A/N:I assumed that if the Military had a hand-signal code, Ed would only know some of it, since as a State Alchemist he didn't go through any kind of academy or special training in the Military.
And about Mae'var's eyes... I don't know if that is possible, but it's pretty flippin' cool! (At least I think so...)
Riza sat on her thin cot of a bed, rocking back and forth, the cot creaking with the movement. She didn't know what Alphonse was doing, sitting in the corner; she didn't think he needed sleep. Was he meditating, perhaps?
She silently stood and padded to the door with all the powerful grace of a hunting cat.
"Where are you going?" Apparently not asleep, Al's eyes focused on her.
"I'm going to get your brother out of here."
"Let me do it," he pleaded. "I have a plan and everything."
"What is your plan?"
"Well, first off, they don't know I'm alive... and supposedly, neither do you. I get Brother out, and you have less risk of having your cover exposed.
"Besides... he's my brother," Alphonse finished quietly.
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "You're a smart boy, Alphonse. Thank you."
He stood and clunked to the door. "You may want to call in the alarm that I'm missing in about fifteen minutes so they don't get suspicious."
"Will you be out by then?"
"Trust me." Alphonse opened the door and left.
-xXx-
Alphonse may have been considered the more innocent of the two brothers, but he was willing to do whatever he had to to get Edward back. "Where are you keeping him?" he demanded, holding up a young man by the collar.
Proving that he had the worst luck in the world, Johnny pounded futilely against Al's armored arm. "I don't know what you're talking about," he gasped.
"The Fullmetal Alchemist," Alphonse said dangerously. "Where are you keeping him?"
"I can't tell you tha- aaaah!" Johnny wailed as Alphonse used his free hand to poke his recent bullet wound, holding his thumb and forefinger against it until it began to bleed. "Alright!" he gasped. "Alright, let me down, please!"
Alphonse lowered Johnny to the ground and listened as he gave directions to where they were holding Edward. "I'm sorry," Al whispered, then ran in the direction he had been told. He didn't enjoy causing pain to others, but he didn't have time to search through this seemingly endless labyrinth. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
He shoved open a steel door. "Brother!" he cried.
Edward was hanging limply from the wall with his hands chained above his head. His body was covered in cuts and abrasions, but he didn't look to be seriously injured. "Alphonse...?" he whispered, lifting his head a little.
"What the-!" someone shouted, and machine gun fire filled the air.
"Not this again," Al groaned as bullets ricocheted of his armor. He ran over and shielded his brother's body with his own, hastily drawing a transmutation circle on the chains holding him up. With a blue flash they shattered, and he caught Ed as he fell to the ground.
"Thanks... Al," Ed gasped. He clapped his hands together and formed a wall out of the stone floor to protect them from the criminals. "Let's get out of here."
Working together, they used alchemy to deconstruct a hole in the wall where Edward had been hanging. The two brothers were stopped by the sound of several guns being cocked directly in front of them. "Dammit!" Ed hissed as the smoke cleared and a squad of men and one woman- Hawkeye- held weapons ready on them.
Alphonse put his hands up in his fighting form, prepared to defend his weakened brother. One man stepped out from the ring. He had a mop of dark brown hair and a wide grin. His eyes shone with a strange light. "So. State Alchemist Edward Elric. I suppose you used alchemy to make the armor move? Fascinating."
Edward said nothing.
"You know, I had entertained thoughts of allowing you to live, but now I see you're far to dangerous to be kept alive."
"Cliché," Edward commented smugly. "You need new lines, I've heard that before."
"Overused, yes, but true!" In one quick movement, the man drew a hand over both his eyes. Next thing the brothers saw was a giant shockwave rushing toward them.
"Aw, hell!" Ed shouted, diving out of the way and transmuting his arm into a blade.
"My name is Mae'var, and your deaths will elevate me even higher in the ranks!" He grinned maniacally and drew his hand over his eyes again.
"Shit!" This is just like that woman in Youswell, Edward thought, rolling to dodge the next shockwave. Lyra, or something. She liquefied the air and compressed its volume, causing the shockwave. But how is he-?
"Brother, his eyes!" Alphonse shouted. "He has transmutation circles scratched onto his eyes!" Hawkeye had told him about this before he had left to attempt the rescue of his brother.
"That's cheating!" Edward exclaimed. I can't exactly cut his eyes out, can I? Well, I can, but not quickly. He took cover behind a pillar, feeling the compressed air start battering it to pieces.
Something caught his eye, and he looked to see Riza Hawkeye discreetly using Military hand signals. Seeing she had Ed's attention, she stated over. He wasn't particularly proficient in the hand code, but he could catch a few words. Out, she signed, twitching her head slightly to the right. Something wall something something sewer something tunnel.
Edward nodded to show he got the general idea, then yelled. "Al, we gotta go!" He made a mad dash for the wall Hawkeye had indicated, aware of her drawing her pistol and firing at them- purposefully missing, but not by much.
Bullets ricocheted off Al's armor as he ran to join his brother. Ed clapped his hands and deconstructed the wall, blowing a rough circle through the concrete. He found himself in the tunnel they had come in, ankle-deep in sewer water. As he and Alphonse sprinted toward the exit, they heard Mae'var shout; "Let them go!"
The two brothers ran into the bright sunlight and didn't stop until they came to an alley, Edward panting with his hands on his knees.
A man grabbed a hold of both their arms. Edward tried to jerk free, but the grip was as if of steel.
"Great," Fedora-man grumbled. "Now you've almost ruined everything. Let's go. I'm taking you to see Hughes."
End Part SixA/N: APOLOGIES TO ALL THE ED FANS! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!
Also, apologies to everyone else for the short chapter: it looked a lot longer in my notebook. I would have combined this with Part Seven, but a LOT happens in the next part, so... yeah. SORRY!
Apologies to my reviewers for not responding within a reasonable amount of time: I usually DO respond sooner, but I was busy this weekend.
Thanks to ise and qwerty, my two anynomous reviewers!
So basically, apologies to everyone, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!