Disclaimer: Just in case you're wondering (which I'm sure you're not), I don't own FMA.
I want to say thank you to Royal Duke Armadilloer III, Fabi Washu, KageNoNeko, ssadropout, Aieika, Canata Blue, Theiving Alchemist, hawkeyeflame1921, animelover199514, ILoveAnonymity, Hollowmist, lecchan and Hina Kita for your great reviews!
I also want to say a big thank you to my awesome beta-reader, ssadropout!
Chapter 21 – Getting the Train Back on the Tracks
April 15th, 1918
The hall was silent that day, as it had been for some time. The thumping of feet coming down the stairs didn't even call Harold's attention. He had just gotten a cup of coffee and sat down to read the daily newspaper. He was eager to find something about Amestris and the war there. He sure missed the young couple that had stayed with them for months.
"Any news?" Aidan's pleading eyes met his for only half a second, before Harold looked at the front page.
"I don't know ye-" the old man started, stopped for a second, then stood up suddenly, the newspaper still in his hands. "Holy Mother of God!"
"What?" Aidan asked in desperation, jumping and trying to see what had startled the old man. Hope and Nancy heard him and came running from the kitchen, asking what was going on.
The gardener read the news out loud to all of them, who listened to him openmouthed.
"Fuhrer Grumman's successor, Brigadier General Roy Mustang, has unified the army and ended the rebellion all in one day, when he ordered the rebel soldiers to join the army again and fight on their side. The Amestrian parliament, previously dismantled by Nymbe, has been given its authority back. Amestris does not answer to Nymbe anymore."
There was a lot more to read about the war and Mustang in the article, but the first paragraph alone was already enough to get them all so surprised that they wouldn't have the presence of mind to read the rest of it for another ten or fifteen minutes.
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Many miles away from there, in a land that hadn't known peace for over a year now, soldiers gathered in Central, getting ready for battle. Rebels were putting on the Amestrian uniform another time, proud of joining the army again. Troops arrived from many places and one coming a long way from the North had just crossed the gates of Central Headquarters. It was a small but well-trained troop that had come from Briggs. Their commander was waiting to meet with the new Fuhrer and discuss strategies. He had been designated by Olivier herself, and Roy was already expecting to see someone he knew.
First Lieutenant Havoc was already tired of standing by the door. Mustang had put him in charge of security, since he needed someone he could trust, once the political situation was still very unstable, and political assassination wasn't an unthinkable scenario. The Fuhrer had spent the whole day in meetings, planning their actions against Nymbe. Havoc had stood there the whole time and although he was tired, he was glad to be able to follow everything so closely. Mustang and Hawkeye's security was now his responsibility, and he had taken the job very seriously from the beginning. Two days and all the lower-rank soldiers under his command were already terrified of him because he would go ballistic if he even suspected them of slacking off.
Once the last meeting was over, the generals left the room for a moment, but Roy stayed with Riza, hoping to rest a little before heading his new office. Too much had happened on the last couple of days, and Roy just wished for some time to talk to Riza about anything that wasn't related to the war.
"You really had no idea about Grumman?" Roy asked Riza casually, leaning back on his chair.
By their side, Havoc rolled his shoulders once and straightened his hair, relaxing a little. The tense atmosphere seemed to have partially dissipated.
"No. Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are," Riza replied.
Grumman didn't have much money when he died due to the crisis the country was in. Many resources the army had used had come from his own pocket, in his desperate attempt to keep the army together. However, he had left a few family heirlooms to his only granddaughter. Nobody had known who that was until Grumman's lawyers went public with his will. Lieutenant Hawkeye, did know her mother had the same surname as Fuhrer Grumman before marrying her father, and therefore was probably related to him somehow. However, she hadn't expected her to be his daughter.
"It's funny. He had asked me if I didn't want to marry his granddaughter. I had no idea it was you he was talking about. I thought he was just joking," Roy said.
"Didn't he ask you about us before?" Hawkeye asked.
"He actually asked me a lot about you. If there was anything between you and me, if you liked your job, if Ishbal… still bothered you."
Riza sighed. She didn't know her grandfather's reasons for not letting her know, but she did wonder about it. Maybe Grumman didn't get along with her father, as not many people did. Still, she liked to think that maybe he didn't want anyone to think her good career in the army had anything to do with him, and thus he hadn't said anything before.
"Has Major General Armstrong told you who the commander of this troop coming from Briggs is?" Riza asked Roy, changing the topic.
"No, she only said she wanted to get rid of him and that's why she sent him here," Roy said in a bored tone, closing his eyes.
Despite not opposing to Mustang becoming Fuhrer, Olivier didn't like Roy, and they weren't surprised that she hadn't been more helpful. The situation in the North was always tense because of Drachma, another neighboring country. Therefore, Olivier wouldn't send many soldiers to Central because she needed them there.
Roy opened his eyes again when Riza placed a hand on his knee. He smiled fondly at her, and then remembered they still weren't alone.
"Lieutenant Havoc, I think you should watch the door from outside," Mustang said in a casual tone.
Jean laughed mischievously. "I'd be glad to, sir," he said, before leaving the room and standing outside in the corridor. Roy pulled his chair closer to Riza and placed a quick kiss on her lips, before asking her if she was tired.
"I'm fine. I'm just worried about you," she said.
"I'm all right, as long as you're here with me," he said, taking her hand and caressing her fingertips, calloused from handling weapons.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door, and Roy had to make an effort not to curse. They had managed to be alone for not more than two or three minutes. Havoc came inside again, with an expression that made it clear he was trying hard to look serious.
"The commander of Briggs' troop is here to speak with you, sir," he announced in a slightly weird tone.
Roy and Riza stared at each for a second, before standing up. There was something Havoc wasn't telling them, but Roy didn't feel like trying to guess what it was now. He ordered the Lieutenant to let the commander in, and Jean opened the door, immediately stepping to the side to let this huge man walk in. The commander of the Briggs' troop could have been mistaken for a bull charging.
"Fuhrer Mustang, I'm glad to meet you again!" the roaring voice filled the room with violence as the man in blue uniform went straight to Roy in a way that would be considered threatening if they didn't know him well enough already.
"Major Armstrong!" Mustang said in surprise when Alex Armstrong bowed before him.
"I must say I'm touched by your courage. To admit your love in front of all those people!" Alex burst out, a tear of emotion sprouting from his eyes.
Both Roy and Riza took a step backwards, looking utterly disconcerted. Havoc seemed to be enjoying the situation. He watched them in silence, puckering his lips in a huge attempt not to laugh.
"It's good to see you… safe and sound… Major." Roy said, hoping that the scene would end at that.
"Nymbe ordered my execution, but I like to think that their attack has only made me stronger, nothing else!" the man said, taking off the glove Roy and Riza hadn't noticed he was wearing. In a swift movement, Alex Armstrong took off his jacket as well, to exhibit a steel arm.
"Automail?" Riza observed as the Major moved his arm around showing them all the scary features of his northern combat automail.
"Precisely. They tried to kill me, and they gave me a weapon to fight them!"
"I'm glad to see you're still an optimist," Roy said, pulling his chair to sit down again.
He didn't make it to the chair, because Alex pulled him to a hug first.
"I can't say how happy I am for the two of you," the Major said in between low sobs, not willing to let go of the man just yet.
"Have I mentioned that I don't like to be hugged by men?" Roy managed to say, feeling like most of the air in his lungs had been squeezed out of his chest. Armstrong didn't seem to care about his complaint.
Riza tried hard not to laugh at the ridiculous situation, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to escape from a hug herself. The news of their relationship had traveled across the country much faster than they had expected. Everyone was talking about them, and the population didn't seem to care if they worked together or not. For them there was no such thing as a scandal as the S.I.F. had feared. In fact, they were now Amestris' new hope for a better future.
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April 16th, 1918
The sun was about to set and Amestrian planes were landing in the main airbase in Central City. A massive attack against Nymbean airbases in Creta had been organized, based on information Edward had collected. Nymbe had been gathering their airplanes for combat in the airbases near the border between Creta and Amestris before they were attacked. Having little time to answer to the bombardments, the Nymbean airbases had been crushed.
Now the information about the combats had reached Amestris main headquarters, and although most people in the Central Airbase just wanted to celebrate the successful mission, not everyone was happy. Quite a few Amestrian airplanes hadn't come back yet.
There was little information on the pilots flying the fighters and bombers. Despite their advantage due to the surprise attack, some Amestrian aircraft had been taken down by machinegun shots and even cannon balls. Several Amestrian flags would be wrapped around coffins during the next couple of days.
The short-haired girl watched the sky attentively, holding her breath every time another biplane showed. All of them landed, many pilots came to greet their friends, but the one she was expecting still hadn't arrived. Many soldiers strode from side to side; others still watched the sky from the towers; many pilots were ready to go up in the air in case of an attack. Everybody was awaiting the pilots' return, and although the atmosphere was mostly quiet, everyone feared an attack.
"What's taking you so long?" she said, more to herself than to anyone else.
She barely heard the steps behind her. By her side, Hayate, the dog Kain had left with her, barked friendly to the soldier who had just arrived.
"Nothing?" Havoc asked.
"No."
The Lieutenant suppressed a sudden wish to curse, afraid of making the girl even more worried. He had only managed to come to the runway because Mustang and Hawkeye were now in the airbase, and he really hoped Fuery, who had taken part in the attack to the military targets in Creta, would come back before he had to leave again.
"Shit, why didn't he arrive yet?"
"I don't know, Kayleigh. But there are still many airplanes coming," Jean said.
He had met Kain's girlfriend, Kayleigh, in Airbase 3 in Xing and knew she would be utterly worried until Fuery came back.
"I hope nothing bad happened. Damn, it can't be. He has to be alright," she continued, and Havoc didn't know what to say to make her feel better.
They were quiet for a moment, when another plane came and landed. The pilot and the radio operator came out, but they didn't look like Fuery. Kayleigh cursed again.
"I fixed his plane, I checked it twice… I hope it flew all right."
"Calm down. You're a great mechanic, I'm sure you did your best," Havoc said to the girl.
"It's just… Damn, I love that crazy pilot. What am I going to do if something happens to him? Just to think that when we met it took me about two months to learn his name…"
Havoc laughed at the comment. He had heard the story that Kayleigh had trouble remembering names so she had called Kain 'New Guy' for quite some time before they became lovers. Their friendship had begun late at night, drinking at the bar after a long day's work and had evolved into something more over the next couple of months.
"If only he wasn't so crazy when flying that thing I wouldn't be so worried!" Kayleigh complained out loud another time.
Another fifteen minutes went by and the sun disappeared behind the horizon. When there was almost nobody still waiting at the runway, a biplane showed up at the sky, leaving an awful trail of smoke behind.
"That guy over there must have taken some damage," Havoc observed.
The damaged biplane landed roughly, and Kayleigh took a couple of steps forward, trying to distinguish the pilot. The short man who jumped off the aircraft took off his helmet and goggles, and Havoc knew who it was before he could see his face. Kayleigh was already dashing down the runway to hug the lad in relief, followed by Hayate.
"What the hell happened to you?" she yelled, hugging Fuery tight then moving away a little to check a burn on his forehead.
"We were shot. We almost fell to the ground," Kain said with a tired voice.
The radio operator got off the airplane as well, looking really pale. The flight sure had been scary, with the plane threatening to stop functioning and fall down during the whole way back.
"We managed to destroy most of the enemy airbases completely," Fuery announced, earning a smile from both Havoc and Kayleigh.
"You're not going back to battle now, are you?" Kayleigh asked.
"Not now. No way. The plane is in no condition to fly," Fuery said while they started walking back to the main building.
"Good, because I have something to tell you," Kayleigh said hesitatingly.
Fuery stopped walking, as he heard Kayleigh tell him what she was so nervous to tell. Havoc looked at his friend's surprised face and thought it would be better to leave them alone. There was something funny about the situation, but the Lieutenant felt he had no business there now.
"You're pregnant?" Jean still heard Fuery say in a shocked tone.
"Yeah…" Kayleigh confirmed it.
"Pregnant?"
"Pretty sure of it. Yeah. What do we do now?" she asked, slightly embarrassed.
"What do you mean? Well, I… I know you didn't want to have a family so soon, but… Darn…"
"I thought you wanted a family one day."
"I did, I did," Fuery said in a hurry. "It's just… First I wanted… Oh, this isn't how I had planned to do this but…"
The Sergeant got something in his breast pocket and knelt down, truly hoping not to blush.
"What are you doing?" Kayleigh asked.
"Will you marry me?" he asked, showing her the silver ring he had bought. It was pretty simple, but he knew Kayleigh wouldn't mind it, and he couldn't afford anything more expensive.
"Because I'm pregnant?"
"Actually I was planning to propose when the war was over," Kain said, still on his knee. "I know I should do this in some fancy restaurant, but… well… this is the moment for you to say something…" he added nervously, already feeling his cheeks turn red.
"I should definitely say something… Yes," she replied playfully.
"Yes?"
"Yes, I want to marry you," Kayleigh said with a laugh, pulling Kain's hand so he'd stand up, and kissing him.
The night had finally arrived and it was getting dark in the runway. The lamps were turned on, shining their light on the couple. Soldiers passing by pretended not to look at them, but the fact was that most people around were watching the scene and enjoying the short moment of happiness in the middle of all the craziness of the war.
"You know, there's no need for fancy restaurants. Proposing in an airbase is just perfect," Kayleigh said, as they slowly walked back to the hangars, holding hands.
"I have to agree with you," Kain said.
"Let's go join the party, Speeding Bullet."
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April 17th, 1918
The sun was up in the sky and the soldiers who looked down didn't see their shadows on the ground. It was around noon and it was a hot day. Their uniforms were bothering them because of the heat, but they wouldn't complain. Instead, they hid behind the walls of the empty streets, carefully approaching the main square of the small Amestrian town where some Nymbean soldiers still resisted. Their orders were to arrest the enemies and avoid bloodshed if possible.
Shots were heard and everyone ducked behind the barricades on the asphalt. A few panicked voices screamed and a hand grenade was thrown. An explosion followed, but nobody was injured. A wall had emerged from the ground and blocked the hand grenade.
"It's good to have an alchemist on our side," one of the Amestrian soldiers said.
"Well, I wouldn't sit at home watching those stupid Nymbean kids make a mess in my town, would I?" a woman said, touching the ground again and changing it, making part of it rise towards the enemies. Izumi Curtis enjoyed the peace of her town and would sure fight to get it back.
More panicked screams and then silence. After a few seconds, a young soldier, probably around nineteen or twenty years old, raised his hands and walked slowly towards the Amestrian troop.
"I surrender," he said trembling, his voice giving away his fear. He was an easy target now, standing in the middle of the street.
"It might be a trap," one of the Amestrian soldiers said.
"Should I shoot him?"
"No, I'll go," a young Amestrian soldier said, putting his gun down and calling the enemy soldier.
He checked the Nymbean lad for any weapons, only to see he didn't have anything but for a gun with no ammunition. The Nymbean troop resisting in that area barely had any weapons left. They were fighting out of fear of being executed. Most of the soldiers still fighting inside Amestris had been isolated and had no access to food supplies or ammunition. Many of them had already surrendered, once they heard captured enemies were being treated reasonably.
"Go tell your comrades that if you all surrender you won't be executed."
The lad nodded, walking back to the rest of the group, hands always above his head. Not long after, the rest of the troop came out of hiding. They were all very young and their commander, the first one to come and the oldest soldier there, couldn't be more than twenty-four or twenty-five years old.
Once every enemy soldier in that area had been arrested, the S.I.F. was informed through the radio. The agents who heard the transmission celebrated the news, laughing at the ironic situation. Nymbe had fought hard to arrest all the alchemists and now had lost another battle because of one single alchemist.
"Can't blame them for being afraid of alchemists," Breda said, making the other S.I.F. agents laugh.
"Not at all, man. But now we need to take the news to Central."
"Have they fixed the power lines Nymbe destroyed?"
"No, not yet," Breda replied. "We can't wait for radio communication to be restored. I'm going there myself."
"Are you driving to Central?"
"No way. I have an airplane waiting for me in Airbase 12. I'll fly to Central, it's safer."
The other agents looked at each other, thinking that safer or not, they would rather drive than fly.
"Is it true that Fuhrer Mustang flew with you to Central and you were attacked? People have been spreading so many rumors we don't know what to believe anymore," another agent asked.
"Not only did he fly with us, but he also took down three out of the six enemy airplanes that attacked us with his fire alchemy," Breda told them, proud to say he was there to see it all.
"Whoa… They must really hate alchemy now, if they didn't before."
Everyone laughed and decided to go back to work. Things were under control inside the country now, especially due to information provided by the rebellion leaders who had joined the army again. However, the situation in the borders was still pretty tense. Nymbe still had control over Creta, but was now having trouble with Cretan insurgents as well. Many soldiers in Creta had rebelled against Nymbe; Xing had sent troops to Amestris to help protect the borders; and even Aerugo had attacked a neighboring country that was Nymbe's ally. The situation had changed completely once Nymbe didn't pose such a big threat as before. Previously, nobody wished to stand up against the powerful Nymbean air force. Now, as the Nymbean fighterbombers started to be taken down before they could get to their targets, Nymbe didn't scare other nations as much.
A/N: The situation is finally improving now, and the fic will have only a few more chapters. I'm doing some editing to the next one, and as I have a lot of other things to do, I warn you that the next chapter might come a little late. I'll do my best to post it on Friday as usual, but if I don't, there's no need to worry about me. It's just my crazy schedule trying to kill me. So, thanks a lot to everyone who's reading. Please leave a review if you have the time. I'll see you (hopefully) next Friday!