Chapter 98: Renaissance

In spite of the fact that they had come with peaceful intentions, Laila's knees trembled a little bit as she knocked forcefully against the door before she grabbed Cai's hand to gain some support. Jun Li and Lei had stayed behind because Nick had come to the conclusion that the both high-skilled warriors from Xing could intimidate Serena – and like Bea had stated before: an intimidated Serena was a woman who would strike without thinking rationally. Bea had also stayed behind – but for completely different reasons. The major was a smart woman and she knew that her affiliations to the military could make Serena even more nervous and like she had learnt in the academy: a nervous woman was never predictable and she could snap.

"We don't need to do this," Edward tried one last time to escape the situation without a bruise.

Laila looked over her shoulder up at him as she smirked. "So, you are afraid, Elric?" she asked and looked more like her aunt Nerissa than usually – she even exactly hit Nerissa's calm soprano.

"I am not afraid, Laila. I am merely worried on your behalf," he said. "And your mother will murder me if you die while I am around. So I have no choice but reminding you that there still is a way out."

The blond girl looked at her brother who seemed serious and determinate as usually. "I respect your choice, Laila, but I believe that we have to go through with it," he said calmly while he gently patted her shoulder. "I know that you dislike this situation but … one day, we will be the ones to keep alive what our parents died for, Elric. My mother and my father bleed to death because they knew too much. Oh, and as far as I remember were you the one who dragged my mother into this mess."

Cai sighed deeply before he kicked both of them. "We can't argue now," he said. "Nick, I know that you miss your parents but they knew the risk and the decided that it was more important to allow you and your sister to lead a happy life. Parents do things like that. Like I said, they knew more than we know."

Victoria had stared at the door all the time and her breath went slowly. Owen put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. She looked at him and a faint smile danced across her face before she straightened herself and looked at Elicia who carried her little brother, Frederic. "I hear someone coming," she said while she grabbed her brother's hand.

The door opened and the children stared at the young woman in the doorway. She was much taller than they had imagined her.
Nick had thought that Serena looked more like his mother Lynn, always considering that they had been twin sisters
Victoria had desperately hoped for a hint of red in her aunt's hair but it was just golden, exactly like Nerissa's.
Laila had imagined the youngest sister curvier and more muscular but Serena seemed terribly fragile, just like Victoria.
Cai who had seen some pictures of the younger Serena was shocked by the lack of her smile which had once been her most famous trademark.
Elicia missed the gleam in the bright blue eyes which still resembled a cold winter day.
Edward wondered how such a fragile woman could be the genius who had been able to seal a room permanently.
Frederic, however, was not disappointed. He just extended his arms.

"I surely don't live up to your expectations and I am sorry for that," Serena said and her voice was wavering. Her body language betrayed her nervousness and Edward's disappointment grew with every passing second. How was it possible that such a … little girl was one of the best state alchemists who had ever had passed the exam? How could it be that a woman who looked more fragile than the always pale and delicate Victoria was a powerful alchemist?

"You certainly don't," he said rudely. "The adults are preparing their journey to your house better than a mission against the homunculi but I guess that I could beat you every day."

She looked at him while she placed Frederic on her hip. "I will take you up on this offer," she said as she bowed ironically. "I believe I don't even have to ask. Laila, Victoria, Nick, Elicia, Frederic – I guess, the actual student of Madame Mustang and a warrior from Xing – oh, and the infamous Fullmetal Alchemist who –according to what I heard – tends to underestimate other alchemists."

"The name is Cai Yao," the young prince said with a polite little bow. "It's great to meet you."

"Oh, a prince from the Yao-clan?" Serena asked while she stepped back to allow them into her house.

"Yes, Miss Hamilton," he replied while he dragged Laila into the house. "You heard from my family?"

"I occasionally have business with Xing and also with your clan, Cai," she said. "Tea or hot cocoa?"

"How did you know who my parents are?" Elicia asked while she held onto Nick's hand.

"Your father was … is one of my few friends," she said calmly. "Well, come in. There are discussions I don't want to have on my doorstep. You are, however, allowed to throw everything at me."

"You are up very early, considering that it's barely seven o'clock in the morning," Edward muttered.

"I am up since four," Serena replied before she let them into an elegant entrance hall and tilted her head backwards before she raised her voice for the first time. "Boss, the guests are here!" she yelled.

Riza froze as she entered the children's room and gasped as she spotted the empty beds. She closed her eyes for a moment trying to convince herself that she was having a nightmare but when she opened her eyes again, she spotted the white piece of paper on the desk.

We are so sorry, mommy, but we simply can't allow you to make such a mistake. But you wouldn't listen to kids, so we had to take the matter into our own hands and travel to Lionnenburg. We left with the eleven-o'clock-train in the night.
And took Edward as a hostage, so no funny business, yes?
Nick!
Well, yes, like Nick said: we have Edward, so tell Aunty Nessa and Winry that we don't want them to worry about him. They will get him back once he finished his job, so they don't have to worry about their little brother/fiancé at all.
Are you really sure about this, Laila?
Oh, shut up, Vicky!
And we also kidnapped Owen, so tell Aunty Abbs that her old student didn't run off or something.
Lots of love, Laila,
Victoria
and Nick!

The thing Riza realised first was that she wasn't even surprised or angry. She just felt like a certain weight had been lifted from her shoulders – and to tell the truth, she had expected that the children wouldn't let the adults go through with it. They had been raised to take responsibility and to make decisions even when they were uncomfortable. And somehow, she was proud of them even though that didn't keep her from worrying about her children.

"They are gone?" Nerissa asked.

Riza didn't flinch. Usually, even she wouldn't have known that the older woman was close by because Nerissa moved silent as a falling snowflake and since she never meant true danger for Riza as long as she had no reason to be angry with someone, Riza's sharp senses didn't warn her like they would have done it if a homunculus would come up behind her. But since Nerissa had to use crutches and hated it with passion so she cursed regularly, Riza always knew when the other blonde was coming. "Yeah," she said while she handed over the letter. "I can't say that this surprised me."

"I am also not surprised at all," Nerissa said. "And considering that they dragged Elric along … I really admire the cold perfection your daughters show when it comes to perform a flawless revenge."

Riza nodded while she put the letter into her pocket. "Well, to quote your father: 'You may be young but that isn't an excuse for being irresponsible and foolish. If you don't want people to decide for you, go on and decide for yourself!'" she said in an exaggerated strict voice.

"Aww, bless darling daddy," Nerissa chuckled while she turned around to face Phil. "What's up, Breezy?" she asked with a faint smirk.

"Bea never returned from her walk," the air alchemist exclaimed before he glared at the tall woman next to him. "And I can't remember giving you the permission to call me that."

"Maybe she eloped with Edward," Riza smirked. "She seems to have a thing for automails…"

Nerissa gasped in mock shock. "Riza, I believe this the first time in a long time that you joked…"

"The first in a long time that you saw her joking, maybe," Phil smirking, hearing his cousin coming closer and closer with every passing second, "but her best joke so far is still that she married Roy."

"Phil…" Roy growled as he lightly smacked his cousin. They had grown up like brothers and even though Roy had been always closer to Jade, the both males still had a good and stable friendship that allowed them to joke around without hurting each other too badly.

Edward felt the eyes of the red-haired man on his back as he sat on the table. He suddenly felt a certain danger surrounding him and the uncomfortable feeling he had had around Serena from the very beginning became stronger as she spoke with the man she called 'boss'. The children were too tired to notice the tension in the air and from their places around the table they couldn't even see the man.

"…I see that you became faster, Serena," the man said quietly while a knife hit a board again and again.

"Ironic, isn't it?" she asked. "I excel in a field where I need more concentration and endurance than speed but at the same time, I get faster with every passing month."

"Your recovery is certainly progressing," he said and Edward who had spent some months in Creta recognised the faint accent of Lutetia, the Cretan Capital. "I told you that you would recover, Rena."

"Miss Hawkeye," Edward said. "You got your qualification for your Water Alchemy but in later files it is stated that you dislike this kind of alchemy … so what do you use these days?"

"It's difficult to explain and I would be really foolish if I would share all my secrets with you, Fullmetal," she said. "I say just this much: I excel in defence."

"A good defence often saves your neck," the man added chuckling.

"My trainer would certainly agree," Cai stated smoothly while he remembered all the bruises he had gotten from Jun Li because of his lacking defence. "She is quite an intimidating woman."

"Well, I worked in Briggs, so defence is a part of my philosophy," Serena said while she caught a knife thrown at her with ease. "So, what exactly do you want from me?"

Edward put down his mug with a lot of force. "An explication why you left your post and faked your own death!" he shouted. "I mean … it's the duty of a state alchemist to stay on his or her feet to the end and as long as you weren't injured after the attack, you have no excuse for hiding!"

Serena stepped into the room and while she walked over to him, she bound her long hair to a tight bun that left no hair on her neck and back to cover it. She inhaled deeply before she turned her back to her guests and took off her black pullover. The straps of her brassiere hid just a small part of the huge scar that marred her complete back along with a long line of alchemistic symbols that ran from her right shoulder to the waistband of her skirt. "Does this answer why I hid?" she asked while she got into her pullover again and turned around to face him. "I was lucky and I know it. If the bear had gotten me a little bit harder and if the claws had destroyed more of my back, I would be in a wheelchair now."

Victoria looked at her in sympathy before she stood up and crossed the room with few but powerful steps before she stopped in front of her aunt and hugged her tightly. "I understand," she said calmly.

Serena looked down and for a moment, Edward was reminded of the day when Izumi had forgiven him for the Human Transmutation and for becoming a state alchemist. "The one with the sharpest ears wouldn't hear the bear coming for her?" he asked while he came to the conclusion that the blood in the snow had been probably really Serena's.

"Sadly," she said while she tried to smile a little bit. "I could say that my ears were covered and it would be the truth but that's no excuse for my failure."

"That means … with such an injury, getting away would have been nearly impossible all on your own," Laila stated. "So, someone helped you to survive, right? Such an injury would have killed you in a matter of minutes."

"I passed out for a moment from the pain, so my heartbeat slowed down. I would have lasted maybe fifteen minutes, but afterwards I would have become a part of the Briggs, yes," Serena said. "But my luck didn't leave me when I was bleeding to death in the snow. I had often more luck than brain."

"But who was able to get you out of an area like Briggs where we have guards everywhere to prevent spies from Drachma?" Edward asked. "I know how it is up there…"

"I was assigned to Briggs since 1911, so I knew the mountains like the back of my hand," she said. "And I was found by someone I could trust. And he knows the Briggs even better than I do."

The red-haired man finally stepped into the room and Elicia, Laila, Nick and Victoria gasped.

Roy stared at Nerissa who sat on the opposite seat in the train while he frowned as he spotted on of her knives on her belt. "I believe you are the only one who prefers knifes over other weapons," he said.

"Traditional Cretan weaponry," she said while she looked up from her book. "Everything I know about fighting and strategy is traditional Cretan – and it's really successful in this country so far."

"As long as you don't get a psycho," Jade sighed, rubbing her bruised rips for a second.

"Oh, speaking of mentally limited people…" the blonde turned towards Breeze Soul. "I know that we don't always get along that well, Mustang, but I know that you like Elric even less and for running away with the kids, he needs a proper beating and I wondered if you would spar with him."

Jade grinned widely, utterly pleased with this suggestion. "You just got more points, Nerissa," she said as she clapped her hands. "Yes, I am with you in this case. Oh, and you have the spirit daddy is talking about all the time, so maybe you should consider joining our family. I am sure that we have still some cousin of eight degree who would gladly marry you."

Catherina sat on the bed and had her legs crossed as she stared at the wall while she tried to calm herself down a little bit. As Duchess and mayor of Artagan, a little town in Creta, she had been trained to stay calm no matter how much she wanted to freak out. Her breath went slowly and she closed her eyes for a moment as she analysed her situation. She wasn't – for once – a prisoner and from what she had seen from the window, she was in one of the best mansions of Lionnenburg.

"…you are awake," a calm, familiar voice said and she slowly turned around as she opened her eyes to face the only man she had ever loved. He stood in the door and looked down. "I am sorry," he said.

"I know you are," she said as she got up and straightened her dress before she forced another brilliant smile on her face. "You know, you could never lie to me."

"You are making it sound like you could trick me," he said as he held out his hand. "Can I at least apologise properly, Cathy? I am sorry for letting you believe that I went missing and died in the Briggs. I apologise for putting my goals above yours when we were engaged – and I'm sorry for hurting you."

Her forced smile cracked and became a genuine one. "Apology accepted, Peter," she said before she hugged him tightly, "but the next time you fake your death, give me a call or something. I cried for weeks when I heard that you went missing."

"Hey, going missing has tradition in my family!" he tried to defend himself before his green eyes narrowed and he pushed up the sleeve of her jacket. Deep scars were carefully wrapped around her wrist and he looked up to her face before he gently kissed the scars. "I am so, so sorry," he whispered. He should have known what his decision would do to her. She had promised to love him forever – even after their break-up and he should have known that she would stay true to her word because she was Catherina D'Artagan and Catherina D'Artagan would rather die than break a promise she had made.

He knew her better than he knew anyone else. Maybe that was to be expected, seeing that he knew her since they had been five and nine. She was – in his eyes – like the sky in April. (He could have chosen every month in spring but he always said April because she had been born in April.) Her green eyes carried the sunlight in them. She was even after so many years still a child of light and next to her, even the brightest stars would pale in comparison. Her heart was always aflame and this fire drove her further and further against anyone who tried to step into her way. It was, however, always ridiculous to try to keep Catherina D'Artagan from her goals. Like the brightest day would melt the snow away, so could she always break through any ice around a person – like she had done it when they had been kids and he had been a terrible little boy.

She looked at him, trying to figure him out but his eyes were still like the frozen sky above Lutetia in late fall. In his eyes, she saw the dark clouds and the endless storms that troubled his heart as long as she knew him. He had always reminded him of the cold and lonely moon in an October night without any stars. His eyes always betrayed him, it was sometimes ridiculous that he still tried to hide his true feelings from her. His eyes were amazing because even though he was of Cretan origin, just like she, he had the most amazing blue rays in his emerald orbs. He was a child of fall, meant to end the spring – but she had never cared about this because in a certain way, they kept destroying each other for more than twenty years by now. But they were like addicts and even though they were always separated in a certain way, they were always united in another way.

Catherina's reasons were always related to love in the one or another sense.

Peter's reasons were usually connected to hate and revenge because as much as he tried to defeat his inner demons, he kept falling down.

She had been his reason to get up. She had been his sun for years, the light in his dark days. To lose her had nearly killed him but he had realised that it had been his own fault in a way. They had been always different and their love – albeit strong and fateful in some way – had always had been like a fatal injury or a strong poison from the very beginning.

They had never been soft. They had been weapons, sharp and rough around the edges. They had meant to be, maybe, but that had never allowed getting that far in their relationship. Catherina had stopped it before she could get too involved and lose her usual control.

"…so, let me get this clear," Laila said while she paced around in the living room, just like Roy would do it. "That Raven-lookalike shot you back in 1914 but the bullet didn't get through your clothes, right? And because you were probably distracted after being shot, you were attacked by a bear and because of your injuries; you had to go undercover in order to stay alive, right?"

Serena nodded slowly while she let down her hair again. "Exact," she said. "I originally planned on returning to Briggs when I heard that the old generals were gone but before I could make up my mind, I heard that Hakon had died and … and I needed time to deal with this."

"Hakon?" Edward asked while he raised his eyebrow.

"Captain Buccaneer," the Mermaid Alchemist said collected but Laila saw the nervous flicker in her eyes. "We were a couple and … it's tragic that he died this young. The world needs men like him."

"I am sorry for your loss, Miss Hamilton," Edward said. "He was a great man and very … um … strong."

She lowered her head as she nodded. "I know," she whispered. "He was wonderful, so romantic…"

"And you are obviously still mourning his death," Nick said as he wrapped one arm around Elicia.

"Of course," she said. "It has been just three years that he died and … and I still miss him."

"He died like a hero is supposed to die," Jun Li who sat on a couch threw in.

Lei nodded while he glared at his nephew. "From what I heard, the captain died heroically."

"And that's how I intend to die one day," Jun Li smiled. "To die while I protect someone I love … that would be the greatest honour for me, I guess."