Ah, late update. I'm sorry. I do have a good reason though... My mother's sort-of-maybe-boyfriend's kids came over, which took up all of my writing time, and then one of my friends needed to talk to me, and... yeah.
Anyway, disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Last Living Elrics
"What?!"
All eyes were on Maes.
"I don't think they died," he said. "Look at the date on this journal entry."
He handed the journal to Roy.
"This says... 1998? But the Elrics..."
"Exactly." grinned Maes. "Okay, so there are other explanations, but..."
Roy thought it over for a second. They could've used the wrong dates, or it could've been written by someone else, he supposed, but...
Why would they use the wrong dates? And why on earth would anyone come down here, fill the books with Hoenheim's code and then seal the room... three years after the Elrics died?
"...Not that likely." he said.
Maes nodded. "I think the Elric brothers survived. They fell off the rocks, I know, but nobody has ever found the bodies, and it's amazing what a human being can live through..."
Clara was, needless to say, shocked. "You mena to tell me that... Ed and Al are alive?"
Maes frowned. "Well, I'd say that at the very least, they survived that fall. Where they are now, I couldn't say, but if they're still out there..."
"We've got to find them," said Riza. "We need to find out what happened to them. What if they're still in trouble?"
Jean's brow furrowed. "Still in trouble?"
"Somebody has already tried to kill them once. Now, the Sins may be locked up in Briggs, but what if we're wrong, and it wasn't them? If the killer's still out there, they could be in danger."
"She's right," said Maes. "We don't have any real, concrete evidence one way or another, and our suspicions could be wrong. They might need help."
"We have to track them down." said Roy, nodding. "So... if you were a kid being chased by murderers... where would you go?"
They dropped Clara off at the station before they began their search. Maes rang every contact he had, asking them to keep an eye out for anyone who could be Edward or Alphonse Elric, Roy went to visit the local school, just in case, and the rest of the gang split up to question the residents of Rizembul again.
"I'll send the photograph up to Central," said Maes. "I know somebody who might be able to help us 'age up' the Elric brothers; figure out what they might look like now. Alex is going to send out a missing persons notice... there's not a great deal that can be done, though. It's like they didn't even exist, which makes looking for them a tad tricky."
"You're telling me," sighed Roy. "I spoke to the headmaster, but nobody resembling either of the Elric brothers is currently attending Rizembul High."
"They probably left town," said Maes. "I mean, sure, the first few years they were probably a bit young to travel about on their own- people notice ten year olds without adult supervision- but once they hit twelve, thirteen... no problem."
"Hm." Roy frowned. "The first few years, huh? And the date in that journal... they were here until 1998, all by themselves. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"This whole thing strikes me as odd," grumbled Maes. "I mean... hiding your children? Secret journals and rooms and god knows what else? Alchemy?" he paused. "But... I agree. There is something weird about that."
"I think," muttered Roy, "That someone around here knows more than they're letting on. Someone took care of those kids and helped them keep hidden."
"Oh?" Maes raised his eyebrows. "Well, that's a definite possibility, but who? Who in Rizembul would take in two strange kids and keep them hidden form the rest of the town?"
Roy sighed. "I don't know."
"Maybe we should go and find the others," said Maes. "Pool our thoughts. They might even have an idea about this mystery childminder for you."
"Yeah..." Roy sighed. "This case is driving me nuts. Who'd have thought some little country village murder would turn out to be so complicated?"
"Murder is always complicated," said Maes with a shake of his head. "Come on. Let's get back to the hotel."
"A mystery childminder?" asked Jean, mildly amused. "I guess that's one way of putting it... I'm afraid I've got no idea. Everyone I spoke to just seemed confused."
"I can't help you either." said Vato. "Nobody I talked to seemed suspicious."
Breda shrugged. "Nope, no idea. Kain?"
"Nothing." sighed Kain. "Sorry."
"I might have an idea."
Everyone turned to Riza. "You do?"
"The Rockbells," she said thoughtfully. "They seemed... shocked when I talked to them, but... I don't thin they were shocked because the Elrics were alive. It almost seemed like they were shocked that I knew they were alive."
Roy frowned.
"Pinako is a very interesting woman," continued Riza. "I'm sure that if two boys showed up at her door asking her to hide them, she wouldn't ask questions, she'd just do it- and do it well, too. Not to mention her family was quite friendly with the Professor and Trisha- she might even have been in on it from the start."
"Now that you mention it... it wouldn't surprise me." said Maes thoughtfully. "I'm not sure about her being in on it from the start, but looking after them? I can see that."
"Well then," said Roy, "Let's go talk to Pinako Rockbell."