Warning: This chapter gets fairly bloody and violent near the end.

Victory

Roy ran up the street as fast as he could, following the sound of shouting and gunfire. Based on how close the noise was, his men should be just up ahead. Almost there... he thought to himself as he sprinted between two buildings. Rounding a corner, he almost ran straight into the crossfire.

Shit!

He quickly dove back into the alley just before a spray of bullets hit the wall opposite to him. Roy, you stupid idiot... he muttered to himself. You almost got yourself killed! He pulled out the mirror he had borrowed earlier and peered around the corner. Sure enough, a group of about twenty Ishbalans were engaged in combat with his men. He carefully put away the mirror again and lined up his shot.

SNAP!

KABOOM!

The force of the explosion shook the surrounding area and sent a few of the Ishbalans flying. One of them even landed a few feet away from him but Roy didn't notice. He simply continued snapping his fingers and sending out flame attack after flame attack until the entire block was nothing more than a blazing inferno. As he stared at the destruction, he felt a small twinge of remorse for the Ishbalans he had just killed but he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind.

Kill or be killed.

That was the rule on the battlefield. Too many people had already died under his watch and he refused to allow another person under him die. Even if it meant killing countless more Ishbalans just to put an end to this bloody war.

I'm going to make sure it all ends today.

Just then, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Roy quickly spun around with his hand raised, ready to strike again. Instead, he found Maes standing there with his hands up. "You can relax now, Roy. I'm pretty sure they're all dead," he told him.

Roy sighed and lowered his hand. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah," Maes answered just as Lewis ran up to them.

"Sir! It's good to see you. Umm...what happened to the others?"

"I had Larsson and Schneider take Captain Mauser back to the medical tents. He needs more advanced medical treatment than we can give him on the field."

"Oh."

"Anyway, shall we advance?" Roy asked. Both Maes and Lewis nodded. "Good." He turned and walked barely two steps before a shot rang out. He spun around just in time to see Maes fall to the ground, clutching his chest.

"HUGHES!" he yelled. He turned to the direction where the shots came from and spotted the shooter almost immediately standing on the rooftop of a building. He quickly snapped his fingers and killed the shooter with a large explosion. Then he turned back to Maes and found him already sitting up.

"I'm okay!" Maes told them. Roy sighed in relief when he realized there was no blood.

"Don't fucking scare me like that," he said, crouching down and gently punching Maes in the shoulder.

"Trust me, it wasn't on purpose," Maes replied while he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a pocket watch with a big dent on it. He opened it and grimaced at the damaged watch face. "Damn it! It's broken. Gracia is going to kill me!'

"That watch just saved your fucking life and you're freaking out that it's broken? You've got weird priorities, buddy," Lewis chided.

"It's not just any pocket watch. My girlfriend gave it to me as a good luck charm."

"Well I'd say it did it's job. It fucking saved your life. I doubt your girlfriend would be upset about that."

"I-"

"Let's save this argument until this battle is over okay?" Roy interrupted. "We need to get going."

"Yes, sir." Lewis turned and went to round up the rest of the men, leaving Roy and Maes alone.

"Quick. Hand it to me," Roy said, holding out his hand.

"Huh?"

"Your pocket watch. Give it to me."

"Okay..." Maes answered hesitantly as he handed over the watch. Roy quickly drew a small transmutation circle in the dirt with his finger and placed the watch in the middle. He placed his hands on the circle and it immediately began to glow. A light in the middle quickly engulfed the watch but disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving a pristine watch in its wake.

"Here. Like new," he said, handing Maes back the watch. Maes opened it and grinned.

"I LOVE YOU!" he exclaimed, giving Roy a big hug. Roy immediately pushed him away.

"Quit it! People are watching!"

"Right, ahem..." Maes coughed. "I mean 'Thank you'."

"No problem. I just didn't want to see you looking so mournful for the rest of the day."

"You're the best friend a guy could ask for."

Roy chuckled. "Yeah? Well then do me a favor and stay alive. Now let's go before the rest of the men start getting funny ideas."

"Okay." Maes took one last look at the watch before carefully placing it back in his breast pocket. Then, without another word they ran off to rejoin the rest of the group.

Riza sprinted after Davis down a deserted street while silently making all sorts of death threats at the Crimson Alchemist. Kimblee's attacks were starting to get way too close for comfort. They had barely finished setting up at their new location when they were forced to move again.

And again.

And then again.

It was finally reaching the point where she honestly wished she could just find and shoot Kimblee. Not to kill him, of course. Just immobilize him so they could finally find a place to set up and do their job without worrying about getting killed by friendly fire.

As they ran towards their latest destination a huge fireball lit up the sky. What the...? Distracted, she looked up and watched the fireball disintegrate instead of watching where she was going. As a result, she didn't notice Davis suddenly stop in front of her and slammed straight into him.

"Oww..." she mumbled, rubbing her forehead. That hurt...

"Damn it! Dead end," Davis shouted out loud, oblivious to what had just happened. She peered around him and saw that the entire street was blocked by a mountain of rubble. "We should head that way!" he pointed to his right. Riza nodded and followed after him.

They quickly went down a narrow alley which eventually opened up into a small courtyard. A single well sat in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by messy piles of clothes and several wood basins. Along one side, Riza noticed some clean laundry still hanging on a clothesline, fluttering gently in the wind. It was clear that whoever was here previously was forced to leave in a hurry.

"There's an exit up ahead," she heard Davis whisper. She nodded and followed him across the courtyard; however, as they passed the well a strong gust of wind blew and she caught a glimpse of a pair of red eyes between two fluttering sheets.

"Duck!" she yelled just as an Ishbalan stepped out from the shadows with his gun pointing at them. She heard the bullets whiz by her as she quickly rolled out of the way. Pulling out her own gun, she fired several shots, hitting the man squarely in the chest. He staggered back a few steps before collapsing, pulling down some of the laundry with him and staining the white sheets with his blood. Riza quickly scanned the entire courtyard for any accomplices but there weren't any. Sighing in relief, she placed her gun back in its holster.

"You ok?" Davis asked, running up to her. She nodded.

"We better get out of here," she told him. "It's not safe."

"Well that's an understatement. I don't think there's a single place on the battlefield that could be considered 'safe', Cadet." Davis chuckled while he followed her out of the courtyard. They continued up several side streets, shooting at any enemy that crossed their paths. As they neared their destination, she suddenly heard a familiar crackling sound nearby. She quickly looked behind her and saw what looked like electric currents coming up from the ground and reaching up to the sky.

Oh shit...

She barely had time to prepare herself before Kimblee's latest attack violently shook the ground underneath her. She struggled to maintain her footing but quickly fell to her hands and knees while the structures around her groaned and shuddered. Pieces of debris soon began falling from the buildings and littered the ground around her.

"Hawkeye! Run!" she heard Davis shout. Clenching her teeth, she half-ran half-crawled as fast as she could. She was almost at the end of the block when the shaking finally stopped; but before she could catch a breather another horrible cracking sound began. She turned and saw several buildings collapse like a house of cards, covering the entire street in a giant cloud of dust. She immediately covered her face with her coat but the dust still found its way into her eyes and throat making it difficult to see and breathe. Her eyes promptly began to water and she coughed incessantly while she sought refuge inside the remains of another building.

Damn it! she cursed as she pulled out her water canister and tried to wash the dust out of her eyes. That was too close! If Davis hadn't shouted I might be... her mind froze and she suddenly realized she was alone. She scrambled onto her feet and stuck her head out onto the street. The dust cloud had already started to settle, leaving a thick layer of dust everywhere. She quickly scanned the vicinity but could see no sign of Davis.

"Lieutenant Davis?" she called out. There was no answer.

Crap!

Riza sprinted back out onto the street and straight towards the building remains. As she neared the wreckage she saw him lying face down under a pile of debris.

Oh no...

She quickly cleared some of the debris on top of him and checked his vitals. Good! He's still breathing, she sighed in relief. She gently shook his shoulder, trying to wake him up. "Psst...Lieutenant Davis! Wake up!" He didn't respond. Concerned, she lightly slapped his face a few times. "Come on... Now is not the time to take a nap!" Still nothing.

Damn it! Riza swore while she looked around frantically. They weren't safe here. Kimblee's next attack would probably send the remaining buildings crashing down on them but there was no way she could carry Davis to safety. What should I do?

Then she remembered something.

She rummaged inside her bag. Where is it? she thought as she frantically searched every crevice. Her fingers eventually brushed against something small and smooth. She quickly grabbed it and pulled out a tiny bottle of smelling salts.

"This better work," she muttered to herself as she removed the cork and placed the bottle under Davis's nose. He groaned and his eyelids fluttered before finally opening.

"Ugh...Huh? What happened?"

"You were knocked out from Major Kimblee's attack. How are you feeling?"

"Like a ton of bricks just fell on me," he cracked while trying to get up. He winced in pain and Riza noticed that his right leg was pinned under a large beam. "A little help, please?"

She tried to lift the beam but it wouldn't budge so she grabbed a board lying nearby and stuck one end of it under the beam, creating a lever. She then applied all her weight on the other end but the beam still wouldn't move.

"It's no use. It won't budge," she told Davis. He scowled.

"Great...Guess I'm stuck here," he said sarcastically. Riza stared at the wreckage in frustration. If only Roy was here. He could easily transmute the beam off Davis.

"I'm gonna try and find something stronger," she said just as another low rumbling sound began again. Crap! Not again! she thought as they frantically scanned the area for another sign of Kimblee's attack.

"Forget about the beam! Just get out of here," Davis ordered. "Head somewhere safe!"

"I can't just leave you here!" she protested.

"You can and you will. That's an order, Cadet."

"But..."

"Look, Hawkeye... I'm a sitting duck here. There's no reason for you to sacrifice your life to keep me company while I'm waiting to greet the Grim Reaper. Just promise me...promise that you'll tell Jane I love her and my last thoughts were of her."

Riza bit her lip. Jane was Davis's fiancée back in East City and the reason why he fought so hard every day. Every shot he took, every kill he made he did without question because he knew it meant being one step closer to going home and being reunited with her. She meant the world to him. Davis would talk about her all the time and had even once shared with Riza his hopes for their future during one particularly long and uneventful shift in the sniper's nest. There was no way she was going to let him give up on those dreams now.

"No," she said firmly. "You tell her that yourself when you get back to East City." She grabbed her bag and slung it over her back. "I'm gonna go find help so wait here for me." Then she turned and ran off, ignoring Davis's shouts of protest. She had already made up her mind so no amount of yelling about insubordination was going to change it.

She just hoped she would make it back before it was too late.

"This way, everyone!" Captain Vickers shouted. "We're almost there!"

Havoc followed after his commanding officer. They'd been fighting for a while now and he could feel his limbs starting to tire. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out his water canister and took a much needed drink. When he was sated he looked over at Breda, he noticed that his friend looked equally exhausted.

"Here," he said, handing him his canister. "Looks like you need it."

"Thanks." Breda gratefully accepted the canister and took a large gulp just as Vickers motioned all of them to stop.

"Everyone, hold your places!" Vickers announced, holding up his hand. A few soldiers immediately collapsed onto the ground while others walked a few more paces before sitting down to rest. Vickers pulled out an aerial map of the area and called a few other officers over. Havoc could hear them discussing their next move as he ripped open a small pack of beef jerky. It'd been hours since they last ate and his stomach growling in protest. But just as he bit into the savory snack, Lieutenant Jager called out to him.

"Cadets Havoc and Breda. Come with me. We're going to go do some investigating."

What? But I just sat down! Havoc felt his body scream. Nevertheless, he quickly shoved the rest of the jerky into his mouth and grabbed his gear. No one ever said a soldier's job was easy.

They silently followed Jager through several blocks, stopping every so often to make sure the path in front of them was clear. The streets were eerily silent save for the sound of fighting in the distance. Havoc could hear his heart beating rapidly with each step he took.

"I've got a bad feeling...it's too quiet here," Breda whispered.

"Same here," he whispered back. "I feel like we're being watched."

"You say something, Cadets?" Jager asked, looking back at both of them.

"No Sir!" they responded in unison.

"Good. I'd hate to think that I'm stuck with a bunch of-" Before he could finish, a pair of Ishbalans suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind him and slit his throat. It all happened so fast that Havoc didn't fully registered what had just happened until Jager's body landed at his feet with a loud thud.

Holy crap! his mind screamed as Breda fired at the enemy. He raised his own rifle but one of the Ishbalans rushed towards him and kicked it away, narrowly missing his head by mere inches. Havoc quickly pulled out his pistol from his holster and fired a few shots, striking the man in the arm. The Ishbalan roared out in pain and dropped the bloody dagger he was holding. He pulled the trigger again but nothing happened.

Shit! It's empty!

Havoc quickly tossed the now-useless gun aside just as the Ishbalan began lunging at him and put up his arms just in time to block a punch. The pain from the blow reverberated down his arm but he ignored it as he returned the favor with his own fists. The man easily dodged his attacks and threw another punch which hit him squarely in the stomach. Havoc gritted his teeth as the pain rippled through his body.

That's it! You're going down!

Spying an opening, he swung his right arm and connected with the man's jaw. The man staggered back several steps, holding his bloody jaw while Havoc caught his breath. Behind him, he could hear Breda breathing heavily while fighting the other Ishbalan. This isn't good, he thought to himself as his opponent regained his bearings and charged at him. He readied his stance when he saw him pull back his arm to throw another punch but instead of following through, the Ishbalan suddenly ducked down and swung his leg out, knocking Havoc off his feet. He landed hard on his back but before he could get up or even roll over, the Ishbalan was on top of him with his hands wrapped around his throat. Havoc kicked his legs frantically, trying to throw him off but it was futile. The man simply tightened his grip and grinned maliciously as he watched him gasp for air. Havoc clawed helplessly at the man's fingers, trying in vain to loosen them. A voice, possibly Breda's, was calling out his name but he wasn't sure. He could feel himself starting to black out.

BLAM! BLAM!

A spray of blood hit him in the face and the Ishbalan suddenly went still before falling on top of him.

"Ugh!" Havoc yelled out in disgust, pushing the dead body off himself and wiping his face with his sleeve.

"Havoc! Are you okay?" Breda asked, rushing up next to him.

"Yeah," he coughed. "Just sore and bloody. Thanks for shooting him though."

"Don't thank me, I didn't do it."

Havoc looked up at his friend and noticed that the Ishbalan Breda had been fighting with was also lying dead with a bullet hole in the back of his skull. "If you didn't do it...then who...?" He quickly looked over to the direction where the shots came from and saw Rebecca and another female soldier hiding in the shadows.

"Now we're even!" Rebecca yelled before running off with the other soldier following closely behind her.

"Uhh...What was that all about?" Breda asked.

Havoc shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me. Maybe she hit her head or something."

"Hitting her head wouldn't make her want to save your life."

"Like I just said, I don't know. It was just the first thing that crossed my mind."

Breda gave him a weird look. "Uh okay...Whatever...Let's just head back to the group. This area is giving me the creeps."

"You've got no argument from me," Havoc agreed. He turned and went to search for his discarded firearms, leaving the morbid task of retrieving Jager's dog tags to Breda. As he reached down to pick up his rifle he made a mental note to go find Rebecca later to thank her.

Roy stared at the injured Ishbalan in front of him. The old man was sitting on the ground against the side of a blood splattered building. He was breathing heavily while clutching the large wound in his side in a futile attempt to stem the bleeding. A dead dog lay by his feet with a single bullet wound to its chest. Roy felt a slight twinge in his heart when he realized that the dog had probably died while trying to protect its master.

The embodiment of loyalty...

"Major Mustang. He's the last one," said Lewis pointing to the Ishbalan. Roy nodded.

"Old man...you're all that's left. Do you have any last words?"

"Heh..." The man lifted his head and Roy could see the intense hatred etched on his face. "I will never forgive you for this... May you burn in hell for eternity."

"I see..." Roy didn't flinch at the words. I'm already in hell. old man, he thought as he raised his hand.

SNAP!

The flames quickly engulfed the Ishbalan but instead of screaming he let out a haunting laugh. A chill went down Roy's spine as the man continued to laugh and shout while being burned alive.

"MURDERERS! All of you! CURSE YOU ALL!"

Eventually, the laughter was replaced with coughing and soon after, silence. Roy extinguished the flames with a flick of his wrist and studied the remains. The fire had burned away any sort of identifiable features on the bodies, leaving only two extremely charred corpses lying in front of him. Corpses who used to be people that were citizens of Amestris. Citizens who were betrayed by the military. He could feel his resolve wavering again as the reality of the situation sunk it so he turned around and addressed Lewis.

"Contact General Grumman. Tell him that the Dahlia region is secure."

"Yes sir!"

Roy stared up at the smoky sky as the sound of Lewis's footsteps slowly faded. He could feel tears starting to form in his eyes but he wasn't sure if it was due to the surrounding smoke or relief. A light breeze blew by, whipping ash around in random swirls around his feet but he barely noticed it. Instead, his mind was pre-occupied with one single thought:

It's over. It's finally over.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Next one will be long so it might take some time before you see an update. In the meantime, please leave a review. Thanks!