"The Brothers are in town?"
"That's right, Graves."
Clara sighed and leaned back in her chair. "That's nice. How long have they been here and what are they doing?"
"Staying cooped up in the library reading some code." Viola reported.
"That's nice. Wake me up when something important happens."
As if on cue, the phone rang.
With a hefty sigh, Clara picked it up. "Graves' office." A pause. "What do you want, Hughes?" Another pause, longer than the first. "Yes, I am aware of that. Melton just informed me." A short pause. "That's nice, Hughes." A long pause. Long enough that the General started to doze off. She jolted awake. "Hm? Yes, I'm listening." Another short pause. "Let me know if they find anything, Hughes." She hung up, rubbing her temples.
"That good, huh?" Viola asked.
Clara grunted and stood up. "If you need me, I'm taking my nap."
"General, you promised half as many naps, and half the time spent asleep, until we caught Scar." Viola barely glanced at her superior.
Clara groaned and sat back down. "Then what do you want me to do, Commander?" she scoffed.
"It would be a good idea to offer help to the Brothers, General."
"Nope. They can figure everything out on their own. They're smart boys."
"Did you say that Edward Elric, the short-tempered Fullmetal Alchemist, is smart?"
"When he's not getting angry about the lack of height he was given, yes. Besides, able to do Human Transmutation ... Even I couldn't do it at ... how old was I when the war ended?"
"Twenty four, sir."
"Yes, twenty four. And I joined the military four years before that ... No wonder my parents disowned me. I was a complete idiot back then."
"You still are."
"And you're how many years younger than me?"
"I'm a year older than you, sir."
"Huh. Didn't know that."
"Are you going to continue on with this mindless nonsense or actually do something about this paperwork and lack thereof?"
Clara shook her head, a grin on her face. "Nope. Not a single strand of hair lifted to do anything about that."
"General, I think you're going to find this interesting." Drew gave the General a piece of paper.
"A mysteriously large amount of money withdrawn, huh? That should go to Mustang, at the very least. Why are you showing me this?" Clara yawned.
Viola sighed. "General, that's because there's only one reason why: They found a strong clue about the Stone."
"I told you: Not my department or problem." Clara put her head on the desk. "Now, I do believe I need a little more sleep."
"Tickle torture?" Aiden asked excitedly.
Viola nodded. "Tickle Torture."
Clara bolted up. "On second thought, I do believe I should go pay them a visit!" With that, she nearly ran out the door.
"I know I told them I was going to pay them a visit, but he's there. And I know things between us aren't the best right now ... Man, why did they have to go and try to have an arranged marriage? It's not like I can't choose the right guy for myself!"
Clara was leaning against the back of the hotel the Brothers were at. "Ugh ... Parents of rich families are annoying. Especially when-"
A long strip of cloth fluttered down next to her. "On second thought, better hide."
She slid around the corner and peeked out. "Oh, good. So they're going out. Maybe now I can stop-"
"To Lab 5!" Edward hissed to his brother.
Clara's face fell as she continued, "not worrying about them and make sure they live. Maybe I should alert the MPs ..."
She grinned to herself. "Or I could let them figure everything out themselves and let the boys have some fun. But I should follow, just in case they need their asses saved."
Always playing the hero, aren't you?
Clara laughed. "Good one, Vi. But no. After all, they want them alive. Particularly Fullmetal. See ya!" She ran after the boys.
Taking the hidden passage through the sewers, the General slowed down as she neared the Lab. I should have stayed in my office. Then I could at least have fallen asleep there ...She sighed as the thought crossed her mind.
The State Alchemist stood there, weighing her options. She could either go up and warn the brothers of the armor guards, or she could watch the fight.
Watch the fight. If it looks like something bad will happen, just let me take over and I'll stop the whole thing. Easy as breathing.
Clara groaned, stopping in the tunnel. You know I refuse to let you do that. I thought killing thousands of innocent people would get you to shut up.
"Sir!"
Clara looked up at the two soldiers. "At ease. I'm just passing by." She waved a dismissive hand, the other covering a yawn. "What are you two doing out here?"
"Going after the Fullmetal Alchemist, sir!"
"That's ni- ... Wait. The Fullmetal Alchemist? As in the runt with his armored brother Fullmetal Alchemist?" Clara blinked a few times, acting as if she were figuring it out. "All right. Fine. I'll go with you and provide ... ah, alchemical support. Yes. Alchemical support." With this, she let out a cackle of a laugh and raced toward the building.
Ross and Brosh shared worried glances. "Did she just do what I think she did?" Brosh asked.
"It's best not to ask questions about the General." Ross sighed and followed the Thunderous Alchemist.
What greeted them was a sight neither of them expected. Not only was the General mysteriously missing, Alphonse was trying to hold his own against another guy, who happened to act a lot like-
Ross fired her gun, suprising the clever-wielding armor.
"Ooooh! Good aim there, Ross!" Graves' head came out from behind the doorway. "I'll go see if I can't find the poor kid. See ya!"
A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating! Well, I kinda am and kinda not. I haven't gotten a review in a while, which leads me to think that nobody likes my story ... Which makes me depressed ... and go to work on another story ...
So please, review! Or pm me! Or something! Puh-lease! T~T
(Part of why I didn't update sooner was because I rewrote half of it because it didn't go like I wanted it to, and I had to replace the hard drive on my laptop, and typing on a Wii U isn't as easy as a laptop ... And then I forgot to post it until three weeks after I completed it ...)