Chapter 30: Words of an Only Child

"Mr. Hughes," Winry Rockbell looked from behind the massive teddy bear she was carrying. The man who had shanghaied her from the hospital where she had been met with Ed and Al didn't even bother to look over to her, all the while whistling away as a stack of boxes swayed in his arms.

"Yes?"

Winry felt the undeniable desire to get out her wrench and thwack the man, even if he was offering to let her stay at his place for the evening. She kept control over herself, however, gripping ever more tightly onto the bear as she walked forward.

"I was wondering," she looked down at the great stuffed beast, and then again to the pile of boxes, "Why are you buying all these things?"

"Ha," Maes Hughes let out a laugh, before giving her a sly smile, and looking of wistfully into the distance, "Well you see," he acted as though he was telling her some great secret, even though his voice was as loud as normal, "Today is my daughter's birthday," his smile only grew larger, "She's turning three years old."

"Congratulations!" Winry laughed. That certainly did explain all the gifts. Maes Hughes just laughed in response, and then gestured for her to continue to follow him.

The two of them made a quick turn down the next main street, and Winry could see the Lieutenant Colonel focus his eyes on one house in particular. Before they had even made it to the steps of that house, the door was open, and a woman and a little girl, Hughes's wife and daughter, came out, the little girl waving frantically at them as they approached. Maes's smile grew even bigger, as they quickly made their way up the steps of the house. While still holding the boxes in one hand, he scooped up the little girl in his other arm, and pulled her up for a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Elicia, my little angel," his voice went squeaky, as though the joy was bursting out of his chest, "How was your day today?"

"Great Papa" Elicia shouted, reaching up and throwing her arms around Colonel Hughes's neck. The bearded man laughed, before handing the boxes over to his wife, who swiftly put them down on what looked like a small table inside. She then stopped crawling all over her father, and turned her attention to Winry. For a moment, the little girl was observing her with eyes without any sort of recognition. She then pointed at Winry, and asked, "Who's this Daddy?"

"Ah," Maes nodded, this is clearly being something he had prepared for, before resting his now free hand on his wife's shoulder, "Elicia, Gracia, do you remember the Elric brothers?" The wife, Gracia if Winry had to guess, nodded, but for a second Elicia just placed a finger next to her lip, before her eyes widened.

"The little guy with the big metal brother?"

"Yup," Winry answered, laughing, glad that Edward wasn't here to cause a scene. Sometimes his temper was as short as he was.

"Ha, ha, yeah, that's them," he shook his head while chuckling likely imagining exactly what Edward would have said at that description, "Well, she's their old friend from when they were your age," Elicia looked over at Winry, as though she were trying to imagine Winry ever being as small as herself, "She's in town to help them for a bit, but she got called on short notice, so she doesn't have any rooms called up," he turned to his wife, who was nodding along, "I offered to let her stay here."

Gracia nodded along quickly, and she didn't seem to mind. Their apartments did look big though, so they probably had a guest room or two. Winry leaned down as Elicia crawled off of her father, and sat there, completely unfazed by the older girl standing right in front of her. As she leaned down, it was hard not to admire the absolute confidence the girl gave off, especially when someone so much bigger than her was getting so close.

"Hey Elicia, I'm Winry," she said. When Elicia nodded at that introduction, Winry continued, "I hear it's your birthday today," again, the little girl nodded, "Can you tell me how old you are?"

"I'm tw-"

For a second, Elicia just stood there, two fingers held up on her pudgy little hand. Slowly, WInry could see the gears in her head turn, as though the rote older pattern was fighting with the new instructions placed into it. Finally, a third little finger flew up, and the smile on the tiny girl got even bigger somehow.

"I'M THREE!"

"She's so cute!" Winry couldn't help herself. She didn't care as she stood up and waved back and forth at the thought of the little girl's fingers moving to show her age, and how quickly she had learnt her new age. She also didn't care that she was doing the exact same motion as the little girl's father. She didn't even care that Gracia was looking at them with a slight roll in her eyes, or the sound of exhaustion coming from behind her. Finally, regaining her wits, she looked back, and saw three more people standing right below them.

They were a tall, handsome blonde man in a formal green suit, a raven haired woman in a long red sweater, and a little pinkhaired girl in a black dress. The three of them were standing, just staring as the whole thing went about, though from the look on the man's face, she could tell he had found the exchange to be exasperating.

"Oh, hi neighbor!" Maes waved his hand at the family behind Winry, "Winry, this is our next door neighbors. That's Dr. Lloyd Forger, and his wife and Daughter, Yor and Anya," the man in the green suit dropped his frown quickly, and gave her a polite bow, followed by the same motion from his wife and daughter, "They agreed to come and help us set up," Meas then leaned forward, "Shockingly, not only is Lloyd a doctor, but he's a pretty damn good cook as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Maes then waved back at the Forgers, "Come on in everybody, let's get the party started!"

"So, are you enjoying the party?" Winry looked over, and smiled as she saw Dr. Forger pick up her finished plate, and put it on a stack of similarly cleaned dishes. The part had been going on for an hour and a half, and they'd already finished up dinner and dessert, and the gifts were being opened up. As she looked over at Elicia playing with her teddy bear, Winry nodded to herself.

"Yeah," she answered, "This has been really fun," she then saw Dr. Forger walking towards the kitchen, "Hey," she then walked up behind the man, his suit coat having been long hung up in the closet to keep it from becoming dirty, "Let me help you clean up."

"Are you sure?" Lloyd asked, looking back at her as she followed him, "The party is still going, and I can handle this perfectly well."

"I don't know anyone here besides the Hugheses," she answered as honestly as possible, shaking her head, "I really didn't do that much to prepare, so at least I can help out a bit by cleaning up some," she pulled up her sleeves, "Besides, I'm sure Elicia can show me all the gifts she got from her birthday later, since I'm spending the night and all."

"Well thank you," Lloyd nodded at her, as they walked into the kitchen, a sink full of bubbles already waiting for them, "it's so nice to meet young people who show such consideration for others."

For the next few minutes, the two began a quick process. Lloyd would wash the dishes, methodically scrubbing the residue from the plates, and then rinsing them. He'd then toss them quickly to her, where she'd dry them as quickly as possible before stacking them. Working together, the two managed to get it done in only a few minutes. Indeed, soon, all the dishes, both from the eating and serving, were dried and ready for Mrs. Hughes to put away, while they were in the process of wiping the effort of their cleaning off.

"So he's always been sensitive about his height, huh?" and during the whole time, Winry had been asked questions about Ed. Dr. Forger was the psychiatrist who had started taking care of Ed after all, so it made sense for him to start asking her ideas about how Edward had grown up. And wanting to help her friend, she'd obliged as long as it didn't seem too personal.

"Yeah," she shook her head, "It's always been a bit of a sore spot. He wants to be tall so much, but he won't even drink milk to help grow his bones," she looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Maybe you can talk to him about it?"

"And ruin the medical relationship I have with one of my most important clients," Lloyd laughed, shaking his head too, "I'm sorry, but there are some things I just can't do," he then looked out, and stared at the crowd, "Before we head back, is there anything else you'd like to talk about concerning Edward? At least so you don't reveal anything in public?"

"Yeah," Winry held her hands together, and in her mind she saw two blonde boys still standing tall together, declaring they would learn alchemy, "Dr. Forger," she then remembered seeing the two laying up in bed, Edward in particular, "I'm really worried about how much they won't tell me anything," Lloyd seemed to consider what she was saying for a moment, before nodding, "I keep trying to be an open door for them to come home to, but they never seem willing to talk to me about what they're facing, and it worries me," she placed her face in her hand, "I get really worried that one day, they're going to go out, and they're never going to come back."

"I think I understand," Dr. Forger nodded. For a moment he just stood there, trying to think of a right response, before finally saying, "Ms. Rockbell," he looked down, "You lost your parents in the Ishvalan War, correct?"

"...Yes."

"I suppose I lost my parents in a war as well," Winry blinked, staring at the man, especially at him revealing something so important so openly, "I still wonder at times what would have happened had I gone out the door with them, but then I realize, that I wouldn't have my wife and daughter if I had."
"Okay," Winry tried to follow along the logic, "But-"

"But I also worry at times that when my wife and daughter go out, they might not come back," Winry blinked, "I know what you're thinking, we're here in Central. But you never know what might happen. A car could jump the sidewalk and they could be gone in an instant," Winry cringed as she looked over at Anya and Yor, who were sitting and laughing alongside Elicia, "That's just the way life is," Winry nodded slowly, the image of a brunette with a ponytail replaced Yor, "But that means I just have to value them everyday. To love them and to seize every second I have with them," he smiled at her, and Winry smiled back.

"So your saying I should just go be with them more," Lloyd nodded.

"As much as they are willing to let you," he rubbed his chin, "Perhaps they will be heading out of Central soon. Why not go on a vacation with them for a bit, spend some time with them. Being part of their trip might make them more willing to open up to you."

Winry thought about it. The two had been mentioning having to go south for a bit. Something about their teacher. Well, maybe she could go meet that teacher too. It'd be nice to meet the lady that the two respected so much, and maybe see why they came home so scared after that trip they had taken as kids.

"Alright," she smiled at the doctor, "I will."

"And after this guy," Maria Ross held up a picture of the man known as Envy for the whole room to see, "Tossed Edward away, we had to run away. That's the last bit of info I have about that damn place."

Maes Hughes rubbed his temples. He really shouldn't have had those few extra drinks last night. He had been too giddy, and now this hangover was making him pay for it. He pushed his glasses up, as he stared at everything that Ross and the Elric brothers had been able to write down, alongside a huge number of notes on names of those attached to Dr. Marcoh's alchemic program that Major Armstrong had gathered. The whole thing was just a damn puzzle. And even five minds being pulled together, his, the major's, the Elric Brothers, and Lieutenant Ross, just weren't able to make much headway.

"So an ouroboros tattoo," Edward held up the strange dragon circling the six sided star, "and the transmutation circle for the philosopher's stone," and the thing that made humans into weapons. Honestly, it looked relatively simple, two pentagons with one inside the other, at least in comparison to some of the stuff he'd seen Roy working with when they were in the academy. Just basic geometric shapes inside a circle, rather than a complex tapestry of symbols. If he'd seen it without context, he would have thought it was created by a novice, "They're just a lot of mysteries about all this, and with the fifth lab in rubble, we got no real leads."

There was a collective sigh from the whole of the group. This was a massive scandal, one that could shake the foundations of Amestris, yet they were all stuck, flying at best half-blind, but more like nine-tenths blind. They were just missing something big, something crucial. Major Armstrong walked forward, grabbing up his papers, and lifting them up.

"I will see if we can find any information from Dr. Marcoh's lab assistants," he said, holding up the list, "Surely some of them might be willing to talk. Or at least lead us to where we should be going."

"And I'll look at the criminal records," Maes rubbed his chin, "Maybe find out if there is come kind of pat-"

"I hope I'm not interrupting something."

Maes felt his heart drop. He knew that voice. It was the most well known voice in the whole country. He saw in the shocked expressions of all of his compatriots that he was right before turning and seeing that, yet, the man who had just entered was in fact-

"Fuhrer King Bradley!" he and everyone else gave a quick bow. Maes wasn't sure what to do. He knew Central command was likely related to this. And if Bradley was in on it.

"At ease gentleman," the Fuhrer walked up, and picked up the pieces of paper from their pile on the table. Maes could feel himself begin to sweat as the Fuhrer's expression grew more and more severe. This was the man who'd ordered the genocide of the Ishvalans. It's not like he wouldn't have it in him to have them all arrested and killed if he was trying to protect himself. As the seconds ticked on, Bradley's face only grew more sour, before finally, he placed the papers down, "I've heard you all have been doing some snooping around."

'Forger," Maes's thoughts immediately went to his blonde neighbor. Of course the man had been keeping tabs on Armstrong even as they'd been trying to keep tabs on him.

"And you, Elric brothers, have been investigating the Philosopher's stone?"

For a moment, Edward stayed silent, a look of shock on his face. The Fuhrer looked over Edward, and then moved his eye towards Hughes and towards Armstrong. Finally...

He smiled.

"Ha! Got you," he pulled up the papers and continued to flip through the notes, his grin not leaving his face, "You all need to be less uptight, I was just yanking all your chains," at that, Hughes felt the tension that had been gripping his shoulders disappear, and he nearly fell over at the change in the attitude by Bradley. Giving a look over to everyone else, they all also seemed as shocked by the sudden collapse in the tension in the room.

'This is why he's managed to keep so popular,' Maes thought, watching the Fuhrer regain a frown, though this one was less angry and more contemplative as he flipped through the notes, 'Despite being famous for being a war monger, the guy's just really personable,' he didn't dare shake his head, but he continued to try and understand the man he and Mustang were planning on overthrowing, 'Every soldier whose ever met him always says he's the most considerate commander you could ask for,' the Fuhrer then placed the notes on the desk, and then his hands went behind his back, 'And as much as I don't want to, I really believe it.'

"I see you are like me," Bradley nodded at the papers on the desk, "You've all been noticing that there has been suspicious activity in the military recently," the group were at first stunned, but soon they all nodded, "I've been investigating it on my own time as well, but it's been slow going," he turned to Armstrong, "Major, you were very thorough in your list of names to ask about this, but in the past month, every single one on that list has been reported missing."

"Missing," Armstrong was taken aback. The Fuhrer nodded, all the while Armstrong placed a hand on his head and shook it, "To believe we are all too late."

Maes felt a vein twitch on the side of his head. The Fifth laboratory was really a dead end now. The lab was gone, the former head had already given as much as he probably could, and everyone else was gone. And to make that many people disappear would likely take someone with a high enough rank to know who was part of Dr. Marcoh's taskforce. And that was with Basque Grand already dead too...

"The enemy seems to be a step ahead of us, if not a full three steps," Bradley growled, "And even with my vast information network, I don't know anything about what they want, what there plan is...anything really," his hand gripped, "And I certainly don't know who is part of it or how high up in command they are. All I know...is that they are willing to do anything to get what they want."
"Wait," Maes thought through that observation, "So you mean, you think they are ready to kill us if they think we continue to pursue this further."

"Not just us," and suddenly, the rage was back in his voice, "But our friends and family as well" Gracia and Elicia flashed through his eyes, soon followed by Roy and Riza. Honestly, from what Maes knew, it was likely he was also thinking of his family at the moment. The Fuhrer's voice then got dangerously low, "The thought of anyone hurting those important to me enrages me."

Maes nodded. He could see similar apprehension in every one else. They were all thinking of people who this conspiracy might hurt.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Maes snapped to attention at the call of his name, "Major Armstrong," so did the musclebound alchemist, "Elric Brothers," Ed and Al both sat straight from their beds, "Second Lieutenant Ross," for a moment, the woman seemed to hesitate, but she nodded, though there was still apprehension there, "I am giving you an order for your own safety," Bradley's face became etched in a grimace, "Do not mention the details of this to anyone outside this room. This is for your own safety. You must, from now on, consider the whole of the military to be your enemies."

They all nodded as a group.

"However," and then the smile was back, and wider than before, "The time will come, when we will know who the enemy is, and that is when I will call on you to help me bring these monsters down," the group looked at him, before smiles began to return to their faces, and they nodded in response, "Do I have your support gentleman," he then stopped, looked to Ross, and for a second Maes thought he caught a slight blush on his cheeks, "And ladies, of course."
"YES SIR!" the group all saluted, even Alphonse, who wasn't even part of the military.

"Hey, could he be around this way?"

The Fuhrer flinched, and his head turned back towards the double door he had just come out of. They could all hear rustling as though several men were walking through the corridor. Slowly, carefully, the Fuhrer slipped next to the window, and opened it. He then swung his foot through the opening, and raised a hand up at the confused looks the group was giving him.

"Those are my bodyguards," Maes never thought he'd see the Fuhrer acting sheepish, but as he hiked himself outside, there was no better word to describe the leader of Amestris, "I had to slip away from them earlier. They never give me any privacy," he shook his head as he began to walk away, "It's like no one thinks I can take care of myself."

For a second, the five of them just stared as the Fuhrer walked away. Maes didn't have to look back to guess that everyone was as flabbergasted as him. And yet...something clicked in his mind, and he followed the leader of Amestris out the window.

"Hey, I need to ask him somthing," he waved back as an explanation, and then tore off after the Fuhrer. He raised up a hand towards the Fuhrer, though he made sure not to call his name so there was no attention drawn to them. Finally, the Fuhrer looked back, and stood there, "Fuhrer Bradley, one last question."

"Of course, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," he nodded, "Do you think there might be some clue."

"Not yet," Maes sighed as he leaned over, "I actually wanted to talk about communication."

"Communication?"

"Yes," he then pointed at the hospital, "I know Dr. Lloyd Forger is one of your agents sir, so I was wondering if I should let you know if I found anything through hi-"

Maes stopped as he saw the Fuhrer's one eye widen. Part of him hoped it was the Fuhrer being impressed with how he had deduced that Lloyd was his agent, but the sheer shock of the insinuation seemed to suggest something else. For a moment they just stood there, before the Fuhrer took the cue to respond.

"I can assure you he isn't one of mine?" the Fuhrer rubbed his chin, "Why do you think this psychiatrist might be a member of a network?"

"Well, he admitted he was an agent after working with Central to investigate Roy Mustang," Maes admitted, and slowly, Bradley nodded at that. Maes mind was racing, everything about what he was planning thrown for a loop.

"He might be working for the enemy," Bradley mused, "Our opponent does seem to be part of Central Command, afterall, so it wouldn't surprise me if they had an agent like Forger," he then shook his head, "I even may have walked into a trap, what with agreeing to be his patient for a meeting."

"I honestly thought it was when you were meeting him to discuss your plans," Maes admitted, and Bradley only nodded some more, "But...damnit."

"We can't let the enemy recognize we are on to them," the Fuhrer said forcefully, and Maes couldn't help but nod at that, "I can't change my schedule," he then smiled, and placed a hand on Maes's shoulder, "But I must thank you for getting me to be on alert. I might have let my guard down too much had I not known," he then stared at Maes directly, "Keep an eye on this Lloyd Forger, you never know what our enemies might be trying to do, or what they may be trying to uncover."

"Yes sir," he saluted one last time, before his mind turned to the blonde man who was his next door neighbor.

'So if you aren't working for them...then who are you working for?'

"So your guest is gone?" Maes finished up his sip of coffee, and nodded at Yuri.

It was the late afternoon, and Maes was going to have to stay late. The amount of time he'd spent shopping for Elicia and looking after the Elrics had meant he'd fallen behind on what he needed to get done for the week. There was a good number of court martial records he needed to sign off on, at least if they wanted trials to commence. Beyond that, there was also military reports from the frontiers to file, especially with new conflicts seeming to pop up all the time. And of course, there was the Agent Twilight fiasco, but that was always hanging over his head.

'Tall man, educated, from Cresta,' the initial profile he had to go off of, 'also came to the East from the South in the past six months,' he added, along with some conjecture on past behavior, 'Disappeared from active missions for several months, completely out of MO,' and then finished off with a few wild guesses, 'Likely in his late twenties to early thirties, very short on connections to those around him.'

"Yeah," Maes responded to his junior, "Winry's gone off with the Elric brothers to the South. Alongside Second Lieutenant Ross," there were rumors Scar had been killed in a gas explosion, but there hadn't been anything beyond those. No hard evidence or anything. So the orders for Elric Brother's protection remained in effect, though the were relaxed enough to leave them with one bodyguard to go to Dublith in the South, "They were nice to have, but I think it'll be nice for everything to be a bit more relaxed."

"That makes sense," Yuri looked down at one of his reports, and winced, "Ah, there's been more fighting in the south," he held up a casualty report, "Nearly half a regiment was killed by an attack by Aerugo two days ago, just outside of South City," the younger man shook his head, "Despite how beautiful that place is, it has such a history of violence. Though at least it isn't as bad as Fezzett."

"Yeah," Meas nodded, "You did go there for training," he remembered then how Lloyd had cut through the cover story of the training, "You had to..."

'Wait a minute.'

Maes took a small look at the map. Lloyd had said he had recently come from South City...to go to the East...

'No, you're being conspiratorial,' Maes chided himself. Just because he'd already had his image of who Lloyd was thrown into the air by the Fuhrer earlier today, didn't mean he wasn't an agent from Amestris, just that he wasn't the Fuhrer's man. It was likely he was just an agent trained in a similar situation, 'Especially since he went straight to East City.'

...

'Except he didn't,' during the interrogation of the guards on the train in New Optain, a man matching Lloyd Forger's description was seen boarding, and the name Lloyd Forger had appeared on the way out when the military was checking for possible terrorists escaping as civilians. That meant that Lloyd Forger had, in a similar time frame to what they supposed for Twilight, made a trip from the south up along the border of the east, before heading south to East City itself, the same general path as Twilight.

'You're being ridiculous,' Maes rubbed his temples, and he could see Yuri looking at him strangely, 'There is no way Lloyd Forger could be Agent Twilight,' his mind immediately turned to the image of his neighbors at the party the day before, 'He has a wife and daught-'

A wife who he'd only married in the past two months.

A daughter who, despite their long history supposedly together, he didn't have many photos of, and did seem to have a strange distance from.

'You're being ridiculous,' Maes finally admonished himself, 'If Twilight is Forger, why would they put him as my neighbor. They'd be stupid to put him so clo-'

Unless it would mean he wouldn't expect it.

...

'Shit,' Maes groaned. More than likely, he was being ridiculous. It'd been months on this case, and his brain was likely reaching for whatever lead it could dream up. There was almost no way that his neighbor was Agent Twilight, the famous Crestan spy. It would be too ridiculous to even appear in one of those corny radio programs that Anya Forger enjoyed so much. He needed to drop this, and get back to the rest of his work.

'Though on the safe side,' he thought, his eyes on a map turning to the Crestan Frontier. Ever since the Long War started in Pendelton, Cresta and Amestris had been enemies. He'd heard about the massive casualties at that battle, and how their western neighbor had never really recovered from the loss there. That was why they had to rely on spies like Twilight, 'I guess I can see if Lloyd Forger has any connections in the West. Or if he's been spotted with anyone Crestan.'

"Hey guys," Captain Focker arrived with two cups of coffee in his hands. He handed one off to Yuri, before sitting down at his own desk, "Did you all here, tomorrow, we're getting some reports from Leore tomorrow."

"Leore?" the place where the Elric brothers had exposed a false priest to the people. They'd told him about that adventure when discussing their attempt to find the Philospoher's Stone, at least before they found out what it really was.

"Yeah," Focker shook his head, "There was a massive uprising over the past couple of weeks," he shook his head, "Everything is calm now, but, well look at the initial estimate," Focker handed Hughes over a short initial notice of casualties, and Maes cringed.

"Nearly five thousand dead or wounded," he shook his head, "The East hasn't seen that many casualties since Ishval."

"Man, the East seems so violent these days," Yuri spoke up, before shaking his own head, "Though it's not just the East. The South is just as ugly right now, with Fezzett having casualty reports in the triple digits daily," he sighed, "I suppose that's what happens when your nation is born surrounded by enemies."

"Yeah," Maes said offhandedly. He looked at the map. Honestly, it was strange. There seemed to be an almost straight line from Leore down to the former capital of Ishval, and a straight line from Ishval to Fezzet. They looked sort of symmetrical shape. Especially if you drew a line up from Fezzet to Pendelton. And then, you could make a square from there, or, with still symmetrical lines, make a...

Make a pentagon.

And if you used Amestris's border as a circle.

SLAM

"Sir?" Yuri stood up in shock. Maes looked at the young man, before he remembered the Fuhrer's warning, and calmed himself. He then placed all the papers he had under his armpit, and pushed himself up from his desk. Yuri, Focker and Sheska all continued to stare at him, as he pointed to one of the back rooms.

"I need to check something, don't wait up on me," he then left the room, and he felt his throat tighten.

If he was correct about this...then the conspiracy of the Philospher's Stone went deeper than he had ever imagined.