Truth revealed

by Lucifer swift

This story original belong to fallen crest Summary:- Some of the cast of FMAB were brought to a room to show the whole secret of the anestrus, the war of Ishwal And many more. But in exchange of the knowledge, they have to feel the suffer and pain of all the event, their past and future, to unravel the mystery which never has been revealed to the world.

17. Chapter 17 (Cold Flame)

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Truth Revealed

Bold- What happens in the episodes

" Episode Title"

Narrative

Regular talking/actions

---

Episode 17: Cold Flame

The opening song began.

"So, anyone know why our future has an opening song with it?" Ling asked.

"Because we are awesome like that." Ed replied.

Havoc shrugged. "Try not to question it. Nothing is really making much sense at the moment. Just enjoy it. The songs are pretty awesome after all."

A light one the ceiling was shown before half of Henry's face was shown. Followed by his face, half of Maria's face appeared on the screen. Henry picked up a bag and turned it upside down. A smashed-up bullet came out of it.

"This is the bullet that killed Brigadier General Hughes. It's a .45 calibre. The killer used only this one bullet." Henry told her.

"I'd say it was a good shot, but it was at point-blank range." Maria's arm was zoomed in on to show her prison bracelets.

"Despite the fact that they are prison bracelets, I really do like them." Edward said.

Mustang rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. You kept yours?"

"Sure did! Only, I got rid of my prison number on the one silver plate and replaced it with Fullmetal." Edward replied, grinning.

"Why do you have prison bracelets?" May asked confused.

Ed shrugged. "There was this one mission which required me to infiltrate a prison. Not a fun experience…at first at least."

"And yet you kept the bracelet." Brody said dryly.

"Why not?" Ed asked.

He received many blanks looks in return.

"Oh, come on! How often do you get to go to jail for an operation?" Ed asked.

"Close enough that even a poor shot could have done it." Henry said.

"Now tell me. What is the calibre of the gun that you carry?"

"It's a .45, sir." Maria replied.

"And that proves what?" Ed asked angrily. "She's not the only soldier or even person in the word who uses a .45."

"It's just to verify that her gun could have been the one to kill him." Armstrong said.

Ed scoffed. "Please. It would make more sense to use a different type of gun then. To make it less suspicious, take someone else's gun, kill the person, and return the gun before the person realizes it's missing."

"Planning to murder someone?" Ling asked.

Ed glared at him. "No. I'm just saying, if I carried a gun, I wouldn't use mine to murder someone. I would use someone else's."

Henry picked up a paper and showed it to Maria. "Here we have a copy of your requisition form for addition ammunition. Does this look correct?"

Maria nodded.

"It's a crime to ask for ammunition now?" Maria groaned.

"I think they are just fishing for things to make you look like the suspect." Ed scoffed. "Honestly, if you were the one to kill Hughes, you wouldn't be stupid enough to ask for more ammunition from the military, at least not right away."

"Besides, you only used your gun in defence of the Elrics." Denny said, frowning. "I can verify that."

"Aren't there timestamps on those forms to get more ammunition?" Al asked confused. "Wouldn't you have gotten the ammunition before Hughes was killed?"

"You boys just like to find the holes everywhere." Riza said.

"Homunculi are idiots." Ed scoffed. "But then again, they probably expect Colonel to be blind with rage so he wouldn't see them."

"It says here you fired exactly one shot. What was that round used for?" Henry asked.

"It lists the reason right there on the form. I fired my weapon in defence of Edward Elric while in the Fifth Laboratory." Maria said. There was a flash before Maria and Denny appeared on the screen, pointing their guns at Barry, who was staring at his hand. Henry was tapping the bullet. "But the Fifth Laboratory is no longer operational. It remains unmanned."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Lan Fan asked confused. "Just because it was abandoned does not mean that someone could not sneak into there."

Mustang nodded. "He really is just fishing for information and putting holes into everything to pin this on her. It's like those Homunculi believes us to be idiots that only follow our emotions and do not stop to think."

"It was definitely not unmanned." Maria said.

"Sure. According to your account." Henry replied.

"What is the point of having witnesses around if they are just going to be corrupt and pin the blame on people so they don't have to do their jobs properly?" Edward asked angrily.

"You just said it, Fullmetal. Corrupt. You said earlier that all of the higher ups were probably in on this." Mustang pointed out.

"I wasn't serious." Ed muttered, rubbing his eyes. "But at this rate, I am only convinced that there is something wrong with the higher ups in Central. They are trying to frame Ross for this to anger you. Why would Henry try to do that unless he at least knew who the Homunculi were or was ordered to by someone else?"

Maria groaned. "I was just caught in the crossfire?"

"Yep, you were unlucky like that." Ed said.

"Shall I send someone to search for this bullet you say you fired?" Henry asked.

"There was an unexplained explosion at the site. The Fifth Laboratory is now a pile of rubble." Maria replied.

"So, the place you claimed to have used your gun was unmanned, and if we looked for the bullet, all we would be able to find was a pile of rubble. Is that what you are saying?" Henry asked.

"That's just bad luck." Fu said. Ed rubbed his eyes. "What would it matter anyway? You hit Barry in the hand. The bullet was lodged in there."

"Barry!" Al suddenly yelled. "What about him?" Maria asked confused.

Al shrugged. "If they put your arrest in the paper or someone mentions it around him, he might mention something about you shooting him to one of Colonel's men. The Homunculi don't know he is with them so they won't expect Colonel to find out about the bullet."

Maria perked up before deflating. "But this is Barry, a serial killer. What are the chances he'll learn of it? What is the chance he'll actually say something?" Ed sighed.

"If he learns of it, I'm sure he'll mention it. Barry seems to have a thing for strong women. He admires them. He likes Lieutenant Riza so he probably likes you as well. The chances of him finding out about you being arrested are less likely." Maria groaned.

Why did Ed have to be so blunt?

"But Lieutenant, we have eyewitness testimony. You were spotted leaving the scene on the day of the murder at the same time as the shooting." Henry said.

"Really? But when we saw Hughes get killed, it was night time and I didn't see any people milling around." Avery said, frowning.

"Eh, it was probably Envy. You know, he just transforms into someone and claim he saw her there that night. Or someone was there and really did see her. I mean, he did transform into her and follow Hughes there." Ed explained.

Maria groaned pitifully. "Ed, you are not making me feel better."

"Ah, sorry." Ed said. "Hmm, okay, how about this? You had eyewitnesses at the Fifth Laboratory. Al and Brosh."

"What about you?" Ling asked.

"I was inside the lab when she shot Barry and I was unconscious when being carried out by Envy." Ed told him. "I saw nothing so I could not help with this matter. But Al and Brosh could."

"If they listen." Scar pointed out. "They don't seem too willing to listen to anyone on this matter."

Ed muttered to himself. "Stupid soldiers."

"That's impossible!" Maria cried.

"Calm down, Lieutenant." Henry said. "Fine then. What were you doing at that time?"

"I had the day off. I was at my parents' house visiting." Maria replied.

"Please, check with them. They'll tell you."

"All you can offer us is your family's testimony. That is not admissible as an alibi!" Henry said.

Ed grimaced. "That must be hard. You don't know what is going on and are being framed just to please Colonel. It must suck being stuck in the middle." "Confusing and scary." Maria said, sighing. "I just hope the Colonel realizes it is fraud."

"From that interrogation, we should realize something. There just wasn't something right about it." Breda said.

"And the way they arrested you, and the fact that the facts are too scattered. They don't flow with what you are saying. It causes suspicions."

Armstrong stood outside the building, facing two saluting soldiers.

"Second Lieutenant Ross is being questioned." One of the soldiers said.

"No one is permitted inside to see her."

"I see." Armstrong said. He turned around to leave.

Brosh ran over to Armstrong as he finished walking down the stairs.

"Major Armstrong!"

"Sergeant Brosh." Armstrong said.

Brosh saluted him. "I'm glad to see you here, Major."

"Mm-hmm. Is this about Second Lieutenant Ross?" Armstrong asked.

"Yes, that's right, sir." Brosh said as Armstrong continued down the path with Brosh following him. "Major, I can collaborate her story. Lieutenant Ross and I both fired a round from our weapons at the Fifth Laboratory to defend the Elric brothers."

"You did?" Armstrong asked.

"Yes, and it's all written in my report, but everyone's ignoring it, sir." Brosh explained.

Maria sighed. She should have seen that coming. She knew that Brosh would come to her aid, but she should have known that it would have been all ignored since they were trying to frame her. Argh, why did it have to be her?

"They'll probably just shred your report so it doesn't get in the way of their case." Mustang said.

"Sheesh, what is the point of reports then if they are just going to be ignored?" Edward muttered.

'Are they trying to frame the Second Lieutenant for this?' Armstrong thought.

The flag of the country was seen blowing in the wind.

" Cold Flame"

"Well, that certainly does not sound like a happy title." Hughes said, sending a look at his friend.

"What?" Mustang hissed quietly.

"Not everything that mentions flames has to do with me." Hughes's eyes narrowed at him.

"I know the you in the future is out for revenge. You are very angry and cold right now. I know how you get when something tragic happens. You become a cold-hearted bastard. If you do kill Ross…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll have to face the wrath of many." Mustang growled back. "But you should remember, Hughes, even in my rage, I can still see the holes in their plan. And if I can't, my team will find them for me. I will not accidentally kill an innocent person. I would never be able to live with myself if I did that."

Winry appeared on the screen, polishing Al's Armor. "When you look closely, you're all scratched up, aren't you?" Al was polishing his helmet while Ed laid on his bed.

"You're having a rough time of it, huh?" Winry asked.

"You're really covered in scratches?" Havoc asked, staring at Al's armour with careful eyes. Al nodded.

"Yep. We get into a lot of fights."

"Yeah, but I thought you were good at fighting and dodging." Havoc pointed out. Ed snorted. "Al can be a bit reckless in his fights sometimes because he can't get injured."

"I thought you were the careful one." Mustang said. Al shrugged. "Hey, if I can't get injured, it just makes it easier for me in the fights. I might as well put this body to good use while I have it."

Al chuckled. Winry stood up and looked over at Ed. "So, what have you got planned now?" Ed was shown, staring blankly at his covers.

Winry appeared on the screen, staring sadly at him. "Well, Ed?" Ed lifted his automail hand, staring at it.

"What are we going to do…?"

"Are you really so lost in grief right now that you don't have a plan?" General Armstrong asked.

"Grief? I know we are grieving, but we also don't have a plan at the moment." Ed said, scratching the back of his head.

"We've been focusing on the Philosopher's Stone for years as the way to get our bodies back. Now, we don't want to use it, so we are kind of at a loss of where to go now."

"Well, that makes sense. Honestly, I don't know of any other way besides the stone." Mustang said with a sigh. "Sounds like your journey just got that much tougher with your stubbornness to not use the stone."

"Why won't you use the stone?" Dr. Marcoh asked curiously.

"Those human lives are trapped in the stone. If you use it to fix yourselves, you could free them from that torture and let them move on." "You use incomplete stones on people who are sick or injured, right?" Edward asked, but continued on without getting an answer.

"Well, Al and I sinned. We didn't just get hurt in an accident or have someone injure us or make us like this. We did it to ourselves. We messed with our lives and our mother's. We cannot use other human lives to fix ourselves for something that we did to ourselves. It just isn't right to use them like that." Havoc's brows furrowed. "So, if someone got severely injured and it would forever affect their lives, you wouldn't mind them using the stone?"

"Those souls have to be set free somehow. We are going into dangerous fights with the Homunculi soon. You guys will have a difficult time against them. Using the stone to save you from them, it would not be bad at all. That is what I believe." Al said.

"You guys are too selfless." Riza said with a sigh. She really wished these boys would be greedy and think about themselves for once. That was what it meant to be human.

An image of the three standing outside of Gracia's apartment was shown with Elicia saying, "Mommy, please don't cry."

Ed's hand curled into a fist while Winry went back to staring at Al's back. "What do you think?" He asked. Winry looked at Ed, surprised. Ed rolled onto his back, lifting himself halfway up to stare at her blankly. "What's with the face?" He asked.

Hughes snickered. "She's not used to you actually asking her for her opinion."

"I-I'm just surprised. You've never asked for my advice before." Winry said.

Ed blinked. Al appeared on the screen. "Oh." Ed said.

Winry drew a gloved hand over Al's back. "I'm scared, you know. You and Al have been off somewhere fighting and digging up information." Ed was shown to be lying on his bed with his hands folded under his head, but he watched Winry form the corner of his eyes. "Information that could get you killed like Mr. Hughes. Whenever I think about that, it terrifies me."

"You're not going to comfort her?" Havoc asked. "Argh, you have so much to learn!"

"I'm not comforting her because she doesn't need it!" Ed hissed. "What she needs right now is to let what is on her mind out. She needs to get it out, not for me to interrupt her. Winry is strong. She'll be fine."

"Such a caring friend." Breda said.

Ed rolled his eyes.

"Brother does things in his method." Al defended. "In this, he is right. Winry cares a lot and we grew up together. She is just afraid right now because of suddenly finding out that Hughes is dead and about the stone, but she also believes in us."

Ed's eyes moved away from her and narrowed as a sad tone entered the scene. Al's helmet appeared on screen before Ed was shown again. "I mean, you could die, but still be here…and just suddenly, not be there anymore." Winry's eyes closed halfway in sadness. "Like my mom and Dad." Ed appeared on the screen for a few seconds before the scene pulled out to show the three from a higher angle. "It's almost more than I can handle, thinking about that. Honestly, sometimes I wished you would just give this whole thing up." A table filled with mugs and papers was shown before Winry reappeared. "I do want you to get your bodies back, but I also want you to stay alive and safe."

"Safe?" Mustang asked. "I think, even in Resembool, you two could find trouble." Ed scoffed. "Do you think we get into that much trouble?"

"Yes." Havoc, Breda, and Falman said. "Well, I'm insulted." Ed said. Ling laughed.

"What will you do after you get your bodies back? From what I've seen and what you told me about, you don't seem like one to settle down, especially if you get into that much trouble."

"What? Do you people think I get into a new fight every single day?" Ed huffed. When no one replied, the boy huffed.

Winry bowed her head. "It's just…I don't know…Sorry." She turned to look at Ed. "I'm not sure what I think you should do. I really don't know."

"You're sure being nice, Winry." Al said teasingly.

"And that disrupts the sad mood. What a good distraction." Dr. Young said, chuckling softly.

"Al is good at those." Ed said with a soft smile.

Winry turned back to Al frantically, blushing. "W-w-why do you sound so surprised?" Ed appeared on the screen, watching the two as it was heard that she hit Al.

"I'm always nice! Take that back, Alphonse Elric! Take it back!" She screamed as she continued to hit him. "AH!" Al screamed. "Stop it! You're adding more scratches! I already have enough!" Ed gave a small smile as he watched the two.

"I thought it was you who always fight with Winry." Riza said. Ed chuckled.

"Al has his share of fights with her when he teases her."

"Well, it put her back in a good mood at least." Havoc said, grinning. "Fighting with Al is considered a good mood?" Sheska asked.

"For Winry at least." Al said.

The city was shown as the sun began to set. A sink full of dirty dishes was shown. Barry put down a chess piece. "Your move." He said.

Falman raised a hand to move a piece when a voice shouted, "Evening edition!" Falman twisted around on his stool.

"Oh, it's here. Excellent." A paper pushed under a door was shown as Barry said, "What? The newspaper. Again?"

"I'm stuck here babysitting you all day." Falman said as he picked it up. "This is the only entertainment I get."

"Hanging with a psychopath killer all day is not fun?" Brody asked. "I'm surprised he hasn't twisted your mind yet."

"I'm surprised you turn your back to him so easily." Ed said blandly.

"We probably have a deal with him." Mustang pointed out. Ed shrugged. "I'm still not turning my back to him."

He looked at the paper in surprise before running over to the phone. "Lieutenant Falman, calling on an outside line. [1] Please connect me to Colonel Mustang. Yes. That's right. My code is…"

Barry got up and walked over to him. "What's got you so excited?" He saw the paper which had Maria's picture on it.

"Oh, look, Ross, your arrest made it into the paper that Falman gets." Al said.

Maria smiled grimly. "Now, we just have to see where this will take us. I hope Barry doesn't hold a grudge."

Ed snorted. "He's a psychopath who likes chopping up women, but admires the strong ones. He has no grudge."

"Airam, George, Oliver, Four, Six, Four, Nine." Falman said.

Barry picked up the paper, surprising Falman. "This is the lady from the laboratory."

The military dorms were shown once more. The table in Ed's room was shown still covered in papers and a mug. Ed was shown lying on a couch, looking in his travelogue. 'The Philosopher's Stone. People with the Ouroboros tattoo. The Homunculi.' The ceiling fan was shown. 'How are they…' Ed's thoughts were cut off when Al slammed the room door open

"Ah, geez, Al, you're going to give me a heart attack if you do that." Ed muttered.

"Brother, this is in the future." Al replied. Ed shot him a glare.

"You still can't just slam a door open suddenly! Future me or not!" He rubbed his heart. "My poor heart." Al sighed. "You're fifteen. A little shock isn't going to kill you."

"Brother!" Al yelled. Ed screamed.

"What the–"

"See! You gave me a horrible shock!" Ed growled. Al paused for a moment before saying,

"You should be more alert."

Al held a paper out to him. "Here." Ed leaned on the couch, throwing his arms over the back of it as he stared at his brother. "Don't scare me like that."

"The newspaper, Ed." Al said, holding it out to him. "Read the front page." Ed perked up. He took the paper.

"What is it now?" He sat back on the couch, staring at the paper before gasping in horror. "What? 'Second Lieutenant Maria Ross convicted of Brigadier General Hughes's murder?'"

"Why does no one tell me what is going on?" Ed cried. "What are you talking about?" Brosh asked. Ed sighed. "Why didn't anyone tell me Ross was arrested before the paper got to me? You had to know that I had to find out."

"I think you should just be happy Ross let it slip that Hughes was dead, Edward." Riza said with a sigh. "Imagine if you didn't know Hughes was dead before you got that paper." Ed paled.

"That would have been too much information to take in at once. I would probably first be in shock then be really angry afterwards."

"Angry at who?" Hughes asked curiously. Ed hummed. "Those who lied to me about Hughes. Those who kept the truth from me. The bastard who convicted Ross."

Ed and Al walked through the lobby. "I can't believe this." Al said.

"Maybe the Colonel or the Major will know something about this." Ed said.

"What about Winry?" Al asked. "We'll explain it to her later." Ed replied.

A building was shown before Ling's hand with the prison bracelets on it was shown. "I'm not really a fan of these."

"He's in jail." Lan Fan said dejected.

Fu sighed. "We shouldn't be surprised."

Ling frowned. "Well, now I feel insulted."

"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" Ed retorted.

"Quit your complaining." The soldier standing outside his cell said.

"Every stray mutt needs a collar. Alright, I'm going to ask you one more time. Are you honestly fifteen years old?"

Ed snickered. "Well, that's a strange question. And by his wording, they have asked this of you a few times."

"Why is it so hard to believe that I am fifteen?" Ling asked. "Do I not look fifteen?" Ed shrugged.

"I sure am." Ling said.

"I don't buy it." The soldier said.

"It's the truth, I swear." Ling said, tears pouring down his face.

Ed laughed. "I think that guy is amused by you."

"Well, I'm glad there are some soldiers with a sense of humour, but he really should believe me. I'm only fifteen!" Ling cried.

Footsteps ran across the ground in an adjacent hall. The soldier turned to watch them.

"What's that?" He took a few steps forward.

"What's happening?" "We've got an intruder! Come on! Give us a hand." One of the soldiers stopped and said.

"What?" The soldier said shocked before looking at Ling.

"Behave yourself. Got it?" Ling waved a hand out. "I will!"

"Only you could be so cheerful in a prison." May said, sighing. Was this guy really her half-brother? His moods changed from happy to serious so quickly at times.

Soldiers stood in the hall, firing their guns. The bullets were all shown bouncing off of Barry. "Lame. Lame. Lame. Are you guys even trying? You can do better than that."

"Why is Barry in the prison?" Sheska asked confused. "I thought he was confined to that apartment."

Mustang frowned, leaning back in his seat. He was sure he wouldn't let Barry just escape the apartment. Ed said that Barry seems to have a thing for strong women, so he could have escape to save Ross. But Barry was just too crazy. He couldn't just come up with a plan to set Ross free and make sure she didn't get caught again. There had to be more to this.

The soldiers stared at him in horror.

"He's still coming at us." One of the soldiers said.

"Guns don't even dent him." Another soldier said.

Ling frowned.

"Hold it." A soldier stepped forward, pointing a shot gun at Barry. "Stay back." He fired the gun, hitting Barry in the head, which sent his helmet flying off. Barry caught it and put it back on while the soldiers screamed. Some of the soldiers were sent flying back while Barry knocked another one on the head.

Hughes's eyes narrowed at that. If this was Barry's own doing, he would have killed those guys without a second thought. Someone else was pulling the strings here. His eyes slid over to Mustang. He knew his friend had a really good team with some very smart people on it. It would be obvious that one of them could smell something fishy about Ross's arrest. Avoiding pointless deaths was something Mustang did.

"This would be a lot more fun if I was allowed to cut them up." Barry said.

Ed frowned. From Barry's words and actions alone, he could see that something wasn't right. Barry was under Mustang's command for the time being, because of some deal or something. From the way things seemed, Mustang ordered Barry into the prison to set Ross free, which is why no one was dying. Mustang didn't want any pointless deaths. But, why did Mustang send him to get Ross? Was it to save her or did he want to set her free to have his own revenge? Mustang said it himself. He wouldn't go for his revenge without absolute proof it was her. What was Mustang's plan in this?

"Hello, strange armour ghost man!" Ling yelled out. "Do you think you could let me out of here?"

"Who are you?" Barry asked, approaching Ling's cell.

"Just an illegal immigrant from Xing." Ling said.

"How can you be so casual about it?" Jerso asked blandly.

"You should enjoy life more!" Ling said, grinning .

"Oh, yeah?" Barry asked as he continued to walk passed. "A foreigner. Well, have a nice trip home."

"If you let me out of here, I can help you." Ling said.

"I don't have time to deal with you–" Barry paused. "Where did you say you were from?"

"Xing. East of the desert." Ling said.

BANG!

The lock on Ling's cell was suddenly in pieces.

"And why did Ling's place of origin interest him?" Al said confused.

Breda frowned, tapping his armrest. If this really was a plan and Barry was interested in Ling's place of origin, what did it mean? Barry should have no interest for Xing. There was nothing there for someone who didn't have a body and was stuck in Central by Colonel's orders.

"Come with me." Barry said.

Ross was shown sitting in her cage when gunshots went off which was followed by yelling and grunting. She looked up in shock. "What?" She asked.

Bodies were shown falling to the ground. Ross stood at her cell door when Barry stopped in front of it. "Well, hello there sweetheart. I've been looking for you."

Ross backs up into a wall in fear as Barry broke the lock on her cell door.

"You're from the Fifth Laboratory!"

"Why did it have to be Barry to show up?" Ross moaned.

Hughes coughed. "Actually, Ross, I believe you will be fine. Barry is a murderer, yet he hasn't killed a single person yet. He is letting them live."

"What does that mean?" May asked confused. Barry not killing was good and all, but what did it mean in regards to Ross?

"I said it at the end of the last episode, the Homunculi were making a mistake in trying to come after me." Mustang said, smirking. "If Barry is there with orders not to kill, then I sent him."

"Yes," Ed said, frowning. "But we don't exactly know the future your intentions. He could be setting her free to save her or kill her for his own sick revenge."

Mustang sighed. Edward did have a point there, but right now, he was sure he would never break a prisoner out of jail just to kill them for revenge. "She either dies by the firing squad or she escapes with the chance of being saved or killed on sight. Quite frankly, she has a better chance if she runs because after this time, the security is going to be improved and State Alchemists might be asked to guard her."

"Considering I am being framed, I'll escape with Barry, but I really hope you realized the plan, sir." Maria muttered.

"You haven't forgotten me. How sweet." Barry said as he walked into the cell.

"I remember you too. I think of you every time I look at the hole you put in my right hand, just like the hole you put in that guy Hughes."

"No, it wasn't me!" Ross yelled. Barry held up the newspaper. "Oh, yeah. According to the newspaper, you're one guilty soldier, girl." Ross stared at the paper in shock and fear. "It can't be."

"Oh, but it is." Barry replied. "Right now, it's looking like you'll be facing the firing squad for sure." Ross turned to Barry, but kept her eyes on the paper.

"It's not true! They're wrong! If they would just do a proper investigat—" Barry stabbed his knife through the paper.

"Here are your choices...Stay here and be killed for murder...or bust outta this joins with me. Which will it be?" Tears pricked at Ross's eyes.

"How is this happening? Isn't there anything else I can do?!" She cried dejected.

"Am I upset about being framed or escaping with a psychopathic killer?" Maria groaned. Denny chuckled lightly and nervously. It certainly didn't sound fun running away with a murderer after being framed for murder. It certainly did make her seem guilty.

"It sure doesn't look like it!" Ling piped in, pointing out in the hall before a horde of soldiers was shown.

"Where the hell do you keep coming from?" Havoc asked shocked.

"I may not be trained like Lan Fan or Fu, but I have been trained." Ling said.

"Hmm, perhaps you should train Fullmetal in the art of stealth then. He really needs to learn it." Mustang commented.

Ed frowned. "Yeah, whatever. That is nice, Colonel, but can we focus? I want to see what the outcome of this jailbreak is going to be."

"You know what jailbreaking is like." Mustang said dryly.

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, but when I broke out of jail, it was for the job and I was never in real danger. It's not the same for Ross." He turned to shoot a dark look at his superior.

"Especially since we are not too sure of your actions!"

"You broke out of jail? Was this for this mission where you were arrested?" Armstrong asked curiously. Ed nodded.

"Yeah, it was scary at the time, but looking back on it, it was quite fun." Al sighed.

"Brother…now that I am thinking of it, I don't remember this mission." Ed shrugged.

"It was all hush hush. Colonel didn't want you around during it so it was that time I told you to go visit Winry and Granny Pinako for a couple of weeks because I had to work at the office for a while."

"…. You lied to me?" Al asked. "Uh…" Ed said, looking back at the screen. "Let's move on."

"I have no choice! Mom! Dad! Please forgive me!" Ross cried out, burying her face in her hands.

"How dramatic." Brody said. Maria twitched.

"You try being framed!"

"You lied to me." Al repeated, staring at his brother, who twitched, but did not look at Al .

"Fine, let's go...If this is how it has to be, I'll escape with you." She marched determinedly to the cell door. "But you better know a way out of here, metal boy." Ross said.

"Oooh! You've got spunk!" Barry said with a tiny heart appearing next to him.

"He fell in love with you too!" Ed cried. Al stared holes into his brother.

"You lied to me." Ed forced himself to keep his eyes on the screen. He would not look. He would not look.

Ross slapped her cheeks. "I'll do what I have to do."

Henry appeared on the screen, talking into a phone. "Yes…. yes, right away." He put the phone down and sighed. "Notify every zone in the city. Maria Ross has broken out." He told his men. "It appears she's with a violent accomplice. They must be caught. If she resists…" He turned to face his team before Mustang was shown walking down the street with his black coat resting on his shoulders while he finished pulling on his gloves. "The order is shoot to kill."

The screen zoomed in on Mustang, showing him tightening his glove before his face was shown with dark narrowed eyes and a frown.

"That looks very ominous." Edward commented, staring at Mustang on the screen.

He wore such a dark look. Hughes took one look at the Mustang on the screen and laughed. In hindsight, it really shouldn't be funny because of the dark look, but he knew his friend. He cared deeply for his friends and would do whatever it took to get revenge. The look Mustang was wearing was dark, but it wasn't one of hatred or a lust for revenge. It was a look of dark determination.

"What are you laughing at?" Mustang asked.

"Surely you can read your own expressions." Hughes said, smirking. General Armstrong smirked to herself. Oh, yes, just like Hughes, she could see it. She may not know Mustang as well as Hughes to know his expressions, but she knew revenge, anger, and hatred. She saw it enough times in her men when things happened, when they lost comrades. They used it to fuel themselves to survive and avenge their fallen comrades. What Mustang had now was not the right hatred. There was more to this.

Barry led Ross and Ling down a dark alley. "How much further?" Ross asked.

"Just keep moving." Barry said. Ed ran out of an adjacent alley, freezing when he saw the three.

Mustang groaned. If he was working a plan…."Why do you always show up at the most inopportune times?"

"What was that?" Ed asked angrily.

"We," Hughes motioned to him and Mustang. "Think future Mustang and his team are in the middle of an operation to save Ross." Ross perked up at that. If Hughes thought Mustang was going to save her, then she really hoped he did. If it was Mustang after her…she shivered. He would definitely burn alive. She did not want to feel that.

"But once again, you show up at the worst time! I think you like messing with my plans." Mustang said. Ed growled softly before smirking to himself.

"Well, I have to keep you on your toes, Colonel. I'll love to see how you deal with this unexpected development." Lan Fan poked Ed in the arm. "You ran into Master Ling." Ed shrugged.

"Yeah, and?"

"You said you would eat your boot if you ran into him again." Lan Fan clarified. Ed's eye twitched. "I didn't mean it."

"You lied to me." Al muttered. Ed twitched again.

"Can you let that go?"

"You never lie to me." Al muttered dejected. "I'm sorry?" Ed said. "You know the military. There are just times when I can't tell you things. It was easier to send you away then have you see me get arrested. I thought you might do something rash." Al sighed, but he could agree with that. He may not be rash like his brother, but he certainly had his moments where he did reckless things. He probably would have done something stupid if his brother was arrested, but still…. his brother didn't have to lie to him! He could have just said he was doing a covert mission and needed him to leave for a while!

Al stopped behind Ed. "Lieutenant Ross?" They exclaimed.

"Edward! Alphonse! What are you two doing here?" Maria asked.

Barry stared at Al. Al stared at Barry. They both screamed and pointed at the other. "You're that guy!" They yelled.

Ling laughed. "You guys are so strange."

"You're one to talk." Ed grumbled. He turned to his brother. "That is seriously what you're going to yell after he tried to trick you?" Al shrugged.

"What else was I supposed to say? 'You're the psychopath killer that tried to trick me into hating my brother?'" "It would have worked." Ed said. "Nah, it was too much to say." Al replied.

Ling scratched the back of his head.

"And Ling too?" Al asked.

"Hahaha. Hey guys, what are you up to?" Ling asked ad Maria stared at him.

"You ask that so casually when you are a criminal on the run with a psychotic murderer and a framed soldier." Ed said through gritted teeth.

"Well, I think we should just enjoy the crazy moments we get into in our lives." Ling commented, grinning at the blond. "And I'm not a criminal. I just snuck into the country. That hardly classifies me as a criminal."

"You know this is a life-or-death situation." Ed pointed out. "And anything that you do that breaks the law makes you a criminal."

"So was your jailbreak, but you still enjoyed it." Ling argued. "But I'm such a good person."

Ed's eye twitched. "I was never in any real danger with that part of my mission. In whose eye are you a good person?"

"You're mean." Ling muttered.

"You probably made a decent amount of enemies from that mission though." Fu said.

"I always make enemies." Ed muttered.

"I could ask the same of you!" Ed retorted angrily, causing Maria to look at him.

Ed chuckled. "I'm sorry, Ross, but that expression you are making is pretty funny, considering the situation you are in." Ross smiled slightly.

"It's alright, Edward. I seem to get a little lost with all the situations and conversation that you get involved in that I really should be used to it by now."

"Quit chattering!" Barry ordered. He swung his cleaver down at Al, forcing the boy to dodge. "We don't have time for this!"

"Wow, I never expected a murderer to go so far for you guys in an operation." Karley commented with a low whistle. "He could just use this time to escape from you guys." Miles added. "And yet he doesn't." Riza said dryly before looking at Mustang. "You did put a lot of trust in him for this." "Trusting murderers now?" Ed said. First it was believing the homicidal guy in Al's case. Now it was trusting the nutjob for a job in Mustang's case. Nutcases, the lot of them. "Then again, he probably wants to stay around Lieutenant Riza and Ross. They are so strong and independent. He must love them so much." Riza glared at the boy's back. Must he keep brining that up?

"Alright, sweetheart, take that back alley and run straight to the warehouse district. The darkness ought to hide you." Barry said.

"Wait, hold on. Tell us about Hughes." Ed asked.

Ross stopped and looked at him.

"Get going. If the MPs show up, they'll shoot you." Barry said.

Ross closed her eyes before pushing on into the alley.

"Lieutenant Ross!" Ed called.

"Stay back." Barry said.

"No, wait." Al said. Ross was shown disappearing into the darkness of the alley. "Lieutenant Ross!"

A heavily breathing Ross was shown running down the alley until she almost reached the end. A pair of boots took over the screen. As the man's coat flapped around, Ross came to a halt with fear in her eyes. Mustang stood in front of her with narrowed eyes. "You're Maria Ross, right?" He snapped his fingers. A huge burst of flames spread across the screen. The last thing that was seen was Maria covering her face from the light before the brothers and Barry were shown as the explosion of flames reached the sky.

"What are you doing?" Ed demanded, glaring at the screen. His eyes snapped to Mustang in angry before he frantically turned to Ross in fear that she was in pain. Right now, that was more important then immediately killing Mustang, but she was just sitting there, eyes wide in fear to his confusion. That didn't seem right. Even Hughes felt when he hurt. So why wasn't she yelling out in pain?

Ross sat frozen in her seat. Did Mustang just kill her? Hughes said he was trying to save her! She didn't want to die. Did he really let his anger and hatred about Hughes's death blind him so much that he didn't recognize that the facts weren't fitting in?

"You're not burning." Ed said blankly. He had been feeling any type of pain he could possibly imagine in the past two days. Hell, his whole body felt like it was on fire and being torn apart during the flashback of the human transmutation. And now, Maria was set on fire by Mustang, and she just sat there like it was nothing!

Ross broke out of her thoughts at Ed's words. His anger had dissipated into confusion as he watched her. And he was completely right. She felt nothing. No burn, no pull of the muscles, no aches, nothing. There was absolutely no pain in her body from being burnt. "As I said, Roy is saving Ross." Hughes said, smirking. "The best way to save a falsely accused prisoner when that person is being framed by the government is to fake death."

Ross's jaw slackened in relief. She wasn't dead! Mustang was really saving her! In a rather scary, deceiving way, but still! Perhaps the Colonel was someone she could trust and stick her neck out for. She would have to repay him for saving her.

At Hughes's words, the tension in the room loosened up a bit. The moment they all saw the snap of Mustang's fingers; they had been on high alert in shock and anger. They couldn't believe what the Colonel was doing. Some of them were ready to tear him limb from limb for killing their comrade in such a horrible way.

Even Scar had been tensed throughout this experience. He did not like soldiers, but his hatred was heightened in regards to State Alchemists. It was horrifying to watch the Colonel in action. He heard about the Flame Alchemist and his Flame Alchemy. It did devastate work in Ishval. He was one of the few he really hated with a huge passion. When he saw Mustang Burning Ross, he felt extreme hatred. That Flame Alchemy of his was horrible. No one should have that kind of power. It was too powerful. The Colonel could wipe off so many with just a snap of his fingers.

And Scar hated it. Not only did he use it to destroy his people and Ishval, he was now using it against his own comrades because of his hatred for the person who killed his best friend. Which was why it was relieving to see it was all an act…but, that act may have been false, but he saw it and he knew he wasn't the only one to see it. The Colonel was after revenge for his friend's death. If he lost himself in his hatred and anger to get this revenge, he was going to be worst then before. He would never be the same if he went down this path. And in that thought, he knew, they would be the same.

"Colonel and his operations." Ed whispered to himself. He had been involved in a few operations with the Colonel and his team before. At first, he despises them for getting in the way of his work of finding the stone, but when he did them, he saw they were so different from what he did on his journey. They were riskier and more involved a lot of daring. It took a while to get a hang of them, but Mustang and his team did whatever they could to help him learn how to handle them. It taught him that he loved working with the team. He loved those operations. It was the only time he would ever rely on someone besides his brother. Those missions are what helped him to learn to trust Mustang's team to watch his back.

Grudgingly, Izumi had to admit that Mustang was good. Not only did he not fall for the Homunculi's plan, but he made it look like he did to help Ross escape and throw in his own mission. She was not stupid. She did not like the military, but she could see it in Mustang's eyes and his team's eyes. They knew there was more to this then just saving Ross. The Homunculi played a plan and that brought them out to Mustang and his team. This was actually getting pretty good. She was curious to see how Mustang and his team handled this operation.

"What was that?" Ed asked.

"Looks like they got her." Barry commented.

Ed ran past Barry and into the alley that Ross ran down. "Hold it! Get back here." Barry said.

Mustang's smirk vanished. The Ed in the room may know about the operation, but the future him had no idea. He was going to come across him in the middle of an operation after he just faked Ross's death and he couldn't tell him.

"Edward is going to hate you." Riza said softly. "I know." Mustang replied. "Maybe at first, but it's you. You won't let him think his friend is dead." Hughes said, frowning. "But you won't tell him right away either." His eyes narrowed at him. "I know you. You are either going to do or say something cruel to him in your rage." Mustang grimaced, but didn't deny that fact.

Al ran at Barry while he was distracted.

"Oh, missed me!" Barry said.

Al turned around to punch him again, but missed again.

"Let's go, foreigner." Barry said, running away with Ling.

"Okie-dokie." Ling said.

"Wait!" Al yelled.

"You want the psychopath to come back?" Ed asked.

Al shrugged. "I want answers."

"Ling! What are you doing with a guy like him?" Al asked.

Ling turned his head and waved to him. "I'll have to fill you in later."

"Sheesh, know the guy for a couple of days and he is already acting like we're friends." Ed mumbled.

"Aw, you're still in denial." Ling whined.

"I'll hit you again." Ed said.

Ling grinned. "Whatever you say, buddy."

Ed twitched.

Al stood alone in the alley. He looked to where his brother disappeared then to where Barry and Ling were running off to. "What now?" He shouted.

"That is a hard choice." Havoc said, snickering. "Go after the more reckless person." Riza suggested. ' Your brother will definitely need you right now when he faces Colonel Mustang.'

Ed stared in horror at the smoking corpse in front of him and Mustang, who had his back turned to Ed as slow horrifying music entered the scene. Mustang turned his head to the side a bit to look at Ed from an angle. "Hey there, Fullmetal."

"I really hate how calm and dark you are sounding right now when you have a smoking body at your feet!" Ed growled.

"You know how operations go, Fullmetal. I have to act my part as a bastard who just got his sweet revenge." Mustang said, shrugging.

Ed hissed. "Yes, but in all your operations that happened when I was around, I was involved in them or aware of them. This is the first time I haven't known of one and I've run into you in the middle of it. Not to mention, it involved the fake death of a friend and I don't know it is fake!"

"Well, personally, I think it is good that you don't know and you ran into Roy." Hughes said.

Ed glared at him. "Why is that?"

"It's a good lesson to believe in your commanding officer and not always believe that what you see is the truth." Hughes said, holding up one finger. He raised a second finger. "And, your reaction to this will be real, which will make it all that more believable to the soldiers and Homunculi that Roy did something horrible and really toasted Ross."

"That may be true, but I think this is very cruel to Edward." Sheska said quietly.

Maria nodded in agreement. "I agree that it is a cruel and horrible experience to Ed, but as a soldier, I have to say it will be a good lesson to him, though I wish he didn't have to go through it."

"He is a soldier. This is just one of the horrible experiences that he has to come across." General Armstrong said, frowning. She may find that the soldiers Ed knew were weak to him. They did so much to protect the boy from seeing any more horrors in his life, but now she saw it. They protected him, but they also found the horrible lessons he came across to be good for him. He didn't go through training or war like them, but he was being trained in his own way. And since he was only a child, they were taking years to do it so as not to break him and, in a way, so he wouldn't realize that what they were doing was training him because it was all first-hand experience. Mustang and his team were good. She would admit that.

Ed stared in horror at the burnt bracelet on the body's wrist. "What happened here?" He asked, hands clenching in anger. "What happened here, Colonel? Tell me!"

Mustang stared coldly at Ed.

"Why, Colonel? Why was Hughes murdered? Why would Second

Lieutenant Ross...?" Ed ran at Mustang and grabbed him by his coat.

"Why didn't you say anything!?"

Mustang's eyes narrowed even more, surprising Ed, before he was suddenly punched across the face.

Ed yelped in surprise and grabbed his cheek. Mustang punched him! His own Commanding Officer just punched him because he was upset and wanted answers!

"Wow." Havoc said, gaping. Of all the people the Colonel could punch, he never expected it to be Edward. He cared too much for the brothers.

"That was certainly a surprise. I didn't think I would ever see you hit one of your subordinates." General Armstrong told Mustang, who looked surprised at his future's actions. Though, it wasn't all that shocking. Even if it was just an operation, he was probably still angry about all of this and Ed did step across the boundaries.

But even so, he shouldn't have hit him. Ed was just an upset teenager who didn't have a damn clue of what was going on because he lied to him. Which just made Mustang feel worst. He may pick on the boy and intentionally anger him, but he has never lied to the boy, except about court martialling him, and he also never hit the boy. Ed was his charge. He was supposed to protect and mentor and train the boy! Not do this.

Hughes seemed to agree because the man was shooting a glare at him. "You don't hit kids." He hissed quietly.

Ah, the caring family man was back.

"Fullmetal gave up the right of a normal childhood when he became a solider." Mustang retorted.

"That doesn't make him an adult." Hughes argued.

"You are definitely playing the part of a bastard." Ed growled, rubbing his cheek.

Mustang turned away from Hughes, smirking at the boy, though his heart wasn't in it, even though Ed sounded completely fine after he punched him.

"What was it you said earlier, Fullmetal?" He taunted. "That I couldn't hit you with my bare fists?"

Ed snorted. "Lucky shot."

"You shouldn't doubt the military's training so much." Mustang retorted.

"Brother, are you okay?" Al asked worriedly.

Ed grinned at his brother, despite the pain flaring in his cheek. "Of course,

Al. Mustang's a wuss. His punches don't even hurt."

Mustang rolled his eyes. He saw the kid rubbing his cheek. He was in the pain from that punch.

Ed turned back to the screen, grin slipping from his face and eyes shadowing. His commanding officer actually punched him. Mustang had always been there for him since he joined the military. He taunted him and gave him stupid assignments to mess with him, but he never once went through with his threats and he always made Ed get a physical after highly dangerous missions. Ed always complained about them, but he knew it was Mustang's way of showing he cared. Or, that was what he thought. Ed could handle getting hurt by strangers in a fight. They were his enemy. He could handle the spars he had with Al, Izumi, and soldiers. He could handle Izumi punching and kicking him, throwing knives at him, and all her yelling. It was how she showed she was concerned for his wellbeing.

What he couldn't handle was his own Commanding Officer lying to him, then punching him. Mustang was supposed to be the constant in his life that liked to tick him off and mentor him so much that Ed wanted to destroy something. He was supposed to be there to anger the boy and be normal around him when everyone else pitied him and were being soft to him. He was supposed to be normal so Ed could remain strong.

But now, all Mustang cared about was getting revenge for his friend. He wanted to avenge his fallen friend who died trying to help Edward. That was all Mustang cared about, and now because of that, he was lying and punching Ed. This was not the normal constant in his life anymore. Since Ling was sitting next to Ed, only he saw the dark, sad look that crossed over his face. He frowned when he saw that. It seemed Ed cared more about Mustang hitting him then he let on, and that upset him. Ed may deny them being friends, but they both thought of each other as friends. He didn't like seeing his friend so distraught.

Ed crashed into the ground, while Mustang straightened his jacket. "You threaten a superior officer? You forget yourself, Elric."

Ed hid a wince at that. Mustang never called him by his last name. It was Fullmetal, or in the rare cases, Ed or Edward. It was never Elric. He didn't like that angry tone Mustang was using. It was not the angry tone he used when usually scolding Ed or having one of their famous arguments. He didn't like it.

Edward pushed himself to his feet. He turned around, glaring at Mustang with his face scratched up where Mustang hit him. He charged at Mustang with the intent to punch him, but Al appeared in time and wrapped his arms around Ed.

"Should have seen that coming." Breda said dryly. "Chief was never one to take hits sitting down."

"Well, it's a good thing Al showed up when he did." Mustang said with a sigh. If Al hadn't gotten there, things would have just gotten so much worst between him and Ed. In the room and in the future.

"Brother, don't!"

"I'm going to tear you apart!" Ed shouted.

"No, I won't let you." Al said.

"This bastard just killed Ross." Ed said.

"What? He did?" Al asked as Mustang walked away. He saw the body

lying at Ed's feet and gasped. "How could you do that, Colonel?"

"At least Al isn't attempting to kill me." Mustang said.

"He is the calmer of the two, even though he can be a bit reckless himself."

Izumi commented, not at all affected by this. She knew these boys, so the reactions were expected and she couldn't criticize Mustang for punching Ed.

That boy needed it sometimes, and plus, that would make her a hypocrite since she beat him and his brother up all the time.

"I also know it would not be wise to let Brother go just yet." Al piped in.

Mustang paused. "Maria Ross was a fugitive. Our orders were 'shoot to kill.'" He glanced over his shoulder at the boys. "So, I did."

"That's not shooting." Ed muttered. "Figure of speech. It means take down the enemy." Mustang said. Ed snorted.

"You burnt whatever that is horribly. It's like it was thrown into the pits of hell."

"The best way to fake death when it involves Roy. He makes the bodies unrecognizable." Hughes said darkly. He never did like seeing his friend use his Flame Alchemy like that .

"That's all you have to say?!" Al demanded.

"About Hughes' death...I apologize for hiding it. But you do not argue against orders...or ask for explanations. Just follow them." Mustang said. "That's what it means to be a soldier."

"…. Sounds more like you're giving a lesson to Brother." Al said.

"He has yet to learn this lesson." Mustang commented.

"It's a hard lesson to learn, especially with the scene in front of him." Fuery commented, understanding how hard to was for Ed. It would be very difficult for him to learn, especially from Mustang after he just supposedly killed Ross. Ed did not yet know in this future that Mustang had no qualms about breaking laws and sneaking around his superiors. He did not yet know that sometimes breaking the rules was for the best if it meant protecting friends and comrades.

"It did teach me one thing." Ed muttered. "I am never entering a dark alley with an angry Mustang on the loose." Hughes laughed. "That does sound scary."

Maria's bracelets were shown before there was a flash. A soldier was shown taking pictures of it with others soldiers around doing their job. A solider was whispering something to Henry before Henry turned to Mustang. Ed and Al were shown leaning against the alley wall.

"Colonel Mustang." Henry shouted, marching over to the man. "You will explain to me what happened here at once."

"The message went out that if she resisted, we were permitted to shoot to kill." Mustang said.

"She resisted, so I killed her." "I understand the Brigadier General was a friend." Henry said.

"Yeah. He was a good man." Mustang replied. "Perhaps then it was one of your men who aided Lieutenant Ross's escape." Henry suggested.

"One of my men?" Mustang asked.

"Oooh, someone is suspicious of you already." Hughes said.

"And that is why the body is unrecognizable. I'll take the shocked, surprised, horrified, and angry looks while underneath it all is the truth." Mustang said calmly.

"A solider must look underneath the underneath." Ed suggested.

Mustang looked surprised, but nodded. "It seems you did learn some things."

"Underneath the underneath?" May asked curiously.

"There are times when we can't say what exactly we need to because of things we can't control. So, we have to speak or write in a way that is strange or in codes so the person receiving it will have to dig through it. Nothing is what it seems." Edward explained.

"Sounds confusing." May replied.

Ed hummed. "It does take getting used to."

"But why?" Mustang asked.

"Why, Colonel?" Henry asked as the body was carried away. "I'll tell you why. So, you could burn her to death with your own hand."

"I think such speculation is best avoided." Mustang said. He looked at Edward, who was glaring at him with wide eyes. The hallway outside the morgue was shown with Ed and Al standing in front of Armstrong. "I'm truly sorry for not telling you about Brigadier General Hughes's death sooner." Armstrong said.

"It's my fault." Ed said.

Armstrong looked in surprise at Ed. "Don't be so hard on yourself. His murder wasn't you're doing, Edward."

Dr. Knox exited the morgue. "Is everyone here then?"

"Dr. Knox." Armstrong said.

Ed's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Who is Dr. Knox?" "A doctor that specializes in autopsy, specifically in fire-related deaths." Mustang explained, smirking. "He served with me in Ishval, autopsying all the bodies I burnt. Without even needing to inform him of the plan, he will say that body is Ross."

"You sure have loyal comrades." Al said.

"Her body was almost completely destroyed." Dr. Knox said as papers of the autopsy were shown. "But judging from what little dental work that remained, I was able to conclude that this is indeed Maria Ross." Still looking at the report, Dr. Knox said, "It's an awful thing you did, turning a beauty like her into a pile of charcoal. You must have held quite a grudge against her, didn't you, Colonel?" He turned to look at Mustang, who was sitting on a bench in the hallway.

Mustang opened his eyes, staring at the man with dark eyes. "Is the vengeance as sweet as you imagined it?" Mustang closed his eyes and looked away.

Dr. Knox scoffed and turned away, walking off. "The famous hero of the Ishvalan War, going this far against a little girl. It makes me sick." The MPs behind Armstrong shared a look. Ed gritted his teeth as Mustang stood up. "Colonel, please allow me to apologize for what one of my own officers' actions."

Armstrong said. "I could never imagine that Second Lieutenant Ross would commit such a harness murder."

Ross looked down sadly. Did Major Armstrong really lose his belief in her so easily? She had thought that Major Armstrong was someone who would always believe in her.

Ed and Al stared at him. "She was so straightforward and earnest…" Armstrong's furious face was shown. "Compassionate. A truly fine officer."

"You look very mad." Al commented.

"Because I do not believe that Lieutenant Ross did anything wrong and she did not deserve this death." Armstrong explained.

Ross looked up, surprised. He didn't lose trust in her, but was throwing this in Mustang's face. He was angry and upset and was trying to guilt Mustang? Was that it? She smiled to herself. So Major Armstrong didn't lose his faith. That warmed her heart.

Mustang stared at Armstrong. The brothers were shown before Armstrong sat on one of the couches.

He covered his eyes and sighed. Mustang looked away. "Fatigue seems to be getting the best of you, Major. Perhaps you should take some leave." He suggested. "Back east, where I was. It's a nice place." He looked at Armstrong out of the corner of his eyes. "None of the big city noise and lots of beautiful women."

Mustang smirked. "It seems I am a sending Ross east."

"What?" May asked confused. "But you didn't say anything about Ross."

"See what is underneath the underneath. Some might not see it because they weren't trained to. Others won't see it because of anger or sadness." Ed explained tiredly. He really didn't have the energy for this anymore. "Dr. Knox called Ross a beauty. Mustang just said there were beautiful women in the east. Hence, Ross is heading east."

"Oh, I see." May said, smiling. "It's a code then." "In a way." Ed replied.

Ed gritted his teeth as Mustang walked away. He kicked a trash can angrily.

A group of monsters in cages were shown, snarling. "After a daring escape, the fugitive is killed by Colonel Mustang, eager to avenge his best friend. And all's well that ends well." Envy told Lust, smiling. "Are you so sure about that? The plan was supposed to be designed to get Mustang to behave himself." Lust said. "He took the bait...Now he doesn't have a reason to snoop around anymore." Envy said. He grinned evilly.

"Besides...we did manage to sow some animosity...His subordinates won't trust him much after this."

Mustang smirked. "And that is why all my plans are highly effective."

"You want them to think that no one trusts you anymore?" Ling asked. "Colonel's operations are highly…advanced and sometimes involves a lot of betrayal and hatred among the group for them to work." Havoc explained, biting down hard on his cigarette. He shot a look at Ed, who was staring at the screen with a frown.

He had been like that since Mustang hit him. Even when he talked, he still frowned. At this rate, he would lose trust. "But in the end, it really comes down to how much we trust one another for them to work." "Sounds intense." Lan Fan commented. "It's gets easier with experience." Breda told her.

A paper was slid across Mustang's desk. "What's this?" He asked.

"It's a request for leave." Riza said.

The soldiers at their desks watched the two. "At a time like this?" Mustang asked.

"Is that a, no?" Riza demanded. "No, it's fine. Request approved." Mustang said. Riza saluted.

"Thank you very much, sir." She turned and began to walk away, resulting in the soldiers hurriedly looking back at their work. Mustang sat calmly at his desk with his face resting on his fist as he stared at the wall. Riza opened the office door, walked out, and slammed it shut behind her with the soldiers watching.

They looked back at Mustang, only to see him smirking. A cleaver being sharpened was shown. "What were you thinking going out on your own like that?" Falman shouted frantically at Barry, who was calmly sharpening his cleaver and ignoring him.

"You didn't inform me of the plan?" Falman asked, hanging his head in a dejected state.

"I was probably thinking of the horrible consequences of meeting you when you found out I lost Barry all night."

"It does suck being left in the dark." Al agreed, hanging his head. There were times when Ed had to leave him in the dark when he was doing certain missions for the military.

It was really scary for him because he didn't know if his brother would make it back sometimes. Mustang seemed to recognize his concern and told him that he would never let his brother die if he could help it. He would protect Ed, and Al trusted him.

"Do you know what the Colonel would do to me if he found out?" Falman asked. Barry looked over at him, raising his sharpened cleaver.

"Oh, pipe down will you. Nobody saw me."

"That is a very huge lie." Al said, chuckling. "A lot of people saw him, including Brother and me."

Falman grabbed at his hair. "Don't you get it? That misses the point."

"You're just a helpless soldier held captive by a big bad criminal." Barry said.

"Isn't it the other way around?" Richard said dryly. "Not when the big bad criminal is just a suit of Armor with no body." Jerso said, smirking.

"Bullets won't work on it so really, Falman is at his mercy."

"Not necessarily. If he knows where the blood seal is, all he has to do is get to that." Heinkel pointed out.

"Yeah, get to it. What are his chances? Maybe one of the brats could get to it." Zampano nodded at the teenagers. "But I don't think a soldier has their kind of flexibility to do that." "Great." Falman dropped his head in a dejected manner.

"What were you supposed to do?" Barry asked.

"Huh?" Falman asked.

A fish was shown to be cooking over a fire. "Hey! What are you up to out there?" Barry asked from the window, looking at Ling, who was sitting next to the fire, holding a piece of cardboard.

"It's about time!" Lan Fan said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What do you mean?" Riza asked. Lan Fan smiled at the woman.

"That is a signal Master Ling is doing so we can find him."

"Building a signal fire." Ling replied.

"A signal fires?" Barry asked. Falman pointed angrily at Ling.

"Bringing someone back here you know nothing about? How can you be so stupid?"

Al snickered. "I love your reactions, Falman. They remind me of Brother, except that you are much calmer then him."

"I think it is a common reaction in a situation like this." Falman muttered.

A close up of Fu's face appeared on screen. "Young Lord."

He said before the scene pulled out to show Ling eating the fish with Fu kneeling near him and Lan Fan standing by him. "We've been looking for you."

"Wow, impressive response time." Ling said.

"Looks like a party." Barry commented, causing Falman to groan.

Birds were chirping as some buildings were shown before soldiers were shown staring blankly at someone. "Hello Elizabeth, how are you?" Mustang said.

Havoc snickered. "I love seeing soldiers' facing when they see Colonel constantly on the phone with different women."

"Why is it so amusing?" May asked confused. "Because they think he is a womanizer when he really isn't." Havoc explained.

"Those women he is always talking to aren't dates. They don't even exist." Ling blinked for a moment before smirking. "Codenames?" Havoc nodded. "You've got it. The second part of the operation has begun."

"It's great to hear from you as usual. Are you sure your assistant won't give you grief for blowing off work to talk on the phone?" A woman's voice asked.

"Nope." Mustang turned around in his chair, grinning. "The coast is clear. She's out of the office at the moment." Two soldiers standing out of the office listened to him.

"And a good thing too or I wouldn't be able to talk to you." Mustang said before laughing.

"So how do you like that?" One of the soldiers asked. "He's whipped."

"The second the Lieutenant goes on leave; he gets like this." His companion said. A scary picture of Riza appeared behind them. "You'd think Lieutenant Hawkeye was…"

"…Colonel Mustang's nanny or something."

Hughes snickered. "So that's what your men think of you two."

Mustang smirked. "Which is the best cover out there."

The inside of the office was shown with soldiers looking angry while Mustang continued to talk. "Uh-huh, that's right. You know I haven't had a day off since I got here, so I'm seriously thinking of taking some leave time soon."

"Oh. Where are you going to go?" Elizabeth asked.

Mustang leaned back in his seat, holding a pen in his hand. "I could use a nice, relaxing fishing trip. Care to come along?" He asked before the outside of the military dorms was shown with dramatic music playing

"Fishing?" Al asked. "Of course. Fishing." Mustang smirked. "I'm fishing for those who are pulling the strings. It's a good pastime."

General Armstrong smirked. Fishing, eh? She didn't get to see much of that at Briggs. She kind of missed it.

Ed was shown to be lying on a couch in his room with Winry and Al sitting around him.

A knock sounded at the door, catching Ed's attention. "Yeah? Who is it?" He asked as he opened the door. "What are you–" He froze, looking shocked as Armstrong raised his arm to punch him.

"What the hell?" Ed cried, shooting up in shock. "You do end up in the strangest situations." Ling commented. "But usually, it's not from your own comrades."

The ceiling fan of his room was shown before Ed was shown with his metal arm raised in defines as he skidded across the ground. When he stopped, he sat halfway up and glared at Armstrong. "Major! What the hell did you do that for?"

Armstrong towered over the boy. "You listen to me, Edward Elric." Edward gulped before Armstrong picked the boy up by his jacket and moved his automail arm around. "Hmm, this is no good, no good at all. Your automail seems to be broken."

"AHH! No! Not the arm, Major!" Ed cried. "That's it! You are so paying to have that repaired!" Armstrong chuckled nervously.

"Well, think of it this way, Brother." Al said cheerfully. "Winry totally saw that so she can't blame you for it breaking this time." Ed hung his head. "But why…."

"Uh…Okay." Ed said.

Armstrong put Ed down. "Yes, this is a serious situation indeed. We'll have to repair it at once. There's no time to waste. Allow me to escort you to Resembool for repairs." Ed deflated.

"Uh, Major, what's up?"

"It seems we're throwing you out of Central." Mustang said, laughing.

"Why?" Lan Fan asked curiously. "So, he doesn't get in the way of my operation again." Mustang said.

"And plus, I'm sending him east so I believe…"

"He's going to go see me?" Ross asked. Mustang nodded. "I can only hope. It might make him not hate me anymore."

Winry and Al leaned out the doorway watching. "What's that?" Winry asked.

"You're going back home to Resembool?" Al asked. Ed moved closer to them, waving a hand. "I have no idea of what he's talking about, Al." Armstrong leaned into Al's face.

"And you, Alphonse Elric, you would stand out too much, so you remain here in Central." "Okay." Al said.

"Don't agree so easily, Al." Ed groaned.

"You are just going to let me be kidnapped?"

"But it's Major." Al protested. "He's not going to hurt you."

"But we don't know what he wants!" Ed shouted. "It's not like it's the first time." Al muttered quietly.

"Huh?" Ed said as he was dragged off by Armstrong with Al and Winry watching. Winry was pointing at herself.

"But isn't that suspicious since Winry is there?" Al said confused.

"Don't question things." Mustang said.

"Well, alright then." Al muttered. Sorry for asking questions.

"We need to make arrangements for transportation right away! Come along, Edward." Armstrong said.

"Cut it out, Major." Ed said weakly as Armstrong walked through the lobby, carrying Ed under his arm. "Put me down."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Armstrong said. Ed stopped whining, looking surprised. "These are my orders." Ed tilted his head up to look at Armstrong. 'From him…' Mustang's office was shown once more. "Okay, I got it." One of the soldiers said. "Roger that." He put his phone down and stood up. "Major Armstrong and Edward Elric have gotten aboard the train, sir."

"Okay." Mustang said before smirking. 'Finally, everyone's out of the way.'

"Hey! I resent that!" Ed shouted. "Why couldn't you just tell me about the damn operation?"

"Because that would ruin the fun of kidnapping you." Mustang said, shrugging. Ed growled. "Major kidnapped me, not you."

"But it was by my orders." Mustang retorted. "I wish you would stop ordering that." Ed hissed. Ling laughed. "He's ordered you kidnapped before?"

"He's done it at least twice a year since I've joined!" Edward said angrily. "It's getting really annoying."

"But this time it was done for a serious reason." Riza pointed out. "And at least it's by us and not a criminal." Breda added. Ed sighed.

"We've already established that criminals don't like kidnapping me after that one time. It's only the damn military that does it now! What kind of comrades are you?"

"The fun kind." Havoc said.

A soldier appeared in the room with the caged animals. "I was able to find a witness who saw the man who orchestrated the breakout." He said before turning into Envy.

"This is getting really annoying." Luke growled. "How many different soldiers do we have to see him as? It's been too many times already."

Envy held a picture out to Lust. "Here, this is a rough sketch of the guy." Lust took the picture. It was shown to look like Barry. "Oh, he's still alive then."

As Envy walked away, stretching, Lust continued. "Is there any direct connection to the Colonel?"

"Who knows? My money says he's the one behind it though." Envy replied. Lust looked at him. "Where did he run off to?" Envy dropped his arm from his stretch.

"Well, he did leave pretty suddenly...and he's good at hiding." Lust turned to him. "In other words, you have no idea...You're useless." Envy looked at her with a blank face. "Don't blame this on me, you ugly hag...I'm short on manpower."

"Manpower?" Hughes echoed.

"They're monsters. How can they be short of anything?" Dr. Marcoh said.

"They keep killing them off." Ed said dryly.

"Manpower?" Lust asked as a creature slammed his hands against his cage. "But you have plenty of manpower right here."

Active music started once more as the thing in the cage looked up. "It looks like you're finally on, Barry the Chopper." Lust said.

"Barry…" Havoc said.

"…The Chopper?" Breda finished; eyes wide.

"Is that his body?" Al asked shocked.

"How is that possible?" May asked scared.

Ed shrugged. "Barry and the Slicer brothers didn't lose their bodies. Their souls were ripped from them to bind them to Armor suits. It makes sense that their bodies are still around."

"But how can it move? It has no soul." Fuery pointed out.

"It's a mindless creature now that doesn't think. It just acts." Ed rested his arm on his knee and put his cheek in his hand. "There are some religions out there that believe animals do not have souls you know. Some say they do have souls. If we are going by the former, then it means that right now Barry's body is an animal that only knows how to track and kill. It is a soulless monster now."

"I didn't think you studied religion long enough to know something like that." Hughes said.

"I didn't, but I read a lot. It's just something I came across." Edward replied.

"That's pretty dark and disturbing," Heinkel said, frowning.

Ed shrugged. "It's life. Life is not fair. It is a dark place where we struggle to survive."

"Must you say dark things?" Ling asked.

"Time for a break!" Hughes suddenly declared.

Ed shot him a frown. "We just had a break not that long ago."

Hughes shrugged. "Yeah, but I need to find something so we're having a break." He jumped to his feet and turned his face to Mustang so he was the only one to see it. He gave his friend a look that said fix-him-now before smiling and leaving to disappear into one of the rooms.

The soldiers shot the door he disappeared through a blank look before Ed sighed and stood up, stretching his back. "Well, okay then." He jumped over the couch Mustang was on, via the empty seat that was Hughes's and walked away himself.

Riza shot a glare at Mustang. Unlike Ling, she didn't have to see Ed's face earlier to know that something was wrong. "You better follow him, sir. This is your mess."

Mustang nodded hurriedly and stood up. He disappeared to where Ed went as well. When he passed through the door that Ed went through in the back corner of the room, he was shocked by what he saw. Inside the room was a huge training room. Ignoring the room's equipment, Mustang looked over to where Ed was punching a punching bag.

"Fullmetal." He called, stepping farther into the room.

Ed slammed his fist into the punching bag. "Hey colonel. Do you need something?"

*Main Room*

"What was that about?" Darius said confused, staring at the door that Mustang and Ed disappeared through.

Havoc shrugged, sharing an uncomfortable look with Breda. "Colonel and Chief have a…. a unique relationship…"

"And when Colonel Mustang punched him, it kind of hurt that relationship and the trust between them." Breda finished. "They both stepped over a boundary today so they need to fix that." "A special relationship?" Sheska asked curiously. Riza glanced at the men of Mustang's team.

"Do you remember how we said earlier that Ed almost drowned?"

*Training Room*

Mustang walked over to Ed, grabbing hold of the punching bag. "Fullmetal, we need to talk."

Ed paused in his punching and looked at his superior with a raised brow. "We do? Is something wrong, Colonel?"

Mustang moved the punching bag back and stood in front of Ed, pushing him back away from the punching bag. "Not with me. With you."

"There is nothing wrong with me." Ed said, pushing Colonel's hands off his shoulder.

"But there is." Mustang insisted. "You can play it off as much as you want, but I'm not blind and neither is my team or your brother. You are upset over me punching you."

Ed glared at his superior.

*Main Room*

"When Edward almost drowned, it was an operation that went wrong." Riza said, frowning. Her eyes were closed as she recalled that mission. It was a difficult and scary one because they almost lost their youngest team member.

"Colonel Mustang went undercover as a rich widower with a teenage son, which was Edward."

*Training Room*

"You stepped over a boundary, Edward. You yelled at me and attacked me." Mustang said, looking down at the glaring boy with calm, dark eyes. Ed gritted his teeth. "But I am also at fault. You had just learned Hughes was killed, Maria Ross is a friend of yours that you thought I killed, and you were really confused, upset, and mad. I had to act a certain way for the operation.

You know how it is. But even though I had to act a certain way, I was still out of line. Punching you like that was not the best way to handle your sudden appearance."

*Main Room*

"What was the mission?" Kei asked curiously.

"A drug bust. Colonel was going in as a drug addict who started taking drugs after the loss of his wife because of depression. His son, Edward, was a delinquent punk who started getting into fights and using drugs all the time after he lost his mother." Havoc explained.

"That sounds like him now." Izumi pointed out. "Minus the drug part."

Havoc nodded. "That was the point. Ed was only thirteen at the time so we thought it'd be easier to keep his role like his personality at the time."

"I was working for Colonel at the time as a butler while also going out to meet Lieutenant Hawkeye or Havoc to share information. Fuery was our communication expert while the others worked in the office and were back up to Ed and Colonel when it was time to do the dangerous parts of the mission." Falman explained.

*Training Room*

"Think what you like, but I am fine." Edward hissed, walking over to the sparring ring.

Eyes narrowing, Mustang followed him while at the same time unbuttoning his military jacket. He pulled it off and tossed it to the ground, revealing a black shirt under it. "You said I could not touch you with my bare fists."

Ed turned around, staring at Mustang in shock.

"Military hand-to-hand combat vs. martial arts. Which is better?" Mustang asked.

"Wah–" Ed was cut off by having to duck under a punch. "Colonel!"

"We've never sparred before, have we?" Mustang asked, smirking. "Are you afraid?"

Ed snarled and charged at Mustang. He swung his leg up at Mustang's side, but the Colonel blocked it with his arm. "Do you remember that mission where you almost drowned?" He asked as Ed pulled his leg back.

Ed blinked blankly at his Colonel.

*Main Room*

"Colonel was trying to grab their attention to join the gang by offering them lots of money for their drugs and buying often. He wanted to meet the leader to know who he was before taking them down. The mission was going well. The second-in-command of the group eventually came to Colonel's house with some men to meet him and talk some things over, but the Colonel wasn't home at the time. Edward was alone to meet them with Havoc watching the house from outside." Breda explained. "When Chief invited them inside, Havoc almost revealed his cover, ready to charge in to save Ed from them."

"You were that worried about him?" Ling asked.

Havoc shrugged. "I didn't trust them. I knew they each had at least one gun on them. If they pulled them out suddenly, Ed would be in trouble."

"But, from the bug in the house, Havoc listened to them talking. Apparently, they had been watching Colonel and Chief for a while now. Their boss wanted to meet them. Colonel because he was influential and Ed because they thought he would be good for the gang because of his expertise in fighting and intelligence." Breda continued.

*Training Room*

Ed jumped away from Mustang's kick. "Why are you brining that up now?"

"Do you remember what happened on the boat?" Mustang asked, blocking

Ed's punch, which the boy followed up with a kick to Mustang's stomach.

The Colonel grunted from pain and jumped away from the boy, rubbing his stomach.

"I don't remember much of it towards the end."

*Main Room*

"The meeting took place on a yacht that was on the lake a bit of a ways out of East City. We followed them as back up. Because of past research, we already had a boat ready for us to follow them." Riza explained, sharing a dark look with the rest of the team. "The boys waited until the yacht was a few miles away before they got into a speed boat to follow them, stopping far enough away that it wouldn't be suspicious. They then took up the act of fishing. I had snuck on board of the yacht with Colonel and Ed. We discovered the main circle of the gang were foreigners from Aerugo. Talks began. The plan was to talk then get out of there and come back with arrest warrants, but something went wrong."

*Training Room*

Mustang grunted as he blocked Ed's foot from hitting him again. Before the boy could pull away, his other hand came up and wrapped around the boy's ankle. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing his boots or he wouldn't be able to get such a good grip. With the boy balancing on only one foot, it was easy for Mustang to yank him forward and cause him to lose balance. When Ed slammed into him, Mustang quickly pushed the boy back before he could regain his balance. He grabbed Ed's flesh wrist and painfully twisted it around his back. He pushed the boy to the ground and buried his knee into Ed's back so he couldn't get up.

Ed growled and tried to move, but it didn't do anything. The Colonel was stronger and heavier then he looked.

"On the boat, talks went wrong. One of the drug dealers recognized you because you protected a girl from him before this operation ever began."

Mustang told him, pulling his knee off his back. He released his wrist, allowing the boy to roll over and stare at the ceiling while Mustang stayed crouched next to him.

"What happened?" Ed asked.

*Main Room*

"Colonel Mustang was restrained by two men. He didn't have his gloves or gun because he was undercover. Guns were pointed at Ed, keeping him from being able to move." Havoc explained darkly. "Luckily we were watching this with binoculars and Riza was communicating to us through her headset so we were able to throw our act away and get over there. But we didn't get there fast enough. Since they knew who Ed was, they also knew he had two automail limbs."

"So, they threw my brother into the water to let him drown?" Al asked darkly.

May cried out, horrified at that. She knew that Ed must have had a hard time being in the military at such a young age, but all the stories she heard had described a strong, loyal boy who helped anyone who needed it. There were never stories saying how close he came to dying.

"Yes, they dragged him over to the edge of the boat and pushed him off."

Havoc said, glaring at the wall as he remembered that day. It was not something any of them could forget. It was so terrifying for all of them.

*Training Room*

"I remember almost drowning." Edward said, frowning.

"Yes, they pushed you into the water to let you down. I don't think they liked you very much to give you that antagonizing death." Mustang said.

"Most people don't. That's why they try to give me slow, painful deaths. That is also why I am still alive. If they were to shoot me down instead, then they would have a better chance." Edward replied.

Mustang didn't reply. He just looked down at the boy with dark eyes that displayed something Edward never saw before. Soft kindness. "We never told you what happened afterwards."

Ed shook his head.

"I screamed bloody murder at them and tried to pull myself free to get to you and their leader just laughed at my suffering, wondering who you were to me.

He loved my reactions and said he would keep me alive until he was sure you were dead just to watch my suffering. He wanted to see the pain in my eyes while I tried to escape to get to you." Mustang explained, angry flaring in his voice. "But then…"

*Main Room*

"Riza lost it then." Havoc said, smirking. "She shot both of the men holding Colonel before anyone realized we were around. The moment those two were dead, Colonel wrenched his arms free and dived behind some crates. We," He motioned to Falman, Breda, and him. "Used that moment to open fire on the ship while Riza hid behind some crates, pulling out her rifle."

"You guys sound insane." Ling informed them.

Breda laughed harshly. "I don't think it's insane. It's more like, we don't take well to someone trying to hurt one of our own."

*Training Room*

"With my team covering me, I dived into the water and came after you. You had already hit the bottom of the lake so I had to move quickly. I almost thought I would be too late. When I reached you, I grabbed you and realized that you were too heavy, being weighed down by water and your automail. Luckily, Havoc jumped down into the water soon after I did. With his help, we got you to the top of the water. Breda and Falman pulled you into the speed boat. You weren't breathing." Mustang said, frowning. That had been a very scary moment for the team and him. They had really thought they had lost him then. It was the first time he had ever been so close to death around them.

*Main Room*

"We were forced to give CPR. It was almost too late. In fact, we came close to giving up." Breda explained. Al froze. His brother never really told him what happened on this mission. He gave the brief details, but never informed him of how close he was to dying.

He probably wanted to save him the fear of almost losing him. Izumi growled to herself. Water was probably Ed's biggest weakness. In fact, it was another thing he shared with Mustang. They were both weak against water. Those men who tried to drown Ed were horrible. He was only thirteen at the time and they tried to murder him. They tried to kill a kid! If they weren't dead or arrested, Izumi would hunt them down herself!

*Training Room*

"You almost died from that incident. Havoc gave you CPR for five minutes before you were revived." Mustang said.

Ed paled. Five minutes? He should have been declared dead! It was only because his team didn't want to give up on him that he didn't die from that!

"Why are you telling me this now anyways?" He asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "It's got nothing to do with now."

"It's got everything to do with now." Mustang retorted. "That incident…it was the first time I ever saw you close to death like that. It scared me. You are part of my team and I thought I had lost you. I thought I failed in protecting you. I took you on that operation and you almost died. I was almost ready to keep you away from all the operations and dangerous missions after that, but Lieutenant Hawkeye told me that would only make it worse since you have a knack for finding danger. She told me putting you in dangerous situations would help you learn and get stronger so something like that wouldn't happen again."

*Main Room*

"We were all scared and thought we lost him, but Colonel, he was the worst.

He'll never admit it, but he was crying and yelling at Edward to open his eyes." Havoc said, smiling now. It was so rare for them to see Mustang crying. "He resorted to everything. Threats, insults, pleads, promises. He was saying anything to get the boy to open his eyes."

Riza chuckled softly. "I was still on the yacht, making sure the ones who were alive were restrained and I could hear all of them yelling. I was scared at the time that we were going to lose him. I think we were all ready to kill everyone in the gang for what happened to the boy, especially if he didn't wake up. They were quite lucky that Edward did regain consciousness."

Breda smiled at the memory of the boy opening his eyes. All of them had cried in relief when he did, but the boy was pretty dazed and tired at the time so he did not remember anything that happened then. Which was probably good. He would probably mock Colonel forever if he remembered that

Mustang had hugged him in relief and told him to never go near water again.

*Training Room*

"I still don't get–" Ed started but was cut off when he felt Mustang wrap his arms around his chest.

"I made a promise to always protect those who are below me and I almost lost you in that moment. I almost lost someone who is precious to me."

Mustang said, pushing the boy's head forward to rest on his shoulder. "Full– no…Ed, you mean more to me then you realize. I punched you, but I shouldn't have. And I don't plan on making that mistake ever again. I'm sure the future me regrets the action. I am sorry, Ed. I hope you don't lose your trust in me from that one moment."

Ed sighed. Yes, the Colonel lied to him and punched him, but he has always been there for him for three years. He couldn't really claim to hate the Colonel for what he did. It was a mistake and he has made a lot of mistakes in his life. If he could be forgiven, then he should be able to forgive others. Wasn't that what he said to Scar earlier?

Ed snickered. "It's alright, Colonel. I know you're not good at this stuff.

There's a reason why you aren't a dad." He pushed off his superior. "There was a reason why I was punk in that mission. That is the way I imagine your kid turning out if your wife is gone…. if you ever get a wife that is."

Mustang scoffed. "You have so little faith in me. I've been helping and mentoring you for the past three years and you doubt my skills still?"

Smirking, Ed nodded. "Course, because you had your team to help you and Teacher helped me as a child and my mom raised me before she died. You weren't going at it alone. Alone, you would have tota–"

BANG!

Ed and Mustang jumped in surprise to look at Hughes standing in the doorway, grinning like a madman. "Oh, Edward! I need your help in your area of expertise!" He sang.

Ed raised a brow. "My expertise?"

"Well, yours, Al's, and Dr. Marcoh's." Hughes said, waving around the thing he was holding.

Ed raised a brow. "You want to talk about…"

"Homunculi and The Philosopher's Stone."

---

FALLEN CREST A/N: [1] When the hell did, he go from Warrant Officer to Lieutenant, damn it! I swore he became a Second Lieutenant when he went to Briggs. He is not yet a Briggs soldier! Seriously, I did not write that wrong. That is what he said. SOOO, I wasn't all too sure about how to go about this Maria Ross thing. Do I have people hate Mustang until they realize he saved her or have them realize the plan? I went with the latter because when you look at it from everyone's perceptive (Homunculi, Ed, Barry, Mustang, etc.), you realize that things are not what you seem. Plus, you have all those genius analysers in the room.

We had a Hughes/Ed fluff moment earlier, so I decided to have a Roy/Ed fluff moment as well…. I actually wasn't sure how to do the whole punching Ed thing, but I read all my 300 and something reviews last week and I got sudden inspiration for this moment! So…THANK YOU! I think I got it to where I like it. It was a bit difficult since I wanted to keep the two in character as much as possible.

Please Review