Hey everyone! I have no excuses for my late update. I know a sorry won't make up for it either.

In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried getting everyone's personalities down in this one.

P.S. Thank you so much for your follows, favorites, and reviews! You guys are what drive me to update this in the first place. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Once again Lust's body was engulfed in flames. She cried out in pain and glared venomously at the perpetrator. "How … You should have bled to death!" she screeched in anger.

Roy frowned at the homunculus. "I used fire to sear the wounds closed," he explained emphasizing the side of his body that was burnt and closed up.

Lust tried to get to her feet but in an instant Roy's flames burned through her. "GAH!" she shouted, turning back to look at him. Roy didn't give her another chance to move and more flames spit out at her. "I remember in our previous meeting, you said that it'd take a lot more to kill you," Roy muttered. "If that's the case, then I'll keep burning you until you stay dead."

Over and over Lust's body burned to a crisp. There was no chance for her to regenerate; no time to attack. Roy kept his flames coming. From behind the large wall courtesy of Alphonse's alchemy, Black Star, Al, and Riza watched on in shock.

Black Star refused to believe that this Roy character was stronger than him, but his flame attacks were extremely difficult to counter, from what the boy was seeing. This man … maybe he could fight toe to toe with the B Star and actually have a chance at beating him.

The only person who he really considered stronger than him was Kid and just thinking about that made the meister want to punch something. He hated acknowledging when others were stronger than him.

Alphonse, who was situated closer to the battle so the flames would hit him first, was mildly shocked. The Colonel was always a hard worker, driven by not only his goal- whatever that was- but also his love for his subordinates. If Riza was in danger he'd come. If Edward was in danger, he'd be there. If anyone, even Alphonse, who wasn't even one of his subordinates, was in a bad situation, the Colonel would be there to do whatever he could.

Edward would probably tell his brother that he was giving the Colonel (bastard) too much credit … but Alphonse would have to disagree.

Riza who was hidden safely behind Alphonse sighed in relief, but she was still worried. Roy could've died; he almost did died. And where was she? Not protecting him.

But there was no helping that, Riza tried to tell herself as she watched Roy's flames blaze. She was told to go separate from him. It was an order. He was supposed to go with Lieutenant Havoc and-

Riza's eyes widened.

What happened to Havoc?!

She needed to talk to Roy, get him to a doctor, and ask about Havoc.

Her worries were far from gone as Lust's body was burned to a crisp for the very last time.

The homunculus, tired of being blasted with flames, lunged as a last attempt to kill him, but it was too late. Her body was fading, turning to dust.

She … She was going to die.

Lust's face remained neutral as she stared up at Roy. "You won. I hate to lose … but if I must die, I am glad that is by the hands of a man like you." She then smirked. "Those eyes, so clear and focused," she murmured. "I look forward to the day when those eyes are clouded from suffering." Roy glared as she continued, "One day … very soon …" And her body was gone. Nothing left remained but bones.

Seeing as it was over, Roy finally relaxed, only to fall to the floor. "Colonel!" he heard Riza cry. Although his vision was slightly blurry, he watched as Alphonse and Riza ran towards him. Following them not too far behind was the foreigner with the star tattoo.

"Yo! Fire dude! Stay awake or it'll be a pain!" the meister shouted.

"Bl-Black Star, that's rude!" Alphonse scolded.

The blue-haired boy only shrugged. He and Al watched as Riza tried to pick her commanding officer up. "Colonel, sir, are you alright?!"

"You're safe … Lieutenant …"

"Worry about yourself, sir!" she cried out, staring at his wound. "We need a doctor!"

Roy stared up at the ceiling, "Yes, call a-a doctor for Havoc …"

"Second Lieutenant Havoc?!" Alphonse questioned. "W-What happened?!"

Riza nodded at the Colonel. "We'll get a doctor for both of you." She turned to look at Alphonse and Black Star. "Could one of you help carry him? We need to find Havoc."


Just outside the white room that Riza, Roy, Alphonse, and Black Star were occupying, stood Fuhrer King Bradley. The man sheathed his sword and began walking away, seeing as there was no reason to intervene anymore.

As he continued down his path, he caught the sound of mumbling and halted. It was coming from just up ahead.

"How am I supposed to go back to Lady Arachne without all of my energy? Damn brats …"

Bradley lifted an eyebrow.

The voice and small steps grew closer and closer until finally they stopped. Whoever it was must have caught wind that he was not alone.

"Who's there?" the voice questioned, luckily not too loudly.

Bradley stepped forward and smiled down at the other person's appearance. "My," he began, "Aren't you a strange fellow."

The little man wore a black suit and a top hat. His eyes were huge and his pointy nose covered half of his face. "I won't ask again. Who are you?" He seemed worried. Did this have anything to do with not having any energy, Bradley mused.

"I am Fuhrer King Bradley," he proclaimed, examining the man before him. This person was definitely not human, nor was he a homunculus. What exactly was he? And was he any threat to Father?

Before the small man could even blink, the Fuhrer had his neck in his cold hands. "I hope you realize running around underground isn't exactly safe in this country." The man shivered and stared wide eyed at him. "For your ignorance, I think I'll take you to Father. Let's see what he thinks of an abnormality such as yourself."


Death the Kid was bored. He sat atop the roof of Pinako's house and looked on at the sunrise lazily. Edward was still asleep and there was no one to talk to. Not that he needed company … he was quite fond of solitude. He got along well before Liz and Patty. He worked on his Grim Reaper powers constantly and always tried to make his father happy. When not doing that he'd busy himself with making everything in his house symmetrical. Once done with that he'd watch the people of Death City go about their daily lives.

Kid didn't dislike that life style. In fact, he could've lived decades just doing that. But after Liz and Patty … well, everything changed. He didn't mind being around them. No, everyday was a headache but also an adventure. When the three first started their partnership Patty would laugh at everything and hardly pay attention while Liz would always pretend to go along with what he wanted but scowl at him when he had his back turned.

Kid couldn't help but smile, remembering it. Liz only agreed to her and Patty being his weapon partners only because she had it in her mind that she could steal everything he owned. He didn't know what exactly made her change her mind later on, however. Even to this day he wondered why she decided to stay with him. Patty from the get-go was pretty excited about the whole weapon and meister thing. What made the sisters like him enough to agree to it, Kid would never know. He didn't ask only because he was afraid of intruding on their privacy.

Thinking about it, made Kid sigh and realize that he really did miss his weapons, no matter how asymmetrical they were. He even missed Soul and Tsubaki. They were people he could truly call friends.

It was a surprising thing for Kid when they all started hanging around him. At first he speculated that they were only being friendly because he was Lord Death's son. But, Black Star and Soul's welcome wasn't so nice and they tried to beat him up, knowing his heritage already. Kid liked to think that after that first encounter he had earned their respect and they decided they somewhat liked him. Tsubaki and Maka though, he never understood. They didn't seem like the type of people to try to associate themselves with people like him, Liz, and Patty. But the girls got along greatly and Maka and Tsubaki acknowledged his skills not because he was Lord Death's son but because he truthfully was talented.

I'm getting sick of just waiting, Kid told himself. Remembering home made him extremely homesick. He couldn't wait to find Mosquito.

Suddenly the front door of the Rockbell house creaked open and Kid heard voices. Then, Edward and Alphonse's father came out, bag in hand.

"Hohenheim!"

The voice of Pinako caused the man to stop and glance back. "Try to come back once in a while for a meal."

A pause.

And then Hohenheim waved in response before continuing down the road.

Kid watched with keen eyes. Edward's dad knew a lot. From what Kid had noticed from last night, no doubt he had some kind of a connection to homunculi … unless their existence was common knowledge to alchemists …

He also knew a lot. He had more knowledge than Edward. Kid could see it in his eyes. And the way he acted … It was as if he had a thousand secrets weighing him down.

Kid watched him walk away from the Rockbell house until he was no longer in sight.

What a strange man indeed.


"You idiot!" Roy shouted, causing the rest of the hospital to jump in surprise. From his bed, Roy frowned at Riza. His lieutenant stared down at the ground in shame as he continued on, "You believed the enemy's lies?! Even if they were telling the truth, how could you just lose the will to fight?! I expected more out of you Lieutenant!"

"I-I am very sorry, sir," she said, her head still lowered.

"Learn to keep it together! You cannot shut down under pressure and you should never ever give up on life! As a soldier and as my subordinate you need to firm up your resolve."

"Yes sir …"

Roy leaned back into his cushion. "I'm going to continue to trust you with my back. Devote yourself to this task."

"You're one to talk colonel. As the commanding officer you shouldn't have even been on the battlefield."

Roy glared at the person in the hospital bed next to his. "Shut up Havoc!"

Havoc only sighed. "Please don't yell colonel, its hard on my injury."

"Is that all you have to say to the man who saved your life?"

The second Lieutenant shrugged and looked away uncaring.

Roy's eyebrow twitched in anger and sat up before shouting, "Why you UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SNOT!" Immediately, he fell back down into his earlier position and cringed as his wound began to ache.

"Didn't I tell you not to yell?" Havoc only said.

Roy rolled his eyes. "And why do I have to share a room with you anyway? I'm an officer! I should get a private room and a beautiful nurse!"

"Please try to understand sir," Riza spoke up, "The enemy might try to kill you in your sleep. It's much easier to protect the two of you when you're in one room."

Roy nodded, his face suddenly turning serious. "That's just it. People die in hospitals all the time. They could make it look like an accident. This is the perfect opportunity! So … why haven't they come?"

"Because! The Great Black Star is here protecting you! That's why!" All eyes turned to stare at the boy sitting casually on the window sill. Uncaringly, he reached over and grabbed a piece of meat from Havoc's food tray.

Riza was the first one to speak up, the rest of the room still staring in surprise. "Once again, thank you for your services," she said politely. Although, he had no business helping them, he succeeded in stalling Lust to the best of his abilities. It was amazing what he was capable of.

Roy examined Black Star. "In my Lieutenant's report it said that you fought Lust and was able to land a few hits on her. That is very impressive."

"Well you are staring at the man who will surpass god after all," Black Star said proudly, gulping down the meat.

"It also said that you told Alphonse Elric that it was okay to leave my subordinate to die by Lust's hands."

Black Star immediately choked and then gave Riza a disgusted look. "What seriously? Why'd ya tattletale on me?"

Riza seemed surprised. "No, I didn't mean to-"

"Whatever," the meister waved her off instantly. "I really don't care. If I had to go through that same scenario again, I would've done the exact same thing."

Roy raised an eyebrow, although he was slightly angry with the kid for his decision. "What do you mean?"

Black Star shrugged. "Well, she gave up on life. If somebody doesn't have the strength to live, then why should they? I mean, sometimes I hate leaving my friends behind, but if I can't convince them to keep moving forward, than what's the use, y'know? The Great Black Star doesn't need weak companions anyway."

"That's harsh kid," commented Havoc.

Once again, Black Star shrugged.

His logic did make sense and Roy couldn't find it in himself to completely blame him. He was just lucky Alphonse was there. The kind boy would never give up on somebody.

"And what about those other friends of yours?" Roy asked.

"What? Kid and Maka?" Black Star smirked. "I hate it, but Kid is pretty strong. I can't imagine that bastard giving up. And Maka is too damn stubborn. Although a few times she's needed a punch to the face, but she always gets right back up."

Sounds like Fullmetal, Roy mused.

"All of my followers are strong, especially my weapon Tsubaki! Mwahahaha!"

"Wait … Followers? I thought we were talking about friends here," said Havoc.

Roy remembered what the foreigners had said about their world. Apparently people could turn into weapons. So this Tsubaki person was his weapon.

The colonel had accepted long ago that the three strangers were telling him the truth on the day they'd met. But other worlds and such were completely out of his hands. Before Black Star helped go after Barry's body, Roy had offered the boy assistance in finding a way back to their home world. Hopefully the boy didn't remember.

"Um, excuse us," called out somebody, as the hospital room's door opened.

"Sorry to disturb you sir," called out another.

The room's occupants turned to look at the two people who entered. Riza gasped. "Alphonse, is it alright for you to be walking around in public like this?!" she questioned staring at the youngest Elric's battered and torn armor.

Sergeant Fury, who had entered alongside Alphonse sighed. "That's what I said."

"Its fine," he told them, waving the only hand he had left.

"… What happened to his body?" Black Star questioned, scratching his head.

Alphonse gasped. "Ah! Black Star! There you are! Where did you go last night? I told Maka what happened and she was worried."

Black Star stubbornly looked away and squinted his eyes. "I don't answer to Maka … geesh."

"But she didn't know where you wer-"

"I followed the military dudes back here and spent the night."

"Wait, you were here all night?!" Roy and Havoc asked, slightly disturbed.

"Yep! You didn't notice me is that it?" Black Star then dramatically pointed to the ceiling and held his head high. "Well, I AM a master ninja assassin. It's no wonder you couldn't see me."

Havoc cocked and annoyed eyebrow. "Right …"

Black Star, not catching his sarcastic tone, then said, "Oh yeah. What did Kid say? And has there been any progress on getting back?"

Alphonse chuckled warily. "Yeah, about that. He left with Edward and Major Armstrong to Resembool not too long ago."

"Resembool? Is that a Sub restaurant?"

"…"

"…Why a sub?"

"It's a little town in the East," Riza answered.

Black Star frowned. "What? Really? Why'd he go there? I hope he knows he's just splitting the team up even more. At this rate we'll never get back home!"

"… I'm pretty sure you did the same thing," said Al, "you know …split up from the others."

"Huh? What are you even talking about?"

Alphonse sighed. "Never mind."

Riza turned from the conversation to look at the young black haired officer. "Sgt. Fury did you bring what I asked you to bring?"

"Uh?" Fury questioned, still surprised by Black Star and his personality. "Oh! Y-Yessir!" He handed her the documents in his hand.

"Thank you," she said. "Don't allow anyone into the room."

Fury who was already turning towards the door. "Yes, sir."

Once Fury exited the room, Roy questioned, "What've you got there?"

"A map sir," Riza told him, unfolding one of the sheets in her hand. "I calculated the distance we traveled from when we first entered the basement of the 3rd laboratory based on the number of steps I took and the length of my strides. From that, I could identify the location of the massive doors we found inside the basement," she explained. "Since the hallway was slightly curved the direction was hard to pinpoint. So, using my measurement as the radius, I drew a circle with the 3rd laboratory at the center."

In response everyone stared wide eyed at Riza.

"…"

"W-Wow, Lieutenant Hawkweye. That's amazing," Alphonse praised.

"Gah! I didn't even understand a word she said!" cringed Black Star, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, damn," said Havoc, looking worn out just from listening.

Roy grinned. "Good work."

Riza nodded and sat the map down in his lap. "Thank you, sir."

Alphonse then gasped. "Ah! Look Colonel! The 2nd laboratory is inside the circle."

Roy rested a hand on his chin as his eyes danced around the map. "Not so fast Alphonse. Part of Central command is within the circle as well. Not to mention, so is part of the Presidential estate." Roy hesitated. "Could this mean the Fuhrer is involved with the homunculi?"

Alphonse shook his armored head. "I don't think so. He led a squad to annihilate the homunculus Greed in Dublith. So why …?"

"Hmm …" Roy soaked in the information with a hum. The fact that the military was involved at all is bad enough, but if the Fuhrer was involved too … Roy couldn't help but smirk on the inside … well, let's say my way to the top will be much easier than I expected. Although there will be an extremely bumpy road ahead. "I doubt I can count many in the military as an ally yet even if it's the Fuhrer. I'll just have to dig more into this."

Al nodded. "I see."

"Yo, blonde dude," said Black Star. "What's a Fuhrer?"

Havoc sighed. "You know my name's Jean Havoc."

"Jean? Isn't that a girl's name?"

"…No …"

"I think it is, but that's okay. You're cool last name will make up for it." Havoc sweat dropped. "Anyway, I asked what a Fuhrer was."

Alphonse, glancing at a worn out looking Havoc, answered, "The Fuhrer is the leader of our country."

Black Star nodded. "So he's got a lot of power. Like Lord Death."

"Um, yeah actually," said Al, remembered the skeleton faced figure from the mirror.

"So is he a god too? Also, if he's the leader, why would he be with your enemies?"

Roy smirked lightly. "Those are all questions we'd all like answered as well. Now we just gotta figure out how to find these answers."

"Oh, hey," said Havoc. "Doesn't the Fuhrer know about this guy," he pointed at Black Star, "And his friends? Isn't that dangerous? He might try to target them since they're close with the Elric brothers."

"Now, hold on," spoke Riza. "We don't exactly know if the Fuhrer is allied with the homunculi or not."

"And it's not likely that the homunculi are targeting us in the first place," Alphonse explained. "They consider us sacrifices. I don't know what for, but right now, they don't want us dead."

Havoc whistled. "Wow, didn't you get lucky. If only I was in your position when we confronted Lust." Although he sounded somewhat playful, there was a hint of disdain in his voice. Roy stared at his Second Lieutenant harshly, wondering what was wrong.

"L-Lieutenant Havoc?" questioned Alphonse warily. Even Riza stared in surprise at Havoc.

Black Star stared dully at the blonde man. "What's got your panties in a twist?"

"Wha- I don't have any panties in a … ugh never mind," Havoc growled. "That's not it! It's just …" he trailed off and glared down at his legs concealed by the hospital blankets. "I can't feel either of my legs Colonel."

Alphonse gasped while Riza and Roy stared wide eyed. Black Star picked his ear.

"You," began Roy. "You …"

"My career in the military is over."


Well, that's it for now. I really hope you enjoyed it. I have some plans for later on, I just hope I get a chance to execute them.

Alright, until next time!