Chapter 39 –
"Well, it looks like we got here just in time, huh?" Ed said, gasping slightly as he worked to get his breathing under control.
The scene that greeted the two boys and their Animals were pretty much what they were expecting since Ayala and Chester had informed them what scents they'd picked up once they'd gotten close enough. The two chimeras – now looking more like chimeras than human – were standing in the middle of the room while Scar stood further in, bleeding from his arm. One of the chimeras stood pale and hunched with dozens of spines sticking out of his shirtless back while other was crouching, thick, green skin bunching as he moved minutely.
"Just run off somewhere, kid," the pale one said and Al jolted.
"Brother, I think that one's the blonde soldier who works for Kimblee," he said and Ed squinted at the creature in front of him.
"You know what, Al?" Ed said. "I think you're right. Which makes that one the other soldier," Ed said, nodding to the toad-like chimera.
"We've already got this under control. You just sit tight while we take care of Scar," the pale chimera – and Ed was now thinking he was mixed with something like a boar – told them.
"See, we can't let you do that," Ed said as he, Al and the Animals moved around the chimera and towards Scar. The Ishvalen was just watching everything in front of him with cautious eyes.
"Why? Because you want the glory of catching a serial killer all to yourself?" The boar chimera asked and startled slightly when Ed just laughed and shook his head.
"Don't be stupid," Ed chided. "We've made a truce with Scar so we can't let you kill him," Ed told them. He, the Animals and Al were now standing in front of Scar and facing the chimeras.
"You've made a truce with him?" The toad chimera croaked and Ed nodded.
"Since we have, you aren't allowed to kill him," Ed told them as the Elrics shifted into their defensive stances and squared off the two chimeras.
"You're making a stupid mistake, kid. Get out of our way," the boar chimera told him and Ed shook his head.
"Wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of making a stupid mistake and yet, here I am," Ed said.
Seeing that the boys in front of them weren't going to back down, the two chimeras launched themselves at them. As soon as the chimeras made their moves, the four Elrics did so as well. Ayala and Ed took on the boar chimera while Chester and Al went for the toad chimera. Ed and Ayala soon discovered that the chimera's spines weren't there for decoration or just defence when he sent a volley of spines straight for them, forcing them to separate so they could dodge the attack. A disgusting spitting sound drew Ed's attention for a moment and saw that the toad chimera was literally spitting at Al and Chester. When one of the globs stuck itself to a nearby pillar without sliding off, Ed realised exactly why the two were doing their damnedest to not get it on them. Ed wouldn't envy Chester or Ayala if either of them got it in their fur.
A near miss from a spine had Ed's attention being brought back to his own fight and he clapped his hands together, slammed them on the ground and sent his own wave of spikes back. The chimera grunted as he got himself out of the way and Ayala took the opportunity presented to get in close. When the chimera realised her plan, he managed to raise his arm and get it in between himself and the attacking wolf. Ayala grunted in surprise at how much effort it took for her to sink her teeth into the chimera's arm and the chimera managed to shake her off before he took too much damage. However, as soon as he'd rid himself of the wolf, he had the human to deal with and he didn't get the chance to dodge the right hook Ed threw.
Ed sent the chimera stumbling but didn't let himself relish this small victory. As Izumi had always taught them, it wasn't a win until their opponent was completely down and this opponent was nowhere near defeated. Ed and Ayala moved as a well-oiled machine while the chimera was forced to use everything he had to try and keep up with them. Another volley of spikes flew by them and Ed snatched one out of the air, turned it around and threw it back at their foe, surprising the chimera enough that he moved a moment too late to avoid the hit completely. A deep gash opened along the top of his shoulder and he let out a pained yell as the blood ran freely. Ed used that moment to get in close and punch him in the temple, putting enough force behind his automail to knock the chimera out. He thudded to the ground unconscious and Ed turned to where his brother and leopard were just in time to see the toad chimera join the boar chimera in the land of sleep.
"You good?" Ed asked the other two and both nodded.
"No injuries on my part," Chester assured him and Ed breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Awesome." He turned to Ayala. "You?"
"Not even a scratch," she said and Ed looked mildly surprised.
"So none of us got any sort of injury?" He asked and the Animals shook their heads, looking bemused as Ed laughed. "I think that's the first fight that we've come out of without an injury that needed looking at," Ed said.
"First time for everything," Al muttered. Ed flipped him off as he turned to face Scar.
"You all good?" Ed asked, giving a nod to Scar's heavily bleeding arm.
"Yes," Scar grunted as he tore some of his jacket off to use as a makeshift bandage. Ed, Al and the Animals watched as Scar patched himself up. "Why are you here?" Scar asked. "Are you working with Kimblee now?"
"Actually, yes," Ed admitted. "We teamed up with him so we could find you. We figured you were here looking for Mei and we needed to talk to her."
"Why?" Scar asked, a surge or protectiveness in his voice.
"To see if she could teach us some alkahestry," Al said and Scar turned to look at him. "We're hoping there's a way for us to combine our alchemies so we won't be affected when Father uses that trick again." Scar's lips twitched at the mention of alchemy but neither boy brought that up.
Footsteps behind them drew their attention and had everyone getting back into defensive stances. Both chimeras were still unconscious on the ground so they knew they were expecting someone else. Ed just hoped it wasn't Kimblee coming towards them because he wasn't sure he could bullshit his way out of this situation. Thankfully, Ayala and Chester were quick to pick up on the approaching scents and could tell them who was about to join them.
"It's Major Miles and his team," Ayala told Ed while Chester relayed the same news to Al.
"They're friends," Ed told Scar just before Miles and the four soldiers with him entered the room, guns at the ready. "Major Miles, it's okay! He's an ally," Ed said, stepping to the side so he was more in front of Scar and raised his hands placatingly.
"What are these creatures?" One of the soldiers asked, looking at the chimeras, before Miles could say anything.
"I'm guessing they're the result of some kind of ungodly experiment by our superiors," Miles said, looking down at the chimeras. "Tie them both to that column," he instructed.
"Right away, Sir!" The soldier said, holstering his weapon and starting gesturing for the three others to do the same.
"As for you, Scar," Miles said, looking at his fellow Ishvalen. "I understand you have a truce with the Elrics and a select few other people," Miles said and Scar gave him a short nod. "Good. I wouldn't have enjoyed treating one of my own people as harshly as your actions would've warranted."
"Your own people?" Scar asked, eyes widened with surprise. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm part Ishvalen," Miles told him, glancing over to check on his men and their progress before looking back at Scar, "on my grandfather's side. I wish we didn't have to meet like this, red-eyed brother of mine."
"After all they've done," Scar said, seemingly struggling with this information, "how can you stand to be part of the Amestrian military?"
"My objective is to work from the inside to change how the people of this country view the people of Ishval," Miles told him.
"I don't think that great a task will be easy to accomplish," Scar said, something that sounded like pity in his voice as he watched Miles shrug a shoulder.
"Who knows how long it will take?" Miles said. "But still, my mixed blood gives me an advantage at least. I'm an Ishvalen pebble tossed into the ocean that is the Amestrian military. Maybe in time the ripples I create will become great waves and do you want to know what the most ironic part about this is?" Miles asked and Scar gave a short nod. "It was an Amestrian who set me on this path in the first place," Miles revealed.
Scar hung his head. "Look at me. I'm a festering wound of hatred born of the Ishvalen War," he said sadly. "I am grateful there is someone like you out there," he admitted, looking up at Miles.
Miles didn't get the chance to say anything as more footsteps were heard heading towards them. All Animals and people were on alert once more as they watched the doorway and, once again, Ayala and Chester identified the gate crashers by scent once they were close enough. "They're friendly," Ed said, nodding to the door as he relaxed out of his stance.
"Hold on!" A voice called just before Marcoh, Mei and Yoki turned the corner.
"Who are you?" Miles asked. He hadn't relaxed his stance despite Ed's assurances but Ed didn't take it personally. He honestly would've been more surprised if Miles had trusted Ed's word immediately.
"That's Doctor Marcoh, Mei and a disgraced lieutenant-colonel," Ed introduced them when Marcoh couldn't answer since he had to catch his breath.
"Please don't take Scar your prisoner! We need him to decipher notes!" Marcoh begged before Ed or Al could get him to calm down enough to explain that nothing was going to happen with Scar.
"Decipher some notes?" Miles asked and Marcoh nodded vehemently.
Mei, however, was the one to explain. "The notes are coded but we believe they're about combining Amestrian alchemy and Xingese alkahestry. It's ground-breaking research!"
"Like she said, all of it's coded!" Marcoh said. "We believe it's written in ancient Ishvalen so Scar is the only one who can make sense of it. Please don't take him in."
"Scar's not going anywhere, Doc," Ed said. "I made a truce with him a while ago and General Armstrong up at Fort Briggs is aware of how important he'll be in the future." Ed glanced at Miles, who nodded in agreement.
Miles then turned to Mei and considered her for a moment. "You're the alkahestry girl, correct?" Mei nodded slowly, looking at everyone else in confusion. "I have orders to bring you back to the fort with Scar."
"Me?" Mei asked. Xao-Mei sat on her shoulder, looking as stunned as Mei seemed to be. "What do they want with me?" Ed shrugged his shoulders and looked at Miles expectantly. This was the first he was hearing of Armstrong wanting Mei at the fortress.
"Don't worry," Miles gave the young girl a smile, "you'll receive a warm welcome. I believe the general only wants to ask about your alkahestry." Mei nodded, still looking apprehensive. Miles looked around at everyone as he seemed to be considering something. "Since Scar and Mei need to be kept free so General Armstrong can talk with them, I think it would be best if we smuggled them into Fort Briggs. Doctor Marcoh, I think it would be your best interest to come with us. Kimblee has orders to find you as well," Miles said.
"I figured he would," Marcoh said, sounding completely unsurprised. "I'll gladly take up your offer and thank you for it."
"So the homunculi were holding you hostage?" Ed asked and Marcoh nodded. "I'm sorry, Doc," Ed said, face crumpling slightly.
"Why, Edward?" Marcoh asked, perplexed at the fact that Ed was apologising.
"We led them to you," Ed said. "We didn't know back then about all of this and we didn't realise we were being followed everywhere by at least one of them. When we heard you were missing, we suspected one of them had taken you and it was because of us that they found you."
"It wasn't your fault, Edward. They'd already found out where I was before you and Major Armstrong stumbled upon me," Marcoh revealed and Ed looked up in surprise. "You bought me an extra day of freedom. They'd taken some pleasure in informing me that I had you and Scar both to thank for not being taken earlier. They had been ordered to stay behind to make sure nothing happened to you after your fight or while you were on the train. When Armstrong spotted me and they saw me give you the note, they had to take me then so you wouldn't be able to come back and question me further after they burned the library down," Marcoh explained.
"How did you escape?" Al asked and Marcoh nodded to Scar.
"He found me a few weeks ago and used his alchemy to get me out of the restraints and to disguise my face," Marcoh said. "Mei used her alkahestry to aid my healing." He gave the young princess a soft smile. "We found Carrie and she's currently hiding somewhere secure until all of this is over," Marcoh said, answering Ed's next question before he could ask it.
"I'm glad to hear that," Ed said, "but I'm still sorry for all you've gone through." Marcoh looked like he wanted to argue further about whether Ed should feel guilty but Miles interrupted them.
"You can continue this discussion at Briggs," Miles said. "We need to get going so Kimblee doesn't discover us."
"Wait, you were serious about taking them to Fort Briggs?" Ed asked, looking bewildered. "What if they're discovered there? General Armstrong and all of you will get into massive trouble for hiding a wanted fugitive."
"You need those notes decoded and Fort Briggs can offer you the time and relative safety to do so," Miles said. "We are aware of the risks but the country-wide transmutation circle and finding a way to stop it is far more important than anything else, including being discovered hiding Scar," Miles informed him.
"He's right, Ed," Ayala said. "Unless you can think of somewhere more secure than Fort Briggs, this is the best option." Ed scowled in displeasure but didn't raise any further arguments.
"I'll help decode the notes," Scar said after a few moments.
Miles gave him a look. "And we can trust you to do just that?"
Ed wanted to say something in Scar's defence since the man had been proven a man of his word – he hadn't attacked Ed the moment he saw him, after all – but Scar didn't give him the chance. "You can. I swear on my Ishvalen bloodlines."
Miles nodded once. "We have a deal than." A commotion behind them had everyone looking back over as the chimeras started waking up. The four soldiers who had accompanied Miles all had their weapons pointed at them. "I almost forgot about those freaks of nature," Miles said mildly. "Dispose of them."
"Yes, Sir!" The soldiers chorused but found themselves being blocked by Ed, Al, Ayala and Chester before they could pull the trigger.
"Now hold on a second," Ed said, glaring at Miles.
"You don't have to kill them!" Al cried and Miles shook his head in pity.
"There is no reason to let them live," Miles told the boys before nodding once more his men. "Kill them." Mei gave a soft gasp as the guns cocked and Marcoh was quick to pull her into his side, trying to block her eyes.
"A life is a life! What better reason do you need than that?" Al argued while Ed scowled at his fellow major. They were surprised when one of the chimeras chuckled.
"Showing us mercy," the toad chimera scoffed. "How foolish."
"We didn't ask you to help us, did we?" The boar chimera snapped and Al reeled back slightly in shock.
The toad chimera gave a pointed look to his green, warty skin. "Look at these bodies. What kind of future do we have?" he asked before looking at Miles. "If you're gonna kill us than do it!"
"I don't understand," Al said. "Don't you have family? Loved ones?"
The toad scoffed. "Of course we do."
"But as soon as we got these bodies, they were all told we were dead," the boar chimera explained and Ed felt his face purse in anger.
"Don't you wanna see them again?" Al asked, not giving up just yet.
"Even if we did, how could we go back to them like this?" The boar chimera asked and Al felt anger surge through him.
"So you don't want to get your original bodies back then? You don't want your Animals back in their original forms? You're content the way you are now, is that it?" Al demanded. Ed could see Marcoh and a couple of the soldiers give him a look as if asking if he was going to interrupt but he stayed silent. Al seemed to have this matter well in hand.
"No! How could we be?" the boar chimera snapped.
"Of course we want our true bodies back and our Animals given their true bodies as well," the toad chimera insisted and Al threw his hands in the air.
"There's your answer!" Al exclaimed. "I don't want to hear a bunch of fatalistic nonsense anymore. Why not live and try to find out if there's a chance to get you and your Animals your bodies back?" the two chimeras looked at him like he was crazy.
"How can you talk like you know what we're going through?" The toad asked, voice heavy with emotion.
"And if there's even a chance for us to go back?" the boar asked. Ed watched as Al seemed to contemplate something before he removed his helmet, showing the chimeras the empty inside of his armour.
"Well I'm going back," Al said, straightening up and placing his helmet back on, ignoring the shocked gasps of the chimera and Fort Briggs soldiers. "No matter how long it takes, I'm not giving up."
There was silence so intense they could practically hear the heartbeats of everyone else after Al's pep talk. Even Miles didn't say anything to his soldiers after Al had spoken. Both chimeras looked deep in thought and Al was glad to see that. He hoped they would take his words to heart and not give up. The suit of armour glanced at Miles and found himself hoping that the major would give the chimeras a chance to try and redeem themselves.
"I'm very proud of you and so is Ed," Chester told Al, rubbing up against his armour. "Ed reckons you might have a future in negotiations once all of this is over," he teased and was rewarded with Al's chuckles. Ed and Ayala had joined them and Ed gave Al's chest plate a tap with his fist as he grinned up at his brother.
They were soon interrupted from anything they were about to say or do by one of the Fort Briggs soldiers calling for Miles. "What is it?" The major asked as he strode over to the man.
"It's no good. There's a snowstorm moving in," the man told him. The small deer next to him shivered at the news.
"We can't complete a snow march with the equipment we have," Miles scowled and Amaya nudged his hand gently.
"What do we do now? Can we use alchemy to help?" Ed asked but Miles didn't look convinced they would be able to do anything to help.
The last person Ed would've expected out of everyone in the room was the one who spoke up. "This is a mining town, right?" Yoki asked and Miles nodded. "So why don't we just go into the underground tunnels? A mine this large must have some, right? Surely there's a tunnel that will lead us through and out of the mountains," Yoki said.
"That'll work," Ed said, looking at Al, who was nodding in agreement.
"Way to go, Yoki!" Mei exclaimed with happiness and Yoki got a smug look about him.
"Hey, give me some credit," he said, twisting one end of his mustache as he basked in the glow of his success. "This is what I did for a living after all."
The soldier who had noticed the incoming storm had pulled a map out of his bag and placed it on a nearby table that Ed was certain was one touch away from collapsing. "He's right," the soldier said, pointing to the map. "There's a tunnel that comes out past the mountains," he said, tracing the tunnel he was talking about.
"Alright," Miles said, nodding to the soldier. He pulled a notebook out of an inner jacket pocket and used the pen to scrawl a note on one of the pages before he ripped it out and put the notepad and pen back in the pocket. Miles turned to Marcoh and handed him the note. "Once you run into Briggs soldiers, hand them this." Marcoh took the note with interest. "I've explained our arrangements so you shouldn't have any trouble with them," Miles explained as he watched Marcoh carefully fold the note and secure it.
"Thank you," Marcoh said with an accompanying nod. "But what about you guys? Won't they suspect that you might have helped us escape?" he asked Ed and Al, worry evident on his face.
"We can take care of ourselves," Al insisted as Chester nodded.
"Yeah. I don't mean to brag or nothing but we're pretty good bullshitters," Ed said as Ayala rolled her eyes and laughed at him.
"No, this is Kimblee we're talking about," Miles said, shaking his head at the two. "He'd be skeptical and suspicious of anything you tell him." Ed hated to admit it but he knew Miles was right.
For a few minutes, no one spoke as they tried to figure out a way to keep Ed and Al from drawing Kimblee's suspicions while Scar, Mei, Yoki and Marcoh could escape. Al was the one who finally spoke. "I hate to be the one to suggest this but what do you think would happen if Ches or I were taken hostage by Scar?"
Ed gaped at them. "You want him to kidnap one of you?"
"Right," Al said. "If Scar is seen running away with Chester or me and you guys act like you're desperately trying to rescue us, Kimblee will believe it," Al told them but Ed shook his head.
"Are you insane?! What if Kimblee tries to attack Scar while he's holding Chester hostage? Or you, for that matter!" Ed exclaimed.
"That's why you'll be there to make sure he doesn't!" Al said and Ed had to stop himself from smacking his brother.
"Ed, can you come up with a better idea that would work just as well?" Chester asked and Ed snarled at him.
"This is ridiculous!" Ed snapped. "The two of you are idiots! How can you think that Kimblee would even believe that either of you would end up being taken by Scar?"
"Well, I can't think of anything better and it's not like Scar hasn't managed to best us before!" Al snapped and Ed growled.
"Would you make up your minds?" Miles interrupted, glancing at the window where they could see heavy dark clouds rolling in rapidly. "The storm's nearly on top of us and if we don't hurry, no one will be going anywhere."
"I can see Kimblee's men approaching!" the soldier called and Ed swore softly.
"Ed, they'll be alright," Ayala said as her human clenched his fist tightly to stop himself from doing something stupid. "We have the truce with Scar. They'll be fine," Ayala soothed and Ed sighed.
"Dammit! Fine, alright," Ed said. "Chester, you're getting kidnapped. Al, don't argue. Kimblee knows that your armour's empty. He'd never believe that Scar got the both of you," Ed said before Al could put up a fuss. "Scar, if anything happens to them because of you…" Ed trailed off, letting the Ishvalen imagine what the rest of the threat would be.
"I keep my promises," Scar told him and Ed nodded. Though he wouldn't say he trusted the Ishvalen completely, he did trust him enough to keep his word.
"Us too," the toad chimera suddenly croaked and everyone faced the still tied up pair they'd almost forgotten about again. "Please, you have to take us with you as well. I know you don't trust us so I understand if you want to keep us tied up but please take us," he begged.
"Amestris has no use for troops who fail their missions. One way or another, we're dead," the boar chimera said before looking at Al. "Besides, we don't want to give up either." Al would've beamed at the chimera if he could've.
"How do we know you mean that?" Marcoh asked. "You do realise that if you do anything to obstruct us, the whole country could be destroyed. That would include your families and everyone else you care about," Marcoh warned and both chimeras gaped at him in shock.
"Wait, what are you saying?" The toad chimera asked, looking at his partner. "The Central forces weren't told anything about the country being destroyed!"
"Please, we need to know more! What's going on?" The boar chimera pleaded.
"Ayala? Chester? What do you two think?" Ed asked, ignoring the looks he was getting.
"They're being honest. They didn't know anything about the country being in danger. I think they genuinely want to help us," Ayala told him.
"Chester's says they're telling the truth. He thinks they can be trusted to help," Al said, unconsciously falling back on their habit of pretending Ed couldn't hear any Animal except Ayala.
"Major Miles, what's Amaya's opinion?" Ed asked and Miles raised a brow at him.
"She agrees with your Animals," Miles said after a few seconds.
"So let them go," Ed said, gesturing to the chimeras. The chimeras looked at Miles hopefully and the major nodded to his men. Moments later, the rope tying them to the pillar was removed and the chimeras were able to stand up.
"If it will still make everyone feel better, we'll stay tied up," the toad chimera said as he shifted forms so he looked human once more. The boar chimera was quick to follow his example and pulled his glasses out of his pocket before placing them on himself.
"You're sure?" Miles asked and the two men nodded, holding their hands out.
"Yeah, I'm sure everyone would feel better if we were still tied up," the black chimera said.
"What are your names?" Ed asked as the two were secured.
"Jerso," the toad chimera said.
"Zampano," the boar chimera told him and Ed nodded.
"Everyone's good to go?" Miles asked as the soldier with the map handed it over to Yoki for him to follow. After receiving nods all around, Miles looked at Scar. "Alright, Scar. You better give us one hell of a performance."
"I know what I'm doing," Scar said and Miles gave him a look.
"And you'll keep your word?" Miles asked, wanting to be sure. Scar gave him a solid nod and Miles relaxed.
"Remember, Ches, you need to act unconscious," Ed reminded the leopard as he moved towards Scar and his group. Al was shifting anxiously where he stood and Ed placed a calming hand on his metal arm.
"I know," Chester told him. "You three stay safe. We'll see you soon."
"You stay safe as well," Ed said after Al repeated Chester's words as though Ed couldn't hear them.
After a final look at the group who would be heading immediately for Fort Briggs, Ed, Al, Miles, Amaya and the four soldiers and their Animals all headed for the doorway while Chester and Scar headed towards the stairwell, needing to get to the roof. Ed knew the others would be making their way to the nearby adjoining building so they wouldn't be accidentally hurt by any debris caused by Scar's performance.
Just before the team with Ed could get to the exit, Scar blew up some of the building, causing the walls to shake and shudder violently as dust and small bits of stone and metal fell around them. Knowing this was his cue, Ed ran out of the building, arms up covering his head and headed straight for Kimblee and his men. The group – minus Kimblee – looked stunned to see Ed heading for them. Just as Ed got to them, a voice called from the top of the building and they looked up to see Scar standing just before the ledge with Chester draped lifelessly over one shoulder. Ed made sure to gasp in horror at the sight.
"Tell me something, Kimblee. Do you remember when we first met? It seems we've changed places!" Scar called down tauntingly and Ed made a mental note to have Chester find out about Scar and Kimblee's first meeting.
"You shouldn't be so confident!" Kimblee shouted back, arms raised to clap and Ed moved, forcing the man to keep his hands apart by grabbing onto each of them.
"Don't you dare attack, Crimson Alchemist!" Ed snarled. "Can't you see he's got Chester? I won't let you hurt him!" Ed shouted, struggling against Kimblee as the madman tried to free himself.
"Get out of my way!" Kimblee snapped as they continued struggling. Another explosion had them separate from each other and Ed turned back to watch as Scar disappeared with Chester still over his shoulder just before the building started collapsing.
"Chester!" Ed shouted, moving forward as though he was going to try and re-enter the building. Kimblee moved in the same moment but both men found themselves being held back by the men with Kimblee.
"Sir, it's too unstable! You can't go in there!" The one holding onto Kimblee told them before turning to the rest of the men. "We need to fall back and find some cover before this storm rolls in!"
"Ayala, Al!" Ed shouted, ignoring the soldier's trying to hold him back from his theatrical struggle. The sigh of relief he gave when he saw the two emerge from the building escorted by Miles and his soldiers could've won him some awards on the theatre stage.
"Ed, he got Chester!" Al sobbed and for a moment, Ed was half convinced Al was actually crying. "I don't know what happened! We got separated from you after that first explosion and were trying to get back to you when Scar found us and I tried fighting him but he was too quick for me. Chester tried to get in between us and got hit by some debris and was knocked out. Scar got to him before I did," Al explained frantically and Ed clutched his arm as Ayala whined and rested against Al, as though she was comforting him.
"Al, calm down," Ed ordered, skin prickling as Kimblee watched them like a hawk. "Listen, Chester's alright, yeah?" Ed asked and Al nodded. "So don't panic. Scar will probably hold him as hostage but we can find him. You can lead us right to him and we can get Chester while Kimblee takes care of Scar, okay?"
"Oh," Al hiccupped, as though in his panic he'd forgotten about the tracking component of their bond. "Let's go find him now!" Al said, moving as though he was about to take off right there but Ed stopped him.
"We can't," Ed said. "That storm's gonna hit any minute and we can't move around in it," Ed reminded him and Al made a noise of protest. "Look, if we can't go out in it, neither can Scar or Chester. We just need to wait the storm out. Besides," Ed said, tapping his arm, "don't you think Scar would expect us to go after him right away? Maybe waiting a couple of hours will mean we'll get the drop on him."
"Yeah, maybe," Al said, not sounding convinced about their plan to 'rescue' Chester.
"Look, if you feel something change for the worse with your bond, we'll go out immediately, alright?" Ed said and, finally, Al nodded.
"Sirs, we need to go," one of the soldiers insisted as the wind started picking up around them, causing their coats to flap against their legs and driving snow into any crevice it could find.
"Lead the way," Kimblee said, nodding to the soldiers. Ed glanced at him as he and Ayala followed the group with Al in between them but didn't see any sign that made him think Kimblee hadn't bought their act.
The two groups headed into the closest building that looked like it would withstand the intense storm the best. Ed used the opportunity to size up the two remaining chimeras while Miles and his team brought up the rear. Both men had imposing figures and looked well-groomed. The blonde man wore glasses that were oval rather than the round frames Zampano wore and he had a thick mustache that covered most of his top lip. The second chimera had tanned skin, brunette hair and brunette sideburns styled so they made it look like he had a square lower jaw. Neither chimera looked like they were impressed by anything.
They finally entered the building the soldiers had chosen just as the storm really started hitting them and Ed allowed himself to sigh quietly in relief. Ayala grumbled as she shook herself off about wet fur and Ed offered to use alchemy to get her dry but she turned him down, remembering how ridiculous she looked when he did so. Amaya and the other Animals were following Ayala's lead in an effort to get the worst of the snow off their fur, hair or feathers. Ed, Ayala and Al headed into one of the small side rooms to wait out the storm. To their annoyance and slight amusement, the brunette chimera followed them, made an obvious show of checking there was no other way out and leaving them once he was sure.
"I'm worried about what happened to Zampano and Jerso," Ed heard the blonde chimera say as his fellow joined him.
"They're either out in the snow or Scar destroyed them. There isn't any point in worrying, Heinkel," was the response and Ed was a little taken aback by how callous he sounded.
"I know, Darius. I almost hope that Scar got to them first. I think that would be a better way to go than freezing to death," Heinkel said.
"Major Elric is right. This storm will have Scar trapped," a random soldier said.
"Right, which means he has to be somewhere in this town, Sir," another random soldier said and Ed wondered if he was talking to Kimblee or Miles. "Since we're stuck here, we might as well start planning our next search grid." There were sounds of footsteps on the floor as people moved around but neither Ed nor Al went to go see what they were doing.
"Excuse me, Major Miles," a third soldier, one of the ones Ed thought was with them while they were with Scar, called. "Briggs is on the line for you." Ed and Al looked at each other in surprise. It was far too soon for Mei, Scar and the others to be arriving at Briggs and Ed hadn't heard anything from Anahlia so he had no clue what was going on.
"Miles here," the major said as he answered the call. "What did you say?" he asked, disbelief in his voice and Ed, Al and Ayala shared a worried look. They waited as Miles listened to whoever was on the other line before he thanked the person for passing the message along. Moments later, Miles was walking into the room they were in and gesturing for them to join him on the far side.
"What's happening, Major?" Ed asked as they stood in a rough circle.
"Fort Briggs is no longer a safe option," Miles told them, keeping his voice low.
"What do you mean?" Ed asked, panic already starting to set in. What the hell happened to make Fort Briggs unsafe?"
"General Armstrong was summoned back to Central just after we left," Miles revealed and Ed felt the blood drain from his face. "Central troops have already started invading Briggs in force. There's no doubt they're acting on the Crimson Alchemist's orders," Miles said and Ed felt anger roil in his gut. "When we were back at the fort I had noticed him making rather frequent phone calls," Miles revealed.
"This is bad," Ed said, resisting the urge to start pacing. "Without General Armstrong there…" Ed trailed off as Miles nodded.
"A commander handpicked by Fuhrer Bradley has taken her place." Ed snorted because of course Bradley had someone ready to take over control of Briggs at a moment's notice.
"What do we do about Scar and Chester?" Al asked, worry etched in his voice.
"Hiding the others will be difficult," Miles told them bluntly. "If they're not careful, they're bound to fall into enemy hands."
"We can warn Chester but what use will that do? No one with him can hear him and there's no other Animals for him to pass the message to," Ed said. "We have to catch up to them and start coming up with Plan B."
Miles immediately shook his head. "This storm will kill any living thing that goes out in it," he said with such certainty that Ed and Al didn't bother arguing.
"I could go," Al said and both Miles and Ed looked at him. "I don't have a flesh body so there's nothing for the storm to kill and I can track them faster thanks to my bond with Chester." Ed nodded in agreement.
"He's right. He's the only one who could go out in this weather and hope to survive it," Ed said, looking at Miles. "Al can do this."
"Alright," Miles said after a moment. "Make sure you get a message to us once you've caught up with the others and have figured out what you're gonna do."
"I will," Al promised before turning to Ed and Ayala. "Make sure the two of you stay safe. Keep each other out of trouble."
"I mean, I'll try but you know how much Ayala likes starting shit," Ed said straight-faced before chuckling at Ayala's offended look and the scoff Al made. "But seriously, you stay safe too. You're not indestructible and I do not want to have to go out in that," Ed jabbed at the window where the wind was launching snow at it in a ferocious attempt to break in, "to save your arse."
"I'll keep that in mind," Al said before grabbing Ed in a hug that was almost too tight. "Watch your back with Kimblee. I don't like you being here with only Ayala to watch out for you," Al whispered and Ed clapped him on the back lightly, his way of making Al knew he was being hugged back.
"Pretty sure Major Miles won't let me die if he can help it but the same to you," Ed murmured. "Scar is on our side so long as we get him to the homunculi so he can get justice for Ishval, not because he is our friend. Don't forget that." Ed pulled away and waited for Al to nod.
"We'll let you know where we are so you and Ayala can catch up. Hopefully we'll see you soon," Al said and Ed nodded.
"If you're going to leave, you need to go now while Kimblee and his men are too busy planning to notice," Miles said and the brothers nodded.
"I'll open the floor up for you. Make sure you get out unseen," Ed said and Al nodded. Clapping his hands together, Ed winced as his clap rang through the room. Thankfully, it seemed that the roaring wind and driven snow were loud enough to cover the noise as no one came rushing into the room to find out what was happening. Ed placed his hands to the floor and opened a hole in it big enough for Al to drop down through. "Alright, go."
"Stay safe, Brother," Al said and Ed repeated the words just as Al dropped lightly to the floor below.
Ed watched as Al landed, looked around then moved out of view before he clapped once more and repaired the hole. "Do you have a soldier who I can borrow once this storm has passed?" Ed asked as he straightened from his crouch.
Miles frowned but nodded. "Why?" he asked, looking down at Amaya as though she might know the answer.
"I'm gonna have to make a suit of armour that looks like Al's so Kimblee doesn't notice he's missing but I'll need someone to wear the armour and pretend to be him," Ed told him and Miles nodded in understanding.
"I'll inform the soldier I have in mind while you make the armour," Miles said, moving out of the room before Ed could say anything.
"Sure, I'll get right on that," Ed muttered as he watched the major and his coyote leave the room. Amaya's ear flicked towards him but Ed refused to feel bad that she probably heard that.
"Where exactly are you going to get metal from?" Ayala asked as she eyes the stone room.
"There's metal in the walls," Ed told her. "Even if I have to draw it from the entire building, I can get enough metal from within the walls without making the building structurally unsound to build a suit of armour," Ed told her. "The problem will be the light my transmutation will create. I can explain away the last two as me mending my clothing and Al's armour but this one will be a lot longer."
"What if we closed the door and say the window blew out and that the wind slammed the door shut?" Ayala suggested but Ed shook his head.
"We'd have to blow out the window, make the armour and fix the window all in the space of a few moments. Even I'm not that good," Ed told her and she sighed before falling back into thought.
Seconds later, her ears perked up and she cocked her head as she listened to something in the other room. It took Ed a couple of seconds before he identified the sounds of several footsteps moving away from them and Ayala grinned at him. "Kimblee and his goons have gone to check on the storm. We've got a few moments now where they won't see the flash," she told him but Ed was already heading for the closest wall as soon as she said Kimblee had left.
Clapping his hands together, Ed placed them on the wall and let the transmutation do as it was designed to do. By the time the alchemic energy had dissipated, there was an exact replica of Al's armour standing beside him. Satisfied with his work, Ed let the array go and waited for a moment. When the building didn't immediately collapse on them, Ed counted the transmutation as a complete success. Ayala rolled her eyes as Miles entered the room, followed by Ayala and one of the Fort Briggs soldiers.
"Johnson, your mission is to wear that armour and act like Alphonse Elric," Miles informed him.
Johnson looked stunned for all of a moment and Ed knew it didn't take him being a genius to figure out why. It was a pretty unusual order. "Yes, Sir," he said, eyeing the armour apprehensively. His Animal – a yellow grass parrot – ruffled its feather and Ed wondered if Johnson's Animal had been part of the reason he was chosen. The small Animal could be easily hidden inside the armour with its human and not raise any suspicion as it might've done if it was travelling beside the armour. Johnson took a moment to soothe his Animal before he nodded to Ed and allowed the blonde to help him into the armour while listening to everything Ed had to say about Al's mannerisms so he could try and mimic him as best he could.
Ed placed the helmet over Johnson's head, a little weirded out by the fact that there was someone in this armour, just as Ayala alerted him to Kimblee's return. "Good timing," Ed muttered, giving the armour another once over as Johnson stood before nodding in satisfaction. Miles seemed to be waiting for that as he and Amaya slipped out of the room as soon as Ed gave the armour its final check so that Kimblee wouldn't suspect them of plotting anything. Ed and Ayala both let out a sigh of relief as Kimblee barely glanced at the room they were in before he returned to plotting the search for Scar.
It took almost an hour and a half after Ed created the new armour for the soldiers to realise that the storm was showing no signs of dissipating any time soon. Kimblee had taken the news with far more grace than what Ed saw in his eyes. Miles didn't say anything, just turned to order the soldiers to spread out to see if they could find anything they could burn so they wouldn't freeze during the night. Most of them returned empty handed but a few did stumble upon old chairs and tables that were easily broken into pieces and arranged into piles to feed the fire another soldier got going. Everyone else set themselves up for an uncomfortable night of sleeping on the freezing floor and keeping watch.
It was early in the next morning when the storm to start showing signs that it was finally coming to an end. Kimblee and his men had packed up their gear in preparation to move out immediately and once one of the Fort Briggs soldiers gave the news that they could leave the building, they did so, leaving Miles, Ed, the loyal Fort Briggs soldiers and their Animals inside so that 'Al' could try and get a location on Chester before they started moving' or so Ed claimed.
"Now that the storm's passed, we can make our move against him," Miles said, looking down at Kimblee from the window. "We can't take any chances with Kimblee or his men. If you find yourself with an opportunity, take it," Miles ordered and Ed frowned, not liking how that sounded.
"Yes, Sir!" The men chorused, including Johnson from where he was in the armour.
"You're the only ones who know of this mission," Miles told them before looking over at Ed then back at the soldier with the antelope. "Don't let Elric out of this room."
"Now wait just a minute," Ed protested, getting to his feet. "You're not planning on killing them, are you?"
"Of course we are," Miles said, sounding a little annoyed that Ed was questioning him.
"I'm not having any part of that," Ed said, shaking his head. "Why don't you just try and take him hostage so he can get some answers out of him?" Ed asked and the slightly pitying looks he got from some of the soldiers had his hackles rise.
"Do you really think he'd talk, assuming we managed to take him alive and without casualties?" Miles asked. "He's too dangerous to let live." The strength of his conviction in his voice reminded Ed far too much of General Armstrong.
"That's true for him but maybe not for is men," Ed said. "For all we know he could be manipulating them somehow. Forcing them to obey or maybe lying to them. Zampano and Jerso didn't know anything about what's happening," Ed reminded him and Miles dipped his head, conceding to Ed's point.
"You could be right," Miles said, "but we can't take such a risk on a possibility." Ed's temper flared and Ayala pressed herself against his flesh leg.
"And yet," Ed spat, "you're willing to kill them for one." Ed glared at the major, who seemed unmoved. "This isn't like it was with General Raven! There might be another way to deal with this so possibly innocent people aren't hurt!" Ed insisted.
"Have you forgotten the first law of Briggs?" Miles snapped, losing his patience for a moment. "The careless are the first to die. If you show mercy in this place, I can guarantee it'll you or your friends killed," Miles told him. "We aren't going to be careless here. We're killing Kimblee and the two men with him and that is final." Miles didn't let Ed protest any further as he gestured for his men to follow him out of the building.
"Do you have a direction?" Kimblee asked and 'Al' nodded.
"Chester is that way," he said, pitching his voice to try and match Al's and pointing in the direction Miles had told him to. Kimblee nodded and motioned for everyone to follow him. Ed walked beside 'Al', glowering at Miles back as he did so.
Ayala made sure Ed's hand was within reach as she walked beside him so she could try and calm him down if he got too upset. She knew why the men of Fort Briggs had acted the way they had regarding Kimblee and his men and it irked her enough that she was tempted to lecture each and every Animal with them. Ed was not a naïve child who had no idea how the real world worked like some of these men seemed to believe but she restrained herself. She always preferred it when Ed showed those kinds of people just how wrong they were himself.
"Man, I almost forgot he's just a kid." Ayala's ears perked as the soldier walking beside Miles spoke and she almost growled.
"Indeed he is," Miles said in response. "Especially if he's naïve enough to think he won't have to kill anyone." Ayala scoffed. After nearly five years in the military, Ed had still yet to take someone's life himself and he was determined to keep it that way until he was able to discharge from the military. Envy and the second homunculous didn't count for Ed since it was a Philosopher's Stone made from thousands of sacrificed people who kept them alive and there was nothing human about them where it mattered.
"I have to admit that I used to think the same thing," the soldier said almost wistfully and Miles nodded.
"As did I," he told him. "But once you've lived through a couple of wars like we have, you learn some things. Like sometimes killing isn't as hard as letting them live," Miles said and Ayala wondered if he knew she could hear him. "The Elric brothers certainly have chosen the more difficult path."
"I guess they like to go against the grain," the soldier laughed lightly.
"Yeah," Miles agreed. "In a way, I envy their conviction." Miles glanced up at the sky as though lost in thought and his and the soldier's conversation ended there.
Amaya looked back at Ayala as though telling her she knew what she had been doing but the golden wolf met the coyote's gaze without feeling any guilt or regret. They kept eye contact for only a moment before Amaya broke it but Ayala got the feeling she had just been given some kind of warning. Ayala scoffed to herself. If Amaya wanted to threaten her for eavesdropping, Ayala would welcome her in doing so. She'd learn pretty quickly about what would happen to those who threatened her boy or family.
"Just letting you know that Al caught up with us and we're taking shelter in a small abandoned hut while Scar deciphers his brother's code," Chester said after ten minutes of fake Al giving Kimblee the directions Miles had instructed him to give.
"That's good. I was starting to get worried he'd managed to get himself lost," Ed said, keeping the chat telepathic. "Is everyone alright?"
"Yeah, we're all fine. A little cold and Yoki won't shut up but we're all good," Chester said and Ed chuckled.
"Maybe you should threaten him every time he complains," Ed suggested and Chester laughed.
"Al forbade me from doing so after the first minute of his bitching," Chester told him and Ed grinned. Leave it to Al to put a stop to any fun before it could even start. "Something did happen to Al while he was on his way here," Chester said, all previous levity gone from his voice and Ed felt his stomach drop.
"What happened?" If it had Chester sounding so serious, it must've been something big but what the hell could have happened to Al to cause such a reaction?
"He," Chester paused as he seemed to search for the right word, "lost consciousness, for lack of a better phrase," Chester told him.
"How could he lose consciousness?" Ed asked, thoroughly confused and Chester didn't blame him for being so snappy.
"Al said it happened after he left you but only for a moment. I couldn't sense him and I panicked but he was back almost immediately," Chester told him. "When I asked what had happened, he said it felt like his body was pulling him back. He's worried that the seal is starting to fail," Chester said and Ed felt shock pulse through him. "It happened again after he caught up with us and that time, it lasted for nearly twenty minutes. I could barely sense him and that was the only thing that stopped me from completely losing it." Chester sounded a little ashamed of that but there was no judgement from Ed or Ayala. They knew he hadn't reacted any differently than either of them would have in his situation.
"I wonder what's causing that to happen now?" Ed said, frustrated that he and Al weren't together to try and figure this out. This was something that Ed knew would soon prove itself dangerous. If Al lost consciousness in the middle of a fight or something, it could end badly.
"Al thinks it might have something to do with the seal itself," Chester told him. "He says that he thinks it could be the blood you used to draw it with is starting to decay and flake, weakening the seal. I had a look at it and it does look thinner in places than it should," Chester revealed and Ed felt a rush of guilt flood through him but Ayala was quick to nip that in the bud.
"You were 11, bleeding out and desperate to save Al in whatever way you could. You chose the first available material to draw it with because time was of the essence. No one saw this coming, not a single person, and no one has ever questioned why you didn't use something better than blood to draw it with," Ayala told him sternly and Chester nodded in agreement in Ed's mind.
"Ayala is absolutely right. You're not to blame for this," Chester told him and Ed sighed.
"Alright, I get it," Ed said, surrendering the fight since he knew he'd just lose it anyway. "Is Al alright?"
"Yes, for the moment. He wants to talk with you about it but he's not letting himself worry over it just yet. This has only happened twice in the last five and a bit years so we're under the assumption we still have plenty of time to figure it out. Al's planning on staying away from snow and water as much as possible after we leave the snow," Chester told him and Ed nodded.
"Alright," Ed said. "Once Scar and everyone has cracked the code, get moving. Head to Dublith or somewhere safe and dry and wait for us there. Hopefully we'll only be a day behind you, at most," Ed said and Chester nodded reluctantly.
"Al isn't happy with the idea but he's agreed to it. We'll head to Dublith so we can catch Izumi and everyone up on everything that's happened since we last saw them while we wait for you," Chester said and Ed breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. Maybe Teacher can come up with a way to help further protect the seal," Ed said. Movement in front of him had him paying more attention to the soldiers he was walking with and he noticed that some of them were missing. "Ches, I have to go. You two stay safe and contact me as soon as you're in Dublith," Ed ordered and Chester nodded in agreement.
"Keep safe, the both of you," Chester said before disconnecting from the conversation. Now that he didn't have Chester in his mind, Ed paid attention to the soldiers.
"Did you overhear where Kimblee's sending his soldiers?" Miles asked one of the northern soldiers and the man nodded.
"You saw that mine in the centre of town," he said. "That's where he's heading. I overheard him say that he couldn't trust any of the northern soldiers so he'd only taking the men he brought with him," the soldier reported and Miles scowled.
"I guess he's figured us out then," he said. "We'll head them off. Position snipers near the opening of the mine shaft," Miles ordered and the soldiers nodded.
"Yes, Sir!" they chorused before moving to do just that. Ed and Ayala glanced at each other before nodding. As soon as they could, they'd be splitting from the group. They had no desire to really try and save Kimblee's life but the two chimeras he was with could be in the same situation Zampano and Jerso were and Ed couldn't stand for that.
A couple of minutes later, Ed and Ayala got their chance and disappeared down a random alley while no one was watching. Ayala was quick to pick up Kimblee's scent and soon they were running full tilt for the centre of town along the same path the Crimson Alchemist had taken. They slowed down once they could see the massive mine the soldier had talked about so they could take in their surroundings. The shaft acted as the town's centre square which meant the four roads that led directly to it were almost three times wider than any other street in the town. They quickly spotted Kimblee casually trolling down one of the roads towards the shaft and raced to meet him in the middle.
"Hey, Kimblee," Ed greeted casually. "Don't you think you should let the Briggs soldiers search the mines and tunnels? They do know the area and its dangers better an you could get lost down there," Ed said and Kimblee grinned.
"The mere fact that you're trying to stop me is proof that we're in the right place," Kimblee gloated victoriously at having been proven right. "Now I know that they're down there." The two of them were standing at a stalemate, neither ready to make the first move just yet. Ed knew that Miles and the snipers were up in one of the buildings, Ayala having sensed them nearby, and it made the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck rise slightly at the feeling.
"And how is that?" Ed asked, still playing dumb. "Look, I wanna catch Scar –" Kimblee cut him off with a knowing grin.
"You're trying to buy time for your snipers to get in position, aren't you?" Kimblee asked but Ed knew the man already knew the answer to that. At Ed's confused look, Kimblee couldn't help but explain. "I can practically smell the murderous intent in the air around here. It's like a 6th sense I've picked up while in Ishval," he bragged.
Ed didn't get the chance to say anything when Kimblee suddenly moved, touching the snow and creating an explosion that resulted in the snow turning into a thick fog that threatened to choke Ed and Ayala where they stood. "Dammit, Kimblee," Ed muttered as he tried to get his bearings. A large shadow came at him and only Ayala's shouted warning had him dodging the fist in time. The fog cleared for a moment and Ed spotted the two chimeras in their animal forms standing and grinning in front of him. "A lion and a gorilla, huh?" Ed said. "I had wondered what the two of you were mixed with."
The lion chimera – Heinkel, if Ed remembered correctly – snarled as he launched himself at the blonde, who dodged the attack easily. The snow cloud shifted again obscuring the chimeras from sight and Ed swore. He could feel Ayala nearby and his wolf was giving him instructions and where to move and when to strike. Ed didn't fail to listen to a single thing Ayala said since, unlike the chimera and Ayala, Ed couldn't see anything until it was only centimetres away. The downside to Ayala acting as his eyes was that she couldn't move to help him, just in case she missed something and Ed got hurt.
"Edward!" Came a shout from where Ed guessed the snow cloud ended. "What's going on in there?!" Miles asked, a touch of worry in his voice.
"Major Miles!" Ed shouted back immediately, dodging to his left to avoid the gorilla chimera. "They're chimeras! They can fight in low visibility!" Ed grunted in pain as the lion chimera's next attack managed to connect, giving him a cut to his flesh arm. The wound didn't feel deep enough for stitches but Ed was still annoyed he got hit at all. "Stay out of here! Trust me!" Ed called, not willing to let the soldiers try and fight the chimeras while they couldn't see and risk them getting hurt or killed.
"Ed, you're right on the edge of the shaft. There's a small structure below you. You'll bruise but you'll be able to see better," Ayala told him and Ed nodded at her. As soon as he felt her next to his left side, Ed jumped blindly. A moment later, he and Ayala crashed through the wooden structure Ayala had told him about and Ed groaned as he picked himself up. As Ayala had said, he copped some new bruises but he could see clearly. A glance around the place showed him some wooden crates with one word printed on the side in large black lettering.
"Dynamite? That could work," Ed said with a grin to Ayala. He peeled the lids off some of the boxes and saw that they still held sticks of dynamite inside. Unwrapping the red scarf he was gifted from Sheska's mum, he tied it quickly around Ayala muzzle, making sure she could still breath but so she wouldn't be affected by what he was about to do. He took off his beanie and tucked it under one arm while he grabbed a fistful of dynamite in the other just as the two chimeras jumped down to join them. "Stay back! These aren't exactly cigars I'm holding!" Ed warned and the chimeras sneered.
"You idiot," Heinkel laughed. "That stuff isn't going to do you any good. It's all wet!"
Ed grinned. "You sure about that? Do you happen to know what dynamite's made of?" Ed asked, waving the brown sticks in his hand. So far, neither chimera seemed to have noticed Ayala's head gear.
"It's nitro-glycerine, isn't it?" Heinkel asked and Darius nodded.
"Yeah, nitro-glycerine, sawdust," the gorilla chimera listed. "Isn't there some ammonia-nitrate in there too?"
"Yes there is," Ed said, "and what is ammonia-nitrate made out of?" Ed asked as he placed the dynamite he was holding back in the crate and readying the array he needed in his mind.
"That's easy!" Heinkel said. "Nitric acid and ammonia," he said, looking a touch proud of himself. That pride disappeared as soon as he saw the grin on Ed's face and his hands positioned to clap.
"Aren't the two of you clever?" Ed said, clapping his hands and touching the dynamite in the same moment he grabbed his beanie and held it over his mouth and nose. The dynamite exploded but not in the sense anyone would've expected it to do so. A disgusting thick cloud quickly encased the four in its clutches but with their noses and mouths covered and Ed's hand firmly in Ayala's scruff, Ed and Ayala managed to get out of the ammonia cloud rather quickly as the chimeras cried out in pain and disgust.
Ed only paused long enough to remove the scarf from Ayala's muzzle to prevent it being in the way for when they caught up to Kimblee. He stuffed both the beanie and the scarf in one of his red jacket's pockets on the right side and Ayala got to work tracking Kimblee down. Ed looked back before they disappeared further into the shaft but he couldn't see any of the Briggs soldiers. He felt a little bad about not being able to wait for them or get a message to them but he couldn't waste any time. He needed to catch up to Kimblee and disable him before he could discover Scar and Al's trails.
They heard him complaining about the smell just before they entered the section of shaft he was in. "That's ammonia," Ed said and Kimblee spun to face him and Ayala. No longer restricted by the need to keep a civil mask, Ayala was in full defensive mode, hackles up, lips lifted in a snarl and growls that had frozen many people in place sounding. "It does awful stuff to a sharp nose. I doubt your chimera friends will be of much use to you now," Ed told him and Kimblee looked almost impressed.
"Your attitude certainly took a turn rather quickly now that Scar's gone," Kimblee observed but Ed didn't bother explaining himself.
"What'd you expect to happen?" Ed asked, producing his blade and joining Ayala in a fighting stance. "I'll make this really easy for you. All I want is for you to tell me everything you know."
"Oh, is that all?" Kimblee drawled before he sighed. "You know, I just got out of the hospital and I really don't feel like getting banged up by a youngster like you," Kimblee said and Ed glanced down at Ayala. Surely it wasn't going to be this easy? He was immediately proven right by Kimblee's next words. "Plus, I really don't have the time to waste fighting you so I guess I'll have to speed things up with this," Kimblee said, producing the stone he'd offered Ed from his front breast pocket.
Ed didn't dare give Kimblee the opportunity to use the stone. He darted forward, ducking the punch Kimblee tried to hit him with while Ayala launched herself at Kimblee's throat. Her momentum caused Kimblee to turn slightly as he caught and threw her aside and Ed used the opportunity presented to land a kick to the Crimson Alchemist's wrist, forcing the man to lose his grip on the stone and send it spinning down the black shaft behind them. Kimblee snarled at them and went to transmute his own array by bringing his hands together but Ed and Ayala moved first. Ed slashed with his blade and gouged a gash into the man's left palm while Ayala sank her teeth into his right hand, making sure her teeth speared into his array to destroy it.
"Good job, Ayala," Ed said as the two sprang back from the bleeding alchemist. "We've managed to – " Kimblee started chuckling, stopping Ed from finishing his sentence.
"Managed to what? Managed to win?" He asked, straightening up and Ed fought the urge to step back at the intense madness etched on the man's face. It was like the calm, gentlemanly manner Kimblee normally displayed had been converted to the exact opposite and Ed felt fear stab into his heart at the anger Kimblee was exuding. "So you're determined not to kill! How admirable of you," Kimblee sneered. "Do you realise what advantage that gives your opponent? Instead of finishing me off, you've given me a second chance to destroy you!" Kimblee said gleefully, opening his mouth and revealing the second stone he had hidden in there. "That sense of mercy is about to get both of you in a lot of trouble." Ed barely noticed the two chimeras approaching him and Ayala from behind as he watched with undiluted horror as the stone dropped into Kimblee's injured right hand.
The moment the stone touched Kimblee's palm, the entire shaft exploded, sending Ayala, Ed and the two chimeras tumbling into its depths. Ed had thrown himself at Ayala as soon as he realised what Kimblee was about to do and he clutched her tightly to him - determined to make sure Ayala didn't hit the ground first - but something thin and heavy hit him as they fell and he lost his grip on his wolf. He didn't get the chance to panic about what would happen to her before he slammed into the ground and immediately lost consciousness.
Ed felt like he'd been run over and trampled on by a stampede of elephants as he slowly regained consciousness. He didn't open his eyes, not wanting to see the inside of another hospital or the worried faces of his friends and family. His head hurt, pain thumping through it at a steady beat but it was nothing he wasn't used to. He couldn't pick a part of his body that didn't hurt at all but the biggest pain was emanating from the lower left side on his abdomen. He let out a small groan and shifted, expecting to feel the rough sheets of a hospital bed but felt dirt and small rocks instead, causing him to frown in confusion.
His eyes flew open and he gasped as he suddenly recalled what had happened to him and he frantically started looking around. He remembered Ayala and the two chimeras being near him when Kimblee exploded the shaft from underneath them. His body protested every small movement he made and he grit his teeth as he grunted in pain. "Ayala?" he called, voice raspy and filled with distress as he tried to find his wolf. His eyes scanned the debris that settled near him, hoping to catch a glimpse of golden fur somewhere but they landed on the two chimeras, still in animal form, who lay trapped under some beams and other rubble.
"Can't breathe," Heinkel groaned and Ed could sympathise. He felt a massive weight on his lower back and he summoned his strength for what he was about to do.
"Ayala?" He called again, both out loud and through their bond. He could feel her but she wasn't responding and Ed needed to know why.
Ed slowly shifted, trying to get to his hands and knees but the weight on his left side made his efforts seem futile. He finally managed it and looked back over his shoulder so he could figure out what it was and how he could remove it. His eyes widened and he felt bile crawl up his throat as he took in the thin, metal support beam that had speared itself through his back as he fell. A glance underneath himself showed the end of the beam, crumpled from hitting the ground at such high speed after piercing his side. His blood dripped hotly from both the inside and outside of the beam and Ed couldn't stop himself from spitting up what had made its way up his throat. To his horror, he saw blood hit the ground before his vision once again faded to black and he collapsed onto his side.
Chester felt tremendous pain rip through his left side and he cried out from the intensity of it. Knowing it wasn't Al, Chester immediately tried to contact Ed or Ayala as Al rushed over to him to try and figure out what was wrong. His cry had caught the attention of their travel companions but Chester paid them no mind as he fought through the agonising pain. He couldn't even voice what he felt to Al because it was so intense and that worried the leopard. He only felt a fraction of what Ed felt and if he was in this much pain, he didn't want to know how much Ed was in.
"Chester, what happened?" Al asked frantically, trying to soothe his leopard.
Just as Chester was about to answer, the sympathy pain slowly starting to fade, Al's eyes dimmed before going out and his suit of armour collapsed on its side like a puppet whose strings were cut. Chester's panic grew to almost catatonic levels as he tried to get Al to respond to him. Mei and Marcoh had started worrying, rushing over to try and figure out what was wrong but Chester barely noticed them. His human was unresponsive and his pseudo-human was in pain so intense it was making Chester nauseous and he couldn't speak to anyone else around him. All he could do was keep trying to get Ed or Al talking again.
Ed didn't know how long he was unconscious for this time but he woke up slumped onto his side and staring at another pile of debris. The pain hit him all at once and Ed cried out at the intensity of it. The metal support beam was still inside of him and he still couldn't see Ayala. He looked over to the two chimeras who were still trapped and locked eyes with one of them, though his vision was starting to blur so he couldn't really tell which one it was.
"Can – " Ed coughed up some more blood but he got their attention. "Can you see Ayala?" Ed asked.
"Your wolf?" Darius asked and Ed gave a small nod. They both looked around and Darius nodded. "She's just waking up. I think she has a broken leg. She's just on the other side of that debris pile next to you," Darius told him and Ed nodded in thanks. He brought his hands together and used his alchemy to sever the beam protruding out of his back. The weight immediately lifted by a major amount and Ed felt some relief afterwards. He collapsed back to the ground, dropped his left hand onto his right and produced the familiar ringing clap before he shifted his left hand to the ground and let his alchemy race towards the chimeras, shifting the debris up and off them. Both of them got up stiffly, rubbing out any injuries they'd received. "Kimblee is going to pay for this," Darius growled as he made his way over to Ed's right and out of his sight.
"What made you rescue us, kid?" Heinkel asked as he approached Ed. The blonde could hear Darius murmuring to Ayala and he felt her suspicion through their bond but he brought his focus back to the approaching chimera. "You're more injured than we are."
Ed chuckled wetly, blood splattering lightly from his lips. "Don't get the wrong idea," Ed rasped. "I can't pull this out on my own. I could use a little help." His words came soft, slow and littered with small gasps as he tried to drag in as much air as he could. He could feel his left lung slowly filling with liquid and knew it was blood he was slowly drowning in.
The reappearance of Darius dragged his attention away from the gaping lion chimera and he sighed in relief when he saw Ayala in the gorilla chimera's arms. She was filthy, covered in dust and blood and her front right leg was bent at an unnatural angle. That answered Ed's questions about why he couldn't feel any sympathy pain from her, though he had thought his pain was drowning it out. Her golden eyes were full of pain but she looked as relieved to see him as Ed had been to see her. Darius placed her gently on his left, out of the way enough that the two chimeras could crouch in front of Ed.
"We were enemies not five minutes ago and now you're asking us to help save your life?" Darius asked and Ed huffed in amusement.
"Yeah, basically," he said.
Darius and Heinkel exchanged looks before Darius shrugged. "It's not like we were given orders to kill you," he said, standing to move around behind Ed. He eased himself down, trying not to touch the injured teenager until he had to. "Come on," he said, grabbing Ed lightly and pulling him up into a sitting position, resting the blonde against his chest. Ed's breathing came harder as he fought against the nearly overwhelming pain, knowing he couldn't afford to pass out right now.
"You know, kid," Heinkel said conversationally as he took up a crouching position in front of Ed, "you're gonna bleed to death pretty quickly once I pull this out."
Ed gave him a small grin as he felt him grab the end of the beam, ready to pull it out on Ed's command. Ayala whined in concern but he gave her a reassuring look. "Not if I heal it as soon as it's out of me. I'll close the wound up with alchemy," Ed gasped out and the chimeras exchanged worried looks.
"Have you ever performed that kind of medical alchemy before?" Heinkel couldn't help but ask.
"Sort of," Ed chuckled, eyes drooping before he forced them open. The pain was getting to the point where Ed wanted to pass out. "I did some research on it when I was reading about human transmutation." Neither chimera was filled with confidence with that answer.
"Just some research?" Darius asked incredulously. "Your guts are gonna be all messed up. You're gonna need something like a miracle or a Philosopher's Stone to make this work."
Ed nodded, immediately regretting the movement. "I'm gonna have to use some of my life force the same way I'd use a stone," Ed revealed, coughing up a bit more blood. "It'll probably take a few years off my life span though."
"Ed, don't," Ayala said weakly and he gave her an apologetic smile.
"I have to or we'll both die here," he told her gently. "I don't have any other way of trying to fix this and I refuse to go down like this. Not because of someone like Kimblee," Ed told her. "This will probably hurt but once it's over, I'll fix you up," Ed promised before turning to look at Heinkel once more.
"Are you positive?" the lion chimera asked and Ed gave him a nod. "Alright," he said, tightening his grip on the beam and making Ed whimper as he jostled it slightly. "Ready?"
Both Darius and Ed nodded, Darius tightening his grip on Ed while Ed brought his hands as close together as he could without being in Heinkel's way. The moment Heinkel started pulling on the beam, Ed started letting out a strangled scream. The lion chimera felt guilt at being the one to cause the noise but he didn't let himself move any faster than he felt was safe. He didn't want to risk causing the kid any more damage than he'd already suffered.
Ed's head was filled with his own pained screams and Ayala's piercing one as she suffered through the sympathy pain. He squirmed and tried pulling himself away from the pain but Darius held him firmly in place while Heinkel removed the piece of metal that had caused all of this. Just as Ed thought he was going to pass out from it all, he felt the last of the metal slide out and Heinkel let out a surprised grunt as he fell backwards. Ed started bringing his hands the rest of the way, knowing every second counted right now, when movement from his left caught his eye.
Both Darius and Heinkel let out shocked gasps when Ayala launched herself at her human before he could clap and placed her forehead on his gaping wound. The steaming blood coated her forehead and eyes, working its way quickly down her muzzle but she ignored it. An instinct she'd never felt before thrummed deep inside her and she gave into it, trusting herself to do as it wanted. Ed groaned as he felt a warmth spread through him, temporarily relieving him of all pain and his eyes opened a sliver. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the silver glow Al had described when he and Ayala first touched envelope his entire body. A glance down showed Ayala's form encased in the same silver and it was the last thing he saw before his eyes shut once more.
After a few long moments, Ayala hobbled backwards, opening her own eyes just in time to see the silver glow fade completely. Ed was still covered in dirt and blood. All of his minor wounds were still bleeding and she could see the bruises forming on his skin but the patch of skin she could see through the hole torn into his shirt by the beam only looked like it was covered in blood. She couldn't see his back but she watched as Darius slowly pushed Ed forward enough to look for himself.
"What the hell just happened? Is he alive?" Heinkel asked as Darius shrugged.
"Can't get rid of me that easily," came the response from the blonde as he blinked his eyes opened once more. "I don't know what just happened but I think Ayala managed to heal me," Ed said in disbelief as Ayala gave him a tired smile.
"Did it work?" Darius asked.
"I couldn't heal you completely," Ayala told him, exhaustion washing over her.
"Not completely," Ed told them. "I think she managed to repair my organs and remove the blood in my lung as well as stop the bleeding but it won't hold for long," he told them, shifting to get out of Darius' way as he crawled over to Ayala. "My turn to return the favour," he told her.
As soon as he shifted her leg so it would heal properly, Ed released the healing energy, noting that quite a bit of it was missing. Ayala squealed in pain as her broken bones knitted themselves together and Ed whispered apologies to her. Aside from the broken leg, she'd also suffered three broken ribs, a deep cut to her hindquarters and an injury to her head, which explained why she'd been unconscious when he woke up the first time. Finally, the green glow dissipated as the last of Ayala's injuries were healed and Ed almost collapsed as he felt exhaustion hit him.
"We've gotta get you to a doctor, kid," Darius said as he watched the blonde sway dangerously where he was crouched.
Ed shook his head as he struggled to get to his feet. "No, we don't have time for that," he grunted. "I've gotta stop Kimblee," Ed said, struggling to keep his eyes open, "before he gets to…" Ed trailed off as exhaustion, pain and his injuries won the fight and he blacked out, slumping over onto his right side.
"Knew that would happen," Darius said as he looked at Ed's prone form. Ayala glared weakly at him from where she lay.
Heinkel went to say something when his eye spotted something glinting in the debris pile. Finding it odd that something would be shining down here, he went over to it and uncovered a familiar red stone. Darius wandered over to get a look of his own and let out a surprised huff when he recognised it. "Guess Kimblee lost it during the fight with the kid," Heinkel said as he pocketed it.
"Think we should return it to him?" Darius asked and Heinkel glared at him.
"Why? He's not our boss. Not since he tried to kill us along with those two," Heinkel spat and Darius nodded.
"Good point," he said, a vindictive smile forming on his face. "How about we make our resignation official?"
"How about we keep our freedom and let that bastard think we died in the rubble?" Heinkel suggested instead.
"Yeah, that's probably the smarter option," Darius admitted as he looked at the unconscious teenager. At some point during their talk, the wolf had also lost her fight to stay awake and the pair were curled up next to each other. "What should we do with him?"
Heinkel considered the pair for a moment before sighing. "We can't just leave him here to die," he said as he walked over. "He did save our lives so we owe him that much." Heinkel bent down to scoop Ed up, careful not to jostle his left side too much in case he reopened the wound and carried him bridal style.
"Very true," Darius said, mimicking Heinkel and picking up Ayala. The wolf barely got an eye open to glare at him suspiciously. "We're gonna get you and your human to a doctor to get patched up," he assured her. There was a moment where her eye just watched him before she closed it again, passing out once more. "I hope you know a good doctor," Darius said to Heinkel as the pair left what had almost been their graves behind them.
Nala had been spending her day alternating between lazing on her couch, worrying for Edward, Alphonse and their Animals, and trying to get some sort of rise out of her human. Mustang still hadn't deviated from his plan to act like a textbook colonel despite Nala's best efforts and it was starting to irk her. Though she had joked with Ed that it was because she was bored and wanted entertainment, it was also because this new Roy wasn't someone she liked. Sure, he still acted the same when they were in the privacy of their home but she was worried about the toll this act was taking on her human.
Nala hadn't heard from Ed since he woke up that morning with the news that the storm that had trapped him, the northern soldiers, Kimblee and his Central soldiers and their Animals in an abandoned building to wait it out was finally starting to die out. Nala hadn't liked the idea that Ed was there with Kimblee and not much to keep the man away from him but Ed had promised her that Kimblee hadn't suspected anything amiss, despite the fact that Al had been replaced by a soldier wearing a replica of his armour, and that Ayala and the northern soldiers would help him if he was attacked.
It had been a few hours since then and she had resisted the urge to check in on him more times than she could count. She knew they were planning on leading Kimblee on a wild goose chase and that Miles and his men had plans to take Kimblee and the two chimeras with him out but that didn't stop her from worrying about everything that could go wrong. She'd been forced to place a block up between herself and Mustang when he grumbled that she was worrying too loudly. She hadn't appreciated that and made sure he knew it by growling at him and turning her back. His mutters about her being a drama queen had gone unpunished, for the moment.
Half an hour after giving Mustang the cold shoulder, Nala felt the tell-tale signs that Ed had gotten himself into a fight and she huffed lightly. Though she couldn't feel any pain from any injuries he suffered – their bond not including sympathy pain like his bond with Ayala and Chester did – she could feel his emotions. There were the ones like annoyance and anger at having to fight someone because they decided to not give up but there was also worry for the safety of himself, Ayala and anyone who was nearby and Nala could feel his focus pinpointing on the fight, giving it his undivided attention. A sense of satisfaction and victory followed only a few minutes later before slight regret then more victory.
Nala's heart clenched in fear as she felt Ed's own echoed through her accompanied by a sense of true danger, something she'd only felt from him a handful of times, one of those being the fight in laboratory 5. She relaxed when she felt his relief and triumph but her panic returned ten times stronger than it was before when she felt his dread and almost blind panic for Ayala. There was a moment where Nala couldn't make sense of what Ed was feeling before she realised that he felt like this moment was where he was likely going to die before her heart wrenched as she felt nothing. The only reason she even knew he was alive was the fact that she could feel their bond still, something that told her that he was unconscious.
"Nala?" She heard Roy call and she turned to him, forgetting she was annoyed with him. Nala had no clue what Roy was picking up from her but his features turned into naked concern. "What happened?"
"I don't know!" she wailed at him, shocking him enough that it showed. He got up from his desk and joined her on her couch before he wrapped an arm around her neck as his attempt to comfort her. "Something happened to Ed and Ayala but I don't know what! They're both unconscious!" she told him and saw the stricken expression on his face.
"What were they doing?" Mustang asked, trying to get her to calm down by having her talk it through and moving her focus off the fact that two of her favourites were unconscious.
"Fighting," Nala told him and Mustang resisted the urge to roll his eyes because a) he'd already figured that much and b) he was completely unsurprised. "I don't know who they were fighting first but they managed to beat them. I think they fought against Kimblee the second time though," Nala told him.
Mustang felt his stomach drop. He'd seen the destruction Kimblee wrought in Ishval and Mustang was of the opinion that if Kimblee had continued fighting on the front lines instead of being arrested, his body count would've surpassed Mustang's own and Kimblee would've been proud of it. Though he didn't disagree that Ed was an extremely capable fighter and more than a match for Kimblee in both alchemy and combat, Ed didn't lack the voice in his head that told him that taking lives was atrocious and should always be a last resort whereas Mustang was of the opinion Kimblee had been born without one.
"Can you still feel him?" Mustang couldn't help but ask, voice almost pleading.
"Yes," Nala told him. "He's unconscious. Both he and Ayala are," she repeated herself but couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed when Roy visibly sagged where he sat, his relief evident even without their bond.
"Good. Let me know when he wakes up and what kind of condition he's in," he instructed and Nala nodded as he moved back to his desk, needing to keep up the appearance that nothing had happened should someone drop by unexpectedly. He knew that Leo would likely be telling Hughes about what he'd felt so he was expecting a phone call or – most likely – a visit from his best friend and for once, he wasn't dreading it.
The longer it took for Nala to feel Ed regain consciousness, the more stressed she was getting. Being knocked out was never a good thing but she also knew that it could be a bad sign if the person didn't regain consciousness soon. Finally, though, she felt Ed wake up but before she could get too excited about it, she felt his confusion and dazed curiousity about Ayala's location turn to disbelieving horror at something she couldn't see and before she could ask what was wrong, Ed lost consciousness again.
"What happened?" Mustang asked, voice stressed with worry as he felt his lioness' emotions.
"He woke up but something happened to make him pass out again," Nala said, her concern just as evident as Mustang's. Ed being the personification of stubbornness he was, it never failed to worry Nala when something happened that had such an effect on him. This time though, much to hers and Roy's relief, Ed seemed to wake up after only a few seconds. Nala felt immense relief until she realised something. "He's blocked me!" she cried and Mustang startled once more.
"What do you mean?" he asked. As far as he knew, Edward had never blocked Nala out before – the only exception he could think of being his meeting with his father for the first time in 12 years.
"I don't think it was on purpose and that's what worries me more," Nala said as Mustang joined her once more on her couch. "It's like he's in so much pain and shock that his mind has instinctively blocked out anything else, including us. He's never been in so much physical pain before that he's ended up blocking us out unintentionally," Nala told him, her voice a wreck of emotions.
"So you can't tell what's going on?" Mustang asked but she shook her head.
"Ed's blocked me and Ayala's too focused on Ed to answer me," Nala told him.
"Can you at least tell what kind of shape they're in?" Mustang pushed.
"They're both hurt but without being able to talk to either of them, I can't give you specifics," Nala told him, this time letting an edge of irritation bleed into her voice. He gave her an apologetic look and she was too worried about Ed and Ayala to stay mad at him.
"Alright," Mustang said, sighing slightly. "Let me know when you're able to talk to him. I need his report about what happened so I can figure out what I need to do about it," Mustang said and Nala nodded. Once more, Mustang got to his feet and headed back for his desk to wait for more news.
It took a couple more minutes for Nala to feel Ed forcing himself to not give in to the urge to pass out again. She still couldn't get through to him or Ayala and it was starting to make her worry edge closer to full-blown panic. Ed's determination to do something was completely overtaken by immense surprise and Nala wished she knew why. Ed's undiluted relief, like something horrible had been diverted, ran through Nala and for the first time in a while, she allowed herself to relax.
"Ed and I are alright. We have some potential allies with us who are going to take Ed to a doctor to get some help. One of us will fill you in when we can." The unexpected message from Ayala immediately followed Nala sensing Ed losing consciousness for the third time and soothed her panic before it could set in. Nala wasn't afforded the opportunity to question Ayala further or say anything to her before she felt the wolf follow her human into unconsciousness.
"Ayala just sent me a quick message," Nala told Roy, whose attention was immediately on her. "She told me that they were both okay and that some potential allies were taking her and Ed to see a doctor and she promised that one of them will fill me in when they're able to," Nala informed him.
"Okay," Roy said, relief on his face at the news Ed and Ayala were okay. "We can't do much without getting details from Fullmetal but there's no point in worrying without any need, right?" Nala nodded, smiling as she did so because it felt to her that he was saying it more to himself than her. "Keep an eye on your bond with him and let me know if anything happens."
"I will," she promised and Roy gave her a nod before he got back to his paperwork.
Nala didn't comment on how she felt him fighting himself internally to calm down because Ed was alive and getting medical treatment and he would get news from him as soon as possible. She also didn't bring up the fact that he'd read over the same piece of paperwork four times before he forced himself to focus on it rather than the situation with Edward and Ayala. Nala felt her own worry reflected in her human about who the possible allies Ayala mentioned were but she had to trust that the wolf wouldn't have let them help if she hadn't trusted them to an extent. Content with the knowledge that her favourite blonde would soon be getting the help he needed and that he and Ayala were both as safe as they could possibly be given the situation, Nala curled up on the couch and allowed the noise of Roy's pen on paper and the flip of the pages to lull her into a state of mindlessness.
"Chester? What happened?" Al asked as he slowly 'woke up' from another black out. The memory of his leopard yowling in pain was seared into his memory, as was the fact that Chester didn't appear to be the one injured.
"You passed out again," Chester told him as Al pulled himself up into a sitting position.
"Alphonse, are you alright?" Mei asked and Al jolted, having not realised that both she and Marcoh were hovering next to him and Chester. Both Mei and Marcoh looked like they were two seconds away from trying to give the two of them a medical exam or a hug.
"I'm okay, Mei," Al told the Xingese girl, making sure his voice sounded surer than he was. "Ches, what happened to you?" Al asked, making his question more specific.
Chester squirmed slightly and Al got the feeling he was debating whether to tell him the whole truth or not. "Don't ask for specifics because I don't really have them," Chester said before anything else and Al nodded. "Something happened to Ed. I think he got into a fight with Kimblee but he's unconscious so I can't tell you for certain. He was injured. Very badly injured," Chester told him and Al let out a strangled noise. "I think he's alright. He's still alive and Ayala managed to tell me they were being helped to a doctor before she lost consciousness. I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more Al but Ed was blocking me, though I don't think he was doing it on purpose," Chester told him.
"What do you mean?" Al asked and Chester shifted.
"I think he was in so much pain once he regained consciousness the first time – when I felt his pain and just before you blacked out – that he subconsciously blocked all the Animals he was bonded to as a way to protect them from the onslaught of emotions he was feeling. Unfortunately, that meant he blocked me as well before I could see what had happened," Chester told him.
"So you don't know what happened?" Al asked and Chester shook his head. "Can you still track him?"
"Yes, but," Chester said as Al went to move, "I think it would be best if we stayed here instead of going after him," Chester said and he was almost overwhelmed by Al's disbelief, anger and disappointment.
"He's badly hurt! He needs us to make sure he gets better!" Al cried but Chester shook his head.
"He needs us here, helping them decode the notes and heading to Dublith to fill Izumi and Sig in on everything that's happened," Chester said firmly.
"But who's going to help Ed? We both know what he's like with hospitals and doctors. We should be there," Al insisted.
"Ayala will be there for him and I have a feeling that even Ed wouldn't try and claim he was completely fine after the injury he suffered," Chester told him. "I'm fairly certain they have some help. Ayala said that they were being helped to a doctor, remember? Ed and Ayala won't be by themselves. Besides," Chester said, giving Al a small smile, "how angry do you think Ed would be if we turned up so you could mother-hen him instead of being here and helping with this?"
Al chuckled but there was only a minimum amount of humour in it. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Al said reluctantly and Chester felt his heart ache for his human. Of course he was worried sick about Ed and Ayala as well but this was the first time Ed had been so badly hurt without anyone they knew and could trust completely nearby to stay with him.
"Once he wakes up and I can talk to him, I'll see if he wants us back with him," Chester offered, hoping it would help at least a little bit and, from what he could tell, it did.
"Alright," Al said. Everyone else in the small shack had been watching the scene with interest, concern or annoyance and nearly everyone sighed in relief as Al seemed to be calming down. "Let's get started on this code. That way we'll have something good to tell Brother once he's awake," Al said, addressing Chester for the main part but looked at Mei and Marcoh, both of whom nodded in agreement.
Marcoh produced the notebook he'd been safeguarding and Scar walked over to join them. Together, the four humans and Animal started going through the book and coming up with theories about the code while Yoki did his best to keep the fire going so it could ward off some of the cold. Using what Mei and Scar had discussed while still in the tunnels, they flipped through the pages, looking for any phrase that contained either the Xingese or Ishvalen version of the word 'gold' or the word 'immortal'. Xao-Mei stayed firmly on Mei's shoulder throughout the whole brainstorm, chattering noises of encouragement.
After a several frustrating minutes of this, Mei perked up with an idea and reached for the book. Marcoh handed it over willingly and she looked at all of them. "I promise, I do have a reason for doing this," she said before she cut the binds holding the spine of the journal together and let the pages fall to the floor.
"Mei, what have you done?" Marcoh asked before he could stop himself as he looked at the scattered papers. Mei didn't seem affected by his comment or tone as she knelt next to the pages and started sorting through them. The doctor glanced at Scar but saw the usual stoic expression on his face before he and Al moved at the same time to join Mei on the floor. Marcoh followed a moment later as Mei started explaining.
"We need to match phrases that mention 'immortal' or 'gold' whenever we see them repeated. Maybe we'll see something," Mei said as she continued going through the papers.
The rest of them nodded in understanding and soon they were lost to the work as they scanned each page carefully and shared what they found, just in case someone else had the same phrase on another page. It took them almost an hour of hard work and tripling checking everything before they were certain they had all the pages in the correct pattern Scar's brother had intended. It took a few moments of them sitting back and looking at the pages as a whole for Al, Mei and Marcoh to figure out what exactly they were looking at.
"That's the country-wide array! The one that that homunculous Brother destroyed carved underground," Al exclaimed.
"But we already know about that array so what use is it?" Marcoh said, frowning at the papers.
They stayed silent as they tried to figure out what Scar's brother might be trying to tell them when a noise broke it in the form of a sneeze from Yoki. They exclaimed in annoyance and irritation when the sneeze caused several sheets to lift and flip from their positions. "Way to go, Yoki. Now we have to sort them out again," Mei grumbled irritably at the thin man.
"Wait, hold on," Al said as he noticed something. Mei froze just as she reached for the disturbed papers while Marcoh and Scar watched Al intently. "That's it!" Al exclaimed, startling Chester from where he was sitting curled next to the fire. "We need to flip the pages over and do the same thing as before," Al told them.
"Okay," Mei said, voice filled with excitement as she realised what Al was thinking and once again, they got back to work.
This time, it went a little quicker than it had before since they now had something of a routine in place. They matched phrases and organised the papers in almost half the time and when they looked at it once it was completed, Al felt excitement thrum through him. "It's an Amestrian array," he said.
"But it's powered by Xingese alkahestry," Mei said, her young voice filled with awe.
"It's an array to cancel out the other one," Marcoh told them, voice filled with relief, like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders and Al was surprised when he saw the man's one good eye glisten wetly. "We have a way to stop Father and his plans."
"Now that is something Ed would be very happy to hear as soon as he's awake," Chester commented, rubbing up against Al's shoulder as he joined the group around the array. The feeling of success and pride was palpable in the small room and Chester couldn't help but think that they finally had something that could give them the win against the homunculi and corrupt military members.
A/N - so here's chapter 39 for you all! Please don't hate me for not having Ed avoid that injury. I did need him unable to do anything for a couple of months like in the anime. Not only that but it was the perfect excuse I needed to give you the reasons behind why Ed and Ayala's bond is so much stronger than everyone else's is with their Animals and why they glowed silver when they first touched! So please don't hate me too much?
Many thanks to those of you who were kind enough to leave me a review on the last chapter but once again I'm a little hurt that only three of you seemed to have enjoyed the chapter enough to leave those reviews. I would really love to hear from everyone about what they thought to this chapter. It would be really nice to know what you all thought.
To my guest reviewer - I'm sorry you couldn't eat Raven. Maybe you could eat Kimblee?
To WS - I'm glad you enjoyed me killing off Raven! I did feel bad having Anahlia bite Bella and her slowly dying but I figured it was just the kind of merciless Armstrong and her Animal would show. I really hope I did Kimblee justice in your eyes! I hate to disappoint you but you won't see much of Armstrong's and Mustang's relationship since the chapters will focus primarily on Ed and Al. Sorry! I'm really glad you love this story so much and thank you for being one of the few who let me know what you think every week. It's really nice getting that feedback :)
I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I'll see you next week!