February 13th, 1984

Shan Xian winced and forced his eyes open as he heard the crack of footsteps on the polished wood of the floor outside the door to his room; his prison really. He supposed he should be grateful that he had not been tossed in a cell when the Tiahuan soldiers stormed the palace and captured his family. The fighting had been fierce, frantic, and he even vaguely remembered his cousin Michio storming in from the street to try and help defend them, but Shan had been knocked unconscious in battle, and when he had awoken, he was chained hand and foot, with the ability to shuffle around the room in which he was kept -one of the interior soldier's quarters, a single room, well-appointed and not uncomfortable, but without a door onto any gardens. One entrance and exit, guarded by two well-armed men. Shan, unfortunately, was not an alchemist, and the room had immediately proved to be devoid of anything he could realistically use as a weapon.

The door opened, and Shan recognized the soldier who was carrying a tray which contained, he assumed, his breakfast. Shan bristled. He knew Chizan. They had trained together when Shan first joined the military. Chizan was only a little younger than he was, but he had been eager, worked hard, and proven to be one of the family's most loyal palace soldier guards.

Until now. Shan tried not to spit on Chizan's uniform as the tray was set down on the stand by his bed. Shan sat up, despite his shackles, refusing to be lying down with a potential threat in the room. It had been unimportant, until now, that Chizan was from Tiahuan. ::What do you want?::

::I bring your meal,:: Chizan replied stiffly. ::The sweet rice is particularly good this morning.::

Sweet rice, a favorite of Shan's. ::How can you do this, Chizan?:: Shan asked. It was the first time they had sent in someone he knew. It galled him in ways he had not expected. ::How can you betray us? How can you betray Meifen?:: Chizan had shown interest in Shan's little sister, and he knew his sister had recently begun to consider Chizan in another light. Their family had always been so much more flexible than most on relationships, that it had not seemed a problem. Not when Chizan was so highly honored and trustworthy.

Chizan cringed slightly at Shan's accusing tone, before he hid it again quickly. ::I am loyal to my family,:: he replied. ::I will not betray those I care for.::
Through the open door behind Chizan, Shan could see part of the backs of the heads, and shoulders, of the two guards at the door. They seemed to be listening. ::If Meifen could see you, she would be disgusted,:: he retorted. ::Why are the Tiahuan doing this?::

::Meifen cannot see me,:: Chizan replied, and now his expression looked sour. ::She is no longer anywhere near. The Tiahuan wish to return Xing to its former glory, to return to more traditional ways.::

::Using new projectile explosives with liquid fuel? How traditional.::

::Some progress is necessary in order to move in any direction,:: Chizan repeated the rhetoric that Shan had heard from several of his guards. Though the wording was slightly different. The others had focused on the fact that it was a temporary shift. This statement made it sound very permanent. Shan did not think anything was going to truly revert, not in any way that would benefit Xing.

::Who says that?::

::Teno Tiahuan,:: Chizan replied. ::The leader speaks, and the people follow. Eat your food. I must get back to more important duties.:: He turned and left without another word. The guards closed the door behind him.

Shan reached out with his shackled hands for the spoon that stuck upright in the bowl of sweet rice. It was a good hot cereal, and he could smell the almond milk in it, and see berries. It really was good. His favorite in fact. That told him that the kitchen workers, at least, were still alive. The palace servants were probably all right so long as they were cooperating and keeping their heads down. That was good. Shan did not want them hurt on anyone's account. He would find his own way out of this.

Besides which, Chizan had given him several interesting pieces of information to work with. Teno Tiahuan was a Tiahuan General, and a preeminent member of their Provincial council. Not normally in the Imperial City, the man had retired from the military ten years previously, though Shan had seen him when he was younger. An imposing figure; strict and traditional, but always loyal to Xing… apparently not so much so to its Emperor.

Shan expected that Teno was the man in the throne room, whether he planned to make himself Emperor or not. Shan got no news locked away without the rest of his family.

Though he now had some news. Meifen, and likely others, had been taken from the palace as captives. If they had been dead, Chizan would have just said so. Of that, Shan was fairly certain. He was good at telling when Chizan was telling the truth, or when the man was lying. He had not lied today.

Which made Shan wonder if he could trust Chizan or not. It was possible that he was still loyal to the Xian family, and not the Tiahuan family. But could Shan trust him? Could Shan use him to get more information, and possibly to escape?


::Retired General Teno Tiahuan has declared himself Emperor of Xing,:: Tao announced to the gathered group of Amestrian and Xingese military officers that were gathered around the table inside the command tent. His expression was bitter.

Franz felt a bitter twist in his stomach as well. Traitors were bad. Military traitors were, in his mind, possibly worse. Defending the Empire and then turning around and taking it over. ::Has he made any announcements regarding the status of the Emperor? Because it's treason unless Mao is dead.:: Not that there was much difference here between a coup d'etat and treason. The whole situation was wrong.

::Only that he has my brother in the palace,:: Tao replied grimly. ::Shan is alive and held captive. No word on the others besides the rumors of a convoy with captives heading for Tiahuan Province. We sent some men after them with a truck, but have not had any luck. They did not take the expected route.::

::Then it's time to move ahead with our plan,:: Franz said firmly, looking down at the map on the table, showing the location of their forces, as well as where the Tiahuan forces were in and around the city. He did not think Tao would hold off to protect his brother. If he wasn't dead yet, then there was a reason for it.
Tao nodded. ::We have to retake the city. If Shan is alive, both he and I have legitimate claim to the Imperial Throne before he does. He either has to quell the entire empire with fear, or kill us all.::

::Or convince you to abdicate,:: Ren commented. Franz knew that none of Ren's children held any claim to the throne. Part of the agreement, politically, of her marriage to Will had been that their children, while having citizenship in both countries, and recognized noble status within Xing, they had no claim at all to the throne, being half-Amestrian.

Right now, Franz thought that was a good thing. It meant they weren't out there head-hunting Michio and Minxia. It was possible they didn't know the two were in the country. A slim chance, but possible.

::That's not going to happen.:: Tao replied.

::Good,:: Cal Fischer spoke up. ::Then let's get set up for the first advance.::

Franz nodded. The first attack was going to be a little bit tricky. A feint, using alchemists primarily, but advancing like regular soldiers, to draw out the Tiahuan defenses and, hopefully, get an idea if their strategies for using alchemists against the rockets would be effective. It was a risky proposition but then, all of war was risky. ::Fischer, your unit will go with Xing Unit Four, and head around to the North. Closson, take your unit with Xing Unit Two, and go for the Southern gate.::

Cal and Tore nodded, and the two Xingese commanding officers of the named units nodded as well; Sring and Lios were both the equivalent of Brigadier Generals in the Xing army and experienced in battling small border insurrections. This would be a new concept, but given the number of experienced officers that the Tiahuan had targeted in their initial attack who were in the city, the less experienced had no choice but to step up and lead well. A siege was new for them.

::We will begin at oh-nine-hundred-hours,:: Tao agreed. ::Let us hope we can do some damage to their long-range capabilities, or it will be very difficult to retake the city.::

::But not impossible,:: General Quixong commented gruffly. The grizzled general was one of the most experienced military leaders in the room, and Franz had worked with him extensively to codify plans and make sure that their forces could work together. The Xing were proud, and Franz did not want there to be dissonance between the two groups of soldiers because Amestris had come to their aid. They were selling it to the troops, honestly enough, as Amestris paying back their debt of honor for when Xing had sent assistance during the Drachman War.

::We will succeed,:: Franz added. ::There is no alternative.:: As much as his own personal interests in this, aside from helping family, involved finding out what the Hashman Syndicate had to do with the Tiahuan coup, he had to focus on the important things first. His personal goals would have to wait.


Ted swallowed a drink of water from his canteen, trying to pretend it was just a dry mouth and not nerves. His whole year had been assigned to Shock's unit of alchemists for this initial attack. So he, Clarina, Vera, and Larry stood together, the majority of the alchemist team heading for the Southern gate. While Ted had no problem being under Tore Closson's command, he felt a little stung that their team wasn't going to be hitting the larger forces at the northern walls, where they had not yet rebuilt and so had most of the army. A good amount of their forces remained just inside the walls, only letting in the few business traders brave enough –or desperate enough- to bring their goods. Allies and military transport were almost all that seemed to move in or out of the city these days.

"I hope you're on your feet today, Proteus," Larry commented.

"I'm not the one with rocks for feet, Tremor," Ted grinned. "Try and keep up."

"You boys," Vera shook her head. Her short, stylish dark hair seemed out of place above the full military uniform. Not that Clarina, with her sweet face and pale blond hair looked any more militant. Both girls were, in Ted's estimation, far too pretty to be soldiers. That didn't make their skills any less effective however.

"I'm better with rocks than he is," Clarina pointed out with a soft smile.

Ted felt flustered for a moment. He grinned and shrugged. "Yeah, well… your touch is far more refined. You make art. He just makes messes."

"Enough chatter," Tore strode up to them, looking far more serious than he ever did at home, even at HQ.

Normally, Ted thought, they weren't standing on a battle field. Most alchemist missions were not of this scale. "Yes, Shock, Sir," he said in near unison with the rest of his squad. He wasn't Uncle Tore here.

The Shock Alchemist nodded briskly. "Remember the plan. The soldiers are the bait. The goal is to lure out soldiers, or get them to fire their rockets. In either case, defend the soldiers and destroy your targets. Avoid diverting them if possible. We don't want to take out any civilians if we can avoid it. Remember, there are several million people still living within the walls, despite those who fled in the first attack.

"We understand, Sir," Larry replied, all-business. "Any other orders?"

Shock nodded. "Just the standard State Alchemist Order: Don't die."

Ted couldn't resist a smug grin. "We'll do our best, Shock."

"Your best had better be good enough then. All right, let's move out." Then Tore turned and headed towards the waiting Xingese soldiers.

Ted shared a meaningful exchange of glances with his teammates. They had trained together to be able to work independently, or as a full team, and now it was time to see how well it paid off.


"When we get there, you break off with your guards," Cal explained to Ren as they approached the northern wall from West. The regiment of the Xing army going with them had marched north well out of reach of even the rockets that were behind the walls before turning east. Now, they would form up and use similar tactics as that further south; draw out their firepower or their men. In either case they had a chance of achieving objectives; weakening the enemy, assessing their strength, and learning more about how to make the Tiahuan weapons less of an advantage for the enemy. "While we've got everyone distracted, you shouldn't have much trouble getting around to those hiding spots you mentioned in the woods. Search them and come home safe though, or Will will kill me."

"Oh no. He might kill you, but you might wish he had," Ren agreed with a ghost of a smile on her lips. One that barely hit the worry in her eyes.

"Just take care of yourself." Cal resisted the urge to hug his sister-in-law, but he did rest a hand briefly on her shoulder. "And let's see how many people we can rescue today."


Michio had no idea which side was winning when he heard the explosions start in the distance, but he knew what they meant. The military was attacking the Tiahuan insurgents and trying to take back the city.

However, given the distance, and general direction, it seemed the perfect cover for getting his uncle out of the cave and away from the city without being captured. If he could just get to the next town to the West, he was sure he could find his uncle a more experienced doctor.

So he packed what supplies they had left in the backpack and put it on, then helped Mao to his feet. The regular healing sessions had at least done enough that the wound did not break open. ::Are you sure you can handle this?:: he asked his uncle, concerned at Mao's expression of pain.

The Emperor of Xing nodded. ::If I can't handle this, then how am I going to save my empire?::

::Fair enough.:: Michio couldn't manage a smile, but he gave his uncle an extra boost to make sure that he had a firm grip and Mao wouldn't fall down if he tripped. Then, slowly, they left the cave.

They couldn't creep along the woods like that, but Michio followed the deep gauge of the stream bed instead. It was not a deep stream this time of year, but nearly empty, with plenty of sand-and-rock along the edges that made it possible to travel for some distance without coming up above the embankments. They couldn't be seen unless someone happened to come to the gully and look down. Given the fighting wasn't around here, and marching across it wasn't possible at this location, Michio did not expect to stumble upon too many enemy soldiers.

Thankfully, his intuition seemed to be right, given he had no tactical military experience whatsoever; just generations of family stories that he wished he had paid a little more attention to. His only fighting skills were from sparring with family members. Those, he hoped he would not have to test out too soon.

It was slow going, even with the relatively even path they were able to follow, and the fact they could move upright. Michio tried not to jar Mao too often. While the other man never complained, Michio knew that he was in no real condition to be doing this. Still, there was no other real choice.

The sounds continued, first west of them, then south as the stream bed wound along, even under the road. Michio paused there, under the bridge, for several minutes while he and Mao shared some water and a rest. In the deep shadows, any sounds they might make hidden by the small waterfall there, Michio listened, trying to determine who was winning. The distinct sound of alchemical transformations told him that alchemists had entered the fray. Given how long it had been, he suspected they might well be Amestrian alchemists.

The urge to go look was powerful, but Michio refused to indulge his curiosity. If they were Amestrian alchemists, and in combat, they weren't healers, and taking Mao towards the lines on the side of the enemy was sheer foolishness.

After half an hour, he got them both back on their feet, and kept moving west. Though the sounds gave him a slightly lighter heart. If they could get past the Tiahuan lines, eventually they might be able to cut south –if Mao held out- and not only find healers, but people he knew.


This is not my idea of a good time. Ted Elric dodged explosive dirt, dropped to the ground, and transmuted, sending a solid block of near-brick hardened earth up into the air, where it met with a projectile explosive that went off over two hundred feet above their heads. It was a small explosive, which meant that the concussion wave only knocked people off their feet, but did no other real damage. It was loud though. By the time we get out of here, I may have lousy enough hearing that the nightclubs don't seem so bad.

Beside him, hiding behind an alchemically created earthen berm thick enough to stop enemy gunfire, cannon fire, and tank rounds, Larry was using similar tactics to stop the explosive-tipped rockets –small ones- that the enemy kept shooting out their way. They haven't pulled out the big guns. None of the city-levelers. Why not? We'd be easy pickings.

Or perhaps not, he thought, as he watched Larry take another small one out of the sky. The things were limited in number, and expensive. Their factory was days away, even at the fastest mode of travel.

Vera and Clarina were also tucked safely behind the berm, using their talents to push back the enemy as well as taking out weapons. They had taken turns making sure that any kind of ballistic weapon was destroyed immediately, or diverted back in the direction of the enemy. The second was harder, so it was something they clearly needed more practice with. Clarina's skills with stone sculpting proved useful. Each of her own rock projectiles was rifled and shaped so that it flew with more accuracy than most, and hit with great impact. She was the most successful so far at diverting anything backwards.

Vera's abilities with off-spectrum light-waves proved useful as she used microwaves in tight concentration to cook off explosives in mid-air. With her dark hair sticking up in odd angles from all the explosions, and a bruise on her cheek from flying debris, she looked like the wild heroine of one of Grandpa Ed's books. Or at least, a book that she ought to be in.

"Head's up!" came the cry, and Ted turned his face back to the fray in time to toss a blast of pure energy induced air circulation into the next round of projectiles. While the individual rock method was working, he wondered if air movement based attacks might help deal with more than one at a time.

As three exploded over head, raining hot shrapnel and sending people diving for cover or protecting themselves with alchemy, Ted decided that particular method might need to be used further in advance-

-before things exploded on top of their heads!