"So, this is Major General Graves' office, huh?"

A short blonde kid, wearing a red coat, was standing in front of a door in the dimly lit hallway.

"It's the second door on the right in the dark hallway, Brother."

The boy in the suit of armor turned to the short kid.

"Well, might as well get this over and done with." The kid opened the door.

Gentle snoring greeted his ears, and four people sitting in the office met his eyes.

"Hey, General." The Major, as his uniform jacket noted him as, turned to the person behind the desk. "You got a visitor." He was a tall, wiry guy with brownish blonde hair and brown eyes.

"This might take a while." The Lieutenant Colonel, so stated his stars and stripes, looked at the kid. "Go ahead and take a seat. Graves' naptime isn't the best time to bug her." He had long black hair and dark, shifty eyes. He was shorter than the Major.

"Of course, her time asleep is usually eighteen hours a day. Maybe more than that." The Major walked over to the papers on the General's desk. He switched them out with the ones he had been working on. "Hey, Graves."

The General grunted. "Too early. Go away ..."

The kid's eyes widened. "Wait, the General's a woman?"

"Yeah, and so am I, her second in command." The last person to introduce herself stood up. "Nice to meet you, I'm Colonel Viola Melton, the Optical Alchemist." She offered her hand to the two. Her hair was pulled back in a frizzy ponytail, and her brown eyes sparked with intelligence.

The kid shook her hand. "Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"I'm his younger brother, Alphonse Elric." The boy in the armor bowed.

"Pleased to meet you two." Viola shook Alphonse's hand.

"I'm Aiden Reyes, the Explosive Alchemist." The Lieutenant Colonel grinned. "Run into any explosives recently?"

"And I'm the one that's the best at keeping Graves asleep!" The Major smirked. "I'm Drew Norton, the Consistency Alchemist."

"I could have sworn it was the Marshmallow Alchemist." Reyes looked at Norton.

"Just because Graves orders me to turn her papers into pillows doesn't mean that I use it only to make things soft!" Norton countered.

"Either you two stop bickering or I'll unleash a can of kick ass on you two and keep you outside for a week." The General sat up, a glare narrowing her indigo blue eyes. "What the hell are you two bickering like a married couple about, anyway?"

"Their titles, as usual." The Colonel shook her head. "Why don't you go ahead and kick them out the window?"

"Nah." Graves noticed the newcomers. "Oh, some new recruits? Good! I needed some more people to do my work. Which one of you two is it?"

"Neither of them, General," Melton explained. "I have an idea that this is merely an introductory visit."

The General yawned. "Aw ... I was hoping for someone new. Then state your business and I might not kick you out with these two."

"I heard you had a clue on the Stone?" Edward asked.

Graves sat up straighter. "Oh? Who gave that to you?"

"The Colonel. Colonel Mustang."

Graves' head fell back to the papers. "Oh, that useless moron." She yawned and closed her eyes, turning her head so her cheek was resting on the paper. "Wake me when you need an answer to the Stone."

"What?!" Edward snapped. "You have a clue about the Stone? Tell us!"

She half-opened an eye. "No."

"Come on! What does it take to get you to tell us everything you know?!" Edward demanded.

"Ask your beloved Colonel and leave me alone to nap." The General half-stretched and fell back asleep to her gentle snoring.


"Ah, avoided the subject, huh?"

Edward nodded. "And I thought you could be more helpful than Mustang." He was standing next to the Colonel, glancing at the door to the office. He had gotten wind that the General had gone to lunch and come to her office to get some useful information.

The Colonel sat back in her seat, a slight frown on her face. "Sorry, I've got nothing you need to know right now."

"What?" Ed groaned. "I should have added that to a list of things she should tell me ..."

"I wouldn't have given you a straight answer, taboo breaker." Clara came into her office and threw a file on her desk. "'Uses Alchemy without circles by clapping his hands together.' And later on, 'Right arm and left are steel prosthetics.' Being a brilliant alchemist myself, I can put two and two together. You do realize I can report you to the military and have you discharged at any given moment."

Edward gave her a look of utter horror. "No!" he protested. "Not yet! Please, don't-"

Clara just chuckled as she sat down. "You have your secrets, I have my own. So does the Colonel. And the other Colonel."

"Well, you found out my secret; what's yours?" Edward asked, quickly recomposing himself.

Graves yawned. "Aah ... Can't tell you yet. Maybe if you meet the others with an odd tattoo. Let me know and I'd be more than happy to tell you. Now then, I do believe that ... Aw! Next week's worth of papers signed themselves! What am I going to sleep on now?"

"How about a real bed for once, Major General?" Colonel Melton suggested. "It's not going to kill you, you know. It might actually be better for your health, too."

Graves stared at her second in command blankly. "And how long were you planning on withholding this valuable information from me? Maybe I should get a couple couches put in here ..."

Colonel Melton shook her head in disbelief. "Are you really that dumb?"

"No, I just think with sleep as my number-one priority."

Edward stared at the General. How did this lazy woman become the highest-ranking female State Alchemist in history? Not to mention supposedly the strongest. "So, about the Stone ..."

"Can it, Fullmetal." Graves waved a hand. "Unless you have any idea where I could put something like that."

Edward scowled. "Aren't the offices next to yours empty? You could just put something in one of the two and call it good."

"Brilliant!" Graves beamed. "As for the clue, try Liore? I've heard something about their priest. Miracles and all that nonsense. Good luck!" She practically pushed him out the door and shut it behind him.

Edward stared at the door as it closed behind him. The General's definitely strange ... She's hiding something, I just know it.