Disclaimer: Am I Hiromu Arakawa? If I was, I wouldn't be on this sight. I'd be filthy stinkin' rich.

Summary: Two years after the Promised Day, Ed is sent to war against Xing. He knows something's not right. So the question is asked: "What evil force possessed Ling to wage war?"

Thanks to iNatix, I have been threatened and forcefully dragged into rewriting this story. Kidding, I was encouraged to. So I did. (Thankyou iNatix!) I've done many revisions and added alot more detail, hopefully making the enjoyment level go up. Well, enjoy :D

"Edward, why exactly are we here again?" Winry sighed, staring exasperatedly at his back as he walked ahead.

She couldn't help but smile, as his now-flesh right hand peeked out of the sleeve of his brown trench coat. It had been exactly two years since the end of the Promised Day, and Edward and Alphonse were mostly accustomed to their new bodies. Sure Edward's right arm was significantly weaker than his left, and Alphonse still had bones poking out here and there, but it didn't matter anymore. They were human again. They could be happy. Winry quickened her pace to walk beside him.

"I'm just getting my old belongings, Winry. Nothing more." Ed explained.

"Couldn't you have just gotten Brigadier General Mustang to send them?"

He closed his eyes, furrowing his brown as though annoyed. "Believe me, I would. But knowin' his lazy ass, I would never get those things back."

"Oh come on. Now you know that's not true."

Edward scoffed, lengthening his strides. Winry rolled her eyes at him.

They reached the entrance of Central HQ, and Ed paused by the gate, a small smile playing on his face.

"So it's finally coming together again, huh?"

The building, the same one that was blown to mostly ashes and rubble two years ago, was now beginning to resemble it's old self once more. There were still some places in the wall not plastered in, and small patches of grass were bare and growing in, but aside from that, it stood strong and tall.

Edward and Winry walked across the stone-paved walkway, and were greeted by guards.

"Good morning Mr. Edward Elric, sir!" they shouted, right hands up to their foreheads in salute.

Ed raised his hands up defensively. "Guys no need. I'm not a soldier anymore, remember? You can stop treating me so formally now."

The two men clicked their heels, hands still raised, shouting "Yes Mr. Elric, sir!"

Edward chuckled to himself, walking into the doorway and signaling Winry with his hand to follow. More, less formal, greetings were given to the two; hand shakes for Ed and a tip of the hat to Winry. They reached the stairs, and Winry pulled Edward close, whispering quietly while glancing back to the people.

"Were you always treated like this? Even when you were a State-Alchemist?"

"Yeah, pretty much." he replied ordinarily. She looked up at him surprised, still latched onto his arm.

"Wow, didn't know you were such a big-shot."

Ed smirked "Weelll, you know how things go. Kinda hard not to notice and respect someone so great as me."

She lifted her hand, dropping it on top of his head. "Right. You keep thinking that, shorty."

He shot her a scowl. "Hey, I'm taller than you, you know!"

"Did I say you weren't? No. I was just saying you're still short." she retorted, never leaving her contact with his bright golden hair.

He opened his mouth, ready to retaliate, but he was interrupted by Winry pulling his arm towards a large brown door.

"There it is. Now get in there, gather your stuff, and let's go. My back is hurting from the train ride." she groaned, rubbing her lower back for emphasis.

"Yeah yeah," he sighed, opening the door without knocking.

He stepped in grimly, floods of nostalgia rushing back to him. Papers were strewn all around and on the desks, and a disordered couch was seated in the middle. The shelves were unorganized and books were sticking out every which way. On Roy's desk, he had more papers cluttered in a pile. The only sensical thing in the room was the desk adjacent to the General's; most likely belonging to Riza Hawkeye. Roy was seated at his desk, lazily moving his hand and signing the papers without paying attention to the content. His deep onyx eyes drooped lethargically, and he had dark circles lining his bottom lids. Edward frowned. Everything was the same as always.

"Hey, Colonel Bastard." Ed greeted, stepping further into the room.

"It's Brigadier General to you." Roy corrected, not bothering to look up.

"Ok then…Brigadier General Bastard." Ed complied. Winry elbowed him in the side, her obvious disapproval of the rude title he had given.

Roy groggily stood, pacing over to Ed and placing a large gloved hand atop his head.

"Guess some things never change. You're still as short as ever, Fullmetal."

Edward knocked his wrist away. "Get off. I'm taller now. And what's with the 'Fullmetal'? I'm not part of the military anymore, remember?"

"Just a force of habit. A nickname, if you will. Unless you want me to start calling you 'shrimp' from now on. I'm perfectly fine with either one." Roy said, that signature smirk forming on his lips.

God, he hated that smirk.

"Don't even try." Ed frowned. Inwardly he smiled to himself. Secretly he had worried that he and the General wouldn't be able to speak the same after he resigned his title as 'Fullmetal'. Their usual bickering felt kind of...

...nice.

"Well, what are you here for, anyway? Weren't you gonna' travel East or something?" Roy asked, turning to walk back to his desk.

"My stuff? Don't tell me you forgot." Roy paused his steps in recollection, but continued on saying

"Oh yes. I was going to get to those soon." He sat back down.

"Right." Ed said dubiously. "Just give them to me and I'll be out of your way."

"They're over there by the cabinets. Hawkeye filed and organized everything for you." Roy pointed to the direction with his pen.

Ed bent down to the boxes, shuffling through the content. "Wow, she really did. Give her my thanks, kay?" he said, smiling at how easy it was to go through.

Suddenly the door swung open, and Winry squeaked in surprise. A soldier, with short brown hair and a lanky build, staggered in, panting and out of breath.

"What do you need, soldier?" Roy asked once the man had caught his breath.

"Brigadier General, sir. We just received a letter of War Declaration."

Roy stood, surprise eminent on his dark features. "War Declaration? From who?"

"Xing, sir." the soldier replied.

That got Ed's attention. He tried quickly to stand from his crouched position, but his foot snagged on the corner of his long coat. He fell forward, his face smacking into the ground.

"Xing?" he yelled, his voice muffled by the carpet.

The soldier stared confused at Edward for a few seconds before replying, "Yes. Apparently Emperor Ling Yao claims a raid of Amestrian men came and killed their people."

"What does the Fuhrer have to say about this?" Roy questioned.

"He says we need to prepare for battle as soon as possible." the soldier replied. "But…we don't have enough men for battle. Despite how far in it is, we are still suffering from our losses from the Promised Day, sir."

"What?" Roy yelled.

All eyes turned to him, as if waiting for further directions.

"Damn it!" Roy yelled finally, lifting his hands to smack them down on the desk. Slowly he lifted his head, eyeing Edward.

"W-what?" Ed asked.

"I didn't want to have to do this…" Roy sighed. "Edward, do you think you can stand in for some soldiers?"

Winry let out a soft gasp, and Ed stood wide-eyed, struggling in his brain to process and come up with a response. "B-but, I can't perform alchemy anymore." he sputtered.

"That doesn't matter. Can you handle a gun?"

Ed was silent for a few seconds. A gun. Edward had hoped he would never, for as long as he lived, have to use a gun. Ever. It was an object of distruction. An object of violence. Of murder. But what else could he do?

"Y-yeeah….I guess." he answered finally.

Winry's eyes reamed, looking up at Ed incredulously. Roy sighed in half relief.

"That's all I need to hear. Soldier, you're dismissed. Call in Colonel Hawkeye for me." he called, turning to the soldier.

The solider raised his meager hand saluting "Yes sir!" and left.

"Sorry for the late notice. Guess you're going to be Fullmetal again, huh?" Roy said, turning to face Edward.

"I won't be a state alchemist."

"I guess that's true." Roy answered, chuckling to himself.

Riza Hawkeye stepped into the room moments later, hand raised up to her forehead. "Yes, sir?"

"Colonel, I need you to get a uniform, a gun, and holster for Edward. He'll need it for battle. Size extra-extra small, if you can."

"Hey hey hey!" Edward yelled, flailing his arms. "Just a small will do..." he quietly admitted, puffing his cheeks out stubbornly.

"Sir." Riza nodded, striding out the door to fetch what was ordered. She returned minutes later, handing the blue cloth, shoes, gun, and holster to Ed.

"Fullmetal, we depart in two days. Over the course of these two days, Colonel Hawkeye will train you in the basics of using a gun. We'll meet up in Youswell when the time comes to cross the desert to Xing." Roy ordered as Ed examined the uniform in his hands.

Roy saw a little bit of overwhelmed emotions in Edward's eyes. He couldn't blame the boy. It's not like he expected to be called out to war the day he was making his retirement final.

"'Kay, see you then." Ed called, folding the uniform messily and leaving the room with Winry at his heels.

Roy sighed, plopping down into his leather desk chair. Riza placed a comforting hand on his shoulders. "I know, sir. I'm sorry." He chuckled. She always knew just what he was thinking.

Neither him nor Riza thought this was right. For the past six years that Ed had been in the State, both of them had tried their hardest to make sure the boy had nothing to do with war. And now that he was finally leaving, Roy had to pull him right back in. Neither of them wanted Ed to go. But they needed him.

Meanwhile outside the building, Edward was struggling to catch up to Winry, who took long, angry strides.

"Winry, wait up!"

She stopped in her tracks, swiveling on her heels to glare into his eyes. "What the hell, Ed? Why did you say yes?"

He stared, confused, into her eyes for a few moments, gathering up what she meant. "Because, Winry, they need me."

"Well they could've just gotten someone else!" she snapped back.

Edward sighed. "Whether they could have or not, I still would've said yes. I needa' ask that damn squinty eyes himself; what he's thinking plunging into war." he explained, scratching his head.

"Whatever." Winry spouted, turning to walk away from him.

Ed scratched his chin in thought. Emperor Ling? That couldn't be right. Ling was on good terms with Amestris. After the Promised Day had passed, the two countries had a well-established trading system and had formed an alliance. He couldn't have irrationally called war, could he? But then again, there was the problem with the blame of Amestrian soldiers launching an attack. That couldn't have possibly happened.

Ed looked up, seeing that Winry had put a great deal of distance between them. He ran after her.

"Winry, wait! Are you mad at me?"

"No, Ed. I'm not. Just leave me alone, okay?" she responded, animosity lining her voice as she continued walking.

"Huh? But-"

"Shut it, Ed."

Edward stopped and pouted his lips. Wasn't mad? Yeah right. He had known her long enough to know when she was angry at him. But really, she had every right to be mad. He would be pissed as hell too, if he were in her position. But didn't she understand that they needed him?

He followed after her, making sure to keep a good distance of two meters behind her. Just two more days, he thought.

Just two more days…

Heehee...kay, I finished the revisions of Chapter One! Hope you enjoyed! Rate and Review Pwease!