"Resembool! Resembool Station!"
Manami was genuinely freaked out. Armstrong wouldn't tell her or Ed why they were coming here, of all places. She wasn't mentally prepared, even with the hours-long train ride over. She was silent the entire ride.
They stepped off the train, and Ed looked over to see Manami's petrified expression, drained of color.
"Major, are you going to tell us what's going on? Manami's on the verge of a panic attack..." He muttered.
"I haven't been fully informed on the details." Armstrong answered. "My only orders were to retrieve you two and rendezvous here."
"Rendezvous?" Manami finally spoke up. "Who ordered you to bring us—"
"Hey kids!" They looked up to see someone stand and salute at them. Manami blinked in surprise at the familiar face.
"Liutenant Breda?" Ed asked, also surprised. "So wait... you're coming along for my automail repair?
"Nah, we don't got time for that." He led them to a small building and opened the door, gesturing for them to walk in first. There was a short bearded man who sat at a table alone.
"Good morning." He greeted them with a wave.
"Guys, this is Mr. Han— an Immigration Coordinator." Breda gestured to him.
"Nice to meet you. Mr. Fu told me everything." Mr. Han spoke.
"Fu?" Manami blinked. Wasn't that one of Ling's bodyguards?
"Alright, about our plan to leave the country..." Breda looked to Mr. Han.
"Huh? Leaving the country?" Ed asked. "I don't have a passport..."
"I could have grabbed mine if we didn't leave so abruptly in Central..." Manami sighed.
"Passports would leave traces." Breda look back at them, his eyes serious. They silently told Ed and Manami... that they were leaving the country without leaving a trace for a reason.
"Whatever you're up to... it better be worth all this hassle." Ed crossed his arms.
"Where are we headed?" Manami asked, and Breda grinned.
"To the East."
But the only thing east of here was... Xing?
Manami began imagining the route she took to Xing last time. They would head south and cross through Aerugo to Xing, then? She would soon realize that that was not the way they were taking this time. After all, they were leaving the country illegally, so there were no trains involved...
Just horses, desert, and excruciating heat.
"Hot... hot... hot..." Ed groaned. He was a lot worse off than she was, he had two automail limbs that were probably scorching the skin where the metal attached.
Still, Manami leaned her forehead against the back of the horse's neck. It stunk a little, but she was so tired from the heat...
"Mr. Han, do we still have a long way to go?" Breda asked, noticing how tired the kids looked.
"We crossed the borders a while ago, we're more than halfway there." He went to hand Ed a telescope. "If you look over there, you can see the ruins of Xerxes. A once glorious kingdom. Now, it's just a stopping point for caravans travelling between the east and west."
"We finally made it..." Manami threw the hood of her cream-colored travelling coat off her head and sighed as she went to sit somewhere in the shade. She watched Ed literally hop into an old, crumbling fountain, probably to cool off his automail limbs.
"There you are!" A voice called them, and Manami looked over to see Fu walking towards them.
"Hello, Mr. Fu." Mr. Han greeted him, and Fu glanced to Ed and Manami.
"Why did you bring the kids?"
"We didn't really get a say in it, you know." Manami huffed.
"It was a direct order." Breda said.
While Ed got out of the water and went to ring out his shirt, Manami stood up and looked at the ruins around her.
"So, this is Xerxes..." Ed said, following her glance.
"It looks just like the fable by the Sage of the East." Manami commented, and Fu looked over to her.
"Sage of the East, you say?" He asked.
"Yeah, it's a fairy tale about the origin of alchemy in Amestris." Ed replied.
"It says the entire kingdom of Xerxes perished in a single night, but there was only one survivor, and he came to Amestris and spoke the science of alchemy." Manami explained.
"Interesting..." Fu hummed. "We have a similar legend, though of a drifter from the west. It's said that his techniques were combined with our ancient methods to make the Alkahestry we know today."
"Which is a medical type of alchemy, right?" Ed asked, and Fu nodded as they began to walk.
"Yes. He guided that process, and we greatly revere him today. He is known as the Sage of the West."
"So, the East and West in these titles refer to here?" Breda spoke up.
"I believe so, yes." Fu answered.
Manami thought for a moment. That was why Ling wanted to look through these ruins...
But, if only one person survived, which way did he go first?
Or maybe... there were two?
They continued walking, crossing through a crumbling temple.
"Wow, this temple is magnificent!" Armstrong commented, looking up in awe.
"If they were such an advanced society, how could they be wiped out in a single night?" Breda asked.
"Perhaps it was just legend, after all." Fu answered.
Manami noticed that the footsteps behind her stopped, and she looked back to see Ed looking off in the distance. She followed his gaze to see a giant mural, though a good portion of the top had crumbled away.
She went to ask him what he was thinking about, but Fu spoke first. "What are you two gawking at?! Come on!"
Manami looked to Ed, who seemed reluctant to look away, but he managed to pull himself away and they ran to catch up.
They walked in silence for a while before Ed spoke again.
"We're in pretty deep now, huh?"
"I didn't know Xerxes was so big..." Manami added.
"Edward..!" A woman's voice filled the air.
"Huh?" They both looked over to see a familiar face.
They froze in shock... it was actually like seeing a ghost!
It was Maria Ross!
"That damned Colonel!" Ed yelled, though with a smile on his face.
"LIEUTENANT ROSS!" Armstrong cried, his voice echoing in the empty ruins.
His shirt was already off.
"I'M SO THANKFUL, YOU'RE ALIVE! WHAT A JOY!" He chased her for an embrace, but she seemed to keep her distance.
"I don't understand..." Manami stared in disbelief.
"You can't hide someone who's supposed to be dead within the country." Breda explained as he walked up to them. "The safest option was to get her out."
"So, the Colonel knew that she didn't kill Mr. Hughes all along..." Ed trailed off.
Breda grinned. "The whole ordeal was too suspicious. Staging a suspect take-in in front of a crowd, making the headlines, it was too much of a performance on their part."
They all went to sit down to discuss it further.
"After Miss Ross was broken out of prison, the Young Lord made a deal with Barry the Chopper. My orders were to personally escort her to Xing to take refuge." Fu said.
"And so, we agreed to rendezvous here." Breda concluded. "The Colonel said that he didn't want to take a chance on some hot-tempered kids endangering the operation. That's why he had you two sent all the way out here."
"Hot tempered?!" Ed yelled.
"He's clearly more hot tempered than I am." Manami spat, still offended.
"Shut up!" Ed yelled to her.
"Listen," Breda held up a notebook. "This is all the information the Colonel has obtained, which he put me in charge of bringing here. From here on out, let's exchange everything we need to know. There's no worry of any repercussions all the way out here, so we need to totally be open.
They spent a lot of time going over everything, to where Armstrong had even drawn sketches of the Homunculi they all had seen so far.
Envy, Lust, and Greed.
"We got a lot of info here..." Breda crossed his arms. "We just have to piece it all together, and then we'll know who killed Hughes."
"I promise you, Lieutenant Ross..." Armstrong looked to her. "We will absolve you of this crime."
"Lieten— Brigadier General Hughes..." Ed looked down. "... he's really gone..."
He glanced to Manami, who only looked away.
"..." Ed sighed. "It's just... really hard to accept."
"What will you two do now?" Armstrong asked them.
"... Al and I committed a taboo... yet, we still had people help us, others got angry at us, and some... silently gave us their support. Still, every one of them has helped me keep my promise to my brother."
Manami watched Ed grip his automail wrist. "So... I don't think we have much choice. We can't turn back now, which only means we have to move forward."
He looked over to her. "... right?"
"..." Manami nodded. "I think... it's not just about you and Al anymore." She said, making Ed's eyes widen.
"With everyone rooting for you guys, including me... we all want you to see this through. I don't think Maes would have wanted you to stop on his accord." She clenched her fists. "But... with that being said, we need to be more careful. We can't let them get anyone else."
"I refuse to let anyone else become a victim." Ed shook his head. "I know that's a tough promise to keep, hell... we barely manage to take care of ourselves. But..."
Ed looked up to everyone.
"I'm arrogant and stubborn as hell, so I'll make it happen."
The sun was beginning to set. Everyone gathered at the edge of the ruins, readying their horses. Fu was going to be escorting Ross to Xing, while everyone else would go back to Central.
"Any parting wishes?" Armstrong turned to Ross. "Shall I tell your parents?"
"I don't think that would be a good idea..." Ross turned to face him. "As much as I want them to know I'm okay... it would be too much of a risk. I don't want to put them in that kind of danger."
"I see..." Armstrong sighed softly. "Understood."
"But, if you could deliver a message to the Colonel. I want him to know how grateful I am for what he's done for me. If there is any way I can help him, tell him to send for me." She threw up a salute. "I owe him a great debt and I am willing to put my life on the line to repay it!"
Armstrong and Breda lifted their right hands to salute back at her.
Before Manami and Ed could do the same, Ross approached them with her saluting hand extended to shake. "Goodbye Edward and Manami. You two be safe, okay?"
"..." Ed extended his hand to shake hers, before he let go and Manami did the same.
They watched as she got on her horse and Fu led her away from the setting sun. When they finally disappeared into the horizon, Breda spoke.
"We should get going ourselves."
"Ahh, wait a sec." Ed said, then looked to Manami. "We have to look at something real quick. We'll be back!" He went to run, and Manami followed after him.
She finally got used to dropping everything to run after him on the spot. But also, she had a feeling she knew where he was going. That strange mural.
They stopped in front of it, and Ed turned to her. "You didn't see anything like this in Lab Five?"
"No..." Manami shook her head. "The circle I saw was way less... detailed?"
"I see... I wanted to look at this again, because it looks very similar to the one that I saw." Ed pointed to it.
"Two-headed dragon... the sun..."
He groaned in defeat and went to scratch his head.
"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense with a chunk of it missing—" Manami stopped midsentence when she heard footsteps quickly approaching from behind.
She quickly turned to see someone running at them, readying a stick to bash over Ed's head. She stepped forward and caught the stick, and without skipping a beat, Ed jumped in to tackle the stranger and pin his arm to the ground.
"Nice catch." Ed commented.
"Nice pin." Manami replied.
"Let go!" The stranger yelled.
"Mind telling us what you want first?" Ed asked him. "We don't have any money if that's wha—" He stopped, noticing the color of the stranger's eyes.
"..?" Manami blinked. "What is it..?"
"H-He's Ishvalan..!" Ed gasped.
Manami's eyes widened, but then got the feeling that this guy wasn't alone. She quickly turned to see a bunch of dark-skinned people come out from behind the rubble around them, looking at them with burning crimson colored eyes.
They were completely surrounded...
"Things will go bad if you don't behave and come with us quietly." One of them spoke.
Manami frowned. Luckily, she had her fans in her pockets at all times... but she wouldn't resort to fighting just yet.
"I'm afraid we wouldn't be worth much of a ransom. We're just two orphans, after all." Ed replied.
"I wouldn't underestimate the value of a child. It was the death of one that sparked the entire Ishvalan Civil War."
"Stop this shameful behavior!" Another voice spoke, and everyone looked over to see a young boy accompanying an elderly woman.
"Madam Shan..."
"Look at you fools. Are you all trying to dishonor the name of Ishvala?!"
The men flinched.
"He won't attack again... please let him go." The boy pleaded to Ed, and he let him go before standing up.
Manami loosened her stance a little. "You stood up for us..." She blinked. "Don't Ishvalans hate Amestrians?"
"Despite the atrocities that your people have committed, I know that not all Amestrians are bad." The one known as Shan said to her.
"When Madam Shan and I were injured in the Civil War, we were saved by Amestrian doctors." The boy said. "To be honest... I do hate you... but the two of them saved me, and for that I can't hate you completely."
"Guess they indirectly saved us, too." Ed looked around. "We actually knew Amestrian doctors. They worked together because they were married."
"Married?" The boy's eyes widened. "Would you possibly be referring... to the Rockbells?"
Manami and Ed's eyes widened.
"You know the Rockbells..?!" Ed gasped.
"Y-Yeah..!" The boy smiled, almost speechless. "They saved countless Ishvalan lives throughout the war..!"
"No kidding..." Manami smiled softly.
"They were like an aunt and uncle to me..." Ed smiled, remembering them fondly.
"They refused to abandon their post, despite being ordered to." Shan said. "It didn't matter how much the fighting escalated, they stayed until the very end."
"..." Ed's smile faded. "Do you know... how they died?"
Shan's smile faded as well. "They were murdered in cold blood... by the hand of an Ishvalan that they had saved."
Both Ed and Manami's eyes widened in horror.
"By someone they saved..? That's..." Manami trailed off.
"Tell me who did it!" Ed shouted, his teeth clenched.
"His face was wrapped in bandages, so we don't know..." Shan shook her head. "But... he was an Ishvalan monk, with tattoos all along his right arm."
Ed clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Manami looked over to him, noticing that he seemed to know something that she didn't.
But then, he quickly turned to walk away.
"You're leaving?" Shan asked.
"Yeah. We have companions waiting for us." Ed said quietly. Manami went to turn and follow him.
"Wait a moment," Shan called, and the both of them stopped. "If you get the chance to visit their graves... please give the Rockbells our thanks... and our apologies."
"..." Ed looked back at Shan. "We will." He said, before going to walk again.
When they got a certain distance away, Manami looked to Ed and opened her mouth to speak.
"... I get the feeling... that you knew who she was talking about." She said quietly.
"I do..." Ed sighed. "It's funny, he's the whole reason that we were partnered up in the first place..." Ed looked up to the sky.
"The Ishvalan serial killer who targets State Alchemists... we call him 'Scar.'"