January 3rd, 1965
The fire raged for days. They made no attempts to put it out, merely letting it burn down on the other side of the wall. Why exhaust alchemists trying to extinguish the inferno? It would have been a lost cause anyway. Any celebration of the New Year was forgotten – though somewhat absorbed – in the tentative celebration of a definite victory in battle against the Drachmans. Whether they had won the war remained to be seen, but no one dared claim they had lost the battle!
Among the State Alchemists especially however – while everyone else hustled about, making plans and waiting for word from Central or the Drachmans – there was a hushed, tense waiting feeling that sucked the joy out of celebrating. Sure, they had done something incredible, but no sign had been found of Roy Mustang, Franz Heimler, or any of the men who went with them having managed to get out of the valley before the wall had been erected. They certainly hadn't shown up in camp, nor been found dead or wounded.
Ed felt an uncomfortable knot in his stomach as he joined Sara, who stood anxiously – as she did for hours at a time – staring down at the wall, clearly hoping she would see them returning. He placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders as he came up behind her. "Anything?"
Sleepless, blood-shot eyes did not turn his direction. Sara shook her head ever so slightly. "Not yet."
Ed hadn't told his daughter to accept the likely fact that Franz, Roy, and the rest of them were all probably dead. Partially because he couldn't stand to say anything that would hurt his daughter, but mostly because he didn't want to believe it himself. If anyone could get out of something like that, it was Roy Mustang. For all they really knew, the inferno had been more controlled than it looked, and made for effect. He half expected Roy to show up any moment, grinning insufferably smug and taunting him for not having enough faith in Roy to pull off something so simple even a child – or Ed himself – should be able to do it.
What Ed wouldn't have given at the moment to hear Roy cracking sarcastic short jokes.
"We'll find them," he said instead. The flames seemed to be dying down the last day or so. "Tomorrow, we should be able to open the wall and send in search parties."
Sara shivered in the wind, and did not comment for several long minutes. "I didn't want him to go," she whispered. "He told me to stay, and then he went and did it himself." The last had a bite of anger. "And for what?"
Ed's mouth was open to answer when he heard a shout in the camp. Curious, he glanced around. He saw people milling around near the command tent; a crowd starting to gather. The shouting grew, but it sounded excited. "Let's go find out."
It was clear by the time they got there that it was good news. Soldiers and Alchemists alike were tired but smiling, cheering, and in general excited spirits!
"What happened?" Ed pulled aside the first State Alchemist who came to hand – Lyssandra Fines as it turned out.
"We won, Fullmetal!" She grinned broadly.
"What?" Ed pushed forward, losing Sara quickly as he shoved through the crowd. Moments later people realized he was there and cleared a bit more of the path. He reached the command tent and shoved inside. A moment later, Sara made it through behind him. "What is this, Breda?" he called out.
Standing beside the table, crowded around with staff and generals, Breda looked about as triumphant as it was possible to be given the situation. "Drachma wants to negotiate their surrender," he laughed. "I just got off the radio with Rehnquist. The Drachman army is pulling out of Briggs and rescinding their complaints against Amestris. They want to offer their apologies."
It was so absurd; Ed couldn't help laughing with him. Still, that was it! The Drachmans had admitted defeat at last. "Now we can get to work rebuilding," Ed sighed, relieved. The first step of that would be to clean up the mess of whatever they had made of the Drachman army, and reclaim and rebuild Briggs. "When do they want to surrender?"
"On the field? Not at all," Breda replied with a shake of his head. "Apparently the cowards feel their government can handle it and have already started clearing out of Briggs."
"How anticlimactic," Falman commented.
"After all of this, I can live with that," Breda grinned. "Though I don't expect much of a victory feast. I hear they've left nothing bigger than crumbs in the Fort."
"Don't start thinking with your stomach yet," Feury chuckled. "We've got a lot to do."
"Tomorrow," Breda spoke up, ignoring the jibe. "We'll put doors in the wall and send soldiers up to the Fort to assess the damages. We will also," he added as he looked around the room, "Send out search parties to locate any survivors of the fire." Aside from Mustang's group, three dozen soldiers remained unaccounted for after the point where the fires had spread. While many of them may well have died in the morning's skirmish, they should at least try to recover them.
Several pairs of eyes tried not to look at Sara, at one end of the room, and Riza who stood between Falman and Feury. As always, despite her worry, she looked collected and controlled. Ed wasn't fooled, and he doubted anyone who knew her was either. Riza was worried, but she too seemed unwilling to believe, just yet, that Mustang hadn't pulled off his plan as near flawlessly as he claimed he could. He had certainly done crazier.
"Sounds like a plan," Kane spoke, breaking the silence. "I'll go ahead and arrange for search parties to be arranged and for State Alchemists who are up to it to accompany the soldiers to Briggs. They ought to be useful in helping put it to useful rights and in shoring things up to prevent another invasion anytime soon."
"A good precaution," Riza commented.
"All right," Breda nodded. "I say we all take the rest of today off, and get down to the clean-up work tomorrow. We've all earned at least that much of a break!"
Tore had never been congratulated, thanked, or offered alcoholic beverages in so many languages. He was buzzed just in the time it took to walk across camp a couple of times. After all, he couldn't turn down the hospitality of their allies right?
The Alchemists' gathering tent was stuffed full, but quieter than outside. The riotous celebration was out in the snow. Inside the tent he discovered mostly the Alchemists of rank, their family, and close friends.
"Still walking?"
Tore glanced down at Maes Mustang, who was sitting cross-legged on a scrap of rug on the tent floor. "For the moment," he grinned. "You?"
"Do I look like I'm going to try walking anywhere?" Maes laughed, drinking from his beer. There was something slightly forced about his merriment though, and Tore didn't need to ask why. It was the same reason that Mrs. Mustang smiled at her friends, and talked, and mingled, but had a worried look behind her eyes. She was waiting. Maes was waiting.
Sara was waiting. The Twilight Alchemist sat nearby with Fullmetal, Mrs. Elric, and Ethan. As usual, none of them were drinking anything alcoholic and while they looked as relieved as everyone else, the merriment was subdued. Tore felt a pang. He liked Franz. It was hard not to.
It was probably better to let them be, Tore decided. Just as he turned though, Edward looked up and caught his eye. Tore paused, and turned when Fullmetal motioned him over.
"I'm heading up one of tomorrow's search teams," he said without preamble. "You want to come?"
"How early are you heading out?" Not that Tore wasn't interested, but if he needed to start sobering up now, he wanted to know.
"After breakfast," Fullmetal replied. "No reason to drag everyone out of their beds early." Sara twitched like she wanted to object. Instead, she looked at her father. "I'm coming too."
"I said no," Edward barked back sharply.
Sara's face took on a stubborn look that Tore feared if it ever appeared in the office. "I'm well enough to tramp around looking for bodies. It's not like we'll be getting shot at."
Fullmetal still looked hesitant. "I'd rather you stayed here."
"Waiting for word like some housewife?" Sara glowered.
"That's not what he means," Mrs. Elric cut in pointedly. "Don't fight, you two."
"She's well enough as long as she doesn't do anything to knock her head around," Ethan spoke up with a tired smile.
Sara shot her brother a grateful grin. "See, I'm coming."
"What do you think?"
Tore was not prepared for Edward to ask his opinion! "I think… I'm not inclined to get in an argument between too superior officers," he replied, taking the safe route.
Ethan laughed. "Good answer!"
Fullmetal shook his head. "Fair enough. All right, Sara you're on the team. You?" He looked back at Tore.
Tore nodded. "Yeah, I'll go." He had little interest in seeing what remained of the Fort except from a distance, but he definitely want to know as much as anyone else if anyone could have survived that blaze.
"Hey, Shock!" A female voice called out through the din. Tore turned and saw Kieleigh near the far door with a couple of other female alchemists. She was waving his direction.
Tore turned back and grinned. "See you in the morning!" Then he pushed his way around the edge of the room. There was plenty of time still to enjoy himself!
January 4th, 1965
It was a winter made of ash instead of snow. Low hanging haze greeted the Alchemists and soldiers who entered cautiously through the alchemy-made tunnel doors in the huge wall. The ground was coated in inches of dust and dirt and the bit of snow that had managed to settle on the now-cooled destruction. Nothing was smoking, but it looked like it. The trees, like charred toothpicks, dotted the ground in places, but seemed to stand like sentinels in the mist.
"How will we find anything in this?" Tore commented through a yawn, somewhere off to Sara's left.
Sara tried not to strain to look too hard through it all. It wasn't like she was going to find Franz standing in the first place they entered the valley. "By getting rid of it," she replied, grinning as she pulled on her gloves, put her palms together, and began to push the thick, particulate-filled haze out of the way.
"I wish we were taking you to Briggs," one of the soldiers chuckled from the back of the first truck to pull through.
"We'll see you later," her father waved them on through, then turned to Sara. "Let's head for the primary attack zone and see what we can find."
Sara nodded and followed, nudging the air around them clear as they moved. It was an interesting team for a rescue, but pretty much exactly what Sara would have expected given who was out there: herself, her father, her mother, Ethan (as medic), Tore, Maes, and Riza Mustang. Maes' mother had her rifle on her 'just in case.'
"It's so quiet," Winry commented softly as they walked further into the gloom. "And I've never seen a fire do this much damage. Even the dirt smells scorched!"
"Most forest fires aren't gas fires," Maes pointed out, "Or alchemically enhanced. That was the brightest fire I've ever seen, and that flash… pure alchemist's fire. I'm surprised it didn't use up everything left in the gas pocket."
"Well, it's empty now," Tore commented. "Just like the rest of this place."
"I'm glad we're not in charge of checking out the Drachman lines," Ed replied.
Winry nodded, and Sara agreed silently. That would be nothing but a litter of charred bones. The Amestrians, at least, had had a quick and clear escape route and the State Alchemists to protect them.
They stuck close to the wall to have a visual reference as the moved along the edge of the rim towards the west. It wasn't quick going, even with Sara clearing away the air so they could see a few dozen yards at a time. They stopped for water breaks twice inside the first hour.
"We should be about half way there," Riza commented as she peered into the distance. She seemed as antsy as Sara to keep moving.
Of course she is, we both want the same thing. Days without word; what were the chances of the team surviving? But until they found bodies, Sara refused to admit defeat.
She took point on the next leg, and they all took turns calling out from time to time. There were no responses. From their entry point to the mark where the Xingese alchemist Toh had set off his distance explosive transmutation was nearly four miles in a straight line, but they couldn't move much faster, and they didn't take a straight line. If they did, they would lose sight of the wall and rely on nothing but a compass for direction. Doable, but not the fastest way to get around at the moment. Besides, if they were using the wall as a reference point, perhaps survivors were too.
The cloudy day did nothing to relieve the gloom. Sara got antsier as the day stretched into late morning. They had reached the point from which the party had entered the valley and turned to follow their original path.
"Anybody there?" Ed bellowed on his turn. They all stood quietly, just as before, waiting until even his voice had faded away.
"Maybe we should consider heading-"
"Hush!" It was her mother who silenced Ethan's comment. She turned sharply, glancing at a point back east of their location. She cupped her hands to her mouth and took up the cry. "Hello?"
Focusing on that point, Sara waited until she was sure her mother had imagined something.
In the distance was a shout, the words inaudible, but clearly a person. The voice was hoarse, and Sara couldn't even tell if it was Amestrian.
"I say we go that way," Riza nodded and set off briskly.
Sara followed, noting that Tore checked the compass as they left the wall. She hurried her own steps, catching up to Riza's longer stride in moments.
"Keep calling!" Ed called back. "We'll find you!"
Again there was a pause, then what sounded like an affirmative shout. Whoever it was understood Amestrian. They kept going, the unknown voice responding to prompts, and getting steadily closer, if not much clearer.
"Here!" Finally it was audible, and they moved between two charred tree trunks and saw a body lying on the lee-ward side of a stone, leaning against it, legs splayed out.
Sara felt her throat tighten suddenly. Uniform in shreds and half burned, damp and ragged, streaked in char and blood, glasses broken; she still knew that man! "Oh my…" She broke forward, dropping to her knees on the ground, almost afraid to touch him. "Franz! Oh god, Franz."
Bleary-eyed, Franz looked up at her, coughed, and smiled weakly. "Hey, Belle. I knew you'd find me," he wheezed, then his eyes closed.
"Don't you die on me now, Heimler!" Sara startled even herself with the vehemence of her bark.
Half a smile quirked one side of his cracked lips. "Don't… plan on it."
"Can I get in here?" Ethan asked with a gentle smile as he came around the other side of his brother-in-law and crouched down. He pulled on his gloves and laid his hands on Franz's chest. "Let's have a look at you." Everyone else gathered around quietly.
Sara gently shifted Franz's head into her lap as she knelt there, watching her brother as his hands glowed slightly blue. His face was hot. She couldn't tell from all the grime and scraps of uniform what was Franz's blood and what wasn't. They had found him alive though, and she wasn't going to let him die! If he'd been going to, surely it would have been in the days since the fire. "Well?"
Ethan opened his eyes, looking more reassured. "Well he's swallowed and breathed a lot of smoke, and he's got a fever and an upper respiratory infection, and some minor burns on the arms. Given what happened out here, he's doing pretty well." He sat back. "I already did some work to clean out his lungs. The burns aren't infected."
"I'll live…" Franz choked out, eyes opening to slits as he squinted up at Sara through the twisted frames of his broken glasses.
"Here." Sara looked up as her mother handed her one of the canteens.
"Thanks." Sara took it and held the spout to Franz's mouth. "Drink this."
Franz just wet his lips at first, then took a few sips. He was interrupted several times by a cough and once by a sneeze, but he took down a couple of glasses worth before he relaxed his neck again. "That's good." He sounded a little more like himself, however quiet.
"We'll get you back to camp," Ed promised as he came over and squatted down next to Ethan. "But we need to know, do you know if anyone else made it?"
Framz looked momentarily stricken, then he shook his head slightly. "None. The…soldiers died… shot by Drachmans."
"What about my father?" Maes blurted out.
Franz closed his eyes again. "He was… incredible," he whispered. "I've never seen… such a display. A real ribbon of flame. There were sparks and breaks… alchemists on the other side tried to break the wall… but their ice just… made steam. It was perfect."
"What happened to Roy?" Ed asked quietly.
Franz's sad expression returned. "Even bullets… weren't penetrating; they melted before they could. Then there was a… flare, and Mustang he just… collapsed." He looked over in Riza's direction, squinting at her and Maes. "I ran… to him but… he was dead. No wounds at all."
Sara gripped Franz's uninjured shoulder tightly with one hand.
Her father looked like he'd been punched in the stomach. "Something gave out."
"He used everything he had left," Maes said softly.
Ethan nodded his agreement with the hypothesis. "I've never seen anyone use that much alchemical power before, let alone control it. At his age it was almost a miracle."
There was an awkward, mournful silence that lasted until Tore spoke up. "So if he's the only one left, we should get him back, right?"
"Right," Sara's father agreed. "Maes, if you'll help I'm pretty sure we can get him on his feet. I'll see about transmuting a litter. We can-"
"Wait!" Franz spoke up so suddenly it send him into a coughing fit. "Wait I…. Mrs. Mustang."
"What is it?" Riza came closer.
Franz looked back up at Sara. "Belle… my pocket."
Sara reached down to her husband's pant pocket – the only one left intact – and put her hand inside. Startled, she pulled out a handful of items: an Alchemist's watch, an eye patch, two gloves made of ignition cloth, and the bars and stars and stripes of a retired general. She knew what to do, she held them up for Riza.
Struck dumb, Riza stared at them for a moment before their hands touched, and she gathered the items and held them to her chest.
"I'm sorry," Franz continued then. "I tried to… save his body. I couldn't drag it and…escape so I…. took those. I thought you'd… want them. The watch chain I… left around his wrist. If we find… remains."
"Thank you," Riza cut him off gently. "For trying, and for bringing me these." Then she turned away, and Sara saw Maes put his arms around his mother.
"How did you survive?" Tore asked curiously.
"He can answer more questions later," Winry interrupted. "The poor boy is exhausted."
Franz smiled through his exhaustion. "It's…okay. Short story. I ran. There's a pond. I jumped in and stayed there… until the fire went down. Hung on to a log… to stay up. Then crawled out… stayed near the tinder to dry some… and started walking."
"Thank goodness for quick thinking." Sara planted a tender kiss on Franz's forehead. Relief was overwhelming, and she didn't hold back the tears that threatened to overflow her eyes.
"Don't cry…" Franz whispered.
Sara stayed bent close, her nose resting lightly on his brow as the silent tears dripped. Where they hit his face, little rivulets of soot washed away. "I can't help it. I'm so happy you're alive."
Edward watched his daughter watching her husband – now cleaned, bandaged, and treated – sleeping deeply in the infirmary tent. He let the fabric door drop shut and turned around, giving them some privacy.
"Ready to go?" Winry asked softly.
"Yeah," Ed nodded. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, necessarily, but he didn't want to hang around the infirmary.
Winry paused. "Are you all right?"
"Not really." Ed found himself admitting the truth without guesses or hesitation. He was stunned as much as anyone else and the reality was still sinking in. Roy Mustang was dead. "It's kind of unreal." He pulled Winry close in an impulsive hug. "I really thought he might have survived, if anyone did."
Winry's arms tightened around his chest. "I know. He was such a survivor."
Was. Past tense. Ed felt his throat close and took a moment to compose himself. "How's Riza?" She had held together amazingly well as they got Franz on a stretcher, then located the spot where Franz said roughly he had left Roy's body. Riza had insisted on going with Ed and Maes to locate the remains. There hadn't been much left; the body was ash save for what remained of the half-melted watch chain. Ed had transmuted an urn out of the nearby rock and they had gathered some of the ashes, and the chain.
Winry stepped back, clearly worried about their friend. "She's with Maes. Breda let them have his tent for a while. It's quieter there."
"Is she still crying?"
"Not when I left." Winry reached down and took his hand, squeezing it. "She'd just agreed to let Breda handle the funeral."
That made sense. There was no way it wouldn't be military with full honors. How could the country's biggest living legend possibly rank anything less? Telling Breda, Fuery, Falman, and then the rest of the State Alchemists the news had been heart-breaking. "Well let's see how she's doing then." He slipped his free arm around her shoulders and they left the tent, stepping out into the late afternoon gray.
The weather seemed appropriate to the news and the mood in camp. Yesterday had been one of tension, victory, and near-frantic celebration. Today things were back to business, and while there was a general good feeling, it was muted now, as though the world quietly mourned the passing of one man even more than the others who had died yesterday. Or maybe it was just Ed.
"You want to get a drink?" Winry asked as they walked across camp, footprints lost in the half-slush and new snow mingling at their feet.
Ed almost stopped dead until he understood what she meant. "Coffee would be great," he smiled weakly. "But Riza first."
As it turned out, there was a pot of hot coffee steaming on the table in Breda's tent when they arrived. Riza sat in the chair, clutching a cup that was still steaming. Maes knelt next to her, and Breda was still there, sitting on the bed. All eyes turned to them as they entered.
Riza managed a weak smile. "How's Franz?"
"Doing better," Ed smiled back. "Now that he's cleaned up, rehydrating, and the doctors have had a look at him. He's sleeping now."
"Good," Riza nodded. "I'll thank him again later. It was incredibly thoughtful of him to risk himself to bring me Roy's… affects."
"He's like that." Still, Ed felt a surprising amount of pride in his son-in-law's bravery and ability to survive. "How are you?" He wanted to know from Riza. She had always seemed unflappable when he was a boy, and now even after years of knowing her, it was hard sometimes to know what Riza was really feeling. She had the perfect poker face necessary in the best military officers – and wives.
"Shocked," Riza admitted. "But better than I was earlier. I think the worst of the pain will come when I get home."
Walking into a house and knowing the person you loved was not there; thinking that they never would be again. Ed remembered that empty agony. "You know we're here for you."
"I know, Ed," Riza nodded. "That's why there's something I want you to do for me."
Him? "What's that?"
"When we have the… memorial, I was hoping you would speak… for Roy."
He would have sworn she was joking if this was a hypothetical situation, but it wasn't. "You want me to give a Eulogy?" For the man whom he had once hated as his superior officer; with whom he had quarreled for years. Not that they hadn't gotten past it, but surely Roy had closer friends that would be more suitable?
Riza seemed to read his expression. Despite her red eyes, she chuckled quietly. "It would be ironic," she admitted, "but appropriate. He respected you so much, Edward. Besides which, you're as much a part of everything he did as anyone else. I think he would appreciate it."
Roy would appreciate Ed being the primary person to speak at his funeral? "I'll have to trust you on that one," Ed replied. "But I'm honored."
"I look forward to hearing this," Breda chuckled.
"You're sure you trust me to decide what to say about Roy?" Ed asked Riza. Grief could make people do funny things.
"Yes," Riza replied. "I trust you to figure out what really needs to be said." She sipped her coffee then. "Besides which, I fully expect to be allowed to hear whatever you come up with before the funeral."
Winry was smiling too now, and even Maes looked amused. Ed shrugged, and nodded. He couldn't turn down Riza's request. "Sure, why not?" He smiled too. It was a ways off, and he was touched that Riza trusted him so much. "I can at least promise that it will be memorable."
Breda handed him a cup of coffee. "I think that's part of what she's afraid of."