Stand Up and Walk

Dogs of the Military

"I still have too long a life ahead to get rid of these feelings, right? I want to try doing over the things I've left undone. I thought I was running after something carried over from my dreams, yet I'm stumbling into people on this narrow, winding road. It's not like I want to go back to the way things were back then; I'm just searching for the sky I've been losing. Here's hoping you'll understand. Stop making that sad face as though you were a victim. Sins don't end in tears; you have to carry the pain forever. Who am I waiting for in this maze of emotions with no way out in sight? I want to purge myself more simply, as if writing in a blank notebook. What is it I want to escape from? ...Is it reality? It makes me want to scream that we're alive for things to come true. Can you hear me? I can't put up with playing it safe. ...I've got nowhere to go home to! I'm always grateful for kindness; that's why I want to grow stronger (I'm on the way). I even welcome this pain for the things I miss."
—Yui, Again

...

"The receiver on this thing's seen better days," Fuery says in response to Hawkeye's question. "I think I'm gonna have to replace it."

There is a ringing sound and then a gloved hand lands on the radio, enveloping the device in blue crackling alchemy. When it fades, the radio gleams, working perfectly and better than ever.

Fuery glances to the side in surprise, only to find you, Ed, and Al next to him. Ed grins at him, having been the one to fix the radio. "Hey!" Fuery exclaims. "It's Ed, Echo, and Alphonse!"

"Welcome back, kids," Riza says. You all turn to her happily (you especially—Riza Hawkeye may or may not be your ultimate hero). "Go on in," she continues; "The Colonel is waiting for you."

Ed's face falls.

...

"Well done on the Liore case, you three; good work," Mustang compliments, watching you and the boys over his interlaced fingers. "I appreciate your resolving the matter."

"No big deal," Ed sighs. "It's not like we did it for you."

"Right," Mustang says dryly. "The Philosopher's Stone." The three of you instinctually perk up at the words. "Another false lead?"

There is a moment where Ed and Mustang stare into each other's eyes. Ed looks away first. "Yeah," he mutters. "After all that, the stone was a fake."

"Yet somehow," you interrupt, "the power it gave Cornello was real enough. He transmuted this huge chimera right in front of us."

"I still wonder how he was able to use the stone to do that," Al says, his voice echoing slightly inside his armor. "I'm not familiar enough with the field of bio-alchemy to really understand it."

"Yeah," Ed agrees. "I'm kinda curious about that, too. It might be worth looking into."

"And back down the rabbit-hole we go," you chirp. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find something that'll help us restore our bodies."

At his desk, Mustang sighs. "It might help if you consulted a specialist," he says. You all blink and stare at him, surprised.

"The Sewing Life Alchemist, Shou Tucker," Mustang informs you and the boys, showing you his profile. "He's done some heavy research into chimera transmutation. I'll introduce you."

"You would do that for us?" Al asks, shocked.

Ed leaps to his feet, pointing at Mustang with one hand and waving the other around in the air angrily. "Okay, what's the catch?" he demands. "You want something, don't you?!"