Chapter 34 –

"Looks like we've got the whole training area to ourselves," Ed said as he and Voltron came to a stop in the middle of the large patch of dirt that was used as the training grounds for new soldiers or drills. It wasn't rare that no one else was using the area whenever Ed ventured down there but it was certainly uncommon enough that Ed was mildly surprised to find it empty that day. "What do you lot plan on doing while Keith and I spar?" Ed asked once he'd given everyone a few moments to take in their surroundings.

"I'm going to be making sure neither of you accidentally kill each other," Shiro immediately said, getting an eyeroll from both Ed and Keith. "I don't mind what the eight of you do," he said, gesturing to the three remaining Paladins and the five Lions, "but stay on the grounds, please," he asked.

Lance glanced over at both Hunk and Pidge before he nodded at Shiro. "We'll probably get some hand-to-hand training in with each other," Lance said, Pidge and Hunk nodding behind him. "If those two aren't done by the time we are, we'll chill somewhere covered until they are," he said.

Shiro gave a nod. "Okay. Don't hurt yourselves either," he instructed.

"You got it, bossman," Lance said before he looked at Ed. "Kick his arse," he ordered, getting a grin from Ed and a scowl from Keith when he did so.

"You got it," Ed said with a smirk that only grew when Keith's scowl was then aimed at him.

"Go," Shiro ordered before Keith or Lance could say anything to the other. Lance looked mildly disappointed that their banter was stopped before it could even begin but he did as he was told and those who weren't part of the bladed spar moved several feet away. The only exceptions were Red and Black, who elected to stay near their humans. "Where are you going?" Shiro asked when he noticed that Ed was moving away from them.

"I need more than my automail blade," Ed told him. "It's not as versatile as a dagger or sword so I'm going to create some so we're on a more even playing field," he said before he knelt to the ground and transmuted it. Once the flash of blue alchemic light cleared, Ed was left kneeling in front of a small crater but had three throwing knives and a blade of a similar size to Keith's Mamora blade. "Do you want me to make you any extra weapons?" Ed asked as he gathered his new weapons and tucked the throwing knives in between his back and belt.

"No, I'm good with what I've got," Keith told him, producing both his bayard and his Mamora blade.

Ed nodded and moved back over to where he'd originally been standing, shrugging off both his jackets as he did so and removing his white gloves, leaving him in only his tank top, pants and boots. A crackle of blue energy later, he had his automail blade ready for action. The larger knife he'd made was gripped in his left hand. "Any ground rules you wanna implement, Shiro?" he asked as he and Keith faced off against the other. Ed could see a few blue figures in his peripheral vision but quickly dismissed the watching soldiers as Keith formed his red sword.

"Don't kill each other," Shiro said immediately. "Try not to give the other an injury worse than a minor cut, if possible," he continued. "Try not to hurt any bystanders and I think it would be best if alchemy wasn't used unless it was absolutely needed, in the interest of fairness," Shiro added, looking at Ed.

"No alchemy unless it's to stop someone from getting hurt. Got it," Ed said, getting a nod from Shiro. "Anything else?" he asked as he took up his fighting stance. Keith was quick to shift into his own as they squared off.

"No help from any of the Lions," Shiro said, giving the two next to him a pointed look that had both of them look displeased, "and the first one to make the other yield is the victor," Shiro said and got two nods. He almost regretted not making the rule that the victor was whoever landed the first hit when he saw the glints of challenge in their eyes. "That's all," Shiro told them. "You can start whenever you're ready," he said, nodding to both of them.

"Wanna have Red call it?" Keith asked and Ed gave a nod.

"On my count," Red said a moment later. "3, 2, 1!" she called, tail twitching with excitement as the pair launched at each other when she finished her countdown.

Keith was the first to strike, immediately putting himself on the offensive and forcing Ed to defend himself, which the blonde did with his automail blade. Ed didn't bother pushing Keith off himself but rather struck out with his newly formed dagger but Keith had obviously anticipated that since his Mamora blade was right there, stopping Ed's dagger. Red and Black watched avidly as the pair separated again while Shiro watched with a small amount of worry and fear that increased minutely each time the pair met and faded slightly with each successful defence.

Ed had known, of course, that Keith was an excellent swordsman. He'd seen him battle the gladiators on the Castle-Ship and had sparred with him a couple of times during their training sessions before the battle with Zarkon and Haggar but they'd either been brief or part of a group training session. They hadn't been given the chance to go basically full-out on the other with no time limit or interruptions and he was relishing in the chance to do so. Aside from Izumi, Ed rarely got the chance to use bladed weapons outside of a mission. Al – while proficient in weapon fighting – preferred to spar without weapons unless it was against Izumi and Ed didn't spar against anyone else often enough to consider adding weapons into the mix.

Keith was of a similar mindset as he blocked another swipe from Ed and tried to land one of his own, only to find himself stumbling backwards a little when Ed not only blocked his blow but shoved at his shoulder with the back of his left hand to throw off his balance. As Keith was forced to defend himself against the attack Ed immediately followed his hit with, he could feel himself enjoying this spar more and more. Though Lance and Shiro were his main sparring partners, neither of them used swords. When Lance sparred with him, it was with a staff or bare hands. With Shiro, it was with his Galran arm or – like Lance – hand-to-hand combat. Allura could wield a sword and had offered to join him for a sparring session so she could teach him some Altean sword fighting but something had always happened to prevent those sessions from going ahead.

A small hiss of pain and surprise got Keith's attention and he was mildly astonished and pleased to find he'd managed to draw first blood. A minor cut on Ed's left shoulder dribbled blood but Ed didn't look phased by it. If anything, the small cut seemed to add fuel to the fire Keith could see in the blonde's eyes and he soon found himself having to work a bit harder to prevent Ed from being the victor. Ed pushed Keith back, using his automail blade as his main defence from any of Keith's retaliatory strikes. Keith took the opportunity to force Ed into an awkward block while striking with his Mamora blade at the blonde's unguarded side but he was surprised when Ed simply dropped backwards into a flip and got back to his feet smoothly.

That move put a decent amount of distance between the pair and Ed took the opportunity to utilise at least one of his throwing knives. Tossing his larger dagger and catching it with his right hand, Ed's left snaked behind his back and grabbed the handle of one of his throwing knives. Keith was anticipating the move and tried to close the distance so Ed would not only not have the room to use the throwing knife but might also not have the time to protect himself, what with his right hand clutching the handle of his dagger and his automail blade drawn as well. However, Ed moved quickly to the side and launched the throwing knife at Keith, who was forced to stop and deflect the knife, giving Ed the chance to close the distance himself and strike out at Keith before he could defend himself properly and earning himself second drawn blood as blood seeped out of the minor nick Ed inflicted on Keith's cheek.

Keith didn't even pause to wipe the blood away as it trickled down his cheek as he focused on keeping Ed from landing another hit. The metallic clangs of their blades clashing rang out across the training grounds and drew the attention of passing by soldiers but neither boy paid them any attention. Ed managed to push Keith back enough that he drop his bladed weapon in the same moment he crouched, picking up his throwing knife and launching it once more before scooping up his discarded weapon and continuing his attack, counting on the seconds it took Keith to dodge or deflect the knife to help him keep the spar tipped in his favour.

Keith didn't bother wasting time deflecting the knife again, he simply moved out of its path and met Ed in the middle once more, blocking the slash Ed made with his automail blade. The two pushed off from one another and Ed risked a glance to locate his missing throwing knife. The sun helpfully glinted off of it and Ed immediately wrote off the idea of trying the same trick of pushing Keith towards it again. It was far enough away that Keith would realise what he was trying – especially since Ed had already done so – and would prevent him from following that plan through. He had two other throwing knives tucked away against his back so it wasn't like he truly needed to get that one knife back.

Though it only took Ed a moment to locate his knife and come to the conclusion he had, Keith had noticed his attention had moved from him and used that split second to try and get the spar back in his favour. Mimicking Ed's earlier move, Keith threw his Mamora blade as though it was a throwing knife. However, unlike Ed's, Keith's dagger had the ability to change sizes and Keith fully intended to take advantage of that ability. Fully expecting Ed to realise he'd changed the blade's size just before he let go of the handle, Keith quickly realised that – to his horror – Ed hadn't remembered about the knife's ability until too late. Unable to deflect it completely, Ed wound up with another wound to his upper left arm but this time, much deeper.

"Ed!" both Keith and Shiro gasped out as Ed dropped his dagger and instinctively placed his automail arm over the wound.

"I'm alright," Ed told them immediately, even as he winced against the stinging pain from the fresh injury. The sudden stop to his spar and the obvious worry from Black and Red attracted the attention of the six members of Voltron who hadn't been right there with them and Ed just knew Lance would be at his side and fussing over him in seconds. "Seriously," he said, removing his hand now and wincing when he realised he was going to have to wash the blood out of the fingers before Winry got wind of what happened and killed him for risking the joints, "it's not that bad," he told them as he actually looked at the injury for the first time.

"Dude, I thought Shiro said you couldn't kill or seriously injure each other!" Lance exclaimed, proving Ed right about how quick it took Voltron's medic to get to the side of an injured person. The Blue Paladin was already digging through his small pack for his medical supplies.

"I'm sorry, Ed," Keith said as his eyes stayed fixated on the injury, guilt shining in them.

"You don't have to apologise, Keith," Ed told him honestly. "I'm the one who forgot you could transform both your weapons and I'm the one who didn't realise until too late that you would try that move against me," Ed said. "I should've known you would try that and prepared myself for it but I completely forgot that you could do that," he said firmly.

"I should've warned you or something though," Keith pressed, unwilling to let Ed take the blame for what had happened. "I knew you'd gotten distracted. I should've waited until you weren't."

Ed shook his head as he held his arm out to Lance when the Cuban had wordlessly gestured for it. "Why?" Ed asked. "If this was a real fight and I was your enemy, you wouldn't have waited for my attention to be back on you and you sure as shit wouldn't have warned me," Ed pointed out. "It's my responsibility to keep my attention on my opponent and it's on me for forgetting about something like your blade being able to change from a dagger to sword," he said firmly. "I shouldn't have even bothered looking for that dagger. It was a stupid thing to do considering I have more on me. If anything, I should have waited until I'd used them all before I tried to figure out how to get them back rather than worry about that one," Ed commented casually.

"Damned right you should have. I know I taught you better than that," Izumi said, startling just about everyone as she seemingly appeared out of nowhere with Sig and Al by her side. Her eyes flashed angrily at her eldest ex-student as she took in the injury Lance was currently cleaning. "You could've lost the one good arm you've got because you were stupid enough to let yourself get distracted. How many times do I have to beat it into the two of you to not worry about your surroundings in the middle of a fight? You should've known where that blade landed when Keith dodged it. You're the one who threw it and you knew exactly how much energy you used to do so," Izumi lectured. "If you can't anticipate where your weapon is going to land by now then you need to undergo a lot more training," she informed him before she turned her eyes onto Keith. "Good job taken advantage of his distraction. That's the kind of thing that will keep you alive longer," she praised him. "Though your form needs more work, as well as your aim and ruthlessness. The blade should've been aimed for a fatal blow, not for what would have ultimately amounted to an irritating injury for your enemy," she told him.

Keith looked fairly stunned that Izumi had commented on his part of the spar and furthermore that it hadn't been a lecture of his own about injuring his sparring partner. Ed looked amused at his shock but ultimately didn't comment on it. "It won't happen again, Teacher," Ed promised her.

"It better not or you'll have me to answer to, injured or not," Izumi told him. Apparently done with Ed now, Izumi's attention turned to Lance, who was still mopping up the blood leaking out of Ed's injury. Hunk was hovering close by and if Ed wasn't mistaken, he was holding the numbing gel that Lance would apply to the wound next so that the injury wouldn't bother Ed while Lance continued working on it. "What are you doing? It obviously needs stitches. Just wrap it up so the idiot doesn't bleed to death before someone can patch him up," Izumi instructed, eyeing the unknown medicine warily.

Lance's metaphorical hackles went up until he noticed Izumi's wariness and realised that she'd never seen their medicine before and therefore had no idea what it could do. Her worry for Ed's safety meant that she was reacting out of a place of suspicion and Lance knew that reacting with anger would not end well for him. "It's medicine from where we're from," he explained to her, not pausing in his movements. The cloth he was using to clean up the wound had medicine that helped with disinfecting an injury and encouraging an open wound to start clotting quicker, both things Ed needed right now. "Once the cut has stopped bleeding so much, I'm gonna use the stuff Hunk is holding to numb the wound. Then there's some pink goop that speeds up healing that I'll apply to the injury then Ed gets to stay still while I stitch the wound up before I bandage it," Lance said. He huffed when Ed immediately groaned at the news of getting stitches and lightly flicked Ed's ear. "Shoulda dodged the blade better," he chided teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah," Ed grumbled, glaring Lance for the flick. Turning his attention back to the newcomers, Ed was slightly taken aback with how worried Alphonse looked. "He's gonna numb the cut soon and it doesn't even hurt now," Ed said, trying to reassure his brother, assuming that was the reason for Al's worry. Al gave him a nod and did relax slightly but didn't respond verbally so Ed moved on. "How come you guys are here anyway? I thought you would've been busy purchasing the things you need to take back to Dublith with you," Ed asked, eyes flicking between Sig and Izumi.

"We heard rumours that the Fullmetal Alchemist and a foreigner were fighting on Central Command's training grounds," Sig rumbled. "We asked Alphonse to escort us here so that Izumi could watch," he explained.

Ed almost rolled his eyes at the fact that barely fifteen minutes had passed since he and Voltron had arrived on the training ground and the military had already managed to spread that gossip to the public. "Oh, okay," Ed said simply, flinching slightly when Lance had to force the cloth he was using further into the wound to ensure it was disinfected properly and that every part of it had the clotting agent applied to it.

"Sorry," Lance said instantly but Ed shook his head, telling him it wasn't necessary. One final, careful swipe had Lance dropping the cloth and holding his hand out for the numbing gel. "Let's get this numb so we can start stitching," he said, voice purposefully cheerful.

"Yay," Ed said, voice flat and unenthused, earning himself several chuckles or huffs. He was happy to see that Keith didn't look like he was blaming himself anymore but Ed still made a mental note to make sure he really wasn't.

"Sig and I have booked our train home for tomorrow morning so you and your brother will be facing me in a spar this afternoon," Izumi informed Ed, bringing his attention back to her.

Ed noted that his teacher was still glancing at Lance with distrust that was well-hidden from everyone bar those who knew her well enough but he merely nodded at what she'd said. "I wasn't sure whether it would happen today or tomorrow morning," Ed said as Lance expertly applied the numbing gel then healing goop to Ed's arm. "Have you guys had lunch yet and, if not, do you want to do that first or get straight into the spar?" he asked both Izumi and Al.

Shiro made a protesting noise before either of them could answer Ed. "You shouldn't be fighting anyone with that injury!" he told him.

Ed shrugged his automail shoulder. "The numbing gel will make sure it doesn't actually hurt me and the stitches will keep it together much better than our stitches would. Really, all I need to do before the spar is wash my automail hand clean of blood before it dries and ruins the joints," Ed told him nonchalantly.

The comparison of the stitching material caught Izumi's interest and she spoke before Shiro could argue with Ed. "What do you mean about their stitches holding better than ours?" she asked.

"Whatever material theirs is made out of is as sturdy as ours but are more elastic as well. I can tell you from experience that it's much harder to pop one of their stitches than it is with ours," Ed told her. "Plus, the stitches change colours to let me know whether the wound is healing well or if it's gotten infected even before the wound starts turning red or inflamed," he added.

Sig was the only one who allowed his amusement at Izumi's intrigue to actually show. "How?" she asked demandingly, startling Lance enough that Ed was grateful the numbing gel had kicked it by now. "I want to know every medical advancement your world has made in detail compared to our medicine," Izumi informed him, tone telling Lance he really had no choice in the matter.

Lance glanced at Shiro, who nodded, before he looked back Izumi. "Okay," he agreed, wiping his fingers clear of the medicines he'd finished applying to Ed's injury before he accepted the stitching gear Hunk handed him. "So, we'll start with the cloth I was using when you guys appeared," Lance said as he readied the needle and thick thread he'd be using. At Izumi's nod and with Ed's permission, Lance started talking as he stitched the injury closed.


The only people who weren't surprised that Izumi's interrogation of Lance regarding the medical side of their world lasted almost an hour after Ed had come back from washing the blood out his automail were Al, Sig, and Ed himself. The Lions were both amused and astonished at just how many questions Izumi had about medicine alone. After Ed had come back from the closest bathroom with clean automail and saw that Izumi was still speaking to Lance, he'd diverted from the group slightly and picked up the dagger that had been part of the reason for the injury he'd gained. Placing it with the others, Ed then grabbed the larger dagger he'd dropped and sheathed it in between his two belts so it was secure but out of his hands before he'd joined back up with the others and listened to Lance's responses to Izumi's questions.

After asking her final question, Izumi dipped her head gratefully towards Lance. "Thank you for answering my questions," she said politely.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give you more detailed answers. I still don't know everything about each type of medicine on the Castle-Ship," Lance chuckled slightly.

"I appreciate what you could tell me, nonetheless," Izumi said, dismissing his apology without verbally doing so before she turned to where Ed and Al were seated near each other. "Are you two ready for our spar?" she asked, even though she expected nothing other than an affirmative response from the both.

"Yeah, I'm good to go," Ed told her, getting to his feet immediately.

"As am I," Al said, mimicking his brother's actions.

"Are you sure?" Shiro couldn't help but ask Ed as he and the rest of Voltron got to their own feet, the Lions shaking any dirt that may have gotten on their coats off.

"Absolutely," said Ed, pulling his left arm across his chest in a stretch to prove to Shiro that there really wasn't anything for the Black Paladin to worry about.

When Shiro noticed that Ed didn't even twitch as he stretched his arm in a way that should've hurt him if the numbing gel hadn't been strong enough to take care of all the pain, he gave a small nod, showing that he wasn't going to argue any further. With that nod, Ed and Al moved towards where Ed and Keith had first stood before Red had called for their spar to start while Izumi moved around them and stood a few metres away from them, her back to the rest of the training ground while she faced them. She eyed the dagger in Ed's hand before she jerked her chin at Al. "Your call," she told him. "Weapons included or no?"

Al consider for a moment before he nodded. "Weapons," he said and Izumi gave a nod.

"Ten seconds," she told him, not elaborating on what she meant but Al didn't need her to.

Both Al and Izumi clapped and knelt at the same time. Blue alchemic energy sparked from their hands as they separated them and placed them on the ground. A few moments later, Al stood, twirling a staff a couple of inches shorter than him while Izumi stood, twin staffs in hand. Ed didn't bother producing his automail blade but he did switch his dagger from his right hand to his left once he'd pulled it out from between his belts, determined to use his right arm as a defensive measure. He still had all three of his throwing knives at the small of his back and, though his teacher knew about one, he was reasonably confident that she didn't know the exact number he had and that could be used to his advantage, if he was smart about it.

The ten second time limit Izumi had imposed passed and, as always, Izumi moved first. Not bothering with her staffs, Izumi clapped and sent a wave of earth for the two boys. Instinctively, both of them darted closer to the other and moved backward. Al raised his staff up in time to catch the blows from one of Izumi's as their teacher leapt from the top of the now-still wave. Izumi barely paused at the block of her attack and swung out with her second staff, aiming to catch Ed in the ribs. Twisting his injured arm, Ed deflected the blow and the boys pushed Izumi backwards a couple of steps, creating space between them.

"I see Lance and you were telling the truth about that medicine," Izumi said, nodding minutely at the stark white bandage wrapped around Ed's bicep. "It'd be handy having some of that in Amestris," she commented as she clapped and placed her hands against the earth wall behind her, her staffs tucked under her armpits as she launched small but lethal earthen rocks at the pair.

"Unfortunately, we probably don't have the equivalent to the ingredients in those medicines," Ed said, slapping his palm against the ground and catching the projectiles in an earthen wall on his own.

He didn't stop the wall once it had caught his teacher's attack, instead sending it to the wall Izumi had created it. Using his control over the earth, Ed absorbed that wall as well before letting the earth sink back to the ground, revealing Izumi as she launched an earthen spear right for Ed. Al was quick to step in front of his prone brother and deflect the weapon before Ed could react. Nodding in thanks to his little brother, Ed produced and threw one of his three throwing knives at Izumi, using his automail arm to do so. Izumi deflected the knife as she charged them and Al caught one of her staffs again. Before the second staff could connect with Al's left knee, Ed stopped it by placing his automail arm in the way.

Using his crouched position, Ed kept his automail palm flat on the ground and swung his legs at Izumi's, aiming to get her in the shins or cause her to back off Al to avoid the blow. She didn't let his attack connect, allowing Al the chance to back away from her staff while Ed smoothly shifted to his feet. Almost immediately, Ed was forced to use his dagger to block another blow from the staff but Al clapped behind him and Ed pushed Izumi's arm away from him. Izumi didn't seem phased by the blue sparks from Al and dodged the earth hands her younger ex-student had created to grab her ankles by balancing on her twin staffs and flipping away from the hands.

Izumi lost her weapons in doing so – Al having been quick enough to adjust the hands to grab the base of the staffs and force Izumi to let go of them or risk hurting herself – but that didn't mean she was going to yield to her ex-students. Since Ed had the weapons that would do the most damage, Izumi went after him first, working quickly to get him to drop the dagger he held in his left hand. Ed didn't make it easy for her and Al was quick to move to help his brother fight their teacher off him. None of them spoke and none of them seemed to notice the varying degrees of awe on the Paladins faces as they watched this spar. Sig and the Lions were watching the battle with pride and – in Sig's case – adoration in their eyes.

An unexpected sharp jab to Al's ribs hurt and shocked the youngest Elric enough that Izumi was able to wrench his staff from his hands, leaving him without a weapon. There was a minute huff of surprise and annoyance from Ed as he threw Al his dagger, which Al caught by the handle expertly in time to block a swipe from his stolen staff. Now empty handed, Ed was quick to move to alchemy to try and help Al defeat their teacher. Dazzling blue energy preceded the appearance of earthen hands that Ed directed to push Izumi away from Al, who was quick to dart to his brother's side. Another flash of blue energy appeared and raced across the dirt to Izumi's feet. The only sign of Izumi's surprise when she sunk a few inches into the earth were her slightly wider eyes.

Ed and Al shared a grin as they moved to charge Izumi but those smirks faded when their teacher clapped and sent a concussive wave of air towards them – an array she'd developed upon hearing about Moore's attacks against Ed in the NCIS parking lot – and the brothers flew backwards, slamming harshly into the ground. Ed groaned but quickly got to his feet and – just in time – threw another knife at Izumi, forcing her to dodge and abandon her attack against Al. She'd obviously used the time it took for them to hit the ground then recover to release herself from Ed's transmutation but Ed's quick thinking had given his brother the time he needed to get up, even if it did cost him his second last on hand weapon. Ed felt the flare of pain that accompanied a bruised rib or three but elected to ignore it in favour of raising his right arm to block the blow from Al's stolen staff Izumi tried to hit him with.

Al had landed next to Izumi's trapped weapons and used the chance Ed had unwittingly gave him to release the twin staffs from the earth's hold. Once he had them, he was quick to clap and create a spike that appeared in between his brother and teacher, forcing them to separate. While both of them did, Al skidded Ed's dagger across the ground towards his brother while he scooped up his newly acquired twin staffs. Ed dived for his dagger before Izumi could react, reaching for it as he tumbled forward before he smoothly got to his feet, left hand now gripping his dagger once more. Izumi's eyes flashed briefly with annoyance but she didn't let it show for long as she struck for Ed's bruised ribs, obviously having noticed them and decided to take advantage of a possible weakness.

Ed dodged backwards, moving just out of striking range while Al used the fact that Izumi's staff was now pointed away from him to get in close with his pilfered staffs and start forcing her to go on the defence. Al's shorter staffs were definitely aiding Al more than hindering him right now while Izumi's full-length staff seemed to be doing the opposite for her. Ed watched for a moment, waiting for an opening but found himself internally swearing when Izumi managed to clap while blocking a swipe from Al and destroying part of her staff, creating twin staffs of her own once more, much like what Ed had done to Mustang's staff during their spar on the Castle-Ship.

Now with the same advantage as Al, Izumi didn't hold back in her attacks against him and Ed winced when he heard once of her staffs connect with Al's head, likely dazing his little brother. However, Al's stumble backwards gave Ed the opportunity to get back into the fight, dagger and automail arm already raised to block the attacks meant for the stunned Alphonse as he got in between the two of them. Working quickly, Ed pushed Izumi back a few feet, giving Al the opportunity to pull himself together while he kept their teacher busy. Blocking another swipe of one of her staffs with automail hand, Ed slashed at Izumi with his dagger in an attack of her own but she was quick to bring her spare staff down on his left wrist sharply and painfully. Though he didn't drop the dagger, his wrist throbbed with pain and he knew that one more blow to his wrist like that would hurt him enough that he wouldn't be able to keep his grip on the blade. Glancing up at Izumi, Ed knew that his teacher had realised this as well which meant he would have to guard that wrist vigorously so Izumi couldn't take advantage of it.

Al joined Ed only a moment later, stepping up to his left side, and a glance at his little brother told Ed that Al was also aware of the hit Ed had just taken. Bolstered by the fact that Al was ready to guard his left side, Ed reengaged Izumi in the fight, using his dagger to slice at her staff while Al went for her knees. Neither attack connected and Izumi retaliated by striking out with both her staffs, aiming for Ed's left wrist once more while trying to keep Al from aiding his brother. Ed was able to avoid the hit but at the cost of a smarting bruise to the back of his left hand. However, he didn't end up losing his dagger so Ed considered it a fair trade.

As he struck out with his automail hand, aiming to get Izumi to drop one of her staffs, Ed noted the slightly more obvious heaving of both Izumi and Al's chests and he knew his own was probably rising as much as theirs. Izumi dodged his blow and Ed was forced to defend himself from retaliatory one of Izumi's before it could land. In a complete change of pace, Izumi threw herself into a backflip, putting space between them and startling the brothers from the sheer unexpectedness of the move. The reason for the added distance very quickly became apparent when Izumi utilised her air array once more and, once again, threw both boys backwards harshly.

This time, Ed landed harder than he'd done so previously since he'd twisted mid-throw so he wouldn't accidentally stab himself with his dagger. Feeling the air rush out of his lungs in one go, Ed struggled to get his breath back as his lungs fought against pulling air in. He glanced over at Al, who was thankfully in better condition than Ed and was on his feet again, planting himself in front of Ed so that Izumi wouldn't be able to get to him without going through Al first.

"Are you alright?!" Blue asked fretfully.

"Just peachy," Ed said through their bond. He knew that if he'd said that out loud, he'd have been wheezing from the minimal air he was drawing in as his lungs tried to get over the shock of the blow.

Finally, he managed to heave in a proper breath and felt his body almost cry in relief at the resumed oxygen intake. Coughing since he'd breathed in too quickly, Ed rolled to his side and got back to his feet, only to throw himself to the side as one of Al's staffs came flying at him. A glance at the fighting pair confirmed that Al was down to one half-staff while Izumi was still armed with both hers. Despite his body's protests, Ed threw himself back into the fight and for the next few minutes, the three of them blocked and exchanged blows with neither party gaining any significant ground on the other for longer than a few moments.

However, despite Ed and Al's vigilance, Izumi was able to get that second blow to Ed's left wrist in and, as Ed suspected would happen, the pain on top of the already throbbing wrist was enough that he couldn't keep his grip on the dagger. Izumi didn't let either boy so much as think of regaining that dagger as she'd snatched it out of mid air and threw it several metres away from them, burying it tip first into the dirt and leaving it out of reach and therefore, unusable. Ed was once again weaponless with the exception of the lone throwing knife he had against the small of his back. He could have transmuted his automail blade into existence but Izumi made certain he didn't get the chance to as she pushed both brothers more than she had already been doing so. Al couldn't even give Ed one of his staffs since he'd lost his second and giving Ed the one he still had meant Al would be completely without a weapon.

Ed knew his dagger was no longer an option and neither were the two throwing knives he'd already used against Izumi. He couldn't be certain where it landed but Ed wasn't willing to risk the chance that Al's lost staff was within reach only for it not to be and give Izumi an easy win. Even the fact that he didn't have to clap for physical arrays wasn't working in his favour as Izumi was making sure he didn't have the chance to drop to the ground to transmute anything. Adding to his dilemma, without his dagger, Ed was forced to rely on his right arm for both offence and defence since the blows to his left wrist had damaged the arm enough that Ed wouldn't be able to use it against Izumi unless he had absolutely no choice. This decision was made mainly so he wouldn't have to sit through Lance's, Al's, and Elysia's lectures about injuring an already injured wrist even more when he didn't have to.

Just as he was considering whether using his third throwing knife now would be a good idea or not, Izumi knocked the staff out Al's hand and swiftly knocked his feet out from under him in the same moment. Ed yanked the third knife out just as Izumi placed the staff tip to Al's throat, indicating a killing blow, and threw it at her but she merely sidestepped the blade and brought the tip of her second staff to his throat, earning herself the victory. She held the staffs where they were for a few moments, making sure both boys knew she'd won this round before she pulled them away, allowing Al to get back to his feet.

"Well, neither of you were in as bad shape as I expected you to be," Izumi said as Ed and Al stood next to each other, waiting for her opinion. "Both of you could do with some extra training in some areas but for the most part, you held your own well enough that I'm sure neither of you will get killed easily in the near future because you don't know how to defend yourselves," she told them. "The only immediate thing the pair of you need to fix is the tension between you," she said bluntly. "Your teamwork may have looked as strong as ever to anyone observing this spar but to me, Al's unresolved emotions over what you told us yesterday, Ed, is plainly obvious," she informed them. "I can tell just from this fight that neither of you have spoken to the other without someone else there and you certainly haven't spoken about Ed's sacrifice in Baschool. The fact that the two of you have spent most of the day separate only confirms that I'm right and this kind of behaviour is childish – something neither of you have been for years," she told them. "Get your shit together," Izumi ordered sternly, glaring at both of them.

"Yes, Teacher," both of the boys said at the same time. Ed didn't need to glance at Al to know that his little brother was resisting the urge to duck his head like a chastised child and Ed only knew that because he was trying not to give into the same urge.

Izumi glared at both of them, as though trying to stare them into telling her whether they were lying or not but she eventually let up and nodded. "Good," she said. "I expect to see some improvement tomorrow when you both come to see Sig and I off at the train station," she informed them before continuing speaking, taking any chance of an argument away from them. "Now, let's return this field to how it originally looked before we used it," she said, glancing at the cracked earth and scattered weapons.

Neither boy argued with either of her orders and a few transmutations had the training grounds ready for use by the military once more. It also was the cue Lance was apparently waiting for before he stormed over to Ed and grabbed his left forearm. "I just finished patching you up!" he exclaimed as he inspected the damaged wrist carefully.

"As if you didn't fully expect to be doing this when I agreed to the spar," Ed said amusedly as he allowed his wrist to be manipulated by Lance.

"That is not the point," Lance informed him, though the Cuban couldn't quite hold make a grin of his own as Ed's amusement. "How injured are the two of you?" Lance asked Al and Izumi as he dug through his pack once more and came up with the speedy healing goop, numbing gel and a clean bandage to support Ed's wrist for the few hours it would take for the bad sprain to heal.

"Bruised but fine," Izumi told him, tone telling him she wouldn't be accepting any medical aid despite her interest in their medicine she'd shown earlier.

"Same for me," Al told him, pairing his words with a smile that backed them up.

Lance narrowed his eyes as he scrutinised the two of them – causing Al to look unsurprised and Izumi to look mildly impressed that he dared to do so – but he eventually nodded. "Alright," he said as he applied the numbing gel to Ed's wrist. "I have some anti-bruise spray if you want the worse ones taken care of," he offered but both shook their heads. "I know you damaged your ribs so you'll be getting some," Lance informed Ed, who merely sighed and accepted his fate.

"I can't believe both of us have been up against Lotor in full on fight and came out with more injuries against Teacher than him," Al commented in amazement.

Ed considered his words for a moment before realising his brother was absolutely right. "Shoulda probably set him up against Teacher and seen how he survived against her," Ed said with a small laugh.

"I would have actually paid money to see that," Lance said as he switched from the numbing gel to speedy healing goop. "It's obvious your teacher is a freaking awesome fighter and that was during a training spar instead of a proper fight," he gushed as he massaged the goop into Ed's wrist, ensuring it was absorbed properly.

Izumi preened a little but quickly hid her reaction. "My students and I fight with the intent of doing the other fatal damage," she informed Lance, who glanced up at her before focusing back on his task. "Anything less and they wouldn't learn as quickly or effectively as they do," she told them.

"I think you and Allura would agree on that point," Shiro said as he came to stand on Ed's other side and check on him himself. "You alright?" he asked and Ed nodded.

"The wrist and my ribs are the worst of it," Ed told him cheerfully. "You're right about Princess Allura and Teacher getting along though," Ed added.

After hearing the stories of the Altean princess, Izumi was a little pleased at the comparison but she didn't let that show either. "Since Alphonse isn't as injured as you, he can escort us to the stores we still need to visit while you get yourself treated," Izumi said, a warning threat in her voice that promised pain if Ed didn't listen to her. "Our train leaves at 6:30 tomorrow morning and both of you will be there to see us off," she instructed them once more, "and you will have sorted this out," she added, gesturing between the pair with one hand.

"Okay, Teacher," Ed agreed. "I'll see you in the morning," he said compliantly.

"Yes, Teacher," Al said, glancing at Ed before he looked back over to the Curtises. "We can head out now, if you'd like?" he suggested and got affirming nods from both of them. "We'll see you later, guys," Al said, waving to Voltron and his brother.

"Stay safe," Ed said, earning himself a nod and quick smile from Al before his brother led his teacher and her husband back out of the training grounds. "Oh, that conversation tonight is going to be so much fun," Ed complained once Al was out of hearing range.

"It needs to happen," Shiro said, though his tone was sympathetic.

"Yeah, I know," Ed sighed, flinching when he felt a light tap on his wrist. A glance showed that Lance had managed to bandage his wrist without him even noticing. "Thanks, Lance," Ed said, immediately flexing his wrist to figure out his range of movement and earning himself a flat look from the medic.

"You're welcome," Lance said, choosing not to comment on Ed's movement. "Which ribs did you bruise?" he asked, grabbing for the anti-bruise spray.

"Right," Ed said, tugging up that side of his shirt and flinching at the cool mist of spray when it hit his side. As it always did, it dried quickly and Ed was able to put his shirt down moments later. "So what do you guys want to do now?" he asked, looking around for his jackets and finding them in Hunk's arms. "Thanks, Hunk," Ed said reaching for his jackets.

"You're welcome," Hunk said with a smile as he handed the two jackets over and watched as Ed tugged them on.

"So?" Ed asked. "Any ideas?" he prompted, pulling his white gloves on, and covering his automail once more.

"Food would be nice. We still haven't had lunch yet," Blue said just as a small growl sounded from Hunk's stomach.

"I second that motion," Hunk said sheepishly when Lance repeated Blue's words.

"Food it is," Ed said decisively. "There's a good restaurant nearby that has a lot of different options and killer milkshakes," Ed told them.

"Sounds good to me," Pidge said and the others were quick to add their agreements onto the back of her words.

Ed started leading the way towards the restaurant when Lance spoke again. "Have we ever told you what happened when Allura and Coran tasted their first milkshakes?" he asked, grin widening at the amused snort from several of the others with them.

"I don't think so," Ed told him, eyes twinkling in curiousity. "What happened?"

"Oh, I can't believe we haven't told you yet!" Lance exclaimed, looking dramatically horrified at the revelation before immediately launching into the tale. "So, this was a couple of weeks after we got Kalteknecker from that space mall and…"


Several hours later, Ed found himself waiting on his bed as he heard the water running in the bathroom, telling him that Al was still in the shower. Both Shiro and Lance had all but kicked Ed out of the lounge room once Al headed for the bathroom and Blue and Black were on guard, waiting for any sign that Ed was going to defy Izumi's orders and avoid Al and the conversation they had yet to have all night. He couldn't even claim to be busy with Elysia because the young girl had been on her best behaviour when her mother had asked her brothers to look after her tomorrow since she had to cover a co-worker's shift and Elysia didn't have school, seeing as it was Saturday. Ed and Al's agreement to do so had been on the condition that Elysia wouldn't argue or fuss for the whole night and the young girl had accepted the conditions readily. Not once had she broken her promise and she was now sound asleep in her bed, meaning Ed literally had no reason to leave his room without being sent back into it like a naughty child.

"You know that we're doing this because we love you, right?" Blue asked, having sensed Ed's annoyance and worry over the situation.

Ed sighed through his nose as he leant against the wall behind him. "Yeah, I know," Ed assured her. "I also know that this talk has to happen and that Teacher was right about it interfering with our teamwork and that we need to move past it but that doesn't mean I'm enjoying being forced to do it now because Teacher basically ordered us to do so and you guys are making us," Ed said honestly.

"And we are very sorry we have to but this can't continue," Blue told him. "We could feel how much it hurt each time you remembered why Al wasn't with us today and how much it hurt when Al all but fled the train station this morning," she reminded him, "and we don't want the two of you to leave this to fester and grow before one of you finally snaps and something worse happens," she said.

"You're right about what would happen if this isn't dealt with now but still…" Ed said, trailing off momentarily, distracted by the sound of the shower turning off. "But still, this isn't my idea of fun or even remotely enjoyable," he told her. "I get you guys are trying to help us and I can promise you that both of us do and will continue to appreciate it but it's frustrating that we're not being considered adults who can take care of this in our own time," he said honestly.

"I understand that it seems like we're treating you like children and we know you aren't but we are your friends and we don't like seeing you upset because you're at odds with your brother," Blue told him. "I can't speak for the others here but I believe that this is for the best. It'll be like tearing off a band aid. Painful at first but far less so than it would've been to put it off longer than necessary," she said and Ed huffed slightly.

"Most band aids will come off painlessly if you soak them long enough," he told her and grinned at her unimpressed grumble, "but I understand your meaning and, like I said, I do appreciate you wanting to help us however you can but I'm still allowed to be annoyed that your help is by treating us like we're kids who can't decide the best way to deal with this on our own," he said.

"Of course you're allowed to be upset. I probably would be as well," Blue divulged, "but I still believe this is the best course of action and I am always right, as you know," she told him, a hint of cockiness in her voice.

"I feel like there are plenty of examples where you weren't, in fact, right," Ed told her just as the door to his and Al's bedroom opened to allow his brother to enter the room, "but I will recall them later. Al just walked in," Ed told her before muting his bond with her and the other Lions enough that he wouldn't be distracted easily by them.

Ed didn't speak as Al walked into the room and softly closed the door behind him and he didn't speak as Al walked to his bed and climbed onto it. Ed was more than willing to let Al be the one to start this conversation for once and he wasn't going to say a word until Al did. However, he wasn't expecting – and in hindsight, he really should've – Al to start by asking, "are you alright?" as he gestured to the two bandages around parts of his left arm.

"Yeah," Ed told him. "Lance reckons the bandage on my wrist can come off in the morning and the other one might be able to come off tomorrow night, if not by the next morning," he said, repeating the Blue Paladin's answer to him when he'd asked earlier in the day.

"That's good," Al said honestly. "I'm glad you weren't hurt worse by Keith's attack," he admitted, shuffling back in his bed a little and mimicking Ed's position on his own bed.

"So am I," Ed said. "I wouldn't have wanted to wind up in the hospital because of a sparring accident," he said with a small chuckle.

"I don't think the doctors or nurses would've lasted long with your complaining if you had," Al teased, the hint of a grin in the corner of his lips.

"Maybe I would've annoyed Doctor Evans enough that I could have escaped him," Ed said wistfully, earning a full grin from Al.

"You'd never be that lucky," Al said flippantly and both boys couldn't stop their laughter when their eyes met. However, the laughter didn't last long as they both remembered why they were all but being locked in their room together. "I'm not mad at you anymore," Al said quietly. Ed must've made some sort of surprised noise because Al huffed out some quiet laughter. "I'm not," he repeated. "I'm not angry or upset or hateful or anything else you've probably convinced yourself that I am," Al told him, turning to look at him again. "I am sorry if I made you think I was," Al told him. "If I'm being honest, I'm not truly sure how I feel right now about what you told us yesterday," Al admitted.

"I'm sorry I never told you as soon as I could," Ed said, keeping his voice as quiet as Al's was. He saw the twitch Al gave and knew that his hiding what had happened in Baschool was still a sore point with his little brother. "I know I gave you the reasons for why I didn't and I stand by what I said. I had fully intended to tell you when your physiotherapist started talking about you being discharged from the hospital but…" Ed trailed off and Al sighed.

"You started travelling inter-dimensionally and things happened to push it from your mind until you realised how much time had passed and decided it was for the best if you never said anything," Al said, finishing Ed's sentence and Ed nodded.

"I didn't see any point in coming clean about it when all it would do was cause you pain. I had come to peace with my decision and I didn't want to watch you wind up either killing yourself looking for answers or having a breakdown when you realised there's nothing we can do," Ed admitted.

"You should've still told me, Ed," Al said, interrupting his brother. Ed glanced up and saw that Al's eyes were shining with unshed tears while he gripped his bedsheets until his knuckles were white. "I know that I would've been upset for a little while and I know I would've tried figuring out whether you'd missed something but I wouldn't be upset that you'd hidden this from me for so long and that the only reason I even know is because of an accident!" Al exclaimed, voice rising slightly but not enough that he would accidentally wake either Hughes.

"I know," Ed told him, stopping Al short before he could keep going. "I know I should've told you as soon as I could have. I should've told everyone as soon as I could have but I just didn't see the point," Ed admitted. "You and Winry would've still jumped down my throat about hiding it for however long it had been and for causing the whole situation in the first place. You would've still avoided me for however long and you still would've ignored me when I said there was nothing you or I could do to reverse what happened," Ed said, voice resigned. "I don't know how the others would've reacted if I'd said something earlier but it probably would've been awkward or tense for a while with them as well," he continued.

"After I realised how long it had been when Mustang and I first got back from our adventure with Voltron, I did consider telling you then but then I realised it really wouldn't have done anyone any good knowing about it," Ed said, repeating himself from the night before. "Besides, no one knows how Truth is going to end up collecting on that payment. It could happen because of an accident or because I did something stupid or because of some disease or –"

"Stop!" Al exclaimed and Ed looked up from his knees to find tears streaming down his brother's face. A flash of guilt immediately rolled through him as that sight. "Would you please stop talking about your death as if it doesn't matter?!" Al demanded, still somehow keeping his voice low enough that only the Lions might hear him outside this room but still managing to make Ed feel as though Al was shouting. "You're going to die years earlier than you should! I am going to lose my brother years before I should have to because of this! And you're just talking about it as if I'm being dramatic by being upset by this!"

"I'm not, Alphonse," Ed said sharply, making Al listen to him instead of barrelling over his words. "I don't think you're being dramatic or acting more upset with this than I think you should be. I don't think that," Ed told him firmly. "I'm not happy that I'm going to die an unknown amount of years I should because of a situation I shouldn't have been in. I'm going to miss out on so much because of that one decision to confront Kimblee and I am terrified," Ed admitted, startling Al. "I'm scared, Alphonse. I don't know when my time is going to run out, I just know it will. Even if I only sacrificed ten years, who says I wasn't supposed to live past 30?" Ed asked rhetorically. "I have a clock counting down that I am completely aware of but I have no clue when it's going to hit zero and that scares the shit out of me! So why the hell would I purposefully put that burden on anyone else, let alone my little brother?" Ed asked, feeling his eyes prickle hotly with his own unshed tears.

"Ed…" Al said quietly, his tears seemingly stopped as he watched his brother admit to something he knew he would have taken to his grave if he could have.

"Older brothers aren't supposed to make their younger siblings lives harder and that's all I seem to be able to do," Ed said, sniffling slightly. "I'm going to have to tell Elysia about what happened yesterday when she's older because I promised I would and she'll never forget that. All I seem to be accomplishing these days is upsetting everyone," Ed chuckled self-deprecatingly, shaking his head at himself. "You acting like this – which I know you have every right to act like, don't get me wrong – is the reason I decided on keeping this between me, Darius and Heinkel. I just wish I'd thought to tell Darius and Heinkel that," Ed said with a small sigh and Al felt his heart clench as he realised how right Pinako had been the day before. If Al and Winry didn't learn to not react like they usually do, Ed was going to stop telling them about anything.

"Ed," Al said, before he climbed out of his bed and made himself comfortable next to Ed on his, "you should never have had to deal with this by yourself. I can't even imagine what it's been like for you this last year living with this with the only people you could've talked to on the other end of Amestris," Al said. His side was pressed up against Ed's but neither of them were looking at the other as Al spoke. "We're brothers. We're supposed to share each other's burdens and I'm so sorry that I acted the way I did. I was upset and angry that you'd been hurt when I wasn't there to help you like I should've been but that's no excuse for why I've been acting the way I have been since yesterday," Al said. "Yes, I was upset and I still am but I should've realised just how much this would be hurting you sooner and I should've been helping you deal with this," he told him.

"It's not your job to look after me, you know," Ed told him and Al huffed out an amused breath.

"You can barely look after yourself. Who else is going to put up with your shit?" Al asked teasingly, nudging Ed in the side carefully because of his ribs and earning himself a small chuckle. "I'm sorry that the way I react to this sort of news made it so you thought it would be better for you to keep everything to yourself rather than tell me," he apologised, voice sober and remorseful. "I'm going to try learning to react better when someone tells me something like that because I don't ever want someone to keep something from me because it's more pleasant for them to bury it than tell me. I especially don't want you to think like that," Al told him. "Brothers are supposed to share their burdens with each other," Al repeated, "and I'm sorry I've made you feel like you couldn't do that with me," Al said regretfully.

"You've got nothing-" Ed started saying but Al cut him off.

"Of course I do," Al said firmly. "I am sorry I almost made you think you couldn't share anything with me when you've always made me feel safe enough to share everything with you. You deserve to be able to feel as though you won't be attacked for sharing with me and I'm sorry I haven't made you feel like you could," Al apologised once more.

Ed wanted to continue his protest but he could see from the look on Al's face that this wouldn't be something he could win. "I know you didn't mean to make me feel like I couldn't go to you and tell you about whatever I'd done or felt," Ed told him. "I don't blame you for reacting the way you did. I'm sure many people would've in your position but I forgive you for it," Ed said earnestly and quickly found himself with Al wrapped around his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Brother," Al sobbed. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all of what you did and I'm so sorry that I didn't see that something was wrong earlier. You don't have to be alone dealing with this. We can see if there's something we can do, if you want, but you don't have to do it alone," Al told him, voice trembling as he tried to keep his sobs down so he could be heard.

Ed felt his eyes prickle once more but this time, he didn't bother holding his tears back. "It's okay, Al. You don't have to be sorry," Ed told him, clutching his brother tightly, returning the desperate hug Al was giving him. "We can look through the libraries and see if there's anything I haven't thought of but I don't want you to drive yourself into the ground trying to find some miracle for me," Ed said.

Al sniffled but didn't remove himself from Ed's side. "I won't," he promised, choking down a sob as he did so.

Ed relaxed at the promise, even as he continued hugging Al as tightly as he had been. "Thank you, little brother," he whispered into Al's ear. If Al knew Ed was thanking for more than the promise, he didn't say anything and the brothers eventually drifted off to sleep curled up on Ed's bed with both their hearts a little lighter than they had been.


Ed blinked open blurry eyes as a both familiar and unfamiliar noise brought him back to the land of the awake and uncaffeinated. The first thing he noticed was that Al was no longer sleeping next to him but a glance at his clock told him that his brother was likely awake and readying breakfast for himself. The noise continued and Ed's mind snapped back into alertness when he realised that someone was calling him on his tablet. Wrenching open his bedside table, Ed grabbed the small, flat, black device and turned it so he could see the screen and therefore the icon he had to press to accept the call.

"Good morning, Edward!" Allura greeted far more cheerfully than Ed thought was truly appropriate considering he'd not even had a cup of coffee yet.

"Good morning, Miss Allura," Ed said, stifling a yawn and clearing his throat. "What's up?" he asked when he spotted the concerned frown on the princess' face so he could avoid any sort of questioning right now.

Allura didn't look like she wanted to drop whatever she'd been about to ask but she did. "I'm calling to let you know that the inter-dimensional teleduv has been completed!" she told him and Ed felt his heart leap in his chest. "Our minor experiments have been successful and we're confident that we'll be able to bring Voltron home shortly!" she exclaimed happily.

Ed felt his emotions warring with themselves. On one hand, he knew Voltron couldn't stay here forever. They had homes and families most hadn't seen for ages to get back to and they had an extremely important job back in their universe but at the same time, he was sad that they were about to be given a definite time of when they would be leaving and their time in Amestris was about to run out. "That's great!" Ed said instead of focusing on sorting his emotions out. "How will this work? Do I have to get them somewhere isolated within a few vargas so you can open a portal or what?" he asked, already planning on who exactly he was going to have to take Voltron to visit so they could say goodbye.

"No, not exactly," Allura said, getting Ed's attention again. "You see, the portal opens where I ask it to but we discovered a small problem," Allura told him and Ed frowned in confusion. "Though it will hold, we realised it will do so longer if I'm on the other side of the portal, powering it from the other end as well," Allura told him. "I've spent the last 36 vargas slowly storing my power in the machine so it can run without me there to start it," Allura said. "Samuel and Matthew have constructed a small device for me to wear," she held up her wrist and showed Ed the black, almost watch-like object strapped to it, "that will connect me with the teleduv so it will open a portal for me when I'm not near it," she explained.

Ed blamed the lack of coffee in his system for how slow his brain was functioning right now. "So this means…?" Ed asked, trailing off in a silent request for Allura to fill in the blanks.

Allura beamed in excitement at him. "It means I'll be able to see you in person shortly! I'll be paying Amestris a visit myself!"

A/N- Yeah, so I couldn't resist that final bit of angst being put in this chapter. And surprise! Princess Allura is coming to visit! Anyways, I hope that if any of you are still reading this story that you enjoyed the chapter. I'll post the next chapter in a week's time as per usual. Only three more after this one to go!