Chapter 9: Plotting and Counterplotting

As the Elric brothers reentered the hallway neither of them noticed the doors close behind them, still trying to wrap their heads around everything they'd just been told. They had just been offered a chance to get what they had been seeking for so long, for what seemed to be the simplest of things in return, to learn alchemy. But they had also just been offered it by a man who had killed many and endangered more in his quest to have mutants dominate an entire planet. Learning alchemy would benefit them in that goal, something Ed and Al wanted no part of. At the same time Magneto claimed, despite the powers he and his men wielded, that they were in danger of extinction. It also wasn't in their nature to stand by and let an entire race of people die, and that brought them to their current dilemma. Magneto had a certain view about what exactly he was and what he was doing. The X-Men had a completely opposite view but the problem was that both of them seemed to be valid and truthful. That was going to make the decision about accepting the offer even harder then they could have thought.

"There you are!" Winry said as she rushed over, breaking them out of their thoughts. "What took so long?!" She demanded to know.

"Long?" Ed asked. "We weren't even in there for ten minutes. What's wrong?" He asked, noticing that Winry looked a bit on edge and for a split second didn't know what could have done it. Then his face dropped as he remembered another part of their conversation with Magneto. "Oh. That's right." He added as he slowly glanced at Juggernaut, who hadn't moved since they'd entered the library.

"This isn't exactly my idea of a good time either pipsqueak." The still cross giant growled. Ed twitched at the crack about his height but before he could say or (even worse) do something Winry broke in.

"What isn't?" She asked the group. Before anyone could answer she addressed Ed directly. "What's going on Ed?" The second question had a much more anxious and nervous tone to it. She didn't know what exactly had gone on in there but if both Ed and Juggernaut were angry it definitely wasn't a good thing. Accepting that there would be no getting out of this and that it would be better for Winry to hear it from him Ed answered her.

"Winry, say hello to our bodyguard until I can get my arm fixed." He said in an angry, flat, defeated sounding tone, gesturing towards Juggernaut with his flesh hand. Winry's eyes widened at the words. It had been creepy enough to be around the huge mutant for just a few minutes, now he was going to be with them all the time until Ed's arm was repaired…. Her focus darted over from Ed, to Al, then finally to the person in question to see if this was some sort of joke or mistake.

"You think I'd waste my time babysitting the bunch of ya if I didn't have to?" Juggernaut asked angrily when Winry's gaze fell on him. "Far as I'm concerned the sooner the pipsqueak is out of the shop the better."

"So how about we get this over with save everyone a lot a misery?" Ed asked just as angrily. Al put his good hand on his forehead in exasperation at his brother's rash words, while Winry looked at him like he had just gone nuts. Mouthing off to someone like Juggernaut was something no sane person would do. But to everyone's surprise all he did was grunt and step away from the wall he was leaning on, which now had a large indentation on it.

"First intelligent thing you've said pipsqueak. Must be a record." He said as walked over to the group. "Just don't expect me to play so nice when you're patched up." Ed opened his mouth to say something when Winry's hand clamped down over it, followed an instant later by Al's.

"Antagonizing him isn't going to get your arm fixed any faster Ed." Winry told him in a warning tone.

"You said yourself we should get this over with as quickly as possible." Al added. Ed looked from Al back to Winry then back to the source of his annoyance. Deciding that swallowing his pride was a small price to pay to get away from this overgrown bully Ed gave a grunt that sounded like muffled 'all right'. Satisfied that he wasn't going to do anything stupid Al and Winry took their hands away.

"Lets go." Was all Ed said as he started stomping down the hallway. Winry and Al sighed and started to follow, an uninterested Juggernaut taking up the rear. Again they were slowed down by Al's leg and that quickly started to wear on Juggernaut's patience. Seeing the mutant was becoming aggravated Al decide to take a chance and try to talk to him. Unfortunately trying to come up with a conversation that wouldn't aggravate him further was proving to be a hard thing to do. Fortunately Winry saved him from trying to break the ice by hesitantly asking a question of her own.

"Umm. If you're a bodyguard, how come you're not in front of us?" She asked in a small voice. She had been kind of surprised when he had let Ed take the lead and hadn't said anything then just followed behind. Truthfully she expected him to say that he was hoping Ed would take brunt if something happened but again to her surprise he answered with a blunt but truthful answer. Probably out of boredom more then anything else.

"I don't know where the hell he's going so why should I be in front of him?" The answer made Winry realize something else. She didn't know where they were going either.

"Ed…." She started but Ed answered the question before she could get it out.

"Lt. Hawkeye said the workshop was near the lab so we're going down there." He said without turning around. There was silence for several more minutes as they slowly made their way through the castle's corridors before Al managed to work up enough nerve to say something.

"If you don't want to be our bodyguard why didn't you just say no?" He asked cautiously. Juggernaut glared at him so he quickly added. "After what you did in Reesembol it doesn't seem like even Magneto could do anything against you." One of the things the brothers had learned from their travels is that appealing to one's ego was usually more effective then just trying to grind answers out of them. Juggernaut proved to be no exception and even though he sounded annoyed when answered he did answer.

"He can't. Not once I get going." He said. His voice took an even more annoyed tone as he continued. "But if I don't act like a good boy and baby-sit you brats I'm not going to get paid."

"Paid?" Ed incredulously asked as he turned to face the giant. "You're a mercenary?" The arrogant smirk and the 'heh' Juggernaut gave in reply was all the answer Ed needed. Shaking his head he turned back around. "And here I thought Magneto had some sort of standards with the mutants he let join up." He said mockingly. Despite the apparent attempt Ed wasn't trying to get Juggernaut angry. He could see that being a mercenary was something that Juggernaut was proud off and half expected him to agree with what he said. Heck with this guy he'd probably brag about having no standards about who he sold out to. Ed could let off some steam and Juggernaut would take it as a compliment, everybody wins. Ed truly didn't expect one of those huge hands to grab him from behind and pin him face first to the wall.

"Get this straight peewee." Juggernaut growled in a dangerous voice, ignoring the stunned and horrified looks he was getting from Al and Winry. "I'm not a mutant! You call me that again, boss' orders or not, I'm going to rip off that tinker toy leg and feed it to you!" Not giving Ed a chance to respond he took him off the wall and gave him a shove that sent him stumbling forward but thankfully wasn't hard enough to send him to the ground. Once Ed regained his balance he looked at the offended party but the look on Juggernaut's face told all of them that there would be no more discussion on that topic, or any other if they knew what was good for them.

The rest of the walk to the lab was made in a tense silence despite the obvious question on the children's minds. How the heck could Juggernaut have those kinds of powers if he wasn't a mutant? He didn't seem to have any technology helping him, though they had their doubts that even the advanced technology of his world could make him immune to alchemy. Even if technology accounted for his armor, it still wouldn't make his skin harder then metal. He could just be lying about being a mutant but that seemed to be unlikely since, given his powers, why say you weren't something unless you truly were something else. Now they had another enigma to solve, if for no other reason then to satisfy their scientific curiosity.

As they drew near the lab any thoughts any of them, except for Al, were currently having was replaced by an overpowering stench that started wafting towards them from where they were headed. All it took was one whiff to stop Ed and Winry in their tracks. Ed gagged and started coughing, immediately joined by Winry. Al, not having a sense of smell, merely looked on in confusion as the other two were wracked by coughing fits while Juggernaut had a much more subdued reaction. After taking one sniff he frowned and while he looked like he had smelled something unpleasant the disgusted look on his face was the only motion he made.

"Ed!! Winry!! What's going on!?! What's wrong?!?" Al asked, almost panicking. They were coughing and gagging so much they seemed to be in agony. For a terrifying moment he thought the two of them were being poisoned, and Juggernaut's lack of concern seemed to confirm it but then he heard footsteps coming towards them. Thinking that whoever it was had done this to Ed and Winry Al turned towards the sound but to his surprise it was only a small man dressed in filthy clothes and thick goggles hiding his eyes. He wasn't moving in a threatening way and didn't have any weapon that Al could see, so how could he have done any of this?

"What….?!?!?" Ed started but was unable to finish as the stench got stronger and induced another gagging fit. In desperation he put his jacket over the lower half of his face. It didn't filter out the smell entirely but it was enough for him to be able to talk. "Don't tell me he's doing this?!" He was finally able to force out.

"What's wrong with him?!" Winry added, her voice muffled as she held both hands over her nose and mouth to block out the smell. Being the granddaughter of a doctor she knew that when something smelled this bad it was either dead or soon would be. Juggernaut ignored all three of them and spoke to the man directly.

"What the hell do you want Toad?" He asked, sounding disgusted at having to be around him.

"Oh nothing." Toad answered in a tone that implied he didn't notice/care what effect his BO was having on the people around him. "I was just seeing how Pyro was enjoying his new job as janitor. I don't think he likes it very much." He added with a wheezing laugh. "Looks like you're not enjoying your new job either." He said with a wide grin, showing a mouthful of dark yellow teeth.

"Hurk!" Everyone glanced back at Winry, who looked like she was having trouble keeping her stomach down. Truth be told so was Ed. Despite the amount of bloodshed and violence he and his brother had seen Toad's noxious odor, combined with his physical state, was coming close to making him lose his lunch to. He almost did when Toad seemed to have noticed something and walked over to him. Ed pulled back slightly, not wanting to look like he was running away but not wanting to be in such close proximity with this walking sewer. After seeming to examine him closely he finally let out another wheezing laugh.

"What do you know." He said. "They finally found someone shorter then I am." In reality Toad was only one or two inches taller then Ed but always being the 'short man out' it was good feeling to actually be the tall one for once. That feeling didn't last very long as Ed stiffened up and, forgetting about the now overwhelming odor, let go of his jacket and grabbed Toad by the front of this grime covered shirt.

Al and Winry closed their eyes and turned away, knowing that whatever happened next was not going to be pretty.

WHHHAMMM!!!! THWWWAAACCKKK!!! CRRRAAAASSSSHHHHHH!!!!!

The two flinched as they heard the sounds of Ed taking out his frustrations on the diminutive mutant. Finally when the only thing they heard was what sounded like metal clanging to the ground did they open their eyes and look to see what the damage was. It was a unique sight to say the least, even for one of Ed's tantrums. Toads legs were now hanging out of the top one of the many old suits of armor that lined the castles halls, the rest of him stuffed inside it. They saw no attempt from him to get out, not even to tip it over as pieces were falling off it. In fact the way there wasn't even any sound coming from inside the armor told them he'd probably be there for a while and have the mother of all headaches when he finally woke up. Meanwhile Ed wasn't sticking around admire his handiwork. As a matter of fact he was now running down the hall to escape the smell he suddenly remembered existed. Winry ran after him, more to get away from the smell herself then to keep him from doing anything else. Al and Juggernaut just watched them go before turning back to the still unmoving Toad. Al briefly wondered if Juggernaut would help his teammate but the only thing he did was give an uninterested grunt then started following Ed and Winry. Al began to consider if he should try to help Toad out of the armor but decided it would probably be better to leave him there and began to hobble after the others.

Ed's altercation with Toad wasn't the only example of the problems facing both sides. As they were set on restoring Ed and Al to full strength another side was set on making sure their own plans came to pass in spite of the massive setback they had just been dealt.

"An entire company of our best soldiers, defeated in a matter of minutes by only six individuals, with the help of three of our own." The voice of Fuehrer Bradley said over the phone in a calm but clearly annoyed voice. "Even with the help of the mutants they were still able to do nothing until one of their most powerful took the field." On the other end of the line Lt. Colonel Archer choose his next words carefully. He had assured the Fuehrer that using one of their most highly trained units, along with backup from the Brotherhood's mutants, would more or less guarantee the X-men's capture. Unfortunately what he hadn't counted on was the apparently traitorous actions of Elric brothers and their commanding officers.

"The actions of those under Colonel Mustang's command were an unforeseen complication." He finally answered. "But if anything it shows the importance of getting mutants of our own into the fold. If people like the Flame and Full Metal alchemist are capable of turning on the State we'll need every resource we can procure."

"Of course neither of them have turned on the State." Bradley corrected. "They were confronting a rogue military unit that decided not to listen to the orders of their superiors. That will be the official stance of the State and myself." Archer frowned at the statement. If they were going to go with deniability he might be in the line of fire for even suggesting that particular choice of action in the first place. "On the other side of the coin you do make a valid point. The incident in Reesembol shows what a valuable resource mutants would make for us. As such it would be prudent to track down the X-Men and take them into protective custody for their own good." Archer almost breathed a sigh of relief. If they were still going to move against the X-Men the number of people thrown to the wolves would be kept to a minimum. That meant people higher up on the chain would be spared since they still had something to offer to the X-Men's pursuit and apprehension.

"I can have a team assembled and ready to move in less then twelve hours." He assured his leader. Since he had the most knowledge of mutants in the State military outside of Mustang and Bradley, combined with the fact that almost no one knew of his involvement, it would make him the prefect candidate to personally lead the efforts in their capture. He already had a roster of alchemists and black ops personnel in his head that could be great use in this endeavor and all he needed was the go ahead.

"That won't be necessary." Bradley replied. "I know of people who are much more…suited for handling unique situations like this. Once I learned of the mutant's existence I've had them on standby in case complications such as this arose. They are quite reliable and I don't foresee any future trouble in the X-Men's capture." On the other end of the line Archer frowned again. It wouldn't be the first time the State turned to bounty hunters and mercenaries, cover the money trail well enough and you'd never know who hired them in the first place. The State would be clear of any wrongdoing but it also meant that Archer would be cheated out of the glory, and a more then likely promotion, of adding such powerful weapons to the government's arsenal. But he was also a soldier and that meant he could only do one thing.

"Yes sir." He sated, keeping his voice professional to hide any frustration.

"Don't worry, your part in this isn't over quite yet." Bradley said, knowing full well what Archer really thought of the news. "Though at this moment for the sake of security that part cannot be known to you now. You'll be receiving orders shortly and I want them followed to the letter, things will become clear soon enough."

"Understood sir." Was Archer's only response and satisfied that his subordinate did understand Bradley broke the connection. He then started dialing a number one of his spies had brought him some time ago. One that had yet to serve any purpose but now he could not see a more opportune time to use it. It would bring a certain factor of risk involved in the successful outcome of the mission but X-Men had proven themselves very formidable and he was convinced that every card needed to be played, even the wild ones.

Elsewhere in the country a phone began to ring at a particularly shady bar, where it was all but ignored by its usual crowd of drunks and rowdies. However there were several pairs of eyes who watched intently as the bartender walked over the ringing annoyance and grabbed the receiver.

"Devil's Nest." He growled at whoever was on the other end. After listening for a second he gave an angry "Never heard of him." He was about to slam down the phone when whoever was talking to him said something to make him stop. "I already told you whoever that is he's never been…." He was cut off by the other person again but this time instead of getting angrier his face took on a noticeably shocked expression. "How did you…..You can't know!!…." Finally whoever it was said something that turned the bartender pale and move to one of the patrons sitting a couple of stools down from the phone. "It's for you." He said quietly and handed the phone to him. The patron took the phone without a word and ignored the bartender once he had it.

"Hello?" He answered pleasantly, despite the fact it was clear through the bartender's actions that he didn't want anyone to know he was here. After listening for a moment he spoke again. "Sorry but I don't see any reason for me to…." The speaker on the other end spoke some more and the man's voice took a bored tone. "That certainly does make things a bit more interesting for you doesn't it? But I still don't see why I should concern myself with..." The speaker spoke again and this time the man began to smile as he listened. When he answered his voice had a much more interested tone to it. "You don't say? Exactly the same as me? Well now it looks like this will be fun after all. You've got yourself a deal…..Alive? Very well but I can't guarantee there'll be that much left to collect. Just tell me where and when. I'm on my way now." He set the phone down on the bar and got off his stool.

"Something we should know about?" A voice asked from a crowd of people at a darkened booth in the corner.

"No not really." The man answered as he walked over to the door. "It just seems some little upstart has decided to show he's better using my techniques so I'm going to go see how good he really is."

"You mean kill him." The second voice stated.

"Of course." The first man answered as he began to leave. "We can't have someone stealing from me now can we? And as everyone knows, accidents do happen." He added as he shut the door behind him. A split second later the phone he left on the bar, which no one had made any effort to get, exploded with the force of a small hand grenade.

While the second strike against the X-Men was being finalized something that would have more far reaching consequences was occurring at the sight of the first. As Jacob's shattered yet still intact company was limping on board the train that would take them back to Central few were actually paying attention to their surroundings. The combination of their utter defeat at the hands of only a small group of individuals along with the injuries almost all of them had received made sure their minds were elsewhere. If most had been paying attention they would have noticed a flash of light from behind the main station house. Though most did hear a sound similar to that of a muffled explosion it was just assumed it was part of all the machinery around them. As it was only one man, a lieutenant, noticed both at once. Figuring it was nothing important but not wanting to take chances after the battle with the X-Men the lieutenant walked around the back of the building, and as soon as he stepped out of sight a second, brighter flash erupted.

"YAA!!" Between the larger flash and the lieutenant's scream there was no way anyone could not notice something happening. Several more soldiers, weapons at the ready, ran behind the building nervously wondering if this was some sort of revenge sneak attack by the escaped alchemists. Turning the corner they saw only the lieutenant covering his eyes and staggering backwards. What he was staggering back from turned out to be a large patch of ground that had all of the grass burned off of it, leaving only a blackened crater.

"Sir, are you all right?" One of the soldiers asked. "Do you need a medic?"

"No, no I'm all right." The lieutenant answered as he took his hand away from his face and blinked several times to clear up his bleary eyes. "Looks like someone thought it would be cute to leave us a going away present."

"Probably one of those X-Men alchemists" A corporal stated. "I saw one of them throwing things the didn't seem to blow up until he wanted them to. Bet you he was behind this."

"No doubt." The lieutenant agreed. "All the more reason to get out of here, unless we want to run into any other little surprises. Are we on still on schedule corporal? No one seems to want to give me any reports." The corporal involuntarily stood at attention at the lieutenant's words before answering.

"We are sir. Everything should be fully loaded and ready to leave in ten minutes." Was his clipped response. The lieutenant nodded his approval.

"Good. Make a final check to be sure we don't miss anything or leave anyone behind. The Colonel is mad enough already and we can do without any additional screw ups."

"Yes sir!" The soldiers all answered before turning to go complete their task. The lieutenant watched them go, took one last look at the charred ground with a cold glance before making his way towards a gathered group of officers.

"It's about time you got here Lieutenant Thorn. What was the hold up?" Colonel Jacobs snapped before he had even gotten to the group.

"My apologies sir. I was just making sure that everything was in order. Leaving anything to chance now would hurt our ability to confront the X-Men again."

"We're not going after the X-Men." Jacobs growled angrily. "Not yet anyway. Central has other plans for them now. But we'll get our chance…." He stopped and winced before glancing down at his heavily bandaged hand, which was now resting in a sling. "One way or another, we'll get our chance." He glanced around at his gathered officers. "Our official orders are that we will garrison at Central to await new deployment. Until those orders actually arrive I want this unit drilled night and day so when we do get our second chance we not be defeated again. We all saw how the X-Men fought. We will develop counter strategies for all their abilities, this time without relying on Mustang's new alchemists for help. We will show that alchemy does not make them the strongest but bravery, discipline, and planning. Nothing less then total victory will be acceptable. Can I depend on you to bring me that victory?"

"Sir yes sir!" All the officers answered without hesitation. Jacobs nodded and turned to board his car. He didn't see, at the back of his small group of officers, Thorn give an arrogant smirk at the mention of alchemy not making someone the strongest. Oh how much the Colonel would learn….

Back at the castle Ed and his group had finally reached the workshop. There hadn't been much conversation after their encounter with Toad, mostly because everyone was still trying to get over their revulsion. Once they were inside the actual workshop and able to focus on something on else, such as their new surroundings.

The shop itself was fairly large, containing several giant worktables on which various pieces machinery lay in varying states of disrepair. Along one wall was a row of desk-like workstations, complete with mounted magnifying glasses and lights, to deal with smaller, more intricate devices. Ed and Al were able to identify several components from the lab they saw during their previous visit. None of them were looking any better then they had right after the accident, which meant there was bound to be a lot of repair work left to do.

Winry on the other hand was looking at it with the more critical view of a mechanic, she could play around later. Mainly what tools, parts, as well as what materials would be necessary. She quickly determined that she had everything she would need and, to her delight, then some. Now ready to begin she began to walk around the shop picking up the tools and parts she would need.

"All right Ed, up on the table." She said, not even turning around.

"Right." Was Ed's only answer. Winry was in full 'build' mode now. What was he going to do, say no? He took his jacket off and began to look for which table had the least amount of junk on it. What he saw that all of them were piled high with damaged equipment with no room for him to sit down anywhere. "Errr…." He started, not really knowing what to do. Between Al and himself they had two good arms but only three good legs. Al wouldn't be able to maintain his balance and Ed doubted he'd be able to carry some of the things that were piled up, they must have weighed a couple hundred pounds easy. An annoyed sigh from behind Ed interrupted his thoughts and a moment later Juggernaut moved passed him. Walking up to the table closest to Ed Juggernaut casually swept everything off of it in one movement. The result was a series of ear ringing crashes as the equipment fell to the floor, some shattering into even smaller pieces then they were now. Even though they had seen it happen Ed and Al both flinched at the noise, while Winry let out a surprised shriek and threw everything she held up in the air. Even as Ed and Al covered their heads to keep from getting beaned she was whirling around to see who thought it would be funny to scare her like that. Her gaze went from Ed to Al, whose looks of surprise showed their innocence in this one, to the only other person who could have done it.

"What?" Juggernaut asked when he noticed Winry's dirty look. That dirty look changed to shock as she saw just what he had done. While she didn't know just what the machines did she did know that they had to be finely designed and built, almost works of art. And to just casually smash something like that, to her was unimaginable.

"You broke them!!" She wailed, sounding like she was accusing him of murder. Juggernaut did not seem to share her concern.

"Yeah? So what? Wrecking things and people is what I do kid." He retorted. Winry only looked at him, baffled, for a few more seconds before deciding that his head was as hard as his helmet and trying to explain anything would be a waste of time. She settled on just giving him a loud 'humph!' before picking up what she had thrown.

As Ed hopped up on the table he kept a wary eye on Winry, nervous that she'd accidentally take out her frustrations about Juggernaut on him. Fortunately once Winry had stomped over and placed all her things next to Ed she seemed to calm down as she got to business.

"I'm going to have to check the nerve connections to make sure none of them were damaged." She told him gently. She knew this was going to be painful for him. Ed just nodded.

"Do what you have to." He told her and steeled himself for what was coming. Winry sighed sadly and got ready to check the first connection…..

When the door to the shop slammed open, making everyone except Juggernaut jump. Winry dropped what she was holding and Ed was sent crashing to the floor face first.

"Pick up this, move that, connect these." An accented voice they all recognized groused. "Who do they think I am, their personal little Igor?" Everyone, even Ed, turned to see Pyro standing in the doorway, his once colorful costume now covered with grease, dirt and scuff marks. In his arms he was holding what looked like a motor that had a large crack going down the center of it. "And what's all this about?"

"Pipsqeak is getting his tune up." Juggernaut answered before any of the other could.

"Really?" Pyro said before glancing down at Ed. "Not going to get much fixed down there you know."

"Ha…Ha." Ed replied sarcastically as he climbed back up on the table.

"Not much of a sense of humor on that one is there?" Pyro asked as he put the motor on a separate table. After getting a good look at Ed's automail shoulder he spoke again. "Maybe the little lady here left a couple of screws loose or something when she built him the first time." He said with a smirk. That smirk vanished and he hit the deck as a wrench came zipping out of nowhere and almost took his head off. "OI!! What the hell was that for!?" He said as he stood back up and looked in the direction the wrench was going, half expecting to see it stuck in the wall. He turned back and saw that Ed was now wearing the smirk and Winry was glaring at him.

"She has this little thing about people who insult her work." Ed explained, never loosing his smirk. Pryo looked from Winry to Ed, then back again and decided there was only one safe way out of this conversation.

"Sheesh." He said and let it drop. Winry huffed but turned back to Ed, lest she decide to try to imbed something else into Pyro's skull. Fortunately for her, and for Pyro, the task at hand forced her to calm down so she could concentrate.

"Here we go." She said softly and tested the first connection. Ed's face contorted in pain but he was able to grunt and bear it. As Winry tested all the other connections Ed had similar reactions and the others watched in silence until she was finished and gave a relieved sigh.

"Well they're all still working." She announced. That was very good news, now they wouldn't need to perform actual surgery, just a basic rebuild.

"Well that is very encouraging news." A new voice said from the still open door. Everyone looked over to see Colonel Mustang walking in with Lt. Hawkeye and Major Armstrong. "It would be a pity if we had to go through even more trouble because someone carelessly reckless." He added, looking over at Juggernaut.

"I'll do better next time." He promised. Mustang frowned at his reaction but didn't answer it. Instead he fixed his gaze on Pyro.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" He asked/ordered him.

"Yeah yeah I'm going." Pryo answered started back to the lab. "Guy can't even take five around here without some damn smartass…" Whatever else he had to say was lost in a mumble. Mustang glared after him and after he was sure he couldn't hear them anymore he spoke to the others.

"We're going to have to talk to Fullmetal and Al for a few minutes." He told Winry specifically. "I'm afraid you're going to have to leave for a little while." He turned towards Juggernaut. "Both of you. This concerns only the two of them." Winry was about to object when Juggernaut spoke first.

"Fine. Anything to get away from the brats." He said and started walking towards the door.

"Just remember you have to keep an eye on Winry while you're out there or else you're out of a job." Ed told him pleasantly. Juggernaut visibly flinched and turned back to glare at him.

"ED!!!" Winry yelled. "You want to leave me alone with that monster?!?! Again?!?"

"He's not going to do anything to you." Ed assured her. "If he does we get to tell his boss he did a lousy job and all that money disappears." He looked back over at him. "And we don't want that do we?" Juggernaut growled and clenched his fists but in the end all he did was look over at Winry.

"Come on." He hissed and gestured for her to follow him. Winry looked at Juggernaut apprehensively, then over to Ed, whose face was filled with confidence. She then started walking tentatively towards the angry giant.

"Don't go too far. We won't be long." Mustang promised her as the two left and shut the door behind them. "Very nice." He commented to Ed.

"Eh it's not that hard to make greedy people do what you say." Ed answered casually.

"Just don't do that very often." Mustang warned. "With a temper like his if you pull that stunt enough times he's going to stop caring about the money." Ed just shrugged. That wasn't something he didn't already know. "Now, I understand you two were involved in some sort of secret chat?" He asked.

As Ed and Al started to tell Mustang about his encounter with Magneto in Central the train containing the 801st pulled into the main station and began to disembark it's passengers. As the troops began to offload their equipment Jacobs walked over to a man with dark hair and a stern face who saluted him then handed him an envelope bearing the Fuehrer's seal. Jacobs removed the paper that was in the envelope and began reading before glaring up at the other man, who kept his face neutral.

Lt. Thorn watched the exchange and once it became clear that no one was paying attention he turned and walked into the back alleys of Central. He didn't get very far before he was confronted by another man in a military uniform and an angry scowl on his face.

"Out for a little walk lieutenant?" He asked menacingly.

"Well…" Thorn started but the other man didn't let him even get started.

"Don't try and lie to me you coward." He warned. "I saw you walk away from the train station, so unless you show me some papers right now that say you need to be somewhere else I'm going to have you thrown in prison for desertion!"

"You have the authority to do that?" Thorn challenged, curiously sounding like he really didn't know. The other man turned bright red at the remark. Before saying anything he grabbed the front of Thorn's uniform with one hand and reached into his pocket with the other.

"You see this smart guy?!" He shouted, waving a silver watch attached to a chain under Thorn's nose. "Do you know what that means?!"

"Ummmm….?" Thorn questioned, again making it sound like a half insult, half honest response.

"I means I'm a State Alchemist you idiot!!" The Alchemist shouted. "This means I can have insubordinate pukes like you imprisoned or shot."

"Really? And I suppose that means you get to go places people like me can't?" Thorn asked, still sounding like he still didn't quite know what he was talking about.

"That's right smart guy." The Alchemist growled. "All the places peons like you only wished you could go." He finished with a tone of superiority.

"Well that does explain things a bit." Thorn replied, not sounding the least bit intimidated by the other man's threats or rank.

"So I guess that makes everything clear?" The Alchemist sneered, now determined to throw Thorn into a cell just for his attitude.

"Oh yes." Thorn replied as he started looking around. Once he was finished he faced the other man. "Very clear." He added as he grabbed the top of The Alchemist's head. Before a response could even be uttered Thorn gave a flick of his wrist and turned the other man's head one hundred eighty degrees with an audible snap. As the body went limp Thorn used his free hand to grab the now dead alchemist's watch and put it in his own pocket. He then calmly went over to a manhole cover, lifted it easily with his free hand, and threw the dead body down into the sewer. After taking another look around to make sure that no one had noticed anything Thorn stuck his hand down into the sewer. There was a flash of yellow light from underground followed by a small wisp of smoke that smelled vaguely of burning meat. Knowing that people wouldn't question a foul smell coming from a sewer Thorn put the manhole cover back and headed towards the end of the alley. Only the person who exited the alley wasn't Thorn but the alchemist he had just killed. After walking down one of the main streets for several minutes and only receiving cursory glances from the people he passed a smile crept onto his face. Infiltration of their scientific archives would be almost insultingly simple.

At the castle meanwhile it was being proven that infiltration to things that are top secret wasn't that hard to begin with. It started out simply enough. As Winry was waiting with Juggernaut for Mustang to finish his questioning of Ed and Al she kept on glancing down towards the doors that lead to main lab, her curiosity piquing on just what was going on in there. That curiosity became overwhelming when she saw a flash through the cracks in the door, accompanied with a loud BANG and almost immediately followed by smoke flowing through those same cracks. Temporarily forgetting about her ill tempered bodyguard she crept over to the door. She could hear muffled shouting and coughing from the inside but couldn't make out what was going on. Her other senses were able to give her a clearer picture. The bang she heard had been loud but not earth shaking so it was doubtful anything large or unstable had exploded. She was also able to ID the smell of burned wiring from the smoke, and that meant something valuable had probably just been lost. Wanting to know just what was going on leaned closer to the door to listen in….

"You going to go in there or not?" A voice asked from behind her, causing her to spring back from the door and whirl around. Oddly enough seeing Juggernaut had snuck on her didn't worry her as much as it normally would have. His uncaring attitude about everything that was going on that didn't involve him meant that he wouldn't rat her out for this little stunt.

"Of course not." She answered and turned back towards the door, her curiosity overriding her fear of Juggernaut. "You can't just go walking into a place like that without permission. You know how much trouble you could get in?" She asked as she leaned back in to put her ear on the door. Juggernaut didn't answer and looked at her strangely, not bothering to point out that doing something like eavesdropping would probably get her into even more trouble. Deciding that it would be more amusing to just leave her alone and see what happened Juggernaut only stood there and watched. Winry seemed to forget he was there as she leaned against the door itself to put her ear up against it…and nearly fell flat on her face as the door swung inward. She was able to remain upright but that entailed taking several large awkward stumbling steps inside the actual lab. When finally able to stop herself and stand straight she saw that she was now the center of attention. The scientists, soldiers recruited to help with the clean up, even Pyro were now all looking at her with questioning and suspicious looks. Winry could feel herself turning red from embarrassment and opened her mouth to try to explain but her mind chose that moment to go blank.

"Didn't we tell you to re-lock the door?!" One scientist yelled at Pyro. Without waiting for an answer he turned to a second, more senior looking scientist. "I told you we should have reposted the guards!"

"And I told you we needed every free hand we could get." Dr. Thomas answered. "Everyone here knows what's going on anyway." He pointed out.

"But she…" The first scientist started, pointing at Winry.

"If he knows, she knows." Thomas interrupted, pointing from Juggernaut to Winry. "Even if she didn't she would have found out sooner or later so it doesn't matter. You know we can't keep a secret in this place anymore." The first scientist gave an unapproving look at the two of them but didn't say anything else. "Good. Now everyone back to work." He ordered. Slowly the workers in the lab went back to their assigned tasks in relative silence. Silence that didn't last long as Winry realized she was safe and got a good look at the advanced equipment around her. In a flash she was darting from place to place, asking questions at a rapid fire rate to whoever was hapless enough to be wherever she decided to stop. Even then she didn't allow them time to answer before dashing off to some other piece of gear that caught her eye.

The ones that weren't caught up in Winry's game of 200 questions watched her go, half amused at the child like enthusiasm she had, half amazed that all the questions she was asking made her sound like she belonged on the engineering team that built the thing. Finally she stopped at one of the towers next to platform itself.

"How did you manage to make something that could withstand so much power being put through it?" She asked as she circled the tower, looking it up and down. "All the wires would melt, the metal to." She added as she stopped at a small access panel and popped it open. "Did you use some new kind of heat sink and wire material?" She asked excitedly as she began poking around inside the tower.

"Uhhh.." Dr. Thomas said, not sure about what he should, or could do. He didn't want the girl inadvertently damaging the equipment but he wouldn't be able to get her away from them either. Not easily anyway. He turned towards Juggernaut, hoping that the person she came in with would have better luck getting her out of here. Juggernaut was still looking at Winry in a slightly baffled way. Watching her zip from place to place in the lab in what seemed to be a blur almost made him wonder if she'd give Quicksilver a run for his money. "Ahem." Thomas said, seeing that Juggernaut wasn't listening. He did hear that and turned to the scientist, who made a 'do something' gesture with both hands. Groaning as he remembered what would happen to his paycheck if anything either happened to or because of Winry while she was in his charge he walked over to the still oblivious mechanic.

"Of course you could have also doubled the wire gauge." Winry said as she was examining a bundle of thick wires, not even noticing Juggernaut's approach. "But if you did both that would mean you could…." Whatever suggestion she had was cut off as a massive hand clamped down on her midsection. To her credit Winry didn't scream but did let out a loud, startled, "EEP!" before feeling herself being hoisted off the ground. One second she was looking at the guts of the tower the next she was staring into Juggernaut's frowning mug. What she could see through his helmet that is.

"Finished?" He asked, though it didn't really sound like a question. Winry gulped loudly before answering.

"Yessir." She managed to squeak out. Juggernaut kept quiet but did start to lower her. What he didn't do was put her down, instead walking out of the lab holding her like a suitcase. Winry didn't offer any resistance, not that it would do her much good anyway, and had to make do with the embarrassment of the situation.

As Juggernaut walked back to the workshop with his new luggage Ed and Al were finishing up telling Mustang and the others about Magneto's offer. Under normal circumstances Ed would have hesitated to say anything about it but at this point he was more willing to trust the Colonel then Magneto. Better the devil you know, if Ed remembered the saying correctly. Mustang listened without saying much, only stopping to ask them about any details they may have missed.

"He's more ambitious then I gave him credit for." Mustang said mostly to himself when they were done. After mulling over what he had been told for a few minutes he spoke again. "Well we don't want to keep him waiting now do we?" He said as he started towards the door. The question seemed to stump Ed and Al as they only looked back at the Colonel in confusion. They had expected Mustang to order them not to even consider it, or at least ask them their opinion, not to just ignore them and confront Magneto.

"Sir, surely it would better if we were to …." Armstrong began but the sight that greeted them when they opened the door made all of them pause. Juggernaut was leaning against the wall, with Winry held in his hand like some sort of bizarre attaché case.

"Good you're done." Juggernaut said when he saw they were leaving, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. The three State officers looked from him over to Winry, who gave an embarrassed sounding laugh and a small wave. Mustang raised an eyebrow at the scene but Juggernaut didn't appear to be hurting her so he let them pass without saying anything. They stood there a minute longer to make sure he didn't try anything but the only thing he did was set Winry on her feet before moving over to a far wall. Ed and Al rushed over to her, their concerns about Magneto temporarily forgotten, to make sure she was ok. Sure that everything would be all right Mustang led them down the hallway.

"I understand your concern Major but right now waiting wouldn't be in our best interest." He said, picking the conversation back up. Now he could feel the questioning looks of the Major and Lieutenant. "He didn't swear Ed and Al to secrecy about what they talked about, and didn't even try to hide the fact that he talked to them at all. He knew they would tell us what was going on, by order or otherwise. He wants us to know."

"But why would he do that?" Armstrong asked. "Wouldn't it be better if he tried to keep such a thing secret?"

"Normally yes but now it's not viable for two reasons. One is that in a place this small it would be impossible to keep secrets." Mustang explained as they headed toward the library. "Second is if we caught him his deal with the State is null and void and he becomes the enemy so even if Ed and Al wanted to go with him we could force them to stay. He would still be able to take them from us but if he went with force and started killing people I doubt those two would be that willing to cooperate with him. Even if those didn't apply here he still would have done nothing. That's because there's no reason he can see to keep it secret. He already has his arguments ready and is convinced we can't counter them so why bother to hide?"

"Are you sure he'll be thinking that way sir?" Hawkeye asked as they approached the library's doors.

"It's the same thing I would have done." Mustang answered as he opened the doors. Magneto had taken a situation that was quickly deteriorating and turned it into a potential windfall. Using subtle maneuvering of the Elrics into a position where he stood to benefit from their actions as much, if not even more, then the boys themselves would. Mustang had of course used such tactics both on the boys and others but while they did benefit him it was also a benefit to the greater good. That's where he knew Magneto's plan was the weakest. From Armstrong's report and the mutant leader's own admittance his version of the greater good included the deaths of countless people, something Mustang wasn't about to allow to happen without a fight.

Magneto sat at the round table surrounded by books and glanced up when the doors opened. His helmet lay among the books and they got a good look at his face for the first time. Despite his youthful appearance he had the calculating, intense eyes of a war veteran and a hard look on his face that spoke volumes about how he was not one to suffer fools lightly.

"Colonel." He greeted. "Prompt as always I see." He glanced at Mustang's two companions. "Major Armstrong I presume. I've heard quite a bit about you." He said as the three of them entered.

"And I you." Was Armstrong's curt reply, his eyes narrowing.

"I would imagine so." Magneto returned, returning the Major's hard gaze. "But since you have only heard one side it would be unwise to rush to judgment."

"I was raised to give everyone an equal chance to defend themselves and will hold my final judgment until I have heard both sides." Armstrong conceded, crossing his arms across his chest. "Though what I have already heard combined with the actions you've taken have me believing that only one side is needed." He warned.

"Your courtesy is appreciated." Magneto answered. "And I believe what I have to say will make you reconsider that." Armstrong only replied with a low rumbling 'hmmm', conveying that he found that doubtful. With any other conversation with the large man bound to be fruitless at this point Magneto turned his attention back to Mustang. "Judging by the swiftness of your arrival I would have to guess the young Elrics were particularly eager to tell you what we discussed."

"Surprisingly they were, even Ed." Mustang replied as he sat down in the chair opposite of Magneto. "It appears that someone asking him to abandon his duties was enough to get even Fullmetal talking to me willingly."

"I asked him to do no such thing." Magneto countered. "He can resign as an alchemist of the State can he not?

"He can." Mustang answered calmly.

"Then if he so chooses to he would be no longer bound by duties to the government. As such he would be able to leave this country without incident."

"Again true." Mustang agreed. "But I'm not talking about his duties to the State. I'm referring to his duties as an alchemist. I'm sure you've seen the alchemist's credo?"

"'Be thou for the people'" Magneto quoted. "And I'm not sure I see how assisting me would be against that credo. He would be helping people, people that need it very badly."

"Perhaps they do but he has the potential to be a much greater help by staying here."

"That is where we disagree Colonel." Magneto replied. "Yes Mr. Elric can do great things here, and already has." He added, nodding towards the collection of papers in front of him. "But by working with me and my people he will be helping to ensure their survival, not just their peace and prosperity. He would be working towards the greater good."

"That's where you're wrong." Mustang told him bluntly, earning a look of surprise from the mutant leader. "You think what you're working for is part of the greater good, and on the whole you might be correct. But your means for getting there are against everything Ed and Al believe in."

"They do not believe in someone fighting for their right to exist?" Magneto asked in a cold tone.

"That they do believe in." Mustang answered, remaining calm while he could feel Armstrong and Hawkeye tensing up. "What they don't is the cost of someone else losing their right to exist. You know alchemy works on equivalent exchange. In order to gain anything something of equal value must be lost. They'll never consider the loss of millions of lives equal to the continuation of so few to be equal. They'll fight tooth and nail to save any life, mutant or human, but they won't allow anything of their creation to be manipulated…."

"You of all people should not be talking about the evils of manipulation." Magneto interrupted. "Ever since the discovery of Edward's talents you have made sure to have him under your direct command, and as a result your reputation, power and influence has risen significantly."

"There is a reason for that." Mustang responded in an unemotional tone. He knew Magneto was trying to box him into a corner, but there wasn't much he could say without putting himself and his subordinates in danger.

"And that is what I'm afraid of." Magneto answered. "I told the brothers that you and the people under your command do have some integrity. While I would like to continue to believe that there is growing evidence to the contrary." He continued and picked up one of the many books surrounding him. "A record of the Ishbal campaign." He explained, flipping through the pages. "Exact details are largely absent of course, such things aren't normally meant public eyes. They tend to get people asking questions about the wisdom of their government."

Now Mustang's face was furrowed with concern, knowing just where Magneto was going with this.

"But upon reading it I did discover something very interesting." Magneto continued. "The names of the highest ranking members of military that are here, even Lieutenant Hawkeye, are mentioned as having played quite a role in the conflict. Being alchemists the two of you more so then the others." He added, looking from Mustang to Armstrong then back. "Major Armstrong was accused of cowardice on the battlefield, failing to fulfill his duties. The most famous accusation being that he willingly allowed the enemy to escape. In light of what was going on, what his orders were and who the 'enemy' must have been I can understand, even respect that. But you, from everything that was written you were a model soldier. It was then that you started making a name for yourself, amidst all the carnage and death." He stood as he talked; his voice became angrier the more he spoke. "Your rise to prominence was begun amid a sea of blood! So tell me Colonel…" He threw the book on the table in front of Mustang with a loud bang, looking him right in the eye. "What did you do during the war?!"

Mustang didn't answer right away, knowing he needed to choose his answer carefully. Magneto's eyes weren't glowing this time but the look behind them managed to display just as much, if not more, intensity then before.

"I did exactly as the book said I did. I performed my duties as a soldier." He finally answered, meeting Magneto's stare. "I fought alongside and protected my fellow countrymen in battle, exactly as I was expected. That I have no regrets over." He took a deep breath before continuing and his voice took on a tone of great weariness. "However I also did things that will haunt me until the day I die." Though Magneto's eyes lost none of their intensity Mustang could see that he was at least listening to what he was being told. "It was in Ishbal I realized how wrong things were with this country, both its government and military, and how changes were desperately needed for the better. In that sea of blood I resolved to be the one to make those changes. What you said about my rising reputation, power and influence, that's all true. All three are necessary to make sure those changes come to pass. You think I'm using Ed and Al just to further my own agenda. Am I? I suppose in the simplest terms, yes. But that agenda entails more then just me, them, or any one of my subordinates. They don't know the whole truth because I won't force them, or anyone else, into that kind of danger. I view no one under my command as a pawn, all their lives are of more importance then mine and they all have their part to play. The parts for Ed and Al are to help make sure something like Ishbal never happens again. And even though you might think that's what you'll have them do as well you're just going to initiate another Ishbal with their assistance, only in reverse. They will never agree to that." He finished.

He had presented his side and now it was up to Magneto to decide what would happen next. The mutant leader did not look at all swayed by Mustang's argument but he no longer had the look of fury on his face either. After what seemed like hours of tense silence Magneto slowly say back down.

"I can understand your reasoning Colonel but I do not agree on your comparison." He said in a calm but stone serious voice. "The humans do have the capabilities to do to us what your government did to Ishbal, and they will use them. It is my duty to make sure that never comes to pass."

"And you believe using the Elric brothers are a key to helping you prevent that." Mustang stated. "By using alchemy to sow confusion and discord among regular humans. If so many people suddenly start acting like mutants paranoia will serve to significantly weaken them."

"Very good Colonel." Magneto commented. "You no doubt have used spies in the past to similar effect."

"But there's more then that isn't it?" Mustang said, ignoring the statement. "Something that doesn't have to do with use of alchemy itself, if your own science can already do so much." He stated, sensing an ulterior motive.

"You believe I am lying about my offer?" Magneto asked suspiciously.

"No." Mustang admitted. "But I don't think you're telling the whole truth either. You've got something else planned for them."

"I intend to do nothing more involving them then I have already stated." Magneto replied. Again Mustang got that nagging feeling something was amiss, even though it didn't appear Magneto was lying. He was able to keep his face blank but inwardly he scowled at the situation. Their was no evidence and he couldn't come up with any good theories so he would have to leave that things as they were…..for now.

"You'll understand if I refuse to believe any good can come of your plans for Ed and Al in the first place." He finally stated, getting back to why he was here to begin with.

"That is your right." Magneto answered. "However it is still my belief they will be able to do more good on my world then yours."

"And I doubt anything either of us could say would change the mind of the other." Mustang said flatly. Magneto didn't reply, knowing that Mustang already knew the answer. "Then I guess the only thing left to do is to let them make their own choice."

"You will accept their decision no matter what they choose?" Magneto asked.

"I've learned that trying to force those two to do anything only makes them more determined to do the opposite." Mustang replied. "Their decision on the matter will be final and I won't fight them on it. I trust I can count on the same from you?"

"I never had any intention of doing anything but that Colonel." Magneto answered. Mustang nodded and, knowing the conversation was over, stood up and headed towards the doors. Hawkeye and Armstrong followed him out, none of them looking back. As they walked down the hallway no one said anything until they heard the doors of the library shut. Once he heard the doors click shut Mustang sighed heavily.

"Well that went rather badly now didn't it?" He asked rhetorically, much to the surprise of both Armstrong and Hawkeye.

"Badly sir?" Hawkeye asked. "It didn't seem that way. Your arguments were very convincing."

"Yes but they weren't enough to fully win in the end, or to counter what he's offering." Mustang replied.

"I don't understand sir." Armstrong said. "He could very well be lying about what he's promised to give the boys. And wanting to keep that man from creating another Ishbal on his world would be more then enough to fully win the argument."

"He doesn't have to lie about what he offered them." Mustang replied. "Between the existence of mutants and what his science has already done I'm convinced he's more then able to do exactly what he said. That's why I never brought it up. As for stopping another Ishbal from happening, I can't win there because he's convinced that it's his only option. Without question it's the wrong option but it's his reasoning behind it that's problematic. He's trying to protect the mutants on his world, to ensure that they survive. There's no way you'll convince anyone that fighting for their right to live is the wrong thing to do. As far as Magneto is concerned any ends taken justify those means. Ed and Al want to help his people but they won't stand for what he has planned, that's a given. But what they don't realize is that if they do go they'll never be able to convince him to act any other way. Or at least not soon enough before they try to take actions themselves to make things change, and we all know they will. He's going to view that as an act of betrayal. I don't know how far he'd go after something like that but what I am certain of is that we need to do everything to make sure it never gets to that point to begin with."

"So in the end it's as much about protecting the boys as it is protecting the innocents of Magneto's world." Hawkeye stated. Mustang nodded. "Can we be sure he'll honor his word if they decide to stay?" She asked as they approached Mustang's office. It was the one nagging doubt in her, and more then likely Armstrong's, mind. She had faith in the boys to make the right decision but what she didn't have faith in was a promise made by someone like Magneto.

"Oh he will." Mustang assured them. "He would prefer they help him but he knows they'd be working towards noble goals here as well."

"He did not appear convinced when you told him that sir." Armstrong said as they entered the office. "If I may ask how can you be so sure?"

"Because he didn't kill us." Mustang answered simply. Both Armstrong and Hawkeye started at the casualness of the comment. "After reading about what happened in Ishbal and then finding out he was working with one of its 'heroes' he would have been more then willing to take the violent approach." He said as he sat down at his desk. "Add to it that certain hero is manipulating Ed and Al to what looks like only personal gain he'd feel more then justified. I know I would have been. I'm just glad he was willing to hear an explanation and that when I told him the truth he believed me. If he didn't…" He shrugged and spread his hands out.

"So our next course of action is to try and convince Ed and Al to stay?" Armstrong asked, changing the subject.

"Yes and no." Mustang replied. Before either Armstrong or Hawkeye could even give him a questioning look he continued. "Trying to verbally convince Al might work but Ed is another story entirely. Magneto knows that I won't tell either of them the whole truth about what I'm doing, and he's smart enough to know I won't jeopardize those plans just to keep them here. Ed is still convinced that I'm nothing but an egotistical power monger and that needs to remain unchanged. Even if that argument worked and they stayed because of it both of them would be at risk of even greater danger then they are now. I won't allow that to happen so we're going to have to let Magneto's actions speak for themselves and let that convince the two of them to stay. Unfortunately that will mean people dying, and when it comes to that there's not going to be much we can do to stop it."

"Whoever is responsible for Colonel Jacobs and the attack in Reesembol." Armstrong stated. Mustang nodded in response.

"It's a forgone conclusion that whoever was behind that will try again, most likely in greater force, he knows that as well as we do." He said. "We're going to have to be prepared to fend them off until we can send Magneto's group and the X-Men back to their home world. We can take precautions to minimize casualties, but him….." He shook his head. He could tell by the deep looks of worry from both Armstrong and Hawkeye that they fully understood. When, not if, the attack came Magneto would, out of what he viewed as necessity, kill anyone he deemed as a threat. All three of them knew that meant there was more then likely to be no survivors.