Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the ground, channeling his energy into the ground beneath him. It was vital that he pass this test, it would make the difference between having to leave, again, and finally being able to stay. The two of them had enough traveling, and were ready to have actual relationships with people not immediately involved in some sadistic plan or trying to manipulate them. The indent on the ground was a perfect replica of Central, mini of course, down to the pipe systems. He smiled with satisfaction. In the replica Hughes was picking his nose, though no one noticed. The crowd clapped, but Edward wasn't really paying attention. He wasn't looking for their approval, he was looking for one person's, and one person's only. That would be the Fuhrer. He smiled and nodded hid head in affirmation. Edward let out the breath he was holding and honestly smiled, something he hadn't done in a while. Finally, their troubles were over.
"Good job. You'll make a fine state alchemist. Say hello to your new charge, Roy."
Colonel Mustang grimaced, the last thing he needed was to babysit, watching over some kid. But the kid showed promise, so maybe it wouldn't be so hard. Even the disapproving expression couldn't wipe the smile from Ed' beaming face. He had done the impossible, again. Things were going to be ok.
"You did what?!?"
"I did it, I became a state alchemist. Think about it Al, now we won't have to worry about food anymore. And we'll have access to the library..." Edward's face was one of complete and utter devotion, he had been wanting to have complete access to the library since forever.
"Yeah... but..."
"Don't worry Al. We'll be fine."
The next morning when Edward woke up at first he thought it had all been a dream, but it hadn't. He got off the makeshift bed and walked to the office, where he now worked. This day couldn't be better.
"Edward Elric reporting for duty, sir."
No person should be this chipper this early, Roy thought to himself. It just wasn't natural. Never the less, Edward's smile didn't diminish as Colonel Mustang regarded him coldly and with barely concealed contempt. Kids shouldn't be here, this wasn't a playground.
"You're late." Would Edward dare correct his commanding officer, or would he just take whatever Roy threw at him? Edward looked at the clock, and then back at his commanding officer.
"You said 06:00 hours this morning, sir." Edward reminded him.
"I recall that I told you 05:30, and I don't take kindly to people that forget what they were told. Are we clear?"
"Yes sir." Edward was no longer beaming, but had a more sullen and serious look on his face.
"There was a report yesterday that five people have gone missing in Liore, I want you to investigate it. I want a full report in two weeks. You are dismissed."
It was an impossible mission, Roy knew that. Not only were there tensions between the two of them, but they had been looking for the people responsible for this for a long time, with no results as of yet. With any luck, and luck at all, when he went in he would come back empty handed and quit. The military is no place for children. Edward smiled again and left the office, his first mission. His first chance to prove that he did belong here, and he was going to do pretty much whatever it takes to make sure he was successful. He had a feeling there weren't going to be any second chances. Missing this was not an option.
"Pack your bags, Al. We're going to Liore."
"What's in Liore?"
"My first mission."
They barely had enough money for the train ride, but somehow managed to scrape up the required amount. They still had to ride with the sheep.
"This is going to be a long ride."
"Hell yes it is."
"Ed? Where'd you go?"
"What do you mean where did I go? I'm right here."
"Oh, when you're sitting down the sheep are a lot taller than you. I couldn't see you for a second."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO RIDICULOUSLY SHORT YOU COULD FRY HIM WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS?!?!"
Al sighed. "I never said that, Brother."
"Oh."
By the time they got off the train they were seriously wanting for a bath, so they looked for a stream or lake. Once they were properly clean again they started looking for the town. When they arrived the streets were deserted, not a person to be seen.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
The only response was a shutter closing. The entire city was indoors and locked up tight, with the exception of a small kitten that was limping down the street. Luckily Al was the first one to spot it, and picked the poor thing up.
"Hey Ed, do you still know how to make a splint? This poor cat has a broken leg."
"Just a second Al."
Using a scrap of cloth that he ripped from the bottom of his shirt and a piece of wood that was lying there, Ed fixed the cat up. It really took a liking to Al, and started purring contentedly. There was a pattering of footsteps, and leaving the cat with Al, Ed chased after the person running. Whoever the person was, they were fast, but Edward was faster. He grabbed the kid by the shoulder, and the kid tried to bite him. Fortunately for him, he was holding him with the metal arm.
"What are you doing to him? Let him go! Is that what the military is doing now, taking our children? It's bad enough that you're making everyone stay indoors, but kids? This is a new low." A man with a scar across his face was the one who spoke, behind him were some other people that Edward didn't recognize, but their eyes were red, which threw him off for a second. Who were these people? He let go of the boy.
"I wasn't intending to take him anywhere, I was trying to find out why everyone was inside. The military is doing this?"
"Like you don't know. I bet you're one of them too. You shouldn't be here! Go away!"
"Relax, I'm not going to do anything to anybody. How do you know they're military?"
"We'd know those uniforms anywhere, they're military all right."
I'd kill Colonel Mustang when I get back for not telling me this.
"Hey! You have our kitten!"
"What? Oh. Yeah, we found it on the street earlier, it's hurt pretty bad, but Brother fixed her up." Al passed the kitten back to the kid, who cuddled it and held it close.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"You there! What are you doing outside? We told everyone to stay indoors!"
The others scattered, leaving Al and Ed alone to face the 'military'. Kimnley smiled maniacally.
"You know what we do to people that don't listen?" Kimnley smacked the pipe he was holding in his hand threateningly, and by this point Ed had a pretty good idea who was murdering people here, and that he had somehow volunteered to be the next victim.
"Oh no, I feel so threatened. Whatever shall I do?" Edward said sarcastically. They may have been outnumbered, but both he and Al could do alchemy, and he assumed that the majority of Kimnley's crew could not. Edward transformed his metal hand into a blade, and it wiped the smirk off of quite a few of their faces. Edward rushed toward Kimnley while Al created a cage around the others
At the office Roy was doing paperwork when he realized that Ed was still a minor and would have to get permission from his guardian about his job. He sighed, this should have been done earlier.
"Havoc, I want you to get me the address of Mr. Elric's residence."
"Yes sir."
Anything to get out from under the death glare that Riza was sending him. If looks could kill... and all he had done was suggested that she and Mustang go out already... maybe that hadn't been the best of calls.
In Liore a skirmish that would decide who ultimately controlled the city was taking place, and Ed had Kimnley pressed against the metal point of his hand.
"Go on, do it already. Or are you scared?"
He hated killing people, even when they deserved it. There was no other way though, he knew that somehow Kimnley would manage to escape, again, and kill more people for no reason. He laughed at Ed, assuming he wouldn't do it, until he felt the metal twist in his gut. By this time the streets had cleared, except for the goons that were in the cage. None of them had guessed that their leader would die, some had even doubted that he could. Obviously, they had been wrong.
"You... killed him."
"There wasn't another way, he would have escaped if I hadn't."
People began to peek out of their door to see what was going on, and hesitantly left their homes, disbelieving that he was really gone.
"What are your names?"
"Edward and Alphonse Elric. Now I'm starved Al, what do you say we get some food?"
The people, very grateful for their work, gladly took care of them. They stayed for a while, meeting and helping the people at Al's request, which Ed obliged. They had to eventually leave though, as he did have a deadline.
"I'm glad you got that job, now we can help people," Al said.
"Yeah, so am I."
When the train pulled in they went to the military building, Al waited outside for Ed. The others were honestly surprised to see him back, as he was just so young. They hid it though, pretending not to notice him as he walked directly to Mustang's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Ed handed in his report and waited patiently while Roy skimmed through it. His frown became more and more pronounced as he read.
"They said that the criminals were claiming to be military?"
"That's correct."
"One more thing before you go, you need to work on your handwriting."
Edward's expression considerably darkened, which Roy took careful note of. His willingness to please and joy of coming to work was annoying him, it simply wasn't realistic. Of course, he didn't know the situation behind it, not that Ed would care to explain it. He wasn't the type to share his problems. The reason his handwriting was so horrible was he because before the accident, he was right handed and never learned to use the automail or his left hand for that. He simply hadn't had reason to. But he was also not going to give Roy any more reason to want him gone, and was going to fix it. Immediately. Failure was not an option, not that it ever had been.
"Yes sir."
"Is that all you have to say? 'Yes sir' 'No sir'? Is that what you're here for, to become a dog of the military?"
Ed glared at him dangerously with as much venom as he could, and Roy just smirked. "No, I'm here because I need the job, though you aren't here for that, I'm sure. You're just in it for the power, so you can manipulate people to do your bidding."
It was Roy's turn to glare now. What made this kid think he could talk to him that way? "I made a promise."
Edward didn't let his expression falter. "So did I. And nothing is going to make me break it, least of all you."
With that Ed left Roy wondering if he had just implied that he was a threat. How could he be a threat to a promise he didn't even know about? The kid made no sense.
Ed didn't get very far before tears started running down his face, the weight of the situation crashing down on him all at once. Truly this was long over due, should have happened a long time ago, but through sheer willpower he had kept the tears at bay. He walked quickly, wanting to run away from all of it, the responsibility for both all and himself, the place where he knew people would never look at him like he belonged, the man who wanted to get rid of him and crush all of the things that he had managed to hold on to... it just felt like too much. He didn't go home until several hours later when he was sure he was calm and that Al wouldn't see that it was hurting this much. Maybe it was because it was a sense of pride thing, maybe not, but he didn't go home until it was dark outside. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Hey Brother, where've you been?"
"Oh, I was just walking around."
"So how'd it go? Got another mission?"
"No, they weren't satisfied with my handwriting so I have to write it over."
"Oh. Don't they know..."
"Nope, and I don't intend to. That's none of their business."
"Ok."
Edward took out a piece of paper and a pencil, determined to get it perfect. While Al had volunteered to do it for him, he had declined on the pretense that he needed to learn how to write. While this was a valid excuse, it was also because of the brotherly rivalry which said that anything Al could do he needed to do as well. Al had realized this and had been teasing him relentlessly, well, at least as far as Al was concerned. He knew that even the simplest of teasing could cause his brother to snap at him at times simply out of stress, which was why Al had been doing what he could to help his brother. Realistically, he knew that Ed was taking responsibility for everything that happened from their mother's death to their current predicament, and that he needed to stop. The problem was getting him to see that he had no control without totally alienating him. It was a delicate situation at best. When his brother finally passed out, the report only half finished to his standards, Al draped his red coat over him and eased the papers out from under his elbow to finish them. His brother really did try to do too much sometimes.
When Ed woke up he was grateful for Al finishing his report, and decided to make it up to him somehow. There had to be something small that Ed could do for him... he pushed the thoughts to the back burner. He had to face Colonel Mustang, again, and he absolutely loathed the very idea of ever seeing his face again. No one, No one, had the right to question his motive, the only reason he had joined the military was to take care of his brother. It was not because he liked being pushed around, or that he particularly enjoyed going after criminals and occasionally killing people, though he had grown good at acting like he did. It was kind of funny well people actually believed it sometimes. The only regret he had over getting that way was that innocent people had been hurt because he had not been able to stop them at times. If it was one thing he hated, it was people who enjoyed making lives miserable, or even taking them, for no reason. There was too much pain in the world already, no one needed to add to it. Instead of knocking on the door to the office like always, Edward just walked in and slammed the report on the desk. Roy had a strange look on his face, like he wanted to apologize or ask something, neither of which he wanted to bring up. Ed turned to leave without waiting for a response.
"Wait. I did not dismiss you yet." Roy looked up from the report just as Ed placed his hand on the door knob.
"What sir?" It was stated more of a statement than a question.
"I just got a package from the Fuhrer earlier today, with instructions to give you these." Roy pulled out a black box and handed it to Edward, who opened it and took out the signature pocket watch. It was addressed to "the Fullmetal Alchemist." He almost laughed at the irony. In fact, a few chuckles did escape his throat.
"What's so funny?"
"It's nothing, just the name is kind of ironic."
"Why?"
"You don't know? I assumed the Fuhrer had told you, and I'm almost certain he knows. Oh well, it's not important anyway. Is that all?"
"I demand that you tell me what is so funny."
"My 'name'."
Roy glared, knowing that his charge was purposefully avoiding the question. "You know what I mean."
"I'm not entirely sure that I do."
He almost preferred the drone version to this smart ass. In any case, it was too late now. That damage had already been done. What was more, Roy had the feeling that Edward wasn't hiding anything small either, something that wasn't just inconsequential. "Do you value your job?"
"Of course I do." Edward's eyes narrowed into slits at what Mustang was, once again, implying.
"Then you will tell me what you are hiding."
In a second Ed's red cloak was mere shred's on the floor, revealing his metal arm, and he was not pleased at all. If anything he hated the colonel even more at this point.
"Are you happy now?"
"How did this happen?"
"WHY THE FUCK DOES IT MATTER!?! Have you made it your goal in life to torture me as best you can? Because you're doing a really fucking good job at it." Edward clapped ironically with a twisted sarcasm that went beyond sarcasm. " Congratulations. Operation make my life hell was a success." It bordered insanity, between his expression and his tone.
"I order you to tell me. If you don't I'll have you fired under the charges of disobeying the direct command of a superior officer."
"FINE! YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW?!? IT"S BECAUSE I'M A DUMBASS!!! I TRIED TO BRING MY MOTHER BACK FROM THE DEAD! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? DO YOU FINALLY HAVE WHAT YOU WANTED?!? MY BROTHER ALMOST LOST HIS LIFE, I GOT OUT WITH ONLY MY LEG MISSING! Now you see why I need this job? I need to make it up to him, for all that I've put him through. I almost lost him... I can't do it again."
Roy, for once in his life, was speechless. Edward slammed the door behind him, ignoring the stares that he was getting. Havoc's cigarette dropped from his mouth, there was no longer any doubt as to why he was here. Again, instead of going immediately home, he leaned against the pillar outside of the office and blew at the sky. How was it that his life was this messed up?
Riza entered Roy's office furious. She then slapped him across the face as hard as she could.
"What could you possibly be thinking? Forcing him to talk like that, when you knew that it was obviously something that was sensitive to him. That was insensitive and cold and mean and cruel."
"He disobeyed a direct order, I could not overlook that."
"Just like you can't overlook the fact that he is a person, not just some pest that's keeping you from your mission."
One of the things he liked about Riza was her ability to cut right to the heart of the matter. She didn't take his bull shit.
"If I don't tell him that he is..."
"I don't care, you don't manipulate people like that. Especially when you know it is something like that."
"I'll apologize."
Roy was out on the street searching for his charge, having no idea where in the world he would be. All he had was an address, and there had been no one home. He sighed, he had absolutely no idea where to look. So Edward took this particular moment to walk up the steps to where he was living, where Roy was. The death glare was not missed.
"I've been meaning to talk to you..."
"I don't want to hear it."
"I was out of line, earlier. I shouldn't have antagonized you like that."
It was easy to tell that Edward had been crying earlier, because of him, and that he was exhausted. He nodded solemnly and opened his door, then sighed.
"Would you like to come in? It's not much, but Al won't leave me alone if I don't ask."
Roy stepped inside, careful not to step on the whirlwind of papers that scattered every available surface that did not have books on it. Some of the titles he recognized, some he didn't. All of which looked like they were very complicated and difficult to understand.
"Ok Al, he knows."
A rather large suit of armor stepped from... well, he wasn't sure where. It was a real sign of trust that he didn't try to torch it, instead he merely regarded the hulking figure as if he saw this all the time. Ed went into the kitchen.
"You want some tea?"
"Yes, thanks. So this is your brother?"
"Yup," he said rather absently as he added another scoop of caffeine formula. He usually tried to avoid using it, but he was on the verge of crashing, and that's why he had invented this stuff. It could keep a person awake for the maximum of a month, he would know, he tried it. He gave a cup to Mustang and kept the caffeinated one for himself.
"So you must be Colonel Mustang! Pleased to meet you sir!"
"Pleased to meet you as well. Where is your father?"
There was silence, neither of them wanting to answer the question. "He's away," Al stated, looking kind of sad. Unlike Ed, Al had no animosity towards their father. He was just sad that he was gone.
"Thanks for the tea, but I have to get going now. I'll see you tomorrow, Fullmetal."
As soon as Roy left the building, Al turned on Ed.
"You put caffeine in your tea again!"
"I'm about to pass out Al."
"But you said..."
"I know, but I had too. I think I've almost got it."
Al sighed, it was too late now. Though he did consider hiding the innocent looking canister...
"Don't even think about it Al. I'll find it or make more." He didn't even look up from the book he was reading. They knew each other too well.
Once again, Edward didn't go to sleep that night while he made frantic scribbles that were supposed to be notes. They were only truly legible to him. He kept working without stopping for anything, until the sun finally rose. He set the pen down and took a deep breath. There was still something missing, no matter how hard he tried to get around it. He sighed, and then pulled out a composition notebook. The papers were a mess, and rewriting it sometimes helped him see something that he hadn't noticed before. It did, but when he fixed one mistake another popped up again, and so on and so forth. The only thing that he really thought came out of it was you could see surfaces again. And, as a distraction and to take his mind off of things, he cleaned the entire place until it shone.
"Brother? What are you doing?" That wasn't really the question, he knew what he was doing. This had happened before, Ed went through phases if he only ran on caffeine, one of them was becoming a cleaning fanatic. The only thing Al could do was let him burn out.
"This tub refuses to be clean."
It was true. When they had started renting the apartment, the tub had refused to look anywhere near decent no matter how long either of them worked on it. Now it practically shone. Al wondered how much time and effort Ed had devoted to the tub, and then decided he didn't want to know. Though it was good that the tub was finally clean looking.
"But I'll get it that way, if it's the last thing I do. Oh yes, you hear me tub? You will be clean. And there's nothing you can do about it!!!" Ed laughed maniacally, and Al backed out of the room. The laughing was another unfortunate side effect. He thought he would be fine, until he heard knocking on the door. He panicked, what could he do? He couldn't let anyone see his brother this way.
"Open up Ed, I know you're in there."
It was Colonel Mustang, Al knew. He did the only thing he could think of.
"I don't know what you're talking about, there's no one home."
"Why I oughta... I'll teach you, nasty tub filth!"
"Al, just open the door before I do it for you. I know he's in there."
"Come out come out where ever you are... Gotcha! Mwhahahaha! No grime escapes me! Now tell me, where are the others! I know you know something, talk!"
"He's sick, and I don't want you to get sick either, so please go away."
"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Roy, fed up with Al's refusal to open the door, transmuted it open.
"And when I've had my fun with you, I'll move on to the rest of the bathroom, I will. And then, the world!"
Colonel Mustang, despite Al's protests, decided to check on Edward. He kicked the door open, and Edward, surprised, sprayed him in the face with cleaner while hissing. Almost instantly the young alchemist was being held by the tiles of the room he was cleaning. It seemed as though the young alchemist had gone through a cleaning rampage, nothing was out of order. This had come as quite a shock compared to the chaos he had encountered last night.
"Al, what happened?"
"It's nothing, he's just sick."
"Let me at them! LET ME AT THEM! I'll show them who's boss, they won't even know what hit him! It'll be like BAM! and the germs are gone."
"Germs?" Roy fought to keep from laughing. It was just so amusing to see the usually nonchalant alchemist who could almost be mistaken for an adult act so... there really weren't words to describe it. "I'm surprised you haven't taken him to a mental hospital."
"It'll wear off, eventually. Hey, can you do me a favor? There's a white, unlabeled jar on the counter next to the kettle. Can you take it with you when you leave? I'd hide it, but he always knows when I'm lying."
"That is the cause of all this? What is it exactly that's in that jar?"
"Oh nothing, just do it, ok?"
"Sure. Do you have this?"
"Yeah... I'll just let him finish washing the tub... Sorry about him spraying you with the cleaning stuff. Do you think it will bleach your uniform?"
"Nah, it'll be fine. It was nice talking to you, Al."
"You too Colonel."
Al was half tempted to just leave his brother there, where he couldn't hurt himself, but let him go anyway. He frantically began scrubbing the now spotless tub. It was odd seeing it this clean. It wasn't until hours later that Edward finally crashed. On the upside, the house was perfectly spotless. Edward had scrubbed every surface he could get to, even some that he couldn't. He looked at his brother who had fallen on the floor in the kitchen and moved him to his bed. It would be a while before he woke up. In fact, it wouldn't be until noon the next day. During that time, Roy had no idea what to do with the jar of white powder.
He had never seen anything like it before, so Ed must have developed it. It didn't taste like anything he had ever come across, and it didn't have any explosive properties, it didn't appear to have any valuable use. Still, Al was rather concerned with it so it must have some kind of use... he kept it on his desk with the lid open and every time someone asked he gave them a different answer as to what it was, making it look like he knew what it was and scaring some people at the same time. It also amused him to no end hearing the staff whisper about it. So maybe it wasn't completely useless as was.
When Ed finally showed up, looking like hell, I might add, he had the attention of the entire staff. There was a rumor going around that the powder had come from him, as they knew Roy had come back with it only after going after Edward. It was the only logical explanation.
"Hey Ed, what's in the jar?"
"What jar?"
"You know, the one in the Colonel's office."
"Is it white with white powder in it?"
"Yes."
"Has he ever told any of you what it actually is?"
"No..."
Edward laughed, only this time it was somewhat normal. "You'll find out soon enough."
"Where were you yesterday?"
"Oh, I got caught up in some research. I'm going to go get this over with now."
"Good to have you back, pipsqueak. How's ridding the world of germs going?"
"Just fine. What's that?"
"Don't play stupid with me, you know exactly what that is."
"Never seen it before in my life. Some thing you wanted to talk to me about?"
"I've got another mission for you, and this time Al can't come. I'm sorry, but he simply wouldn't blend."
"What is it?"
"You've been asked to protect a certain person, the rest is top secret. All I can tell you is that it will be very far away from home, and that you'll have to go to school."
Edward hadn't gone to school, his mother had chosen to home school him. This was most certainly going to be a change.
"I'll go, if you promise to look after Al, and make sure he's not lonely. Oh, and give him a kitten and I'll make sure you're the one taking care of it."
"Fair enough. I'll contact them and let them know you can do it. That is, if you have time to take off from interrogating scum."
"You know what they say."
"What?"
"Karma's a bitch."
Edward left Roy to ponder what he meant, while his plan was already in motion. First, he had to stop by the coffee room. He didn't leave, not yet. He had a few other scores to settle, and an apology in advance.
"Hawkeye, I have to tell you something, but not here. Come with me."
She was confused as to why he had chosen her to help with what she was sure was a diabolical plan, but went with him anyway.
"Don't drink anything here, ok?"
"What? Fullmetal, what did you do?"
"You can't tell anyone, and I apologize in advance, but just don't do it, ok?"
"This is some plan to get the Colonel back, isn't it?"
"Of course, what else would it be? But if you tell anyone, you'll regret it."
Not quite sure what he was talking about, she nodded. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. "Why are you telling me?"
"I have my reasons," he said cryptically. The real reason was that he wouldn't be able to look her in the face seriously after all of this was said and done if she did.
"Edward, the Colonel is looking for you."
"Thanks. Remember what I said."
She nodded, and Ed went off to meet with the royal pain.
"What was that all about?"
"I have no idea."
"I never dismissed you."
"That's ok. What do you want?"
"I wanted to tell you that you'll be leaving tomorrow, so make sure your bags are packed. I do have a question for you though."
"What?"
"What did you mean when you said karma's a bitch?"
"Oh nothing, it's just a truth. Am I dismissed?"
Roy nodded and Ed left with a smirk on his face, he was going to regret not being there to see all the action. He almost felt bad for Mustang, almost, but not quite. After all, he did deserve it. He hunted down his repair kit for his limbs, and then flipped through his composition books for the ones that were most important, and then he had to weed through those. On top of that there was a matter of his books, and then his clothes. By the time he was done his suitcase was about to pop open, if he hadn't sealed it with alchemy. Even so, it was ready to burst. Al came in in about the middle of the sealing process, when Ed was sitting on the case and trying to seal it from above.
"Ed, where are we going?"
"I'm not really that sure, but you can't come this time. I have to be able to blend."
"But we always go on missions together."
"I know,but we can't this time I don't like it any more than you do, but I have to keep this job. If he tells me to do another one I'll refuse, but I don't think it will happen."
"If you say so..."
"Aw, cheer up Al. It's not like you'll be all alone, I made the Colonel promise to keep you company."
"Really? He agreed to that?"
"Yup."
"Then I suppose I'll be fine."
Ed bound the entire mess that he called a suitcase a little more securely, not quite sure that it would hold. However, there wasn't much more he could do about it at the moment, it had been packed as efficiently as it was possible, and he didn't want to haul around two suitcases to god knows where. Hell, it was bad enough having one. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how long he would be without his things and he couldn't exactly just come back to fetch them. He sighed. It would be near impossible to get to anything the way it was packed. He made a mental note to make just a tiny bit of the powdered caffeine after he left, but in the mean time he was going to sleep as much as he could before he met with the person who he was going with, whoever that was. It was kind of odd that the mission was so secret that even Mustang was not allowed in on the details yet. He crashed as soon as his head hit the pillow, not quite recovered from the entire week he went with little or no sleep. He really should stop doing that.
"Ed, you need to wake up. You're due to be in HQ in half an hour."
Ed sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily, trying to shake off the sleepy feeling. He knew he was now perfectly rested, as he had gotten this down to an almost exact science. He dressed quickly and said good bye to Al, promising to write, and headed down to the office. He smirked when he saw the effects of what he had done start to manifest themselves, in some places more than others. All in all, things were beginning to fall in place quite nicely. Mustang couldn't kill him if he wasn't here. The Colonel was pacing his office relentlessly, and Ed had to hide a smirk. Operation caffeinate the office was just warming up.
"What the hell did you do?" the Colonel questioned, already having guessed that Ed was somehow behind it. How though, he had no idea. It was driving him nuts. That, and not being able to figure out what the mysterious powder was.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The Colonel snapped his fingers, sending fire in Edward's direction. His smirk became more pronounced. "When I figure out what you've done... you'll wish you had never been born," Roy promised. Ed could see the first stage already manifesting itself. This was going to be interesting.
"Good luck with that, you don't even know whether or not I'm the one behind all this. It could just be karma."
"My ass it is, this is all your fault. Once I figure out what you did, you will regret it. The FULL WEIGHT OF THE ENTIRE MILITARY WILL BE BANGING ON YOUR DOOR!!! MWHAHAHAHAHA!!!"