I do not own FMA or claim too.
Just please, allow to tell you a story.
Chapter 10
Confronting the Past
Night has settled in Rush Valley. Ed is downstairs informing the men of the plans for tomorrow. The soldiers listen closely as this has become a very serious matter. Even though they are taking people in, more are still disappearing. Al is upstairs reading the files of the men that have already been arrested. The city is still busy with people buying at the shops. Ed checks his watch and tells the men to get turned in for the night. The military has a curfew now to help prevent any further disappearances. They soon hear bells ringing outside as the police are patrolling the streets getting everyone to close down and go home. Ed shuts down the lights downstairs and heads up to see Al.
"Well Al, lets see if tomorrow goes any smoother."
"I am sure it will. We are getting good at capturing anyone we need too."
They hear a gunshot and Ed drops to the floor. His right arm is hit by the bullet. Al jumps up and checks on his brother. Seeing he is ok, he rushes to the window to see who shot his brother. More shots are fired and they are bouncing right off of Als' body. From the roof in a building next to them is a man holding a rifle. He throws down his gun and runs down to the door leaving the roof. Al starts running downstairs to meet him outside the building. Ed is right behind him, pissed that someone attempted to take his life. They get outside and run to the building. They see a figure running down the alley and start chasing after him.
"Stop! Who the hell are you?"
The man turns and pulls a revolver and shots right at Ed. Al gets in front to block any bullets that might hurt his brother. He pulls out a grenade and throws it at the brothers. They run as fast they can and jump around the corner as a huge explosion shakes the ground. Al covers Ed as debris crashes down. After the smoke starts to clear, they go back to the alley and see nothing but smoke. They knew their only lead had gotten away.
"Damn it. I guess we must be getting close to something."
"Are you ok, brother?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. My shoulder took the bullet. It feels a little jammed up but it will be ok."
As they are standing there soldiers start running toward them.
"Major Elric, are you ok?"
"Yes, I am ok."
"What happened Sir?"
"It looks like I am not really welcome here anymore. I just had a man try to kill me."
"What would you like us to do Sir?"
"Start investigating the area. Check down this alley and send some men to roof of that building. If he left anything to indicate where he is, I want it."
"Yes Sir."
The Elrics stay and check the area with the men. They call for more soldiers to start repairing the buildings. The last thing Ed wanted to do was have a building fall on him. Al is working in the spot where the grenade went off. Ed checks the spot he last saw the man. He sees a letter left on the ground.
1965 N. Parkway
Ed calls over his men and shows them the address. He tells one of them to contact General Mustang and report what has happened. He knows that he will need more troops to be invading this place. Ed grabs Al and they walk into their command center to begin preparing for the attack. Al cleans up the mess upstairs from earlier. Ed grabs his bag and heads out the door. Major Elric orders the men to be ready to attack at dawn. He knew that he had to be quick, the bottom of the letter said come alone. Knowing that Al wouldn't let that happen, he tore off the bottom before showing the men.
Ed takes off to the address from the mysterious man. Tonight wasn't about trying to kill him. Tonight was about getting his attention and they got it. He had no idea what was waiting for him. All he knew was that Al had to be kept there. These men already got to him once and nothing was going to happen to him again.
Mustang had just been given the report from Rush Valley. Finally, a chance to attack the enemy. He is on the phone checking in with every location close to the Elrics. In less then twelve hours he had to get a decent size army to Ed. Destroying the enemy now and finding out what happened to Al and the others was important now.
"No, I don't want one squad. Send Major Elric everyone you have. This group tried to murder a State Alchemist and they won't get away with it."
Ed stands outside the building staring daggers into the man who shot at him. An older building, most likely a factory was behind the man. He looks around and is satisfied that Ed did indeed come alone. He gestures him in and Ed doesn't hesitate to follow. This man shot and missed on purpose. Crossing him would be dangerous on his own. The two of them enter a room and Ed is asked to wait there. The man leaves and enters a door at the other side.
"Is Mr. Elric outside?"
"Yes Sir, he is."
"Good, show him the tank and make the offer. I am sure he will be more then willing to listen."
Soldiers outside the two buildings are still cleaning up. A car pulls up and stops right in front of them. A man gets out and walks right up to them.
"I'm sorry mister, this place is off limits."
"Take me to Major Elric now."
"Who are you, old man?"
"Lt. Colonel Edward Thomas, now take me to him."
The strange man enters the room and Ed is still standing in the same spot. He walks over to the wall beside them and pulls down a lever. A section of the floor opens up and a long, deep tank rises up. The glow of it makes Ed sick to his stomach.
"You know what this is, don't you Full Metal?"
"Bastard, why do you have this here?"
"This red water is a tool you need to use."
"Ha. If you think I am dumb enough to even mess with that again, you have got to be dreaming."
"Oh, Ed, you are that dumb. You see this red water is the key to making our goals a reality. I am sure you wouldn't want anything more to happen to your brother."
"Why? What do you mean by that?"
"We will get to that later. Now if you wanna be a good little boy, you will start to tell us how this can used properly."
"What, do you wanna bring someone back? Sorry, but those secrets stay with me."
"No, of course not. Something, is a better way to describe him."
"I don't understand."
"Don't play dumb with me Elric. You and that bastard Mustang are responsible for his demise. Our King will be reborn again and this is your tool to do that."
"Even if I knew how to do that, there is no way I would help a bunch of nut jobs like you."
"Ed, do you really want all those poor people to die for nothing? If you ever want to see your brother again, I suggest you do as we tell you."
"You mean he is not in the gate?"
The door behind them comes flying across the room. Al is standing there looking at Ed. He turns and sees the man they chased earlier standing beside Ed.
"Brother, get away from him."
"Well Alphonse, how do you like your new body?"
"Who are you?"
"Don't be so uptight kid. I just need your brother to do a little work for us is all."
"Damn it, Al, move out of the way. I can't see around your big body."
Al moves out of the way and Thomas enters the room. Ed goes to say something but realizes he isn't looking at him. He looks over too stranger and realizes that his focus is on his uncle. The Lt. Colonel claps his hands and places them on the ground. A yellow light streaks across the floor and man jumps out of the way. He claps again and has glass shards coming at the man in all directions. He runs toward the other door and gets through it. Thomas is quick to follow with Ed and Al trying to keep up.
They make their way into the street. The man pulls a gun on Thomas but is too late. Another yellow light is streaming toward him which he barely dodges. Another clap, and the whole road begins to shift and cave in. Al grabs his uncle and jumps over to safety.
"Let me go. I have to kill that animal."
They look ahead and see that man has vanished. Thomas tries to struggle to get up but Al holds him down.
"Uncle, stop. You can't kill him. We need to capture him alive."
"Ed, why didn't you take him down?"
"He knows something about Al. I think Al might still be here. I can't kill him when he knows that."
"Damn it, boys let me go. That monster doesn't deserve to live."
"Look, we know he is our enemy. If he has the answers, we need......."
"He doesn't. He is just a murderer, a cold-blooded murderer."
"You telling me, that you know this man?"
"I can never forget the face of that son of a bitch who killed my family."