Chapter 51: A New Threat

When the officials had arrived, Roy had made sure to make an impression, greeting with utmost confidence and a winning smile. Havoc had been convinced that Hakuro was going to hate the man more and more from that moment on. He wished he didn't have to sit out and wait for things to end. Schezka was even able to go in considering she had an understanding of all the records that were going to be put forward at the meeting. Riza stopped at the entrance along with Maria Ross, allowing the doors to shut as she and the other aids lined up wide by side, waiting for their commanding officers to be seated before moving to stand a distance behind them. She and Maria were the only two female bodyguards in the room and Riza found herself shocked that Rebecca hadn't been called forward as security as well. Then again, the woman had quite the temper so that could have been the reasoning.

In the center of the room was a large, long table that shaped as a T, the representatives all sitting side by side at the end. They were all older men, though two women graced their presence. The commanding officers from the different areas of the country waited took their respectable seats, not uttering a word unless acknowledged by another, in which a nod was usually shared. Hands rested on the table while all eyes were focused on the elders at the end. After a few moments of shuffling papers, an older balding man with a stock build and heavy mustache stood up, clearing his throat while his beady eyes racked over the sheet he was holding in his hand.

"Well I must say, I was hoping the next time I would have to face all of you would have been under pleasant circumstances," His eyes flickered up at the high ranked soldiers placed at the table. "A terrorist attack directly on military ground. How did this happen?"

"I'd like to know how exactly military grounds were infiltrated. I saw the reports in the paper." One of the older women commented sternly. She was a petite woman with a stern face and short, cropped hair that was kept tidy. She was among the oldest in the council. "I'm shocked that the damage was as bad as I saw."

"Security wasn't expecting it, Madam Mosley." Roy spoke up, causing the others to turn their gazes to him swiftly and almost as swiftly turn their attention back to the elders. "The attack came during an alchemic show and from individuals that appeared to be allies."

"You're trying to tell us it was an inside job, Major General?" asked a lankly older man sitting next to Madam Mosley. His buggy grey eyes were focused on Roy intensely.

"I won't say it was an inside job, but these people knew exactly what they were aiming for and knew that that day was the exact moment to get what they wanted."

"There's a chance information could have been leaked from an outsider." Archer stated, his cool voice catching the attention of his fellow soldiers. He glanced across the table at Roy with a knowing manner. "Everyone knew about the festival, but they were looking for someone in particular it seems. That Xingnese girl if I'm correct."

"I'd say the Fullmetal Alchemist." Armstrong caught everyone's attention immediately. "For those of us who were at the festival, you'd realize that as soon as that girl entered the ring and Fullmetal stepped forward, things began to unravel… not to mention, the enemy wasn't at all average." Riza tried to keep a straight face as she listened to the whispering taking place.

"Why would anyone want to go after the Fullmetal alchemist?" asked the bug eyed elder.

"The lad is a prodigy."

"He's also been living a simpler life as an everyday soldier." Hughes spoke up. "Whatever those freaks wanted, it couldn't have anything to do with anything he understands or even knows about."

"Either way it goes, we were attacked without hesitation." Hakuro cut in sharply. "It doesn't matter who or what they are after, if we had a set leader to follow, outsiders would take our country more seriously."

"I have to agree with Hakuro. We aren't being taken seriously, despite being military based. We need one set leader."

"You think that would prevent attacks?'

"It will establish this country."

"And who do you think would fit this position? Running this country isn't as easy and glamorous as you may think. There's more to it than just using the military to protect the people and our borders."

"And we don't want to throw just anyone in the position." There was a silence that took over the room. Riza glanced at Hughes, who had glanced at Roy with a raised eyebrow.

"If no one disagrees, I'd like to take place of furher." Hakuro had grabbed the opportunity quicker than expected, but was shot down equally as fast.

"I'll have to disagree with you." Leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms cooly as her eyes rested on the now irritated older male, Armstrong spoke up. "I'd like to think that the country was in better hands and seeing how you run Central, I'd hate to think where this country would be headed." Hakuro narrowed his eyes at the female general, but she was not fazed.

"And who do you see as more fitting for this, Lieutenant General?" She glanced down the table at the elders and then back at Hakuro as if challenging him to prove her wrong.

"I'm not very excited about having to leave my fortress up North, but I only accept the best at Briggs and I know that they would be able to maintain what I expect of them. Plus, I'd hate to see this country being run by some incompetent moron."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I didn't stutter. I'm moving to take the place as leader of this country."

*~*~*~*~*

Ed quickly ducked when a fist came flying towards him. He swore under his break as he made a move to quickly dodge the fast coming attacks from Ling, or in this confusing situation, Greed. He wasn't sure what exactly was happening and if the prince possibly had some split personality disorder going on, but the attacks were different from what Ed was used to seeing from the prince, not to mention the fact he could have sworn he had seen a change in the foreign man's body with certain attacks. "What the hell is wrong with you!" Both he and Ling ran at each other full force, Ed transmuting his automail arm in the process, only for Ling to catch it with his bare hands.

"You're a fiery little pipsqueak, aren't you?" Anger boiled up instantly, causing Ed to not realize he hadn't inflicted any damage. All his attacks were easily blocked and he soon was welcomed with a painfully powerful fist to the right cheek that sent him flying. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm looking for a little something in the fortress." Cringing as he pushed himself out of the snow, Ed glared back at the smirking male in front of him.

"What the hell happened to you?" he growled between clenched teeth. Ling/Greed's head tilted curiously to the side and an evil grin spread across his face.

"Not a damn thing, runt. I already told you, I'm not the person you've mistaken me for." His gaze slowly lifted from Ed and then up the Briggs wall. "But all that aside, no matter who I was, it seems I'm not welcomed." Ed noticed his eyes lingered, triggering him to look over his shoulder and eyes to widen at the line of men standing at the top of the fortress with their weapons pointed.

"What the…"

"Gotta go!"

"Fire!"

"WAIT!" Scrambling backwards, Ed ducked into the snow, trying to shield himself from the explosions. "Lin!"

"It's Greed!" Using his arm to block the flying snow, Ed squinted through the insanity and explosions, noticing every attack was being skillfully dodged and soon the prince was out of sight. Lowering his arm slowly as the attacks died down, Ed stared in disbelief. Had something happened when Ling went ahead of him? Had that idiot prince run into those monsters and struck up some kind of twisted deal with them in order to find the key to immortality?

"Dammit!" He pushed himself out of the snow he had been buried in and raised his hands in the air as he turned his attention to the soldiers above him. "What the hell is going on!" A hand was raised and a dark skinned soldier with shades stepped forward, looking down his nose at the alchemist.

"Fullmetal, is that you?" he called down.

"Major Miles?" The guns lowered and the man barked orders for soldiers to move down and bring Ed and the injured soldiers in. Confusion continued to build as he was swiftly directed in and the doors were sealed shut. Miles had met up with the group half way and was greeted by a highly confused and irritated Edward. "What the hell is going on?" An eyebrow raised in response.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

*~*~*~*~*

Al allowed his eyes to continue to roam over the papers he held in his hands as he laid back with his feet propped up on the bedside table. Across the room, Mei was sitting on her knees at the room desk, concentrating on the materials in front of her and randomly scribbling down notes. They had agreed to split the notes and anything that seemed to stand out to them and their country's alchemy would be recorded and personally deciphered. They would be leaving for an eastern village Mei had talked about in the morning.

Yawning, Al set aside the stack he had been looking over and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was getting late yet he still hasn't heard a word from Winry on if Ed had arrived or not. She had told him that Ed would call her and she would relay any messages he had to Al once he was at Briggs in one piece. There was still no word however, so he couldn't help but to be concerned. "Maybe I should find a way to get in contact with Briggs." He murmured to himself. Mei looked up from what she was doing with a concerned expression.

"Is something wrong, Alphonse-sama?" she asked. Pushing himself into a more comfortable sitting position, Al let out a sigh.

"I'm just wondering why we haven't heard any word yet from my brother." He answered honestly, stealing a glance at the room phone.

"Maybe he's just really busy. He and the prince were supposed to be inspecting the situation with at monster found up there weren't they?" Al took this into consideration Ed did get easily distracted when it came to these situations, so there was a good chance he hadn't even called Winry yet. Letting out a defeated sigh, Al leaned back once again.

"You have a good point. And knowing Ed, he'll call so late we'll be on our way West." He saw a warm smile cross the small Xingnese girl's face before she turned away and looked down at her notes.

"You and your brother sound like you are very close. Your parents must be proud of the way you turned out." Taken by surprise, the young Elric stared at her in confusion. He took the comment in, allowing a slight smile to cross his face.

"I suppose they would be, but our parents are both dead." Mei immediately stiffened and turned to him with a sincerely apologetic expression on her face. "No need to apologize. They've been gone for years. It's just been me and Ed since as long as I can remember."

"That's why you're so close…"

"Well it's not like we don't argue, we're still humans after all. What about you? Do you get along with your brothers and sisters?" Once again, Mei turned back to her work.

"Not exactly. Right now everything is a competition to get the emperor's good favor. In my house there are too many of us and as the one with royal blood in my veins, I am not really a favorite of anyone."

"And that's why you took up alchemy?"

"Actually, I've always found it to be interesting, plus it sets me apart from all the others. It was through alchemy that I learned about the possibilities of immortality…"

"And the reason you're studying this country's alchemy." Al finished. Mei let out a sigh before shuffling her papers together and standing.

"I'm thinking I should go back to my room and rest. We've got to write out a plan for traveling tomorrow and I'm of much use when I'm tired." She informed, not looking at the confused blonde. He felt bad if he had hit a nerve or offended her but from what he learned with Winry, it was usually best to leave upset females alone. Then again, not all females were nearly as violent as Winry.

"I didn't mean to say anything that offended you… I was just curious." He finally spoke up as Mei reached for the door knob. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him with a calculating expression. "Really, I didn't mean anything… Besides, I did agree to tell you about this country's alchemy in exchange for learning about your own. Some secrets are going to be shared eventually." There was a silence that followed the apology before she nodded, lowering her hand and inching back in to the center of the room.

"I suppose you have a point… I was going to go eat before bed. Maybe we can take a break and grab a bite." She suggested. She wasn't looking at him and had started fidgeting, but Al gave her a warm smile and slid out of the bed, shoving his feet into his shoes.

"Sounds great. Let's go." He grabbed his coat and made his way to the door, tugging it open and grabbing hold of his female companion's hand, tugging her towards her room to get her coat so that they could eat. He never noticed the deep blush that had crossed her face or the fact she nearly fainted at the action. His mind was set on the mission ahead and the knowledge he was about to receive.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Roy remained calm on the outside, but in the back of his mind, he was going insane with the debate that was taking place. Armstrong had done as expected and had stepped forward demanding control as Furher, which had clearly caught everyone who wasn't in on the plan off guard. The Ice Queen was expected to stay North, guarding her frozen castle with her fearless soldiers. The council wasn't nearly as shocked as Hakuro who was now debating that she didn't have nearly the experience with the people of Central as he did.

"You live in the mountains where even your own men fear you. How do you expect to earn the warm embrace of the people in this city?" he practically barked at her. Armstrong remained poised, her arms resting in a folded manner on her knee that was crossed over her leg.

"Love leads to weakness and this country needs a ruler who won't be blinded by their emotions in the face of danger. If I remember correctly, Mustang had soldiers rummaging the city about a year ago because his child went missing," Roy blinked and stiffened. "If anything, there needs to be more structure and discipline. And you allowed this to happen, Hakuro."

"Mustang has his own soldiers that he orders to do these things-"

"And as his superior you should stop such irresponsible decisions from happening. The enemy thus sees us a dysfunctional unit that can't operate in times of trial and here we are with our own grounds being threatened by bastards we can't even identify." The room went silent as all eyes remained on Olivier.

"I'm assuming there are no more questions to be raised?" asked Madam Mosley as she shuffled her papers around and moved to stand. "Olivier Armstrong has never let us down when it came to being in control of Briggs. Hakuro has made himself known as well… all of you have quite the influence that we have to take into consideration."

"Fact of the matter is, this country needs a strong ruler." Spoke up the buggy eyed man. "And it's not going to be a simple decision that we are going to make at this moment. Need to be made."

"So what is going to happen from this point?" asked Hughes.

"We'll be monitoring the actions of this country even closer. Any inappropriate activities will be noted and taken care of. If there are any inside jobs taking place through the higher levels of the military or even through the lower ranks, we will find out and resolve the problem."

"With that said and done, we will be expecting an update on this enemy within the next week. We want reports on any activities throughout the country. We need to pick an appropriate ruler, but we don't want to put someone who can't handle the simpler issues in charge of a damaged country." All the soldiers that were seated stood immediately and everyone saluted as the council of representatives stood and made their way out of the room. Hakuro had a sour look on his face once they had vanished and nearly stormed out of the room with his men as soon as it was appropriate.

"Think he's pissed?" Maes whispered to Roy with a chuckle as they followed not too far behind Armstrong and her men. "The thought of a woman leading this country doesn't sit with him well I guess."

"The thought of anyone but him ruling this country doesn't sit with him well." Roy answered sarcastically. "That's was smooth talking in there, Lt General." Olivier glanced over her shoulder, giving Roy an icy stare.

"I wasn't saying anything I didn't mean. I will become leader of this country. I've worked too hard to let some complete moron of a man take charge." She answered and continued on her way. Roy watched her walk off, not completely sure how to respond but snapping out of it when he heard Maes laugh knowingly.

"Looks like we're in safe hands." He sighed and gave a stretch. "I've gotta get back to the office and take care of some work before I head home. Lunch later?"

"Sure, we can go over some stuff." Roy agreed. Riza moved to walk alongside her husband as Maes walked off with Ross and a couple others.

"So, what do you think is going to happen?" she asked as the made their way to the entrance where they spotted Havoc arguing with Rebecca.

"I've honestly got no clue, but I'm hoping it's nothing we'll regret."


Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long! Semester is coming to an end and I've been hitting the books. I'm working on the next chapter now and I'm hoping to get that up soon enough. Hope you enjoy!