Okay! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Ch 11. Words of Farewell
"So you're saying that all the bigwigs that are connected to the 5th Laboratory either die or end up missing?" Edward asked as he looked at the book that Hughes handed to him.
"And there weren't any criminals on the list that had the Ouroboros mark on them." Hughes added
- - Outside the room - -
"It sounds like they're talking about some scary stuff." Bloch tells Ross
"I don't want to stick my nose into any more trouble, so I don't want to hear about it." She says as she covers her ears with her fingers.
- - Back in the room - -
"Still, there should be scientists that worked under Doctor Marcoh. If we could find some of them…" Armstrong said, but was cut off by Hughes.
"Well, leave that to me." At this both Ed and Al gave each other a quick look before speaking up.
"Um, about that…" Al put in and Ed finished the sentence.
"It doesn't really matter anymore."
"What are you talking about?!" Winry angrily asks the bothers, as you looked at them.
"We're saying that we've had enough of the Philosopher's Stone and the Homunculi and other things along those lines." Ed answered.
"And that maybe, it would be smarter to look for an alternate route." Al added.
"That would be smarter." Armstrong said. You sat quietly on a chair that was by the door.
"But if you could find it that simply, there would be not sport to it." Hughes added
"There is one person who might know about it." Ed continued
"Our teacher." Al put in.
"Our teacher lives to the south, in a place called Dublith. We plan on paying a visit." Ed explained. Armstrong was about to say something but Hughes stopped him. You sat there thinking about how strange this was getting.
'There's no way. This is getting ridiculous.' you thought.
"AGHHH! Here, just one stop befor Dublith…" Winry said, as she pointed toward a map.
"Is there something there?" Al asked
"It's the holy land of automail mechanics, Rush Valley! I've always wanted to go there!" she said, suddenly she somehow made to the bed and started jumping on it. Then again, suddenly she was on the ground pulling Edward's jacket as she threw what looked like a small tantrum.
"Take me with you! Take me with you! Take me with you! Take me with you!"
You stood in order to look at the scene before you. 'Never thought I'd see her do that.' You thought with a smile.
"Go there by yourself." Ed told her
"But who's going to pay for my traveling expenses?" she asked
"You trying to mooch off us?!" Ed exclaimed
"It's okay brother. It's on the way and all…"Al began but was cut off by Edward.
"What's the use?"
"Yeah!" she exclaimed as you watched.
"Well, we'll be seeing you guys." Hughes said as he and Armstrong left. Bloch then popped his head in.
"Lt. Col. We just got a message from Col. Mustang." He said as he handed you a piece of paper. You turned and reached for it, as you gave him thanks. You began to read as the other three occupants were staring at you. You then smiled as you folded the paper and put it in your sweater. The others gave you looks to tell them what was on the paper.
"Well, I got a new mission." You said, noticing the slightly gloomy look on Ed's face as you informed them.
"What's with the look Ed?" you asked with a smirk. All you got was a "Hmph" and a sight blush on his face as he turned away.
"Mad that I'm going on this with you guys?" he turned to you.
"Aww, you were going to miss me. And here you thought that they were sending me somewhere else, away from you." You said as you moved closer to him and hugged him. He froze as steam came out of his ears.
Oh, how you loved messing with his mind. So easy.
"Wh-whatever!" he said. Something inside you stirred knowing that he was going to miss you. Oh yes, he was glad that you were going to be around.
- - Outside the room - -
"So those two have finally decided not to get involved in any more dangerous business, huh?" Bloch told them
"They must have realized how hard it was for us to guard them." He continued
"If that was only the case." Hughes said, surprising both Bloch and Ross
"This is all to keep us from becoming victims." Armstrong added
"Pretty sharp, for a kid." Hughes added as he looked in and saw a slightly flustered Ed, as you held a smirk on your face.
- - Train Station - -
You four were getting on the train as Armstrong, Ross, Bloch and the Hughes family were all there to see you off. Poor Elicia, looked as if she wanted to start crying. She had tears in her eyes threatening to fall. You started to rummage through your bag and found what you were looking for.
"Here. This is for you Short Stuff." You said as you handed her a small stuffed animal, as Ed watched from the corner of his eye.
"Wow! Thank you." She said as her face lit up. It was a small wolf, standing with its head facing up, howling to the sky.
"You four take care of yourselves, alright." Mrs. Hughes said
"We will, thank you." Winry replied as the group went into the train. The train took off shortly, as you four squeezed yourselves into the window to wave. Everyone was waving as you made your way to Rush Valley. Both Armstrong and Elicia had tears down their faces as they waved in return.
- - On the train - -
"You're not going to Dublith!?" Winry asked.
"But we are going as far as Rush Valley." Al defended
"If that's the case, alright. But why not?" she asked
"Are you still going to ask your teacher about other methods you could use besides the Philosopher's Stone, aren't you?" she asked Edward
"If we did that, we'd be killed." He answered
"Killed?" she questioned again
"We never told our teacher about becoming State Alchemists." Al added
"Not to mention that if it got out that we performed human transmutation…" Ed continued as both boys were now sulking.
"I'd like to live a little bit longer." Edward added
"I would at least like to have fallen in love, Brother." Alphonse said. You and Winry just looked at the two of them.
"And even if that wasn't the case, I get the feeling we shouldn't ask our teacher about this." Ed told you two.
"So, what are you going to do?" you asked from your seat next to Ed.
"There's a large-scale Ishbalan camp in the mountains to the south. I'm guessing that Scar and the others are headed there." Edward answered.
"You're going after Scar?" you questioned him
"It's said that a Philosopher's Stone was once created in Ishbal. But since they never had alchemy introduced to them in the first place, we think it might be possible that they created it in a completely different manner." Al informed you and Winry.
"I'm going to pound him and make him tell us the secret." Edward announced, with some anger in his voice.
"Now, Brother, he really isn't that bad of a person." Al defended the scarred man.
"He's a killer, and he uses alchemy to do it. I can't let him get away with that." Edward said, as he crossed his arms and sunk into the seat.
- - Eastern HQ - -
"Why didn't you tell me that the Elrics and (_l/n_) were in the hospital?!" Mustang asked Hughes angrily over the phone.
"Huh? Didn't I mention that? Well, it's no big deal." Hughes replied.
"No big deal?!"
"Never mind them, it sounds like your reporting to Central is going to be formally settled on. Hurry up and make yourself important, so you can make things easier for the rest of us… And find yourself a wife!" Hughes interrupted. Mustang didn't let him finish as he slammed the phone down.
"Be gentle with the telephone, sir." Hawkeye said as she walked by with some books.
"Lieutenant, get us a train." He told her
"To Central?" she asked
"Something is going on." He said, more to himself then anyone.
- - Hughes House - -
"Roy is just worried about those two. And (_f/n_) is like his daughter." Gracia told her husband.
"There's no need to worry him unnecessarily, nor does he need to know about any nonsense. For one thing, it's possible that our phones are being tapped. Sorry, but I still have things to look into." Maes informed his wife.
"Okay, be careful." She told him
"Daddy still has lots of work to do. I'll be back later." He says to his daughter. Kissing her on the forehead before walking towards his wife and kissing her.
- - Central - -
"Bring me the reports on the Liore riots!" Hughes yelled
"Right!" Sheska answered
"Where are the diagrams of the transmutation circles from the 5th Laboratory?! The budget from the first year of the Ishbal Rebellion!" he bellowed. Sheska continued to grab all the information that he needed.
"Am I going to get payed overtime for this?" she asked out loud.
"I'll give you a picture of Elicia!" Hughes came up behind her, scaring her. She took it and tears came to her eyes, realizing she would not be getting paid.
"Ishbal… Liore… Mugwar's mines… once they got near a Philosopher's Stone, they were destroyed. Strange, isn't it? If they're driving people to create a Philosopher's Stone, why would they spread stories that when you get near the Philosopher's Stone, you'll be destroyed?
Is it to get rid of all the evidence? No… it couldn't be… just the opposite, could it…?
Supposing everything was reversed… Hold on… the one that caused the outbreak of war in Ishbal was… Douglas? Where have I heard…?" Hughes was thinking out loud when the phone ringing interrupted him.
"There's a call from the Fuhrer's secretary for you sir." Sheska came into the room
"Thank you." He said as he picked up the phone.
"Yes, Dr. Marcoh has arrived in Central. He is waiting at the hotel. Thank you very much. I will go see him right away." As Hughes hung up the phone, it hit him.
"Douglas… Juliet…" he knew.
"Sheska! Put all the reports back where you found them!" he yelled out, as he got up suddenly, knocking the chair to the floor.
"Once you're done, you can go home! Also, you're fired!" he continued as he left the room.
"Don't ever come around here again." He added. She just stood there, a surprised look on her face.
- - Hotel - -
"Sorry to put you through all this trouble. Ms. Douglas, do you know much about the Ishbalan War?" Hughes asked
"No, I've always had desk jobs." She replied
"So have I, you know? I've been looking into some things lately. Did you know that the reason the rebellion broke out was because one of the soldiers stationed there accidentally shot and killed a child? The soldier's name, was Juliet Douglas." He informed her.
"It's a common name." she said
"That's where it gets interesting. The soldier with that name was supposed to have died two years before the Ishbal Massacre." He continued
"That is odd." She replied
"There's one more "odd" thing. Douglas was dead before then. And yet, the list for this person named Juliet Douglas was never withdrawn; on the contrary, over the last two years, the soldier with that name has been suddenly promoted." He added
"And now, she has been promoted to the Fuhrer's Personal Secretary?" she added as well
"Who are you? Were you in Ishbal? Or did you use Douglas' registration to get into the military?" Hughes questioned
"The Doctor is waiting[1]." She said
"Is Marcoh even in there?" he asked. He went toward the door. When suddenly the adjacent door opened and Lust came flying out. Ready to kill. She stopped her sharpened claws at his neck.
"Nice to meet you. Or perhaps, "goodbye" might be more appropriate." She said, her voice low.
"That's a nice tattoo you got there, babe." He said. Her claws extending and nicked his right arm. He was able to throw a knife at her forehead, hitting the mark. Suddenly there were gunshots fired as Ross came to the rescue. They ran past the two women to safety.
"That was skillful, wasn't it?" Lust said as she removed the blade for her forehead. Then instructed Douglas to let the others know.
- - Outside - -
Hughes was explaining to Ross as they both ran. As he turned to look at her, he stopped running. They made their way to a payphone that was located in a nearby park. He got on the phone and dialed Col. Mustang's office.
Only to find out, that he was on his way to Central.
"With this information, he could have gone straight to the top!" he said as he hung up the phone.
"We should get to a safe place." Ross spoke up.
"Right. I got nothing left here." He replied. They started walking away when Hughes spoke. Getting one of his knifes ready.
"Why don't you tell me all about it?" he pointed it at her throat.
"The Lieutenant has a mole under her left eye."
"Is that right?" the Ross imposter said
"I must have gotten careless." The imposter said as they turned. Moving their left hand under the eye and placing the mole there.
"That's a nice trick." Hughes moved and slit the imposter's throat. The body fell to the ground as blood spilled from the wound.
"Sorry, but I have a wife and daughter waiting for me at home." He said as he walked away. He turned when a noise came from behind. The imposter then took the form of his wife.
"That was a pretty good trick, wasn't it, Lt. Col. Hughes?" the wife imposter said. Before pulling the trigger of the pistol in their hand. Hughes fell to the ground, as memories came to his fading mind.
- - Military Cemetery - -
A few days later, a funeral was held in the honor of Brigadier General Hughes.
The cries of his young daughter, making it unbearable for some of the other people attending.
"Killed in the line of duty, and promoted two ranks… Brig. Gen. Hughes, huh?" What am I going to do, now that the man who said he would stay beneath me and assisted me has gone above me, you idiot?" Roy said aloud to his best friend's gravestone.
"Colonel…" Riza said as she walked up to him.
"Once, I tried putting together a theory on how to perform human transmutation. Just now, I was frantically remembering it. We alchemists are nasty creatures. If the Elric Brothers were mixed up in this, why didn't he report it to me? He didn't have to go charging in alone…" he said to her.
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" she asked
"What?" he asked as he turned to look at her.
"When it comes to (_f/n_) and those two, the Colonel has been known to lose his level-headed judgment. And so, Brig. Gen. Hughes took everything concerning the Elrics upon himself." She told him. He put his cover back on before speaking again. His voice breaking a bit.
"It's starting to rain, huh?" he asked. She looked up at him.
"Yes." She replied. Tears running down his face.
- - Back on the train - -
You were currently passed out on the seat next to Ed. You were leaning against him with your head on his shoulder. The blush he had developed awhile ago when you first leaned on him was barely visible now. The teasing that he received from Winry and his brother were the main reason for the blush lasting as long as it did. He was now currently eating a piece of pie that Mrs. Hughes had made for you guys.
"I wonder if this is what Mom's cooking taste like?" Ed wondered.
"Mrs. Hughes and Elicia are such wonderful people." Winry said from her seat next to Al. also eating a piece of the pie.
"Lt. Col. Hughes is a mother hen and a busybody, he bothers me." Ed put in, still eating.
"He always used to come to joke around with us, huh?" Al said
"He always said he was busy with work, but he still came by to check on us." Edward replied.
"I wonder why he looked after us as much as he did." Al wondered
"Who knows?" Ed answered as he looked outside.
"When we get back to Central, make sure you thank him." Winry told him. You stirred next to him. Opening your eyes as you sat back up.
"(_F/n_), are you okay?" Winry asked concerned.
"Yeah, why?" you asked confused. All eyes were on you.
"There's tears running down your face." Al said, as you wiped the tears off your face.
"What's wrong?" Ed asked, turning to look at you.
"Nothing. I don't know what brought this on." You answered, confusion in your voice.
"I'm fine guys, really." You said as you waved them off. You didn't want to worry them about the dream you had. It was Maes, asking you to watch over his family. It scared and confused the hell out of you.
Ed was still looking at you until something outside caught his attention. It was Hughes, with a smile on his face as he waved at him.
Ed stuck his head out the window looking back.
"Ed?" Winry asked
"What's up?" you asked.
"Is there something the matter, Brother?" Al asked as well.
"No." he answered and took another bite from his piece.
"Here (_f/n_), try this." Winry said as she handed you a piece of the pie that Mrs. Hughes made.
"Oh wow! This is amazing." You said as you ate the food that was given to you.
You all enjoyed the other's company, not knowing of the tragedy that has accrued back in Central.
I hope you guys enjoyed it. This episode still brings tears to my eyes.
[1] I hate these words…. They're eviiiiil.
Take care everyone!