Ch. 2

"Ah, Shanks, it's been a while," Hughes smiled when he saw the General coming down the hall, heading it the direction of the cafeteria, which was Hughes' destination.

"Yes it has Hughes," Shanks smiled warmly and nodded, much different to the fashion he had greeted Roy. "I'm going to eat with my men, want to join me?"

"Nah," Hughes shook his head good-naturedly. "I would, but I've got work to do. I have to get this done, so it looks like I'll be working on it during dinner."

"Working during dinner?" Shanks rose an eyebrow. "That's new. What work are you doing?"

"Lots and lots of paper work," Hughes winked. "I'm only working on it now because I was on vacation and need to catch up."

"Really?" Shanks rose both eyebrows. "What'd you do on your vacation?"

"I played with my little girl, Elysia," Hughes sighed happily. "She's such a darling. She's three now. Oh, she's so cute."

"Three already huh?" Shanks replied. "I remember when she was born."

"Yeah," Hughes nodded. "It feels like it was just yesterday that she was born and I was washing her in the sink. She can ride a tricycle now. I have pictures of her, wanna see them?" Hughes perked.

"Uh, thanks, but no," Shanks hastily replied, holding up his hand. "That's okay."

"Aww…well, anytime you want to see them," Hughes called as Shanks veered quickly off towards the table that sat his men once they were in the cafeteria.

"I'll be sure to ask," Shanks nodded, still walking.

"I'll send you a birth notice if you want," Hughes shouted as the General got farther away. "It's the least I can do for you help naming her."

"That'd be great," Shanks responded, his voice barely heard over the commotion in the cafeteria. Shanks couldn't help but like Hughes, but sometimes Shanks found him a bit on the weird side.

Hughes got his food and sat down at the table, humming happily, his mind on his wife. Just as he pulled the folder from underneath his arm and placed it on the table, Ed sat down across from him.

"Well hello Ed," Hughes greeted as enthusiastically as ever. "My wife's pregnant. Isn't that great?" he blurted out.

"Uh…well, yeah sure, I'm happy for you. Congrats," Ed stammered, caught off guard by the random, bizarre statement.

"Wanna see the pictures of my wife?" Hughes asked energetically.

"Uh, no, that's okay," Ed rubbed the back of his head.

"Funny, General Shanks said the same thing," Hughes mused to himself, stroking his chin.

"I have a question," Ed stated, regaining his composure.

"Well, alright," Hughes nodded. "I'll answer as best I can."

"What are the Special Forces?" Ed asked bluntly.

"Well," Hughes pushed up his glasses, giving himself a moment to think. "It's a smaller, lesser known branch of the military. They work in secret, hence the name. No one's quite sure what they do, or what their purpose is."

"Just how small are they?" Ed cocked his head.

"Dunno, forty, maybe fifty," Hughes replied. "No one's quite sure. They're shrouded in mystery and no one knows."

"Knows what?" Ed questioned.

"Anything," Hughes shrugged. "How many there really is, who established it, what their main purpose is, no one really knows. The only thing that is known for sure is that General Zabat is in charge and everyone knows he gets his orders directly from the Fuhrer himself. Besides that, no one knows anything. They're sworn to secrecy when they are put into the Special Forces and Shanks strictly enforces it. It's hard to get in as it is; Shanks hand-picks his soldiers himself. And when they start falling, he does away with them."

"He kills them!" Ed nearly shouted.

"No, well, I don't know, he might," Hughes held up his hands. "The only thing that is really known is they disappear. It's possible they're killed."

"So," Ed turned to look at the long table behind him that was filled with men with stripes identical to Shanks' on their arms, eager to change the subject of what happens to discharged members, "are those the Special Forces?"

"Yep," Hughes nodded. "Anyone with stripes on their arms like that are Special Forces. Of course, their uniforms look just like ours, but they have to have a distinction from the rest of us."

"What's so special about them anyways?" Ed grunted. "I mean besides the obvious alchemic talent."

Hughes took a drink from his cup. "They're given special assignments that are never reported or recorded anywhere. Only they know what the missions are and what they're about. It's also said that they know all sorts of things, like the truth of Ishbal, how the Fuhrer came to power, how all the wars start, stuff about the Philosopher's Stone," Ed perked, "you know, things like that."

"Really, they know about the Stone?" Ed asked, excitement growing in his voice.

"Yeah, well I guess, that's just what I've heard," Hughes shrugged. "I don't know for sure though. I've never asked about it. It doesn't really matter to me. But I've also heard that only Shanks knows about that. You can't just ask him either," Hughes added, noting how Ed eyed Shanks. "He doesn't even tell his own men."

"He's just a brat, thinks he's so high and mighty…I bet he's not so great," Ed grumbled.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, he's extremely talented," Hughes told Ed. "He jumped straight from a normal alchemist to a General State Alchemist."

"What? How'd he do that? It's supposed to be impossible!" Ed nearly shouted.

"Yes I know, tha'ts why he's the only one to ever do it," Hughes nodded clamly.

"How'd he do it?" Ed repeated anxiously.

"Took the State Alchemist exam, just like you and every other State Alchemist," Hughes took a sip of his drink. "It was his turn, and there was an assualt on the Fuhrer. Without warning, a rouge alchemist burst out of nowhere and attempted to kill the Fuhrer. We later learned that the alchemist had been trying to become a State Alchemist for five years and was denied every time during the second portion of the exam. Infuriated, he came at the Fuhrer only to be stopped by Zabat."

"So? What did Zabat do that was so great?" Ed yawned.

"Zabat didn't hesitate, which was one reason the Fuhrer was impressed," Hughes shrugged. "It not only showed Zabat's loyalty to the Fuhrer, but also showed his resolve. He also used alchemy on the man himself in order to repell him, and even though it was human transmutation, technically, nothing bad happened to him. Obviously, this is a rare, potentially dangerous skill, and the Fuhrer didn't want Zabat turning on him, but he also thought that the General's talents would be wasted as a normal State Alchemist. So, the Fuhrer decided to make Zabat a General right there, promoted him under one condition. That was that the General would stay loyal to the Fuhrer and command the Specail Forces, neither of which Zabat had problems with."

"I guess he must be good then," Ed admitted.

"He is," Hughes nodded. "I've seen him in action before. Not only that, but until you came along, he was the youngest State Alchemist. He is still, however, the youngest General."

Hughes studied Ed's eyes, which had been fixed on him moments before, to find that they had drifted back to Zabat. This made Hughes a little uneasy. Knowing Ed, Hughes had every right to be. His thoughtful look told the investigator that the young military dog had something planning in his head.

"What are you thinking?" Hughes cautiously asked.

"Equivilant exchange," was Ed's simple reply.