and flinging wrenches and other tools his way, Al, Mr. Garfiel, and the newcomer all stepped to the side to give her plenty of room. Lissa dumped their purchases on the floor and stretched her back, unconcerned. Whatever the hell Ed had done to get his arm torn off…he probably deserved the retribution.
Wait… What am I feeling here?
Lissa tuned into that extra sense, feeling pins-and-needles around her neck, and immediately jerked her gaze up to meet the eyes of the foreign boy. Well, she thought he was a boy. He seemed younger than his appearance and demeanor suggested, somehow, though she didn't quite know why she felt that way. And…why was he staring at her? Why did he feel so…familiar?
No, not him specifically… Yet something about him…
"Hello!" he practically chirped, bounding over to her. "You must be a friend of Edward and Alphonse, yes?" He clasped her hands in his. "I'm Ling Yao, I just met them today but I'm sure we'll be great friends."
Lissa blinked. That feels…odd… What the hell is this? What the hell is he? "Er—nice to meet you, Ling. I'm Lissa Caito, I'm Ed's trainee and sort of partner. You…" She let her gaze dart up and down him, just once, confirming her suspicions. Yes, there was no mistaking it, not after giving him a second look. "You're from Xing, aren't you?"
Ling grinned widely. "Indeed I am! How'd you guess?"
"Your clothing. I've transmuted enough clothes in the past three years to recognize that your jacket isn't Amestrian." Lissa extricated her hands from his and stared at him again. "I… Is this your first time in Amestris?"
He bobbed his head. "Yup. Never wanted to bother crossing the desert before. Why?"
"I just wondered if we'd met before," she admitted, though it sounded stupid. She just couldn't shake the weird sense of familiarity.
"I can't say that we have, no. Though for a moment I did wonder the same," Ling admitted, shrugging it off easily. "Oh well. I don't suppose you've ever been to Xing before, Lissa?"
She bit back a laugh at the idea. "I've never left Amestris."
Ling grinned cheerily at her. "Well, perhaps we'll trade stories soon, hm?"
Lissa nodded absently, and turned to check on Ed for a moment. When she looked back, intending to pepper Ling with more questions, he'd just…vanished. She stretched out her senses, trying to find that weird familiar flicker, the sense of meeting someone again after years apart—damned impossible—only to feel it tripled in size up on the rooftop, or thereabouts. So…three people? Three Xingese she had clearly never met before, yet all of whom felt eerily familiar?
No, Lissa didn't like this at all. But she was too wary after Ed's strange reaction the night before to risk telling anyone—she'd just wait and see what happened with these newcomers.
Once Winry calmed down, she irritably began working on Ed's automail, under Mr. Garfiel's watchful eye, seeming frustrated about the whole thing. Lissa didn't blame her. She perched on the edge of a bench, her leg brushing alongside Edward's, but she gave him a dirty look as she sat down just so he knew she was cross.
"Don't look at me like that," he whined, pouting at her. "Look, that—that Xingese guy's bodyguards attacked me and I had to find some way to handle that girl when she pulled a damn bomb on me."
"A bomb?" Lissa repeated in shock. "Wait, one of Ling's bodyguards used a bomb on you?!"
Ed nodded grumpily. "Yeah. Al and I spent the whole afternoon fixing up the town after those two came at us and forced us to fight. I don't like 'em. Any of 'em."
Softening a bit, Lissa reached out and brushed her fingers along his knee, just to let him know she was calming down. "There's something weird about them for sure," she agreed.
"So," Winry grumbled, glaring down at Ed's half-repaired arm like she wanted to incinerate it or something, "where are you headed to break your automail this time?"
Ed wrinkled his nose. "You just assume I'll break it?"
Ignoring him, Al told her, "We were thinking about doing some digging in Central, actually."
"You guys are going to Central?" Winry brightened immediately, turning to face them with a big smile on her face. "I want to come too, take me with you!"
"What do you wanna go there for?" Ed asked her.
Winry wasn't bothered by his questioning, thankfully. "I'd like to go see the Hughes family again," she explained.
"But…" Al tilted his head. "Don't you have a lot of work to do here?"
"Yeah, you talked a lot about how busy you are," Lissa agreed—though she wouldn't mind Winry tagging along back to Central for a bit. Yet again, she and the boys were afloat without a life raft, no leads to speak of, so it wasn't like Winry would be holding them back or anything. The distraction might even buy them enough time to figure out where to look next.
Mr. Garfiel leaned in and smiled sweetly at Winry. "It's okay if you want to go, Winry," he told her. "You should take a break every once in a while."
She beamed and took his hands. "Oh, really? Thanks so much, Mr. Garfiel!"
Ed grinned and shrugged, his knee bumping into Lissa's like he was checking in on her. "Okay, we'll all go!" he agreed easily.
"Central, here we come!" Al laughed, giving a thumbs up in approval.
"Oh, we're going to Central? How exciting!"
Lissa spun in surprise as Ling dangled upside down from the roof, peeking in through the window at her and Ed's backs. She'd gotten so used to sensing him and his compatriots on the roof that she hadn't even noticed him approaching.
"I told you, you're not coming with us!" Ed yelled angrily.
Winry giggled and waved her hand passively at him. "It's a public train, Ed. They can go wherever they'd like." She looked at Lissa hopefully then, rocking on the balls of her feet ever so slightly. "So, Lissa… You feel up to trying that thing you offered earlier?"
"Thing?" Ed repeated, turning away from Ling and eyeing Lissa curiously. "What thing?"
Lissa stood up and ruffled his hair, making him yelp and push at her hand a bit helplessly, since he only had his left. "I told Winry I'd try and transmute the forearm panel for your automail into the right shape, rather than her having to do it by hand or with a mold. It'd be quicker if I can manage it, so you'd better hope this is within my skillset."
"I thought it was too difficult to transmute automail?" Al wondered. "Unless you're just returning it to its original form, like brother does."
"Well, Lissa had a great theory earlier that because she works with materials in such a specific way, she might have better luck," Winry explained. She ducked into the back of the shop a moment, returning with a sheet of metal she'd cut down earlier. Her usual composite for Ed's automail.
Ed gave Lissa a thoughtful look. "You know, that's an interesting point… I never thought about it that way."
"I still don't know if it'll work," Lissa admitted, a bit uncomfortable with the attention. "But at least I'll be able to feel out the weak spots if I make any—like what I did when I cleared out your armor, Al. Whether it works or not, it'll be an interesting experiment at least."
Swinging down and into the room, Ling asked, "Mind if I watch? I'm very interested in alchemy, you see."
"Don't you dare-"
"Sure, why not?" Lissa cut in, rolling her eyes at Ed's angry rebuke. He really hated this guy apparently. "My alchemy's a little different—it won't be like what you saw Ed and Al do today, just so you know." She stripped off her gloves before picking up the sheet of metal Winry had brought, wanting to have the full extent of her abilities in place to do this. The schematic for this piece was laying out on the worktable, with measurements and a full diagram of every side of the intended shape, which was exactly what she needed. Lissa visualized the final shape in her mind as she reached into the metal, her hands crackling with alchemic energy, and focused on the individual molecules, the atoms making up the material—it had a particular arrangement, a pattern, just like she'd assumed, which needed to remain in place throughout the entire transmutation. If even a small section was altered, it could create a weak spot that would cause Ed problems later on.
Slowly, Lissa began to transmute the metal—switching her focus between the actual contents of the piece and the form she wanted it to take, a balancing act of attention that made sweat bead along her forehead. It didn't help that she had an audience, and she was doing this for Edward too, so it mattered infinitely more than it would have otherwise.
The panel began to take shape in her hands, the usual divots and holes shifting into place, the metal reconstructing beneath her fingers as she forced it to take the shape she wanted. And finally, as the last shift took place, Lissa released her hold on the transmutation and let out a deep, weary sigh. That wasn't easy by any means. But the end result… It looked exactly how it should, that same familiar panel she'd gotten so accustomed to seeing.
"Oh, wow," Winry breathed, hurrying to take it from her and begin measuring it to check for consistency. "This is spot-on, Lissa. It's exactly the right dimensions."
"I need to make sure there aren't weak spots before we celebrate," Lissa admitted, tugging a hand through her hair. "I didn't think I'd get it on my first try, honestly… It seemed like it'd be more a struggle to actually hit the right measurements." She took the plate back when Winry passed it over and focused on it, reading the arrangement of the atoms and tracing her fingers along the metal to feel out every section. But…nothing felt off, not even slightly. It was consistent and still the exact same ratio, 17-83 chrome and steel. No foreign particles.
When she reported that back, Winry's eyes lit up like it was her birthday—and Lissa understood why. The girl reveled in her work, but redoing Ed's automail all the time had to get tedious… But if Lissa could take some of the strain off, it'd be so much easier.
Her success was quickly verified by Mr. Garfiel, which sparked a bigger discussion on the merits of transmuted automail plating versus hand-wrought, but Lissa couldn't focus on that… Because quite suddenly she'd become hyperaware that Ling was staring at her, contemplating her, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she would become his next meal.
"Liss?" Ed touched the small of her back lightly, quirking a smile. "C'mon, let's go find some dinner, okay? We'll take the train back to Central tomorrow."
She forced herself to tune the Xingese boy's strange focus out and returned the smile, looping her arm around Ed's waist and nodding. "Yes, please. I carried all of Winry's stuff today, I'm starving. Your treat, right?"
He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, absolutely."
Lissa allowed him to distract her, keeping her mind on everything else—on trying to convince Al to join them, asking Winry if she wanted anything, where to go to find good food—but all the while, she stayed completely conscious of Ling's eyes following her relentlessly.
—
The train ride up to Central from Rush Valley became awkward so fast. Their group drew everyone's attention in a heartbeat—a suit of armor, a few teenagers, a Xingese boy, and two bodyguards sneaking around weren't exactly subtle—and it was compounded by Ling's refusal to do anything but sit in the same row and chatter on incessantly. Winry didn't share Ed, Al, and Lissa's consternation with him, so she was happy to make conversation on the way. It kept him occupied, at least.
Lissa wasn't…thrilled with the situation. She still was getting those odd vibes from the Xingese, whenever she tuned into her senses, and it was distracting. Ed didn't know why she was so distracted, as they hadn't had two seconds alone where she could explain it, but he knew something was wrong and did his best to help. He'd dragged her into the seat next to him and pulled her legs up over his lap, how they usually sat on these longer train rides—and she noted when Ling gazed over in interest, Ed's arms folded across her almost possessively, though he pretended it was just a casual gesture. She didn't mind it at all.
There was something different about the way Edward was acting, since that night in South City. It had taken her a couple days to actually tune into it, but once she'd noticed it was impossible to miss. Outwardly, he projected as though nothing had changed…yet he somehow arranged every situation to ensure he was right next to her. For example: Al, Winry, Ed, and Lissa had gone out to lunch together in Rush Valley—and Ed had oh-so-subtly switched chairs to ensure he was beside her.
Lissa wondered why. Since his little…slip in South City, he hadn't acted more than friendly with her. They were close, as always, but he wasn't pushing any boundaries, wasn't making any overt gestures… Some part of her thought that maybe it really had just been because he was sick, and feverish. Which made it that much more important she keep her emotions to herself.
When they reached Central station, Ling vanished—sending Lan Fan and Fu, his attendants, into a state of panic.
"Good riddance," Ed muttered, rolling his eyes. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm sure he'll find another sucker to trick into feeding him, he'll be just fine." Lissa had learned all about that particular event—how Ling had eaten several thousand cens' worth of food in under an hour. It was both unsettling and impressive.
Lissa agreed, honestly, and Al and Winry didn't seem to mind, so they all headed out of the station together, leaving the Xingese behind to look for their erstwhile prince.
Prince. Ling was a damned Xingese prince. Lissa was even more distrustful of him after learning that little fact.
"Okay, guess we should stop by the military offices first," Ed mused, slinging his suitcase over his shoulder.
"Right," Al agreed, nodding.
"In that case, I think I'll head straight to the Hughes' house and let them know I'm in town," Winry decided, smiling just at the thought. "I can't wait to see Miss Gracia and cute little Elicia! It feels like it's been ages since I've seen them."
Ed tucked his free arm around Lissa's. "Sounds good. We shouldn't be all that far behind you."
"Unless we get held up," Lissa pointed out, smirking.
Winry giggled. "Okay. See ya later, good luck!" She waved and hurried off down the street then, disappearing among the midday crowds in seconds.
As soon as she was safely gone, Al turned to Ed and Lissa. "I wonder if Lieutenant Colonel Hughes has put together any more information on the Philosopher's Stone since we left."
Lissa frowned. "He was ordered not to. We all were."
"Yeah, the Führer was pretty clear with his orders regarding that… But I don't know that he would've stopped looking anyway. Still… I think it's best if we give Hughes the information that we found out first. Whether or not he's still looking, it'll explain a little more of what we were trying to figure out back then."
Al nodded slowly. "You mean the homunculi."
"I do." Ed sighed and turned to look behind them, trying to get a sense for their location. "I'm pretty sure Hughes said he was in the court martial office last time. So that means…it's this way. C'mon." He pulled Lissa off with him, Al following quickly, and together they all headed for the office.
Lissa wasn't sure how she felt, being back in Central. The world around her felt shifted, changed, after what she'd seen. Homunculi, fully-functional chimeras, the strange feelings she got from Führer Bradley… She hated not understanding all of it. If Hughes had risked continuing to dig around, maybe he could help them make sense of all the tiny bits of information they had. His job was putting pieces together, after all, seeing the big picture. If anybody could help them get their thoughts in order, it would be Lieutenant Colonel Hughes.
They entered the court martial office with a flash of Ed's pocket watch, searching around a bit aimlessly for Hughes' office—until Lissa spotted a familiar person leaning against the wall up ahead. "Riza!" she called, darting forward and beaming at the First Lieutenant.
"Huh?" Ed followed her, Al just behind him. "Lieutenant Hawkeye?"
Riza looked up at them in clear surprise. "Hey, guys," she greeted, smiling. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, we've been pretty busy," Lissa admitted. "It's good to see you, though."
Ed's face fell suddenly, his nose wrinkling in distaste. "Wait a minute… If the Lieutenant's here, that means so is…"
"Thanks for waiting," a familiar voice spoke from around the corner.
Lissa jerked back as Ed did, neither particularly excited to see Colonel Mustang round the bend to rejoin Riza, who had apparently been waiting on him to return.
"Well hello, Fullmetal," Mustang greeted dryly.
Ed glowered at him. "Colonel Mustang. What are you doing here in Central?"
Mustang just smirked in return, unbothered. "You didn't hear? I was transferred to this branch last month. You miss things when you're out traveling the country."
"Great," Ed muttered.
"And you guys?" Mustang pressed. "What brings you here?"
Lissa shrugged faintly, trying to cut across Ed's growing irritation. She wasn't happy either—she just wanted to end the conversation quicker, honestly, and get away from him as soon as possible. "Just gathering a little information, that's all."
"And we were thinking that we'd pay Lieutenant Colonel Hughes a little visit too," Ed added on. "Where is he, anyway? We couldn't find his office."
Mustang's mouth thinned. "Not here."
What?
"He retired, out in the country, and took his wife and daughter with him, to take over the family business," Mustang continued. Lissa hadn't ever heard him sound this way—his voice was so tight, his jaw set, like he was holding something back. But what? What could he possibly be hiding? Hughes was his friend, had they…had some disagreement or something? Maybe he was upset about…him retiring? Which was weird to begin with, Hughes relished in his job. "So he's not here."
"I see," Ed murmured, looking over and Lissa and Al a bit dejectedly. "Well, that's too bad."
Al nodded sadly. "We were hoping to see him."
With that, Mustang seemed finished—he turned to go abruptly, though Riza hesitated… Only to pause before he made it around the corner. "Fullmetal, Lissandra… Watch yourselves," he warned lowly. "Don't do anything crazy."
Another warning not to act out, Lissa noted. What the hell is going on? First Alex, now Mustang?
Ed furrowed his brow in confusion. "Okay."
That was the end of it, apparently. Mustang strode away, and Riza followed him, giving the three a half-smile before she turned and left. But Lissa just felt…wrong, all over. She didn't like this at all. It wasn't like Mustang to go without pestering her and Ed, either.
"I can't believe Hughes is actually gone," Ed murmured, frowning.
"Oh, I almost forgot, brother… We need to tell Winry about all this," Al realized a bit anxiously. "She went straight to the Hughes' house."
Lissa shook herself from her concerns. "Aw, no, she'll be so disappointed…"
"Yeah, you're right." Ed twisted his mouth up. "We should go get her." He turned to run back down the hall—only to yelp and stumble backwards as he rammed into someone else.
"This is why you shouldn't run everywhere," Lissa chided, sighing as she righted him.
Edward just stuck out his tongue.
She looked up to apologize—and then grinned when she recognized who exactly Ed had bumped into. "Oh, hey, Lieutenant Ross! You're still stationed here in Central!"
Lieutenant Maria Ross smiled in return. "Yup, sure am. I haven't seen you three here in a while… You seem to be in quite a hurry. What's the rush?"
Ed lifted their suitcase back onto his shoulder, his preferred place. "We just heard about Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," he explained. That melancholic tone hadn't quite left him—Lissa didn't like hearing it lingering in his voice.
Ross's expression fell. "Yeah," she murmured. "It's rough news, isn't it?"
"There was still so much that we wanted to tell him about," Ed agreed, smiling faintly.
"We would've liked to say goodbye," Al agreed, nodding.
Somehow, Ross looked even more downcast. "We weren't able to reach you," she explained gently. "Don't worry, though. The military gave him a proper send-off."
A proper send-off? Lissa felt her heart speed up. That sounded like…
Ed raised his eyebrows. "Wow, that was nice."
"That's how it's done. Also…" She averted her gaze and sighed deeply, seeming so troubled by the whole thing. "If you three haven't heard already… I'm sure you'll all be glad to know—he was promoted. Two whole ranks."
Lissa's mouth went dry.
"Up to Brigadier General?" Ed's eyes shot wide, his voice tightening just a bit.
"Why'd they promote him if he was retiring to the country?" Lissa asked. Her voice wavered as she spoke, but she had to know…she had to find out if…if this was…
Ross gasped and recoiled, pressing both hands over her mouth.
"Lieutenant Ross?" Edward's voice came out in a hoarse, weak whisper.
Al's armor clanked as he shifted back, staggering a step away. "B-but… He wouldn't be promoted…just for…retiring…"
"I'm sorry," Ross whispered, her voice muffled by her hands. "I'm so sorry… I thought you knew… I thought…" She swallowed hard and shook her head, her hands falling away to reveal she'd gone so very pale. "Lieutenant Colonel—I mean… Brigadier General Hughes… He… He's…"
Lissa closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands. No, not him, he can't be gone, he can't be… How…
"No!" Ed cried, echoing her thoughts. "Not the Lieutenant Colonel! Why him?!"
"It can't be true," Al whispered brokenly. "Please, Lieutenant… It can't be true, it just can't be…"
Slowly, Ross gathered herself, though her voice shook as she spoke. "I'm so sorry… Brigadier General Hughes is dead… He was murdered shortly after you and Lissa were discharged from the hospital, Edward… And I… I'm afraid we still haven't found the person responsible."
Lissa peeled her hands off her face, trembling, and met Ross's watery gaze. "It…can't be," she whispered, stunned. It was like the whole world had stopped spinning. "Colonel Mustang just—he just told us Hughes retired, out to the countryside… Why would he…" Of course he'd lie. He'd never be honest with you and Edward, he thinks you're just children. He wouldn't have the guts to be honest.
"I'm sorry," Ross repeated softly. "I—think he was trying to protect you." She looked between the three anxiously—Al, armor clicking with repressed shudders; Lissa, fighting back tears; and Ed, staring hollowly at the ground. "Edward? Are you…" Ross stretched her arm out to take his shoulder.
But Ed jerked back, the suitcase slipping from his hand. He stumbled over it, backwards, and then just…took off running.
Lissa grabbed for his sleeve, but he was too fast—and in seconds, he'd raced around the corner and vanished out of sight. "Oh, no," she breathed. She glanced sideways at Al, both coming to the same conclusion in moments—they couldn't let Ed go off on his own like this. Al grabbed up the suitcase while Lissa, with every bit of strength she had left, took off after Ed.
They caught up with him as he burst out the front of the building and leapt down the stairs. "Brother!" Al called helplessly.
"Ed, wait!" Lissa shot down the stairs after him—but he was so fast, running all-out, lost to his emotions. She cursed harshly and skidded to a halt, nearly causing Al to run into her. "What do we do?" she breathed.
Al shoved halfheartedly at her shoulder. "Transmute, Lissa! Go after him!"
"Shit," she breathed. I'm an idiot! Lissa swung her hands forward, the air sparkling blue, and transmuted the air in her path—without any resistance, she sprinted after Edward, her heart aching to leave Alphonse behind like that, but she just didn't have a choice. He'd told her to go.
She followed the end of his red cloak, just barely keeping up, her legs unsteady and muscles trembling, all her effort focused on keeping the tears back… But finally, Ed stumbled to a halt in an alleyway, his strength failing him. He pressed his hand into the wall for support and bowed his head, shoulders shaking, breath coming in harsh, gasped pants.
"Ed…" Lissa's boots echoed as she crossed to him, raising a trembling hand to rest on his back.
"He's gone," Ed breathed. "He… I can't…"
Tears spilled down her cheeks as Ed sank to the ground, pressing his face into his knees, curling in on himself. She knelt beside him and pulled him into her arms, tight as she could, her body trembling, tears soaking into the shoulder of his cloak.
Hughes was gone… He'd been murdered, killed right after they'd left Central… If only they'd remained there another day, if they hadn't gone rushing off…
"It's our fault," Ed rasped, his voice muffled and weak. "Liss… It's our fault he died… He was looking into our problems, and they…they silenced him…"
Her throat burned with a repressed sob. "I know," she admitted quietly.
It was true—it had to be. Those homunculi had blown up Laboratory Five to prevent its secrets getting out… They claimed Ed and Lissa were sacrifices, and couldn't be killed, but she had no doubt that they would kill anyone else, anyone they didn't deem important… Anyone who might be snooping into their plans… Like Hughes… If they hadn't gotten him involved, dragged him into their business…then he might not be…
Lissa tightened her fingers on Ed's cloak and swallowed hard. She didn't know what else to say.
"Brother, Lissa… We need to…"
She looked up, meeting Al's dim red eyes. "Winry," she agreed quietly. "We have to go make sure she…knows about…" But her voice cracked and she gave up. She couldn't voice the words yet. She wasn't strong enough.
Ed stood up right out of her arms—but his fingers looped around her wrist as he rose, and he pulled her up with him, keeping her tight against his side. "You're right," he murmured. His face was very pale, his eyes reddened and squinted with anguish, but his gaze was determined. "We need to find Winry. If she hasn't heard, then we need to tell her… And if she has…" His fingers clenched down on Lissa's wrist. "Then we need to be there for her anyway."
Going off Ed's resolve alone, the three made their way across town to the apartment where it seemed, most likely, that Gracia and Elicia still lived. Considering Mustang had lied…Lissa thought Hughes' wife and daughter might still be here.
"What do we do?" Al asked, as they stood outside the door to the building.
Ed sucked in a deep breath. "We tell it like it is," he murmured. Then he gently extricated himself from Lissa and nudged her in Al's direction. "You two go on back. I'm the only one who has to take the blame for what happened."
"Brother… This isn't just your problem," Al told him softly. "It's both of ours."
"All of ours," Lissa corrected, fighting to keep her voice steady. "We all had a hand in this, Ed. It's not just on you to take the blame."
Ed frowned at them both. "Liss… No…"
But Al interrupted him. "Lissa's right. Like it or not, we're going in with you."
"You really don't have t-"
"We made up our minds," Al cut in, stopping him again. "We said we were getting our bodies back, no matter what." Edward whipped around to stare at him in shock. "But if people are going to die because of that, then I don't want mine back."
Ed sighed deeply—but he nodded and accepted it all the same. "Okay. Together, then."
They made their way up to the apartment, and Lissa noted Ed took it upon himself to knock, to be the first one to handle this—yet it was something she couldn't begrudge him. He'd stopped arguing against her and Al going with him, so she could let him take the lead, let him maintain that little modicum of control that made him feel so much better.
The door swung open, and Gracia stepped into view. Lissa tensed, waiting for a rebuke… But instead Gracia just smiled softly and moved aside to let them in. "Winry's already here," she told them softly.
Lissa followed Ed inside, her heart breaking just a little more when she saw Winry sitting in the living room, Elicia curled up in her arms fast asleep. The blonde's eyes were tight with pain, her cheeks stained with tears… So she knew. Of course she did. She probably found out as soon as she came over here… Thankfully she'd been with Gracia and Elicia, not alone, not handling it by herself…
"Um, Miss Gracia," Ed began slowly, "I'm sorry, but there's something I need to talk to you about, if I may."
Gracia frowned slightly. "About Maes?"
Ed nodded. "That's right. And you too, Winry. You should both hear this."
They all settled in—Lissa placed herself at Ed's side, just like he'd been doing for her, keeping one hand on his arm while he recounted part of the story for Gracia and Winry. Enough to explain what had happened, enough to lay the blame atop his head, and Al's, and Lissa's. He told the two about the Philosopher's Stone and how Hughes had offered his assistance—how despite being told not to, they all believed he'd continued digging, which had led to…his death.
"I see," Gracia murmured, when Ed finally fell silent. "So Maes learned things about the Philosopher's Stone that someone didn't want him to know. His death was a message… A warning to you from whoever did it, to back off from all this."
Ed stared at his own lap miserably. "Yeah. We basically dragged him into it." A shudder ran through him. "I'm sorry," he told her, bowing his head, completely overcome. "So sorry…"
Lissa sucked in a sharp breath and took his shoulder, feeling him tremble beneath her palm. She didn't know what to do—her own vision was blurred with tears, barely restrained, and Ed was…just falling apart beside her… What could she do? What could anyone do?
Gracia smoothed her hand across Elicia's head. "That would be just like him," she sighed. "Dying while trying to help somebody else."
All four looked up at her in confusion. Why wasn't she angry?
"My husband," Gracia murmured fondly. "He always was a busybody and a meddler, and it got him into trouble. A lot. But you know…" The faintest smile touched her lips. "I don't think he ever had regrets. Not any. Not even in his dying moments, Edward."
Ed gritted his teeth and shook his head. "But we…"
Gracia looked up at him, suddenly turning fierce, her gaze sharpening. "Don't tell me you're going to give up," she told him firmly. "You can't let what happened defeat you. If you do, then that means my husband died in vain." Then she softened, smiled, pulled her daughter closer. "Even if the Philosopher's Stone is a dead end, there might be some other way."
"Maybe," Ed admitted quietly. "I guess."
She inclined her head towards him. "You have to keep moving forward," Gracia counseled. "Any way you can."
"Thank you," Lissa murmured, knowing the boys couldn't voice it. "Thank you, Miss Gracia."
They said their goodbyes and left, feeling it was best not to linger—Lissa had a thousand thoughts swirling in her head, her mind completely overwhelmed by what had happened, what they'd learned, and she knew the others had to be struggling as well. The only thing she could think of was to sleep or at least lie in a bed, to sit there in the darkness and just…try to make some sense of a world that existed without Maes Hughes.
Yet when they arrived back at the hotel, and Lissa had to face the reality of continuing like this…she couldn't. "I…I'm gonna go for a walk," she stammered, when Ed finished at the front desk.
He frowned at her. "Liss… You should eat something, we haven't eaten all day…"
"I'm fine," she denied quickly. "I'll come back before the kitchen closes, I promise, I just… Need to sort myself out, that's all."
Ed looked like he wanted to argue—but then he just nodded, maybe too upset at this point to argue. "Okay. Just look after yourself, Liss." He tugged her in, and she thought her heart might break when he just…just held her there, arms circled loosely around her, resting his forehead on hers for a moment. "Stay safe," he whispered.
Lissa squeezed his hands tightly. "I will. Don't wait for me to eat, okay? I'll figure myself out."
"All right." He held her there a moment longer, eyes boring into hers, before he slowly released her and let her go.
Lissa left the hotel behind and walked off down the quiet, darkened streets of Central, her whole body feeling heavy, weighted by the loss, the sorrow of it all… She just didn't know what to do. And it was all compounded by the fact that Mustang had lied to her, to Ed and Al… He'd outright lied about Hughes being alive. If he'd just come out and told them, done it the right way… Maybe it would've been easier to bear, but… But instead he'd just…
No wonder Riza kept looking at him that way… She was shocked he didn't tell us…
For a moment, Lissa considered going and visiting Riza herself—but she didn't have a clue where the Lieutenant might be living, and she wouldn't dare go down to HQ because then she might run into Mustang, and she…didn't know what she'd do right now if she saw him. Alex was supposed to be stationed here too, but that involved going onto military property as well and again, that risked seeing Mustang…
Dammit… Mustang…
Lissa clenched her fists angrily, so overcome she paused under a streetlight, just simmering in her rage for a moment. How dare he? Ever since she'd come to Central he'd claimed to be looking after her, keeping her best interests at heart—he'd always had a special interest in her case, though he never admitted why, and even though he wasn't her favorite person…she hadn't ever outright disbelieved that. Mustang always seemed to at least be attempting to help her. But with this…
She couldn't fathom how he thought this was better for her, or for Ed and Al. The betrayal was a damned knife in the back to her. She hadn't felt so angry with him since…since…
Since he'd tried to force Ed to take over Shou Tucker's work.
A brush of familiarity tingled at the back of her neck, and Lissa turned to see a black-clothed figure crouching on the rooftop behind her. "I guess you can't find Ling," she murmured. She wasn't sure which of his guards this was, she had yet to interact with any of them alone to piece out their individual senses, but she knew they were Xingese for sure.
"No." Ah, so it was Lan Fan. That definitely wasn't Fu's voice. "We have not been able to locate the young lord."
"He's around somewhere," Lissa offered, though she didn't know why she was trying to console the other girl, especially when she herself had such bigger problems to face. "Central's a big city, it'd be hard to find just one guy this fast."
Lan Fan inclined her head slightly. "I suppose so."
"Did you come here hoping he'd found his way back to us?" Lissa edged curiously.
"Yes," the Xingese girl admitted. "I did hope so… But since he hasn't returned, I need to continue looking." Yet she didn't rise from where she'd perched, didn't make a move. Her face was hidden beneath that mask, which Al had repaired for her back in Rush Valley, so it was…disconcerting to carry on a conversation with her. "You seem…angry," Lan Fan observed quietly.
Lissa laughed humorlessly. "Yeah. I'm pretty angry right now. Is it that obvious?"
"Not exactly…" There was a faint whisper of fabric, and Lan Fan melted out of the shadows, moving to stand just barely within the glow of the streetlight. "It was radiating off you like heat from a fire… That's how I found you out here."
"Radiating off me? What do you mean?"
The Xingese girl just shrugged. "Just that." Her dark eyes bored into Lissa through the slits of her mask. "I hope you find peace with whatever you're struggling with, Lissa Caito. You should rejoin your friends. They'll look after you. No one should suffer alone." With a single movement, Lan Fan leapt up the streetlight and used it as leverage to hop onto the next building, clearly intending to leave.
"Lan Fan!" Lissa called, stepping towards her and raising a hand. The girl paused and looked back at her, that impassible mask staring down at her. "Thank you. I—I hope you find Ling soon."
The other girl didn't say anything—yet as she turned and darted off, melting into the darkness of the night, Lissa had the strangest feeling that Lan Fan had been smiling at her.
She sighed and craned her neck up, staring at the faintest glimmer of stars above her head. Central was too bright, too polluted with light for any real stargazing, and she found herself missing Resembool of all places, where the stars were brighter than she'd ever seen. There was nothing like it, that sense of calm and quiet, the serenity of the countryside… Lissa missed Resembool, she missed the time she'd gotten to spend there with Ed and Al and Winry, nothing hanging over their heads but the stars…
'No one should suffer alone.'
Lissa turned and stared down the street, searching for the hotel, stretching high above the other buildings nearby—it was still in sight, after all. Most of the rooms were lit up from within, glowing orange-yellow past the curtains… But she could see the light in the boys' room was off.
If so…then they shouldn't suffer alone either.
She wrapped her arms around herself and began the lonely walk to the hotel, suddenly feeling so very small out there on the street all by herself. Lissa had almost made it back to the front door when footsteps echoed down the road, the leathery tic of military boots on the stones, and she paused to see a soldier approaching. "Cadet Caito," he called, lifting his hand. "Colonel Mustang needs you at headquarters."
Lissa folded her arms over her chest. "It's after nine PM. I'm off duty. Why does he want me, anyway? Can't it wait until morning?"
But the soldier—a Sergeant, she noted from his collar—shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Cadet. I was ordered to escort you to headquarters immediately. I'm sorry to bother you this late, but there's nothing I can do."
She cast a regretful look at the hotel, but knew deep in her heart there was nothing to be done. "It's fine, it's not your fault." She sighed wearily. "Well, lead the way, then."
