Edward Elric was infuriated. "You brought them here? What were you thinking, you half-insane second rate mechanic!"
"Well excuse me Edward, for trying to help!" She hollered from the opposite side of the room. "What would you know anyway, you pint sized military dog?"
Al's armor was slick with numerous beads of sweat, and he waved his arms uselessly, clanking from one side of the room to the other in an attempt to calm both people down.
"Quiet you two! They'll hear you! Brother, it's time to leave for Headquarters!"
"Be quiet Al," his elder brother snapped. "Mustang can sweat it out while he waits for us. I'm not going anywhere until Winry fixes the mess she's made."
"I thought we could find out what they were doing here, that's all," the blonde girl gritted through her teeth. "I wanted to help Kira and the crew of the Archangel, that's all I was trying to do, Edward."
"You want to help Kira?" His golden eyes blazed. "Bringing the enemy right to him isn't helping!"
"He's right, Winry," Al chimed in timidly. "Their ship isn't far down the road, and if either of those three find it or recognize any of the crew members, then…"
Suddenly the door burst open, Armstrong strolling in as if nothing was amiss. "Let's go, boys," he ordered in his low baritone. "There's no time to waste on idle chatter."
"Idle chatter?" Al echoed. "This is important! Can't we…"
"Now now, none of that from you two." The massive officer began dragging them from the room.
"Just remember what I said, Winry," Ed called as he fought against the Colonel's iron grip, "Put the felines in with the canines and they fight until one species wins the upper hand. It's better to keep them in separate cages. I hope you know what you're doing."
"Be careful, Winry!" Al called as they exited in a mad rush.
"You boys go on ahead," Armstrong directed them. "I'll join you momentarily with the baggage."
Edward glanced around for a last sight of the three mysterious ZAFT officers, but to no avail. He and Alphonse set off down the road, throwing a last wave to Pinako and Winry.
"You come back home soon, do you hear?" the old woman cried.
"Geez," Ed grumbled, dragging his feet, "What a mess. That girl is gonna get us all into trouble."
"She was really trying to help, though, I think," offered the armored youth defensively.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. She really does things her way, no matter what," there was a hint of a smile creeping its way onto his features. "That Winry."
"Ed, Al, wait up!" They were hailed at once from behind and the two brothers whirled.
It was Kira Yamato, sprinting to meet them, Natarle, Murrue, and Mu La Flaga not far behind.
Al glanced backward at the house. Though it was shrinking rapidly into the distance, the road could still be seen clearly from the front porch.
"That's not good," he said, his voice rising. "If anyone looks back and sees them…" But Edward was already hurtling toward them at a rocket-paced run.
"YYYAAAWWGHH!" He bowled directly into the small group, throwing himself onto them and tackling them all down at once, much to the dismay of his younger brother.
"Brother! You'll hurt them!"
Natarle Badgiruel rubbed her head ruefully, shoving a heavy black boot off her stomach. "Fullmetal Alchemist, what is the meaning of this?"
"I'll say," Mu began to get to his feet. "That was quite a rush." He was halfway up when Al approached from behind and jerked him back to the dusty road by the sleeve.
The Captain of the Archangel hadn't yet said a word. She glared at Ed, a vein beginning to pulse visibly in her forehead.
"Excuse me, Mr. Elric," she grunted, eyeing him with a toss of her head.
Mu whistled. "Wow. Met us a day ago and already the Fullmetal is putting the moves on our voluptuous Captain."
Natarle raised both eyebrows, and Ed glanced beneath him. He'd fallen atop the elder brunette; one hand gripped her chest involuntarily. He sprang quickly to his feet, a flush rising to his cheeks.
"GAH! I'm sorry, Captain. Er, you see, my brother and I couldn't allow you to be seen."
"We promise we'll explain…" Al trailed off mid-sentence. "Where's Kira?"
There was a muffled cry from beneath Natarle, and the dark haired woman blinked, realizing where the boy was. She turned a faint shade of pink, but picked herself up immediately.
"Ensign Yamato! Get up from there at once."
"S-sorry, Lieutenant," he mumbled, mussing his hair in embarrassment.
Mu grinned and looked at Edward. "Hope you learned your lesson, kid. That'll teach you to go forcing relationships where they don't belong."
"Shut up already," the alchemist snarled. "What are you people doing here?"
"I've decided to go with you to Central to see the Fuhrer," Kira replied stealthily.
"You decided?" Ed spat the words as if they were toxic. "I told you I don't mind having you around Resembool, but the State doesn't need any more —"
"Take it easy, Brother," Al cut in. "Let him tell us his reasons." Reluctantly, the short blonde boy fell silent.
"I want to know why ZAFT is here. Something isn't right." Kira's gleaming amethyst eyes glittered with determination. "I just have a feeling that something else is going on here."
"Brilliant," Ed shot at him. "Be a little more vague."
"He's going with you, kid," Mu La Flaga responded, arms folded authoritatively. "The Archangel will be following as soon as we finish repairs."
Ed jabbed an accusing finger at the bright-eyed Coordinator. "He's nuts if he thinks he's trucking that machine all over Central!"
"He won't be bringing it," Natarle announced, and Kira looked uncomfortable. "We're well aware of the suspicion and attention a Gundam would draw, and with ZAFT around, we can't afford to skip the extra precautions."
"But that's why my brother knocked you all down!" Al protested. "To keep them from seeing you! They're already here, three of them at Winry's."
Murrue looked stunned. "Here? Why?"
"Don't ask me," Edward huffed, "Winry has some plan to fool them into leaking information."
"If she can do that," Mu exclaimed, "Then I'll personally give her permission to disassemble the entire Archangel." He ignored the condescending look Murrue sent his way.
"Better not tell her that," Ed warned. "Anyway, Colonel Armstrong should be along soon, and we're already late. Geez, Mustang's gonna have a fit. C'mon, Al."
"You should keep out of site until they leave Winry's" Al suggested to the Archangel's baffled Captain. "You should also move the ship father away until they leave."
"We'll need at least a week for the additional repairs," Mu told them. "You did a great job with it using the alchemy, but there are some things you just can't fix that easily, especially when you don't know the make of the ship you're dealing with. Though I don't think she'll need a new wax job anytime soon, thanks to you, kid." He slapped Edward on the back, then turned to Kira. "See you later. Hope you can survive without the Strike."
Kira looked uneasy. "I'll manage, I suppose."
"We'll see," Ed said. "Let's go. We're off to Eastern Headquarters."
A/N: Meh. That chapter didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but I also had a lot of time today, and banging out four chapters in one day takes a lot out of you. I guess I shouldn't push it once the inspiration has already expired. Hopefully these newest chapters will last a while.
Another thing, I'm sorry if there're still grammar errors in this story. With my own fiction, I usually take tons of time for editing, but with fanfics I tend to scan it over once and post it as fast as I can for some reason. Apologies for mistakes in advance.