It was close to 9 am when The Colonel and Mr. Elric finally got up from the floor.
"I think we had a little too much." Hohenheim pointed out while picking up the newspaper they had spreaded on the floor yesterday.
Mustang sighed and looked down at the photographed face. Reproductions in newsprints were never really good, and this was decidedly smudgy – but the face. On an impulse, he thrust the paper at Hohenheim. "Look." He demanded. "Look at that face."
"Mrs. Huber. I did not know she was caught in an accident. That might explain why she hadn't been around for a while."
Mustang took another casual glance at the paper. "Interesting."
The living room was cleaned at long last. Hohenheim was about to raise his word but Roy interrupted. "We needed that time off. Fullstop." He said sternly.
Hohenheim laughed and dropped back on the couch. "Anyways, care reading out to me again what we translated yesterday?"
"8 Alchemists thought they could touch heaven, one was sent to god too early, then they were only seven."
"So there is another dead body we are ought to find." Hohenheim nodded lost in thought. "Heaven, I suppose they mean a church. Is there currently any church closed or something?"
"There is currently only one church being restored."
"Well then, off we go." Hohenheim rushed past the Colonel and left the house slamming the door shut.
"Should we not take a little more into consideration?" Roy panted running after his friend.
"What else is there to take into consideration?" he retorted indifferently.
"I comprehend." Said Mustang soothingly.
"Crap. Now it's raining." Hohenheim tried to wipe the rain out of his face. "It's pouring!"
"See the advantage, if we do find anything in there, noone will ever be able to trace our footsteps." The Colonel said impassively.
"This is your only worry, isn't it?" the elder said, lowering his voice. "Well then let's go inside." His unusual obtuseness annoyed me.
The heavy gate fell shut. Roy and Hohenheim stepped inside the church. "We'd better leave our coats here, or else we will wetten everything." The colonel suggested and took both of their coats and hung them over the banisters.
The sound of rain drizzling against the window echoed down the big halls of the church. The light was dim, only a few lights hanging from the ceiling spent light.
"Over there." Hohenheim waved his friend to come follow him to his right.
They entered a small room apparently leading to another room. The door creaked loudly and the noise echoed throughout the church.
Their look fell onto some blood on the floor. Slowly both raised their heads just to find a man pinned to the wall. A wooden cross soaked in blood now, was placed beneath him.
"He looks as if he was crucified." Mustang stuttered.
Hohenheim gazed upon the familiar face. "This is, Mr Marcher. The one I met recently, remember?"
" 'The imposter' It says on the cross." Roy read.
"There were people who said that it was a pose he deliberately adopted."
"So this is the man that was sent to god too early, hm?" Roy mumbeled facing the puddle of blood intensely.
"Let's have a look around here. Maybe there is some other interesting stuff-" Roy interrupted Hohenheim talking and pointed at a little glass bottle standing on the ground right below the cross.
"Hey look at this." Mustang had bent down and picked up a little glass-bottle moving it up into the light.
"What Is this?" The blonde asked eagerly.
"An embryo it seems."
"Ah. Seems like it's an allusion to his research on genetic manipulation."
"We'd better leave. Though I wonder." Mustang reminded him "where the next hint may be."Don't say-!" Roy was close to the verge of despair. "You say those people are really that sick?"
"Well" Hohenheim hesitated. "We could just go on looking. Maybe it's not even a letter this time."
Hohenheim and Mustang had a look around. Until the latter suddenly poked the others arm.
"What's the matter? Found something?" The blonde leant over his friend's shoulder.
"More or less, it's attached to the body. See up there? There is something close to the belly button."
"Yes yes I see it." Hohenheim stood on the tip of his toes and reached for the piece of paper.
"Let's go home." Roy suggested. "I'm sick of this place." He shuddered and left the room.
Ed was lazing on the couch. His left hand hung down to the floor, his right covered his eyes. A sigh escaped his lips one again. "Brother what's the matter? You keep sighing." Alphonse eyed his brother closely.
The phone rang. "Al. Please answer the phone." Noone moved. "Al!" Still the younger did not move.
Frustrated Edward sat up and grabbed for the receiver. "Hello?" he grunted. Al could not hear who was on the other side but by Edward's look it must have been someone important. Edward slammed the receiver back onto the phone.
"Who was it?"
"Winry. Rose is at her place too. They asked me to come over. The need some help with a project." Ed said briefly.
"Rose?" Al grew curious. "Who is this Rose?" he smirked
"Rose, is a new girl in town. Obviously Winry would pick her up and try to get friends with her. You know her." The elder retorted impassively.
"I'm leaving, bye."
Before Al had any chance to pick on his brother any further the door fell shut and Al was left to himself.
Edward knocked onto the door. He blinked his eyes against the blinding light from the lamp attached to the wall.
Winry opened the door and grabbed the blonde's arm to drag him inside. "Rose is still here." She said in a matter-of-a-fact tone.
"So what do you need help with?" Edward asked a little annoyed.
"Physics."
Ed's heart sank. "Physics. You know I-"
Winry pinched Ed's arm. "Yes we know you are good in physics." She smiled not too confident.
"Eh yeah." Ed sweatdropped and took a seat.
"How come you are so sm-?" Rose started but was interrupted by Winry. "Hey! Does anyone want something to drink?"
Both nodded.
"Well then let's get started on this." Edward demanded sceptically.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" the blonde boy was startled and tried to hide his blush.
"You are quiet handsome." She giggeled.
"Oh stop it." Ed retorted hiding behind a few physics books. "Let's just get this over with." He grunted.
Ed got up to bring the emtpy glasses back into the kitchen and refill them. "Winry, why aren't you working with us? Anything wrong?" Edward as he still saw Winry lingering in the kitchen.
"No, nothing. It's all fine." She put a fake smile. He, on the contrary preceived though that she just faked her smile.
"Be honest." He said sharply. "What is really wrong."
"No-" she started but was cut off by the boy. "Do not lie to me." He graved once again.
"Do not pry into everything." She aped.
Ed sighed. "I tried." He said in a rather dissatisfied voice.
Rose had stood in the doorframe watching the scene and Edward bumped right into her. "S-Sorry." He stammered and rushed past her. Rose though, blushed furiously. "Something going on between you and him?" she asked drilling her finger into her shoulder.
"Nope. There isn't. Ed isn't the relationship person anyways." She retorted backing away.
"So he is still available." She smirked.
"Rose?" Winry blinked at her. "What are your intentions?"
Hohenheim arrived home finding his younger son lazing on the couch.
"Alphonse." He said rather demandingly. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed and get some rest?"
"I can get rest on the couch too." He retorted sternly.
"I suppose." He sighed.
"Dad. I saw Mrs Huber's face in the newspaper. Why don't you go visit her? You two are friends, right?" Al smiled blissfully.
"Uh? Eh, yes we are friends." The elder sratched the back of his head embarassed." Somewhat." He added.
"What are you moping about, Edward?" Hohenheim asked as he met his son in the doorframe. Edward launched out an unintelligable noise and rushed past his father.
Hohenheim had managed to rout out Amanda's room. Gently he knocked and asked wheter it was ok for him to enter. On Amanda's approval he entered. She looked dirty, tired and pale. Her clothes were lying beneath the bed ragged out as if someone wrenched them violently.
Her figure's fragility would have seemed pathetic and appealing had it not been for her rather shrewd gleam in her green eyes he had noticed at first glanec when they first met.
"How are you feeling?" Hohenheim asked placidly and sat down at Amanda's request.
"I've felt better." She sighed and looked the other way.
"What on earth happened?" the man asked after a long pause.
"I caused and accident, that's it." She said stiffly.
"I can't really believe that."
"Is that so?"her words followed by a chuckle.
Hohenheim looked unsatisfied but put the best face he could upon the matter. To him, it was obvious that she would not just cause an accident like that. For her, being a decently good driver and the newspaper had printed in its article that certain circumstances are yet unsolved regarding the mass-accident.
"I was threatened." She whispered het eyes still not meeting Hohenheim's.
"What did you say?" he leant over her.
"I was threatened." She pressed through her lips sobbing quietly.
"Who was it?" he asked sternly.
The brunette woman rolled onto her side digging her finger nails into her pillow. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks.
"Who was it?" he pressed further. His attempts though, seemed unavailing.
Silence spread throughout the room again. The only noise lingering in the dim lit room was the machine giving artificial respiration to a person lying on the opposite side further to the window side.