Chapter One: Setting the Pieces
It had been four years since that fateful day in the dead city beneath Central. The civil war that gripped the nation of Amestris had long since come to an end, and the State was beginning to rebuild. The reconstruction in Central had completed itself, and the insurgent force under the command of Brigadier General Mustang had been reintegrated into the military. So much had changed since then.
The office of fuhrer was no longer available. Control of the military had instead been handed to the Parliament, in order to ensure that another misuse of power such as the one Fuhrer Bradley had terrorized the East with never happened again. However, for a small town called Rizenpool, most of the nation's changes did not affect them. Or so they thought.
"EDWARD! You get up THIS INSTANT!" Her voice echoed through the house, carrying with it the harsh, angry tone of a delicate flower holding a chainsaw. With her long, blonde hair tied back into a golden ponytail, and her tender, blue eyes carrying her look of frustration, she was at the same time a dream and a nightmare. Winry Rockbell, 22, stood over the sleeping form of Edward Elric, 21, as he slumbered in his guest bedroom down in the basement of the Rockbell home.
"Fine," she scowled, before turning to head back upstairs. "You probably can't hear me because your ears are so low to the ground," she tossed at him, an evil grin on her face as she walked away.
As predicted, her ears were soon assaulted by his voice, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MOUSE SO SMALL HE CAN BUILD HIS HOME IN AN ANTHILL!"
Try as she might, Winry couldn't keep a barely-contained laugh from spilling out through her lips. "Thought that'd get ya." She turned back to look at him, a delicate smile crossing the face that just moments before he been crossed in frustration. "Now get up. You're supposed to go see Al today, remember?"
With a sigh, Ed forced himself out of his bed. There was an unnoticeable difference in his stature as he stood from the soft place of comfort, where his sins faded in the embrace of sleep. He had grown two inches in the last four years, and finally had to consign himself to the fact that he was going to be short all his life. He hesitated a moment, bringing his right hand up to rub the bridge of his nose. "Alphonse..." the name slipped through his lips, quietly, as he took his hand away. His eyes locked on it, once more, as they had so many times before. The flesh he'd been given in the exchange.
Winry just smiled, looking down at Ed. "You're going to be late, and Al's been looking forward to this." She laughed, lightly, for only a moment. "He says you don't spend enough time with him."
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"Sir, you don't have to do this. You know that. There are others who could–" Major Riza Hawkeye found herself cut off before she could even finish her sentence. As the sound of hooves filled the carriage, that voice she had followed for so long filled her ears. The powerful sound of a man who knew what he was doing, and knew how it needed to be done.
"No, Major. It needs to be me. Besides, it's been...what? Two years since we've last seen Alphonse? Three?" General Roy Mustang shot Hawkeye a pointed look, and she knew this wasn't his real reason. She knew him well enough to see through his excuses. "Aren't you curious to see him again?"
Hawkeye sighed, knowing she wouldn't get more than that out of the general. She could see through him like a glass window, but it was always so difficult to tell what was going on inside. For Riza, these past four years had flown by only too fast. She remembered, back then, she had thought for sure they were done with the military, that they would never be taken back in. But when Fuhrer Bradley's crimes were released to the public, by some swift work from Sheska.
She had once thought that they would be lucky not to go to jail, having attacked and murdered the fuhrer in his own home. She had sat so patiently by Mustang's bedside as he recovered from the battle, every day waiting for the military to come take them into custody. But that day never came. Instead, they were visited by Sheska, who came at them in a flurry of good news. The military was reinstating them, after going over the evidence she'd managed to gather against the fuhrer. With everything Sheska had managed to put together on the war in Ishbal, the war in Liore, and the records she'd been able to recreate from the incident in Lab 5, Parliament had been left with no choice but to find Fuhrer Bradley guilty, post-mortem, of treason against the very nation he ran. With this victory by the brilliant bookworm, the Parliament had reached the decision that Mustang's actions were justified. So now, here they sat on this long carriage ride, headed out to Rizenpool. It was time to see about a stray dog that had some time ago ran away.
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"Where are you off to so fast?" Ed was caught halfway out the door, by Aunt Pinako. The old lady was probably the only person Ed knew that was shorter than he was. Her shriveled, wrinkled form carried within it a woman who had lived a long time, and knew much of the ways of the world.
As soon as he'd hustled Winry out of the room, he'd gotten himself dressed as fast as he could in the black pants and vest he typically wore around the house. After throwing on his red coat, he had tried to scramble out the door before he could be seen up. He wanted to get down to the river, where he knew she was waiting for him.
Pulling himself back in the door and cursing to himself mentally, Edward ran his hand along the back of his head while trying not to grin. "I promised Al I'd spend time with him today. I just thought, if I hurried..."
Pinako was never a fool, though. She could read that boy like a book since he was 5 years old. "You were in a hurry to meet Rose, weren't you?" After a few seconds passed, when Ed couldn't manage a proper response, Pinako smiled and shook her head. "You could have said hi to her at breakfast if you didn't sleep in so much."
Ed sighed, looking back out the door at the road leading down to the river. "I'm sorry, Aunt Pinako." Before he could say any more, he heard her voice. The wisdom carried in it was unmistakable, though he often found it hard to listen. Here was a woman who had grown to understand much in her long life, but what he heard was never easy to listen to.
"Edward," she started. "It's been two years since you came back from Central, and you still haven't found something to do with your life. You can't stay where you are forever. I know you miss your brother, but you have to move on. Maybe your adventuring days are over, Edward, but you still have your own life to live. Please, for your sake and for the people that care about you, you need to start living again."
Edward sighed. Pinako had given him that talk so many times, and still, it was hard to accept. "I know..."
"Edward, both my granddaughter and that nice young woman, Rose, have offered to help you rebuild your home. I think that would be a good first step for you to take." The home to which she referred, Ed knew well. Eleven years before, his brother and he had left Rizenpool to become State Alchemists. On that day, they had burned down the family home, as a symbol to represent that they could never come home again. They had been wrong, but the house was still burnt to ash.
Ed sighed. He knew she was right, but it was hard to bring himself to admit it. "Yeah...okay. I'll talk to Rose about it."
"Good," Pinako smiled. "Now then, you don't want to keep Al waiting, do you?"
"No," Ed nodded his head. "I don't. And thank you, Aunt Pinako. I'll talk to Rose about it today." But before he could slip out the door, she caught him with her voice again.
"Oh, and one more thing," Pinako started. "Women don't like to be kept waiting forever, Edward. If you wait too long to get something you know you want, you might just find it isn't there to get anymore. Remember that."
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As soon as she heard the door close, Winry hurried back towards her room. She had perched like a hawk at the top of the stairs when she heard Ed and Pinako talking. She had meant to go with Ed, out to the river to see Al, but after hearing that conversation, she was too angry to go anywhere.
"I can't believe that jerk..." she muttered to herself as she paced to her room, fuming in anger at the words she'd caught from Ed. "I'll ask Rose, he says. Rose, Rose...I'm RIGHT UP HERE!" In her rage, she slammed her bare foot against a wrench that sat on the floor of her bedroom. She immediately regretted that, as the wrench flew a couple feet, and she fell down holding her foot from the pain of her toes meeting the cold metal.
As she sat on the floor, fuming her rage while trying to massage the pain out of her foot, Winry heard the voice again. The same familiar voice that she had heard so often over the past year. Oftentimes she thought it was just a figment of her imagination, and she knew it was probably meant she was going insane if she'd started hearing and seeing things. But then, there were others, times when she really believed in it. When she needed to believe in it, she needed to believe that she did have someone there for her, a friend who would look out for her when she needed it. "He's gone to her again, hasn't he?" The deep, feminine voice was one she had grown accustomed to. She appeared whenever Winry found herself at her wit's end.
"Yeah," Winry scowled. She didn't even look this time. She no longer needed to. She could feel the presence behind her, and it made her feel comfortable. A woman, with pale white skin, dressed in a tight, black skirt and black tank, crouched down behind Winry and put one arm over her shoulder. Winry could feel the woman behind her, and it made her feel better. She knew the face, the dark, red hair that curled under her ears, and she could feel the arm that now ran around her shoulders, pulling her in closer. It made her feel better when this mystery woman appeared. Sometimes, it seemed she was Winry's only friend.
"Winry...Winry, you need to start standing up to him more." The woman's deep voice spoke softly, almost soothingly. It helped the young girl's ears to hear it. "You of all people should know that. You know what you want Winry, and I'm sure you have what it takes to get it. You just have to be strong."
Winry narrowed her eyes, letting her anger guide her. "I HAVE been being strong. Have you not SEEN me being strong!" She yelled in frustration, then immediately caught herself. Slipping her hand over her lips, she glanced her eyes slowly back towards the door. A second passed. Another. After the third, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Look, it's bad enough I'm sitting here talking to someone I'm not even sure exists. I don't need you criticizing me too, especially when I don't see what you think I could be doing better." She sighed, waiting only a moment before she continued. "I've done everything I could think of. He still pushes me away. He's always pushed me away, ever since he left with his brother on that stupid trip!" She clenched her fists in anger, her mind remembering how it hurt that day, when she and her grandma found the Elric Brothers' house burned to the ground. "They never even said goodbye."
Winry felt her tears slowly drip down her face, and she clenched her eyes shut to try and stop them. She didn't want to cry here, not in front of her friend, but to her surprise, the pale woman reached her hand over and delicately wiped away the tears, using her first finger. "Shhhhh..." she whispered softly into Winry's ear, and the sound made her attempt a smile. "It'll be okay. I promise. I know it hurts now, but don't be afraid. You have friends who are watching out for you. You're a very special girl, Winry Rockbell."
Winry couldn't help but smile at that praise. "You'd better believe it," she smirked, before she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She froze for a second, uncertain, then her grandmother's voice pierced the silence.
"Winry? Who are you talking to?"
Winry shot a look back behind her, but there was nothing there. The mystery woman was gone, if she had ever even been here in the first place. The room was as silent and empty as it had always been, and she sighed. "No one, grandma. Just talking to myself."
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Ed ran down the path towards the river as fast as his legs would carry him. It felt so good to run again, to feel both his legs kicking himself down the road, rather than the cold metal automail he had worn before. His body had been restored for four years, but every time it felt like the first again.
As he raced down along the side of the river, his mind found itself preoccupied by what Aunt Pinako had said. She was right, and he knew it. He really did have to find something new to do with his life, but he could never find what. After the adventures he'd had with Al...what was there left for him? His mind shot to Rose, for a moment, but he shook off that thought.
What had Aunt Pinako meant, though, about women not liking to wait? What woman was she talking about? And what were they waiting for? He sighed and slowed his pace to a walk. He'd never get it, he knew that. Why couldn't she have just come out and said what she meant? The cryptic old bat was beginning to drive him nuts!
"Hey!" he called down the shore, and a smile crossed his lips. He loved this spot, where he used to spar with his brother. And there, sitting on the shoreline, pushing a stick around in the water, was Alphonse. Probably trying to catch a bug or something. As Ed lowered his eyes to look at the kid, he found his mind wandering back to that day, four years ago. He remembered so vividly, the look on Rose's face as they came out of the dead city.
She had finally decided on a name for her baby, as they were walking back together. It had taken her a long time, but as they walked back towards the stairwell that led back up into Central, she had told him she was going to name her baby Alphonse. It was in honor of his brother, who had died to give him the life she had argued so hard to keep with him.
And now, there he was. Little Alphonse Thomas, playing by the river. Ed knew his mother wouldn't be far, so he figured he'd see her soon enough if he just went straight for the kid. "Hey Al!" He raised his right hand to greet the kid, but clearly waving wasn't enough. The moment the child's eyes locked on Edward, he took off, running straight for him.
"Uncy Ed!" the kid exclaimed, before jumping up into Ed's arms.
Ed caught little Al in his arms, then smiled. "Hey, kid. Where's your mom?" Little Al reminded him only a little of his own little brother, the child's namesake, when he was young. He had soft, brown skin like his mother's, and dark brown hair that his mother, Rose, kept short.
"Mommy 'ad to wun to town fow gwocewies," the kid smiled. "She said to wait 'ere fow Uncy Edwawd."
Ed smiled, looking at the kid. "Alright, Al. Guess we should wait here for her. So, tell me," he put down little Alphonse, "what have you been up to? I saw you pushing that little stick around..."
Al quickly ran back to the stick, as though he'd suddenly remembered something important. "I was catching fishy. I saw big men do it, and–uncy Ed?" The kid's face began to tremble, as though he'd just seen something scary. "Who awe those people?"
Al was clearly looking at someone behind Ed, which caused him to turn around. His face hardened as soon as he saw them, walking down the path towards the riverside. They looked to be coming from the house, and he could only guess at what they were here for. One man, with short, black hair. One woman with blonde hair that she kept tied up in the back. Mustang and Hawkeye.
"They're...acquaintances," Ed responded, before looking back at the kid. "Stay here, okay? I'll be back soon. Just...play with your stick, or something. This won't take long." Leaving the kid behind, he headed back up the path towards the two soldiers staring him down. He wanted to catch them before they were within earshot of little Al.
Ed sighed as he approached. He didn't know why they were here but he knew it couldn't be good. Nothing good ever came of talking to Mustang, and frankly, he had thought he was done with it when he'd left Central. "Alright, Mustang, what is it this time? I already told you I'm done. I'm not going to sit back and grow more and more apathetic while learning how to justify murdering innocent civilians. I'm not your dog anymore."
"I know," Mustang responded, with a cold, calculated voice. His voice sent a small chill down Ed's spine. He'd heard that tone many a time before. "That's why I'm here, Edward. I have a proposition for you."