I apologise! this chapter is very late, and I really have no excuse. Writer's block is a real pain...

In other news... this is it. It's over! This was my first attempt at writing a decent mystery, so please, do leave your comments, and if you have any questions, or you think something wasn't quite wrapped up, do ask! A huge thank you to everyone who's left a review, I really appreciate it. I hope you've enjoyed it- thank you for reading!

EPILOGUE: Brought to Light

The reintroduction of alchemy got off to a rocky start.

"Real cute, kid. Now get out of here and bother someone else."

Edward glared. "We're serious."

The receptionist snorted. "Okay, listen up. This place? This is an important institution. No-one here has time for your little games, alright? Good joke, but it's over now. Get. Out."

"Please, sir," attempted Alphonse. "I understand that you're a little dubious about the situation, but I assure you, we're not joking."

The receptionist frowned. "Look, if you don't stop this nonsense I'm going to call security."

Edward growled. "That's it. I've had enough of this."

He snatched a notepad from the desk and scrawled an array onto it. He dropped to his knees, placed the array on the floor and activated it.

And lo, there was chaos.

Alphonse snatched the array from his brother and clambered onto the receptionist's desk. "Everybody, please, calm down!"

The pandemonium did not cease.

Alphonse took a deep breath.

"I said QUIET!"

Everyone stopped.

Alphonse smiled nervously. "Ah, thank you."

Edward gave his brother a worried look. Alphonse ignored him.

"We don't want to cause any bother," he assured the room. "I'll, um, I'll return your floor to its original state, shall I?"

He placed the snatched array on the enormous stone dragon his brother had transmuted from the floor mere moments before. With a crackle of alchemy and a flash of light, the statue melted and sank back into the ground as if it had never even existed.

The room gaped at him.

"My brother and I would like to present our father's research on alchemy. If we could arrange an appointment at some point in the near future, that would be great."

The receptionist, white-faced, nodded.

"I'll... I'll just call Mr Hakuro for you," he managed to stutter.

"Oh, good." Alphonse gave the man a sunny smile. The rest of the room took a step back.

Once the initial shock had worn off, the people at Central Imperial College had been more than happy to take a look at the brothers' work. They had eagerly agreed to provide the boys with whatever funds they needed and had put them in contact with military higher-ups and government officials to sort out the legal side of things. General Basque Grand had been put in charge of the military's alchemy branch, and he and Edward had taken an instant dislike to each other.

"No. State. Alchemists."

"Mr Elric," Grand said, narrowing his eyes. "I think I will decide what is best for this country's military-"

"No! Go check your history books- alchemy as a weapon does not work. There will be no state alchemists. We refuse to be responsible for allowing another Ishbal."

Alphonse nodded. "Use it to make your guns if you will- to feed your soldiers- but there will be no alchemy on the battlefield except medicinal alchemy." he said. "Science that doesn't benefit people is no science at all."

Grand glared.

"Alchemical warfare can't end happily," Edward told him. "We won't stop you from using alchemy completely, but we refuse to have alchemists on the battlefield- and if you try to go against us, then we will take our research and burn it."

"You have already begun to teach people alchemy," said Grand, "you can't control them."

Edward's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"They won't tell you either, General, and we haven't yet published any of our findings. I can call the New Science Journal now and withdraw the article; we can destroy our book and all of our father's research. We made the decision to tell the world because we wanted alchemy to be a force for good, and for that to work, there will be rules. You can accept those rules- or we can take it all back."

Edward could practically feel the fury radiating from the man.

"And what," he seethed, "would these rules of yours be?"

"No state alchemists," said Edward promptly.

"No making gold," added Alphonse. "No chimeras. No morally reprehensible experiments involving humans or animals."

"No human transmutation." Edward said.

Alphonse nodded. "That's very important."

"Those rules are going to be absolute. No bending or breaking allowed, under any circumstances." Edward finished. "We'll probably think of a few others too, but those are the most important ones. We want those rules to be made laws, and if they aren't, we're going to get rid of alchemy all over again. We are very, very serious about this, General."

Grand seethed.

"I think these young men are right, General," a Member of Parliament said. "We all remember learning about Ishbal. That was not war, it was genocide- and in these enlightened days I'm sure nobody wants anything like that."

Grand scowled at the MP. "Our military could greatly benefit from these new advances."

"The military can benefit without bringing alchemy to the front lines," the MP said calmly. "And besides, Mr and Mr Elric have made it quite clear- unless these laws are made, we will have no alchemy at all, General."

Edward nodded, smirking. "You heard the man."

"Fine." Grand bit out. "But I want permission to use it off the battlefield- for weapon manufacture, medical purposes and experiments."

"As long as you stick to the regulations that will be acceptable."

An agreement was eventually reached, and a detailed set of rules and regulations was drawn up. The Alchemy Act was passed later that month.

"Ugh! I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

Alphonse nodded tiredly. "I know what you mean."

Roy smirked at them. "Enjoying your newfound fame and fortune, I see."

"Oh, don't even start, Mustang." muttered Ed rudely.

"Yes sir, Mr Elric." Roy replied mockingly. Edward threw a balled-up sheet of paper at him.

After they'd found the Elric brothers, Roy had approached them to ask about alchemy lessons. Ed had agreed to take him on as a student, and they got on like a house on fire- exactly like a house on fire. Everyone had very quickly learned that when Roy and Ed started arguing, it was best not to interfere.

Still, Ed had to begrudgingly admit that Roy was a quick learner. He had caught onto the principles of alchemy with surprising speed and was already starting to come up with his own ideas. Edward would never have admitted it to anyone, but he was actually rather pleased with how well his student was progressing.

Roy unfolded the paper Ed had thrown at him. It was a letter from General Grand.

"You sure you should be throwing this about, Ed?"

"I've already answered it." Ed sighed. "He's just trying to get around the rules, that's all. I told him to shut the hell up and get over it."

"Brother!" Alphonse scolded. "You didn't really tell him that, did you?"

"Not in so many words, but basically... yes."

Roy snickered. "I can see someone's not quite cut out for diplomacy."

Ed glared at him. "Stick a sock in it."

"Brother, please don't start another argument with Mr Mustang. It's too late to be bothering with that."

Roy smirked, and said the fatal words: "I'll drop it if shorty will."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE COULD DROWN IN A PUDDLE?"

Alphonse grabbed his brother just in time to stop him from leaping at Roy.

"Al, let me go!"

"Not unless you promise to calm down!"

"Oh, I will- just let me beat the crap out that bastard first!"

"Brother!"

Roy grinned. He had discovered Edward's 'short' temper a day or so after meeting him, and he took delight in provoking him. He did, however, feel sorry for Alphonse, so on this occasion at least he would apologise.

"Okay, Edward, I'm sorry. Now calm down, before your poor brother snaps."

Edward scowled at him, but did indeed calm down. Alphonse sighed.

"Honestly." He muttered. "I swear, you two act like kids."

"He started it." muttered Edward.

"That's exactly what I mean."

The world around them was changing dramatically. Edward and Alphonse barely had time to themselves- they were teaching classes of hundreds every week and being bombarded with questions from all angles. It was hectic, but at the same time, it was exhilarating- to finally tell the truth, finally come out of hiding. Izumi had been right about that.

Ed and Al still lived with the Curtises, and still worked as delivery boys for her shop when they had the time. Famous or not, said Izumi, there was no chance they were slacking off.

Roy and company had their book published. It was titled Truths and Legends; the Secrets of the Elric Murders, and it was dedicated to the memory of Hoenheim and Trisha Elric.

Rizembul adapted to the influx of tourists with little fuss. They gave tours around the Elric mansion and lead people on walks through the surrounding countryside, and they were even building their own alchemy school.

Roy's group was still working together, and they were already on the lookout for a new case. Roy had heard there was something going on in a little place called Xenotine that sounded interesting...

And finally, the gang known as the Sins had been charged with two counts of first degree murder. It made no difference to their sentences, but still, it felt right- justice had finally been served.