"Someone help..."
"Someone... anyone..."
"Alphonse..!"
Manami was so helpless… so useless. All she could do was cry softly over Ed's lifeless body.
He really was dead…
Suddenly, she heard a grunt come from under her, and she froze. For a moment, she thought that maybe she confused the sound as something of her own, but she flinched when she felt Ed's back move against her face.
"Come on… it's bad enough... that this would make Winry cry…"
Manami quickly lifted her head to look down at Ed. She had to see him show signs of life for herself… to make sure she wasn't imagining it.
"I'm gonna need you to dry it up." He muttered, coughing weakly afterwards.
"Y-You're alive..!" Manami gasped, as Ed slowly put his hands together above his head, before reaching behind him to transmute most of the length of the beam off. She watched as the severed end fall over, jumping when she felt Ed's head plop in her lap.
"Gonna borrow... your lap..." He groaned, his eyes squinted shut as he took long, ragged breaths.
"You can borrow whatever you want, as long as you don't die on me…" Manami wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"Nah… not gonna die that easily..." Ed went to place his hands together again, but reached to touch the ground this time.
"..?" Manami watched the blue sparks of alchemy travel across the room to lift up the pile of debris that she had leaned on earlier... and out crawled the gorilla and the lion chimeras who worked for Kimblee.
"!" Manami quickly reached to her back pocket and, thankfully, found one fan. She had no idea where the other one was...
"Why let them loose?!" She hissed, watching them closely with narrowed as they rose from the rubble.
"We'd like to know the same thing." The gorilla asked as they started to approach them, but Manami quickly whipped open and pointed her fan at them, making them stop and raise their hands.
"Not another step…" She snarled.
"At ease…" Ed groaned. "I wouldn't if I didn't have to... but I'm not… about to ask this of a friend."
"?!" Manami was more shocked at the word "friend" than the fact that he was going to ask them for a favor. She looked down to him as his eyes cracked open to look up at her with determination burning in them.
"… I need someone to pull this thing out of me."
"What?! Are you insane?!" Manami cried.
"You'll bleed out for sure." The lion chimera agreed.
"Not if… I seal it up with alchemy." Ed replied.
"Ed, you don't even know any kind of medical alchemy…" Manami shook her head. "How do you know that would work?!"
"I don't, but… we don't have time to think about it either." Ed said to her. "I imagine it'll shorten my lifespan a little, but..."
Manami bit her lip trying to think of a different idea. She got that awful feeling in her chest… the same one she felt when Ed came up with the crazy idea to get out of Gluttony's stomach.
The difference was, now... Manami couldn't help him. She had to let him do this on his own.
And she was terrified.
"The only thing I ask of you is to trust me… and, well… hold me down I guess." Ed grunted.
"..." Manami sighed, feeling her eyes watering again as she went to slowly lift him to a sitting position, so that his back was against her chest.
"... it was never about not trusting you, y'know…" She said quietly into his back.
"I know..." She couldn't see, but Ed smiled softly to himself.
"Are you sure about this?" The lion chimera bent down in front of him and readied his grip on the beam.
"Yeah…" Ed nodded. "It's my fault I'm in this situation… I made this mess, so I'm gonna clean it up."
Manami swallowed thickly and wrapped her arms under and over his shoulders to anchor him down.
"… I'm ready." Ed positioned his hands to be ready to clap. "Do it."
There was a brief pause before the lion started pulling on the beam. Immediately, Ed began to thrash, and it took all of Manami's strength to hold him down.
His screams… his cries of agony… and all Manami could do was hold him tight. She buried her face in his back once again, hiding her tears and praying for the first time in a long time… that he would make it through this.
Please…
She could hear the transmutation begin, and she looked up to see the light fading.
Everyone was frozen in anticipation. Did he do it?
"... Ed?" Manami whispered, realizing that her grip was still tight around his shoulders, and loosened it a little.
"..." There was silence in the room, and she felt her heart start to pound.
"Ed… a-answer me..!" She pleaded.
"... I-I'm not dead yet…" Ed finally grunted, and Manami let out a whimper that sounded like relief.
"You two still need medical attention…" The gorilla pointed out, and Manami looked to her leg.
"He's right..." She said. "My ankle is probably broken..."
"Make a stint…" Ed started to push himself to stand up. "We have to go… find Kimblee."
"What?!" Manami instinctively went to stand, but fell once again due to the intense pain in her ankle. "Ow... w-we can't go anywhere like this!"
While they were distracted, the gorilla had found something in the pile of rubble nearby… a little crimson stone…
He decided against saying anything about it, so he just stuffed it in his pocket.
"You're just gonna reopen your wound!" Manami pleaded, right before Ed collapsed on the floor.
"Ed!"
"He's just unconscious…" The lion assured her after he walked up to Ed. "What a stubborn kid."
Manami watched with wide eyes as the lion picked up Ed and lifted him onto his back.
"Wait…" She flinched when she saw the gorilla approaching her now.
"Come on, we're taking you two to a doctor."
"Why?" Manami frowned up at him, not at all convinced. "Why are you helping us?"
"..." The gorilla and lion exchanged glances again.
"Well… because you helped us." The lion finally answered.
"Ed helped you." Manami corrected him.
"Well, you're with him, aren't you?" The gorilla sighed and went to scoop Manami into his still bleeding arms. "So we're helping you both, as thanks for him saving both our lives."
"P-Put me down!" Despite her broken ankle, the rest of her body seemed to be alright enough to struggle in his grip.
"How do I know you're not just gonna take us right to Kimblee—"
"Because that'd be really stupid of us." The lion grunted, cutting her off. "Seeing as we failed our mission… he'd probably just kill us, too."
Manami's eyes widened. That's that the other two chimeras said, too...
"We're taking you to a doctor, and that's that!" The gorilla said her, and he and the lion set off.
"..." Manami loosened up in the gorilla's grip and started to relax, now.
The moment she did, she felt her eyelids get heavy. In her last moment of consciousness, she allowed herself the weak fantasy that she wasn't being carried by some weird gorilla man, but instead… Al.
Manami slowly opened her eyes to see an eggshell white ceiling.
Where was she? Was she even alive?
She looked down to find herself in a bed, her leg bandaged and elevated over a few pillows, and next to her bed there was an IV bag with a tube that connected to her arm.
"The girl is up." She heard a voice, and she looked out of the corner of her eye to see an elderly couple approach her.
"Hey there." The old man greeted her. "You and your friend are alright… just take everything slow."
Manami was grateful that the old man answered her question before she could ask… it prevented the anxiety.
She and Ed were alive…
"Where… is he?" Manami croaked, managing to turn her head to look at them, but regretted it immediately. It felt like someone hit her with a sledgehammer.
"Right here." The couple stepped aside to reveal a bed a few feet away from her own... and laying in it was Ed, unconscious.
"You're lucky those gentlemen brought you when they did. The boy almost didn't make it." The woman said to her.
"..." Manami felt a twinge of guilt. She yelled at those guys, and it's because of them that Ed was even alive.
"But, as I said," The man must've seen her expression change. "He will be just fine. He may sleep for a day or two more, but when he wakes up… well let's say he'll be too drugged up to feel the pain."
"Drugged up?" Manami couldn't help but be concerned.
"Morphine." The woman grinned. "If anything, I feel sorry for you. You're the one who's got to put up with any loopiness he'll have as a side effect."
"You, on the other hand…" The man changed the subject. "Have a broken ankle and a concussion. Compared to him, you made out much better."
"Okay…" Manami nodded. "Thank you... for your hospitality..."
"Do you need anything?" The man asked her.
"Um, actually…" Manami was already conjuring a plan in her mind. "Do you have a telephone?"
"Yes, in the other room."
"Let me get you a chair…" The man crossed the room to go in a closet and start to unfold a wheelchair.
"In you go…" He helped her in the chair, and even moved the IV stand to connect to the chair. He pushed her out the room, where Manami was surprised to see Kimblee's two men. The lion and the gorilla, just in their human forms.
They seemed to be just as surprised to see her.
"Hey…" The one with glasses said to her.
"You okay?" The other one, with mutton chops, asked.
Manami was even more surprised that they were so concerned for her...
"Yeah…" Manami slowly nodded. "Um… I should be thanking you… and apologizing…"
"Don't worry about it." The man with glasses smiled. "The anxiety was pretty high for all of us back there."
"And you lost a good amount of blood from your head." The man with mutton chops nodded in agreement.
"Still… the doctors said if you hadn't brought us when you did…" Manami looked down to her hands in her lap. "... Ed could've died."
"Really, don't worry about it."
"Well… can I at least know your names?" Manami asked, looking up to meet their eyes. "I only know you as lion and gorilla men…"
"I'm not a gorilla!" The man with the chops snipped. "The name is Darius."
"And my name is Heinkel." The other said.
"Okay… Heinkel, Darius..." Manami smiled a little. "Thank you."
"..." The two men smiled a little back at her.
"You needed to make a phone call?" The elderly man asked from behind her, reminding her of her original reason for being out here.
"Oh, yeah…" Manami nodded and he wheeled her into a small room where there was only a telephone on a table.
Good, she wanted to have some privacy.
"Just holler when you're finished." He said with a small smile before turning to leave and closing the door behind him.
Manami sighed softly and went to pick up the receiver and dial Gracia Hughes' phone number.
She felt her heart begin to pound as each ring passed. It's been a while since the fight with Kimblee… had word spread that they were fugitives by now?
"Hello?" She heard Gracia's voice. "Hughes residence."
Manami let out a sigh of relief.
"G-Gracia… it's me, Manami— b-but don't say my name out loud!"
She was so paranoid, someone could be around to hear Gracia say her name...
"O-Okay…" Gracia sounded confused. "How are you? You're calling out of the blue."
"..." Manami bit her lip. "Gracia… I really don't know how else to tell you this, but... I need you and Elicia to get out of Central."
"What?"
"Actually… getting out of Amestris might be a better idea…" Manami mumbled to herself.
Her brain was whirring with plans, what-ifs, and worst-case-scenarios.
"I'm sorry, but that's just not feasible." Gracia told her. "What's going—"
"The military is up to something foul." Manami told her, seriously. "In fact… I think Maes found out exactly what it was… and that's why he was killed. We still don't know who did it, but… we know for sure that the military was behind all of it."
Gracia was quiet for a long moment.
"... where are you now?" She finally asked.
"In the north." Manami answered. "I think, at this point… Ed and I are fugitives. Which means that the military will go after our hostages. Winry was one, but she managed to escape… so that's why I need you and Elicia to leave, now."
"..." Gracia was quiet again. "... a-are you safe?"
"Yes I'm— this is about you, Gracia..!" Manami pleaded. "I need you to leave tonight!"
She suddenly got an idea.
"... do you happen to have Mustang's house phone number? Maes might have had it, if you still have a phone book of his…"
"Hold on…" The other end grew quiet, except for the sounds of ruffling papers.
"... I found it..." Gracia sounded breathless, probably from the panic rising inside her.
Manami found a notepad and paper nearby and scratched the number down.
"Okay, I'm going to call him and set something up. I'll call back… but in the meantime, promise me you'll start packing."
"... I-I promise." Gracia stammered.
Manami hung up and immediately dialed the number on her notepad and took a deep breath as the rings began.
Ring… ring… ring… ring…
"Come on… Colonel..." Manami silently pleaded. "Please, please pick up…"
"Hello?"
Manami once again found herself letting out another pent up breath.
"Colonel." She said. "It's Manami. Don't say my name aloud. Are you alone?"
Roy sounded like he was stammering for a few seconds.
"Yeah…" He finally answered her. "Where the hell are you?"
"Has the news spread to Central already?" Manami asked.
"What news?"
Manami sighed in relief. Good… she still had time.
"We're up north. Ed and I are about to be fugitives." Manami told him. "But that's not why I'm calling; I need your help to get Gracia and Elicia Hughes out of Central."
"What?!"
"There's an abandoned house in New Optain. I need them to get there without being followed. Tonight."
"Slow down!" Roy interjected. "This is a hell of a favor to ask!"
"And I'm willing to pay whatever you want for it!" Manami gripped the phone tightly in her hand. "We said that we would do whatever it takes to ensure their safety!"
"I know that, Wind!" Roy snapped back at her. "Just let me think!"
They both fell silent for a brief moment, allowing Roy to rack his own brain.
"... alright. I think I have a plan." He finally said, his voice sounding more calm now. "Where in New Optain?"
"I have coordinates." Manami told him. She didn't think she would ever need that information, and she internally thanked Tyberious for making her remember the numbers.
"Alright." Roy sounded determined. "You owe me."
Manami let out a shaky breath. "Thank you… Colonel."
"Are you safe?" He suddenly asked her.
"... y-yeah..." Manami answered him. "More or less..."
"Good. Take care of yourselves."
"You too." Manami nodded, then hung up to dial the Hughes Residence again.
Ring… ring...
"H-Hello?" Gracia answered.
"Mommy?!" She could hear Elicia cry in the background. "Where are we going?"
Manami's heart broke.
"... W-We have it set up for someone to get you tonight." She croaked. "Listen closely, they will know the coordinates of where you'll be going, but only you will know how to get in. There's a key at the front window; you have to dig under the sill and pull the plank back to get it. Get yourselves inside and lock the door. Keep the curtains closed. Don't open the door for anyone."
"Okay..."
"... I'm sorry, Gracia..." Manami felt the need to say it. "I-It's bad enough that Maes... and now you, too..."
"It's not your fault..." Gracia replied.
Manami closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. This would be the last time she would probably talk to her or Elicia for a long time… if ever again...
"... I love you." Gracia suddenly said, and Manami flinched.
All she could think of... was when Maes said he loved her… she never saw him again.
"... I-I love you too. You and Elicia both..."
Manami quickly hung up and let out a small whimper as she covered her teary eyes with both her hands.
She hated this. She hated that so many people were in danger. She hated that she and Ed were hurt.
She hated… that Al wasn't here.