Chapter 30 – The Final Outcome

Winry and Elsie were driving down a paved highway headed west. They had spent the night in East City, and then set off early in the morning towards Central. After driving all morning and afternoon, they were still about an hour away from the capital city. The sky had grown dark with ominous clouds. A brisk wind had picked up, buffeting the side of the van in gusts and blowing clouds of dust across the road. The occasional rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.

"It sure would be nice if the rain held off till we reach Central," Elsie commented, breaking the silence which reigned in the cab of the van. She was sitting in the passenger seat watching the rolling fields pass by out the window. The long grasses seemed plastered to the ground, and even the trees were bending from the force of the gale.

"Somehow I doubt it will," Winry replied resignedly. The last few days had been exhausting. If everything had to be topped off by a massive storm, so be it. She didn't think things could get much worse than they already were, rain or otherwise.

As if life was mocking her pessimistic line of thought, at that moment a figure suddenly shimmered into view in the middle of the road ahead of them. Winry let out a gasp and slammed on the breaks. The vehicle came to a screeching, sliding stop just short of hitting the person. In the split second of frozen silence that followed, the blonde stared at the figure, a disturbed expression making its way onto her face. Elsie raised a hand to cover her mouth, eyes widening in shock. Before them stood none other than Despair. Her usually limp hair was whipping about in the strong wind and black liquid was seeping from fresh wounds in her arms and chest, staining her dress.

"Despair," Elsie whispered in horror.

"That's Despair?" Winry demanded in alarm. Then the blond woman's eyes narrowed. "Well in that case," she abruptly floored the gas. The tires spun but the vehicle moved no closer to the creature. Unknown to the two women, pools of shadow had welled up beneath each tire, preventing them from gaining traction. "What's going on?" Winry demanded in consternation. At that moment a clawed hand oozed up from the ground and yanked open the passenger side door. An instant later it sliced through the seatbelt holding the dark haired woman and seized hold of her, snatching her from the vehicle.

"Elsie!" Winry screamed. Elsie let out a gasp of pain as she was thrown to the ground. Before she could even attempt to scramble to her feet, a clawed hand latched onto her throat, lifting her up so her toes were just brushing the ground. She gasped for air and attempted to grab at the shadows choking her, but it was no use. Her hands slipped right through them. It was as if she had been seized by thin air. In utter desperation Elsie managed to turn her head to meet Despair's gaze. She saw a look of exhausted satisfaction on the creature's face. Her stomach twisted sickeningly at the malice she could feel radiating off the injured girl. The shadow which had wound about the dark haired woman's neck felt like a physical manifestation of icy hatred. She stood absolutely no chance against this creature. Not on her own. This was it. Her vision was growing dark around the edges. In another minute it would all be over...

It was at that moment that a fiery light exploded into view in front of Despair. The shadow hand holding Elsie abruptly dissolved, dropping her to the ground. She landed heavily in the dust. For a moment she was unable to do anything but cough and gasp for breath. Her throat was throbbing intensely and her head was spinning. Finally she managed to push herself up to her knees, panting heavily and filled with bewildered confusion over what had come to her the burning red light, a familiar figure could be seen; his wild hair lashing about him. His menacing expression was meant solely for Despair as he grabbed the girl's throat in a similar manner to what she'd just been doing to Elsie. Despair's lips pulled back from her jagged teeth and a feral snarl escaped them as she grabbed hold of Mania's wrist. The light surrounding them flared brighter to a blinding level, and then suddenly it began to dim. The color grew darker as black shadows mixed with it.

Lightning flashed overhead and a deafening crack of thunder followed. Elsie pushed herself up to her feet and staggered back several steps as she watched the inhuman battle play out before her eyes. Her veins were on fire to such intensity that she could no longer feel anything else physically, while at the same time heart felt torn in half, constricted to the bursting point inside her chest. Although she was no longer being choked, she could hardly breathe past the heavy, dark energy filling the air around them, pulsating like an accelerating heartbeat. The wind gusted with enough force to nearly knock her off her feet, stirring up the dust in the fields around them and whipping her dark hair back from her face. Suddenly the light began shrinking rapidly, almost disappearing entirely. Then with a final flare of red, it exploded outward with a sound like a gunshot. Elsie slapped her hands over her ears, wincing at the sharpness of the sound. Like a switch had been flipped, the light dissipated into thin air.

Warily, Elsie lowered her hands. She rubbed her eyes, blinking repeatedly as dots swam in her vision from the bright flash of light. As they began to clear, she saw that Despair had vanished entirely, leaving Mania standing alone in the road. He swayed, and then collapsed to his knees. His skin had grown nearly as pale as Despair's had been, and for the first time in as long as Elsie had known him, his red hair hung completely limp. She could see his labored breathing from where she stood. As if the fight ending had been the moment that nature had been waiting for, rain began to pour from the dark, roiling clouds in a startlingly heavy deluge. The drops pattered fiercely against the ground with the sound of a dull roar. The rain was heavy enough that the drops stung as they struck Elsie's skin and it swiftly became difficult to see through.

Hunching her shoulders against the rain and wind, she made her way forward till she came to a stop beside Mania. He already looked as wet as she felt, the moisture darkening his oddly motionless hair. He didn't bother looking up at her. Slightly uncertain, she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. Despite her daughter's description of how his touch typically felt, she felt nothing but the faintest of tingling in her fingers.

"Is she dead?" She asked, voice raised above the downpour. Mania slowly shook his head.

"She'll be back eventually. It'll take her a while to reform though," he replied. Elsie grimaced. Well, at least she was out of the way for the time being. She hesitated a moment, unsure of the next course of action. Taking in Mania's exhausted appearance she found that pity overwhelmed her usual bias against him.

"Come on, let's get out of this rain," she held out a hand to him. He stared at it for a moment, appearing taken off guard by the gesture. Finally he seemed to shake off his daze. He reached out and took it, allowing her to help him to his feet. Then they turned and walked back to the van together.

Since there was no room in the back, Elsie climbed onto the bench seat in the front and scooted over next to Winry to give Mania a spot to sit. He climbed in after her and shut the door. The cab wasn't exactly designed for three adults. Elsie found herself in the decidedly awkward position of being forced to cuddle up to her former disorder, leaning into his side to give Winry room to steer as he rested one arm across the top of the seat behind her. While he didn't seem to care one way or the other, she was far from enthused by it. But at least he was warm. Her soaked clothing and the wet hair clinging to her neck and shoulders had left her feeling decidedly chilled.

"That…just happened," Winry was staring out the window at the now empty road, wide eyed.

"Thank you for saving me," Elsie glanced up at Mania, reluctantly grateful. After his past declaration that his only concern was her daughter, she was a little amazed he'd gone to the trouble of rescuing her.

"I couldn't very well let you die. You're carrying precious cargo, you know," he pointed out, clearly exhausted but a hint of his usual amusement still coloring his tone. Elsie's eyes widened and she glanced down at her stomach, resting a hand over the curve there as a thrill of anxiety shot through her. What if the exposure to the energy from the fight had harmed the baby somehow?

"Do you think…?" She began, but he cut her off.

"It's fine. I'd know if it wasn't," he told her, his tone unconcerned. She stared at him for a moment, a little uncertain about taking his word for it, but finally she nodded. Then her brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"So…why did you risk your life to save me?" She asked. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I just have a sentimental attachment to you," he declared airily. She stared at him flatly.

"You are such a liar," her tone was disgusted. At her response, his expression abruptly deteriorated to one that was highly unusual for him, but could only be described as 'puppy-dog eyes'.

"Your daughter accused me of that too," his tone was mournful. Elsie raised her eyebrows at the creature. When he continued to stare at her piteously she rolled her eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me," she muttered. He let out a huff.

"Is it that hard for you to believe that I might care about you?" He demanded, a little indignant.

"Yes," she retorted flatly. Mania sighed.

"Goodness. You never used to be this cynical. Well if you need some practical reasons, then I'll give them to you, although I'm hurt that you think so poorly of me; especially when I went to the trouble of running for miles on foot just to get within range of jumping to you," his tone was miffed. She stared at him skeptically. At her expression, his lips finally twitched back into their usual smirk. "Anyway, for one, losing you right now would destroy Mouse. She's had enough to deal with already. And for two, I have far too few hosts in this world to risk losing you. I wasn't kidding when I said you were carrying precious cargo," he replied. Elsie's already unenthused expression darkened to a glare. She wasn't surprised, but she was still less than thrilled over his intention to make use of her second child.

"There's always something in it for you," she muttered.

"Perhaps," he smirked. While this exchange had been going on Winry had managed to pull herself together enough to start the vehicle moving again, finding it moved forward down the road easily now that Despair's shadows were gone. The scenery began moving past the window at highway speed once more.

"How did you know what Despair was going to do?" The blond woman spoke up.

"We have an odd sort of connection, she and I," Mania replied. "I sensed her intentions. And thanks to Mouse and her friends, Despair was exhausted enough that it took her longer than normal to jump to your location. Not to mention I would have gone down with her if her strength hadn't been so depleted."

"What do you mean thanks to my daughter?" Elsie demanded, slightly alarmed.

"She, Blue Eyes, Prince Charming and the older alchemist fought her off a brief time ago up North. I was busy transporting Tall-Dark-And-Handsome to save his girly friend in Central," he explained.

"Wait, who now?" Winry demanded, clearly puzzled at the string of nicknames.

"Your husband and children, and the man Mouse calls an 'uncle.'" Mania's tone was dry. Elsie raised an eyebrow.

"Since when did AJ become Prince Charming?" She asked.

"Since he valiantly defended your daughter against the forces of darkness," his tone was lofty despite his fatigue.

"Are they okay?" Winry asked, frowning in concern.

"For the most part," Mania replied. The blond woman let out a soft breath of relief.

"Well, with Despair out of the way, I guess the only problem left is the Aerugans," Elsie commented, somewhat uneasy. Mania's lips twitched into a knowing grin.

"I very much doubt they'll pose much of a problem," he replied. Elsie blinked in surprise.

"What makes you say that?"

"The Aerugans and I had lots of fun together," there was relish in the red haired creature's tone. Elsie raised her eyebrows.

"I see…"

"Say," Winry spoke up, "How about you use that power of yours to transport us the rest of the way to Central?" At her suggestion Mania's expression abruptly grew flat.

"I don't have the energy to jump anywhere," he replied. Then his expression deteriorated further. "In fact, I don't even have the strength to feed properly right now. I'll have to hang around Mouse for a while and hope she gets excited about some things before I'll even be able to manipulate her again. I can't encourage her with energy I don't have," his tone was dismayed. Elsie turned to stare at him. The limpness of his hair was very odd. A thought occurred to her.

"You kind of look like someone dosed you up on antipsychotic meds," she smirked. Mania's expression morphed into a glare.

"Don't even bring those up," he grumbled. A laugh escaped Elsie's lips.

"Hey, I think I like you when you're dopey," she teased. The red haired creature's expression shifted to a complete pout and he crossed his arms, glowering out the window. The dark haired woman couldn't smother a second wave of laughter. Even Winry's lips twitched into a smile. Their children were safe and their country might not be facing a full out war after all. The rest of the drive to Central continued on a much more cheerful note.

In the small bedroom on the upper floor of the Mustang residence, Alphonse's eyes snapped open and he gasped in a breath of air. His heart was pounding a mile a minute. What was going on? Where on earth was he? The last thing he remembered was a blinding flash as he'd stepped through the doorway into the hidden room in the Underground City. He sat up, panic flooding his mind. Why was there an IV in his arm? How long had he been unconscious? Without pausing to think he yanked out the IV and scrambled out of bed in a rush. The unexpected weakness of his limbs combined with the intense wave of dizziness which washed over him caused his knees to buckle and he collapsed heavily to the floor. He let out a grunt of pain. His head was spinning nauseatingly. He rested his forehead against the carpet as he waited for the dizziness to subside. When it had finally eased off enough, he carefully pushed himself upright. Slowly and painfully, he scrambled back to his feet, leaning heavily on the bed for support. He stood for a moment, panting from the exertion. Why on earth did he feel this weak? He glanced at the door across the room, measuring the distance with his eyes and wondering if he'd be able to make it that far on his own.

At that moment the door swung inward. Alphonse blinked in surprise to see Riza Mustang standing there. A look of shock settled across her features.

"Alphonse?" She gasped in surprise.

"Riza, what are you doing here?" He asked, his voice coming out quite hoarse, as if he hadn't used it in a while.

"This is my home," she replied. Then a relieved expression replaced her initial surprise. She crossed the room and wrapped him in a careful hug. "I'm so happy you woke up. How do you feel?" She asked, pulling back to look at him.

"I feel…really tired. Why am I here? How long was I unconscious?" He asked. Sympathy filled Riza's gaze.

"They brought you here from the hospital since there wasn't anything they could do for you. You've been in a coma for about a month now," she explained. His eyes widened.

"A month?!" He cried, "What happened?"

"A lot has happened, actually. You should sit down and I'll get you something to eat. I'm sure you could use something. Then I'll explain everything," she told him. He nodded and slowly sank back down onto the bed as she left the room. He would much prefer some immediate answers, but he lacked the energy to argue with her. Given how tired he felt, it was hard to believe he'd actually been asleep for an entire month. What on earth had knocked him out for so long? Had Dante really left a trap for them? What had taken place during the time he was unconscious? He shook his head. He'd just have to wait for Riza to return. When he paused to think about it, he found he was quite ravenous. Perhaps something to eat wasn't such a bad idea after all...

One week later…

It was early in the morning when Elmina found herself drifting into wakefulness. She felt the faintest sensation of a tugging need to be somewhere. With a soft groan, she rolled over and snuggled deeper under the covers, intent on submerging back into blissful unconsciousness. Unfortunately, the feeling of wakefulness refused to recede. After several minutes it became clear that she wasn't going to be drifting back to sleep any time soon. With a sigh, she rolled onto her back lay staring up at a very familiar ceiling. Grey pre-dawn light was streaming in the window, casting faint light over the room. Nearby, she could hear the soft sound of Adele's rhythmic breathing from the cot she was sleeping in. Aside from that, not a sound could be heard.

After being away from home for so long it was still quite a novelty to wake up in her own bed again. So much had happened over the last couple days. She was still trying to wrap her head around everything. The day after the battle with Despair, her father had regained consciousness, much to her relief. His injury had left him bed ridden, but it had done nothing to slow down his mind or his temper. The lecture she had received for going off to fight Despair had been one of epic proportions. She might have actually been worried if he hadn't been confined to his bed. Envy had had more than a few choice words for his half-brother, Edward, for going along with the scheme. The onetime Fullmetal Alchemist had gained two cracked ribs and a mild concussion for his troubles, but had no difficulty holding his own in a verbal fist fight with the injured former homunculus.

'I'm not sure who's scarier when they're angry; my mother, or your father,' Adele had commented as the two girls stood in the hall outside the hospital room, listening to the men's exchange.

'Definitely your mother. My dad doesn't throw the tools he works with,' Elmina replied.

'Oh…well, that's good. Because I think a butcher's knife would do a lot more damage than a wrench,' Adele chuckled nervously.

'Probably,' Elmina smirked. 'Even so, I think Uncle Ed is lucky that my dad is bedridden. Cracked ribs or not, I don't think dad would have any qualms about tanning your father's hide right about now.' Her tone was dry.

'No, probably not.' Adele grimaced.

On the same day that Envy regained consciousness, they received a call from Central letting them know that not only had Wrath succeeded in rescuing Elycia, but Alphonse had unexpectedly woken up. The news had been an immense relief to everyone. Arrangements had been made to transport Envy and AJ back to the capital, and two days later both families were fully reunited at the Mustang residence for the first time in weeks. Elsie had been shocked at her husband's condition, but her presence did wonders for the green haired man's disposition. Edward's relief at finding his brother awake and normal had been immense, as had Winry's; although their relief was slightly marred by the discovery that their son had obliterated their home in Resembool. They could hardly fault him for his motives. But blowing up one's home is a rather drastic move to make without consulting one's parents.

Justification for his actions came when it was discovered that the rest of the town had been left unharmed. The small detachment of ground troops had steered clear of the place after being ambushed by AJ's trap, and they were later surrounded and taken hostage by a force of Amestrian soldiers. Furthermore, what Mania had told Elsie about the Aerugans turned out to be true. Roy was stunned when a day later he received a phone call from his son informing him that the entire main force had been routed with little resistance. Many had already been taken prisoner, and the remaining fugitives were being hunted down swiftly. The whole thing had gone down with a shockingly low loss of life, and most of that had been on the Aerugan side.

With that remaining concern taken care of, it became apparent that a decision had to be made about where the families were going to stay. Envy and Elsie needed to return to their shop. The only reason they'd managed to leave it for this long was that Mason and Sig had been kind enough to oversee things for them while they were away. Edward, Winry and Alphonse were keen on returning to their home town and seeing how things stood, but AJ was in no condition to be staying in hotels and tramping around the wreckage of their home. It was decided that he would go with the Curtis family back to Dublith. Adele, of course, went along as well, since she was eager to do everything in her power to help both her brother and her uncle recover from their injuries.

And so, one week later, Elmina found herself back in Dublith for the first time in over a month with her parents and friends. Wrath had decided to stay behind in Central, stating that Roy still needed his help getting everything back under control. Elmina strongly suspected that the presence of Roy's secretary had had a strong influence on that decision. She'd hardly been able to believe her eyes when she'd seen her uncle sitting with his arm around the blond haired woman he'd rescued. The two of them had been conversing quietly and there had been an exceedingly rare softness to Wrath's expression. Elmina couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her uncle smile like that. It was quite unexpected, and while she was somewhat disappointed to find he didn't plan on returning to the shop with them, she suspected she'd be seeing more of him in future than she had over the last few years. She somehow doubted he intended to leave Central and go back to travelling around.

Adele mumbled something under her breath, snapping Elmina out of her reverie. She turned her head and glanced at the blond girl but found she was still fast asleep in her cot. Elmina frowned. She never woke up before Adele. What had woken her up so absurdly early? She shut her eyes, faintly hoping she might be able to fall back to sleep again, but she quickly realized that simply wasn't in the cards. She was wide awake. With a resigned sigh she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She might as well just get up. It was that or lie in bed feeling bored.

Sliding her legs out of bed, she rose to her feet. She tiptoed silently across the room, not wanting to disturb her friend, and slipped out the door. The house was silent. Doubtless everyone else was still fast asleep. She crept down the hall and padded softly down the stairs. The air was cool, causing goose bumps to prickle over her exposed skin. She was grateful that she'd chosen to pull on pyjama pants and an old T-shirt the night before rather than a nightgown. Raising a hand to smother a yawn, she made her way into the kitchen, and then froze in surprise. There, standing at the counter with his back to her as he looked out the window, was AJ. She stared at him for a moment. He was clothed in a pair of black pyjama pants, his bare upper body sporting bandages on his side and shoulder. A crutch was leaning against the counter beside him. Apparently sensing her approach, he turned and glance at her. A smile played across his features.

"Good morning," he greeted her softly. At his expression she felt an ever so slight tingle of nerves. She blinked. Good heavens... Since when had she started feeling self-conscious around AJ? Brushing the feeling aside, she walked over to stand next to him.

"What are you doing up?" She asked quietly.

"I couldn't sleep," he replied, "You?"

"Neither could I," she replied. AJ turned around to lean back against the counter, wincing slightly as he shifted his weight to spare his injured leg. Elmina felt a pang of guilt. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I've been better," he admitted, resignedly amused, "But I can't exactly complain. As my sister keeps reminding me whenever she checks my wounds, I'm lucky to be alive."

Elmina winced. From what Adele had told her, she knew just how right he was. Despair's shadow spears had missed two major arteries and his liver by literally centimeters. But how had that happened? Surely Despair could have changed the trajectory of her attack to insure AJ's death when he'd leapt in front of it. There was no doubt in Elmina's mind that the creature had intended to kill everyone in that clearing, and she certainly wouldn't have changed her mind at the last second. Had she actually missed? With that proximity and her inhuman control of her weapons, her missing him was about as likely as her blundering right into the transmutation circle without noticing it; which had also happened. The impressiveness of their luck had been bothering her all week. She couldn't seem to put it to rest in her mind. What were the odds? It just seemed so unlikely.

"AJ," She began, and then hesitated. He glanced at her questioningly and she felt a wash of embarrassment, hastily dropping her gaze to the counter where her fingers were drumming out a nervous rhythm. She wasn't at all sure she actually wanted to ask him. She felt like an idiot for even bringing the subject up. "Do you…" She began again and then stopped. He raised his eyebrows. Finally she blurted the question, "Do you believe in God?" He stared at her, clearly surprised. She cringed slightly at her own question. Good grief. She'd probably thoroughly weirded him out. Why had she brought that up? It probably would have been better to just…

"Yeah. Why?" His matter-of-fact reply cut off her train of thought. She blinked and then gaped at him slightly. Had he seriously just said 'yes'?

"I, uh….umm…Well, I dunno, I just…" She stammered, not even sure how to respond. She wasn't quite sure where she'd been intending to go with the question. She'd kind of been hoping he would say 'no' and give her an odd look. That's what she'd expected anyway. Then she could have just dropped the subject and moved on with her life. But now he was watching her expectantly, clearly wondering where she was going with this. "Well…Elior's been talking to me," she stated uneasily.

"Well that explains a lot," AJ smirked slightly.

"Has he talked to you too?" She asked.

"We've had a number of interesting chats. He's quite the guy. He and I live in a similar headspace I think," he replied.

"Oh…" Elmina murmured. She certainly hadn't expected that.

"Was there something in particular that was bugging you?" AJ inquired, a curious look in his blue eyes. She shifted uncomfortably, glancing away.

"I don't know. It's just…" She trailed off, wondering how exactly to phrase what she wanted to say. She was finding this entire conversation decidedly unsettling. It wasn't a topic she usually bothered to dwell on. "Well, he told me to pray. Before the fight I mean. He suggested I should try it."

"…and?" AJ raised an eyebrow. Elmina sighed heavily.

"Well I ended up trying it…because things seemed pretty desperate. Right after I did that was when Despair wound up in the transmutation circle. And then you somehow didn't get killed and…well I don't know. It's weird," she muttered.

"It is?" At his words she glanced at him to find a decidedly amused expression on his face.

"Well yeah… I mean, what are the odds? I just can't believe how lucky we all are," she replied. "I'm not really sure why I brought it up…It's just been bugging me."

"How so?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I mean, it's just a coincidence, right? Even if there is a God, why would he bother listening to me? It's not as if I've ever done anything for him," she mumbled, staring down at the counter again. A chuckle escaped AJ's lips.

"You sound miffed that He had the audacity to answer you despite you having ignored Him up until this point," his tone was gently teasing. She glanced at him in surprise.

"You actually think that's what happened?" She demanded, slightly bewildered.

"Why not?" He raised an eyebrow. She frowned.

"Yeah but…if He did then I owe Him. How the heck am I supposed to repay that?" There was a hint of consternation in her tone. AJ grinned.

"Do you really think it's possible to repay the creator of the universe for anything? He made you. Good luck trying to find something equal to that to give in exchange," his tone was dry.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" She demanded, frustrated.

"How should I know? I'm not God. Why don't you make an effort to learn some more about Him and see if the answer comes to you?" He suggested. She stared at him dubiously.

"Well…I guess…" Her tone was reluctant. She supposed he did have a point. After all, the best way to come to a decision about a topic was to learn more about it. She suddenly foresaw some more chats with Elior in her future. For the moment however, she didn't feel like conversing further about the topic until she'd had a chance to sit and think on it for a bit. She sank into silence, staring absently out the window at the skyline. As the sun rose closer to the horizon, the wispy clouds were beginning to blush with red and orange, and the faintest traces of violet clung to their edges. A bird perched on the edge of their roof had burst into a cheerful, morning song. She wasn't usually up early enough to see the sunrise. It was an unfamiliarly beautiful sight. Finally AJ spoke up again.

"So what has Mania been up to?" He asked, changing the subject. Elmina blinked.

"Umm… I'm not sure. He's around here somewhere. I haven't been able to feel his presence since he rescued mom last week," she admitted. The Mustangs had been kind enough to lend them one of their vehicles, so they'd been able to drive back to Dublith. Her parents and Adele had fit on the front, bench seat, while AJ, Mania, and herself had squeezed in the back. While she had been less than thrilled over being stuck with the red haired creature, no one had had the heart to abandon him in his helpless state after everything he'd done for their family. Plus, he'd saved the country from an all-out war. Not that that had been his intent at the time, but even so. Without his help they would all have been in deep trouble. And so, he'd very reluctantly been folded into their family. He didn't need anywhere to sleep, but it was quite clear he had no intention of leaving them. In fact, he'd become positively clingy ever since he'd drained his powers. She couldn't seem to get away from him. He seemed to take special delight in his new found ability to sneak up on her, taking every opportunity to scare her by popping out around corners or grabbing her from behind out of the blue. He'd been driving her thoroughly nuts. She was actually amazed he hadn't assaulted her this morning. He usually made a point of being there as soon as she woke up. She'd had to beat him off with a hair brush the other morning in order to take a shower in peace. It had been rather satisfying, as she'd actually been able to land a few hits on him in his powerless state. He'd wisely stayed clear of her for a little while after that.

"Hmm. So his powers haven't come back yet?" AJ inquired. Elmina let out a resigned sigh.

"Oh they've been coming back slowly but surely. His hair has started moving again, if you hadn't noticed. And it's starting to prickle again when he touches me. It's so annoying," she grumbled. AJ smiled faintly.

"Guess his powers staying away permanently was too much to hope for," he mused. "It's interesting what he had to say about Alphonse though."

"What, you mean about why he was in a coma for a month?" Elmina asked. The mechanic nodded. "It would have been nice if he'd mentioned it to begin with," she muttered.

"Would it have made a difference?" AJ raised an eyebrow.

"We could have made a point of kicking Despair's ass sooner," she retorted. Everyone had been thoroughly puzzled over Al's unexpected awakening, until Mania casually informed them of the cause of his coma in the first place.

"I did say Despair was a void, didn't I? She needed some way to hold herself in existence until she got an active claim on some hosts of her own."

"What do you mean?" Elmina had demanded.

"Remember when we kidnapped Blue Eyes to force you to submit to us?" He asked. Her eyes narrowed to a glare.

"Yes," she growled.

"Well, we didn't just do that to mess with you, you know. Our ability to feed couldn't awaken until a host had willingly allowed us access to them. I was able to maintain existence for a time without an energy source simply because of the nature of my core. But my partner had to draw on something in order to stay alive, and because of the transmutation which Sleeping Beauty performed, Despair was able to gain access to his conscious energy. And of course, being the greedy creature that she is, she refused to relinquish her hold on him even once her natural feeding ability was awakened. That's why he was unable to wake up," Mania explained.

"I think things worked out for the best honestly," AJ commented.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." It was hard to believe everything that had gone down over the last month. Things weren't 'over' per say, since Despair would eventually return. But at least things appeared to be returning to normal again, aside from the red haired addition to their family. Elmina glanced at AJ and found his gaze resting on her steadily. There was a soft smile on his face. She blinked, and then felt her cheeks color slightly.

"Umm….thank you," she blurted abruptly. He raised his eyebrows.

"For what?" He asked. Her expression grew a little sheepish.

"For saving me…twice…" Then her expression sobered. "I wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for you." She admitted quietly.

"I'm quite happy to save you as many times as you need, as long as you're willing to have me around to do that," he informed her softly. She blinked, glancing away as a tight feeling rose in her chest. She was surprised to find herself battling the unexpectedly strong desire to throw her arms around him. She really didn't deserve this guy. After a moment she glanced at him again.

"I umm…" she trailed off, eyeing his bandages.

"Yes?" His tone was patiently amused.

"I want to hug you but I'm afraid I'll hurt you," she admitted, embarrassed. His eyes lit and a chuckle escaped his lips. He turned, still leaning one hip against the counter for support, and reached for her, pulling her into his arms. She carefully wrapped her arms around his waist, a warm gratitude filling her. Even with everything that had happened over the last month she found that being with him wasn't at all awkward. Not anymore. She had to admit, his adoration was tough to resist after having been so coldly shunned by her previous crush. She was surprised to note that she no longer felt anything at all when she thought of the young, dark haired alchemist. Perhaps she was finally over him.

"I love it when my plans work out," a familiar voice spoke up at the door, jarring them out of the moment. Elmina pulled back with a gasp to see Mania leaning on the kitchen doorframe, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips. Her eyes widened and then a wash of irritation flooded through her. His plans? Did he mean…?

"Did you wake us up?!" She demanded sharply.

"…Maybe…" The creature's tone was noncommittal. With a growl of frustration Elmina turned and laid hold of the first thing she found on the counter, which happened to be a scrub brush for the dishes, and chucked it at his head. Mania dodged away swiftly, moving swifter than she'd seen him move all week. It hit the wall and clattered noisily to the floor. Mania tisked at her from his new spot on the other side of the kitchen. "You know, your father won't be impressed if you wake him up," he commented.

"So help me, I'm going to find a way to kill you one of these days," she seethed at him. He raised his eyebrows.

"Goodness. And here I thought you were in an exceptionally good mood this morning," his tone was bemused.

"I was until you showed up," she growled. An overly obvious look of 'realization' passed over his face.

"Ah…I see. Well then, I'll just leave you two love birds to it," he smirked infuriatingly. Before she could find something else to throw at him he darted swiftly from the room. Apparently his powers were well on their way to returning. Before Elmina could say a word, AJ began to chuckle. She glanced at him to see his face resting in his hand as he laughed softly. At his obvious amusement her anger slowly fizzled out.

"He's not very subtle, is he?" AJ commented finally, glancing at her with a grin. She couldn't help the small smile that pulled at her lips in return.

"No, that isn't really his strong suite," she replied. When she thought about it, she really couldn't get terribly mad at the creature. She had to admit this morning had been pleasant. "Hey, do you want some breakfast?" She suggested. AJ smiled.

"Sure."

-Author's Note-

Shock and awe! This is only a week late! I thought it might take longer than that honestly lol. I just got back from a 40 hour road trip, so I had lots of time to think about it, as well as another novel idea. :P

And this, my friends, is the last chapter of the story. I've got an epilogue in the works though! So I guess it's not the last last chapter. After all, there are definitely some loose ends that need to be tied up a little tighter. I have it mostly planned out, but I haven't written any of it yet. And I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to write it...hopefully soon. August is going to be an insane month though. So it's safe to say it wont get posted for a couple weeks. At least you aren't sitting on a cliffhanger for a change. XD I don't want to give anything away about it, especially since it's not even officially written yet, but it jumps ahead 1 year into the future. I'm actually really excited to write it! Endings intimidate me, but I suspect this one will be very satisfying after all of the work I put into this lol.

And my arms seem to be behaving themselves *gingerly knocks on wood* so I can respond to all of you again! :D

Penelope Jadewing: Yay! I'm really glad you liked it! ^^ Did Despair do what you were expecting? I can't wait to see how it ends either. XD I mean, I have a pretty good general idea, but I'm still not sure what the final scene will be. Something tells me my characters will have some very vocal opinions about it though lol.

nettlesnitch92: Well the first half the chapter was a little crazy for sure. xD I hope you liked it!

SoraNanae: You were quite right about Despair! And I'm glad you like Mania. ^^ I promise I won't kill him. I considered it, but I figured people might come after me with torches and pitchforks. XD He's become a lot more popular than I expected.

MissiB: Hahaha! I'm glad the WrathxElycia scene was satisfying! They really didn't get enough screen time in this story...*sheepish* They'll definitely get some in the epilogue though! And yep, you hit the nail on the head with Despair. She's not exactly dead, but...she'll be out of the picture for a while. Sorry for killing your ship! XD I suspect the last part of this chapter contributed further to that. But Mania certainly has no intention of leaving poor Mina alone anytime soon. xP He'll have some screen time with her in the epilogue I'm sure.