Title: The Heart of Everything: The Song of the Forge Volume 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Summary: When whispers of a Rebellion sweeps across Amestris and a failed assassination reveals a terrifying plot against the State, Brigadier-General Edward Elric and Colonel Alphonse Elric are dispatched with orders to stop the rebels at all costs. The only problem is that the rebels have traveled twelve years into the past.

A Note from the Beta, FleetInquisitorSaraiyu: For those who weren't aware, MiyakonoShinkohana does actually have a beta for her stories, not that I have much work too do besides serving as walking thesaurus and an imagination to bounce plot bunnies off of. However, I have once again proven to Miyako why it's a good idea to have a beta by pointing out a rather important discrepancy in the relationship between the Lt. General Mustang and B.G. Elric in the transition between chapters three and four, therefore rendering a series of scenes incompatible with the current storyline. Because of this, Chapter Four has been revised. As a result, rather than having an established RoyEd romance already underway as Miyako originally intended, we will be taking the time to build up the relationships on both sides of the gate, and that in particular is going to be a challenge.

Chapter 5

Maes froze as he approached the office and heard voices coming from behind his longtime friend's door as well as the telltale sound of papers rustling. Then a familiar voice rose in exasperation.

"Of all the damn fool things I've known you to do, Fullmetal, this is the most ridiculous by far! How in the hell do you intend for an impulsive sixteen year old boy who, even after fourteen years looses his temper when his height is brought up--!"

And another familiar voice rose in protest.

"With all due respect sir! I think I would know how to make myself listen to reason!"

"No! You have never listened to reason, not even when you knew that I was trying to help you! We both know how similar we are to each other; do you honestly think that your younger self won't see it either? I've all but raised you and Al since you were eleven and ten respectively, and I've seen you both in a hospital bed more times than I'd like since the Drachma campaigns and even before them, I won't let you pull a stunt that could well end your existence!"

"Scar couldn't kill me, the Homunculus couldn't kill me, Bradley put a kill on sight order on me when I was sixteen, and here I am, still alive! I think Ed can take care of himself!"

Maes sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. Why the hell would the Fuhrer put such an order on Ed?

Mustang's voice became gentle. "You survived the last one because I let you go. If I'd done as I was told, you wouldn't be here today."

Maes found that he couldn't breathe. Roy had been sent to kill Ed? The same Ed that Roy was so fond of that he couldn't make rational decisions when it came to him? How had he borne it?

"That is exactly why I think Ed can do this," Edward's voice softened as well. "You've always protected us; don't you think that Al and I didn't go out of our way to take care of you as well?"

Maes found himself feeling warm and fuzzy inside as Ed's words sank in. He'd known that the Elrics did appreciate Roy's efforts on their behalf, even if it was usually Al who openly showed it and Ed seemed to just slap Roy in the face every time the Flame bent over backwards for them. So Ed actually went to some effort for Roy? Well, he'd have to dig deeper if he missed something like that. Roy would probably feel better about what he put the boys through if he had some idea of what they might be doing for him.

"I want to know that he'll survive to be a subordinate I can be proud of. A General in his own right. Someone that I can trust to continue my work if I don't make it."

"I have never failed you before, have I?"

"You went missing for a year. We actually gave you a Military Funeral with full honors and a promotion. I don't think I was ever more disappointed in my life."

"It won't happen again. I won't let it."

"And if you fail, what then?"

"We won't fail."

"Dammit, Ed!"

"Please, General. I'm not sixteen years old anymore."

"Twenty-seven at the end of the month. I don't think it's much better, Brigadier."

"Speak for yourself, old man."

"If I'm old at forty-one, what does that make Maes?" a teasing lilt had returned to Mustang's voice.

"A man a decade your elder, sir? One word. Ancient," was Edward's cheeky reply.

Maes swallowed back a reflexive cry of protest and forced himself to walk away. Really, this was getting much too personal. As he navigated the hallways back toward his own office, the green eyed officer wondered if he'd be able to look the two older officers in the eye later on in the future.

~*~

Once the retreating boot steps had faded, Edward rolled his eyes. "Now that Lt. Colonel Hughes is no longer eavesdropping, can we stop being juvenile already?"

"You need to loosen up once in a while, Fullmetal," Mustang frowned at the younger man, "I've seen you on long term missions. If you find yourself with down time, find someone to shack up with."

Edward glared, "With all due respect, sir, I'm not you."

"I'm not saying that," Mustang ran his hand through his hair in irritation. The blonde might have matured because of Drachma, but it didn't mean that dealing with him was any easier. One day Edward would be the very model of a perfect soldier and the next he'd be just as snarky as when he'd been sixteen though a lot less angry and with a cleaner vocabulary. It was nearly impossible to predict the man. "I'm just saying that you need to not focus so hard. Try and relax, your brother and staff are worried about you, you know. Almost a third of those reports include how you're acting like you're sixteen and not a soldier just off the warfront. You need rest, Fullmetal."

"When our country teeters on the brink of disaster because of a madman who was followed by a fool that was replaced too late?" Edward's voice was hard.

"Have I been talking to myself for all of these years? You can't get anything done if you're too tired to concentrate."

"With all due respect—"

Edward fell silent as Mustang left his position behind the desk he'd sat at in his younger years and grabbed Edward's chin, tilting his face up as he leaned down to look into a fierce tawny gaze. He studied the sharp angles of the blonde's face, and remembered when at one point; Edward's face had been round with childhood and he'd have had to kneel to look Ed in the eye like this. Really, the more things changed…

"No, Edward," he said firmly, "You are going to take a break. I've already made the arrangements. I know a young lady who is more than happy to help me get my best subordinate to relax. You are going to cross that Gate and let Havoc take you shopping, and tonight, you are going on a date, and you will enjoy it. That's an order, understand?"

The tension suddenly bled out of Edward's shoulders and Mustang stepped back and placed his hands on the younger general's shoulders.

"You always know what to do to keep me out of trouble don't you?"

"Of course I do," Mustang smiled, "If I didn't know how to control you after fourteen years, then I'm not much of a superior officer to you."

Edward sighed. "Fine. I'll speak with my staff."

"Wonderful!" Mustang stepped back. "And I'll take over young Ed's lessons for tomorrow just before your own assessments."

"I pity the child," was Edward's wry reply. "My experiences with you on the Drachman fields were bad, but in peacetime? My mentality will never be the same."

Mustang glowered, "My lessons kept you alive on that field, Fullmetal."

"After irreversibly traumatizing me."

"And yet you survived. Be grateful!"

"Ends and Means. I know. And I am grateful," Edward's face was solemn as he wandered to the window and looked over the damaged parade ground, picking out his younger self and the younger Mustang out of the mass of scurrying soldiers. "And when Drachma comes around, so will he, but it doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."

Mustang nodded, "Very well," he retook his seat behind the desk, "In the meantime, I do believe your report is incomplete, Brigadier General."

Edward's back straightened and his shoulders settled into a classic military posture and his face was impassive and emotionless as he turned the mask of a Military Dog toward his commanding officer.

"Yes sir. The enemy's movements thus far have been subtle, and we have resorted to requisitioning several intelligence specialists to track them. Even so, we are still having trouble determining the exact numbers that have initially passed through the Gate…"

~*~

Roy Mustang and his staff entered their office and blinked in surprise to see the older, one eyed Flame Alchemist sitting behind his desk while the older version of Edward stood a little behind and to his left, a stack of files tucked under his arm as he handed a sheaf of papers to the Lieutenant General.

"…General Stadt has requisitioned three hundred new rifles for the armory in Southern Headquarters as well as ten of the prototype semi-automatic firearms for field testing purposes," the Brigadier General was saying. "General Hammond does not believe the request for the semi-automatics is reasonable, and General St. Clare is inclined to agree. They require only two more signatures to overturn the requisition, and should General Mustang be inclined to share their opinion, then it is likely that Generals Hammond and St. Clare will be inclined to appreciate it."

"And you, Ed?"

"With respect," the older Fullmetal said, "I am inclined to agree. The situation with Creta is liable to erupt at anytime. The late Fuhrer Hakuro has already drained the State Treasury and Armory with war against Drachma. We cannot afford to make any displays that could potentially lead to war over a misunderstanding. We simply do not have enough resources to fund and supply a conflict of any sort."

Mustang smirked, "You're learning, Ed."

"With respect," the blonde said, "I learned from the best. Now if you're going to sign that thing, Mustang, be quick about it. The petition is due by eight."

"And if I put it off?"

A knife suddenly hit the desk, shaking from the impact, and the older Flame jerked his hands away as the blade ripped his gloves.

"Shit, Ed!" he yelped, "Damn Hughes for teaching you how to handle those things and I will be making sure my younger self knows not to let you be in prolonged contact with Hawkeye for any reason! That's the third pair today!"

"Huh," Roy murmured, "Not only does the shrimp learn to be a proper soldier, but he turns into a miniature Hawkeye too?"

He blanched as a knife flew past his face and several strands of dark hair drifted to the ground.

"What was that, Mustang?" furious tawny eyes bored into startled onyx. "Just who the hell do you think you're calling short?"

"Fourteen years, and you still fall for that?!" Havoc gasped.

"Only when he's irritated and being forced into something that should theoretically help him relax," the Major General chuckled as he signed the paper with a flourish. "There, done. Remember, Ed, ladies first."

Edward snatched the paper off the desk and scowled. "Go fuck yourself, Mustang," he snarled and stalked across the office and through the Gate.

The Lieutenant General laughed, "I believe that would be akin to incest, Fullmetal!"

Edward pulled open the office door on the other side of the Gate and snarled over his shoulder, "I will pretend I did not just hear you say that, pervert!" and slammed the door behind him as he left.

Mustang shook his head as he rose from his one time seat. "Ah, that boy will never change…" He fixed his sole functioning eye on Ed, and smirked. "Major Elric, the Brigadier General Elric has left me in charge of your lessons this time, but as I have a date, ask your Colonel about coping mechanisms on the battlefield. You have less than a year before war breaks out, and with this most recent assessment, you just renewed your contract for another four years, Major." He paused and added, 'And might I recommend that Lieutenant Colonel Hughes be present during those lessons?

When the Lieutenant General Mustang left the office he had occupied when he had been a Colonel, the expressions on the faces of the younger versions of himself and his staff were a mixture of fear, anger, shock and horror. And unsurprisingly, resignation on Ed Elric's face. It seemed that Edward had been doing just more than pushing for his younger self to think before he acted and to use more than sheer brute force to get what he wanted.

~*~

TBC…