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Title: Reverti Ad Praeteritum
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood/manga
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: Mature
Pairings: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang, May Chang/Alphonse Elric, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, post-Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Warnings: Spoilers like whoa, Ed's potty mouth, canon-typical violence, pile 'o OCs, mute!Ed, original character death, angst, fluff, past dub-con, past adultery, Ed has all the guilt
Summary: Unwillingly forced to serve as a human trial for a crazy alchemist experimenting with time travel, Edward Elric finds himself standing across from Truth in the moment it takes his leg from him. Armed with the knowledge of what's to come and burdened with guilt for the choices he'd made as an adult, Ed sets out to fix every mistake he ever made and save every life they ever lost, no matter what it takes.
Key: "Speech" | 'Mouthing words'
'Writing'
:Sign Language:
"In another language" | 'In another language'
A/N: I'll be adding that key to the beginning of every chapter from here out, in case anyone feels they might need it. (I'm sorry I've complicated dialogue to such an extent. ^^; )
You can also read this at Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.Net, or LiveJournal.
Chapter Three
-0-
"Where have you been?!" Winry shouted when Ed finally made it back to the Rockbell house. She and Al had been sitting on the porch, clearly waiting for him, and both looked cross.
Ed winced. :Securing our passage to Xing,: he signed.
"For four hours?!"
"Winry," Al cautioned, "let's take this inside." Because all of them were cautious, even though they doubted the homunculi had eyes on them.
They found Granny at the dining room table, looking disapproving.
"Ed says he was securing his and Al's passage to Xing," Winry informed her grandmother as they all sat down.
Granny turned a glare on Ed. "Without passports?" she guessed.
Ed sighed and glanced askance at Al, since Granny only knew a handful of sign language. Enough to know when there was something wrong, but not enough for this conversation. When Al gave a tight nod of agreement – he was willing to translate – Ed started signing, :There's no way the military's going to give two children passports, especially if they realise we're alchemists. I know of a man willing to take us across the desert–:
"Are you insane?!" Winry demanded, cutting off Al's translation before he could mention the desert part out loud. "You can't cross the Great Desert with automail; you'll die!"
"Edward," Granny said, her voice low and hard.
:I can handle it,: Ed insisted.
"How? You've got metal permanently attached to your skin, Ed!" Winry said, her tone turning more desperate than angry. "You've only just finished healing!"
:What do you want from me?: Ed returned, his jaw clenched. :We need to get to Xing and there's no way we can afford to cross into Aerugo and take a ship down the coast. I found someone who's willing to take us in return for alchemic assistance; the desert is our only option.:
"And what happens once you make it to Xing and you can't walk because you're so badly burnt? Then what?!"
Before Ed could come up with a good response to that, Al jumped up from the table and ran from the room, calling back, "I need to get a book!"
Ed blinked after his brother for a moment, then shook himself and turned back to Winry. :I can heal burns.:
"That's not the point," Winry whispered before covering her face, and Ed knew she was crying again.
Dammit.
"Ed," Granny said, her tone firm, "we didn't give you a leg so you could cross the Great Desert first thing and burn yourself with it. Northern automail is the same as normal automail in the heat, which you know."
Ed looked away. Yeah, he knew. There was a very good reason why he'd never gone to Xing, no matter how many formal invites Ling had sent. And, sure, he could have gone the coastal route, especially after they had a peace treaty with Aerugo, but the trip by boat was at least twice as long as going through the Great Desert, and lacked the chance to go past the Xerxesian ruins again and explore what little was left of his heritage; it just wasn't worth the waste of his time.
Al dashed back into the room and dropped one of Hohenheim's Xingan journals down on the table next to Ed. "I remember reading," he said as he leant over the book and started flipping through the pages, "about an array that could be carved onto a container to keep whatever contents you put inside below a certain temperature."
Ed felt his eyes widen, while Winry and Granny both made surprised noises.
Al flattened his hand over the journal, ceasing his flipping, and pushed it in front of Ed. "You're the better alchemist, Brother; can you adapt that to keep your automail at a safe temperature?" he asked, tapping his finger next to the array.
Ed turned his attention to the array, remembered flipping past it because electricity meant they didn't need alchemy for refrigeration, so it seemed useless to him. But, as a way to keep his automail cool?
He pulled out his pen and mimed writing. A piece of paper was almost immediately set on the table next to him and Ed signed a one-handed, :Thank you,: before starting to trace out the important parts of the array, the parts that he couldn't really change. The rest of it just sort of...slipped into place, his hand drawing the necessary lines almost without him realising, and he had a functional array by the time he let the journal flip closed.
"How do you do that?" Al complained, more admiration then disgust in his voice.
Ed shrugged and signed, :Practice,: then turned to Winry and nodded.
Winry freed her lip from between her teeth. "You're sure that will work?"
Ed nodded while Al said, "It looks like it to me."
She swallowed and glanced at Granny, who was watching all of them from behind her pipe, her eyes narrowed, but a glint of interest hiding within them. Winry took a deep breath and looked back at Ed, then asked, "Will it work even for a non-alchemist?"
Ed blinked and, oh, Winry. Of course she was trying to find a way to make this fix accessible for people all over the country; Ed had always been the willing scapegoat for her greatest innovations.
"I don't know," Al supplied. "The original had to be activated by an alchemist, according to Dad's notes, but once it had been, it would last years before needing to be recharged."
:This should work the same,: Ed offered, glancing over his array. :I didn't change the fundamentals, just fixed it to control the temperature of the object it's carved on, rather than whatever's inside that object, and changed what temperature it would keep it below, since the original was meant to keep food from spoiling.: He looked up at Winry. :You can draw it and then find an alchemist – it's pretty basic, they don't need a state licence – to activate it. Tell whoever's got it to find an alchemist to recharge it again if they notice it failing.:
Winry held out a hand for the paper and Al passed it over. "It has to be carved?" she asked, staring at the array.
Since she wasn't looking, Ed left that for Al to answer: "No, you can use chalk or paint or whatever. But, given you're putting it on automail, carving it is going to be your best way to keep it from rubbing off."
"Oh, right. That makes sense."
Ed let out a whistle and, when Winry looked up at him, signed, :I'll test it. I can send our guide back with a note about how well it works and any changes to the array, if necessary. Once you have my report, you can start offering it to other people, okay?:
"A few weeks in the Great Desert is a pretty thorough test," Al added, "and Brother and I can both heal minor burns and recharge the array, if necessary, so we've got a safety net."
Winry glanced back down at the array, then nodded. "Okay. Let me practise carving this a few times before I add it to your leg, though, okay?"
Ed nodded. :We've got time. Our guide and I agreed to wait until March before leaving, since he has a couple of people he's hoping to hear from around then.:
Winry stood. "March. Got it." Then she turned and left.
Granny sighed and Ed glanced over to find her shaking her head, a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "You two are your father's sons. Do you intend to solve everything with alchemy?"
:Alchemy isn't always the solution, but it does ease the way,: Ed signed to Al, who faithfully repeated it out loud.
Granny let out a quiet, helpless laugh. "True enough."
Ed shrugged and collected Hohenheim's journal as he stood, then motioned to his brother that he intended to head upstairs.
"Oh, is my reward for finding a way to keep you from getting burnt filling me in on all your secret plans at last?" Al asked slightly sarcastically as he followed Ed from the room.
Ed snorted; okay, he'd deserved that.
Winry came into Ed and Al's room a couple mornings later, while they were arguing over which of Hohenheim's journals they should take – Al was for the lot, while Ed preferred to travel light – holding a long strip of steel in one hand. They both turned to look at her curiously, and she held it out to Al, who was closer. "Tell me that's right."
He nodded after some consideration, then passed the steel to Ed, letting him get a look at the array that had been cut into the piece. "It looks right to me."
Ed nodded his agreement as he handed the piece back to Al so he could return it to Winry.
"Good," Winry decided as she accepted her work back. "I want to run some tests on it before we add it to your leg, though, Ed, if you two will help me?"
Al and Ed glanced at each other, then shrugged nearly in sync and stood; they weren't getting anywhere with the books right now, so they might as well move to something new. "What sort of tests?" Al asked.
"Well, you two are going to test extended heat over the course of weeks, but I'd like to toss it in the furnace and see how it holds out against fire," Winry returned as she turned to lead the way out of the room.
Ed winced; and she always used to bitch about how hard he was on automail.
"I also," she continued, "want to find out how much contact there needs to be between pieces for it to receive the same benefits. Like, do I need to cut the array into every piece, or will bolting two pieces of metal together keep them both cool, even though only one piece has the array."
"Huh. Didn't think of that," Al admitted, while Ed shook his head in agreement; just because he'd had automail for more than half his life didn't mean he'd ever paid much attention to the exact details, a fact Winry had never let him forget. (But why bother, really, when she was there to pay attention for him. Which he knew better than to ever actually point out to her. Before or now.)
Winry nodded. "And will I need to cut it special into the port, or will cutting it into the outer plate, where it's easy to access, transfer the effect through to the core and the port?"
Al glanced over at Ed, who grimaced and shrugged; they were going to end up spending all day testing this.
:Stop whining, Brother,: Al signed. :It's for your safety.:
:That's why I'm making faces instead of whining,: Ed returned.
"Stop talking behind my back," Winry called back.
Ed raised an eyebrow at Al, and he sighed and offered, "Sorry, Winry."
She huffed and spun, holding the steel piece out to them. "One of you jerks activate this."
As Ed had expected, Winry's tests took most of the day. They did manage to prove that the steel was kept cool even in direct flame, and the effect seemed to transfer to the tongs Winry was using to fetch it out of the furnace, once they made contact. Further tests showed there was only so many connections the effect would transfer between from a single piece, but Al hypothesised that just keeping the casing cool should help insulate the core against the heat, and Ed made a couple tweaks to the array to make sure of that.
Winry still insisted on cutting the array into his port, for the added security – Ed couldn't even pretend to be surprised; she'd always cared about his health more than he did – but they'd determined that three arrays – one at the front of his leg, one at the back, and one on the top of his foot (not strictly necessary, but Winry was thorough) – would been enough to keep it from overheating. Which meant Ed had to spend the next day hobbling around on a temporary, but he had automail, by the end of the day, that he could take into the desert without concern.
It was...liberating, and Ed didn't hold back from hugging her tight in thanks.
Ed and Al spent the last week of February cleaning up their childhood home and closing everything up. Granny had promised to keep an eye on the house for them while they were gone, make sure no one tried taking up residence without permission, but that didn't keep the brothers from adding their own series of alchemical deterrents, or hiding away all their research into human transmutation, as well as the handful of ridiculously rare books that Hohenheim had (which Ed hadn't known were as rare as they were until he'd needed to reference them at one point during their search for the Stone and realised he couldn't find a copy anywhere, which had pissed him off).
Ed hadn't told Al or the Rockbells that they'd once burnt down this house, mostly because he didn't consider it an important part of his story, despite it being a date he'd carried with him his whole life, having carved it into the inside of the lid of the pocket watch he'd bought to replace his State Alchemist one. There had been a few times he'd considered burning it down again – if Winry was going to Rush Valley, there wouldn't be much cause for them to return to Resembool – but it was hard not to remember Hohenheim calling him a child and saying, "You ran, didn't you, Edward?"
Ed had run from a lot of things in his life, including this house. But this was his second chance, and he wasn't afraid of the memories haunting these walls any more.
(Too, when Al had married May, Ed had honestly regretted they no longer had a house for him to inherit; this time, no matter who his little brother married, he'd have a place to bring her home to.)
Since they were leaving the house standing, Ed decided to leave a note for Hohenheim, which he hung from the ceiling in the front hallway, so the bastard couldn't miss it when he walked in. Al, as soon as he'd seen Ed setting up his letter, had scurried off to find some paper and a pen, then written his own note and got Ed to hang it up with his.
Ed suspected Al'd apologised, in his letter, for whatever Ed had written, which made him roll his eyes, but he figured their idiot father deserved to know that at least one of his sons didn't think he was a waste of space. Which wasn't to say he actually hated his father – he'd been a father himself, knew how hard it could be, and he knew the bastard had left to try and save all of them – but it was hard to shake away years of feeling like they'd been abandoned.
Maybe Hohenheim hadn't been the worst possible father, but Ed would still never forgive him.
Van Hohenheim,
Al and I are currently travelling to Xing to learn the Purification Arts, though I doubt you'll return to Resembool until after our return, in which case, you can reach us through Colonel Roy Mustang's office in either East or Central City – Granny Pinako should have the details.
We know about your history and about the Dwarf in the Flask and his plans for this country. I have a plan to take him out before his stupid Promised Day, and we'll be gathering allies on our own, but we'd appreciate your help all the same – there's only so much normal humans can do against someone who IS a Philosopher's Stone.
I understand why you thought you had to leave, but know I will NEVER forgive you for it. You left Mum to die, and you weren't here to keep Al and I from performing human transmutation and making us the Dwarf in the Flask's targets. You really are a shit father, but if you get your head screwed back on straight, you can fix things with Al.
Get your head screwed back on straight.
I expect to hear from a "Ho Elric" before the end of 1914.
Edward Elric
P.S. – Ask Granny Pinako what Mum's last words were, so she doesn't forget to tell you.
On the second of March, Ed went by Mr Gardner's place and checked in with Mr Han. There was a woman from the Shen clan looking to return to Xing, he explained, and she would get to Resembool on the sixth, so they would plan to leave shortly after her train got in that afternoon.
With a firm departure date, Ed and Al got down to the business of packing what they'd settled on taking, easily having everything ready to go in time.
Winry walked to the meeting place outside of town with them on the afternoon of the sixth, nagging Ed about taking care of his automail – :Do you have any idea how many times I've heard this?: he signed irritably, which she ignored – and reminding Al to ring Granny as soon as they got back into the country, so she could tell them where to find Winry, which Al agreed to in a far politer tone than Ed would have used. (Winry and Granny would be heading for Rush Valley after the harvest came in, when the number of potential injuries went way down, and find her someone to apprentice under, so they wouldn't know where she was going to end up until after Ed and Al were already in Xing.)
They saw the horses before any people, but Mr Han stepped out from behind one once they were in hailing range, calling, "Mr Edward!"
"Mister?" Winry repeated sceptically while Ed waved an acknowledgement.
Ed rolled his eyes. :He started that shit all on his own,: he insisted, because the smuggler had.
"And you didn't try to stop him?"
:Yes, I can see how that would work,: Ed returned, before mouthing, 'I'm sorry, Mr Han, but could you please just–'
Winry elbowed him while Al shook his head, amused. "Fine, fine. Point taken."
:The 'please' was a nice touch,: Al signed, because he was getting disturbingly good at reading Ed's lips.
Ed rolled his eyes.
"You must be Mr Alphonse," Mr Han said to Al as they met up.
"Alphonse Elric," Al agreed, offering a hand for the Xingan man.
"I am Fang Han," Mr Han returned with his short bow, then took Al's hand a shook it.
Al motioned to Winry, offering, "This is a friend of ours who came to see us off, Winry Rockbell."
"Ah. I have heard much of your family from my associate," he offered Winry, along with his hand. "He tells that your father once saved his life."
Winry smiled sadly as she shook his hand. "It was a habit of his, I guess."
"Fang?" a female voice called, before the owner stepped around the horses, revealing her to be a young Xingan woman.
"The rest of our travellers and their friend," Mr Han explained in Xingan, before turning back to the three Amestrisans and offering in their language, "This is Yan Shen, who will be travelling with us."
Al politely inclined his head towards her. "Greetings, Ms Shen. I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my older brother, Edward."
Ed winced, because Al's pronunciation was terrible; he'd tried.
Mr Han coughed, hiding his mouth behind one hand, while Ms Shen very obviously had to look away. "Your pronunciation is as poor as your brother's handwriting," Mr Han commented mildly.
Al sighed and nodded. "I know, but there's only so much I can learn when my resources are all written. I'd appreciate any assistance you might be able to offer."
Ed rolled his eyes at how ridiculously polite his brother always was. And either Al saw him, or he'd anticipated him, because he signed, :Shut up.:
:You do remember I can't do anything BUT shut up, right?:
Al sighed.
Mr Han shook his head. "I believe we should be able to manage some assistance," he offered, glancing back towards Ms Shen, who nodded in agreement.
"Thank you."
Mr Han looked up at the sky before commenting, "We should leave soon, or we will not make the first shelter by the heat of the new day."
"Of course," Al agreed, turning towards Winry, while Mr Han stepped back to give them privacy for farewells. "Thanks for coming to see us off, Winry."
She smiled at them, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Yeah. You both stay safe out there, okay? Don't do anything stupid."
:We won't,: Ed promised. :We've got each other's backs.:
"What Brother said," Al agreed.
"And don't got stepping into any more weird arrays!" Winry hissed, shoving a finger against Ed's chest.
Ed grimaced. :No, thank you. I have no intention in suffering automail surgery a third time.:
Al and Winry both winced.
Ed sighed. :We'll be careful,: he signed. :Learn a lot so you can make me the best automail ever when we get back, okay?:
Winry gave a determined nod. "I will," she promised, before stepping forward and pulling them both into a hug that Ed and Al wholeheartedly returned. When she stepped back, she swiped a hand over her eyes and Ed couldn't help a sigh. "Shut up, Ed!" she ordered. "I'm allowed to cry!"
:You can cry when we get back,: Ed signed, before turning away and signing over his shoulder, :Come on, Al.:
Al sighed. "We'll see you again before you know it, Winry," he promised. "Take care."
"You, too," Winry agreed.
Al fell in next to Ed as they approached Mr Han and Ms Shen. :Some courtesy, Brother,: he complained.
:You'd both think I'd lost it if I started being courteous,: Ed returned.
Al's grimace said he was right.
At Mr Han's direction, they all settled their things onto their horses, pulled up the hoods of the robes Ed had insisted on, then set off.
After about half an hour, Ms Shen asked Al, "Your brother is deaf?"
Al shook his head. "Mute. He can hear fine, but he can't speak."
"I see. That must be very hard."
:You get used to it,: Ed signed.
Al snorted and translated, "He says you get used to it." He shook his head. "Honestly, we all sort of got used to it."
:And I'm sure you appreciated the lack of yelling,: Ed signed.
Al laughed and replied, "The lack of yelling was a definite benefit. Also, you and Granny insult each other a lot less when she can't understand you."
Ed huffed and made a show of turning his nose up at his brother.
"You have not always been mute, then?" Ms Shen asked.
Ed shook his head, left it for Al to say, "It's been almost a year."
Ms Shen blinked, then asked, "You are going to Xing for an alkahestrist to heal the damage?"
Ed snorted, while Al's expression fell and he shook his head; they'd had this conversation as soon as Al had realised that alkahestry was very healing focussed. "It's too severe," Al offered tiredly, because there was no way they could explain that Ed's vocal cords were gone, stuck on the other side of the Gate; there was literally nothing there to heal.
Ed whistled to get Al's attention and, once he was looking over, signed, :We really should start saying I was born this way.: Because people asked fewer questions about birth defects than they did about wounds earned during life.
:I know,: Al signed back. :I'll try to remember.:
Ed shrugged. :Slips happen. I'm not angry with you, Al. We both said things that led to her thinking I wasn't born like this.:
:You didn't say anything. I just translated–:
Ed reached over and smacked his brother's hands before rapidly signing, :Go tell your guilt complex to fuck itself.:
"Brother!" Al complained, flushing, because Ed always used the sexual sign for 'fuck', rather than the more commonly rude one, for the sheer amusement factor.
Ed flashed him a smirk.
Al very pointedly turned his back on him, asking Ms Shen, "So, what were you doing in Amestris?"
Ed settled in to listen to the woman tell them about her travels in the western countries.
Xerxes was apparently a regular resting spot for travel across the Great Desert, because Ed hadn't said anything about stopping there, but they ended up there on the third day, all the same.
:There's something I want to get a look at,: Ed signed to Al, once their horses had been unburdened and left to drink from the fountain.
:That array?:
Ed nodded.
:Let me tell them where we're going,: Al signed, then walked over to warn Mr Han and Ms Shen that they were going to go exploring a bit.
Ed trailed after him with a sigh; he'd half expected Al to come with him.
"Be careful," Mr Han was warning as Ed reached them. "These ruins are not as abandoned as they first look."
"That's why we're going together," Al replied, shooting Ed a hard look. "We'll watch each other's backs."
Ed clapped. Not to activate his alchemy, but to make a point: They were far from helpless.
Mr Han sighed and nodded. "I cannot stop you," he allowed, before warning, "I do not like to spend more than a single day in these ruins; so please return in plenty of time to rest for the day."
"We will," Al promised, before motioning for Ed to lead the way.
Ed had only been in the Xerxes ruins that one time, but it was still all-too-easy to find the massive array that was the only thing remaining to tell the truth of the country's overnight destruction.
"Holy shit," Al breathed as they reached it, stopping to stare up at the massive carving.
Ed nodded as he continued walking. :Impressive,: he signed, :but also terrible. This was the fate of Xerxes.:
"But it won't be our fate," Al said, a world of determination in his voice.
Ed smiled at that as he reached the bottom of the wall and clapped his hands together. He touched the stone and the light of transmutation coursed up the wall to the remains of the array, melting the face of the stone so no one could see it any longer; the Dwarf in the Flask may have taken away the key parts to keep anyone from knowing what he'd done, but Ed didn't want anyone getting any ideas in future, either, which meant all traces were best erased.
"Alchemists!" someone shouted, sounding furious and disgusted.
"Stop!" Al called as Ed spun to see his brother dodging two Ishvalan men. "We're not here to fight you!"
Ed sensed and just barely dodged an attack from the side. He turned and bared his teeth at the man, quickly jumping backwards when he kept coming. A gleam lit his eyes, and Ed dropped and rolled to one side, let the man who had tried attacking him from behind deal with the one who'd been in front of him.
He really should have known using alchemy in the ruins would attract the Ishvalans living there. Fuck, the war had only ended a bit over two years ago; these morons were probably itching for a good brawl.
"Please!" Al called, still dodging attacks; they both knew that actually landing a blow on one of the Ishvalans would just cause more trouble. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"Liar!" one of Al's attackers shouted.
Ed dodged a new attacker of his own, cartwheeling away from the stick aimed at his head.
"That is enough!" a rough voice called.
The man who was attacking Ed froze, his expression caught somewhere between fury and shame.
"This is unsightly behaviour," the rough voice continued. "Are you fools trying to bring disgrace upon the name of Ishval?"
Ed looked past his attacker as the man lowered his stick, the shame winning out. An elderly woman with one eye covered with gauze had stepped into the clearing, helped by a boy who looked to be a little younger than Al. Ed realised he recognised the two: They were the ones who had stopped their people the last time, and then told him about Auntie Sarah and Uncle Yuriy.
"Mistress Shan!" one of Al's attackers complained. "They're alchemists!"
The woman looked towards the stone wall. "Who have destroyed alchemy," she returned flatly.
There was silence for a moment, until Al called, "Brother?"
Ed glanced in the direction his voice had come from and, catching sight of him, signed, :I'm fine.:
Al nodded and jumped off the ruined pillar he'd been crouched on. "Yes," he said evenly, "we're alchemists, travelling to Xing. Since we're here, my brother wanted to destroy that." He motioned towards the space where the array had been, the last word practically dripping with disgust. "The last thing anyone needs is some alchemist coming to see it and deciding to try it out for themselves."
"Alchemists who acknowledge the evils of alchemy?" one of the men asked with a scoff.
"Alchemy isn't evil," Al shot back, looking incensed.
Ed whistled and, when Al turned to frown at him, signed, :Alchemy is neither good nor evil; it is a tool. It's up to the wielder to decide how to use it.:
Al drooped and nodded. "Alchemy is a tool," he told the Ishvalans. "Just like a hammer or the sticks you're holding, it's up to the person to decide whether it should be used for good or evil."
Someone snorted, and Ed looked over toward the two who had tried to catch him in a pincer earlier, as one said, "Alchemy used for good? Alchemy is nothing but a way to mock in the face of Ishvala!"
Ed huffed and looked at Al. :Translate?: he requested, and his brother sighed and nodded, then started speaking aloud Ed's response, :You have your religion and we respect that, but you can't expect us to stop practising our way of life any more than we can expect it of you.:
"That's not what your military said!"
"We are not Bradley!" Al returned, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can't put the sins of a handful of men on the shoulders of all Amestrisans; we don't have the ability to decide who's making the laws any more than you do. If you want someone to be angry with, look to the people who started that genocide and refused to stop it when a white flag was raised, not the people who were dragged into the middle of it."
"From the mouths of babes," one of the men who had attacked Al murmured, and the rest of their attackers, almost in sync, ducked their heads.
Ed glanced at Al and found him shooting him a questioning look. He shrugged; he didn't, actually, know much about Ishvalan culture, but that sounded a bit like they were honouring his brother's wisdom? (Not a terrible plan, really; Al always had been the wiser of the two of them.)
"Go, children of Amestris," the elder woman said. "I apologise for the brashness of my countrymen and promise you safe passage through these ruined lands."
Al looked over towards the melted wall as Ed started towards him. When Ed reached him, he nodded and turned so they could leave.
"Sorry!" the boy who'd been helping the elder woman called after them, and Ed and Al both looked back to find him pointing at the wall. "Why didn't you want to let anyone else try that circle? What was it for?"
"That's the array that destroyed Xerxes," Al offered, and all the Ishvalans turned horrified looks on the blank wall. Al turned back towards their camp. "Come on, Brother."
Ed nodded and turned to follow him without looking back.
Being attacked by Ishvalans ended up being the most exciting part of their entire journey across the desert, and Ed was as glad of that as he was antsy to do something more than sit on a horse all night. They didn't even get a sandstorm, though Ed and Al did their part in repairing outposts that had been damaged by careless visitors or the weather, and pulling water from the ground to refill wells and watering holes that were getting low. Ed was willing to help with the cooking – Winry had forced him to learn when she was pregnant with Yuriy, insisting his basic survival cooking was making her ill – and both he and Al joined the rotation to keep watch, though it had required a demonstration of their fighting skills before Mr Han and Ms Shen were willing to believe they weren't kidding about being able to take care of themselves.
The two Xingans did, indeed, assist Al in perfecting his spoken Xingan, and while Mr Han made the occasional joke about helping Ed with his written Xingan, he didn't push the matter after Ed refused him when he honestly offered. Which, well, Ed could probably use some help, especially if he was going to be in Xing for a couple years, but he'd taken to keeping all his personal journals in Xingan, in part to help himself improve writing the characters, in part because it would be one more security against anyone back in Amestris getting their hands on one and trying to decipher it. (He knew, from experience, that Amestris was rather lacking in Xingan references before the Promised Day, and none of what they did have, used the actual Xingan characters, because it was unlikely enough that any Amestrisan would attempt to pick up a new language, never mind a new alphabet.) In the end, he'd just much rather try and sort himself out, than let someone who actually understood the language, but who he didn't fully trust, near his journals.
As for his leg: They kept a close eye on it – and freaked out their travelling companions the first time they realised Ed was crossing the Great Desert with automail – and the arrays didn't appear to lose any strength over the course of their journey. They did an excellent job of keeping the metal from burning him, and also helped keep him cooler than his companions – which had made Al whine, until Ed gave in and let him use his leg as a fucking ice pack, the dork – since it helped cool down the blood circulating through his stump, and also cooled any other skin pressed against it. (Hence the reason Al decided it was an excellent ice pack.)
Ms Shen dismounted before they crossed the border into Xing – the horses apparently belonged to the Han clan, and weren't for loaning out – saying, "I have no interest in trying to buy my way through the lands of the Han or Yao clans." Once Mr Han had the reins of her horse, she held up a hand to Al and, when he took it, offered, "You're both welcome in the Shen clan, should you have wish for a place to rest your heads. I'm sorry that we cannot offer you knowledge of the Purification Arts, but know you have our friendship."
"A most gracious gift," Al admitted with a grateful smile. "If we are ever in need of friends, we will come to you."
Ms Shen offered Ed a bow, which he and Al both returned, then collected her bag and left to walk along the edge of the border to wherever she could safely cross.
"Mr Han," Al called before they could set out again, "should we be concerned about 'buying our way'?"
Mr Han shook his head. "Prices vary between clans, and some will care, should you wish to cross their land, but the Han clan considers your price paid for, as part of my service." He glanced at Ed. "Your payment was more than sufficient."
"Brother," Al muttered, "what did you do?"
:If I say "sold my body," what will you do?: Ed asked, mostly just to see how his brother would respond.
Al flushed and complained, "Edward!"
Ed laughed and motioned for Mr Han to continue leading them on, then signed to Al, :Sorry, Al. Nothing like that. I just helped them with a few minor things back in Resembool.:
Al sighed and signed, :Was it illegal?:
Ed considered that for a moment, then replied, :Consider, for a moment, who is leading our country.:
:Like that would have affected your decision either way,: Al returned with a disapproving expression.
He didn't try punching Ed, though, which was really all he could ask for.
The Han clan offered them a beautifully furnished room to use for a couple days, so they could rest from the long travel – Al's expression over the rich meal the first night made it clear he was a little afraid to ask exactly how illegal Ed's actions had been – and were happy, when Al asked, to give them directions to the Chang clan, though only after making it clear that they would be perfectly happy to set the brothers up with one of their allies. (Al's excuse of, "And I'm grateful, but my brother has his heart set on the Chang clan after seeing them mentioned in one of our father's books," made Ed roll his eyes, but he didn't bother trying to write out any denials.)
Mr Han said he wouldn't be returning to Resembool for another couple months, but he agreed to take the note to Winry back when he did and leave it at the Rockbell house. And since it didn't include any trade secrets – just reports on how the array had worked and some of Ed's observations, as well as complaining about being turned into Al's personal ice pack; all things Mr Han could have observed during the journey himself – he didn't worry about trying to safeguard the letter in any way.
They stayed for three days, performing a few minor feats of repair alchemy on the last day to trade for travel supplies and some local currency, the yuan.
On their fourth day in Xing, when Ed and Al stepped out of their lodgings with their packs, they found the one of the clan elders, Jin, waiting for them. Both of them bowed to him – it hadn't taken long to pick up that custom, especially having observed it on the way through the desert between Mr Han and Ms Shen – and he bowed in response, before holding out a scroll. "This is a promise of safe passage through our lands," he explained as Al took it. "It will not be much use once you have passed out of them, but keep it as proof of your friendship with the Han clan, with our thanks."
"Your friendship we are more than happy to accept, but your thanks are unnecessary; all we did was done in friendship," Al replied politely.
Jin bowed again, Ed and Al following suit, then stepped aside so they could head out.
Once they were out of the town and the scroll had been carefully packaged away in a spot where it could be easily accessed, should they need it, Al signed, :It's probably for the best you can't talk, Brother.:
Ed snorted and agreed, :The nice thing about bowing, is it hides my 'fuck you' expression.:
Al covered his face. "Please," he complained about the sexual sign.
Ed waited until Al was looking at him, then did it again.
Al shoved him in response and muttered, "I'm not looking at you any more. You'll just have to talk to yourself."
Ed laughed and looked along the footpath ahead of them. This was familiar, journeying with his brother. This was right.
He'd missed this.
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