Chapter 43 –

Ed woke just as dawn broke, shining its weak light on the clearing that served as the battleground for the fight between Pride and Edward's group. He blinked as he sat up, body aching slightly from a combination of the previous night's fight and sleeping on the hard ground with only a thin mattress to act as a buffer but feeling much more energetic than he had when he'd gone to bed. The first thing he saw once he was up was the massive dome that stood far higher than the trees around them and that still contained the homunculous, Pride. Ed then felt two bodies stir next to him and he waited as Ayala and Chester woke themselves up.

"It's the Promised Day," Ayala said once she was sitting up and her mind had cleared itself of any remaining sleepy fog.

"It is," Ed said with a nod. Though he could feel the expected fear, nerves and worry settle somewhere in his gut, Ed also felt something that surprised him for a moment: relief. Relief because today was the day that would decide whether Amestris would be lost forever, only existing in history books or whether it would continue to exist and grow as a country. Ed knew that after today, the homunculi and Father would no longer be a concern to him, no matter which way the battle would go. "I guess that means we'd better get ourselves organised," Ed told the two Animals.

"Probably a good idea. It looks like Al has already started," Chester told him and Ed looked over to where Chester had glanced.

Standing near the dome that contained Pride were Alphonse, Darius, Heinkel, Hohenheim, Fu and Calix. As Ed had thought, Lan Fan and Greed had taken off the night before, though he seriously doubted Greed had let Lan Fan join him in doing whatever the homunculous was doing. Cracking his back, Ed grabbed his bag and dug through it for the last of his rations. Though he really didn't have much of an appetite – thanks mainly to the thoughts of the upcoming battle for Amestris bouncing around in his mind – he knew he and the Animals still needed to eat so they had the necessary energy to fight. Once they were done, Ed packed away his bedroll and rubbish back into his bag and joined the Animals as they started walking towards the group. Ed looked up to find Fu missing and he started looking around in confusion when the elderly man appeared almost directly in front of him.

"Edward, I've decided to head into Central before everyone else does," Fu told him, getting right to the point quickly. "I'm the only member of your force whose face our enemy doesn't know. Recon will be far easiest for me to do and I can gather information you or the others might not otherwise find out," Fu told him and Ed nodded.

"Stay safe, old man," Ed said, not bothering to put up so much as a token argument about how he should stick with them until it was time to move. He knew that Fu would do exactly as he'd said he would but Ed wasn't an idiot. He knew a big part of why Fu wanted to leave now was so he could find Greed and keep an eye on him to make sure Ling would stay unharmed.

"You as well, Edward. I hope to see you alive by the end of this day," Fu said, placing one hand on Ed's flesh shoulder and Ed nodded.

"I hope to see you alive so you can lecture Ling about letting a homunculous possess him," Ed said, giving him a half-grin that had Fu's eyes twinkle in amusement as he mimicked Ed's nod before almost literally vanishing. "I really need to learn that trick," Ed muttered as he looked enviously at where Fu had been standing only a moment ago. He glared when both Ayala and Chester snorted at him.

"I don't think it's a good idea. You'd only use it to try and escape lectures from Al or Mustang's office and get yourself in even more trouble once they caught up to you," Ayala told him, making sure Ed imagined the consequences and was satisfied when he grimaced.

"You may have a point," Ed acquiesced gracefully, ignoring the amusement rolling off the Animals.

It didn't take them long to reach the group and Al was the first to greet them. "Brother! Are you feeling better?" Al asked after he'd made sure the two Animals felt alright after the fight and that that they'd eaten breakfast first.

"Yup," Ed told him honestly. "You?" Ed asked. Even if Al didn't suffer the physical effects of using too much alchemic energy in a short time span, he did still suffer the loss and Ed did not want them to figure out what would happen to Al if he did use more alchemy than what he had immediate access to during the upcoming battle.

"I'm fully recovered," Al told him and Ed nodded, relieved to hear it, even if he'd been expecting that answer. "We were just discussing when we should start heading out," Al said, gesturing to the three other humans.

"It'd have to be soon. The eclipse is at midday, which is only," Ed opened his pocket watch up and looked, "five and a half hours away. It'll take us at least an hour, hour and a half to get to Central from here and we'll still have to sneak our way through the city since there are still orders for our arrest. I haven't heard from Nala or anyone else this morning but I assume the Fuhrer's train being demolished yesterday with him in it would've caused some upset with the military, which could work to our advantage," Ed said only to stop when Al made a confused noise.

"The Fuhrer's train blew up? Is he dead?" Al asked, a touch of hope to his voice and Ed couldn't blame him. If Bradley was out of the picture, all the better for them.

"Yeah, some East City and Briggs soldiers rigged some explosives under a bridge his train was going to cross. How come you don't know -?" Ed started asking before he realised why exactly his brother had no clue about the attack and found himself wanting to smack himself over the head. "Right, you wouldn't have heard because Pride had a control of you all day yesterday," Ed said before shaking his head. "Bradley somehow found out about Mustang's coup happening today while he was in East City overseeing the war games between the eastern soldiers and Briggs. Thankfully, some of the soldiers had set up the explosives early yesterday so they could be used today so when Bradley boarded his train, a message was sent to the waiting soldiers so they could blow the tracks up before Grumman's and the rest of Armstrong's men could start marching for Central. Some men stayed behind with a few Central soldiers who had accompanied Bradley to search through the wreckage but as far as I know, Bradley's body hasn't been found," Ed told Al, who sighed slightly.

"So we should expect Bradley to turn up during the fight?" Al said and Ed nodded.

"Probably a good idea to prepare for that rather than get caught unawares," Ed said before looking up at the dome. "What are we going to do about him?" Ed asked, looking back in time to see the confused expressions on the chimeras' faces. "We can't leave him without a guard. We can't risk someone getting curious and digging through the walls to see what's inside," Ed pointed out.

"I can stay behind. I don't think I'd be much use during the fight anyway," Heinkel said, lifting his bandaged arm and wincing as he did so to prove his point.

"I'll stay with him," Darius said. "Probably a good idea to have two people, especially if one of them is injured," he added with a shrug.

"I agree with there probably needing to be two people but I think you should go with Dad and Ed, Darius," Al said before Ed could thank the two chimeras for volunteering. Al ignored Ed's protesting noise and continued talking. "I think it would be a better idea if there was an alchemist here, just in case, and I had fully intended to be in that dome with Pride last night before Brother came up with his idea."

"Al," Ed started saying, ready to argue that the armour needed to be with them but Al shook his head.

"No, I know what you're going to say but I think it's best if I stay here," Al told Ed. "Since Father didn't mention anything when we met him about Envy being killed, we can assume he has no way to track the homunculi unless given a physical trail or clues to follow. That means that Father will have no idea where Pride is and since I'm one of the key sacrifices, he won't be able to find me either. It could be a way for us to stop him without him ever being able to use us," Al explained and Ed found himself biting back a growl of annoyance because Al was right and Ed had no counters for any of the points he raised.

"I think it would be for the best for Alphonse to stay here with Heinkel," Hohenheim said and Ed glared at him. "I would offer to stay here myself but I can't risk not fighting alongside all of you, just in case Homunculous manages to go through with his plans. I can guarantee you that he would have a plan to gain the fifth sacrifice, if he doesn't already have someone else who committed the taboo, and he'd be more than willing to use the same plan twice to find someone to replace Al if he had to," Hohenheim told them solemnly. "I'm not boasting but I am the best person to face Homunculous in a fight and that's the other reason I can't volunteer to take Al's place. I intend to track Homunculous to his lair and stop him before he can do anything," Hohenheim revealed.

"Are you certain you can face him by yourself?" Al asked, voice etched with worry and Hohenheim gave him a reassuring smile.

"I won't guarantee I'll win against him but I will do my best and there's no point in someone going with me if I end up captured. Anyone not a sacrifice will be killed and anyone who is a sacrifice will be needed in the fight rather than being stuck with me and Homunculous," Hohenheim told him. "You being here and out of reach is a very good idea and will hopefully be enough to prevent the array being activated so don't you go worrying about me," Hohenheim said.

"Alright, Dad," Al agreed, a touch sulkily. During the whole discussion, Ed and the chimeras hadn't said a word.

"So that's that settled," Ed said. "Al and Heinkel will stay here to guard Pride's prison while the rest of us head into Central," Ed summed up and received nods. Ayala, Chester and Calix all suddenly turned as something caught their attention from the nearby forest.

"Someone's coming," Heinkel warned, his enhanced senses helping him hear what the Animals heard.

"At least four people and an Animal," Ayala told Ed. "They don't smell hostile but only two of them are familiar to me," Ayala said.

"And I know the other two," Chester told Ed. "You do as well, Ayala, but you only met them briefly," Chester explained to the wolf. Ed had barely passed on this news to the people who couldn't hear both Animals when four figures stepped out of the forest, talking to one another.

"That's not natural." Ed saw a man lift a hand to point to Pride's prison before the group ended up spotting Ed and the others.

"Is that Zampano and Jerso?" Darius asked, recognising two of the group and Ayala made a noise of realisation as she placed the two unfamiliar scents.

"Is that Al and Hohenheim over there?" Ed heard one of the chimeras ask before the five – Ed having noticed the Animal clinging to one of the men – members of the group headed their way and Ed finally got to confirm his suspicions. Joining Zampano and Jerso were Scar, Doctor Marcoh and Carrie and Ed was especially delighted to see the koala safe and sound.

"Doctor Marcoh!" Ed greeted, waving at the approaching man before he and Ayala headed to meet them halfway.

"Hello, Edward," Marcoh greeted a touch warmer than he'd been the last time the two had interacted.

"I see you've gotten Carrie back," Ed said, nodding to the koala. "I'm glad you're safe," he told her, though not through his ability.

"She says thank you and that she's glad you're safe as well, especially after what Alphonse told us what happened to you up north," Marcoh said, his eyes roving over Ed's form in a way Ed was used too from medical professionals.

"Thank you," Ed said to Carrie before addressing her human once more. "I hate to put you to work almost immediately but one of our allies could use a doctor," Ed said before pointing to Heinkel.

"I'll see what I can do for him," Marcoh said before heading towards the injured chimera, hefting his medical bag a little.

"We're gonna go say hello to everyone, if you don't need us for the moment," Jerso said and Ed nodded.

"No worries. We'll join back up with you and the others in a minute. We still need to go over our strategies," Ed said and the two chimeras gave him a nod before they left, leaving him and Ayala alone with Scar. "Al said you split up from his group a while back to visit your remaining countrymen. How'd that go?" Ed asked and Scar looked at him.

"My people know what is going on and those who can are preparing to fight alongside us today. Those who are needed to set up my brother's array know their tasks well. We will not fail to protect those who remain of Ishval a second time,"Scar told him and Ed gave a small sigh of relief.

"Sounds like we have nothing to worry about regarding that particular array," Ed said and Scar nodded. "We should head back and start having this talk with the others. I need to loop in a few Animals as well so everyone on our side is on the same page," Ed said, turning to walk towards the group but Scar stopped him with a few words.

"I wish to apologise," Scar said and Ed turned, giving Ayala a confused look that she returned.

"About what?" Ed asked, mentally wracking his mind for anything Al told him about what he'd learned about Scar while they were travelling together for something that would warrant the Ishvalen's apology but he came up empty.

"For my actions against you," Scar said. Though his expression never changed from the stony mask he wore, Ed could see some regret twinkling in his eyes. "I am unsure if your brother meant to do so when he shared stories of your youth and your missions but his stories had me come to the realisation that I was wrong to try and take your life in the name of Ishvala and I was wrong to take the lives of the State Alchemists I killed. Though they had deserved their deaths, it was not my place to be their executioner," Scar told him. "I had no reason to target you, not even the thin ones I had for the others, except for your being a State Alchemist. You were not even of school age when the Ishvalen War started and it ceased well before you joined the military. Ishvala is not a vengeful god. He is a peaceful one and I had no right to claim to be acting under His name as I did. Nami wouldn't even recognise me if she could see me today." Ed knew he was gaping at the red-eyed man but he couldn't help it, especially when he heard Nami mentioned. The only reason he even knew about Scar's Maned Wolf and the fact she'd died alongside his brother and his brother's Animal during the Ishvalen Civil War in an effort to protect him was because Chester had overheard him tell Mei one night while they were all still travelling together and had passed the information onto him. "I am sorry for the injuries and suffering I dealt you in my misguided attempt to avenge my country," Scar said formally and sincerely.

"I literally have no clue how to respond to that," Ed finally managed to say through his shock, "but you're forgiven on my part and," Ed glanced down at his wolf, who gave a stunned nod, "on Ayala's," Ed told Scar, meeting his eyes so the man would know he was telling the truth.

"Thank you," Scar said, looking as though a weight had been lifted off him slightly.

"Thank me by helping me defeat Father and his minions and save our people," Ed said, giving the man a slightly vicious grin and Scar nodded sharply. "Right. Let's head on over now," Ed said, a little awkwardly but Scar and Ayala said nothing as they followed the blonde back over to where Hohenheim, Al, the four chimeras, Marcoh and the Animals were waiting.

"Everything alright, Brother?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, just getting confirmation from Scar that everything on his end has been sorted. The Ishvalens are in place to help us fight and set up the reversing array," Ed told everyone, leaving Scar's apology out until he and Al could speak in private. Ed didn't think Scar was the kind of person who would want everyone to know what he'd said anyways.

"So we don't have to worry about that now," Hohenheim said and Scar nodded.

"Oh, Scar, Doctor Marcoh, you haven't met out father yet," Al suddenly piped up, getting Marcoh's attention off of Heinkel for a moment. "This is mine and Ed's dad, Hohenheim, and his Animal, Calix," Al introduced, ignoring Ed's glower, choosing to focus on Hohenheim's pleased smile instead.

"Pleasure," was all Marcoh said before his attention was back on his patient while Scar merely nodded to acknowledge he'd heard Al.

"Hey, Ed," Darius said, getting Ed's attention off the fact that Al had introduced Hohenheim as their dad when Ed didn't think he'd done anything near enough to warrant being called that, "do you know where that old guy ran off to? I asked these guys but they don't know," Darius said and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, he's gonna go do some recon for us in Central," Ed told him. "He made a compelling argument when he pointed out his face was the only one no one not on our side has seen so I agreed when he said he'd have the easiest time moving through the city. He promised he'd do what he could to make sure we get all the information he uncovered so that we have all the facts possible. Fu didn't say anything but I know he'll also be on the lookout for Greed so hopefully we'll get some information about what that bastard's doing," Ed said, scowling slightly at the fact that Greed had just taken off without giving them a heads up or idea of what he was planning.

"Oh, that makes sense," Darius said.

"So, we know that Scar's got that reversing array thing covered," Jerso said, drawing everyone's attention, "but has anything else been discussed?" he asked and Ed nodded.

"Heinkel and Al will be staying here to guard Pride's prison," Ed said, pointing helpfully to the dome when Jerso and Zampano looked confused, "but aside from that, we haven't managed to discuss much because you lot showed up," Ed told him.

"I think the first thing we should do is figure out what our allies' plans are and where exactly we should enter the labyrinth of tunnels under Central from," Hohenheim said rationally and Al nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it'd do you guys no good if you're spotted by enemy forces because you stumbled across Colonel Mustang or someone fighting against Central soldiers and it'd be best to work out where you can access the tunnels to Father's lair here rather than trying to figure it out in the middle of Central," Al said, looking directly at Ed as he spoke and Ed felt himself scowl once more at his brother.

"I'm not selfish enough to have argued against his points just because he said them, you know," Ed snapped. "I'll ask Nala what's going on," Ed said before turning his mind inwards and finding his connection with Nala. "Hey. How are you holding up this morning?"

"Ed," Nala said with relief. "We're fine. I think Roy is ready to make his move. We're just waiting on someone to finish getting themselves ready for their role in our plan. How's everything with you?"

Ed snorted lightly. "Yeah, as great as can be expected when your company is your father, your brother who thinks your issues with said father shouldn't still be issues, a former serial killer and four chimeras who don't know enough about your family history to understand what's going on between your family,"Ed told her and felt her wince of sympathy. "Look, I really wish I was just talking to you to check in on you and make sure you're still alright but I do have a reason for needing to speak with you," Ed said apologetically.

"I figured as much," Nala told him with no hint of reproach in her voice. "What do you need?"

"I need an overview of Mustang's plans so we can figure out what we need to do and how to go about doing it," Ed said and Nala gave a mental nod.

"Roy is planning on attacking shortly. His team and the eastern soldiers have been given orders to take no lives if it can be helped," Nala said. "The Briggs men arrived early this morning and have all been hidden in the Armstrong manor until they're given the signal to attack. Major Armstrong and his team have been told to act as though they have no clue what is happening and as though they are on Central's side until they come across an ally, except for Sergeant Brosh and 1st Lieutenant Ross," Nala told him. "They've been ordered to join Breda and Fuery, as well as a handful of trusted soldiers from Briggs, Central and East City, at the major radio broadcasting station. Roy intends for an ally to get on the air and explain everything to the public and Central soldiers in an effort to both protect the civilians and make the Central soldiers aware of what's happening and give them the chance to change sides."

"What about Major-General Armstrong and Hughes?" Ed asked.

"Hughes is going to stay with his family to help protect them while General Armstrong will act as she pleases," Nala said, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Anahlia has promised to keep me in the loop, at the very least. I do believe that whatever General Armstrong does do, it will be from Central Command since she's there right now," Nala revealed and Ed found himself unsurprised.

"You mentioned Fuery, Breda and Hughes but what about Falman, Havoc and Hawkeye?" Ed asked.

"Riza will be helping me keep Roy safe once she gives Barry the Chopper his orders while Havoc fights with the Eastern troops. As for Falman, I believe he will stay with the Briggs men and help them fight. Havoc has managed to procure us a lot of weapons through his family's store in East City and General Grumman did promise he'd send a trusted ally to pick them up and deliver them to us when Roy spoke to him late last night," Nala informed him.

"What about Grumman himself?" Ed asked, hoping maybe having a general with them would be enough to deter a few soldiers from attacking.

"He and Major Miles have stayed in East City to run the investigation into the attack on the Fuhrer's train. At least, that's what they're doing officially. Unofficially, they're there to give us news on Bradley as they come across it and offer extra back up, just in case we need it," Nala said and Ed sighed. General Grumman fighting alongside them would've been great but Ed figured that probably had been a little too much to ask.

"Alright," Ed said. "Is that everything you can tell me?"

"Yes," Nala told him, a little apologetic. "Until we manage to get this coup underway and we get a better idea of what's happening, I don't have anything else of use to tell you," she said.

"That's fair enough," Ed said, making sure she knew he wasn't upset or disappointed at all with her. "Thanks for letting me know what you could. It's a big help," Ed said.

"You're welcome," she responded warmly. "I have to go now but I'll see you soon, alright? Stay safe until then," she ordered and Ed huffed out some laughter.

"You too," Ed told her before letting the disconnection go and repeating everything Nala had told him to the others.

"I still can't believe Lieutenant Hawkeye managed to capture Barry and convince him to fight for us," Al said with a small shake of his head and Ed shrugged.

"Would you argue against the woman who not only wasn't freaked out by your armour being hollow but also unloaded an entire clip of bullets into you just because?" Ed asked, raising a brow.

"You have a point," Al said with a laugh. "So do you have any idea where you'll be able to get into the tunnels?" Al asked and Ed hummed thoughtfully.

"We can't use Central Command because that would be suicide," Ed said. "I doubt that bearded bastard would've left the entrance Gluttony showed us with no further protections and any entrances the Fifth Laboratory and the prison next to it would've had have likely been destroyed," Ed told them before someone – namely Al – could suggest those places.

"What about a different laboratory?" Al asked. "Could one of them have an entrance into the tunnels?"

"Maybe but it would take too long to search them all to try and find an entrance," Ed pointed out.

"The Third Laboratory might have an entrance," Darius said, effectively gaining everyone's attention. Zampano and Jerso were nodding in agreement. "The military didn't turn us into chimeras inside the laboratory itself but there is chimera research happening in there. We escorted the general who we worked under before Kimblee on one of his inspections of the laboratory and we met the scientists behind the research. While in there, our Animals all said they sensed something under the laboratory but the scientist and general dismissed it when we told them as the Animals sensing the sewerage system or possibly misunderstanding where what they were sensing was," Darius told them.

"It wasn't long after that that our general asked us whether we wanted to be a part of the specialised task force he was putting together," Jerso said, a hint of sadness and a lot of regret in his voice. "We were led underground to a secret laboratory that we told was built for experimental alchemy so that if something did go wrong, the civilians of Central would be safe. We didn't know – or, at least, I didn't – that we were going to be transmuted with our Animals and turned into chimeras," he told them. Ed felt himself listened with rapt attention. He'd never asked Darius or Heinkel about how they'd become chimeras so, with the exception of the fact that it was the military's idea to turn them into chimeras, Ed knew nothing about what happened.

"None of us knew," Zampano said. "I was led into the room that had the array painted on the floor with my Animal, Jack, and told the two of us needed to stand in the centre of the array to receive the power necessary to join the unit. There was a bright flash of light and I was in a lot of pain before I passed out. When I woke up, Jack wasn't there and I was in a strange room. That was all I noticed before I lost consciousness again."

"It was the same for me," Darius said. "When I woke up completely, I knew something horrible had happened. I felt wrong and I couldn't sense Christie – that was my Animal – but at the same time, it felt like I couldn't sense anything except for her. Some scientist I'd never seen before came into the room I was in and started running tests on me but refused to answer any of my questions," Darius told them. "My general entered the room once the scientist left and informed me where Christie was and what they'd done to us. He also told me that my family and friends had been told I'd been killed in the line of duty and that I had the choice of either continuing to serve under him but from the shadows or I could be killed where I stood. I chose the former," Darius told them, a scowl on his face.

"We all chose that option, obviously," Zampano said. "I don't know how long we were kept in that laboratory for so we could learn how to control our animal sides and so the scientists and alchemists who turned us into what we are could get their test results," Zampano said with a sneer. "When we allowed back above ground, we came out only a few streets away from the Third Laboratory," he told them and Ed realised what they were saying.

"You think the scientists and alchemists used a secret entrance that connected the Third Laboratory to the underground one you were experimented on in," Ed said and the three chimeras nodded.

"If there's a tunnel that does connect the Third Laboratory with the secret laboratory, it could mean there's more tunnels connected to it and that could be your way into the tunnels," Heinkel said, speaking for the first time since the conversation turned to the laboratories.

"Al and I explored the laboratories when I first joined the military," Ed said. "The Fuhrer gave the order for us to be shown them so that if I ever decided to become a research alchemist, I'd know where I'd fit in the most," Ed explained. "The Third Laboratory creeped us out and we didn't linger there once we finished our tour. None of us could figure out why it skeeved us out so much and we haven't been in there since," Ed admitted.

"It's possible the Animals had picked up on the chimeras being experimented on," Al said quietly and both Animals nodded.

"Most likely. They didn't smell like these guys or Nina and Alexander which means they weren't being fused with humans. It also explains why we never thought of that laboratory as a place where illegal experiments were taking place," Chester said. Ed barely managed to control the flinch that threatened to happen at the mention of Nina and Alexander but there was no hiding the emotions that popped up.

Marcoh cleared his throat as he finished up with Heinkel. "Before I defected during the Ishvalen Civil War, I worked at the Third Laboratory," Marcoh revealed and everyone bar Scar looked surprised at the information. "I believe I know where you would need to enter to get into the tunnels," Marcoh told them and Ed gestured for him to tell them. "Once you get to the basement, on the northern side of the building, there's a corridor that you need to go down. I'm sure your Animals will pick up on the scent when they get into the basement itself but about 20 steps down that corridor, there will be a door on your right. It'll be locked but I imagine that wouldn't be much of a problem for you," Marcoh said, giving Ed a look that had him giving the man a smirk.

"Not likely," Ed said, a touch of cockiness to his voice that had Ayala roll her eyes, even if she was secretly pleased to see Ed shake off the memories and guilt that always came up with the mention of Nina and Alexander so quickly.

"So that's the plan?" Hohenheim asked. "Alphonse and Heinkel will stay here while we enter Central and go through the Third Laboratory while Colonel Mustang, General Armstrong and Scar lead everyone else above ground?"

"Seems to be," Darius grunted. Jerso, Zampano, Ed and Scar nodded in agreement. The only one who didn't was Marcoh and Darius noticed. "What will you be doing, Doc?"

"Returning to Kanama. I left Yoki and Nova down there and it's not like I'd be any use to you on the battlefield. I was a research State Alchemist, not a field one," Marcoh told them. "I'll stay in Kanama until the fighting's over then I'll come into Central and offer medical help where needed."

"Alright, Doc," Ed said with a nod before addressing the group. "The other thing we have to remember are those white mannequin things Anahlia warned me about," Ed said.

"I thought you said that Anahlia said they wouldn't be ready?" Al asked and Ed nodded.

"She did but that doesn't mean the military won't bring them online if they need too," Ed told him. "We'll have all of the Fort Briggs soldiers, as well as every East City soldier who Grumman could send without leaving East City at risk. We'll have all the Ishvalens Scar's managed to wrangle into helping us fight, the Central soldiers who Mustang, Hughes, Armstrong and Hawkeye have brought to our side as well as us, Teacher and everyone's Animals. Nala also told me Mustang is having someone – and I don't know who, before you ask – go on the radio while he starts leading the coup to explain what's happening to the public," Ed told them. "With all of that facing them, the corrupt generals might get spooked and put the mannequins into play before they're ready. Wouldn't be the first time the military did something like that," Ed said with a shrug.

"Why would Mustang want the public to know what's happening?" Jerso asked and Ed shrugged once more.

"I dunno but probably so we don't have to worry about civilian casualties," Ed said. "Our goal is not to kill our fellow soldiers or anyone else who gets in our way, homunculi excepted, if we can help it. If we go out there without caring about the lives of the people who stand before us and just take them out as though it was another day, we're no better than the corrupt generals or the homunculi. Most of the Central troops won't know anything about the homunculi or what's going to happen today. They won't know the generals are just going to have them killed, even if they do win against us and I think that's another reason why Mustang will be doing this broadcast," Ed told them.

"You think Colonel Mustang wants to make the Central troops aware of what's going on so they can choose whether to fight against them, surrender or join our side," Al said and Ed nodded.

"Exactly," Ed said.

"Do you think the broadcast will work? I mean, it took us a little while to fully buy into the whole 'homunculi are a thing and they're trying to destroy the country and the military are helping them' thing," Heinkel said and Ed sighed.

"It really depends who the spokesperson is," Ed admitted. "He'd need to use someone who has a bit of standing in Central or is at least close friends with people who are viewed in a decent light by the public and they would need to be someone who either knows first hand what's going on or someone who would believe Mustang when he tells them the truth," Ed said, sounding a little worried.

"The Animals listening to the broadcast would be able to help convince their humans that the spokesperson is telling the truth," Ayala reassured him but Chester was quick to make sure that Ed kept a realistic view on the situation.

"That doesn't mean every Animal will believe whoever's on the radio," Chester said. "It's a pretty fantastical sounding story. Even General Armstrong didn't believe us until that homunculous dug its way through her fortress," Chester pointed out. "There will be plenty of Animals and people out there who will refuse it as the truth just because they wouldn't be able to believe it was even possible."

"Chester has a point," Al said, after Ed repeated what the two Animals had said to the others. "There will be a lot of people who won't buy it without proof and even then, some will probably claim we'd made it all up," Al said and Ed nodded.

"Not to mention Bradley is a popular Fuhrer," Darius said grudgingly. "Most people believe he has their best interests at heart, that he wouldn't let anything happen to hurt Amestris. People will have a hard time believing he's a soulless monster hellbent on destroying the country and sacrificing everyone in it for his gain."

"Even so, some people will realise we're telling the truth and they'll listen to the warnings given," Ed said before he saw the looks on the chimeras' faces and held back a scowl as he realised they were looking at him pityingly. "I'm not naïve enough to think everyone will survive today or that they'll hear whoever is on the radio and believe them immediately but if our side's unwillingness to kill rather than disable and the broadcasted warnings and revealing of what's really happening saves only a few people and Animals who would've died otherwise, that's a win for us," he said firmly and the others exchanged a look.

"I agree with Edward," Hohenheim said. "We won't be able to save everyone but this broadcast idea of Colonel Mustang's will undoubtedly save a few. All we can do is try everything possible to keep casualties to a minimum and if that means we'll suffer some backlash when all is said and done about the broadcast, be it from people who'll remain behind Wrath or whatever other reason people come up with, than so be it." Calix nodded behind Hohenheim in agreement with his words and Ed wasn't sure how he felt about having the man on his side.

"We weren't saying it was a bad idea," Darius said, "we just wanted to make sure that everyone was on the same page," he told them.

Silence reigned for several seconds before Ed broke it. "Is that everything we needed to discuss?" he asked, looking around at everyone. "No one else has anything else to bring up? No warnings, no last-minute additions to the plan?"

"No," Hohenheim eventually said, looking at everyone himself, "I think that's everything. We're as ready as we'll ever be," Hohenheim said.

"There is one thing," Al said and everyone's attention turned to him. Chester gave the armour a significant look and a single nod that had Ed and Ayala's interests piqued. "Chester will be going with you, Brother."

"What?" Ed asked, looking between the leopard and his little brother. "Why? No offense, Ches, but Al could probably use you more here," Ed said.

"Maybe but we think it would be better for him to join you," Al said. "His presence in Central will hopefully make people think I'm nearby but hiding because I don't exactly blend in. They won't wonder where I am for a while and, with any luck, by then it'll be too late for them to try and find me in time," Al explained.

"Are you both sure you want to be separated? It's not like you're going to be separated by a building or couple of streets. You'll be at least an hour from each other if something happens," Ed said, stressing his words to make sure they were really thinking this through.

"We know, Ed," Chester told him.

"We've thought it through and we both think this could be another good way to throw off anyone who's going to be looking for me," Al told him. "Plus, considering how often you get injured doing something reckless, you'll need all the back up you can get," Al teased and Ed's worried expression immediately turned into a glower.

"Excuse me, but out of the two of us, who decided it was a good idea to trap himself in an enclosed space with the second most powerful homunculous?" Ed snapped irritably as everyone started chuckling at him and Al.

"One bad idea to your – how many is it now? Fifty? Sixty?" Al asked cheekily and Ed smacked him on the shoulder.

"The disrespect I allow from you. Honestly," Ed tsked, grinning before he sobered. "Will you be alright with only Heinkel here?" Ed asked and Al nodded.

"We'll be fine, Brother," Al said. "Doctor Marcoh and Yoki will only be a couple of minutes away and I'm sure they'll come help if they see or sense any sign of trouble," Al said and Marcoh immediately nodded.

"We most assuredly will," he promised and Ed felt his mind ease slightly.

"Alright," Ed said, still a little reluctant but he decided to put his trust in his little brother and the doctor. "In that case, we'll start heading for Central. Mustang should be starting his assault soon and we'll need to enter the city while that's still in its early stages so that everyone's attention is on it and not us," Ed said, looking over at the others and receiving nods from them all. "Stay safe, Doctor Marcoh." The doctor nodded solemnly and Ed's eyes flicked to the newly stitched up lion chimera. "You too, Heinkel, and make sure Al doesn't do anything I would do," he told him and the chimera huffed.

"That's a short list, kid," he drawled and Ed rolled his eyes. "You lot keep yourself in one piece down there. I don't want to hear that I'm the only one left remaining in this task force and I'll be really pissed if my hard work at keeping you alive the last few months is for nothing, kid," Heinkel told him and Ed gave him a smirk.

"Takes a lot to keep an Elric down, remember?" he said and Heinkel huffed. "You keep yourself safe, little brother. I still need to keep my promise to you and you cannot leave me with him," Ed jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Hohenheim, "as my only blood relative. I will not be pleased," Ed said, grinning slightly as Al sighed one of those impossible sighs.

"Brother," he chided in the way he always did when Ed called Mustang 'Colonel Bastard' to his face. "You look after yourself as well, alright? I don't want to hear Chester telling me that he and Ayala have had to save you from yourself again," Al said and Ed grumbled slightly. "You two make sure you don't neglect your own safety just because of Ed. I want to see you both in decent shape after everything is said and done," Al told the Animals.

"We'll do our best," Chester said, Ayala nodding alongside him. Al knelt down to give them both a pat before he pulled a startled Ed into a hug tighter than Koda's.

"Stay alive," Al whispered as Ed hugged him back as best he could.

"You too," Ed said back, allowing the hug for a few moments longer before he pulled away. "Let's head out," Ed said to those who would be following him into Central.

"Stay safe, Dad and Calix," Al said as Ed and the others moved away.

"You too, son," Hohenheim said, giving Al a proud smile before he and Calix continued walking behind the group. Al watched as they left, Chester and Ed turning back to give him reassuring smiles before they walked out of sight and Al felt himself grow immensely worried and regretful about letting them all go without him.

"They'll be alright, Alphonse," Marcoh said, patting Al's left metal arm reassuringly. "After everything you told us about your brother and everything we know about Scar, they've got this handled."

"Yeah," Al said, still looking at the last spot he'd seen them. "You're right," Al said. "And we'll do all we can to keep our promise to them and make sure he doesn't escape," Al said, gesturing to the dome that held Pride.

"Yeah, we will and once everything's over, you can lecture your brother for the idiotic and reckless things he'll undoubtedly do," Heinkel said and Al let out a small chuckle.

Al barely noticed as Marcoh helped Heinkel over to a tree that had been torn up the previous night so that he could sit and rest his wounds. He heard the doctor tell them to send a signal somehow if something happened so he and Yoki could come to their aid before Marcoh and Carrie left them both to guard the massive earthen dome. Al stayed where he was, watching the path Ed and the others had disappeared done, praying to anyone who was listening that everything would work in their favour just this once. After a couple of minutes of doing so, Al finally moved and joined Heinkel for the long wait they were in for.


It had been nearly an hour since they'd left Alphonse and Heinkel to guard Pride's prison and Ed could feel his nerves growing with every step closer they took to Central. The sprawling city was well in view for the most part but they did loose sight of the buildings when they entered small valleys created by the hills that surrounded the city. The Animals Ed was bonded too had all sent him a brief message with updates on their positions and what they were about to do so Ed knew where he could enter the city safely.

Nala had sent him a very brief message to tell him that Mustang had launched the first attack and announced that he was attacking the military to rid it of its inhuman leader and the corrupt military officers following him only a couple of minutes ago. Leo and Lilith had promised they and their humans were safe, as was Elysia, and that they were together. Leo had told Ed about how Hughes had wanted to joint the fight but Mustang had forbidden it, telling his best friend to look after his family instead. Mark and Rachel both confirmed that the Eastern and Briggs troops had arrived and were joining the fight as they spoke while Kara and Dubuffet had informed Ed that their humans were looking after the radio station, alongside Denny Brosh, Maria Ross and a dozen or so other soldiers and their Animals.

Soren confirmed Riza had Mustang's six and that they were expecting Havoc and Hawkeye's best friend, Rebecca, to join them shortly with extra weapons since Mustang had foreseen that the ammo that had immediately available wouldn't see them through the fight. So far, he hadn't heard anything from neither Gary nor Anahlia so he wasn't entirely sure what the Armstrong siblings were doing but he didn't ask either. He didn't want to bother them and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out General Armstrong's reaction to him initiating a conversation with her snake just to check in on them would be. The Animals whose humans weren't in Central or weren't going to fight if they were in Central just sent Ed messages telling them that they were safe and he'd better come out alive as well. Ed had thanked them all when a new voice popped in his head.

"Lan Fan wants to know if you can recommend somewhere she can leave me and Onyx so we won't be caught up in the fighting," Laika said and Ed hummed thoughtfully.

"Tell her to take you to the Hughes'. They'll keep you safe," Ed said and the yellow-throated marten thanked him before disconnecting. He briefly considered sending Lilith or Leo a heads up but got distracted by Darius asking if he was alright since Ed had apparently gotten a glazed look on his face. Once he'd assured Darius he was fine, Ed was further distracted by Anahlia telling him that the Briggs soldiers were starting their attack and that General Armstrong was mocking the other generals before she took control of them. Getting that report made sure that telling the Hughes' Animals they might have two visitors was completely swept from Ed's mind.


Thirty minutes after getting the updates from the Animals, Lan Fan appeared in front of them when they were only a couple of kilometres out of the city. "There's smoke rising from near the city centre and I can hear sirens approaching," she reported and Ed nodded.

"That means Mustang's doing his part well. The city must be in complete chaos right now which means we better get moving," Ed said. Lan Fan didn't join them on the ground but she stayed close by them. "Did you drop the two Animals off alright?" Ed asked Lan Fan and she nodded.

"The Hughes' weren't home but I was able to get them inside the house without any problems. They've promised not to touch anything and Onyx will explain why they're there when the Hughes' return," Lan Fan reported and Ed frowned. Neither Leo nor Lilith mentioned anything about not being home when they'd reported in.

"Maybe they were when they spoke to you but had to leave for somewhere safer and they just haven't told you yet?" Ayala suggested, sensing Ed's worry.

"Yeah, maybe," Ed said, not buying the idea but not being able to dismiss. Neither Animal felt like they were in danger so Ed decided to leave it for the moment. "How's your arm?" Ed asked, changing the subject and he saw Lan Fan impulsively move her flesh arm to her automail shoulder before she stopped herself.

"It's functional," she told him stiffly before looking back at him and seeing the worry in his eyes. "I won't be doing any major fighting with it unless I have too but I can still fight," she assured him and Ed nodded.

"I know I told you this before, Edward," Hohenheim said, getting Ed's attention, "but I will be leaving your side once we enter the tunnels underneath the Third Laboratory. My countermeasures will work but as I said before, I'd much rather not have it come to them being used," he reminded Ed. "Homunculous might've gotten too big for his old one but he's still inside his flask and if I can manage to destroy his container, it may be enough to kill him and possibly free all the souls he still has trapped inside of him." Ed nodded.

"I know we're going under the Third Laboratory and all but how do we know for certain that it'll even lead to this bastard?" Zampano asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"We don't," Ed said, "not for certain anyways but it's the best bet we've got. They were making chimeras in that lab," Ed stressed and Scar nodded once.

"And there were chimeras guarding the tunnel that I helped you get through after your first confrontation with the homunculous responsible for Ishval's destruction," Scar said and Ed nodded.

"They were completely vicious," Ed told the others. "If I were the scientist or soldier responsible for moving them from the laboratory to the tunnel connecting to that bearded bastard, I wouldn't be transporting them further than necessary. Lab Three has to connect to that tunnel," Ed said firmly.

"That sounds plausible," Hohenheim said thoughtfully, ignoring or not noticing the glare Ed threw his way. "Even the military wouldn't risk too many questions being asked if soldiers or scientists connected to a particular laboratory were continually getting hurt or killed. They'd need to lessen the chances of that happening so making sure there was a more direct route to the tunnel the chimeras were to guard makes sense. Not to mention that it would solve how they would get the chimeras to Homunculous' tunnel without being seen, heard or sensed by a passer-by and their Animal," he said.

"We're nearly at Central," Lan Fan told them from the tree she was perched in a few metres ahead.

"Right," Ed said, jogging lightly so he could see where exactly they were about to enter the city. "We need to go that way. There's a small park directly across from the laboratory that we can hide in so we can check what we'll be dealing with," Ed told them.

"You know where you're going so you lead the way," Lan Fan told him and Ed nodded as she left the tree she was in to join them on the ground.

"Come on," Ed said as he and the Animals started in the direction he'd pointed. "It shouldn't take us much longer to get there."


They walked for a little while longer, Ed thought no more than fifteen minutes when he first heard the familiar voice floating through an open window. "A lot of you don't know me. Some of you may recognise my voice but for those of you who don't, my name is Gracia Hughes. I'm the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Maes Hughes and I am a mother to a beautiful little girl and the pseudo mother to two wonderful and brave teenage boys."Ed couldn't help it; he came to an immediate halt as he listened to Gracia speak through the radio he spotted on the windowsill. "My husband is best friends with someone most of you have heard of: Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Our family also includes Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist or – as the people of Amestris call him – the People's Alchemist, his brother, Alphonse Elric, and their Animals, Ayala and Chester. What I am about to tell you will seem completely impossible." Here, Gracia paused for a breath before she continued.

"A lot of you will think I am insane or I've been tasked with playing a twisted prank on you all but I am not and I have not. What I am going to tell you will not only explain what is happening in Central right now but also why it's happening and it is all 100% true." Ed could feel the two Animals press against him but he ignored them mostly in favour of listening. He had no clue Gracia would be the one Mustang would have broadcasting to everyone. "Six and a half months ago, I came into my hallway when I heard my husband and his Animal arrive home later than they should've from work and was greeted by the sight of him covered in blood and the sound of someone else in the house. When I asked my husband, he told me that Edward had come home with him and was cleaning himself up because they had just had a run-in with a creature called a homunculous…"

Ed shook himself slightly as Gracia continued to tell Central about what had happened in the park the night they'd confronted Envy. "We need to keep going," Ed said, voice a little shakier than he wanted but he ignored it.

"Who is that?" Darius asked, looking up at the radio as though he was trying to peer through the appliance to see the person speaking through it.

"That's Gracia Hughes," Ed told him as he took the initiative to get the group moving again. Because of the time of year, everyone had their windows open and Ed could hear Gracia's voice floating from multiple directions, following them as they moved. "She, her husband and their daughter have been the closest thing Al and I have had to a real family in the last five or so years," Ed told him. He didn't miss the guilty grimace that crossed Hohenheim's face but Ed didn't bother saying anything. Nothing he would've said wouldn't have been something he hadn't already told Hohenheim anyway. "Let's keep moving while everyone's attention is on the broadcast."


"They've got three MPs guarding the entrance," Zampano informed them as the rest of the group joined the boar chimera where he crouched. They'd sent him in first so the guards wouldn't be tipped by a bunch of movement in the trees across from them and had only moved forward when Zampano had given the signal.

"I'm good with a number like that," Darius rumbled, cracking his knuckles but Ed and the Animals exchanged mischievous looks before Ed put his hand on Darius' shoulder to stop him from moving.

"Nah," he told him, "we got this." The next thing any of them knew, Ed and the two Animals were racing frantically for the three startled guards and their Animals. Ed had his pocket watch out and was waving it frantically at them. "Help me! My name's Edward Elric, I'm a State Alchemist," Ed panted, feigning fear as he came to a stop in front of the officers. "Scar's trying to kill me!" Ed said, pointing over to where the stunned Scar stood just in view. Everyone else had had the sense to get out of sight behind the bushes.

"Hey, he's on the wanted list!" one of the military police officers said, recognising Scar's description and the three men stepped protectively in front of Ed as they lined up their weapons with Scar.

"So am I," Ed snarled before he, Ayala and Chester moved against them. Ed had two of the soldiers down and was working on the third by the time his Animals were done with their opponents.

"Took you long enough," Ayala said as the third guard crumpled to the ground after Ed knocked him out with an automail elbow to the temple.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I couldn't take three humans down in the time it took you two to take down," Ed looked at the bodies around them, "two dogs and a lynx," Ed apologised, voice laced with sarcasm.

"As you should be. Imagine what Izumi would say," Chester teased and Ed flipped him off.

"That was a bit mean," Hohenheim said as he and the others approached, walking carefully over and around the unconscious forms.

"Oh, shut up," Ed snapped at the man. "Let's go," he ordered, gesturing for them to follow him inside and they did, though Ayala and Chester immediately took up lead positions once they were inside the laboratory so they could start leading the group once they'd picked up the scent. "Pardon us, coming through," Ed said as they shoved startled workers aside in their haste. Ed spared a hope that they didn't hurt them too badly as they went racing past them as fast as they could. They headed through the laboratory, following the directions Marcoh had given them and soon enough, they were in the basement level. "North wall," Ed muttered as he looked around, trying to get his bearings. Ayala and Chester shot forward as their noses picked up on a familiar and revolting scent. Ed and the others ran to catch up with them, Calix at the rear so he didn't accidentally trample on anyone but to Ed's shock, the Animals stopped in front of a blank wall.

"The scent is strongest here," Ayala told him before he could ask and Ed frowned before noticing something. He stepped forward to take a look at the wall and grinned when his suspicions were confirmed.

"They alchemised the door away," Ed explained before he clapped his hands together and placed them on the wall in front of them. A set of doors materialised from the blue energy that Ed produced and he brought his hands off them once the transmutation was complete. Opening the doors, the Animals were hit with a nauseating smell but quickly assured Ed they would adjust in no time. Calix and the chimeras weren't immune either and they wrinkled their noses in disgust. "Should we split into two groups?" Ed asked as he eyes the two choices of direction they could take.

"I think it would be for the best if we did," Hohenheim said. "I'll take a team this way," Hohenheim pointed to Ed's right, "and you can lead the other team that way. This way, each team will have an alchemist and if Homunculous does manage to disable your alchemy, Ed, you'll still have someone who can use it," Hohenheim told him, gesturing to Scar.

"So the two of them plus Edward's and Alphonse's Animals are together," Jerso said, looking at Hohenheim. "Who do you want with you?"

"I should be fine with just Calix since my alchemy is unique," Hohenheim said before glancing at Lan Fan. Ed's eyes narrowed when his father's expression changed to one he couldn't read. "On second thought," he said, "it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a bodyguard since Calix might find it difficult to attack in these tunnels so I'll take the young lady with me," he told them. Lan Fan looked startled but she didn't put up a fuss as she moved to stand next to Calix and Hohenheim. "If any of us discover the enemy, do everything you can to destroy him. Calix will tell you if we find him first, Edward. Would you mind doing the same?" Ed gave a terse nod and Hohenheim seemed to relax slightly.

"Roger that," Jerso said, moving further into the tunnel Ed and his group would be taking.

"Are you sure you'll be okay with just the three of you?" Zampano asked, obviously not able to help himself.

"Of course," Hohenheim said assuredly and the chimera nodded.

"Let's go," Darius said, not wanting to linger in the damp, dank tunnel longer than necessary. Ed saw Hohenheim go to say something as he turned to join the others but the older man closed his mouth and gestured silently for Lan Fan and Calix to follow him. Ed didn't let himself dwell on what his father might've wanted to say to him as he drew level with Scar and let the Animals take the lead once more while the chimeras protected their flank from any potential danger.


Ed wasn't sure how long they were in the tunnel for, only a couple of minutes he thought, when Anahlia contacted him out of the blue. "Olivier has successfully defeated the generals and the Briggs Operations Unit has arrived to set up their equipment in the conference room. Olivier would like me to inform you that she didn't manage to take all of the corrupt generals down as only some of them were present in the room with her. She also warns that one of the generals who escaped her wrath was the one who showed her the mannequins," Anahlia said and Ed groaned in annoyance, though not at General Armstrong.

"Thank you for the warning. I'll make sure everyone else knows as well," Ed said, grateful that the general had thought to pass the message on. If the mannequins were released, at least now they could be ready for them. Anahlia didn't say anything else before she disconnected but Ed hadn't expected her to. "Major-General Armstrong has managed to defeat most of Bradley's inner circle but a couple weren't in the room when she made her move. One of them was the one in charge of the white mannequins I warned you about," Ed told everyone, speaking both out loud and through his connection with a select few Animals.

"I hope that general isn't stupid enough to try and activate them and make our jobs harder," Darius grumbled as they walked. Suddenly, an echoing roar sounded, loud enough that it caused the tunnel walls and what little water there was on the floor to shake violently.

"I think you just jinxed us," Zampano said as the roar subsided. Ed straightened from the crouch he gone into as he clamped his hands over Ayala and Chester's sensitive ears.

"Let's keep going," Ed said. "We can't do anything about it now if that was them being activated except fight them if we run across them," Ed pointed out and the chimeras sighed resignedly.

"You just know we're going to," Jerso muttered and Ed raised a brow but didn't comment. "Didn't you say they needed a Philosopher's Stone to become alive?" he asked and Ed nodded.

"The homunculi and/or military already had some ready to be used, according to Anahlia," Ed told him, disgust evident in his voice and on his face. "Anahlia told me they were from all of the people the military have killed in the last few years like enemy soldiers or people imprisoned with a death sentence." The chimeras made an angry noise while Scar's jaw twitched slightly, the only sign of his own anger.

Silence fell over the group after that as they continued to follow the tunnel where it led them. Neither Animal had suggested turning into one of the branching tunnels so they hadn't done so. Just as Ed was about to ask whether they were even following a scent yet or were waiting to catch one, the Animals' ears perked forward into an alert position and they quickened their steps, forcing the others to do so to keep up. Ed soon saw what had caught their attention. A massive white room with an open doorway appeared from the side of the tunnel. There was nothing remarkable inside it except for the set of doors standing closed on the other end of the circular room. The group entered it cautiously and both Animals seemed to be focusing on something only they could sense as they did so.

Jerso let out a low whistle as they took in the massive doors that reminded Ed a little too much of the Gates of Knowledge. "That's quite a doorway," the toad chimera said and the others nodded.

"The air in here seems to smell foul and I think the odour is increasing," Darius said. "Are you sure this is it?" he asked Ed and the blonde looked at the two Animals.

"Yeah, they both say so," Ed told him as he reached for the doors to pull them open.

"Ed, wait!" both Animals shouted at him, panic in their voices but it was too late. Even as Ed let go of the barely open doors, the damage had been done and they flew open as dozens of white bodies tumbled through them. Ed and everyone else put as much distance between them as they could and they watched in horror as the creatures in front of them managed to get themselves to their feet and start walking in an awkward, limping manner. Ed knew what they were the moment he caught sight of them and he readied his blade as the chimeras shifted forms and Scar and the Animals shifted into defensive positions.

"Take them out. Show no mercy on these things," Ed ordered as the mannequins advanced on them. He didn't wait for their responses as he swiped at the first mannequin to come close enough to him while Ayala and Chester both tag-teamed another one. To Ed's shock, the mannequin's neck opened up with a spurt of green liquid instead the red Ed was expecting. The crackle of red alchemic energy that Ed thought he'd see as a result of the Stone inside the mannequin never danced its way across the gushing wound. That didn't mean, however, that the creature had been downed. Rather, Ed found himself fighting a mannequin that continually bled green blood and showed no signs of fatigue or the effects of blood loss. "Fuck," Ed swore, dancing back a couple of steps as he realised what that meant. "Their stones have more than one life! You have to kill them multiple times!" Ed shouted, making sure everyone heard him.

"Ed!" Ayala called from a few metres away. "We can't let them get into the tunnels and into Central,"she told him and Ed took the hint.

Slicing his way through the mannequins who'd gotten too close to him, Ed turned and sprinted for the open doors. More mannequins advanced on him but Darius came leaping out of nowhere and barrelled into them, sending them flying in all directions and crashing into other mannequins. Ed got the doors closed and clapped before placing his hands on them, alchemically sealing them shut. He turned and gave Darius an apologetic look. "Sorry. I guess I just sealed our exit."

"Don't worry about it," Darius roared as he tore a mannequin in half. "If you hadn't have done it, I sure as fuck would've slammed the damned things shut myself," the gorilla chimera informed him before bulldozing his way through the mannequins to give Zampano a hand with the ones he was dealing with.

"Now we can really take these guys on!" Zampano shouted as he sent a volley of spines into a group of nearby mannequins, taking them down only for them to get back up again.

"You said it, Zampano," Jerso grunted as he threw a spit ball of goop at some of the white creatures. From what Ed could see, Jerso's attacks were the most effective so long as the mannequin hit stayed down long enough for the sticky liquid to strengthen. "Now that all these things are shut in here with us with no way for them to escape, we can really let ourselves loose! This is gonna be good!" the toad chimera exclaimed before sending more goop at the enemy.

Ed clapped and created a staff from the flooring before using it to knock aside three mannequins while Ayala and Chester continued sinking their teeth and claws into wherever they could grab. Ed winced at the gruesome sight of the green blood staining Ayala and Chester's coats and he hoped that these creatures couldn't feel pain as Ayala tore out one of their throats much like she had done to Envy when he was pretending to be Gracia. "The people who thought to create these creatures are despicable and those who helped them are almost worse," Ed muttered, knowing he wouldn't be heard over the groaning of the mannequins, needing to say it though but he received fierce agreements from the two Animals who'd heard him. "We'll have to try and plough through them to get to that bearded bastard!" Ed shouted to the others. He could see another wave of mannequins flow over the top of the ones still trying to get through the doorway and his heart sank as he tried to figure out how the hell they were going to succeed in doing so when he felt a familiar tickle in his mind and grinned. They apparently had backup coming so all Ed and the others had to do was keep fighting until they arrived. "Let's do this!" Ed shouted, using a throwing knife to spear a mannequin through the forehead as answering shouts of agreement rang throughout the room.


It had been over two hours since Ed and the others had headed into Central and although Chester was keeping him up to date on what was or wasn't happening, Al could barely keep himself from pacing out of nerves. The surprised reveal that Mustang had asked Gracia to be their voice over the radio had stunned Al enough that he'd forgotten about his nerves for a few seconds but they were back in full force moments later. The last thing he'd heard from Chester was that they'd managed to successfully enter the Third Laboratory and that Hohenheim, Calix and Lan Fan had split from the group to cover the other direction the tunnel took than the one Ed and the others had gone down.

"Alphonse, I'm only gonna ask nicely once but would you please relax?" Heinkel's voice broke Al out of his worried state and he realised he'd been bouncing his knee to subconsciously work off some nervous energy. "They're fine. Chester would've told you if they weren't," Heinkel said, trying to soothe the young boy and was relieved when it worked to an extent.

"Yeah, I know," Al said, slumping slightly. "I just wish we didn't have to separate from them. I don't regret staying here and I stand by it being the right decision," Al said hastily, as though worried Heinkel would judge him, "but I also wish I was with them and making sure they were alright," he said sorrowfully and Heinkel clapped him on the shoulder, grateful the armour had decided to sit on his right so he didn't further damage his left arm.

"I understand. I wish I could be down there helping them rather than up here but this task is important," Heinkel reminded him. "We need to make sure Pride doesn't escape and create more problems for the others."

"I know," Al said dully and Heinkel let out a soft sigh.

"I'm gonna go check the other side of the dome, alright?" Heinkel said and Al gave a small nod as the lion chimera got to his feet. Heinkel had barely made it a few metres when his nose twitched with a familiar scent. It took him a little longer to place it than he liked but when he did so, there was no mistaking it. "Kimblee," Heinkel growled and he saw Al get to his feet.


Before either of them could do anything, the impeccably dressed psychopathic alchemist appeared in front of them, smirked and brought his hands together before directing the explosion towards the dome in front of him. The resulting shockwave sent both Heinkel and Alphonse flying off their feet with a shout while dust swirled around them. Pride stepped out of the gaping open and looked around, spotting Kimblee.

"Thank you, Kimblee. It was getting dreadfully boring in there," Pride said as he allowed the alchemist to approach. "How did you manage to find me?" Pride asked curiously. He hadn't been able to send out any kind of signal, lacking the tools to do so and he knew no one would know where he was since he hadn't told anyone he'd be in Kanama so he was a little surprised to see Kimblee there.

"I was on my way to the slum to interrogate the Ishvalens there about Scar's whereabouts when the dome caught my attention," Kimblee told him, nodding to the structure. "Admittedly, I was going to ignore it but my curiosity eventually won out and I headed this way in time to overhear your two guards talk about what it contained," Kimblee said casually. "I don't appreciate more work being made for me, however," Kimblee added, a note of irritation in his voice.

"I do apologise for the trouble," Pride said. "I won't be letting my guard down again," the homunculous assured him and Kimblee nodded.

"Huh," the alchemist said after a moment and Pride glanced up to see him looking at the entrance he made in Pride's prison, "so you're alone? I thought Gluttony had been sent to accompany you on your mission."

"Yes, he was, however I ended up having to consume him," Pride said, licking his lips and Kimblee gave him a mildly surprised look.

"You ate Gluttony? Your own kind?" Kimblee asked. He wasn't disgusted but he was curious and Pride gave him a look.

"It's not like it's cannibalism," Pride chided. "We are a collective, after all. We were both born of the same father but now we've gone back to being one form," Pride informed him.

"Huh, so that's how it works?" Kimblee murmured. Neither one was able to speak another word on the subject as a shout from Alphonse caught their attention. Kimblee's eyes moved from the armour to what the boy was running towards and spotted the injured and bloodied chimera lying slumped against the dome. "Still alive?" Kimblee asked as Pride sent out his shadows. "What a pity for you but then again, you are a chimera. The life force is strong in you."

"Damn it!" Al swore as Pride's shadows latched onto him. "Let me go!" he snapped as the homunculous started dragging him away from his downed ally.

"You're not going anywhere," Pride sneered and Al growled.

"Why you -!" Al cut himself off as he clapped his hands and placed them on his lower legs, making sure to sever them above where Pride's shadows gripped him and he started crawling with purpose towards Heinkel.

"Why bother fighting?" Pride asked as he finished drawing his shadows back in. His eyes widened as he saw only the lower half of Al's legs and he let out an irritated noise as he threw them aside. A look and nod at Kimblee had the two advancing down on the armour and chimera, a snarl on Pride's face as he did so.


"Mr. Heinkel!" Al gasped as he finally made it to the chimera's side and saw the new injuries as well as the old, reopened injuries.

Heinkel forced his eyes open at the sound of his name and saw Al's helmet peering down at him. "Just leave me," the chimera groaned. "Get out of here. Go, quickly!" Heinkel ordered but Al shook his head.

"No way," the boy said as he fussed over the injuries.

"Don't talk back to me!" Heinkel snapped. "At this rate, we'll both die if you don't get out of here so leave me behind. You might be able to save yourself," Heinkel insisted and groaned when Al shook his head once more. It was like dealing with Edward, only younger and a suit of armour.

"I told you it's not happening," Al snapped right back. "Now think about something useful instead. Like staying alive," Al ordered as he manoeuvred Heinkel so he was in between his stumps, making him easier to drag.

"You dumbass," Heinkel groaned as pain washed through him from the jolty movements. "Think about it! We're up against both Kimblee and Pride and I doubt either of them are happy with us right now. So just leave me here and get moving," Heinkel ordered, coughing up some blood.

"Don't give up!" Al begged as he saw Heinkel's eyes droop. "I swear I'll save you!" Heinkel felt Al sink a little lower as the sound of metal crumbling caught his attention. "Come on, legs! Move it!" Al thumped angrily against one of his broken limbs. "We've come too far to be beat now and I won't let it happen!" Al snarled before Heinkel felt himself being sat up. He groaned in pain and Al made an apologetic noise. "Mr. Heinkel, you need to grab onto my back. We're not giving up!" Al said and Heinkel chuckled.

"You brothers are really something else," Heinkel said as warm blood slowly spilled out of his mouth. "You're so determined to help another person even when you're falling to pieces yourself." Heinkel coughed up a bit more blood and Al fluttered the hand not supporting the chimera uselessly over him, unsure of how he could help.

"I promised," Al whispered and Heinkel hummed questioningly. "I promised my brother and our Animals that no one else would die, no matter what," Al told him, fresh determination filling his voice.

"I guess you've got a point," Heinkel murmured. "Wasn't it Kimblee who said that the true test of winning was surviving?" Heinkel asked before slowly shifting his arm, gritting his teeth at the pain the movement caused. "Which reminds me," he said ignoring Al's murmurs to stop, "I have something that might be useful," Heinkel said, revealing the blood red stone he'd taken from the mine shaft all those months ago.

"Mr. Heinkel, why do you have that?" Al asked, looking at the stone with wonder.

"Eh, I happened to pick it up," Heinkel told him. "I got it when Kimblee abandoned us in the mine and I saw no reason why I shouldn't hold onto it," Heinkel said as he handed it to Al.

"A Philosopher's Stone," Al said in awe as he looked at the stone in his palm. "With this, we might actually have a chance at winning but…" Al trailed off and Heinkel nodded knowingly.

"These are made using human lives. Your brother told me," Heinkel explained when Al made a questioning grunt. "He also told me that you'd rather not use one of these to get your bodies back," Heinkel said and Al nodded, feeling a little confused. "In that case, don't use it for yourself. Use it to save the entire world instead," the chimera told him. "You deserve to be one of the people who get to use it because you still recognise those souls as people and Animals. I know those souls trapped in there; I know that even though they're trapped in that stone, they still want to fight to protect what matters to them," Heinkel told him. "So let them fight. They deserve that chance," Heinkel insisted and Al felt himself nod.

"Alright," the armour said, voice filled with renewed determination and Heinkel gave a weak smile.

"Now give them hell for me, Alphonse," Heinkel ordered only to be surprised when Al shook his head and held a hand over him.

"We'll fight them together," was what Heinkel heard just before a flash of red consumed his vision.


"This dust cloud is such a nuisance," Kimblee complained as he and Pride stood outside of it, waiting for it to disperse enough for them to find their targets. "Shall I blow it away with a blast wave?" he asked but Pride shook his head.

"No," he said and Kimblee lowered his half-raised hands in slight disappointment. "The two of them are trapped somewhere in there and without his legs, how could Alphonse possibly escape?" Pride asked just as a flash of red lit up the dust cloud, followed closely by a second flash of red. Both of them were startled when something came at them both from the dust cloud and it took a moment for Pride to recognise it to be Alphonse.

"Well, what do you know? He isn't exactly running from us," Kimblee said delightfully as he readied a transmutation. Pride snarled as Al dodged one of his shadows then neatly dodged the second one he'd sent immediately after him. A glint of red in Al's hand caught Kimblee's attention and he confirmed his suspicions when Alphonse transmuted the earth without clapping to send a fist towards the two of them. "A Philosopher's Stone?" Kimblee asked as he dodged the fist.

"But where did he find one?" Pride snarled as he attacked with his shadows. Alphonse dodged and transmuted another dust cloud to cover the area around them.

"Dust in our eyes again?" Kimblee asked before instinctively moving to the side as Alphonse attacked them from behind.

Pride sent a wave of shadows towards Alphonse, intent on capturing him once more and relieving him of the stone he'd managed to acquire. Al rolled out of the way and grabbed one of the legs he'd severed from his armour and held it in front of himself before he allowed red energy to dance down it and transform it into a sword. He parried a few of Pride's shadows with ease but one managed to slip through his defences and pierce his armour. Pride grinned with victory before snarling in annoyance as Al produced a flash bomb and set it off, freeing himself of the shadow.

"That's the stone," Pride huffed as he continued attacking. "It's a tricky thing," he muttered before finding himself trapped once more in a smaller dome.

"Yes, the power of a Philosopher's Stone is truly something to behold," Kimblee said as he took Pride's place and continued the attack on Alphonse. "Having used one myself, I guess I know that better than anyone else. That's why I'm puzzled by you," Kimblee said as he and Al exchanged blows. "What I'd like to know is why you don't use that power to get your original body back. With a stone in hand, you wouldn't have any trouble fleeing from us and once you had gotten away, you and your brother could use the stone to get your original bodies back and end your journey. So why don't you?" Kimblee asked, stumbling slightly as he dodged another earthen fist from Alphonse.

"If I did that, I couldn't save everyone," Al informed him and Kimblee rolled his eyes.

"It's in accordance with your idea," the other alchemist said. "In order to obtain something, you must give up something of equal value," Kimblee said.

"Tell me. Why do I have to choose?" Al asked as he threw a punch Kimblee dodged gracefully. "It isn't right that I have to choose between returning us to our original bodies or saving everyone," Al said. "Why can't we have our real bodies back and save everyone?"

"That's the law of equivalent exchange," Kimblee reminded him as he sent an explosion Al's way but the armour dodged it, as he'd done so the half dozen times Kimblee tried that trick and Kimblee found himself growing irritated by it.

"Well I say that you should search for possibilities that aren't bound by rules and laws!" Al said. "That's how humanity advances!"

"I see," Kimblee said, dodging the small boulder Al sent his way. "So if you can discover the exception to the rule, you can rewrite nature as we understand it?" Kimblee asked, sending a shockwave Al's way. "Is that how it's supposed to go?" Kimblee pressed, both with his questions and his attacks. "Because there is a third option! You don't get your bodies back and you don't save everyone. That could certainly happen," Kimblee said, grinning madly and Al saw the glint of red in his mouth just before another explosion sounded and the trapped homunculous was once again freed. "I love that sound," Kimblee said. "There isn't a sound better than that of two strong souls colliding in battle!" Kimblee exclaimed, looking around for the missing suit of armour.

Pride noticed his gaze. "I assure you, Alphonse Elric is still close by," Pride told him, lightly sniffing the air.

Kimblee nodded in agreement. "Undoubtedly," he said, scooping up a handful of small rocks. "It would take more than that to kill him." Kimblee threw the rocks and they both watched as they fell back to earth. A few of them made a clunking sound as they hit the dirt and Kimblee grinned before he blew up that area, revealing Alphonse.

In response, Al immediately transmuted another dust cloud and Pride tsked in annoyance. "That trick again? How artless," Pride said. "It won't work," he told Al, giving the air another sniff before grinning and sending out half a dozen shadows. Al yelped as he was grabbed and hoisted into the air, the shadows curling tightly around his body and pinning his arms and legs together. "Remember! I can tell where you are just by smelling," Pride told him in a slightly mocking voice. "I think that's checkmate," he informed him and Al chuckled.

"Are you sure? I think you're giving us humans too little credit," Al said and Pride scoffed.

"Even with the stone there's no way you'll win by yourself," Pride told him.

"Except I'm not alone," Alphonse informed him, opening both his gauntlets and revealing he held no stone.

"Where did the stone go?" Kimblee asked, looking around on the ground for it. His search for the red stone prevented him from noticing the true danger too late and he gasped sharply in pain as he felt sharp objects sink into the side of his head, neck and shoulder. A glance told him what he'd thought happened. Heinkel had been healed, shifted into his chimera form and had sunk his teeth into Kimblee's neck. Kimblee could feel the warm blood gushing down his neck and back, soaking into his once-pristine white suit.

Pride launched a shadow but Heinkel was too quick and the shadow came to a halt as the lion chimera utilised Kimblee as a human shield. This movement caused Kimblee to groan in pain but the black-haired alchemist could now see Doctor Marcoh, his second assignment, standing nearby. "I see now," Pride said, eyes narrowing slightly at the situation in front of him. "You humans are certainly tenacious however you have no hope of winning still," Pride declared, his focus going to Marcoh. "Let's do something about the doctor first, shall we?"

Before Pride could so much as raise another shadow, a dark object came careening out of nowhere and slammed into him, sending the homunculous flying through the air and skidding to a stop quite some distance away. At the same time Pride was hit, Al found himself free-falling for a couple of seconds before he thudded into the ground heavily enough that he was glad he didn't have a flesh body. He got to his feet and found himself standing next to a military issued car with a trembling and stunned Yoki sitting behind the wheel. "Yoki?" Al exclaimed in surprise.

"Alright, way to take him out!" Heinkel cheered once he'd released Kimblee from his death bite. Al could still see the weak rise and fall of Kimblee's chest and the blood being pushed out of his injuries in pulsing waves with every weak beat of his heart and he couldn't help but feel sorry for the man.

"I know I'm the one who told you we had to help when we saw those dust clouds but I truly wasn't expecting you to show up," Marcoh admitted as he climbed into he car where he found a worried but delighted Carrie waiting for him.

"I'm not gonna let you guys play the hero all by yourselves!" he told them as Nova butted her head softly against his cheek. "I want too as well and how about that?" Yoki gloated. "I landed a shot and it was on the strongest homunculous of them all!" he said smugly and Al decided to let him have his moment rather than point out that both Hohenheim and the original Homunculous were stronger than Pride.

"Where'd you get the car?" Heinkel asked curiously.

"It's the one Kimblee drove in," Marcoh told them and Heinkel nodded.

"Okay. Well done, Doctor Marcoh," Heinkel said. Movement in front of the car got their attention and they watched as Pride slowly climbed to his feet. "Let's go!" Heinkel roared, picking up Kimblee's body and throwing it at the homunculous, causing Pride to go down once more as Heinkel and Al climbed into the car. "Quit whimpering and get us to Central on the double," Heinkel ordered Yoki, who had been watching Pride with fear. Yoki did as he was told with zero arguments. "We gotta meet up with Ed and get rid of this Father guy before that thing catches up with us," Heinkel said and the three others nodded in agreement.

Al turned in his seat and watched as Pride stood over Kimblee's still form. He had a feeling that Pride was talking to Kimblee and he gasped in horror as he watched Pride's shadows lift Kimblee up off the ground before lowering his body into the massive maw of another shadow. Al had never been gladder he couldn't throw up as he watched Kimblee get devoured by the homunculous. He felt a pang of fear as Pride's eyes fell on the fleeing car but no shadows came racing after them and Al allowed himself to relax and turn back to the others. His relaxed state only lasted a moment as Chester got in contact with him.

"They released the mannequins powered by Philosopher's Stones!" Chester told him frantically. "We don't know how many for sure or where they are but keep an eye out as you come in. They can't be killed with normal means. They keep coming back to life," Chester informed him. Al didn't bother questioning how his leopard knew they were heading into Central to meet up with them.

"Are they contained?" Al asked and Chester nodded mentally.

"Under and in Central Command, for now," Chester said. "General and Major Armstrong have teamed up and are currently fighting against a horde of them somewhere in the command centre. Gary and Anahlia have both confirmed there is a female homunculous in there with them but she doesn't seem to be fighting. They told Ed that she's been standing to the back, watching everything and picking off the soldiers who join our side. Both Armstrong's are holding their own but they are injured," Chester told him and Al felt his nerves worsen.

"What about you guys?" Al asked and Chester huffed.

"We're doing our best to keep them where they are but everyone's starting to tire out," Chester said. "Ed's stopped transmuting if he can help it so he doesn't use all of his energy. He's tried using the stone destroying array you two developed but he can only take down one or two mannequins at a time and he'd not recovering his energy fast enough to keep it up," Chester reported.

"Okay," Al said, swallowing his fear and worry for his brother, their Animals and their friends. "We're heading into Central now. We won't be too long. Just hang in there," Al said and Chester made a confirming noise before abruptly disconnecting from the conversation. Al realised nearly everyone was watching him intently but Al's focus was on their driver. "Yoki?" The man looked into the rear-view mirror and met Al's glowing eyes. "Drive faster."


Ed had no idea how long they'd been fighting against these white mannequins but he could feel his energy lagging as he continued attacking the never-ending horde. Scar's earlier shout to go for their legs had proved helpful in slowing them down but they still hadn't found a viable way of keeping them down permanently. A dozen white corpses littered the floor, green blood pooling from various wounds. The wounds they'd inflicted hadn't been what brought the creatures down; rather it was Ed's use of his and Al's array but he'd soon discovered he couldn't keep it up without putting himself at serious risk. Zampano was running out of spikes and Jerso's spit was slow to develop. Darius was the only one of the chimeras still going strong but Ed knew it wouldn't be long before his exhaustion showed. Scar was still using his alchemy to destroy the mannequins legs and both Animals were continuing their task of taking down the enemy but Ed could feel both their energies wavering. If this kept up, they'd be overrun in no time.

"Darius!" Ed shouted as the gorilla chimera stumbled. Without thinking, Ed transmuted a blade from the floor and tossed it to Darius, who caught it expertly and slid it into the mannequin's neck, buying himself a small reprieve as the mannequin stumbled back.

"Ed!" the joined shouts from Ayala and Chester had Ed turning and raising his staff just in time to block a mannequin who'd managed to sneak behind his defences.

Just as Ed pushed the mannequin away from him, the doors he'd sealed exploded inwards, taking out several mannequins while the humans, chimeras and Animal ducked for cover. Mustang, Nala, Hawkeye and Soren all entered the room, looking uninjured. Hawkeye had her gun raised and ready to be fired while Mustang's arm was poised to snap. "Things always tend to get messy with you around, eh, Fullmetal?" Mustang snarked.

"It's about fucking time you got here!" Ed snapped, swinging his staff at another mannequin. "I told Nala our position ages ago!" He grunted as two mannequins replaced the one he'd just gotten rid of and he found himself struggling against them when a beige blur brought one of them down. Freed up, Ed took the other down with ease. "Hi, Nala. Thanks for coming," Ed said, giving the lioness a smile as he speared his staff through another mannequin. Both Chester and Ayala had managed to free themselves enough to join Ed at his side once more.

"Anytime, Ed," Nala smiled before looking back at Mustang. "He's happy you're alive," Nala told him and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Sure he is," he said before looking at Mustang. "Well? Are you gonna make yourself useful?" Ed snapped as Hawkeye shot some of the approaching mannequins.

"Might as well. We do need to keep going," Mustang said, raising his hand slightly higher.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!" Ed ordered before he grabbed Ayala and Chester, forcing them low to the ground while Nala did the same to him, tucking her face in between Ed's neck and Ayala's fur. Not a single person hesitated to follow Ed's orders and Ed watched the result of the snap through squinted eyes as the heat rushed over him and the three Animals. The flames Mustang produced devoured the white mannequins, destroying all of them within the flames grasps with no problem. The shrieks the mannequins produced as they burned was a sound Ed knew he'd never get out of his head.

When the flames died down, Nala allowed Ed to sit up and he allowed Ayala and Chester to do the same. Ed glanced at the rest of his team and saw that all three of them were remarkably unscathed, not even their clothes or hair was singed. Scar was glowering at Mustang so fiercely, Ed was a little concerned he'd cause Mustang's death just from the intensity of it. Ayala watched as Ed climbed back to his feet and let out a silent breath of relief as he managed to shake off any exhaustion he felt.

"Are you alright, Ed?" Hawkeye asked as she approached the teenager. Soren fluffed his feathers as she moved and Ed felt him echo the question through their bond.

"I'm good," Ed assured her, looking at himself. "Surprisingly good," he told her, looking back up to meet her gaze. "Only small cuts and bruises." Somehow, that was all he'd made it out with and Hawkeye seemed just as startled, though she did cover it up rather quickly.

"Good," she said with a firm nod. "The two of you?" she asked the Animals and both them and Ed gave her nods.

"Same for them," he told her before he clapped his hands and touched both Chester and Ayala on the heads. Blue energy crackled down their forms and Ed watched in satisfaction as the green blood that had accumulated on their coats disappeared. "Much better," Ed said as he stopped the transmutation.

"That feels so much better," Ayala told him as the weight of the drying blood vanished and Chester nodded in agreement.

"You little fool!" The echoing words got the attention of the six of them and they swivelled to see Scar glaring at someone Ed had thought was no longer in the country. "Why didn't you go back to Xing like I told you?!"

"I just… I wanted… I just wanted to…" Mei sniffled, trying to get the words out and hold back her tears. Scar's body language softened slightly.

"It doesn't matter," Scar said. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry," Mei said, half-choking on a sob as Xao-Mei tried to comfort her. Though his facial expression didn't change, Ed got the feeling that this was the kind of situation where Scar was completely clueless so he headed over to the young girl, dodging the ashes that once were mannequins as best he could.

"Mei, why did you come back?" Ed asked, crouching to get to her level. "You knew how dangerous this was going to be," he said and Mei nodded.

"I was going to go back, I swear," she said, looking up pleadingly at Scar. "I was going to take Doctor Marcoh's Philosopher's Stone to Xing like you all said I should but when I got to Youswell," here she hesitated for a moment, drawing in a steadying breath, "the people there, they were so kind to me. I was a complete stranger to them but they saw someone struggling and they offered me food, shelter, a warm bed, anything I would've needed," Mei told them. "I couldn't abandon this country when I could help somehow. I couldn't abandon people like them," she said firmly. Ayala was not the only Animal to notice how familiar her resolute gaze looked to a certain blonde alchemist they knew.

"But this wasn't your fight. You have your clansmen and country to think about," Ed said but Mei's resolve barely trembled.

"I will not be the kind of leader who sits securely on a throne while her friends struggle to keep themselves safe," Mei told him and Ed sighed before nodding and straightening.

"Well, we can't do anything about you being here now," he said. "You'll need to stick with us so we can keep an eye on you and make sure you're able to get back to Xing in one piece," Ed said, giving her a smile. The one she gave him in return was only slightly watery.

"You don't have to worry about me, Edward. I can keep myself safe well enough," Mei told him confidently and Ed laughed.

"We'll see about that, Princess," he teased, making her scowl. Having succeeded in his mission to ensure there'd be no tears spilled, Ed turned to Mustang and Hawkeye. "Chester contacted Al before the mannequins attacked us. Pride escaped with Kimblee's help. Kimblee is no longer a concern but Al, Heinkel, Marcoh, Yoki, Carrie and Nova are on their way to Central. They stole Kimblee's car so they shouldn't be too long," Ed said.

"What exactly do you mean by 'Kimblee's no longer a concern'?" Mustang asked.

"Ches said that Al witnessed Pride eating him," Ed told him, shrugging a shoulder. He grinned at the calm mask Mustang tried to hide his shock with before he addressed the group as a whole. "We need to keep moving. There's no way these mannequins were all that were activated so we need to keep an eye out for them. We also need to remember Pride, Wrath, Greed and Lust are still alive. Greed shouldn't be a problem and as far as I know, the Armstrong siblings are fighting against Lust still so the only homunculi we should run into are Father, Pride and – assuming he survived – Fuhrer Bradley. Let's keep moving," Ed ordered.

Mustang's lips twitched into a smirk before they fell when he watched every single person – including Hawkeye – and Animal obey Ed's order. He glared when Ed looked over his shoulder and grinned teasingly at him but Mustang didn't comment as he caught up with them. Mustang elected to ignore the whispered 'mature' in his mind through his bond with Nala when he muttered unpleasant words under his breath as he followed the group.


Forty minutes later, they were still in the tunnel system and trying to locate Father when Ed jolted slightly. When Ed's face formed a slightly intense frown, as though he was listening to something and giving it his undivided attention, everyone relaxed as they recognised the sign of him getting an update from an Animal. It didn't take long for Ed to give a slight nod, a habit he'd formed despite his best efforts to hide any signs of his abilities, and for his facial expression to smooth out as he and the Animal stopped talking.

"Anahlia says that General Armstrong has issued the order for all gates to Central Command to be shut in an effort to keep the white mannequins confined within her walls," Ed reported. "Anahlia also said that General and Major Armstrong are still fighting against the white mannequins but they are now backed by some of the Central soldiers who had apparently switched to our side. Lust is still there but General Armstrong has been keeping her busy," Ed told them.

"I'm sure the Ice Queen of the North won't let something like an immortal homunculous get the best of her," Mustang drawled, having noticed the slightly worried frown on Ed's face.

Ed snorted. "She certainly didn't let that behemoth of a homunculous get the best of her," Ed said. "Oh, Koda also sent me a message. Teacher, Sig, Suna, Izumi and a few Briggs soldiers have finished tunnelling into Central and have just been given orders by Buccaneer to assist General and Major Armstrong," Ed told them.

"I still don't think it was a wise decision to ask Mrs. Curtis to join the fight," Mustang commented and Ed raised a brow.

"Did you want to be the one to tell her she should head for Xing or someplace out of Amestris' borders instead of helping us?" Ed asked and smirked when Mustang paled slightly. "That's what I thought. Besides," Ed flippantly waved a hand, "she'll be gone before we face the original Homunculous. She really was only here to help get more Briggs soldiers on to the front lines, though I suppose she'll be waiting to leave once Lust is dealt with now," Ed mused.

"From what we've heard about your teacher, that homunculous stands even less of a chance against her than General Armstrong," Darius said and Ed grinned.

"I wouldn't want to be on either of their bad sides and even less so if they're working together, I can tell you that much," Ed laughed, the noise echoing slightly off the tunnel walls as they continued down their path. "How was everything going topside?" Ed asked Mustang and Hawkeye.

"As well as we could hope for," Mustang said with a slight grimace. "Rebecca showed up with the weapons Havoc and his family managed to get to us and we used that truck to sneak closer to the city centre. The Briggs soldiers aren't adhering to our 'don't kill if possible' policy but I hadn't truly expected them to unless General Armstrong had given the orders herself. Breda, Fuery and Hughes are still protecting the radio station and they will continue to do so until this has been dealt with," Mustang said. "Falman is with the northern troops while Havoc and Rebecca joined the eastern ones. The broadcast has had some effect from what we saw. There weren't many civilians trying to get a look at the action or were out taking advantage of the chaos to do some looting and quite a good percentage of the Central forces have turned to join our side," Mustang told him and Ed nodded.

"Whose idea was it to have Miss Gracia speak over the radio?" Ed asked, noting Chester and Ayala each had one ear flicked back so they could listen.

"Actually, it was hers," Mustang said and Ed shot him a disbelieving look. "Originally we had planned to claim this coup was to overthrow the corrupt generals who had assassinated Fuhrer Bradley in an attempt to claim the Fuhrer's position. We were going to kidnap Mrs. Bradley and have her speak over the radio station, feeding the people the information we gave her but Gracia pointed out rather harshly that the people wouldn't take well to finding out that we'd lied about why we attacked the city and would see the lie – since we were going to claiming to be on Fuhrer Bradley's side – as us trying to cover up the fact that Bradley isn't human and we would be immediately distrusted should the truth get out somehow," Mustang explained and Ed gaped slightly.

"Miss Gracia does make an excellent point," Ed said. Mustang nodded in agreement, as did Hawkeye, Soren, Nala and everyone else.

"When we agreed with her, Gracia offered to be the one to do the talking and explain everything to the citizens. When I asked how she planned to make it so people would listen to her with the same level of trust as Mrs. Bradley, Gracia told me she'd use the Hughes' relationships with us to gain that trust," Mustang told Ed.

"Yeah, I was in town when she started broadcasting," Ed said with a nod. "How did you get the radio station to agree to go to air with the story?"

"Sergeant Fuery's friends with the person in charge of the whole station," Hawkeye answered. "No one else is of higher authority than him so the broadcast can't be taken off the air unless he allows it."

"Huh, cool," Ed commented before remembering another ally they had that he hadn't asked about. "What about Barry the Chopper?" Ed asked and almost grinned at the way Hawkeye's jaw clenched, as though she was trying to hide a mask of annoyance. Mustang didn't even bother hiding his irritation at the mention of the murderous suit of armour.

"He's been released into Lieutenant Havoc's custody," Hawkeye told him, "with strict instructions to only attack those on the opposing side and to only kill if his opponent couldn't be stopped with an injury," Hawkeye said. She must've seen the look on Ed's face and her features softened. "We aren't trying to take lives, Ed, but you know as well as I do that some people can't be persuaded to surrender. There will be casualties caused by our side," Hawkeye said as gently as she'd let herself sound.

"Yeah, I know," Ed said, though he didn't sound happy about it at all. No one could bring themselves to tell him to get over it or that he should make peace with the fact that lives would be permanently lost today.


No one else really said anything for another fifteen minutes when Ed jolted once more, getting another message from one of their allies. Before Mustang or anyone could ask, a massive grin broke out on the blonde's face and he made a noise that was both somehow victorious and relived at the same time.

"What happened?" Zampano asked before anyone else could.

"Teacher managed to get close enough to Lust to use our array on her," Ed told them. "She's been destroyed," he informed them.

"So now we're down to two hostile homunculi, not including Father," Mustang said and Ed nodded.

"Assuming Bradley did survive his train being blown to pieces," Ed said and Mustang gave him a look that had Ed's hackles raise defensively. "Hey, I can hope, can't I?" Ed snapped before any of the Animals could settle him down.

"No fighting, boys," Hawkeye ordered before Mustang could say anything. "Let's save it for our enemies."

A/N - Promised Day is here and they've made it through the mannequins! Also, surprise! Izumi and General Armstrong have teamed up against Lust and have destroyed her, which incidentally will be the opening scene for 44 so I hope you guys enjoy that.

Speaking of enjoying things, I truly hope you enjoyed the changes I've made to Promised Day and how it's going down. I would absolutely LOVE to hear from you guys about your thoughts on this chapter. Promised Day will be covered by chapters 43-46, with 47 being the final chapter and an epilogue set in the future and these final few chapters are the chapters I most desperately want reviews on so I can know what everyone thinks to them so if you could leave one, that would be amazing!

Speaking of reviews, to my Guest - I'm sorry you couldn't eat Gluttony but maybe I'll give you the chance to eat Pride

To the amazing WS - I'm hoping the fourth corner had to wait this week as well? I'm so happy you loved Ayala's armour! I planned on having Ed make Chester some until I realised Ed and Ayala didn't plan for Chester or Al to be in Kanama with them so they would've only had Winry give Ed enough to cover Ayala. I hadn't really planned on having Ed completely soften to his father, rather I planned for it to have been Ed accepting Hohenheim's help merely so Al didn't bitch him out for not doing so. Yes, I didn't like how Ed acted towards them in the anime - calling them by their animal side rather than their names when they clearly didn't like it - and I have molded Ed into a somewhat more mature, respectful version of his anime self or at least I hope I have XD I fully planned to have had Ed kill Gluttony back in Father's lair the first time Ed, Al and their Animals had met Father but I had it pointed out to me that Gluttony had his uses further down the track so I shouldn't do that. I also planned on having Ed take out Pride in the last chapter but had the same issue so he stayed alive. I'm also glad you loved the reveal of Al's new abilities! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to see your thoughts on it!

As for everyone else, like I said, I would love to see some comments about what you all thought to this chapter. Only a month of posting to go if you can believe it! See you all next week!