Culminations

Chapter Seven – Disagreements and Compromises

Note: This story will contain spoilers for manga Volume 18.

Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) belongs to Arakawa Hiromu while Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

A/N: I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I? :(

Please read the note at the end of the chapter.

Ed's head was recovering nicely from the blow that Winry had dealt him and the Foreigners, as Ed had taken to calling them, had been at Briggs for precisely two days short of a week. Potter had been insufferable the entire time, even when making an effort to be amicable and Ed was seriously reconsidering his previous evaluations of Weasley's intelligence levels, but Granger had made it all bearable by being polite and honestly interested in the little bit of information he was able to provide them with.

Ed had, surprisingly enough, managed to find something to keep them occupied after the initial tour with a bit of help. Falman was a lifesaver, Ed decided. He really needed to thank the man the next chance he got. The alchemist cackled silently at the thought of Mustang loosing such a valuable resource to Major General Armstrong.

Now, with only two days left to fill, Ed had decided to take the Foreigners into the surrounding wilds…maybe Potter would get eaten by a bear and he'd be able to pass the "auror's" (Ed stumbled slightly over the strange word) death off as an accident. Of course, that was unlikely since he had managed to convince Kimblee and Major General Armstrong to let Al come along, claiming that his little brother would be of great help if they managed to encounter Scar. Unfortunately, this also meant that it would be terribly unconvincing if two seasoned alchemists claimed that a bear had made off with one of their charges, especially considering who their sensei was (if Izumi's stories were to be believed). Not to mention the fact that Al would never let him get away with causing their guests undue bodily harm.

Winry, too, had managed to worm her way into tagging along with them, using the excuse that she was extremely dedicated to her customers and Ed in particular. A few bats of her eyelashes and the determined set of her shoulders had sealed the deal.

Ed had mixed feelings about her presence, not minding it, of course (even if it occasionally evoked rather uncomfortable thoughts), but he still worried about her safety, despite the fact that both he and Al would willingly sacrifice themselves in her place at any time. It was, though, he mused, an improvement over having Kimblee hovering over her. He shuddered at the very thought.

Winry had been particularly vehement in her desire to accompany them after learning where they were headed. Major Miles, taking pity on Ed, suggested that he bring them to an old mining town a short distance away from Briggs. According to the Major, Scar had been sighted there earlier, but not since the blizzard a few days previously. The Ishvalan was said to have been seen in the company of the Rentanjutsu-bean-girl and one Dr. Tim Marcoh. If they came into contact with them, Miles had warned, they were to avoid conflict if at all possible. However, it would be best if they did not encounter Scar at all while they were with the Foreigners; having an avenging mass-murderer running unchecked around the country in the company of an illegal immigrant and an ex-military officer didn't look pretty on any resume.

Ed was currently stretched out on his bed, reviewing a map of the Briggs region while nursing a cup of the fort's horrendously over-priced and tasteless coffee. He scowled into the murky light brown liquid. He normally drank his coffee black, but the sheer disgustingness of it had forced him to reluctantly stir in some creamer and sugar. It was not much of an improvement.

The mine was a fair number of miles away and Kimblee had kindly (read: forcibly) offered to give them a ride. He had declined accompanying them himself, though; there was no need. After all, who would be crazy enough to attempt to brave the wilds Briggs even when desperate for freedom? Well, besides that one Drachman soldier from a while back, of course. But that woman? (the rumors varied) was an exception; the Elric brothers obviously would not attempt to escape, especially in the company of three foreigners and a girl.

Yeah, and if Kimblee honestly believed that, he was crazier than Ed originally thought. Ed was already planning Winry's (and possibly Al's, too) escape. Unfortunately, though, he wasn't having much luck. He needed to get them away from Kimblee, but he had to keep them safe nonetheless. Faking their deaths was out of the question, and so were any excuses that involved them being separated. Kimblee knew that Ed would die before he ever let anything of the sort happen.

So it was back to the drawing board. Perhaps he could pretend to fall into some random (courtesy of alchemy) pit, leaving Al and Winry clueless to his whereabouts. They would then wander away. Having obtained a grievous injury through his side from the fall, he would be forced to return directly to Briggs without searching for his two companions. He'd demand a search, but by then Al and Winry would be long gone.

Hah! Fat chance of that plan ever working out. First off, the likelihood of anything remotely similar ever occurring in real life was so slim, it would be viewed as a lie instantaneously. Secondly, he would actually have to get injured in order for it to work out. And lastly, even if the first to arguments were nullified, where would Al and Winry go? And what about those stupid Foreigners (who just had to make everything complicated).

He could always attempt the same plan with a minor reversal of roles, but nah…that would put Winry in danger (Al could take care of himself).

Maybe a blizzard would occur, separating them into three groups…Ed, the Foreigners, and Al and Winry. Ed would return to Briggs, Al and Winry would go…somewhere, and the Foreigners would…return wherever they came from? Nope, that relied too heavily on the weather.

The problems with all of Ed's plans were that he had failed to discover a destination to deport his escapees to, making them all utterly pointless. He did have a favorite scheme, though. It went like this:

Ed encounters bean-girl. Al distracts the foreigners. Ed talks to (read: threatens) bean-girl. Bean-girl attacks with her weird cat. Cat bites Potter to death. With his extreme height advantage, Ed manages to fight off bean-cat, but bean-girl has already made off with Al, Winry, and Potter's corpse. It is Ed's duty to return the two surviving Foreigners to Briggs. Ed also now knows how Xing manages to feed its voracious citizens and prevent its steadily mounting population from spiraling into uncontrollable numbers.

Unfortunately, this plan, like the others, also had its flaws.

Therefore, Ed decided to do what people have done for centuries when faced with an impossible situation.

Wing it.

The next day, Major Miles came to Ed with bad news. As soon as Ed left with the Foreigners, the Major General would be transferred back to Central and one of enemy would be put in her place.

"It would be sooner," the Major explained, "but Briggs cannot show as great a weakness as a change in command to our guests. The way it has been planned, they would leave without knowledge of the switch."

Ed had cursed under his breath. That limited his choices a bit. Nonetheless, he was determined to carry out his plans to go to the old mine. He obviously wasn't supposed to know about the approaching shift of powers, so any alteration on his part would only look suspicious.

Reluctantly, he slid into the car next to Potter. Due to the increased number of participants, two cars had been given to them for their usage. Ed, Potter, and Weasley were in the first, with Winry, Al, and Granger squeezed together in the second. Both the drivers were Kimblee's lackeys.

The ride was slow and bumpy. Snow still coated the ground from the blizzard a few days previous and the drivers took the road carefully to avoid any accidents on the slippery surface.

Potter and Weasley were talking softly in their oddly accented Amestrian, but Ed didn't bother even trying to eavesdrop. Instead, his thoughts raced as he struggled to think of a way out of their 'imprisonment.'

Despite his struggle to stay on topic, his mind had a tendency to wander. How were Winry and Al faring behind him? Winry had seemed to hit it off with Granger pretty well and Al got along with anyone and everyone. Were those three having some sort of deceptively carefree, laugh-filled conversation? Maybe a debate between alchemy and mechanics? Granger had seemed to be relatively well versed in both topics from an outsider's perspective, which was a great deal more than could be said about Potter and Weasley. She probably knew enough to participate in a discussion about them.

From there, his mind wandered to Lieutenant Hawkeye, locked in the clutches of the homunculus Wrath himself. How was she faring? And Ran Fan, who had gone back to Xing one arm short. Had she and her grandfather reached their destination safely? And of Ling…Greed. Was he still stalking Central?

The jolt of the car as they reached their destination shook Ed from his slightly depressing thoughts. They had arrived at the mine.

A/N: I would like to start off with a big apology for making you wait this long. I've had this chapter sitting on my hard drive for over a year, waiting to be finished. I have finally decided that it is not going to happen. Ever. My reasons why? I've completely lost all interest in HP, and I've dropped out of the FMA fandom. Also, you know how everyone has that "skeleton fic" in their closet? The one posted back when they were 12. For me, that's this one. It's been a long two years :)

ALSO! PENNAME CHANGE! In about a week, I'll be changing my penname to novella814 so that it fits with the rest of my internet pseudonyms.