'Check your six' is military code for "look behind you."

Alchemist Chronicles

Chapter 10 - Blue Between The Lines

Central

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" AJ yells when she sees Winry and Ed walking towards her and Al, all agreeing to meet up at the local diner in Central the day after the party. "Oh, My Gosh, Win! Let me see! Let me see!" noticing the (new and shiny) ring on her finger. She runs over to Winry, grabbing her hand and looking at it. "Awww." She says. "That's so romantic." "(giggling) I know." Win replies. Ed walks past them over to his brother. Looking back up, she asks Win. "Spill Winry, how did he do it?"

Meanwhile, Al looks at Ed, smirking. "You kept it in the pocket watch, didn't you brother?" Ed smiles and nods his head. Both of girls shriek with excitement about something, startling both of the brothers out of their conversation. The girls then walk back to the brothers and take their seats at the table.

AJ - "So Winry. How long have you known you fiance?"

Win - "My whole life."

AJ - "Seriously... Really?" Winry nods her. "So he didn't save you from a burning building or catching you before you fell on your butt?"

Win, Ed and Al share a laugh. Win then says. "My life isn't a romance novel, AJ."

AJ - "But the ring on your finger is saying something different, Win."

Ed - "And what exactly is the ring telling you, Janine? Enlighten us."

AJ stares at Ed. "Don't"

Ed - "Don't what?"

AJ - "Don't say it like that. You sound just like him."

Ed - "Huh? ...Who?"

AJ - "Roy... It's too weird." Al and Winry burst out laughing.

Ed - "I'm Not Him!"

AJ - "Rriigghhtt because alot people at the headquarters still think you are small and still wearing a red jacket, ...eh FullMetal?" Clutching their stomachs, Win and Al continue to laugh loudly.

Ed's eyebrow and antenna twitches and he glares at AJ. "Do you just call me... small?"

AJ nods her head. "No, I said there are still people at HQ who still believe you are short. I don't get it at all, especially since you are taller than me."

Al - "Nice save there, Janine."

AJ - "I'm not saving nothing, I'm just being honest."

Ed continues to glare at her. Al asks AJ. "Wait? how long have you've known the General?"

AJ - "Since I was 9." Win says. "She's the same age as Alphonse, Ed." Ed looks at her with astonishment as Al looks at Janine the same.

Ed then looks at her questionably. "So why are you working for the military then?"

AJ - "I have my reasons Ed, just like you had yours." Before Ed could say anything, she interrupts him. "Don't. Whatever your personal business is yours. It would be inappropriate of me to ask about your life story, regardless of what I heard about you and your brother. I respect you as a hero, Edward. I want you to know that."

Ed notices the glittery teary eyes of Winry as she's looking Janine. She doesn't say anything to her but thanks her with her eyes. AJ gives her the same look.

Ed and Al thank her as well. "But even after everything, I still don't feel like I am one."

AJ - "That's fine. You don't sound like a guy who brags to the papers. And besides, that's more of Hakuro's forte anyway."

Ed asks. "Wait? He's still with the military?"

AJ - "Pa leese, that guy is too busy chasing packets (Drugs), ovals (Pills) and dolls (Prostitutes) under streetlights than his actual job."

Win, Ed and Al stare at her with astonishment. Then Ed bursts out laughing, holding his stomach. "You know something told me you knew about him as well, Ed." AJ says. Ed chuckles. "To be honest myself Janine, I thought I was the only one who saw right thru him." She nods. "Hey, I'm not the only who has seen what he really looks like behind that mask that some may call his face. I didn't trust him from the first day I met him. And I was with Roy on that day as well."

Ed says. "He's seen it too, hasn't he." "Yup. He even held me back before I could even punch the guy." Ed chuckles at that remark. "Yeah, I know what that's like when you just wanna knock someone out only to have your younger brother (Glaring at Al) grab your fist before it makes contact."

Al - "I saved your butt from getting fired that day in case you forgot, Ed." He says glaring back at Ed. AJ chuckles lightly.

Ed - "Anyway, so AJ what is your specialty? When did you become a state alchemist?"

AJ - "I'm not an alchemist, Edward."

Ed looks at her puzzled. "So are you just enlisted, then?" AJ nods her head. "I only work under Big Blue orders. No one else is allowed to direct me unless Big Blue says otherwise."

Al - "So even Mustang can't boss you around?" AJsmiless at Al causing him to blush.

AJ - "Nope... but it's funny when he tries to." She says giggling. Al stares at her blushing and she blushes back at him. Ed and Win look at each other, whispering. "They like each other, don't they?" "Well duh isn't it obvious."

AJ looks at Ed and Win, then looks back at Al. "Hey, Al." "Hm?" She whispers "Let's start whispering too." He starts laughing, she joins him seconds later.

Ed makes an annoyed face at them. "Just what is so funny?"

Calming himself down, Al says. "Relax brother, it wasn't about you or Winry."

AJ - "Yeah Ed. Don't break a sweat." Al and her start giggling. Relaxing and catching their breath, AJ says. "There was one time Al, when Big Blue allowed him to boss me around for a few days. You wanna know what he told me to do on the first?"

Al puts a hand to his head, making a concerned expression. "Oh no, what did he make you do?"

AJ - "Sit on the sofa and look pretty. That's it."

Al looks at her surprised. "That's it?"

AJ - "Yup. That's it. The next day, however... let's just say Riza didn't appreciate my uselessness as well as his encouragement of my uselessness."

Al chuckles. "Back when my brother was working for him, he used to call him Colonel Useless."

AJ - "So I heard. It's nice to know that wasn't just a rumor." She grins, then asks. "So Ed what other words did you used to call old man Roy?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riza walks into Roy's office, seeing only Fuery, Falman and Havoc in there. Each saying good morning to her, filling out and organizing different paperwork.

Riza - "Do you any of you know where Mustang and Havoc are at?" Falman and Fuery nod their heads.

Breda - "Roy is gonna pick up Jean, then head over and pick up Ari from her place."

Riza looks at him confused. "So she didn't tell him about her breakfast plans with the Elrics and Ms. Rockbell?" They look back at her surprised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hahahaha! Oh my god, Ed! I can't believe you called him that!" AJ says while giggling.

Ed smirks saying. "Yeah well serves him right."

AJ - "Wooowww. You and him really didn't get along that well, did ya?"

Ed - "Don't get me wrong, I respect the guy. But with those damn short jokes and his egotistical attitude drove me crazy." Win similes at Ed, rubbing his back and holding his hand. Al and AJ notice what she's doing. Ed turns to look at Winry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Damn it Havoc hurry up! I don't have all day!" Roy shouts. Another minute goes by before Havoc comes out, locking his door behind him. Getting to the car, Roy takes off immediately. "Damn kid, better be ready when we get there."

Havoc - "Actually sir, she's over at a diner on Algae street, with a few friends."

Roy - "What are they name of these friends Jean and how do you know about this?"

Havoc - "Breda called right before you showed up."

Roy - "Ok but you haven't told the names of these friends of hers?"

Havoc flinches at Roy's expressionless stare.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trying to mumble to his fiance, Ed says. "My brother and our new friend are right over there, Winry."

Win whispers back "And? What's the point? You weren't too shy this morning, Edward." Al and AJ blush immediately at the both of them. Win leans in more closer to Ed, kissing him on the lips. Janine puts her hands to her cheeks, blushing like crazy, closing her eyes similing. Al puts his hands over his face, still blushing madly. They part, blushing and staring lovingly into each others eyes. Ed turns and sees both his brother and AJ hands covering their eyes, flushered across their faces. Win starts giggling at their reactions. They both move their hands back down to their sides.

AJ asks."Jeez, Win. Could you warn us next time?"

Win - "And miss out on you and Al's reaction? Nope. It was totally worth it." She says laughing then glancing over to Ed who's still blushing.

Janine then notices Roy's car in the distance, coming towards them. "Check your six, Ed." "Huh?" Ed looks at her confused. She raises an eyebrow at him. "Look." He says. "Its been two years since I left the military and its not like I even studied that crap anyway."

AJ - "That 'crap' gets the job done quicker and can help save lives too incase you also forgot that too." She sarcastically replies. They both share a laugh, leaving both Winry and Al sitting there looking at each other confused.

Roy's car pulls up near them. "Get in squirrel." He remarks. AJ holds a finger up. "One. Only the Boss up north is allowed to call me that." Putting another finger up, she says smirking. "And two, I'll get in when you roll over first ... Iguana."

Ed, Havoc and Al burst out laughing, while Winry is just confused about everything. "Would you rather walk to work today Janine?" "Alright, alright, I'm sorry." She says putting her hands up, giggling. Havoc moves over giving her a space to sit in the car as she stands up from the table. "Take care Winry, see ya later. Have a nice day gentlemen." They part ways as she walks to the car.

Roy - "Oh and Ed." Ed looks at him. "Today at 12 in my office, don't be late." "...Ok?" He replies. With that Roy drives away.

When they don't see the car anymore, Winry and Al both turn to Ed. "Talk Edward." They both say in unison.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the car, Roy asks Janine. "So what did you tell them."

AJ - "I didn't tell them anything they didn't need to know. Ma already talked to me before the party yesterday. I'm not stupid."

Roy stops the car, pulling it over to the side. He turns to her. She looks at him. In a calm but serious voice, he asks. "I need to know Janine. What did they tell you?"

AJ - "Why. Were they supposed to tell me something? Or are you still trying to keep me in the dark?" She looks away for a moment, then looks back. "You know I wonder if they know anything about that red light, those hand snakes or the red lighting bolts that I saw over Amestris?"

Roy - "I Told You To Drop It, Janine!"

AJ looks away. "Fine, then I won't ask. But Ed did ask why did I join? I never gave him a reason but he does know that I only work for Big Blue. He also gave a list of wonderful names he used to call you." She says smirking, looking back at him.

Roy rolls his eyes. She chuckles at his reaction. Taking a deep breath, he starts the car and continues to the headquarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Win - "Ed, what did he mean 'Today at 12 in my office, don't be late.'?"

Al - "Jean told me yesterday that you stopped by Roy's office looking for someone. Is that true, brother? Who were you looking for?"

Ed puts his hands over his face then lays them on the table. "Listen. (sighs) when I was over in Creta, I met a girl there. Her name was Roxy. She helped me travel to a few cities. In exchange, I would help her find her friend, Ari, who she said was taken into Amestris. According to Roy, this Ari girl was the one who was held against her will by that murderer, Adam Wilson back in 1909. She disappeared without a trace afterwards. No one seen or heard from her after she survived that."

Winry leans back in her chair. "Can't say I blame her for going into hiding." Al says. "Yeah. I know what you mean Al." She says. "Hm... You know I just realized that we could of asked Janine to help you out, Ed." Al continues.

Ed - "I'll just ask her later if I run into her at the headquarters."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Making it to Roy's office just before 12, Breda and Falman run into Ed, Winry and Al. They let them in as Roy has his back turned to them, talking to Hawkeye about something important. They help themselves to the sofa as Roy and Riza leave the room holding several folders in their hands.

Havoc - "They'll be back in few. Just sit tight." They nod their heads.

Breda - "So what's going on with you Ed? You seem different. Anything new?"

Ed and Winry blush at each other. Then Winry puts her hand up showing the ring on her finger.

The four men stare at it for a moment, then look at the two of them with surprised. They cheer with excitement, Breda grabs Ed, putting him in between his elbow, rubbing his fist on top of Ed's head. "Thatta boy Ed! I knew we raised you well!" Both Falman and Fuery have tissues underneath their eyes. (Fuery) "I'm so proud of him!" (Falman) "We all are Kain, we all are." Patting his friend's back. "Knock it off!" Ed says as he frees himself from Breda's grip.

"Is there something that needs to be brought to my attention, gentlemen!' Roy yells as he opens his door, with standing Hawkeye behind him.

Riza - "If I'm not mistaken, you boys have work to do? Get back to it!" She shouts. They scramble running back to their seats.

Riza waves hi to Winry as she and Roy walk over to his desk. Roy asks Ed. "Anything new since our last conversation, Edward?" Roy sits in his chair.

Ed - "How could I forget? You had me meet you at a bar and I ended up buying my own drink." Ed scowls at Roy, he chuckles at Ed's remark. "Speaking of which. So, any news leads on Ari, Lieutenant General?"

Roy - "Still a cut-to-the-chase kind of guy, eh Elric?"

Ed - "I'm still waiting on that answer ... Roy?"

Roy smirks then laughs. Calming himself down, he notices the ring. "Well congratulations Ms. Rockbell. Who's the lucky gentleman?"

Ed pointing to himself. "I am. Now can we get back to business."

Roy, ignoring Ed. "You can't be serious, Ms. Rockbell? There are plenty of fish out in the sea."

"HEY!" Ed yells. "With all due respect sir, I'd rather have a man than a fish." Winry replies smiling, causing Ed to blush at her. Al laughs at his brother's reaction. Ed rolls his eyes at Al. "Anyway, I've already called Roxy letting know about..." He stops when Roy just stares at him, not saying anything. "What?"

Roy - "Did it ever occur to you Ed that what if she's dead?" Everyone in the room looks at him.

Riza - "Sir, with all due respect, I think it's possible that she may have changed her name."

Havoc - "Or the girl could be in another country for all we know."

Falman - "If only we had a lead. Then everything would..." A knock on door breaks his concentration.

Riza walks over and opens the door. She quickly salutes. "Fuhrer Grumman. SIR! What a surprise! Come on in!" Roy and everyone else on his team stands up and salutes.

Grumman - "At ease Colonel. I'm only here for a moment. Good evening gentlemen. Oh, the Elrics are here. It's nice to see you two. Hello to you too Ms. Rockbell. Looking even better these days, Alphonse my dear boy."

Al - "T-Thank you, sir."

Ed stands up, saluting. "My apologizes Fuhrer. I know I'm not in a position to ask this but can I ask you a question?"

Grumman - "Why of course! Ask away FullMetal."

Taking a deep breath, he starts. "Do you know where a girl named Ari is at?"

Grumman looks at him surprised. "And just where did hear that name, young man?"

"When I was in Creta. I met a girl named Roxy. (Janine, who is standing outside, gasps quitely when she hears her friend's name) I made an agreement with her since she helped me enter a few cities in Creta. Brunswick and Kingslyn, to be exact. Anyway she told me about of a friend of her's named Ari, that was brought over into Amestris. I later found out she was the same girl back in 1909 who ... well I'm sure you know." He says, sighing and looking away.

Grumman - "Of course I do. Yes I know about what befell upon that young lady at that time. I myself still have people around the clock trying to find her. I would like to see what became of her, if's she's still even with us." Sighing himself. "It breaks my heart when children become victims at such a young age." He turns his head a little. "Miss Rambo."

Janine doesn't miss a beat and enters, saluting the Fuhrer. "I need you to run down to the Archives and try to find her profile for me. Ask Sheska or who ever is there to help you if need be. You are excused." "Yes, sir!" She replies and takes off. Ed notices Roy's tighten fist.

Grumman - "Edward, my dear boy, I want you to understand. I can't make any promises."

Ed - "Understood, sir. Thank you." He tries to salute but catches himself. "Sorry, sir."

With a wave of his hand, Grumman replies. "That's alright, young man. Take a seat back down next to your fiance and your brother." Ed sits back down, staring wide-eyed at Grumman. The Fuhrer can't help but laugh at his reaction.

Relaxing himself, he turns to look at Roy. "I take it everything is going well, Mustang?"

Roy - "Yes sir. At this rate, we are looking forward to an extension of the reconciliation agreement with Ishval sooner than we thought."

Grumman - "Can't really blame them for taking their sweet old time trusting us again. Meadowbrooke really helped us greatly with her last visit there. Old Johnny boy would be proud."

Roy smirks, a little too enthusiastically. "Yes, I'm sure he would be. Except she wouldn't shut up about those damn feathers." Grumman laughs again. "Ooohh Haha! Oh yes, she is quite inbracesive about her heritage. I'm sure her ancestors are proud as well." Roy nods his head.

Grumman sighs. "Well, then I'm off. Back to work now."

Roy - "Thank you for stopping by, your excellency." He salutes him, the others follow his lead. Grumman leaves, Hawkeye closing the door behind. After a minute passes, they all breath a sigh of relief. "How in the Hell did she keep herself together? She's younger than all of us!" Roy unexpectedly blunts out.

Hawkeye couldn't stop from giggling. Havoc, Breda, Falman and Fuery laugh along with her. She then quickly corrects herself.

Roy sighs. "Damn it." Putting his hands over his face, his elbows on the desk.

Riza - "Everything will be fine, sir."

Roy - "I hope your right, Hawkeye." He mumbles.

Al - "Should we leave sir? (Looking at Roy, then looks at his brother) I think we've over stayed our welcome here, brother."

Havoc, as he walks them to the door, says. "Thanks for stopping by guys. It was nice seeing you all again. Sucks we're still at the beginning, Ed." "It's fine. Thank you. All of you for helping me out. It means a lot." Ed replies. "No problem... chief." They smirk at each other, proceeding to part ways. Havoc closes the door behind them.

Roy - "I'm gonna get my ass handed to me tonight by her."

Riza sarcastically replies. "Shall I leave an aid kit in your car if you make it out alive, sir?"

An hour later, the four men and Riza leave for lunch, leaving only Roy in the office.

Janine rushes into the office without knocking, pressing her back to the door. She slides down, elbows on knees, hands covering her face.

Roy stands up and walks over to her. "I need (She flinches when she hears his voice) you to hear me out. There are reasons why I didn't... want...y-" He voice starts breaking before he stops talking, rushing to her side when her tears start falling. He puts an arm around her, pulling her close.

AJ - "She's alive. Oh my god, she's alive. This whole time I thought she was dead... Roxy's alive." She whispers. She then sits on her knees and wraps her arms around his waist. He then wraps his arms around her back, as she starts crying on his shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(SS)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Later on that night, back at the hotel. Ed walks into the dining hall, where Al is sitting at a table by himself, writing something on a piece of paper.

Ed - "Whatcha doing there, little bro?"

Al - "I'm making a list of names that we've heard so far. Names that I think may be Ari's new name. Wouldn't have even considered it until Hawkeye said what she said."

"I think it's possible that she may have changed her name."

Looking at the list so far, Ed asks Al. "So who's Marisol, Al?"

Al - "Do you remember back when a lot of people kept thinking I was the "FullMetal Alchemist" because of the armor?"

Ed - "Yeah? And what does that have to do with-"

Al - "I'm getting there, jeez!" Ed rolls his eyes. "Anyway when we got off the train here in Central, you took off to the library, leaving me to deal with them. When I finally escaped from their clutches. (He says, glaring at Ed, who chuckles) I ran after you. Only I ended up running directly into a girl who's name was Marisol. That was the first and only time I ever saw her."

Ed - "What did she look like, Al?"

Al - "Brown hair and brown eyes." Ed then turns, heading straight for the phone in the lobby to call Roxy, she picks up.

Roxy - "Hello?"

Ed - "Hey Roxy, its Ed. I need to ask you something." Waving Al to come over to him with the list. Al stands and walks over to him.

Roxy - "Sure. Is everything alright?"

Ed - "Yeah, listen. I want you to tell me if any of these names sound familiar?"

Roxy - "Ok. Go on then."

Ed - "The first name is Marisol."

Roxy - "Ed... That's Ari's first name." Ed stands there in shock for a moment until Al taps him on the shoulder. He then hands Al the phone. "Hello ...Ed?"

Al - "Hi, this is Ed's brother Al. He just handed me the phone. (he takes a deep breath) So, the name Marisol. Do you-"

Roxy - "I just told Eddie thats Ari's name."

Al - "Eddie?" Al grins at his brother. Ed covers his face with his hand. "I uh- I ran into Marisol back in 1912. I never ran into her again after that."

Roxy sighs. "Did she have brown hair and eyes?" Al replies with a yes. "Yeah that was Ari." She replies sadly. She sighs. "Go on. What are the other names?" Al hands the phone back to Ed, pointing to the list on the counter.

Ed - "The next one is Janine."

Roxy - "Nope. Doesn't sound familiar, next?"

Ed - "Rambo."

Roxy - "That's Ari's last name, Ed." Already feeling the anger building up inside of him, he takes a deep breath. "Is that it, Edward? Are there anymore names?"

Ed - "The last one is Meadowbrooke."

Roxy - "That's Ari's middle name. Her whole name is Marisol Meadowbrooke Rambo." He writes down her whole name under the list.

Taking another deep breath again, he tells her. "Listen uh, Roxy. I don't wanna get your hopes up or make any promises but I'm positive that I found her. I just need to verify 100% that its her, ok. Then you have my word that I will bring her to you."

Roxy stays silent for a moment. "Thank you, Ed. Its means a lot. Call me back soon, ok."

Ed - "Yeah definitely. Take care." He hangs up the phone. Putting both of his hands on the counter, he takes a deep breath.

Al - "Are you ok, brother?" He asks with worry.

Before he could say anything, Winry wraps her arms around his wait. "Come on, Ed. Let's get to bed. I'm tired." She says exhaustedly.

Removing her hands from his waist, he holds her hand as she pulls him up the steps. He stops to look back at his brother. "We will finish this tomorrow." Al nods his head to his brother as he and soon to be sister in law call it a night.

End of Chapter 10.