Hello, everyone. Well, the votes are in, and the majority of you had a variant of "Yes to EdxWin, please!" So, yeah, we're gonna do it. I do know that some of you voted no to EdxWin, and I really hope you won't stop reading. (turns on the puppy eyes) Please stick with us? I promise it'll be as prevalent as the RoyxRiza. Maybe one or two major fluffy scenes, and then scatter the rest around the main plot. Thanks to everyone who voted! I really appreciate it.

Anyway, now that I'm done begging (gets up off of knees) it's time to thank Renneh, Guardian Angel of Wolves, Phantom of the Pie, YourFavoritePlushie, Tia Ordona, Chibi Hayaku Hashiru, Houran, Phantom SunsSong, jenelric, Assena, ElricKeyblade, TenshiElric, Bar-Ohki, Furringeon, Tinkerbelle TB, Katty, and lost cause for reviewing. And respond to what needs to be responded to in a responding manner:

Renneh: I'm glad the chapter filled you with such emotion! I was the same way when I was proofreading, even though I wrote it...whatever works! And now I'm going to search the web for hours on end looking for manga...I want to read some!
Guardian Angel: Yes, it's an AU day when you start feeling sorry for Envy. And no, I think you're right--however, in the heat of the moment, when the bad guys are bearing down on you, sometimes you've just GOT to start making out, or so I hear.
YoFavPlush: Yes, so do I. And thank you so much!
Houran: I am too, and since I'm not a big romance-y person, it definitely will be. And wait until you see what's going to happen...hmm.
jenelric: Hi again! You'll see what those stupid men have done...
Assena: You make a really good point. I'm going to have to see what I can do about that!
ElricKeyblade: (lays a bunch on) But the point is it'll be there!
TinkerbelleTB: Thank you so very much! I strive for greatness...And trust me on this--you haven't seen the last of Roth!

So now, Chapter 11. Let's hit 100 reviews, shall we?

11: The Rescue Operation

"Right here?" Riza questioned.

"Yeah. Park in front of that tree."

Riza pulled the car over and parked next to the tree. Edward undid his seatbelt. "I'd better go talk to her first," he said. "I don't know for sure if she'll help us."

Izumi opened the sliding door and climbed out to make way for Edward. He climbed out too. "I'll be right back," he said. He started up the driveway as Izumi got back in and closed the door.

"Whose house is this?" Alphonse wondered aloud.

Riza shrugged.

"This is a nice neighborhood, and the yards are massive," Izumi observed, chin in her hand. "Plus there's a neighborhood watch program. I wonder."

Envy sat up in the backseat and looked out the window. "Do you know who we're here to see?" Riza asked him.

"I have no idea."

Meanwhile, Edward had finally made it up the long driveway to the brick, two-story near-mansion. He rang the doorbell and waited. A camera above the door swiveled to look at him, and he looked up.

"It's me," Edward said. "Edward. Me and my friends need your help."

Silence.

"Please open the door," Edward pleaded. "My dad and a friend of mine are being held hostage by the gang, and they're after us."

More silence. Edward looked down at his feet, then back up at the camera. "If you're in there, please help me. I'm trying to separate myself from the gang. Envy is too. Please help us."

The door opened, and one eye looked out. Edward looked down at the face hiding behind the door.

"Edward?"

"Yeah, that's what I go by now. I'm not Pride anymore."

The door opened more to reveal a woman with long, dark brown hair and green eyes sitting in a wheelchair. "I'm sorry," she said, holding out her arms. "I wasn't sure if you were trying to trap me. I shouldn't have left you out here so long."

Edward hugged the woman. "It's okay, Miss Douglas," he said.

"Juliet. You don't need to be formal," she said with a smile. "Now where are these friends of yours you say need help?"

"Down there, in the van behind the tree." Edward pointed.

"Well, bring them in. What are you waiting for?"

"When Edward said 'friends' I didn't expect so many," Juliet Douglas said as she held open the door. "Nevertheless, every one of you is welcome."

"Thank you," Riza said, shaking her hand.

"You have a really nice house," Alphonse said politely.

"It belonged to my mother," Juliet said as Izumi came through the door with Envy on her back. "She passed it on to me in her will."

Edward looked around the spacious foyer. "So this is where you went," he said. "I'm glad it worked out so well for you, Juliet."

"In most cases," Juliet said, patting the arm of her wheelchair.

"At least you didn't die," Edward countered.

Juliet nodded and raised a finger. "There's always that."

"What do you mean? What happened to you?" Riza asked.

"I used to be Sloth," Juliet explained. "But then I decided to leave the gang. Of course, Dante wouldn't accept that, and she sent some of her men to ambush me. I got away with my life, but in the attack I was shot and paralyzed from the waist down. Since then, I've been able to distance myself from them." She smiled at Edward. "When I left, I wanted so terribly to take you with me. I'm glad you're finally making the right choice."

Edward ducked his head, blushing from the attention.

"And Envy," Juliet went on, turning to Envy, who had just been put back on his feet by Izumi, "what a surprise to see you here. You were the last person I would have thought would leave the gang."

Envy shrugged and looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"This is quite the group you've got together," Juliet said to Edward. "Someday you'll have to tell me the story. But for now, there's more pressing matters. You say Hohenheim and another have been captured?"

Riza nodded. "The other is my husband, Roy. We're pretty sure it was Lust and Greed who captured them, and they had my husband call me so they could trace the call and find us."

Juliet nodded. "I remember that technique. How did you escape?"

"My husband was able to pass me a coded message that we were in danger," Riza said. "Then we managed to get away."

"Then you're either incredibly lucky or incredibly skilled," Juliet said, turning her chair around. "If you all could follow me..." She wheeled through the foyer and down a wide hall, the others following.

"Since I've worked with Lust and Greed several times, I've got a pretty good idea of where they'd keep your husband and Hohenheim," Juliet said as she wheeled down the hall. "Old habits die hard, so if I'm right, you should be able to storm the place and break them out. Of course, that will take a good deal of strategy and planning."

"It's a specific place?" Izumi questioned.

"Yes. A sort of prison specifically for the gang. There's small rooms to use as cells and guards and everything," Juliet said.

"I don't think I've ever been there," Edward said. "Envy, were you ever there?"

"A couple of times. Don't remember where it is, though," Envy answered.

Riza had her hand to her chin, deep in thought. "Do you know how they treat the prisoners?" she asked.

"If you're wondering whether or not they kill them, the answer is no," Juliet said. "Once captured, the prisoners are mostly ignored. Sometimes they're even forgotten. They'll both still be alive, and probably in good health."

Riza breathed a sigh of relief.

"When will we be able to strike?" Izumi asked.

"Depending on how quickly we can throw together a plan, we can be ready by tonight. Are any of you familiar with guns?"

Everyone looked at Riza. "I am," she said.

"Good. Great. That will help."

Roy found himself drumming his fingers on the metal sheet that served as a bed. Outside of his cozy cage, he could hear the guard shifting from foot to foot, as if bored. Maybe the boredom was a good sign. Maybe it meant that no one had passed along any jubilant news about catching Riza, Edward, and Envy. He hoped his urgent message hadn't been too heavily coded. Riza was a smart woman, and observant, too. Certainly she would have noticed his using Hohenheim's real name, and mentioning his dead wife?

Only, had she figured it out in time?

The sound of a lock being opened returned Roy to reality. He turned and looked at the door as it was opened, and the guard stood outside, pointing a gun in. "Get up and come with me," the guard snapped.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Roy said, standing and stretching. He stepped out of his cage, straightening his irreparably wrinkled dress shirt, and the guard prodded him down the hall and into another room.

This room looked like a conference room, with a huge circular table in the middle, large swivel chairs pushed underneath. Like every other room in this dismal building, it had no outside windows, only overhead lights, so Roy had no idea how much time had passed.

However, the room wasn't empty. As the guard prodded Roy down into the seat at the foot of the table, the swivel chair at the head turned to reveal what looked like a young woman with dark, sharp-cut hair and amethyst eyes. She was very pretty, and Roy had to remind himself of the situation he was in. "Hello, Roy Mustang," she said, placing her folded hands atop the table.

Roy eyed her warily. "And you are...?"

"Simply, Dante," the woman said. Warning bells rang like crazy in Roy's head.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Roy asked.

Dante smiled, and it was quite the creepy smile. Guard With Gun hadn't left, and he still pointed it menacingly in Roy's direction. "I was just about to call your wife," she said, causing Roy to start, "and I thought you might like to speak with her."

"Oh really?" Roy said.

Dante nodded and gestured to the shiny black contraption in front of her. "Yes." She hit a button on the contraption, and the quiet sound of a phone ringing filled the room. Roy realized it was a conference phone and gripped the seats of his chair. Were they going to track down the others again?

The phone rang once, twice, three times, then it was picked up. "Hello?" an unfamiliar boy's voice said.

"Yes, is this the number where Mrs. Riza Mustang may be reached?" Dante said, sounding oh-so-pleasant.

Silence. Roy stared at Dante, as if trying to burn her up with heat vision. She rested her elbows on the table and interlaced her fingers, smiling back at him.

The silence on the other end of the phone reigned. Then the boy's voice, very faint. "It's for you. Some...woman."

A few more beats of silence, then Riza's sharp voice came on the line. "Who am I speaking to?" She was in her scary office mode.

"An acquaintance of your husband's," Dante said pleasantly. "He's in the room right now, listening to our conversation. Aren't you, Roy?"

Roy said nothing. Guard With Gun poked him with the gun. "So it would appear," he said.

"Are you all right, Roy?" Riza asked him.

"Besides being thrown in a smelly cell and having a gun pointed at me, I'm having the time of my life," Roy answered, not wanting her to worry.

"Since I'm certain you're quite worried about him and Hohenheim, Mrs. Mustang, I've called to offer a deal," Dante went on.

A beat of silence. "What are you offering?" Riza asked sharply.

"I am willing to turn both gentlemen back over to you," Dante said, "providing you give me the boys in return."

Roy knew that Riza would never go for that.

"You are entirely deranged if you think I would even consider such a thing," Riza said. Her tone hadn't changed, but Roy knew his wife. She was quite pissed and probably wanted to put a bullet between Dante's eyes.

"I would think about it, if I were you," Dante said. "It's not too terrible a deal. You value your husband's life, don't you?"

"One life isn't more important than another. I will not doom two boys to save two men. I'm refusing."

"Don't be so rash, Mrs. Mustang. Perhaps we can negotiate."

"No. You're wasting your time, Dante." The line clicked.

Dante's smile grew. "Very well. I wish them all well in the next life."

"You tracked them again," Roy spat.

"Of course, Mr. Mustang."

"They aren't fools. They won't fall for the same trick twice."

"I don't need them to. They're coming to me."

Roy paled.

After the little chat, Roy wasn't returned to his own cell, but in fact Hohenheim's. It was cramped enough with just one person, but with two there was barely enough room. Hohenheim let Roy have the metal-sheet-bed-thing and stood in the corner.

"I think my wife and the others are walking into a trap," Roy said.

"Are they coming to get us?" Hohenheim asked.

Roy nodded. "That's how it sounded. And that Dante knows. She'll probably have an ambush waiting for them."

Hohenheim looked grim. "If it's just the three of them, their safety is indeed in danger."

"I wish there was some way we could warn them," Roy sighed. "Instead we're stuck in this cell. You know, I'm beginning to think taking the van out by ourselves to have the plates wiped was a really bad idea."

"Not to dampen your mood, Roy, but you were the one who surrendered the second they surrounded the van."

"Well, they had guns, Mr. Cla--Elric. And I don't know about you, but having a body full of holes does not appeal to me."

"Well, you could have put up some kind of a fight."

"And get shot anyway? No thank you. I prefer hand-to-hand combat."

"Are we talking hand-to-hand as in using both hands to fight, or hand-to-hand as in using both hands to surrender?"

"Since we're in such a position, I can respond in the following way: shut up."

"How about you both shut up?" a new voice suddenly whispered.

Roy and Hohenheim both started and looked in the direction of the air vent, which was screwed shut. They could see nothing in the darkness behind the slats, but their ears hadn't deceived them both. "Who--" Hohenheim started.

"Shh! You stupid bastard."

It was Envy.

"Rescue?" Roy mouthed.

"Yeah. So somebody be ready to punch the guard's lights out." Suddenly, Dante's voice came out of the air vents. "Wha--? Where am I! Who's done this! Let me out of here!"

Roy and Hohenheim gaped at the air vent, but outside, the guard was noisily turning around. "Lady Dante?" he exclaimed through the door.

"Get me out of here!" Envy raged, doing a perfect imitation of Dante's voice. "How could you let those hooligans bring me in here!"

The guard outside was obviously an idiot. Roy and Hohenheim realized what Envy was doing and turned to the door as the guard frantically tried to unlock it. "I'm so sorry, Lady Dante, I didn't see them sneak you in, please forgive me..." he was rambling. He swung open the door, and Hohenheim barreled out, driving his shoulder into the guard's stomach. The guard gasped and passed out, and Hohenheim stepped over him.

"Keep going. We're waiting down the hall," Envy said.

Roy nodded and jumped over the guard's body. "Come on, it's jailbreak time," he said.

As if cued by his voice, there were sudden gunshots, muffled by the walls. Hohenheim and Roy hurried down the hall, coming to a door at the end. It was locked, and someone on the other side was trying to break it down. Hohenheim and Roy backed up a bit as the door splintered suddenly, revealing an unfamiliar woman with dark, dreadlocked hair and a fierce expression.

"Less gawking, more escaping," she ordered them.

Riza kept firing at the guards until she saw Izumi, Roy, and Hohenheim come barreling down the steel stairs. Then she fired at a support cable twice, breaking it, and the platform holding a pile of planks that it carried came crashing down near where the guards were taking cover, obscuring their vision. "Come on!" she yelled, waving frantically.

An air vent near her was kicked open, and Envy crawled out. "They've called reinforcements," he announced.

"Then let's go," Izumi said firmly. "The boys are waiting in the--"

Gunfire suddenly opened on them, and they dived out of the way, scattering. Riza stumbled and managed to half-roll behind a turned table. She scanned the area to see who was firing and saw an entire group of people coming into the entrance. Every other person in the group had a gun and was firing at them. Riza aimed carefully and took out three of the armed people with her first three shots. A small part of the table near her face exploded from a gunshot, and she ducked.

The continual pace of gunfire continued. Riza kept firing and ducking, and she, Izumi, Roy, and Hohenheim, who all had guns in hand now, were slowly picking off the advancing enemy line. The warehouse doors opened, and more people with more guns arrived.

Riza, who had been doing the most amount of shooting, ran her clip out first. She ducked behind the table, pulled a clip from her pocket, unloaded the empty clip, and shoved the new one in, all in less than three seconds. She was ready and firing again almost instantly. There were brief pauses in the continual pattern of gunfire that indicated empty clips being discarded and replaced.

The tiny walkie-talkie on her hip crackled. "I'm moving," Izumi said over the walkie-talkie.

Riza pushed the talk button on the side. "Got it." She let go and fired at a persistent man with what looked like a machine gun. A few more pieces of her table were bitten off by gunshots, and Riza knew her new clip wasn't going to last much longer.

Izumi suddenly leapt over the cluster of chairs she had been using as cover. Dodging all the flying bullets, she launched herself at one of the gunmen and knocked him down with a solid roundhouse kick. One of the unarmed men lunged at her, fists up, but she punched him in the stomach, and when he doubled over, cracked her elbow down on his neck. A third man and a woman tried to tag-team her, but Izumi caught the woman's punch and tossed her right over her shoulder, and used a sweep kick to knock the man on his back.

Riza saw one of the gunmen aim directly at Izumi and shot him in the back. She heard a click behind her and whirled, suddenly facing down the barrel of a gun. She couldn't raise her gun to defend herself in time, but just before the man pulled the trigger, a sudden kick out of nowhere connected with the side of his head and sent him flying into a pile of boxes. Riza stood up to see that it was Envy who had just saved her life. A man came up behind Envy, and Riza was just about to lift her gun when Envy elbowed the man sharply in the stomach and, without turning around, back-kicked the man into the same pile of boxes.

"You're welcome, NRA," Envy said.

"Thank you." Riza fired a shot into the next man that had come up behind Envy. "And you're welcome."

"Thanks."

Izumi's minivan burst through the doors, running over at least three gunmen. Once again, Edward was behind the wheel. Alphonse was in the passenger seat, and as they drove by at the speed of light, he reached out and punched a man who was in the process of trying to hit Izumi. Edward screeched to a halt, half-turning the van so it was parallel with the door.

"Can we go now?" Edward yelled as Alphonse opened the sliding door.

Riza and Envy dashed from behind the poor demolished table and into the van. A man tried to follow, but Envy kicked him where the sun doesn't shine, and Riza pistol-whipped the now terribly injured man, knocking him away. Roy jumped into the van next, moving to the back as Hohenheim followed. Finally Izumi got in the doorway, her arm bloody.

"Mom! What happened?" Alphonse exclaimed as Edward threw the car in reverse.

"Just a flesh wound, Alphonse," Izumi assured him, karate-chopping another person attempting to get in.

Edward peeled out of the warehouse backwards, running over a couple more people. Gunshots pinged off the car and cracked the windshield. Izumi still had the sliding door open as she clung to the side of the car, so Riza stuck her head and arm out and shot three of the gunmen. She got back in, and Izumi climbed in as well, slamming the sliding door shut. Edward kept going backwards until he reached an unpaved road, and then changed gears and floored it.

"I thought we discussed you not getting behind the wheel again, Edward," Hohenheim sighed from the middle bench.

"Well, I was the only one not going in who knew how to drive a car," Edward said matter-of-factly.

Alphonse twisted around in his seat to get a look at Hohenheim. "So you're Hohenheim!" he said cheerfully. "You really haven't changed much!"

Hohenheim stared at Alphonse. "Oh! I'm sorry," Alphonse went on. "I'm Alphonse! Your youngest son! I know you probably thought I was dead, but I actually survived the car explosion. It's a really long story, and Mom--" he pointed at Izumi "--can probably explain better than I can, but I've been looking for you and Brother for years!"

"How is it possible?" Hohenheim said, sounding as though he'd heard that Earth was going to explode in six minutes. "Alphonse...I thought you were...you and your brother..."

"We can explain the whole thing back at Juliet's house," Riza said.

Tada. Chapter's done. I think I have an idea of how I want to do a certain something...it'll be good, promise. See you next time!