I sat at my desk, overlooking the activity in my office. Travis Hart, the dirty blonde haired second lieutenant was sitting down, mindlessly polishing his pistol. His green eyes were fixated on his "work." James Pierce, my first lieutenant, was vigorously signing paperwork to complete his transfer to my team in order to stay in Central. He used to be a member of Hughes' Investigation Department before he was mysteriously murdered. He had brown hair that fell into his face and blue eyes that were covered by a pair of reading glasses. Stormy Remington, the only girl on my team besides myself, was running about, polishing miscellaneous things, including her coworkers' faces. She had her long blonde hair tucked underneath her hat and clothes that restricted her feminine figure, giving her the look of a teenage boy. Josiah McCloud, the communications officer, was fumbling about with multiple wires. He had short ginger hair with shiny blue eyes and freckles. The newest addition to our team, newer than Pierce, was Jae Forrest, the Blackwater Alchemist. She had black hair, blue eyes, a beautiful body and was currently going on and on about Jean Havoc.

"Company, ma'am," a lowly sergeant squeaked from outside. My eyes narrowed as I went through my mental list of people that would want to visit one of us. But who walked in was not who I expected.

"Colonel Malone, Lieutenant Colonel Forrest, I have some orders for you," the Fuhror walked in. Everyone was on their feet in the second, saluting the dictator. He returned the gesture. "You're being transferred," he practically threw the orders at us. I caught them, glaring into the green eye of the Fuhror.

"But sir, what about my team?" I asked.

"They'll be under Colonel Mustang's command from now on."

"And his team?" Blackwater asked.

"They've all been relocated. You two are going to Fort Briggs. Lieutenant General Armstrong will be expecting you by the week's end. That is all," and with that, the Fuhror left my office. I stared there for a moment in shock, wondering what had just happened. We were at a loss for words.

"You're the leader I want," Pierce broke the silence. I turned to peer into his icy blue eyes. "I lost Hughes and now you," he looked down sadly. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. He was going through so many changes and now I was part of what was causing him sadness. I was about to answer when Remington spoke.

"I don't want to follow that playboy!" she said.

"He'll make us do his work!" McCloud complained.

"Enough," I said stoically. They were instantly silenced. "Colonel Mustang is not a bad leader. I should know. He led me into battle in Ishval. I also know because Mustang is my older brother. He's a more honorable person than me. You'll be fine," I tried to reassure my team. "I'll make sure he treats you right. It's been an honor to have you on my team," I saluted them as though I were making a final farewell.

A moment passed before they returned the gesture. Then, I realized something… something horrible. I turned to Blackwater. By the look on her face, she had realized it as well. "Lieutenant… General… Armstrong," she gasped. I flashed back to basic training with the monster of a woman always breathing down our necks, shooting bullets into the sky right behind our heads, forcing us well beyond our limits.

"She's gonna kill us," the very thought of seeing her again made my blood run cold.

"M-maybe she won't recognize us," Blackwater said. "It has been years since basic training."

"I'm going to go say my good-byes," I said, a hint of sadness to my voice. I was now positive that these were indeed my final farewells.

I walked out of my office and through the building. I was lazy in my stroll to the other side of the building. It could very well be the last time I was stationed in Central Command. I passed all the hustling and bustling men, silently wishing I had at least known their names. Central may be corrupt with higher-ranking officers, but it was still a nice place to work. The lower ranking soldiers were kind hearted and loyal. Before I knew it, I was at my destination… Colonel Roy Mustang's office.

"Knock, knock," I said as I knocked on his door. For once, his office was vacant, save for Lieutenant Hawkeye grabbing something from a bookshelf. He looked up from his mountain of paperwork, bags under his eyes from lack of a morning nap. His onyx eyes held a hint of disappointment behind them. I knew he was upset about his team being scattered to the far corners of our countries. His raven black hair was in its casual manner.

"What's up, Colonel Malone?" he asked, returning his eyes to his paperwork. I walked up to him, throwing the manila envelope that contained my orders atop his work. "What are you-" he looked down at it, silencing himself immediately as he opened it. He took a moment to read over it. "Briggs?" he asked. "You're being transferred to Briggs?"

"Take a look at my new commanding officer," I pointed.

"Lieutenant General Armstrong?" he asked. He realized my issue. "I wish you the best of luck," he said, carelessly returning my orders. I stared at him in shock.

"Some brother you are! You're not going to help me?"

"I can't do anything!"

"You could talk to the Fuhror!"

"Why would he listen to me?" he asked.

"You have to try!"

"I don't have to do anything," he replied.

"Blackwater is being transferred too," I smirked. He stared at me, blinking in shock. I knew he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend.

"I have to stop this. I'm going to talk to the Fuhror," he stormed away. I heard yelling in some part of the building. Moments later, he returned, looking like a scolded puppy. "He said I was the most disrespectful dog in the military and it would do me good to mind my own business."

"Just like last year on your birthday when I tried to surprise you with homemade cupcakes and you just gallabanted into my apartment?"

"This has nothing to do with that!" he huffed. "Besides… it was my apartment and there was smoke coming out of the window."

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "I have to go pack. I'm leaving tonight," I turned to leave.

"Wait," Roy grabbed my wrist. "It's cold in Briggs, so don't forget a coat. And don't forget to study. And call me when you can. Eat some meat to bulk up… Don't worry about the Briggs soldiers. They may be big, but I bet they're all like Major Armstrong," he tried to encourage. "Please be careful," he pulled me into a warm embrace.

"I will," I hugged him back.

Clearing his throat, he pulled back, pretending to brush something off my shoulder. "You don't want to miss your train," he escorted me to the door. I walked forward, looking back at him. "Bye, Sis," he said.

"Bye, Bro," I turned and left Central Command.

Upon leaving the train at Northern Command, we approached the grand wall of Briggs. It was the biggest wall I had ever seen in my life! It went clear from one mountain side to the adjacent one! It looked as though it kissed the snowy gray skies of Briggs. On the top, lined with husky soldiers, stood Lieutenant General Olivier Armstrong. Blackwater and I were shocked to find the soldiers taking aim at us. In an attempt to preserve our lives, Blackwater and I drew our silver, state-issued pocket watches. "Stand down, men!" she barked loudly. I was surprised to find how clearly her voice resonated through the land, despite the howling wind of the oncoming blizzard. All the men obediently withdrew their guns. "What are you doing here?" she ordered.

"We've been transferred to Briggs, ma'am!" Blackwater called, saluting her respectfully.

"I know that! But I don't want pampered scraps from Central like you corrupting my hardworking men! I bet you've forgotten everything about your training too! I'm ashamed to have been the teacher of such notorious lapdogs! If you can get to the top of this wall, then I'll accept you as my soldier!" she crossed her arms in anticipation. Her words seared right through my pride. I looked at Blackwater, who looked as though she suffered the same wound I had. We looked each other in the eyes before nodding once. We knew we'd have to impress our old teacher, so we planned on doing the impossible. We made plans to run up the Briggs Wall.

We rain to the mountain side and began our trek. It was a perfect combination between mountain climbing and running. The strain on our bodies wasn't too terribly bad… not until we made it half way to the top. I lost velocity, my heart began to race. Before I knew it, I was falling. But Blackwater foresaw this problem. She used her alchemy to transform the snow around the wall into an ice hand that caught me. "Goin' up!" Blackwater called. Before I knew it, I was about 20 feet over the wall, staring down at the soldiers. Uttering a silent prayer, I fell to what was sure to be my death.

I landed hard, but not on the unforgiving, frozen ceiling of Fort Briggs. I opened my eyes to see a tan man with a fluffy black coat over the usual blue uniform of the Amestrian military. From his bars and stripes, I could deem he was a major. His hair was as white as the snow that fell from the sky. I looked over just in time to see Blackwater land theatrically in front of General Armstrong, her raven black hair disoriented and in her face. Letting out a laugh, she said, "Welcome to Fort Briggs. Meet me in my office in ten minutes. WE have a lot to discuss," she disappeared into the Fort.

I sighed in relief before the man below me cleared his throat. I looked down, reddening in embarrassment before jumping up. "S-Sorry!" I almost saluted him before realizing that I was a higher ranked officer. He stood up, standing a great deal taller than me, dusting off his uniform.

"Smooth," Blackwater walked up to us. "Who is Mister Tall, Tan and Handsome?" she nudged me, indicating to the man I had fallen on.

"I am Major Miles," he saluted respectfully.

"Lieutenant Colonel Jae Forrest," she saluted back.

"Colonel Maya Malone," I copied their gestures.

"Allow me to escort you to your barracks before accompanying you to your meeting with the general," he gestured towards the door. We nodded before following the major. He led us through a multitude of convoluted hallways, throwing off my sense of direction in the process. We finally approached a room, no larger than a janitor closet. A bunk bed was in the corner, two small dressers against the far wall. "You Central soldiers need to prove yourselves before moving up," he said. "Therefore, you start in the worst barrack in the Fort," he explained.

"Sounds like her, alright," I nodded.

After a moment, Blackwater smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way," she said proudly.

"I take it you are already associated with General Armstrong's policies, then?" he leaned in the doorway, crossing his arms as we set our luggage down.

"Yeah," Blackwater said. "We met a long time ago."

"She was our drill sergeant back at basic," I explained. "It took us forever to get her to actually pass us."

We stretched before walking out of the room.

"Do you think you could get back here on your own?" Miles asked, adjusting his sunglasses. Blackwater and I looked at each other before laughing boisterously.

"Not no, but heck no," Blackwater said.

Miles let a cocky, superior grin break out on his face. "It will be fun to see you get used to Briggs," he said before leading us out.

"Hey," I caught up with him, matching my strides to his. I was a little insulted at how he underestimated us. "Don't you know who we are?" I asked. He raised a brow, clearly amused. "We're the Lightning and Blackwater Alchemists," I said. "And I did mention I'm a colonel, right?"

"Well, Colonel," he nearly spat. "Your reputation won't get you anything here, not support, not glory, not even friends. The only thing that will help you is your survival instinct, your loyalty and how you use your skills," he said. "Your alchemic abilities mean next to nothing here," he grinned as we approached a giant door. "If anything, your reputation will only hurt you. Everyone knows that State Alchemists are the military's obedient dogs."

"So, in a nutshell, we need to make our own reputation?" Blackwater asked.

"Now you get it," he opened the door.

"I don't think we're in Central anymore," I whispered to Blackwater as we walked in. The door closed behind us and we were left alone with the Ice Queen.