It takes hours for them to get the clear on Rossi. Spencer is honestly a little surprised by how much Mustang seems unbothered by the damage to his eye. He isn't really surprised that one of the first things that Mustang demands of the doctors is to know when he can be released. While he rests, Spencer, Emily, Will, and Hughes congregate in Mustang's room.
"Slow down there, cowboy," Emily tells him, and it seems that sometime between Mustang waking up and the rest of them being allowed back in, they had made some sort of peace because he doesn't get angry or defensive when she says it. "I'm pretty sure we're not going anywhere until we're sure that Rossi is out of the woods."
Normally, that wouldn't be true. Normally, someone maybe would stay with Rossi, but the bulk of the team would either be sent home or onto the next assignment. Predators don't rest, and there's usually another job waiting them. Given the fact that JJ and Derek are still technically considered missing, and that's keeping them stationary as much as anything.
Until they can either "find" them or until they have to concede to Cruz that they can't. Conceding that they can't would be the equivalent of admitting that they're dead, and that's not an option that Spencer is willing to accept, and he's sure that Will isn't either.
They are on a clock though. They earned a little bit more breathing space because of the damage to Mustang and Rossi, but once Rossi's out of the woods, their time will be up. Spencer has never felt so conflicted about wanting someone to recover before.
"The steps here are very clear," Mustang says, respectful but adamant. "We need to find a tattoo artist to complete the tattoos, and then we need to have a place to do the transmutation."
Will doesn't look pleased when he says, "You want to go back to the barn?"
Mustang doesn't flinch. "It's the place that makes the most sense. It's where alchemy is most readily accessible and abundant."
"And you also want to ensure that Kimblee is dead," Spencer remarks.
Again, Mustang doesn't flinch and he doesn't apologize. "I've seen too many dead men get back up to be comfortable until I see his body."
"They did find remains in the fire," Emily assures, for what almost certainly isn't the first time.
Mustang looks like he wants to snap at her before he closes his eye, takes a visible deep breath, and says, "I know. It's just… for my peace of mind." He opens his eye again. "I know that it's not rational, I just… if I'm going to get to go home, I need to know that I'm not leaving someone like Kimblee here in your midst."
It makes sense and makes Spencer more sympathetic.
"Aside from the tattoo, exactly what does the soulbond entail?" Spencer asks. He's almost certain that there's no changing his mind. If this is the only way to get Derek back, then it's what he'll do. But he does want to fully understand what he's signing up for.
His shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath, and Mustang says, "Your souls will be bound to your partners using matching arrays tattooed on you." He taps his wrist in demonstration.
"You told us that," Will says, impatient. "What else does it mean?"
"It means that you two will be connected at your soul level. We've done our best with these arrays to isolate you from one another once linked, but—especially at the beginning—you'll probably sense one another. It's an… awareness of your partner always in the back of your head. It will probably be a little distracting in the beginning, but if it works the way Ed and mine works—and it should, just to be clear—it should fade within a few weeks. It will always be there." He gives them a slightly licentious smirk. "You, uh, might want to take some time with your partner when it first sets in. Physical touch and intimacy seemed to both heighten and stabilize it."
That seems to line up with what conventional folklore about such things would suggest, that it'd start very intense and fade as they adjusted to it, that intimacy would strengthen it.
"Ed and I think we have figured out how to ensure that if one of you dies, it will break," Mustang continues on a more solemn note. "But I have to be honest… this part of the array is untested."
Emily frowns. "So your bond with Elric means that if one of you dies…"
"Yes," Mustang admits simply.
"So if you and Edward figured out how to keep it from killing you both now, you could have figured out how to avoid that when you did your own," Hughes says, voice mild in a way that sets off red flags in Spencer's mind.
Mustang meets his eye. "Yes."
"Was there some desperate need to rush into it?" Hughes asks, but it's almost a rhetorical question. "Some reason it couldn't have waited until you figured this out? It doesn't seem like it took you that long to work it out."
It's not quite an accusation, but it might as well be, given the way Mustang presses his lips into a flat line and remains silent.
The tension rises for a moment before Hughes sighs, sounding defeated. "What's done is done," he says.
"If we get everyone home where they belong, you're welcome to scold us at length," Mustang offers, a little smile threatening to pull at his lips.
Hughes seems unable to hold onto his agitation. "What would the point be?" he asks. "It's not like it would make either of you feel bad or regret it."
Mustang shrugs, but it's more in recognition than in apology.
Clearing his throat, Will disrupts their tête-à-tête. "So you think you've figured out how to make sure that if one of us dies, it won't kill the other?"
Refocusing his attention on Will, Mustang nods. "I… should probably see if I can get another meeting with Ed to finalize both the arrays, make sure that they're identical, and to do a final check to ensure that we've done our best to eliminate that side effect."
Spencer tries to imagine always having an awareness of Derek and wonders if it will feel invasive or intrusive. He really can't afford to think that way because there isn't another way to get Derek and JJ home. At least, from the way Mustang has spoken, he can't imagine another way.
"What else should we expect?" Will asks. "Are we going to be able to read one another's minds or something?"
Frowning, Mustang considers it, obviously trying to remember back. Spencer remembers that Ed and Mustang did this nearly ten years ago, so the memories aren't exactly fresh. "No," he says finally. "Not… exactly. It'll probably feel almost like it, for a little bit. I honestly don't know if Ed and I are better at reading one another because of our bond or if that's just a normal consequence of being together as long as we have been." He seems to think about it a little longer, then adds, "You'll have a general sense for what direction you're in. You will be able to feel when one another is unduly distressed."
It tickles a recent memory, and Spencer says, "When Ed was kidnapped." He waits until Mustang turns to look at him before he continues. "You weren't worried at all, at the time. But you weren't worried because of your bond? You knew that Ed was okay?" he asks.
"Even in this world, Edward was kidnapped?" Hughes asks, looking oddly bemused at what Spencer is relatively sure should be a frightening thing to learn.
He's surprised when Mustang ducks his head slightly, almost as if he's embarrassed. "Only once," Mustang protests, which suddenly explains all too well why Hughes was amused at Ed getting kidnapped. Only once, as if it were nearly commonplace for Ed to be kidnapped. "And yes, I knew he wasn't under physical or mental distress, but…"
Hughes grins wide, flashing teeth. "You mostly pitied the idiot who kidnapped him."
Shooting a slightly irritated glare at Hughes, Mustang replies, "That is a reasonable response to anyone who is stupid enough to kidnap Ed. Alchemy or no alchemy, Ed isn't exactly your average kidnapping victim."
"So, Elric was kidnapped a lot before?" Emily asks, haltingly, almost as if she doesn't actually want to ask, but part of her just needs to understand.
Hughes scratches at the back of his head, looking thoughtful. "I guess it depends on your definition of 'a lot.'"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mustang says, "Yes. He means, yes, Ed was kidnapped somewhat regularly."
"It got to be a running joke at the office," Hughes confirms, nearly gleeful.
His good humor earns him another glare from Mustang. "You're not helping. They understand better, but they still don't really understand what Ed was capable of in our world."
Hughes coughs to clear his throat and then says, "Sorry," though he doesn't look sorry at all.
"Back to the topic at hand. Are you sure that the tattoos are absolutely necessary?" Emily asks, nodding toward Mustang's wrist. "Something that overt and looking that arcane might get some judgment from the people we sometimes need to help."
Mustang looks up at the ceiling as if trying to recall. "When we did our soulbond, we did it with our arrays pressed together to ensure the connection between them. The easiest parts of the human body to press together are the forearms."
"But you think that we'll get pulled through on both sides regardless?" Spencer asks. "Should we need to do that?"
Expression going grave, Mustang says, "Yes," firmly. "In order to do what we're going to do, we'll first need to initiate human transmutation to travel to Truth's domain. Maes and I will enter the array, and Dr. Reid and Detective LaMontagne will need to be on the edge of the array, and we will use the tattoos to start the transmutation. I don't think we can risk anything smudging, smearing, or coming off in any measure. It needs to be permanent, which means, it needs to be a very precise tattoo."
Crossing his arms, Hughes scratches at his stubble. "Can you use an array to do the tattoo?" he asks. "If it's so critical that every line be absolutely perfect—and I've heard you go on at length about how perfect it needs to be—is it better to maybe just have you infuse the ink into their skin instead of risking some random tattoo person, who might make a mistake?"
Mustang appears to consider it. "I… should be able to," he says after a long minute. "The trick is putting the ink into skin without actually activating the array once it's laid… but…" He looks intrigued. "That should work. It's certainly more reliable than trusting a third party."
"See? I have all the good ideas."
Spencer still doesn't like the idea of a tattoo, of a permanent mark on his skin, one that he almost certainly won't be able to have removed because it's tied to his soul. "I would need to do my left arm," he says. "Derek has a tattoo on his left forearm, so he wouldn't be able to have his tattoo there."
"Me and JJ can do either," Will says. "Whatever she wants, I'll take the opposite."
Turning to look at Hughes, Mustang simply raises an eyebrow. Hughes puts his hands up to his face, getting a lovestruck look on his face. "If my darling Gracia is willing to accept a soulbond with me, you can put the tattoo anywhere!"
"I can't imagine any world in which Gracia wouldn't want you back."
The silliness fades and a more solemn expression replaces it. "You haven't seen her in how long? You can't know that she hasn't remarried…" He frowns. "I kind of hoped that she would, that she'd find someone to make her happy again."
A bittersweet smile quirks Mustang's mouth. "You can't imagine that you would ever be replaceable, can you?"
Hughes gives him a fond smile, before growing serious again. "It's something we need to confirm. If she's got someone else... There might not be any way back for me."
Judging by the look in Mustang's eye, that simply isn't an option.