Photographs

FMA: Brotherhood

Hello everyone! Sorry, it's been a while, yeah? Well, I've had this little fic in my head for a long time now. It's inspired by the Nickelback song "Photograph." I just listened to it, so I've got inspiration. It's just Night looking through an old photo album and reminiscing on the old days. Post-Promised Day. Very post-Promised Day. My first FMA:B fic. I'll write the real thing later. Without further ado, we turn to Al with the disclaimer!

Al: That's right, folks, CHN here's nice enough to let me announce the disclaimer. All credit to FMA and Brotherhood goes to Hriomu Arakawa-sensei, Aniplex, and Funimation Entertainment. Please enjoy the story.

Special note: There will be a lot of OOC-ness and AU-ness as many of these are Night's memories both inside and outside of the Brotherhood timeline. Also, I'll be using a few Shel Silverstein poems from his poetry book "Falling Up." Plus, I'll be making references to the Nintendo games Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town and Harvest Moon DS. Actually, just Harvest Moon in general. Enjoy!

Rated for language and some gore.

Photographs

Night glanced at the bookshelf. An old thick tome caught her eye. "Aha! There you are!" She removed the book and lovingly held it tight to her chest. Behind her, Riza looked up from her almost-completed paperwork.

"Watcha got there, Ma?"

Night looked over her shoulder, grinning from ear to ear. "It's just the old family album."

Riza set her pen down and stood up, smiling. She shoved the unfinished paperwork aside to make room for Night to set the album on the table. Jean, Kain, Heymans, Vato, and Roy all looked up as pens clattered to the floor. Shock was clearly written across their faces. Riza Hawkeye never shoved paperwork away! On top of that, she was smiling! The guys all crowded around curiously as Night opened the old album. Faded black-and-white photographs gleamed behind plastic sleeves. Night gently removed one and handed it to Riza. It was a picture of the old Central City HQ. "That's the first picture I took when I arrived in Central from Agricia," Night grinned.

It was cold. Winter was coming to Amestris. The cold never really bothered Forbidden Night. She was used to harsher winters back home in the mountains of Agricia. She looked around silently. There were men and women in matching blue uniforms everywhere. She nervously tugged at the collar of her own uniform, a small reminder of her service in the Agrician Navy. She was a highly-decorated officer, a Rear Admiral. A Marine. She was proud of her Navy roots.

'So why am I in Amestris joining their Army?' she wondered to herself. 'I'm a Navy brat, for Kaizer's sake! I should still be in Agricia! GAAH! Amestrians! Why did I let you force me into this?! Oh, right. The safety of my family and my country. And to get justice for what that monster did to Carter!' She sighed and followed the soldier assigned to escort her. She was mostly fluent in the language of Amestris and some of the surrounding countries, but there were some words she still wasn't familiar with.

"This way please, Sir," the soldier beckoned calmly. He led the homesick dragon out of the station. An awe-inspiring sight struck her eyes. She had never seen such tall buildings before. Nor had she seen so many automobiles in one place. The streets were all neatly paved and uniform. Cobblestone sidewalks bordered the streets. Soldiers stood stiff, straight, and stoic. (Hooray for alliteration!) Each one of them wore the same blue uniform.

She looked up at the sky. Her ears drooped in disappointment. 'No aircraft… How lame…' She looked ahead. The great building across the road was tall and built of gleaming white marble. A long enclosed staircase led to the high entrance. The green military banners on either side of the massive wooden gate made the structure look like a castle to Night. (How fitting. Dragon. Castle. Am I the only one getting this here?!) "Excuse me, soldier?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"What's that building there? It looks important."

"That's the Central City Military Headquarters. Lord Führer is there waiting to meet you."

"Would you mind if I took a photograph?"

"Suit yourself. Führer Bradley won't mind if you're a few minutes late."

Night dipped her head. She removed a small camera from her satchel and peered through the lens. She adjusted the focus until it was perfect and snapped a picture. She lowered the camera with a twinkle in her eye. 'Perfect!'

"Are you finished, Sir?" The soldier didn't come off as impatient, but more curious than anything else.

"Ah, yes. Sorry to hold us up." Night padded along beside her escort, the metal toes of her right forefoot clacking against the cobblestone sidewalk. 'In Agricia, almost all our roads are dirt. Only the inter-town and cross-regional roads have any paving at all. And most of the automobiles are open-bed trucks and tractors. This is going to be quite the experience. Hmm…' "Excuse me, soldier?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Amestris is a military dictatorship, right?"

"That's right. Why do you ask, Sir?"

Night shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure my education is up to date." She exhaled loudly. "In Agricia, each region has its own elected Councilperson with a seat in the Council. And every town has an elected mayor. Some towns share mayors. Our military is restricted to the Navy. We don't have very many foot soldiers. Most of our troops are airborne or sailors. We're a small farming country. We don't see much conflict. We're really all just a bunch of country hicks."

"Coming to a military city must be quite a shock, huh, Sir?"

Night nodded. "Yes. I'm not used to so many automobiles. And people. The population of just this city alone is probably higher than the total population of all of Agricia. We're all water tower towns, where you only get to eat if you work for it. We don't have any need for big cities, which is why there are so few in Agricia. Those cities are where the rich foreigners decide they want to live, where the few factories in the country are often found."

"Amestris is a very industrious country. We focus more on protecting our borders to guard our resources and territory."

"And that's exactly what confuses me!" Night stopped and looked up at the HQ building. "Agricia has many bountiful mines and plentiful resources. It's said that ores and gems grow from seeds planted by the Harvest Sprites themselves, and that ores seep from the pulsing veins and arteries of the earth itself. The land is an entity of its own volition. We Agricians treat the land with respect and dignity. Why is it so different out here, in other countries like Amestris?"

The soldier shrugged. "We're constantly under threat from neighboring countries. We need a strong military out here. Let's keep going. Führer Bradley is waiting for us."

"Very well," Night sighed, trudging after her guide as the snow started falling. 'I love the snow. It reminds me of those summer blizzards that make the cityfolk cower and whine.'

Night replaced the photograph back in its sleeve once everyone had seen it. "Let's see… That was just after Bradley rose to power. Must've been about twenty years ago. Well, almost twenty years." She giggled. "It still feels like yesterday that I was dragged out of my country and thrust into a strange land's conflict."

"Sir, what's this photograph?" Breda asked, pointing to a worn image. It was Night in uniform holding a gun. She was standing next to a young man, also in uniform and holding a gun. Night's arm was around his shoulders and the two of them were saluting, grinning broadly.

"Hm? Oh, that was my war buddy Marion Dirgryte. He was just married with a child on the way. He was a great sniper. Always made a head-shot at the range." She removed the photo and looked at it fondly before passing it around. "We served together for three years."

Night ducked her head and locked her knees, skidding to a halt. A bullet whizzed over her head, burying itself in an enemy soldier's brain. Night looked over her shoulder. "Arooga! Nice save Marion! Thanks a bunch!"

Marion flashed a quick grin. "Don't thank me yet, Sir!" He pointed ahead. Several Aerugonian marksmen were marching in their direction.

"Let's turn back, inform base camp!"

Marion nodded. "Good idea Sir!" The two companions dashed away toward base camp. They were greeted by the general in charge.

"Where's the rest of your scouting party?" he demanded.

"They're all dead, Sir," Marion answered, saluting. "But there's more to report, Sir."

"I'm listening."

"We spotted a platoon of Aerugonian marksmen converging on base camp," Night panted, saluting as well. "I'm not sure how many there are, Sir, but I'm estimating at least nine hundred well-trained snipers and infantrymen." She received a startled look from the senior officer. "General, Sir, perhaps reinforcements are necessary?"

"We'll see. I'd hoped this wouldn't have lasted as long as it did. I'll call for backup. Meanwhile, we need to protect base camp. Colonel Forbidden, I want you and Colonel Dirgryte to lead a pincer assault. Forbidden, you direct your troops and attack from the south. Dirgryte, you do the same from the north. Wait for my signal before striking. Do I make myself clear?"

Both soldiers saluted. "Yes Sir!"

"Gather your troops and get in position. Go, go, go!"

Night and Marion quickly left to gather their soldiers. "Hey, Marion."

"What's up?"

"I don't think I've asked you before. Why'd you decide to become a soldier?"

Marion halted. Night stopped and faced him. The man was silent for a few minutes. "I guess I really just want to protect those I love, and their loved ones, and theirs as well. In the end, I guess I want to protect everyone. What about you, Night? Why're you a soldier?"

"In Agricia, I was a Rear Admiral, in the lower half of the Navy. My grandfathers were both Navy Admirals, as were their fathers and grandfathers. My older brother wanted to follow in our father's footsteps, so he joined the Navy and became a Marine. He gets to travel the world and flies planes over the sea and across the country. I guess I just wanted to be like him. He's always been my idol. He inspired me to be a Marine. But, I prefer to tinker with weapons and mechanics and do alchemy. He's more the high-flying type. I've always been quite a bit more grounded than my brother."

"So, you two are like opposite sides of the same coin, huh?" Marion laughed.

Night laughed as well. "Heh… Well, when you've got wings like mine, flying isn't really an aspiration. They're not strong enough to lift my body more than ten feet off the ground, and they can't take me very far horizontally. I've always preferred climbing over soaring. After all, you must learn to crawl before you can walk."

Marion chuckled. "True, true." He lightly nudged Night with his elbow, grinning his usual broad, bare-toothed grin. "Besides, flight is overrated! When you're on the ground, you can feel the movement of tunnel-diggers beneath your feet, you can see jumpers above you, and you can smell the sweat of infantry all around you. When you're above all that, you can only see below you, where you can't reach them. But they can reach you."

Night grinned herself. "You always have a way of saying it like it is, Marion." She shrugged with a faint chuckle. "But maybe I just wanted to support him. He never hesitated to ask me for backup when we were growing up. When he went off to University, he called home every night just to make sure we all were okay. And he always made a point to say 'I love you' and call me his baby. He was always there for me, so I guess I really wanted to return the favor and support him." She slapped Marion's shoulder in a friendly gesture. "C'mon, let's get our men assembled. We've spent enough time in a world away from the battlefield. Your country's counting on us, right?"

Marion nodded. "Right." He saluted Night. "Luck be with you, Colonel Forbidden, Sir!"

Night saluted in return. "And luck be with you on this endeavor, Colonel Dirgryte, Sir!"

The companions quietly parted ways.

"He was the best damn sniper I'd ever seen. Until we met one who was better. We went to serve during that border skirmish with Creta. We woke up and fought the morning of July ninth. Marion went home the next day in a body bag with lead in his skull." Night sighed. "His poor wife cried so hard, and his little boy couldn't understand what had happened to his daddy. I felt terrible." She lifted her head with a smile. "But you should see the kid now! He's stationed at Briggs! He's one of Olivier's most trusted officers, too! Not bad for the autistic son of a soldier!"

"He's autistic?" Vato leaned in. "Dirgryte… Oh! He wouldn't happen to be Second Lieutenant Gregg Dirgryte, would he?"

"You've met Greggory? Never woulda guessed he's autistic, huh?" Falman's eyes widened. Night laughed as she replaced the photograph and turned the album page. "Our CO took the picture." She removed another photograph to be passed around. It was a picture of her surrounded by several young, smiling children. She was holding an open book and laughing. "I was deployed in Ishval for a time. I felt right at home there- well, kind of. For the first time in a long time, I was surrounded by people who spoke the same language as me. I always kept that old poetry book with me, took it wherever I went. One day I was sitting and leafing through the pages when a little Ishvalan asked me what I was reading."

"Umm, miss soldier?"

Night looked up, startled. She had been so absorbed in her book that she didn't even hear the child approach. She normally didn't like being called "miss" or "ma'am," but the child obviously didn't know. Night smiled. "Yes, little one? Do you have a question for me?"

The girl looked down at her feet and wrung the hem of her dress with her hands. "Uh… Um… I-I was just wondering… uhm… what you're… reading…"

Night smiled. "It's a book of poems from my country. Would you like to hear one?"

The little girl perked up with a happy grin. She was missing a front tooth. Night decided she couldn't be older than seven. Night leafed through the book until she found a poem to read to the little girl.

"This is one of my favorite poems. It's called 'Mister Moody.'" She held the book so the child could see the illustration of a balding man with a mustache.

"And here we see ol' Mister Moody,

Wearing such a gloomy frown.

But turn him upside down and see…"

She flipped the book upside down.

"Mister Moody

Upside down-

What did you expect?"

The girl laughed. "Hee hee, that's funny!"

Night chuckled. She then noticed that she now had an audience of ten Ishvalan children of a wide range of ages. Some were accompanied by adults. Everyone had curious, gleaming red eyes. A handful of Amestrian soldiers had also arrived. They all gathered around Night, as if asking for another poem to take them away from the tension and fear. Night was all too happy to oblige. In truth, she also wanted to escape the current situation. She flipped through a few more pages.

"Ah, here's one! It's called 'The Folks Inside.' It's another of my personal favorites.

"Inside you, boy,

There's an old man sleepin',

Dreamin', waitin' for his chance.

Inside you, girl,

There's an old lady dozin',

Wantin' to show you a slower dance.

"So keep on playin',

Keep on runnin',

Keep on jumpin', 'til the day

That those old folks

Down inside you

Wake up… and come out to play."

Night glanced up again and laughed. Several Ishvalans of all ages, along with more Amestrian soldiers, had more than tripled her audience. Ishvalan children sat in the laps of tired, war-weary Amestrian soldiers. Ishvalan adults commingled with the soldiers. The two sides seemed to have forgotten the conflict between them and made peace, at least for the time being. It made Night very happy to see that the words of a single man made peace in a country across the sea from his homeland.

"Shall I continue reading?"

The audience smiled, nodded, laughed, and cheered, urging Night to read on.

"This one's called 'Three Stings.'

"George got stung by a bee and said,

'I wouldn't have got stung if I'd stayed in bed.'

Fred got stung and we heard him roar,

'What am I being punished for?'

Lew got stung and we heard him say,

'I learned somethin' about bees today.'"

Night was on a roll. Her audience was growing by the stanza.

"Tell me I'm clever,

Tell me I'm kind,

Tell me I'm talented,

Tell me I'm cute,

Tell me I'm sensitive,

Graceful and wise,

Tell me I'm perfect-

But tell me the truth."

She giggled as more people gathered to hear her read. Soldiers ranked from enlisted men to generals mingled and spoke as equals. Ishvalans were holding friendly conversation with Amestrians. Night's smile grew. "How about 'A Use for a Moose'?

"The antlers of a standing moose,

As everybody knows,

Are just the perfect place to hang

Your wet and drippy clothes.

It's quick and cheap, but I must say

I've lost a lot of clothes that way."

Night grinned at the fond memory. "Every night until the end of my deployment, I would sit in the same spot and read poems from that book."

"Hey, I recognize that cover!" Roy exclaimed. "You used to read to us from the same book when we were stationed in Ishval!"

"Oh, yeah," Riza added, "you're right. You also read to us when nightmares kept us up at night after we were sent home."

"Hey, that's gotta be the same book you read to me from after the Lust incident," Jean put in, taking a closer look at the photograph. "That's definitely the same book."

"It's the exact same as the one on my bookshelf," Night grinned, slipping the photo back into its spot. "My father gave that book to my siblings and myself."

"You've had it a long time," Kain said. "The cover's tattered in the photograph. It's a well-loved book, isn't it, Sir?"

Night nodded. She removed the next photograph. It was her and a much-younger Führer Gruman playing Chess. Night had a large grin on her face and she leaned back on her haunches. Gruman was tipping his chair back in laughter. His white King was surrounded by Night's black pieces. It was checkmate. Night passed the picture around. "That was the first game he'd lost in a long time, he told me."

"Hold on," Breda interrupted. "You beat Old Man Gruman at Chess?!"

Night chuckled and nodded proudly.

"How'd you do it?" Falman asked.

Night shrugged. "Checkmate. It was a long time ago. He was only a Lieutenant Colonel at the time. I was a Brigadier General by then. He was my subordinate at the time."

Night scanned the board, calculating her odds of winning and the outcome of each potential move. She grinned darkly and moved her Bishop into place. She rocked back on her haunches and bared her teeth. "Checkmate!" she cheered victoriously.

"Whaaat?!" Gruman examined the board, desperately searching for a way out. He found none. His King was taken. He threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Ah, ha ha ha ha ha ha! I must say, Sir, that was quite the stimulating game! I haven't lost for a very long time!"

Night raised her brows. "Really?"

Gruman continued laughing as he swept the pieces into the board and folded it shut. "None of your other subordinates stand half a chance! Most of the time, they give up without much of a fight! This is quite a refreshing turn, Sir!"

Night bellowed in laughter. "Take this as my parting gift. I'm being transferred to West City. Oh, and you're being promoted to Colonel!"

Gruman sputtered and almost dropped the chessboard. "And I'm being informed about this just now because why, exactly?"

"I just found out myself. I was hoping to surprise you, but then you dragged me into this game." She patted Gruman's head, scruffing his light brown hair. "Congratulations, my friend. I trust you'll take good care of my subordinates while I'm away?"

"Of course, Sir! You can count on me!"

The two saluted each other before Night left, laughing whole-heartedly.

"Who took the picture?" Falman asked, noting the position of the visible pieces before passing the photo on to Breda.

"I had a personal aide at the time to act as a translator when it was necessary. He took it. He also took the picture of me reading to the Ishvalans."

"I still don't get how you could beat Gruman at his own game," Roy sighed, at a loss. "After all this time, I only ever bested him once."

"Oh, I'm sure he got better over time." Night took out a new photograph and held it up. (Augh! I'm dyslexic right now! Er, dysgraphic! Dys-… Dysgrlo- AUGH! Forget it!) "Anybody know when this was?"

Everyone crowded together to see the photo. It was Night with her arms around Roy and Hughes' shoulders. The three of them were laughing, their uniforms spotless. Roy's eyes widened immediately and he sucked in a sharp breath.

"That was just before we graduated from the academy!"

"Roy! Maes!"

The friends turned around to see Night loping towards them, her breathless assistant close behind. Night was waving to them, laughing. The boys' eyes widened slightly. They weren't shocked to see their normally-strict instructor laughing. She had a habit of laughing like that periodically. Oh, no, it was much worse than that. Clutched in the hand that wasn't flailing madly in the air, was Night's trusty old… camera. She usually only had that out when she wanted to brag about her students to her peers.

"Hey, I have a favor to ask of you two. Actually, no, not a favor. ("Fovar?" What the f—k is a "fovar?") An order."

"Uh, y-yes, Sir?" Roy and Maes broke out in a cold sweat and stiffly saluted their instructor. An order from Major General Forbidden was rarely a good thing. Especially if she had her camera.

"Hey, would it kill you to relax? I'm not going to make you do anything embarrassing. Promise. I just want a picture with my top cadets. Is that so wrong?" Night pouted. It was hard to say "no" to that face.

Roy and Maes relaxed and chuckled, relieved they wouldn't be a part of the Major General's hyjinks directed toward the other classes. Night laughed and thrust the camera into her assistant's hands. The winded young woman fumbled with the object before she finally got hold of it. Night was still laughing. She had her arms around the cadets' shoulders and was poking their ribs repeatedly, eliciting laughs from the both of them.

"Are you ready?" the assistant panted, looking through the lens.

"Ready as we'll ever be!" Night replied. "Go ahead and take the picture, Olivier!"

"I think that might be one reason Major General Armstrong hates me so much," Roy sighed, running a hand across his face.

"Why? 'Cause she had to take a picture of you?" Night giggled. "Aah, memories!" She slipped the photograph back into its sleeve and turned the page. At last, there was a color photo. She handed the selected picture to Fuery to pass around. It was a rather faded photograph with worn, tattered edges from being handled a lot. The picture was of Roy in uniform. He wore his ignition gloves. In his left hand was a gun. His right hand was raised in salute. His face was serious and unreadable. A covered truck was parked behind him with soldiers piling in.

"This was taken just minutes before we were sent to Ishval to quell the uprising," Roy groaned as he looked at the image. "I still remember you taking it."

"Roy! Hey, Roy Mustang!"

Roy looked up. Night was slowly walking in his direction, clutching her camera with both hands. Roy saluted. "Admiral Forbidden, Sir, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Of course I'd be here, Roy. I'm being deployed too."

"Back to Ishval, Sir?"

Night rolled her eyes. "No, I'm going to Drachma. Of course I'm going to Ishval! Where else do you think I'd be sent?"

"Uhh, Drachma, Sir… ?"

Night sighed. "Don't patronize me, Roy." She lifted her camera a little. "Mind if I take a picture? Y'know, so I can remember you as a soldier if anything happens to you?"

Roy sighed. He wanted desperately to smile, but he knew that the soldier in him wouldn't allow it. "Of course, Sir. It would be my honor."

Night smiled a little. "Thank you. Now, strike a pose."

Roy tried to think of how he wanted to be remembered- brave, loyal, intelligent, strong- but all he could bring himself to do was straighten up and salute. He heard the familiar click of the shutter. In any other situation, he would have relaxed, but he continued his salute. "Admiral Forbidden, Sir! Best of luck on the field of battle. Till we meet again, Sir!"

Night saluted in return. "Best of luck to you, Flame Alchemist. Till we meet again."

"Hey, Mustang!" one of the other soldiers called. "Get your wimpy li'l ass over here right now and get in the truck! We're leavin'!"

Roy sighed. He really wasn't looking forward to this. As he turned to leave, Night placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. It calmed his nerves a little. "Roy, if ever your judgment is questioned, trust your heart. Sometimes, your head ain't what you should be listenin' to. 'Cause your eyes play tricks on your mind. But your heart doesn't." She pulled him into a tight hug. "Just promise me you won't have the eyes of a killer when I see you again."

"I'll do my best." (Augh! What the hell?! I keep mistyping! I guess I'm just tired. Damn sleeping medications, working this way!)

"And that was the first of many broken promises that my surviving cadets had made," Night sighed as she pulled out yet another photograph. "This one was from when the whole team assembled. Y'all still remember that, doncha?" She held up the photo of everyone in the room, minus Feury, plus Hughes and Armstrong. They all looked very serious. "This one was before your time, Kain."

Fuery looked closely at the faded color photograph. "You sure look out of character, Sir," he said, looking up at Night. "I guess I'm used to seeing the more relaxed and carefree Night."

Hawkeye chuckled. "It's good to have that Night back."

Night grinned. "She says it's good to be back!" She looked fondly at the picture.

Roy looked at the list of names Night had given him. Each individual was a well-known soldier, all above-average in their respective fields. He looked up at the faces of the soldiers whose names were on the list.

"Heymans Breda, Jean Havoc, Vato Falman, Maes Hughes, Elizabeth Hawkeye, and Alex Louis Armstrong. Thank you all for seeing me."

The six soldiers nodded and saluted. Roy placed the paper on his desk.

"You were all hand-picked to become my subordinates. Each of you has a specific role in this team. Can I trust you to fulfill your duty and serve under me?"

"Yes, Sir!"

Roy saluted. "Good. You're all hard-working, loyal soldiers." He looked over his shoulder at Night, who was fiddling with her camera. "You know how to pick 'em, Sir."

Night looked up. "You're welcome," she said flatly, stiffly getting to her feet. "Since you're all assembled, I would like to take a picture of all of you together." She nudged the feathered, serpentine chimaera sleeping in the corner. "Albine, would you take the picture?"

The chimera raised her head with a yawn, silently taking the camera. She slithered toward the opposite wall and brought the lens to her eye as the others moved into position. They all wore serious faces and saluted. The telltale click of the shutter told them the picture had been taken and the moment captured for eternity, or until the photograph was destroyed, whichever came first. Albine thrust the camera back into Night's hands and returned to the corner to sleep.

"I sure do love photographs," Night sighed wistfully.

"Maybe a little too much," Roy muttered under his breath. Riza slapped him on the back of his head. He jerked and sat up straighter. Jean, Breda, and Falman chuckled until Roy shot them a death glare, silencing them. Feury, meanwhile, was staring, mouth slightly agape, at the next image Night had selected to show.

It was a newspaper image of a soldier standing with crutches. His face was wrapped in bandages and the entire lower half of his right leg was missing. He was flanked on his left by a second soldier missing his left arm, and on his right by a third soldier with a bandage over his left eye and bandages covering the remains of his right hand.

"This is a little clipping I took from the East Area newspaper," Night explained. "It was for the second anniversary of the conclusion of the Ishvalan rebellion." She replaced the clipping back in its spot in the album. "So many people lost limbs, eyes, and other body parts to explosions, bullets, knives (Knoves?), and accidents."

Roy looked around carefully, scanning the area for signs of hidden enemies. The air was stale and dry, laced with the scent of death. Everything appeared to be in order. His "cleanup" assignment- to pull back stragglers and tie up any loose ends- was going well so far. He motioned silently for his men to follow his lead as he snuck through the quiet ruins.

One wrong step was all it took to reverse the situation. The ground trembled. Roy looked down.

Shit! he thought. A thin fiber stretched tightly across the front of his ankle. Too late, he remembered the chilling words of his superior: 'Some of our fellow soldiers turned against us. Be on the lookout for traps and ambushes.'

Before he even had time to move, a powerful explosion ripped through the empty streets. Behind him, men screamed in fear, surprise, and pain. Roy couldn't even hear himself cry out as a massive chunk of rubble, loosened by the explosion, crashed down and snapped his lower right leg clean in half. His body was numb to the pain as the lower part of the limb tore away. He desperately looked around. All he saw was death. And a virtual avalanche of rubble and dismembered human body parts.

Across the ruined village, the same explosion rocked the crumbling buildings and statues. Maes' own squad to the north felt the full force of a complex web of booby-traps that littered the entire sector. A powerful tremor sent him slamming painfully into a cracked wall, causing a hail of rubble to pelt his head and shoulders as his men tried desperately to flee the chaos surrounding them. At the same time, Gran and Night's respective squadrons were caught in the chaos and terror. To the west, Gran's men fell victim, en masse, to rifts and pits torn open by the explosion. Gran himself suffered a broken shoulder and a concussion. To the east, a falling section of roof struck Night's face, ripping the lids of her left eye apart and leaving a deep gash down the left side of her face. A number of her soldiers were crushed to death as the roof caved in upon them and the walls toppled.

It should be known that, at this moment, Kimblee was cackling like a madman at the sounds of the explosions and the accompanying destruction.

A couple of Roy's least-injured men grabbed him and dragged him from the crumbling building. He looked in wide-eyed fear and shock at his right leg. His brain couldn't register that there was nothing from three inches below the knee down. The entire lower leg had been completely severed, and the wound bled profusely. On the opposite side of the village, Maes was limping, supported by a pair of unharmed (and very lucky) soldiers, away from the wall he'd been thrown against. Meanwhile, Gran- though dazed and in great pain- was busy pulling his surviving men from their deaths amid the fissures and falling debris. Night stumbled from the pile of stone, mortar, and bricks half her squadron had been unceremoniously buried under. She hazily scratched out a transmutation circle to lift the wreckage in order to retrieve any surviving soldiers from the mess.

Shockwaves continued to rock the village. Structures collapsed and rifts split the ground under the fleeing soldiers' feet. Roy and Maes' young, inexperienced minds barely held out as more and more of their fellows were either crushed under tumbling walls or swallowed up by the earth in the mad rush to reach the outskirts of the village.

Night stared plainly back at the gaping hole in the middle of the desert that had once been a beautiful, bustling village of Ishval. Her scarred and worn face betrayed none of her thoughts as she watched the explosion die out and the remains of the once-thriving village disappear into the very mouth of Hell itself. From his position, Gran too watched the horrendous scene come to a literally earth-shaking conclusion. His eyes were half-lidded, his expression blank. He mused silently to himself how truly frightening this game called "war" is. At the same time, Maes was trying to clear his aching head, while Roy's men to the south frantically worked to staunch the Flame Alchemist's bleeding before he lost his life.

Roy absent-mindedly gripped his right knee, feeling where the Agrician auto-mail met the stump of his leg. "It was… a terrible war. So many lives were lost. So many families torn apart. So many people ruined."

Falman silently watched his superior's expression until a brightly-colored drawing in the album caught his eye. He picked it up and examined it. "Sir, what's this?" He showed the drawing to Night. The dragon smiled fondly at it.

"That's a family portrait drawn by my youngest, Star. She didn't really know me back then- I was rarely granted enough free time to visit my family in Agricia. She drew that using photographs as references." She pointed to each face and named them in turn. "That's the hubby Loki, our eldest boy Sun, his brother Moon, my little boy Eclipse, the baby girl Star, and me. She actually had this mailed to me out here."

"You lookin' forward to seein' 'em again, Sir?" Breda asked with a cheerful grin.

"Of course. It's been about two years now since I saw them last." She closed her eyes and smiled, humming.

"Momma, you're back!"

Night crouched and held her arms wide, scooping up the little yellow-orange whelp with a laugh. "Oh, hello, my little Star! It's so good to see you again!" She nuzzled her daughter's cheek. "Have you been a good girl and looked after your brothers?"

"Yep! Sun, Moon, and Eclipse were all good boys while you were away!" Star's silver-gray hair fell over her sparkling dark blue eyes. She giggled as Night brushed the unruly locks away. "Hee hee! Momma! I'm so happy you're back!"

"Momma!" The black, red-haired blur that was Eclipse bolted over and the dragonling threw his arms around his mother. His dark red eyes were closed tight and tears of happiness leaked from between the scrunched lids. "Welcome home, Momma!"

In an instant, Moon's silver-gray body was pressed warmly against Night's. The middle son's long, wild white hair was tied behind his head to keep it from getting in his silver eyes. The gold-yellow form of Sun was not far behind his brother. His dark gold eyes glistened with tears behind flowing strands of gold hair as he embraced his much-missed dam. Standing a few yards behind Sun was Loki. His blue-green scales were worn, his curved gray horns dull and notched, and his long dark brown hair was ragged and disheveled, but his bright green eyes glowed lovingly behind his wispy bangs. He chuckled and spread his wings, surrounding his family with their green-webbed span.

Night blinked the tears from her eyes. She laughed happily. "It's so good to be home again. I've missed you all so much."

"Momma?" Moon looked up at his mother, a question burning in his eyes. "How long are you gonna stay this time?"

Night sighed and set Star on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her second-born's shoulders. "I wish I could say. I don't know when I'll be called back, or how long I'll be away next. I don't even know if I'll ever come home to stay." She put a hand on his cheek and looked him directly in the eye. "But always remember that I love you, and that I'll always be here with you, no matter what." She placed her other hand over Moon's heart. "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be. You remember that story? (It's a cute children's story called "Love You Forever" that I grew up with.)" Moon nodded tearfully. "Just keep those words in your mind, and I'll always be here in your heart."

Moon nodded, sniffling. Star hugged her brother's leg. "Don't worry Moon! Momma's out there helping people who need her! Right Momma?"

"That's right, my dear. The people of Amestris need one of my talents."

"But isn't it dangerous?" Sun inquired. "Don't you get scared, Momma? Even you get scared sometimes, right?"

"Of course it's dangerous, and that's just why they need me. I can't afford to get scared, not when I am responsible for others' lives. If I get scared and run away, who will lead the soldiers to protect their families? That's why I'm out there: to lead and protect."

"And you do it very well," Loki purred, nuzzling Night's cheek. "Your Momma stays true to her job as a protector and leader."

Night shrugged with a small grin. "Someone's gotta do it. Might as well be me."

Jean sighed. "I'd love to get outta here and go back home more often. Mom's been so worried since I returned to active duty. She calls me every night, just to say she loves me. Can't wait 'til I can actually hug her again."

There was a soft knock on the door just as Night turned the page of the photo album.

"Come in," Roy said, straightening up.

Ed and Al poked their heads through the door. "Hope we're not interrupting anything," Al said quietly as the brothers entered the room.

"Oh, not at all," Riza said, smiling. "We were just looking through some photographs the Admiral had taken over the years. Care to join us?"

Ed and Al glanced at each other before grinning and joining the senior officers at the table. Night had pulled the next photograph. It was a picture of herself and her older brother. Twilight's dark blue scales had been groomed until they sparkled, and his silver eyes gleamed from beneath his short white hair. He was grinning broadly. Night was in uniform, her long black hair tied back in a ponytail, her dark blue left eye bright and alive, while her pale right eye rested dully behind slightly-drooped lids. As usual. Night was also grinning broadly.

"This was taken on Twi's fifty-first birthday, six years ago," Night chuckled. "He was so happy to see me. His mate Velocity took the picture."

"Oh dear," Breda muttered, "here she goes about the brother again…"

Jean elbowed Breda sharply in the ribs, shooting his friend a warning glare to be quiet while the Admiral spoke, or face the wrath of her chimaeras.

"We hadn't seen each other much since he moved to the West Area following me around. He's just like my shadow. It was the opposite when we were dragonlings. I'd follow him everywhere. Heh, now look at us. He and Vel jump from house to house just to be near me. I keep telling them they don't have to keep so close to me, that they should move back home to Agricia, where it's safe. But Twi never listened to me."

Night padded off the train and looked around. A familiar pair of silver eyes caught her attention.

"I told you, you don't have to keep chasing me!"

She laughed and ran to embrace her older brother.

"Since when have I ever taken orders from a subordinate?" Twilight joked. (At this point, Twilight was a Rear Admiral in the upper half of the Agrician Navy. Night was a Rear Admiral in the lower half- one rank below Twilight.) He tussled Night's hair.

"I'm glad to see you again, Twi."

"I'm glad to see you again too, Night. Here, let me take your bags."

"Oh, thanks." Night let Twilight carry her suitcases to the car he and Velocity had driven to the train station. "Oh, hello Velocity!"

"Night! It's good to see you again!" The red-scaled drake's brown hair was done up in a thick braid that hung around her shoulder. Her light green eyes sparkled as she embraced her sister-in-law. "How have you been?"

Night chuckled and shrugged. "Eh, I've been better. So, where are the two of you staying this time? Not in another old apartment, I hope!"

Velocity giggled. "Oh, no, we're staying at a motel until we can find a place to rent."

"You'd better have a lot of money on you. Rent in Central is costly." An idea struck Night. "I know! Why don't you two stay at my place? There's plenty of room, and I'd be happy to have the company. And you can stay until you find a place within your budget."

Twilight exchanged a quick glance with his mate, then nodded at his sister. "Alright, we'll move in with you for now. It's a lot better than paying by the night at a cheap motel. I'd take a soldier's quarters any day."

Night elbowed her brother. "You are a soldier, silly!"

"You're really close to your brother, huh Sir?" Kain asked, handing the photo back to Night.

The dragon smiled and nodded. "He's my only brother. I have to look after him, even though he's almost four years older than me!" She laughed. "Oh, here's a good one!" She pulled a faded color photograph from its sleeve and held it up.

Roy laughed. "Never thought I'd see Fullmetal sleeping on the job!" He was referring to the photograph, of course, which showed Ed in his iconic red coat, fast asleep at a desk covered in research notes and alchemy books. A pen was still clutched in his left hand. (I think you all know the picture I'm talking about. And if not, look for it in one of the FMA art books. Actually, it's in volume one of the manga.) "Even I stay awake at the office!"

Ed snorted and looked away indignantly, denying the general the satisfaction of an angry response. Al chuckled and patted his brother's shoulder to calm him.

"I remember that," he said. "Brother had spent the whole night studying."

Night stared silently at her pocket watch. The black seconds hand rhythmically jumped from dot to dot on its course around the circle. The quiet tick-tock of the passing time seemed to have lulled her into a trancelike state.

Al sat on the bench next to her. "You've been staring at that watch for a while."

Night looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "The restaurant's closing soon. Are you hungry Alphonse? We can get breakfast."

"I'm a suit of armor, remember?"

Night looked back at the watch. "That's right. I forgot." There was a long silence. "Your brother's been holed up in the research room for nine hours now. Should we check on him? He's probably hungry and thirsty."

Al shrugged, his metal joints clanking as he did so. "He said he wanted to work alone."

"I know, but the human body has its needs." There was another long silence, the only sound being the faint tick-tock of Night's watch. The quiet lull went on for several minutes. Finally, closing her watch, she stood and stretched her stiff legs. "I'm going to check on your brother."

"Okay." Al stood as well and followed Night to the research room.

Night rapped softly on the door. "Edward? How are you doing?" There was no response. "Edward?" Still no answer. "We're coming in, okay?" She slowly opened the door and stuck her head in the room. A quiet laugh escaped her.

There at the desk sat Ed, hunched over and asleep. He still held the pen and looked as though he had fallen asleep mid-sentence. Night motioned for Al to be as quiet as possible. The two slowly approached the sleeping teen.

"Looks like he wore himself out," Al whispered.

Night smiled and took her camera out of her satchel. The telltale click of the shutter didn't disturb the golden-eyed alchemist. Night slipped her camera back into the satchel. "He sleeps like a hibernating bear. He's so cute." She gently brushed a lock of hair from Ed's face; he exhaled audibly, but otherwise didn't react. "He reminds me of a little kid."

"I hope he's too sound asleep to hear that," Al squeaked quietly. "Brother would throw a fit if he heard you compare him to a little kid."

Night chuckled. "I know, I know. Even so, he does look childish and fragile when he sleeps, doesn't he? I mean, just look at him. He's so cute!"

"She kept calling you cute, Brother!"

Ed's cheeks went slightly pink. "W-Whatever!"

"Just look at the photograph," Roy urged, shoving it in Ed's face. "You look like a little kid!"

Ed snatched the offending object and took a long look at it. "Hey, you're right!"

Roy practically fainted. 'That wasn't the response I wanted!'

Night laughed. "That was exactly how I described you at the time! Al was glad you were asleep and didn't hear me compare you to a little kid!"

If it had been six years ago, Ed would have flipped out and accused everyone of calling him small. But now he merely chuckled and gave the photograph back to Night. ("We know you're heeeere Poppit!") "I can't believe I didn't even move when you took the picture!"

"I said you slept like a hibernating bear. You were really out of it." Night pulled out the next photograph and looked at it fondly. "This one's another of my personal favorites. I take a copy of it wherever I go." She held up the photo for everyone to see. It was a picture of Maes and Roy in their uniforms. Maes was grinning and tipping his cap. Next to him, Roy's face held his usual scowl, and he held his cap to his side. The two appeared to be complete opposites.

"I don't remember that one," Roy muttered, looking at the photo thoughtfully.

"I do." Night set the picture on the table. "I took it when Maes was out east for the annual training. He was Bradley's escort. Ring any bells?"

"Yo, Roy!" Maes waved his cap in the air, grinning.

"Hughes!" Roy's eyes widened slightly when he saw his friend. "I didn't expect to see you of all people here."

Maes set his cap on his head with a chuckle. "Yeah, well, I'm here as an escort for the President. So you're stuck having me around until this is over."

"Ooh! Photo-op!"

"WAAHAH!"

Maes and Roy spun around and came face-to-lens with Night's camera. The dragon's fangs were bared fully in a broad grin. "May I? Pleeease?" There was no point in arguing, since she could just order them to let her take a picture. Maes laughed and Roy scowled. Night giggled. "You two are almost exact opposites, but you could pass for brothers!" The camera's shutter clicked. "I'll be sure to give you a copy, Maes," Night promised.

"Can't say I don't look forward to it!" the soldier laughed in return. "C'mon, Roy, let's get to the training grounds. I can't wait to see how the northern troops work away from the snow!" Cackling, he dragged his protesting friend by the sleeve through the crowd.

Night waved after them. "Maes, you're a kidnapper, you know that?"

"Oh, now I remember! That was eight years ago, wasn't it?"

"Thereabouts." Night replaced the photo and turned the page. "Oh, here's a good one!" She pulled out an image of her standing beside Olivier, Miles, and Buccaneer. "It was nice of Olivier to stand and take a picture with us." She sighed. "And it seems like yesterday Miles came to us from Ishval…"

Night stood on the platform as the train pulled into the station. Brigadier General Armstrong had asked her to escort someone. Night was in the area anyway, so she didn't object. She was headed to Briggs to inspect the fortress, and the station was on her way. She craned her neck to see over the throng of passengers exiting the train.

'She told me he has white hair,' Night thought to herself, remembering Olivier's description of the man she was to escort to Briggs. 'White hair, dark glasses, and tanned skin. Hmm, sounds a little bit like an Ishvalan. Not that I care.'

As the crowd dispersed, Night saw a young man sitting alone on a bench in the shadows. A young man with white hair, dark glasses, and tanned skin.

"You there!" Night called. The young man looked up, a little startled. "Is your name Nylas Miles?" He nodded. "Good. Come with me, please. I'm here to escort you." She led the man outside. A warm breeze blew. "You came here at the right time of year. It's barely summer, so it's warmer and there's less snow. You're Ishvalan, aren't you?"

"Um… Yes… My grandfather was Ishvalan…"

"Well, then. Let's see a smile, huh? You'll receive a warm welcome at Briggs. Trust me, they'll love to have you."

"Are you sure? Last time I checked, being Ishvalan meant you were to be sent to an internment camp where the army can keep an eye on you."

Night sighed and held the car door open. "Just shut up and get in the car." She settled herself into the driver's seat and turned the ignition. "It's not every day you see an Ishvalan out of the internment camps. Your apprehension is understandable. I felt the same way when I first came to this country." She grinned and chuckled. "You and I come from different backgrounds, but we share the same fate. It's kinda funny, wouldn't you agree, Nylas?"

"Huh? Oh, um… Yes, I suppose."

"Not much for conversation, are we?" Night pouted a little. "We're almost there. D'you see the wall? That's Fort Briggs, the Northern Fortress. That's the barricade that separates Amestris from the northern country of Drachma."

Miles looked nervously at the growing shadow of Fort Briggs. "It sure is big…"

"You don't need to be nervous, Nylas. The people there are tough, but they'll treat you as one of their own. They don't see the color of one's skin or eyes, or whether you're male or female. They see others as human. You're only human. Nothing more, nothing less, just human. You'll be one of them before you know it. And you didn't know you were until just now, I bet."

"Um, what?"

"I said, you're already one of the Briggs crew. You were the moment you got on that train to come up here." Night grinned again. "Look, they're already greeting you!"

Sure enough, men were lined up on either side of the road, cheering and applauding as Night drove past. Miles was a little shocked, but he was mostly very confused. "What's going on?"

"They're welcoming a brother home. You'll fit in just fine here. This is where all the outcasts go. The rejects of society, the socially unaccepted. Here at Briggs, there is but one entity: Fort Briggs. Trust me, having an Ishvalan around won't bother them in the least." Night parked the car, got out, and opened the door for Miles.

The cheering hushed as Brigadier General Armstrong approached, sword sheathed but at the ready. She saluted night. "Good afternoon, General Forbidden Sir!"

Night saluted in return. "Good afternoon to you too, Brigadier General Armstrong. One Nylas Miles, just as you asked."

"So, you're Nylas Miles?" Olivier's voice was cold, but her face betrayed no emotion.

Miles gulped and stood straight and stiff (Yay! More alliteration!) and saluted. "Y-Yes, Sir!" Beads of sweat formed on his brow.

Olivier nodded. "At ease. And don't be so tense. You'll soon grow accustomed to the way things are done at Briggs." Her eyes narrowed. "Here at Briggs, we have but one law, and that's-…"

"Survival of the fittest!" Night burst in, grinning.

Olivier cast her an icy glare.

"What? Should I have said, 'Don't let your guard down, or you'll be eaten?'"

Olivier sighed.

"Heh, you let your guard down!"

Night ducked her head just in time to avoid Olivier's sheathed sword swishing over her. She straightened back up only to be clocked in the face with a boot (LOL! Boot to the head! XD). "Now who let her guard down?"

Night shot out a foreleg and grasped Olivier's bootless ankle, pulling her legs from under her and sending her sprawling in the dirt. "You did, Liv! Ha-hah! Whoa- oh crud!" She drew her head back to avoid Olivier's fist.

Miles stared dumbfounded at the two high-ranking officers brawling in front of him. One of the Briggs men laughed and put a welcoming hand on Miles's shoulder. "They do this all the time. It's a ritual for them." He ended up with a clod of dirt in his face.

"WE HEARD THAT!"

"That was a pretty fun day." Night giggled. "Bobby took the picture. He also took this one." She pointed to a photo of the beautiful view from atop Fort Briggs in the summertime. "He's a bit of a photography enthusiast himself. Well, that about does it for this album. I've got a couple more at home if y'all wanna see 'em tomorrow maybe."

"Sure!" "Yeah!" "Sounds like fun!" "Oh, please do!" "I'm up for it!" "I'd love to see more of your photos!" "Sounds good to me!" "I can't wait!"

Night smiled. "Sounds like a plan." She closed the album and replaced it on the bookshelf. "And screw the paperwork!"

Well, that was fun. And long. Here's a question for everyone: Should I continue? I would love your input and suggestions, as well as comments on how I can improve this and my other and future fics. Your voices are all very much appreciated!