How to Get What You Work For

by PurpleTurtle21

After a friend attempts to perform alchemy from one of her favorite anime shows, Amelia finds herself on military property and about to go to prison for trespassing, until the Fuehrer offers her a chance: She gets a one-year trial period learning under a certified alchemist and if she passes, she gets a get-out-of-jail-free card. Now if she could only find someone to teach her…

33. Revving at Full Throttle

33

Once everyone had regrouped, they spent the remaining time of their day searching through the rubble of the mine shaft to look for any signs of bodies, or survivors. Amelia insisted on helping where she could, moving piles of stone and steel aside with alchemy and getting it safely out of the way so the others could look. She didn't want to give up, but the process of constantly performing transmutations to move hundreds of pounds of materials at a time was beginning to wear on her after a while. Still, she pushed through as much as she could until she couldn't physically lift up her arms from them being so numb. She had to rest, and Major Miles and the others continued their search while she stayed behind for a while.

For the remainder of the day, they searched for any signs of Edward, Kimblee, or the two chimeras that worked for Kimblee. While they found bits and pieces of things, they didn't find anything substantial that they might use or any sign that they had left there alive. One thing that did come up though, as they ventured deeper and deeper down into the mineshaft, they found the very bottom of the hole. The only sign of life they found was a large puddle of blood on the floor, in a pattern that suggested someone had been laying on their side as they bled out. And while it was their only sign, it was unfortunately useless to them since they had no idea where the body that bled it was, if they had been moved or if they had gotten up and walked away, or any signs of where they might have gone.

They continued to search until the last of the light started to fade away, and Major Miles began to order their return to the fort. Amelia immediately protested this, "What? No, we have to keep looking!"

"We don't have the means to continue this search for any longer than we already have. It's been 10 hours." Major Miles replied.

"So? We can get some flashlights and dig! We can't stop looking, there has to be something down here!" She insisted.

"We have found everything we are going to find, there's no point in wasting further resources. We need to return to the fort." Major Miles insisted in response.

"It's not wasting it! Edward has to be one of the most valuable state alchemists in the country!"

"Amelia, we are returning to the fort, there's nothing else we can do."

"I'm not leaving without Edward!"

"If you wish to stay down here and hunt for his body, you may," At the mention of his body, the blood began to drain from Amelia's face, horrified at the thought that his corpse was down here somewhere, "But my men are returning to the fort. Now you can either keep searching and freeze to death, or you can return with us and rest for the night. I'm sure you'll need to see a doctor for your arms." She could still barely lift them as it was, the pins and needles she had in her shoulders were very uncomfortable, and she was pretty sure there were icicles forming on her exposed hair from the cold. But she didn't want to just leave with no signs of Edward or where he was… but the thought of finding his body down here didn't make her eager to stay, either.

She ended up conceding and headed back into the cars with the Major and the other soldiers. She stayed in her seat, closing her eyes as she felt her exhaustion catching up with her. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep in her seat and slept all the way back to the fort. After all the work she had done, and everything she had felt, her body was exhausted, and she essentially passed out in the car. Major Miles was grateful for the silence since she had been working essentially non-stop until she bordered on unconsciousness trying to move rubble and make a stable path for them to search. He could organize a small platoon to search tomorrow, but for now, they needed to get back to the fort and figure out what needed to be done. General Armstrong was in Central and likely wouldn't be able to be reached, but they would need to tell the current commanding officer about Edward Elric and his brother going missing, as well as Kimblee, and what would need to be done about Amelia.

He didn't particularly like the idea of asking about her. There were only a few ways that situation could go, given her non-citizen status, on top of her conviction. He imagined if she wasn't immediately put back in jail in Fort Briggs to be transferred to the jails in Central, she could be reassigned to another state alchemist. However, it would be easier for the enemy to keep her under their thumb, considering her sacrificial status that she shared with Edward. He could ensure that she had somewhere to go, but it would be some time before he could establish that proper contact. He would have to do it before he was ordered to report to their new commanding officer, which could be anywhere from the moment he arrived to tomorrow morning. That wasn't a lot of time to get a message in, especially through military lines which were all heavily monitored, and the enemy would certainly hear about it if they looked for it.

Though, that brought up the question of how long it would be until they started looking for it. Once word got out that the Elrics were missing, he had no doubt they would be looking for her and try to keep her in one place so they wouldn't have to worry about her leaving anywhere. Still, how long would it be until they got that information? Depending on when he would report to his commanding officer, it could be a full day. It wasn't a lot of time to ensure her safety, but it was possible.

When they arrived back at the fort, he exited the car and had someone else wake her up, "Take her to the medical wing immediately, and following that take her to the quarters she was given when they first arrived." He ordered, and Samuels nodded as he reached into the backseat to wake her up. He shook her shoulder gently at first, and then a little harder when he realized she was in a very deep sleep.

"Huh…?" She was still bleary-eyed as she lifted her head, "Wha's happenin'...? Are we there?"

"Yes, we're at the fort. We need to get you to the medical wing." Samuels said as he helped her out of the car, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," She replied, yawning as she started to wake up a little more. She didn't say anything else as she let Samuels lead her to the medical wing to get a check-up by the doctor. She was exhausted, and he had to make sure she stayed upright as they walked.

Major Miles separated from them and went to the elevator to head up to the next level of the floor for radio communications. When he arrived, he was greeted by two familiar faces who saluted him immediately once they saw him.

"Welcome back to the fort, Major!" Captain Buccaneer and Lieutenant Falman greeted him.

"Any changes to report?" Miles asked as he stepped out of the elevator and into the hall, the two men following him at his signal.

"None since we spoke," Captain Buccaneer reported, "The situation is still normal here, but we've heard that Kimblee has gone missing."

"You heard right," Miles confirmed, "There was an explosion in one of the mineshafts. No one's heard from Kimblee or a few others since then. We did a thorough search through the rubble, but no bodies turned up." Buccaneer and Falman shared a worried glance, concerned for their forces. Even if a new commanding officer had come to take over the fort, that didn't mean they weren't still operating as one unit without the guidance of General Armstrong. Any loss to their numbers, however, had to be taken seriously.

"Are the other men that are missing Briggs soldiers?" Buccaneer asked.

Miles stopped walking, and the two others stopped behind him, "No, they were two of Kimblee's men… And the Fullmetal Alchemist." Falman couldn't help the shocked gasp that escaped him at the news that Edward had gone missing in the rubble of a mine shaft explosion.

"What's happened to his brother, then?" He asked, curious to their state.

"We lost track of him in a snowstorm," Miles lied, giving a small signal with his hands that he would tell them more in private when he was sure no one else was listening, and Falman relaxed, "And his apprentice is currently being treated in the medical wing, she performed some transmutations that seemed to get the better of her, and she's been excavating through rubble almost non-stop since Edward Elric went missing. I'm sure she'll make good use of whatever rest she gets tonight." He started walking towards the radio room again, and the two men continued to follow him.

"I see… what will happen to her when word gets out about Edward?" Falman asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I'm putting in my effort towards a certain outcome," Miles said as he turned a corner into the radio room, which only had one occupant in it at the time as the operator, "Connect me with the radio at Central Headquarters, request Major Alex Louis Armstrong."

"Yes, sir," He replied, beginning to do just that, to connect the wires in the right place and hopefully get in touch with the right person.

"Are you planning to send her back to the Major?" Falman asked.

"If I put the wheels in motion now before I make the official report, it will be that much easier to get it done." Miles said, "Otherwise they might see fit to let her sit in a jail cell for the remainder of her time in this country, or until we're able to locate a body. I know there's not going to be many options for her, so we may as well put her with someone we can trust."

"I see," Falman still couldn't help feeling a little bad for her. He had heard some of the rumors about her when he was in Central, and he had been surprised when he found out that Edward had taken her on as his apprentice following Hughes' death. Still, meeting her he thought she seemed like a perfectly normal girl.

It didn't take much longer for the radio to be connected to Central Headquarters, and the operator looked up at Major Miles, "They say they're not going to be able to reach Major Armstrong until the day after tomorrow, he's currently on leave."

"Damn," Major Miles tried to think of what they could do, "Alright, is it possible to leave a message for him?"

"Yes, sir,"

"Tell them his former apprentice is being sent back to him ASAP."

"Yes, sir," The operator began to do just that, speaking into his headset while Major Miles turned to the other two, directing them to follow him again as he began to leave the room. They walked quietly out into the hall and into an empty barrack, all the soldiers inside of it were currently on the night shift and not expected back for a few hours. Major Miles made sure the door was securely locked before he looked to the other two men with him.

"Now, there's a great deal more I haven't told you two about that you'll need to know," He began and told them everything that had happened. They found Scar, and the Xingese girl with the black-and-white cat, as well as Doctor Marcoh, how they formulated a plan to help them escape with Winry Rockbell while the transfer of commanding officers was being done and how they had to quickly improvise a solution to keep them from walking into a trap. He told them of how Alphonse had volunteered to warn them and likely wouldn't be seen back at the fort if he was seen at all, but everything he had said about the mine shaft was the most recent news, and he was genuinely concerned that they hadn't found any sign of Kimblee at all. "He's a sharp soldier, I have no doubt he's still alive, and that he caused that explosion, I just don't know what he's doing."

"Is it possible he's still hunting down Scar? He seemed hellbent on it." Buccaneer suggested.

"It's possible, but I can't help get the feeling there's more to it than that." Miles said, and let out a small sigh, "Unfortunately, I'm not sure I'll be able to get word fast enough to Major Armstrong so that he can accept Amelia Seymour as his apprentice again."

"Knowing him, I'm sure he'll take her back no matter what," Falman said, "From what I heard, they became pretty close during their time together, and he's always been the type to burden himself with more work if it meant others' suffering less for it. It's not like he can't handle it."

"I've heard that about him, too, but we can't just expect her to go back to Central without anyone wondering where she is. He might have to come and retrieve her." Major Miles said, crossing his arms, "Which means we'd essentially be confining her here if we're not going to shove her back into the prison cells. It won't be an issue, but I worry that the enemy might take advantage of her situation."

"How do you mean?"

"She's one of their 'sacrifices' which I've come to understand means they need to keep her alive for some reason or another. The Elric brothers apparently shared this status, and now that they're missing, I'm sure they'll be looking to keep tabs on her. Keeping her under their direct surveillance would be easiest."

"And it would be simple for them to do, she doesn't have much standing in Amestris outside of the Fullmetal and Strong Arm alchemists." Buccaneer didn't really like it, either. He didn't want to give the homunculi an advantage that was currently in their court, "We should try to keep her here as long as possible."

"But if we disobey orders, that could be even more trouble." Major Miles said, "Still, the evidence of communication with Major Armstrong should be enough to stall the commanding officer from ordering her return to Central for the time being. At least until he asks for a full report."

"Hmm… maybe we should get her on the phone with the Armstrong family?" Falman suggested, "I'm sure they'd be able to send for her while the Major's still on leave, he'd be able to organize it well enough."

"That would be a viable option, if we had access to any working phone lines this far out in the mountains. The nearest is likely in North City, if there's not something available in the town nearby."

"I'm sure we can arrange it so we can get in touch with them," Falman said.

"Possibly, but we'd still require permission to let her leave the fort." Miles replied, and sighed again, "I'll speak to the commanding officer about it when I give my report tomorrow, do you know who he is?"

"I believe his name is General Gärtner," Buccaneer answered.

"Let's hope General Gärtner is willing to negotiate the status of their last known sacrifice," Miles said, a small feeling of dread filling his stomach at the thought of bringing it up with him.

---

The next day, Falman had off so he went into town to relax and catch up with a young woman he had met not too long ago. She had been very sweet and a welcome break from all of his work at Fort Briggs, so he was taking every opportunity he could to see her on his time off. It wasn't too long into his time with her, just sharing a cup of tea at her house, that someone told him he had gotten a phone call from Lieutenant Breda.

He made sure to close the door behind him before speaking, "Hey, Breda?"

"Hey, Falman," He heard the voice of his strategist friend on the other line, "Just checking in with you since I had the time."

"Yeah, I'm glad you did. I've got a few things to report on up here."

"Oh?"

It didn't take long to fill him in on everything that had happened regarding the country-wide transmutation circle, Kimblee and the Elric brothers, and how his apprentice was currently under surveillance in the guest quarters they had originally put aside for her. The new current head saw no reason for her to be put back in the cells, but he was going to make sure they had security around her until she was reassigned.

"Is that so? Fullmetal's missing?" He was surprised that Edward had managed to escape the enemy's sight long enough, but it was concerning that they hadn't found him yet. "I hope he's alright."

"Me too, and I'm a little worried about his apprentice," Falman said.

"Why's that?"

"Well, when they came back to the fort I heard from Major Miles about her condition. Apparently, just before the explosion of the mine shaft, she had performed a rather strenuous transmutation. And once it was safe enough for them to go inside, she kept doing transmutations to try and help in the search efforts. Doctor Patricia said she could barely lift her arms when she was examining her, they apparently went numb."

"Damn, is she okay?"

"She should be fine with some rest; which I can only assume she's getting plenty of now that she's pretty isolated."

"So, what's going to happen if they can't find Ed?"

"I'm not sure, from what I understand Major Miles is trying to send her back to Major Armstrong before things get too complicated but he's currently on leave so we can't reach him." He let out a small sigh, "I'm supposed to organize a small group to take her into town tomorrow to make the phone call. She's the only one that knows his direct home number."

"She won't tell anyone?"

"Nobody's heard from her since she came back last night. She's been in her room under strict surveillance. Someone checks on her every other hour, but as far as they can tell she's just fine." He and Breda both let out a small sigh at the thought of it. "But anyway, are things any better there?"

"Afraid not, the border war at Pendleton was a massacre," Breda reported, "If the military was hoping for casualties, they sure as hell got them." There was a pause before his voice quieted and he spoke again, "It's just like you said. They're sending men in to be slaughtered for this transmutation circle."

"What's going on in the south? Have you spoken with Feury?" Falman asked. Breda had become a solid point of contact for everyone on team Mustang, with exception to Lieutenant Hawkeye who specifically told them she would be keeping communication to a minimum since the enemy had their eyes on her. She didn't want to risk any important information slipping out but would take measures to inform them if something happened.

"We talked on the phone a while back," Breda said, "It's just as bad down there. They're locked in combat with Aerugo. He told me he had just been assigned to run phone lines through the front lines. He's going to be down in the trenches taking the worst of it."

"That's terrible." Falman couldn't help sympathizing with his friend, he was their newest and youngest recruit, so he could only imagine how badly things were going for him, but at the same time, he was thankful he wasn't in his place.

"I guess it's to be expected, the higher-ups aren't our biggest fans." Breda commented, then asked, "Have you been in touch with the Colonel?"

"Yeah, we've been using a messenger connected to the Armstrong family," Falman said,

"Good to hear."

"I'm thinking about getting in touch with her to pass along a message to the Major to see if it will get him up north faster. We have no idea if Fullmetal will come back for her."

"It's not in his nature to leave a man behind."

"He may not have a choice since the fort isn't exactly safe for him anymore. I'm not kidding when I said his apprentice has been put in isolation. Her door is constantly guarded."

"I see… that can certainly make things difficult."

"Yeah, but there's not much else we can do."

"Just be careful with everything going on up there."

"I am… well, I'm trying to be."

"Hm?"

"Bradley's got his soldiers everywhere up here working around the clock to create hell on earth. And the worst part is there's nothing we can do. Like you said, the higher-ups aren't exactly our biggest fans."

"Sounds like it. Can't say I envy you, but at the same time I'd love to swap places and transfer to someplace that's not in a constant battle."

"Good luck making that happen." Falman joked and he heard Breda chuckling on the other end.

"Well, I should get going. If you get a chance to say hi to his apprentice, pass along my regards."

"Sure, I'll speak to her tomorrow once I'm back on duty. As dire as her situation is, I'm spending as much time as possible away from the fort as I can get."

"Fair enough, I'll talk to you another time."

"You too, stay safe out there."

"You too." He heard the click of him hanging up and went to do the same. He made a mental note to try and reach out to their messenger, a woman named Bernice. She had been giving him a few reports from the Colonel, and he was due to see her that night. With any luck, he might be able to just send Amelia along with her if he could convince her to stay in town long enough.

---

After finishing up his visit to his new girlfriend, Lieutenant Falman made his way to a small florist's cart. It had closed for the day, all the products removed from its shelves, but there was someone waiting behind the counter. Bernice looked up, smiling at Lieutenant as she picked up a bouquet, "Well hello there, young man. Might I interest you in a bouquet this evening?" She asked, holding out a bouquet of yellow daffodils, the sign of an updating message from the Colonel, and he came over with his wallet.

"Sure, I'll take one." He said, handing her a few cenz in return for the bouquet, seeing a piece of paper wedged in between the flowers. He picked it up and read it over, seeing that the Colonel sent him a message that the senior staff had begun assigning him plenty of busywork, but there was still nothing to suggest that they were going to transfer him out. He was still staying in Central where they could keep an eye on him, and even more than that… Selim Bradley was discovered to be a homunculus. He quickly put the paper in his pocket to see Bernice already picking up her cart to leave.

"We also send out deliveries if there's anyone you'd like to send some flowers to," She said.

"Actually, is it possible you could send a package with some flowers?" Falman asked, and Bernice frowned.

"A package?"

Falman stepped a little bit closer, "Is it possible for you to send a person to Major Armstrong? Amelia Seymour is stuck at the fort, and we're currently going through the official circles to send her back. You could act as her escort in place of the military."

Bernice frowned, "Miss Seymour is here?" She turned her head as she thought for a moment, and then sighed, "As much as I'd like to help, I'm afraid I can't. My orders were very clear from Madame Olivier. I'm to send nothing but messages, I can't smuggle out people." She looked up at him and could see his attempt to hide his concern. "I remember Amelia Seymour very well from her time at the mansion. Whatever she's going to face, she'll be fine so long as she has the right support. She has a bad tendency to keep some things to herself, but she can be very strong with the right help."

"I see…" Falman said, making a mental note of her advice. "Then can you get a message to Major Armstrong?" She looked up at him, "Tell him to be prepared to take her in, or come get her if need be. We haven't been able to reach him through the radios since he's on leave."

"I'll be sure to let him know, though it will be two days before I'm able to get back to Central." She advised as she began to pack up her cart. "But do me a favor, would you? Tell her I said hello and let her know that the other Armstrong sisters are all very worried about her. They haven't heard from her in quite some time since she was transferred over into Edward Elric's custody. She should give them a call."

"Right, I'm sure she will," Falman nodded, a little disappointed they couldn't speed up her transfer to Central with their messenger, but he understood her need to follow her duties to the letter. It was still a high-risk situation for her, after all. He watched her leave, letting out a small hum as he looked down at the note he was given, turning and passing by a bar where a man was stepping out to have a smoke, "Excuse me, could I have one?" The man looked Falman up and down, silently sizing him up for a moment before he shrugged and pulled out a box of them, handing him one.

"Need a light?"

"If you don't mind," He said, taking the offered lighter and lighting it before handing it back, "Thanks, I figured I would get one of these in quick before my girlfriend saw."

"Oh?"

"She hates the smell."

"Oh," The man replied indifferently before going to take a drag from his own cigarette, and Falman nods before he continues walking. As he rounds the corner, he takes the cigarette out of his mouth, never having taken anything from it, but quickly starts putting the ashes on the note of the paper before putting the still-lit cigarette to rest on it in the snow. He watched as the paper slowly began to burn until the message written on it was incoherent and he stomped it out before continuing on.

There were a lot of different things going on, though now his main concern was Amelia. It was going to be a couple of days before Major Armstrong got word of her situation, it would be easier for them to just phone him and ask to leave before then. He would have to organize a small group to take her down the mountain to call him up since he was sure she would want to get out of there as soon as possible. He began listing off potential soldiers who he could trust to come with him in his head as he continued to walk, tossing the bouquet of daffodils into a public trash can as he passed it by on his way back home.

---

Major Miles stood stiffly at attention in front of General Gärtner as he glanced over the written report he had given him from three days ago. "Major, I must admit I wasn't expecting you to go forward with reaching out to Major Armstrong." He said, "It was my understanding that Miss Seymour was under the custody of the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Yes, sir," He replied, "But given the circumstances, I thought it best to reach out and set things in motion."

The General frowned, "And you did so without any sort of approval from me, Major. I can't say I care for this kind of disrespect."

Major Miles saluted him, "I had no intentions to disrespect you Major General Gärtner, sir. I do apologize for my actions in not coming to you first."

The General let out a small sigh as he looked over the paperwork, "Major, this girl is a convicted felon working in the custody of the state. I don't think you need to be concerned about which state alchemist she'll be working under, this is more something for the men in Central to handle. That's where a majority of our alchemists are stationed."

"Yes, sir."

"So, what prompted you to go around me to contact Major Armstrong about taking her back into his custody without consulting me first? Surely this matter is of little importance to you." Major Miles didn't answer at first, and the General looked up at him curiously, "Well, Major? Is this something important?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" He asked, and the request piqued his interest.

"...Granted."

Major Miles relaxed slightly, "Sir, following the explosion of the mineshaft, Miss Seymour was… hysterical. We had to physically keep her away from the rubble to prevent her from potentially harming herself or causing more of the land around the shaft to cave in, putting my men at risk." The General listened as he continued to speak, "Given her current state, and how she is without an alchemical master to lead her, I thought it best to send her back to Major Armstrong until further notice regarding the condition of the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"What is the condition of the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Unknown, sir. We have yet to find any signs of him in the rubble of the explosion. We currently have him labeled as MIA."

"And there's a very good chance that the Fullmetal Alchemist might still be alive, correct?"

"Possibly, sir."

"Then I see no reason to send her back to Major Armstrong's custody," The general said, "Until we have a definitive lead on the Fullmetal Alchemist, she can remain here under our custody."

"Sir, under the conditions of that custody—"

"I'm well aware she is required to learn alchemy during this time, and we'll send for an alchemist from Central. Until then, we'll supply her with some alchemical theory texts until someone arrives." General Gärtner said, "I understand the Crimson Alchemist is also currently labeled as MIA, correct? If you should find him first, in stable condition of course, then he'll be appointed her new alchemy teacher. And if you should find Fullmetal first, then she'll be placed back under his teaching. Does that sound fair, Major Miles?"

"...Yes, sir." He couldn't argue with him without making it obvious of their opposition.

"Good, then make sure you put in word with Central Command to cancel that transfer to Major Armstrong until we have a lead on Edward Elric's status, or Solf J. Kimblee's. Dismissed." Miles saluted him again and walked out.

Once the door shut behind him, his brows furrowed deeply as he tried to see a way around this. It didn't look good from any end, the higher-ups in Central would undoubtedly be concerned if there was any sign of descent among their ranks in Briggs, and that would only fall back to General Armstrong and give away her position among them. They had no way of contacting Alphonse Elric in all of this, and he had yet to be seen since he left for the group that escaped in the mine tunnels, but even if he did return that wasn't a guarantee that they would be able to move her back into his custody. For all his connections in the military, Alphonse wasn't a military officer or a certified alchemist. They wouldn't allow her to be placed in the custody of someone who bore a civilian title, even if they were heavily involved in the progress of the military by default by working with his brother. Their only options now were to comply and wait until they found Edward, who likely would have taken off in the middle of all of this to be safe, or to try and initiate an escape out of the fort for her, which would be nearly impossible without help. The troops of Fort Briggs would be the first people they suspected in this endeavor, no one knew the fort better than they did, after all. Organizing it would be difficult and take a considerable amount of time.

On top of that, they weren't even sure of Amelia's condition. She was given the all-clear in regard to her physical health by Dr. Patricia outside of an order for rest, but where was she mentally? She had been incredibly desperate in moving rubble in the explosion remains, and now she was confined to her room, isolated outside of what little contact she had for food delivery. It might be wise to check on her and see how she's doing. She could still be anxious and waiting for any news they could offer on Edward's condition, or could she have fallen into the despairing depths of depression and hopelessness? Neither option seemed particularly good, but if it had to be between the two, he hoped it was the anxious one. At least that state of mind would be willing to do what they asked of her, though she might not have the patience to go through with it.

"We have to tread carefully…" He muttered to himself before continuing on down the halls. He paused as he looked down one corner, seeing her room still guarded by one of the Briggs soldiers. He approached the guard, who saluted him before letting him inside.

When he opened the door, he found Amelia sitting on her borrowed cot, crouching over her lap. She looked up at the opening door and stood up when she realized who it was, "Major Miles," She didn't seem upset, which was a good sign at least.

"Amelia," He greeted her in return, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, I've been resting like the doctor ordered." She said, stepping over to him as the door closed behind him, "What's happened? Have you found anything?"

"We sent a party this morning out to Baschool, we still haven't received any word from them," Major Miles informed her, "For now, the situation remains the same. Edward Elric is still missing, and so is Kimblee."

"I see…" Amelia's shoulders dropped slightly as she let out a long sigh, "He must have gone through the tunnels like the others did to catch up with them."

"There was no sign that anyone had gone through the tunnels from what remained of the entrances, you were there when we investigated that."

"Well, then Ed must have hidden it somehow." Amelia said, turning around and going back to her cot, picking up that small, thin box she carried around and holding onto it as she turned to face him again, "He's smart enough to know that you guys would have to come looking for him and hid the evidence." Major Miles' brow quirked up as he heard this.

"You think Edward is still alive?"

Amelia looked at him as if he had just suggested that the moon was made of cheese, "Of course he's still alive. This is Edward Elric we're talking about, he doesn't go down easy like that." Major Miles let out a long, internal sigh as he realized what was happening, "So he must have just gone to meet with Alphonse and Winry then… he's probably fine."

"Amelia, you saw that explosion, the chances of survival in situations like that is minimal at best." Major Miles said.

"Well… yes, but we haven't found a body yet, so there's still a chance that Edward is alive." Amelia replied, gripping her phone a little tighter as she said it, "I mean, I know he's reckless like crazy, and he's gotten himself almost killed a few times, but… I mean, you don't know him like I do, Major." She smiled at him, but the corners of her lips quivered as if it were struggling to stay up, "Ed's a fighter, he won't just go down without a damn good swing to someone's face. You remember how pissed he was at Kimblee, I know he's still alive…!"

"Amelia," His tone was firm, and her smile instantly fell, "I understand there's no evidence to suggest otherwise, but you're going to need to face the reality of your situation. It's why I'm here." Her shoulders dropped again as she listened to him, "I've spoken with General Gärtner about your status here. He wants you to remain in Briggs custody until we come back with proof about Fullmetal or Kimblee's whereabouts. If Kimblee is still alive, and we find him first, you'll be placed into his custody as an alchemical student." Amelia's face went pale, "But until that time, the plan is to keep you here until an alchemist from Central can arrive and teach you in person."

"Oh… okay, so just call Major Armstrong. I'm sure he'll come and get me." She said.

"I would if it weren't for the fact that he was on leave at this time." Major Miles, "The only telephone we have access to is in town down the mountain, and no one knows how to reach his private residence."

"I know how to reach his private residence! Just take me down there, o-or I can give you his phone number and—"

"General Gärtner isn't going to allow it." He said, "Major Armstrong is still currently on leave, and he sees no reason to contact him personally when he's not involved in the military. We can still reach Central Headquarters by radio, so they'll likely send another alchemist to you. Most likely one that works directly with Bradley in these endeavors." Amelia gulped nervously, "I want you to be prepared for the outcome of what's going to happen here. There's not much we can do."

"There has to be!" Amelia stepped forward, "You can't seriously leave me here to just wait and rot in a room until they get an alchemist! It took them a week to pick someone last time and that was in Central. I could be in Briggs for a whole month before they choose someone, if they ever do! Bradley and the homunculi and them know that I'm one of their 'sacrifices' or whatever. They won't just let me out of their sight, they might just transfer me to Central prisons and keep me locked up there!"

"Amelia, it's out of my hands at this point."

"Then help me escape! Get me out of here, something!"

"Don't you think Briggs soldiers will be the first person Gärtner suspects? Why should I put one of my men at risk for your sake?" Amelia froze at his words, "I understand your situation is not well, but we can't risk something like this while we're in a rather tumultuous situation ourselves. Bradley and his men are working hard to make it so we do everything they need us to do, keeping us busy while they keep our leader in their headquarters as they make their plans. If something happens to one of us, the punishment will come down on all of us." Amelia was silent, but her hands gripped around her phone tightly as she stared up at him. "You cannot ask us to risk everything for your sake."

"I'm not asking you to do that, I just want to get out of here…!" She pleaded, "Major, Edward is still out there somewhere, if you can just find him and get him here, then we can leave!"

"And what if Gärtner decides that Edward's disappearance is too mysterious to let go?" Miles inquired, "What if he decides to keep you, and him, and his brother all in custody in Briggs until whatever plans need to be done in Central?"

"I…"

Major Miles' voice softened so as not to be heard through her door, "You and I both know that if Edward is alive and he went to rejoin his brother, they have to know the fort is too dangerous to return to now."

"So… so what? I'm just here, alone? Is that what you're saying? Edward wouldn't just leave me behind like that!"

"Maybe not, but there's still the strong possibility that he died in that explosion, and I'm very certain you're aware of that fact." Amelia flinched as if he was about to hit her, though his hands remained at his sides. She stepped towards him.

"No, he's not… He's not dead. Major, Edward isn't dead, I know it. If you can just search the mine tunnels, I know you'll find him somewhere! He wouldn't just die and leave me behind like this again!"

"Again?"

Amelia froze and she stepped back, her eyes looking away from him, glancing over at the cot across from her own that had once been Edward's, "He wouldn't… he told me he wouldn't do that again. He said he was always going to be here to help me, he said I was his friend, he wouldn't just leave me behind…!" Her voice quavered at the end and she forced herself to stop talking, feeling her throat tightening and the corners of her eyes stinging from the threat of tears. She gripped at her phone again, bringing it up to her chest, "He wouldn't… He wouldn't do that to me again. He said… He said…"

Major Miles watched her with conflicted feelings. He could sympathize with her situation, she was alone and afraid with seemingly no way out, holding on to this last hope of the fact that a body hadn't been discovered while she waited for these last three days. At the same time, he knew there was nothing he could do to help her without risking everything they were doing at Briggs to try and thwart the enemy's plans. If they drew too much suspicion, the entire fort could be at risk, and it was bad enough Gärtner's way of running things was to keep them as busy as possible on every seemingly small problem that could be found, with exception to the one involving her. He had to see the big picture, but none of this would bring any comfort to a young girl who had just lost her only shot at safety in a country where she had no rights.

He was about to speak again when they both heard a siren alarm ringing through the walls of the fort and Major Miles immediately stood at attention. "Drachma is launching an attack from the north!" A voice boomed out from the speakers, "All men, prepare for combat!" Major Miles dashed out the door, the guard following him and Amelia went to the door, watching as they both ran down the halls, which were quickly filled with other Briggs soldiers rushing to their stations, "I repeat, Drachma has declared war and is approaching! All men, prepare for combat!"

She watched the men all rushing together, heading directly to their stations, none of them seeming to pay her any mind. As she watched them run around, she could hardly believe it was happening. Why was Drachma attacking now? The fort had been put in place to stop them, but this seemed like such sudden timing… But still, watching the different soldiers running around, how focused they were on their training and their mission to protect the fort and Amestris beyond it… she felt like she did that day at the Tucker household. No one was looking at her, no one was focusing on her. Her own guard had left in the middle of all of this to report to his station. Her heart was racing, and she rushed back into the room, grabbed her suitcase, and stuffed it full of what she could. She picked it up and held onto it, looking out the door until the hallways were emptied.

This would be her only chance. Major Miles wasn't going to help her, they wouldn't risk it. If she was going to get out, it had to be now.

She clutched her suitcase tightly, thankful that Edward told her to travel light for this trip as she quickly started snaking down the halls, avoiding the sound of rapidly marching footsteps and hiding behind corners of different rooms as the soldiers moved past her. Her heart was pounding in her ears, it felt like it was all she could hear as she listened to everyone running around. Her adrenaline was pumping through her body and her hands were starting to sweat as she gripped the edges of her suitcase. Was it really a good idea to take this with her? Wouldn't it just make it obvious that she was escaping if she was caught? But that would only happen if she was caught. She just had to be careful. She could still remember the way to the elevator that led to the first floor for the medical wing. They wouldn't be fighting on the ground, so there would be no reason for someone to go there in the middle of a battle, at least not yet.

She had to hurry, she had to get out of there, she had to be careful, but she had to be quick! She looked around the corner, watching for two seconds before she dashed out and ran down the hall. She heard footsteps from the other end and cursed before looking around for possible options. She dashed for a utility closet, opening the door and hiding inside of it, reaching to close it before someone else did with a loud slam! She jumped and she was sure that she had been caught, but the sound of still-marching footsteps rushing by and then fading told her that someone had closed the door to keep it out of their way. She was frozen in the dark for a few moments, tightly holding onto her small suitcase as she waited for the marching footsteps to fade. They continued thundering past her door, the rumbles shaking everything in the closet, but thankfully nothing fell. She waited in the dark for what felt like far too long before the footsteps finally faded.

She reached for the handle of the door and jumped when she heard a sudden boom ringing through the walls, and she pulled back. It was quickly followed by another, and she realized very quickly that it was cannon fire that she was hearing. She reached for the door handle again, slowly opening it and looking out into the hall through the crack of light she had given herself. The halls were empty, with no sign of any soldiers. She breathed a quick sigh of relief and let the door swing open, stepping out and closing it behind her before continuing back down the hall. She still knew where she was, after her first night getting lost, she made a point to remember the twist and turns of this place to make sure she knew where she was going at all times.

She panted for breath as she began to run down the hall, turning right and still going, dashing off to one opening into another hallway to make sure she was safe as she glanced down it. She waited, listening for any sound other than the cannons that were shooting around the fort. When she was certain she didn't hear anything, she dashed out from around her hiding spot and continued on. She paused at the fork, trying to remember if it was left or right, her brain a little frazzled as she tried to remember the landmarks she had made for herself coming from the elevator to her room. First, there was that map just when she exited, and then turning left there were those two closets directly across from each other, and if she turned right then there was that door with an oblong handle that looked vaguely like a bean… She turned to her left, seeing the door with that handle and let out a small, "A-ha!" before rushing in that direction.

She quickly made a right turn in the hall with the two utility closets, and she beamed as she found the elevator right where she had hoped it was. She quickly rushed to it, smashing her finger on the call button over and over again to try and summon it there, "Come on…!" She looked up at the indicator, seeing that it was very slowly moving towards her from the top floor, "Oh, god damn it, move faster…!" She ordered through clenched teeth as she kept repeatedly pressing the button over and over again. She eventually stopped as she realized how futile it was to do that, bouncing on her heels anxiously, her head looking back and forth as she waited for any sign of life as soldiers were rushing to help in the issue with Drachma. She could still hear the echoes of cannons ringing through the walls, the heavy thuds from either their cannons going off, or being hit by the enemies'.

When the elevator arrived, she let out a long, frustrated sigh, "Finally!" She rushed in, quickly closing the door and hitting the button for the first floor of the medical wing, which should lead her to the elevator that takes her directly to the entrance of the fort. She held it down, remembering an old story that it was what police did to make sure nothing else interrupted their trip when dealing with sensitive situations in her world. She had no idea if it would work here, but it made her feel better if nothing else.

When it arrived, she hid behind the wall as the doors opened, waiting for someone to say something. She could hear voices but didn't see anyone. She carefully stepped out of the elevator, quietly making her way over to the halls as she looked down it. She could see the shadows of a few soldiers rushing around, but they soon left. She let out a slow breath as she tried to calm her pounding heart and think. When she left the medical wing, there was that door that had that green stain from the paint in the corner, and then when she turned there were two sets of storage closets directly across from each other in that one hall… and then she turned left, she was at the elevator. She nodded as she felt confident in her memory and she rushed down the hall, heading right and stopping at a corner.

She looked down, hearing nothing but the cannons, and saw nothing but the flickering lights as the fort withstood the impact of them being fired, and also being hit. She rushed down and turned down the hall, heading right for the medical wing and she turned right, only to skid to a stop when she saw an imposing figure.

Captain Buccaneer looked back at her and she froze, still holding her suitcase up to her chest as she stared up at the huge man. He looked down at what she was holding, and she mentally started preparing her speech to explain herself, but there was no way out of this. She had been caught, it was far too obvious what she was trying to do. She was screwed!

Before she could utter the first word of an excuse, he grabbed her by her arm and started to drag her down the hall, "Ah!" She stumbled as she tried to keep up with the huge, imposing man as he yanked her down one hall to another room that had a padlock hanging off of a hook on the corner, opening it up and roughly pushing her inside and yanking her suitcase out of her hands. "Hey!"

"You stay in here, you don't make a sound. I'm locking the door. Stay put." He ordered and slammed the door shut. She could hear the click of the lock in place and she heard his heavy footsteps rushing off.

"Wait, Captain!" She shouted through the door but got no response. She felt her hands shaking against the wood of the door and she stood still in the darkness of whatever room this was… She stood still for about five minutes, listening to the sounds of footsteps and the heavy booms of cannon fire in the darkness. She waited… but there was no sign of anyone coming to get her. She let her body relax, her arms moving down to her sides as she stared at the outline of light from the door of whatever this place was. She sat down on the floor against it, letting out a heavy sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair. It figures she would be caught, her last attempt at escaping didn't exactly go well, either.

She wasn't exactly trapped, though. If she really wanted, she could just transmute the door, and maybe have the lock undone… but Buccaneer would know what had happened, and she doubted she could hide the evidence well enough in her own transmutations to put it back to normal. He also had her suitcase, which contained pretty much everything she would need to survive, including her winter coat… which she hadn't thought to put on in the rush of the sudden war declaration. Not a smart move on her part, admittedly.

Could she trust the captain right now? Major Miles said they couldn't help her… but what else could she do now? Where even did he put her?

She reached for her phone in her pocket, turning on the flashlight and pointing it at her cramped surroundings. She quickly figured out she was in a medical supply closet full of different medications. It wasn't much bigger than the average supply closet, but the shelves curved around the small room to allow for the most access to the different medications. She didn't really understand the labels all that much, mostly because she wasn't sure what was what. The names weren't exactly pronounceable to someone who had never read them before, she spent a few minutes trying to mentally guess one of the names to pass the time. Most of them were in powders in boxes with different labels, which made her think they made a lot of the medications here at the fort — which would make sense, not exactly like it would be an easy trip to the pharmacy so high up in the mountains.

After trying to guess the seventh medicine name, Idarucizumab, she noticed that there was a rather loud silence. The rumbling and echoes of the cannons had stopped, and she couldn't help looking back at the door. Was it over? It had only been about an hour, maybe a little longer… Was it that quick? Had Drachma won or did they win? She went over to the door to listen, hearing the sound of footsteps and the sound of congratulations here and there. They sounded like the usual Amestrian soldiers… still, there wasn't much she could do, the door was locked, and she was still inside the closet for the time being. She ended up sliding back down against the door and checked her phone battery. She still had some games she could play, but she had no idea how long she would be in here… still, it was a way to kill time until the Captain came back with her things.

---

Buccaneer stood by Miles, watching as the forces from Drachma quickly dwindled under their combined might. Their numbers were dropping by the minute, while Briggs stood ever tall, with no casualties and few injuries reported. Their long-range weaponry had been formidable, but it wasn't enough to match the quicker speed of Briggs' own work. Miles observed everything, looking for every active cannon on Drachma's side and it didn't take long to see that they had all stopped firing after about an hour of constant back and forth between them.

"Give the order to cease fire." Miles ordered, "They've stopped." One soldier shouted out the command to cease fire, and it was carried down the line until the cannons all completely stopped. The silence of the battlefield swarmed around them, hearing nothing but the chilling winds of the wintery weather of Briggs.

"That was almost too easy," Buccaneer couldn't help commenting. They always anticipated an attack from Drachma, but they had always assumed the attack would come with a massive force behind it, more cannons, tanks, a stronger platoon, or some new strategy they hadn't thought of at all. But this was simple and straightforward, armed footmen, tanks, and cannons. All was easily defended and fought against.

"Yeah…" Miles lowered his binoculars as he looked out over the battlefield, seeing the smatterings of pink in the distance from the spilled blood of Drachma's soldiers in the snow. He couldn't help but feel uneasy as he looked at it, "But why?" The timing seemed too coincidental. They had been expecting something to attack them because of Kimblee and everything going on with the country-wide transmutation circle. It required large amounts of bloodshed after all… had this been their attempt at creating that point for their transmutation circle? The thought didn't sit well with him at all, but at the same time, they had done their duty. They defended the Amestrian border against a Drachman invasion and now they would know better than to take a toe out of line against their fort ever again. It was something they could take out of this fight, at least.

Once victory was declared, cheers rang out among the soldiers, but Buccaneer and Miles remained quiet. "I suppose I'll have to inform General Gärtner of our victory. I have no doubt he'll be pleased." He said with a resigned sigh, not particularly eager to speak with him again. He was used to their ice-cold queen in charge of the fort, dealing with someone who was so concerned with pleasantries instead of getting right to the point made him feel like he was wasting his time speaking.

"Sir," Buccaneer got his attention, "When you have some time, there's something I'd like to discuss with you in private." Miles nodded and made that mental note before he started to make his way back inside the fort while Buccaneer joined the others, shouting orders to go back to their posts now that the fighting was over.

It didn't take long for some other news to reach the General along with Miles' report of victory.

---

"Miss Seymour has gone missing?" General Gärtner frowned, Miles still standing at attention, but he was surprised as well. Had she managed an escape attempt in the middle of all the commotion?

"Yes, sir. It seems that the guard posted at her room left to join the fighting. She is missing as well as her belongings and there seems to be no trace of her in the fort." The private-ranked soldier reported.

General Gärtner tsked and let out a low groan in his throat, scowling as he brought his hand to his chin. "This isn't good, she's a convicted felon, we can't just let her roam where she pleases." he turned to the soldier, "Turn this fort upside down, I want to make sure there's nothing we've left unchecked. If she's hiding somewhere, I want her found."

"Sir, I can organize a platoon of men to search around the fort," Miles immediately spoke up, "She's a teenage girl inexperienced with the cold here in Briggs. It's doubtful that she's gotten very far in this short time."

"Good, do so, and make it quick." The General ordered, "I don't want to leave anything to chance with this. That girl is a dangerous alchemist left unsupervised. Make sure she comes back to this fort."

"Dead or alive, sir?" Miles asked.

General Gärtner jumped, "Alive, of course! She's no use—" He stopped himself, "She can't bring any benefit to our nation as a corpse, can she? Her pardoning program was created by the Fuhrer himself. I won't have her being so reckless without some form of consequence from him. As soon as she returns to our custody, I'll see to it she's sent directly to Central so the Fuhrer can decide what's to be done with her."

"Yes, sir." Miles saluted him and Gärtner dismissed him and the other officer, the two making their way out of his office and off to their posts. Major Miles couldn't help but feel a little relief at knowing Amelia had been smart enough to take advantage of the chaos and get out, but if she wasn't a survivalist, it wasn't likely she would make it a day in the mountains by herself in the middle of winter. Hopefully, she was alive and well on her way out of the fort, but there was also the chance she had begun the process of freezing herself…

---

Major Armstrong was doing his best as he looked down at his sister. Really, he was. He was standing tall, keeping his expression as neutral as possible, showing ever the regal air of the Armstrong line that had been passed down for generations, even as she made a point of digging her steel-toed boot into his own toes. Still, it was hard not to falter under her icy glare, hearing her impatiently tapping on the handle of her sword. He had only meant to come and greet her, as any good soldier would do for their superior officer, welcome her to Central after having been away from home for so long. She hadn't taken to it well, and before he had even gotten a word out, she had jammed her heel into his toes, and he had to shut his mouth before crying out in pain. He knew showing any sign of weakness in front of her would only make her anger worse.

"Um… Sis?" Still, that didn't mean he couldn't ask for a little reprieve. "Would you be so kind as to possibly move your foot, please…?"

Her glare hardened and she dug her heel in even more, "You are to address me as General!" She ordered.

He stood at attention, saluting her even through the pain in his foot, "Yes, ma'am…! General…!" She scoffed and thankfully pulled her foot away, giving him the relief he had been hoping for, feeling his toes already swelling inside of his shoe.

"You're just as gutless as I remember you being." She said, her hands on her hips as she berated him for his behavior.

Deciding to move on to more pleasant topics, he thought to speak about the recent news he heard from yesterday, "So, I heard your men completely annihilated the Drachma forces."

"Of course they did!" Olivier snapped back at him as if he was an imbecile.

He leaned closer to whisper to her, "But won't that hasten the enemy's transmutation circle?" Bernice had been keeping him informed of everything, he knew his sister was aware of the situation, as was he and Mustang and all of his men. Still, to hear that she had done something to continue their plot… he had to wonder if she was at all worried.

"I don't give a damn," Olivier replied, "It was their duty to defend the border, and that's what they did." She glared up at Alex again, "And Drachma won't even think twice about attacking again! Now they know that our country is not one to be meddled with!"

"Oh my, you've only grown more ferocious," He couldn't help sighing, "How will you ever find a husband if you continue to…?" He trailed off as he saw his sister lifting up her leg and cried out as she struck her boot into his knee, forcing him to stumble until he was on one knee as he tended to his growing bruise that was undoubtedly there after that strike.

"That's enough of your sniveling, you pansy!" Olivier snapped at him, scoffing and turning away from him again, "Ugh, I need to get away from you before I start to catch your cowardice." He couldn't help whimpering a little bit as he carefully tended to his knee, starting to make his way to stand up once more. It wasn't anything she hadn't dealt onto him before, but he knew exactly how ferocious she could be when she wanted to. He had never managed to win a fight against her and that killing instinct she had…

As Olivier made her way around the corner, General Gardner made his way around the other side, "Ah, I've been looking for you, General." He was one of the few higher-ups that had come to greet her since she had taken Raven's seat. She made sure to salute him as she would have done to any of her own rank, even though she would have rather punched him in the face, "Is this man your brother?" He asked, looking behind her shoulder to see Major Armstrong saluting proudly, standing tall despite the injury she knew she gave him.

"I don't consider him my brother," She replied coldly, "Not after he deserted his country in Ishval."

General Gardner let out an indifferent hum before turning around, "Follow me, please. There's something I'd like for you to see." She did as instructed, following behind him through the halls of Central Headquarters, leaving Alex behind on his own. He let out a small sigh of relief, relaxing a bit. He had hoped she would be more open to the discussion of marriage, considering Strongine's suitor had grown rather serious with her, but there were still traditions to maintain among the family… she wouldn't be able to get married until Olivier abdicated her place as second in line so that her preference to remain unwed would allow Strongine to marry the man who was now courting her. Still, it wasn't likely that she would give that up, considering that she had held onto it, even as she had passed the traditional marrying age.

He turned and headed back down the hall to return to his post at the Investigations office. He still had some paperwork to attend to now that he had returned from his leave of absence. It was a brief respite that was definitely needed in the face of everything, but it had allowed his work to pile up again when he had just gotten caught up. He didn't like to admit it, but Amelia's absence made it much easier for him to get his job done as he worked under the new Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the office. He was a better officer and soldier and was avoiding suspicion by keeping to business as usual, but he did miss his former student and her passion to learn. It inspired him as an alchemist whenever she would ask questions about the science, making him feel as though he was making a difference in the next generation. In fact, he had missed her so much he had even thought of taking on an apprentice at home, in his free time that he had away from his work. After all, what could be a better way to honor the Armstrong Family's alchemical arts than to pass it onto the next generation? He wasn't likely to get married any time soon, considering how devoted he was to his work, he hardly had the time to meet someone he could marry, and his parents seemed to accept his choice to become a bachelor.

As he made his way down the hall, he could see Sergeant Brosh and another soldier talking quietly to one another as they looked over something. He couldn't help but be a little curious as he made his way over, clearing his throat and making the two soldiers jump.

"Oh, Major Armstrong, sir!" They both saluted him, and he saluted in return.

"Hello Sergeant Brosh," He greeted him, "You seem to be rather interested in something, may I ask what the news for the day is?" They had separated at the office so he could get an update on a few things for the daily memo for their department. Brosh only looked uneasy as he looked up at his superior officer.

"Uh… well, sir, I… I went into the radio room to get the news for the memo and… well…" He pulled a sheet of paper out from behind his back, "This was sitting in their office, sir." Armstrong reached for it, and his eyes went wide as he looked over the paper. It was a sketch of Amelia, with a short list he hated to read underneath her image.

WANTED

AMELIA SEYMOUR

CONVICTED FELON OF AMESTRIAN STATE

THIS CONVICT HAS ESCAPED CUSTODY

LAST SEEN LEAVING FORT BRIGGS AND HEADED TO NORTH CITY

SUBJECT HAS BROWN EYES AND LONG BROWN HAIR WITH PETITE STATURE

ANY AND ALL SIGHTINGS ARE TO BE REPORTED DIRECTLY TO THE INVESTIGATIONS OFFICE IN CENTRAL COMMAND

His hands shook a little bit as he looked at the drawn face of Amelia on the sheet of paper, his heart racing at the implications of this news. She was outside of the military's custody, but why? Wasn't she safe with Edward and Alphonse? Had something happened on their trip to Briggs? He knew that Raven's disappearance was huge talk, and no one knew what became of him, but had they something to do with it?

"Also, sir, they put out a BOLO for Edward Elric," Sergeant Brosh's voice pulled him out of his racing thoughts, looking back down at his subordinate, "Apparently, he's gone missing after an explosion of a mineshaft in an abandoned mine."

"What…?!" He gasped, hardly believing this news.

"Yes, apparently Amelia has been missing for a few days following Edward's disappearance." Sergeant Brosh informed him, glancing down at the wanted poster, "I can hardly believe what's happened to them, sir… I mean, it seems like it was only yesterday the Lieutenant and I were talking with your student. And now she's missing…"

"I'll have to make my way to the north at once!" Armstrong declared, worried for Amelia's safety. It was one thing if she was still in military custody following Edward's disappearance, but why hadn't he been told about it? Surely, if Edward was no longer capable of being appointed her teacher, he could take her back! Sure, his work might be busy, but if it meant Amelia's safety, he would help however he could, even working overtime hours! He began to march towards his office, determined to get his things together to help find her and get her somewhere safe.

"What?! Sir, you can't be serious!" Sergeant Brosh quickly followed after him, "I know you and Amelia are close, but you can't just run off to the north like that! You still have your work here to do, and I'm sure the Briggs soldiers are searching for her!" He tried to keep pace with Armstrong's long stride, but it wasn't easy, and he was starting to pant, "After all, if she ran away, don't you think she'd be long gone by now? Fort Briggs is right on the border with Drachma, she might not even be in this country anymore!" Armstrong stopped, knowing his sergeant made a good point that he hated to admit, and the smaller man was thankful his boss had managed to listen to him, "Sir, she's probably far from Amestris by now. And if she's not, your family is probably the first thing she'd come to, right? You should be careful."

Armstrong sighed, looking back down at the wanted poster that was still in his hand. It was true, if Amelia was going to escape to safety, it was probably much safer for her outside of the country in Drachma, far away from the transmutation circle… still, it didn't seem like she would be the type to run away like that. But then again, with Edward missing and Alphonse seemingly nowhere in sight along with him, she may have feared the worst and fled. Looking over the drawn image of her face, he hoped that she was safe and well, either on the other side of the border in Drachma, or somewhere in the North. The idea of her being in the north stuck with him for a moment, and he looked back at his sergeant, who looked up at him questioningly. Bernice was still up north, wasn't she? He could reach out to her, see if there was anything she had heard about Amelia's disappearance. He handed the wanted poster back to Sergeant Brosh, "Thank you for bringing me back to my senses, Sergeant. Now, please include this poster in the memo as you were told. I need to make a phone call."

"Oh… okay, sir." He said, taking the poster, a little confused that his boss had suddenly changed his mind, but it wasn't the first time he had done a 180 just because he felt like it. The Major was rather eccentric, after all. He took the poster and left, and Major Armstrong made his way out of the building to head down to the park to use the phone booth. Once he was there, he dialed in the number of the inn where Bernice was staying, waiting for the staff to answer and direct him to her. It didn't take long, her train wasn't scheduled to leave until that night, and he still had a few hours before then.

"Master Alex?" Bernice's voice came through on the other end, "Is everything alright?"

"Bernice, be honest with me, have you heard anything regarding the condition of Amelia?" He asked, getting directly to the point. He heard the older woman let out a long sigh.

"Yes, I heard she's been placed in military custody following the disappearance of her teacher." She said, sounding disappointed, "It really is a shame that she's in such a place."

"She's no longer in custody, it seems that she's escaped."

"What?"

"Bernice, I know this goes against what Olivier told you, but for my sake, will you delay your trip to West City to see if she arrives in North City? If you can remain there for two more days and report back to me, it would be greatly appreciated."

"You want me to see if she makes her way here?"

"If you come back with nothing, then I can only assume she's jumped the border and made her way to Drachma."

"Drachma? Beyond those mountains? That's an almost impossible trek to make by herself!"

"I know, that's why I want you to stay in North City a while longer to see if she makes an appearance." The line was silent for a few moments, and he knew she had to be considering her options.

"Alright, I think I can stay for a day more, but only that long." Bernice said, "You and I both know this messaging system is the best we currently have to build an army against the men in Central Command." Alex breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Bernice. That's a great thing to hear." He said, "Just tell me if you hear or see anything. Call the estate immediately."

"Yes, Master Alex," Bernice promised.

---

Bernice hung up the phone after finishing her call with Alex Armstrong. She had only just heard about Amelia's unfortunate situation, and now to know that she had escaped and was out there in the wilderness somewhere? The girl had some gumption, she could give her that much, but she doubted she could survive in the freezing temperatures of the Briggs mountains in the winter.

She was about to turn away and head back to her room when the phone rang again. She looked back, seeing one of the staff members rushing over to it, giving Bernice an appreciative smile before picking it up, "Snowdrop Inn, how may I help you?" She asked in that syrupy sweet friendly voice that she always spoke to customers in. Her eyes widened, "Oh, um, yes. She's right here." She held out the phone to her, "It seems you're quite popular, ma'am."

"Oh, am I?" She wondered if there was something Master Alex had forgotten to ask of her as she went to pick up the phone, "Hello, this is Bernice speaking." She listened to the voice on the other end, her eyes growing a little wide, "What…? Are you sure?" She frowned as she listened more, the curious staff member waiting nearby, pretending to busy herself while she eavesdropped, "No, I understand perfectly. You have nothing to worry about. You know where to find me…. Yes, goodbye." She hung up the phone, turning to the woman, "Well, for future reference, if I receive another call this late at night, just take a message for me, would you? I've got no time to deal with young gentleman callers at this time of evening."

"Oh…!" The young concierge blushed, "Uh, yes ma'am." Bernice smiled and nodded to her as she left to head back to her room, leaving the staff member to wonder what that call had been about. She wished she had been a little closer so she could have heard the other person's voice…

---

Buccaneer walked with Major Miles down the halls of the fort, "So, is everything ready?" The Captain asked quietly.

"Yes, Lieutenant Falman's ready to make our delivery." He said, "He'll be heading straight into the city to Northern Command. That should give her plenty of time." The Captain nodded and the pair turned around the corner, heading to the locked room that was reserved for overflow in sickbay. It was locked for isolation purposes normally, but this time it served a much different purpose.

They opened it up and Amelia winced from the light coming in, her phone making barely enough light for her to see. "Major…" She stood up from the borrowed medical cot, looking between the two men. She had been waiting in that room for days, being as quiet as possible while they gave her food and left her there to hide.

After hiding her in the medical supply closet, hours later Captain Buccaneer returned with Major Miles, who both quickly ushered her off into the isolated quarters of the sickbay. They said that she had to remain hidden for a few days so as to throw off the suspicion from General Gärtner that they were helping her at all. He had been making falsified reports that they had lost her in the middle of a blizzard that had begun shortly after their battle with Drachma. Tonight, there was a lighter breeze that made it easier to travel, and she had been waiting a whole week for this day to finally come. A whole week of hiding like Anne Frank in the middle of the Holocaust where she had to be as silent as possible while she hid for days in the darkness of her room, not allowed to turn on the lights without drawing attention to it.

"Hurry, it's time." The Major said, and Amelia nodded, grabbing her suitcase and coming out, the two men making sure to cover her in a Briggs coat as they escorted her out. "Lieutenant Falman will be driving you out with a delivery to Northern Command. He'll be heading straight there, but you should be safe."

"Right…" She said, and as they heard shuffling from down the hall, Captain Buccaneer quickly stepped in front of Amelia and she hid behind him. The shuffling went on down the hall, no one was seen, and the captain stepped out, and she quickly walked with them past that corner and continued down to a staircase. She kept walking with them, hiding under the black coat she was borrowing as they took her down to a garage filled with cars and trucks, and a few tanks. One of them was already running with a few men from Briggs loading up the back with some ammunition as part of the delivery. Amelia hid behind Captain Buccaneer again, but he didn't make any attempt to hide her from the two other soldiers as he continued to walk with her to the car. When they stopped, he looked back at her.

"Come on, get in the back." He said, and Amelia nodded, glancing over at the two other soldiers, who nodded at her in greeting but said nothing. She climbed into the back of the van, looking up and seeing Lieutenant Falman in the driver's seat as she made her way into a corner and got comfortable.

"Um, Captain…?" She looked up at Buccaneer as he handed her suitcase to her, and she held it close as she watched the other two soldiers continue to load everything into the van in front of her.

"Don't worry, these men have been sworn to secrecy." Buccaneer reassured her, "Just listen to Falman and you'll be alright."

She nodded, watching as the two men started to bring over a tarp, "Thank you Captain, and thank you too, Major." She said to the two men, grateful to have made these allies that could help her get out as quickly as possible. She ducked down and the tarp was put over the supplies that she was hidden with. They closed the doors and knocked at it, signaling the driver to go.

Amelia heard the car rumbling as it drove on out of the fort. She knew there were no windows in the back of the van, but the tarp was a good safety measure she had no reason to get rid of. She and Falman drove in silence for a long while, or what felt like a long while, when it was really just fifteen minutes or so.

"Hey," Falman's voice came up, "We should be far enough away from the fort now. You can come out and sit up front with me if you like, it's much warmer."

"Really?" She poked her head out from under the tarp, starting to make her way carefully around the ammunition to come and join him in the only seats that were available. She brought her suitcase over first before climbing over herself, letting out a sigh as she got into the leather seats, feeling the heat from the car flowing over her and warming her up. "Oh… man, that feels nice."

"I'll bet," Falman chuckled, "I know that the cargo area can get cold quick."

"For sure," She shivered as she wrapped her arms around herself, looking ahead of them on the snowy road, "Thank you for doing this, Lieutenant. I know you didn't have to do this."

"Well, I didn't really see what else could have been done for you." Falman said, looking over at her, "After all, we still haven't found Edward or Alphonse, there's not really anywhere else for you to go, right?"

"I guess not." She said, pulling her coat a little tighter around herself, unable to help the heavy feeling in her chest at knowing Edward wasn't found yet. She had no idea what had happened to him. She was no longer sure that he was still alive after being gone for an entire week. If he was dead, she was definitely mourning him, but if he was alive? If he was alive… then he had left her behind to join Alphonse most likely. That thought hurt a lot, at least if he were dead he didn't mean to leave her behind, but the thought that he would just abandon her at the fort to go back to traveling alone with his brother… and with Winry… it was a heavy feeling in her chest she couldn't get rid of. She knew she shouldn't feel that way, but she had thought that she and Edward were good friends by this point, and he had never seemed the type to leave a man behind, but she could always be wrong. He might not see their friendship the same way she did, and she knew that was a reality she was going to have to accept, especially now that she was leaving Fort Briggs behind for potential freedom. "So, what's going to happen once we get to North City?"

"I've set up a contact for you," Falman told her, "You might know her, she works for the Armstrong family, and I believe she should be able to take you back to them."

"Really? Who?"

"I think her name was Bernice."

"Bernice is here?!" She still remembered that stout blonde woman who had pulled up her mattress to get her out of bed for her training regimen.

"Yes, she seems very happy to take you back to the Armstrong family. You should be able to hide comfortably there."

"Are you sure? I mean, since I'm technically missing, wouldn't it only make sense for me to go back to the Armstrongs? Won't they be suspicious?"

"We've been reassured that everything should be set up by the General for your safety, among a few other things." Falman said, "It's going to be… well, a bit of a test for her."

"What kind of test?" Amelia asked.

"I haven't been informed of the details, but it's mainly to see if we can pull off delivering something to the Armstrong estate in secret." Falman replied and smiled at her briefly before looking back to the road, "You should be perfectly safe. Bernice has guaranteed safe travel for you, and we're being very careful about all the ways out of town."

"So, will I be going on a train, then?" She asked.

"No, it's more likely you'll be leaving by car. After all, there's going to be wanted posters of you all over the station. It'll be too easy for someone to recognize you."

"Oh…" She grimaced a little bit at that thought, but nodded, "I guess that makes sense, what with me being a criminal and all…" She sighed and leaned back in her seat, "But if I can get out of here and get somewhere safe, that's all I need right now." Falman nodded, continuing to drive on through the lightening weather in the darkness of night.

"You'll need to meet with her at a local inn called the Snowdrop Inn." Falman informed her, "She said she'll be waiting for you in the lobby, but you'll have to call her Aunt Bernie."

"What? Why?" Amelia and Bernice were never really that close, so to call her by a nickname, and also her aunt, seemed a little strange.

"I don't know," Falman shrugged, "But she insisted that you call her that for your own safety."

"Uh… okay." She let out a long sigh, leaning back against the seat again and closing her eyes, "Will you wake me before we get there?"

"Of course," Falman said, and Amelia let herself drift off in the car as their talking turned back into silence.

---

Once they arrived at the Inn, Amelia was quick to bid Falman goodbye and rush inside. When she stepped into the lobby, she immediately recognized Bernice sitting on the couches. She looked up and smiled at her, "Rose!" She cried out, opening her arms for a hug.

"Aunt Bernie!" Amelia went right along with it, rushing into her open arms as if they were old friends. Bernice kept her arms around her tight, bringing her hand around her shoulders.

"Goodness, you must be freezing, my dear!" She said as she pulled Amelia's jacket around her head a little tighter to better hide her face, "Let's hurry and get you up to my room, get you some warm blankets and hot tea, hm? How does that sound?"

"It sounds heavenly, Aunt Bernie." She replied, and the two made their way out of the lobby to a hallway, briskly walking down the hall to a room where Bernice let her in first before following her in. She looked up at the simply decorated bedroom and glanced back to the old housekeeper that closed and locked the door behind them.

As soon as it was locked and she was sure no one was on the other side listening, she turned to Amelia with a concerned expression, "Are you alright, Miss Seymour? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Amelia smiled at her, "You know, it's really good to see you again, Bernice." The older woman smiled back at her.

"It's good to see you're well, especially after all of this." Bernice replied, "Come on, I have some tea brewing for you."

"Oh, that was serious?" Amelia asked as she started to take off her heavy jacket, "I thought that was just part of the act for Aunt Bernie and her niece Rose — also, where the hell did "Rose" come from?"

"I've been posing as a florist in my travels," Bernice explained as she went over to a coffee pot, pouring a cup of the steaming water before dipping a tea bag in it, "I thought it was better than something like Daisy or Lily."

"I mean… yeah, alright. I can live with Rose." She said as she sat down on the bed, taking the offered cup, letting the tea steep in it a little more before bringing it up to her lips. She let out a low hum in delight as she took a sip of it. "God, that's good. I've been eating nothing but military rations the last few days." She took another sip and let out a small sigh in pleasure as she felt her body warming up quickly.

"I can imagine," Bernice said, coming to sit next to her with her own cup, "So, how are you?"

"I mean, I'm cold and kind of tired, but fine," Amelia said.

"No, I mean, how are you?" Bernice asked, the question making Amelia look up curiously, "I know your teacher has disappeared. I heard from Master Alex that you two were rather close."

"Oh…" She looked down at her cup, "Well… I mean, I don't know. The two options we have for him right now are he's either dead somewhere in a mineshaft… or he's left me behind to continue his plans without me." She frowned, "And… I'm not sure if either of them is better than the other, to be honest. I mean, I want him to be alive, of course. Of course, I hope he's alive! But… at the same time, I thought we were better friends than that, you know?" She sighed, looking down at her teacup, "I mean… I know I'm not the strongest fighter or the strongest alchemist… I mean, I'm nowhere near his level, but… I just… I don't know. I mean, it makes sense to keep going without me, but I just…"

"You're hurt because of it," Bernice said, and Amelia nodded, "Well… I'm afraid there's not much you can do right now except go along with us."

"I know," She said, looking up at her, "But if he's dead and gone, then I need to move forward. I can mourn him once I'm safe at the estate," She put the tea aside for the moment, "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, see that's the thing," Bernice said, "I'm leaving in a few hours."

"What?!" Amelia's eyes went wide.

"You have nothing to worry about, you'll be safe here." Bernice reassured her, "But you'll need to make a phone call tomorrow morning to the Armstrong estate. I've told Master Alex to expect a call from you to come pick you up."

"Why? I thought you would be staying with me to help me hide…!" Amelia said.

"You don't have anything to worry about, I promise." Bernice reassured her again, "But I have my duties to Madame Olivier that I have to see through. Master Alex understands this, as I thought you would."

"I mean… I get it, but at the same time, I… W-What about this room? How long will I be waiting? If they start asking me for money, I don't have any!"

"There's a road from here that goes straight to Central, it only takes a couple of days by car, you'll be traveling that way." Bernice said, "And this room is paid up for the next week. You should have plenty of time and if you should leave early, you'll be able to get some of that money back."

"Okay…" She looked up at her, "So… just call them tomorrow? What about when I want to eat? I can't exactly go out and get meals."

"This inn has a lovely room service, but don't make any phone calls here." Bernice said, "The concierge clerk is nosy, eavesdropping on everything. Best make your way to the local bank, they have a private booth there."

"The bank?! They'll have to have posters of me!"

"I know, that's why you'll be so bundled up, they won't be able to tell!" Bernice smiled, putting her cup aside and going over to the dresser in the room, pulling out three scarves and two different hats, "Here, this one should be able to hide your hair, and this one on top of it will make it seem decorative," She tossed the two of them to her in order, "And with these scarves to cover your face, you should be able to keep warm all the way there and back until someone's able to come get you." She tossed them over to her and smiled, "And you have on that nice, big coat, but if you want something else, I have a men's coat in the bottom drawer. It might be a bit big on you, but it should be enough to hide you."

Amelia looked over the hats and scarves, still feeling uneasy. She had only just gotten out of the fort, she knew that the military had to be looking for her. She had hoped that she wouldn't have to travel alone, or stay here alone, and the news that Bernice would be there had been a huge comfort. She hated that she would have to be kept up in another room and just wait for someone to come get her. She let out a small sigh through her nose, looking up at Bernice and forcing a small smile on her face. She had already done a lot for her, and worst-case scenario, as long as she stayed in the hotel room, she would be just fine. "Thanks, Bernice. I'll make sure to call the estate first thing tomorrow."

Bernice tilted her head a little to the side, "Well, now that's a look I've never seen on you before." She said, and she came back over to her side, "I know it might seem like I'm abandoning you here, Amelia, but I had to delay my trip to stay here for you. I still have my duties to Miss Olivier and the other members that we have working against the higher-ups in Central command." She brought her arm around Amelia's shoulders, speaking to her in a gentle, motherly tone, "But even so, you don't have to force yourself to see me off with a smile. It's alright to admit that you're scared. I told you I won't leave for a few hours, so we have that much time to talk if you want to talk." She gently squeezed one shoulder with her hand, "Or not, we can just sit here and talk about nothing. Whatever would make you feel better."

Amelia was surprised to hear her speaking to her like that, and she wasn't sure if it was because she had been in isolation for the last week, or because she was still grieving Edward, or maybe because it was a combination of those things and everything else she had been through, but she felt a lump forming in her throat, tears stinging at her eyes. She took a slow breath to try and keep those feelings away, looking down at her lap at the given hat and scarf she had resting there. "I… I mean… it's just a trip to the bank. It's a phone call. I'll just make it and come back and wait. Teacher will come for me, I know that."

"That's right," Bernice said, still in that gentle tone of voice, "Master Alex cares about you as if you were one of the family. He would never leave you here where you would be at risk."

Amelia nodded, still looking down at the wool scarf she had been handed, "Right, I know that. He won't leave me behind…" But at the same time, there was still that risk that she was taking. A huge risk in going outside in broad daylight, where soldiers could see her, find her, arrest her, take her back to Central to be a prisoner for the rest of her days, which probably wouldn't be that long… She felt her heart pounding and her chest tightening with anxiety, "I mean… if I disguise myself, there's no reason for someone to notice me and I won't get caught."

"That's right," Bernice said again.

Amelia could still picture it, the second she stepped out of the hotel, right into a group of soldiers looking right at her, pointing their guns, shouting at her to get down on the ground, "It'll be fine…" Her chest tightened even more to where she felt like she was having trouble breathing, but she tried to keep her pace steady so she wouldn't worry Bernice. Things wouldn't be this way if she wasn't left alone. If Bernice would stay, she could help hide her more in public, or if Falman had stuck around he could vouch for her, or if Captain Buccaneer came down from the fort, she could hide behind him. And if Edward were here… if Edward were here, none of that would be happening at all, "I'll be fine." If Edward were here, he would have come back for her in that week. He would have found her in the fort, he would have gotten her out of there and taken her to where he and Al were somewhere, safe and away from all this insanity to where she could feel safe, "It's… fine." If Edward were still here… he wouldn't have left her behind.

Bernice could easily see the anxiety on Amelia's face and she gently squeezed her shoulder again, "It will be," She reassured her, "But it's okay if it doesn't feel fine right now."

Amelia was quiet, looking down at the scarf. It was a shade of dark red, which just reminded her of Edward's gaudy coat and his terrible fashion sense. He wasn't here anymore, was he? He wouldn't have abandoned her if he had a choice… he was really gone. She was really, really alone right now. "...I'm scared, Bernice."

Bernice's eyes widened. Never had Amelia sounded so small, speaking in such a quiet tone of voice, not that she had ever seen. It didn't take much longer for Amelia's tears to come rising up and roll down her cheeks, and she brought the scarf up to hide her face as she felt her body trembling. "Oh, Amelia…" She brought both arms around her, holding her close and bringing her head to her shoulder, and she could feel the young girl start crying against it, sniffling and quietly sobbing. She gently rubbed her back, "Oh, there, there. It's alright." She tried to comfort her as best she could, staying close to her as her body shook against hers, "I know you're scared, it's alright, just let it all out." She cooed softly to her, letting her take these needed moments of comfort in a time that had to be so difficult on her. She would never wish these trials on someone, especially not one as young as she was.

She stayed with her, the two of them sitting together on the bed until Amelia finally came around to stop crying.

---

Bernice stayed around after Amelia calmed down, but she still had to leave. Amelia told her that she would be alright and would take extra precautions before going out. She stayed in the room, leaving the lights on as she went to sleep, taking comfort in the fact that she could have the lights on this time as she slept while Bernice boarded her train to the west to reach out to whoever else she needed to reach out to on behalf of General Armstrong. The bed was much softer than the medical cots in Fort Briggs, so she slept very soundly.

The next morning, Amelia took her time getting ready. She showered, brushed her teeth, took her time to take in what luxuries she had available to her in that single room until her stomach demanded food. She ordered a plate of breakfast from room service, getting some much-needed sugary sweets in after having nothing but military rations that tasted like microwave dinners. It was a welcome reprieve for about an hour or so, but she knew she couldn't stay in there forever if she wanted to get out.

She put on the men's coat that Bernice had mentioned, and it was a little big on her, but she stuffed the shoulder pads with one of the hats and another scarf to make it seem like she filled it out a little bit more. She stuffed her hair into one of the wool hats to hide it, and wrapped her face with one scarf, and wrapped the second around that. She looked at herself in the mirror, not seeing much of herself beyond her own eyes. She made sure to hide her nose and mouth, and with the cold temperatures outside, surely no one would question her dressing like this… surely, not. She could feel that tightness in her chest again from anxiety, but she tried to breathe steadily and let it pass. She could do this. Just straight to the bank and back and that should be enough. Then she would just stay in her room for two more days and then she would be gone. She would be okay. She would have to be, since Edward wasn't there to help her anymore.

She put on her best brave face and walked out of the hotel room, down the hall past the concierge's desk, who gave her a friendly smile as she left. As she went outside into the sunlight, she was a little blinded at first, but she adjusted quickly. She had been in the dark light of the medical room for so long, it was hard to get used to sunlight again, but she could manage. She made her way down the road, heading straight to the bank which was thankfully in sight of the hotel.

She didn't see any soldiers outside the building, and she didn't see any when she entered, either. There were a few people waiting behind counters on a few other customers. She looked around for their public phones, seeing one of them, and someone already using it. She let out a small, exasperated sigh as she went to stand in line behind the man, hearing him talking quietly to someone on the other end, "...Well, it's not my fault they chose the wrong stock. I said Wilson and Son's, not William and sons! How is it my fault that the phone lines are faulty this far north?" He argued with someone on the other end of the phone and she rolled her eyes a little bit. It seemed very petty, but she wouldn't make a scene about it and draw attention to herself. "Look, Jenkinson, if they made a bad investment, that's not my fault! I wasn't even there! I told you all what to buy stock of, and you screwed it up as far as I'm concerned. You have the information now, don't you? ...God, do I have to spell out the name of every business to you?! You blithering idiot, how the hell are you a trader?"

She gently cleared her throat, and the man glanced back at her, his eyes wide for a second before turning back to the phone. Instantly, her chest tightened again with anxiety. Did he recognize her, was he going to call for authorities? "Alright, alright, alright, look. I'll spell it out for you so that way it can't be disputed, yeah? Look, I've got someone waiting, so we need to make this quick." She let out an internal sigh of relief, he was insecure because she was able to hear everything he was saying. She wasn't sure who Jenkinson was, but they probably didn't need to be talked down to like that. She listened as the man spelled out a few names of different businesses but didn't pay much attention to them as she glanced around the bank. There weren't many people inside the place, but it seemed busy enough. "Yeah, just buy those today, and I'll call you tomorrow for the others…. Yeah, yeah, goodbye." He hung up and turned around, nodding to Amelia before he left.

She glanced at his back as he left the bank, turning around and going to the now open phone. She didn't see him pausing at the door to let in a much larger man as he came in before he left or see him heading up to the desk as she dialed in the number for the Armstrong estate. She heard the line ringing, and it didn't take too long for someone to answer, "Hello, Armstrong Residence." She recognized the voice of Horace the butler right away.

"Hello, could I speak to Alex Armstrong, please?" She asked, hearing as the bank teller nearby called out for the next customer in line.

"Certainly, who may I say is calling?" Horace asked.

"It's Amelia,"

"Oh, he's been expecting your call—"

"I'd like to make a withdrawal from the account of state alchemist Edward Elric." Amelia's eyes widened and she looked over at the teller counter to see who was there, seeing the back of a tall, brawny man with brown hair, her attention pulled away from the phone. "His research account."

"—fetch him for you right away, please wait a moment."

"What? Oh, thanks." She said, her attention more solidly focused on this man as he spoke to the bank teller. She could see the shine from Edward's silver pocket watch sitting in front of him on the counter.

"Are you the account holder?" The teller asked.

"I'm his representative, but I brought a letter of attorney." The man replied.

"I see, and how much of a withdrawal are you wanting to make?" The teller asked as another voice came on the phone.

"Amelia? Is that you?" Major Armstrong's voice rang through as clear as ever.

"Yes, I'm here." She said, glancing between the phone and the man as he spoke with the teller.

"I'll need a cash withdrawal of—"

"I've been so worried about you! Are you alright? Are you safe? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, Teacher," Amelia said, glancing back at the man, "I'm um… I'm up north."

"You're still in Amestris? I thought you would have fled to Drachma by now!"

"What? Why would I be in Drachma?"

"With everything that's going on, I thought you would find it safer to flee to another country."

"Well… I mean, that's a good point." She hadn't thought about that.

"But no matter, I can come and get you wherever you are. Just tell me where you're staying, and I'll be there as quickly as possible! The Armstrong family has an excellent collection of automobiles that will get me there swiftly, wherever you are!" His declaration was just barely heard by Amelia as she watched the teller put two stacks of what had to be a large amount of money into an envelope and watched him tuck them into a pocket into his coat. As he turned around to leave, she caught a glimpse of his face and she felt a sudden chill run down her spine. He was one of Kimblee's goons! He was the one with sideburns and a stern face! Why did he have Edward's watch? What was he doing taking money out of his account? And more importantly, where did he find that watch? Edward never let it out of his sight, it was one of the most important things he owned, he wouldn't just let someone take it like that! She gripped the receiver of the phone tighter as her eyes followed him out of the bank, "Amelia? What's wrong? You've become quiet."

"What?" She glanced back at the phone, and then back at him.

"Just tell me where you are, and I'll be there as quickly as possible. We'll keep you safe at the estate." Armstrong promised.

"I…" She watched as the man made his way out of the bank, and she couldn't stand it. How could he just be up and walking around? Why was he okay when Edward was gone? He was there that day the mineshaft collapsed, he had to know what happened, "I have to call you back."

"Amelia?" She hung up the phone and shuffled her way out of the bank as the man left. She knew she shouldn't be doing this. She should tell the Major where she was and head straight back to the hotel like she planned, but she wasn't going to let this go. This guy was one of Kimblee's men, he fought Edward as a chimera, he was there when the mine collapsed, he had to know where he was! If she could find his body, if she could at least see and know that Edward was really gone, then she could move on, but this guy… he was there. He might have killed him. Who was he to walk around like this after killing a teenage boy? She wasn't going to stand for it, but she had to be careful about it. She made sure to keep her distance as she followed him, and whenever he looked back, she went to hide or made it seem like she was casually walking to another spot.

She followed him for a few blocks, heading down different roads, and she was very glad that she was so bundled up since it kept her warm for the majority of her time walking with him. It didn't take much longer until he went into a building in what looked like an area of town that most people might have been advised not to be in as tourists. They had left the center of the city behind and now were in the thick of the concrete buildings. As he went inside one building that looked like an apartment complex, she was quick to follow him and went up to the front door. When she stepped inside, he was nowhere to be seen in the hall. She narrowed her eyes and took careful, quiet steps as she went to look around the corner of the first room to her left that had an open door, only to be met with a large forearm coming out from behind it and pinning her to the wall by her shoulder.

She cried out and the brawny man stepped out, glaring down at her, "Alright, I know you've been following me, who the hell are you?" He demanded as he reached for her scarf and yanked it off of her face, her hat falling down with it and revealing herself to him. She glared up at him, not caring that her identity had been blown and she saw his eyes flash with recognition, "Oh, it's you."

"Damn right, it's me!" She snapped, "Where's Edward, you murderer?!" She struggled underneath his grip, but he held her down tightly and kept her still pinned against the wall.

"Murderer? Who are you calling a murderer?"

"Why else would you have Edward's watch?!" She snapped as she still struggled in his grasp, "Where is he?! What have you done with him?!" He let out a long sigh as she kept trying to work her way out of his grip, but he was still able to hold her still.

"Alright, kiddo. I think you better come with me." He said before bending down and throwing her up over her shoulder, and she let out a yelp as she was bent over like a sack of potatoes as he started to carry her up the stairs of the complex.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She screeched, her hands pounding at his back, "Put me down or I swear I'll scream!"

"If you scream, I won't tell you what happened to your friend." The man threatened in return, "I'll drop you down the stairs and you'll land on your head, you want that to happen?"

"Where's Edward, you piece of shit?!" She snapped at him, still pounding at his back with everything she had.

"Stop hitting me already!" The man complained as he kept walking briskly up the stairs. Even despite his complaints, he seemed to take every hit without too much trouble as he walked up the next floor with her on his shoulder. She kept kicking and punching and squirming trying to get out, but he wouldn't let her go so easily. He kept a firm grip on her as he brought her all the way to one door, knocking on it a few times before it opened up. Amelia didn't see who was inside as she still tried to punch him into submission on his back.

"That took you long enough," The voice of an elderly woman replied, "Who is that?"

"Don't worry about it, she won't be a problem." The man said as he walked inside, reaching into his coat and pulling out the envelope he had been given, tossing it on a table in front of an older man before reaching up around Amelia's waist and putting her down on her feet.

"Where is he?!" She snarled at him, going to hit him as soon as she was on the ground again. He quickly caught her punches and held her arms at bay, taking a step back as she tried to kick him.

"Easy, easy! He's fine!" He said as he held her back, and she paused for a moment as she glared up at him, the older man starting to thumb through the cash in the envelope, counting it out, "He'll be back in a minute, alright? He gave me his watch, that's why I had it at the bank."

"Liar! Why would he give you his watch?!" She snapped.

"Well, this should cover your medical bill," The man beside them spoke up, catching Amelia's attention as she looked over at him, getting a better look at him. He was completely bald, wearing a white doctor's coat and small spectacles that magnified the pores of his skin as they rested on his nose, he was a man easily pushing 70.

"It better," The larger man replied in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Well… I could charge you more, but this'll do." The man replied as he pocketed the money in his coat.

"You're already ripping us off, Doc." The larger man snapped.

"How can you say that?" The elderly woman piped up, and Amelia looked over at her. She was much shorter, her silver hair pulled back into two buns, with beady eyes and a grin that could put the Cheshire Cat to shame. She watched as she poured some coffee into one of two cups, "It's reasonable when you consider the risks involved."

"Sure, and as long as you guarantee that you're gonna keep your mouths shut, then I'm not complaining." The man replied.

"What the hell did you do?!" Amelia snapped, fearing the worst had happened to Edward if they had to pay someone hush money.

"I didn't do anything! If you would just calm down for a minute—"

"Darius!" A new voice caught her attention, another man coming out of the room. He stood just as tall and broad as his friend, and Amelia recognized his blonde hair and mustache quickly. He was another one of Kimblee's men, the second one who went missing.

"You!" She gasped upon her recognition.

"What is it?" The larger man, apparently named Darius, asked his companion who pointed his thumb at the windows. He and Amelia both looked over to see a car full of soldiers emptying out near the building. "Guess they found us…"

Amelia grew a little uneasy, knowing she couldn't be caught by them right now, not when she was so close to finding out what happened to Edward. "Shit…"

"We'll be alright, just act natural," Darius advised, letting go of her hands and heading into another room. The blonde man came up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"We saw your posters, you can't be seen, right?" He asked, and Amelia nodded, "Alright, just come over here." He looked over at the old woman, "Hey, you have anything to cover her face?" He asked as he went over to a cabinet, pulling out a roll of gauze and starting to wrap it around his wrist.

"Yes, there should be a facemask on the second shelf." She pointed it out to him, and he grabbed one, handing it to Amelia who quickly put it on. "Sit right here, we'll make it look like you're waiting." She advised her, and she complied for the moment as she took a seat and the doctor stood up while the other woman went over to the blonde man. It wasn't too much longer after they had readied themselves to 'act natural' that a harsh knock came at the door. The doctor went over to it, keeping a calm expression on his face.

"Yes, hello?" He opened the door to be greeted with three men, who Amelia had to guess were from Northern Command because they certainly weren't from Briggs or Central, "Oh, you're soldiers. Do you need a physical?"

"We're looking for someone," One of the men said, pushing the door open wider and stepping inside. Amelia was quick to duck her face down, coughing into the mask to pretend like she's sick. She watched as he glanced over at her, and then at the other man as the old woman removed his gauze from his wrist. "Are these two your only patients? There's no one else?"

"There's one more resting—" As soon as the doctor said it, the soldier walked past him, his shoulder knocking the older man out of the way as he went to the curtained-off back room, another soldier following him inside, marching with him as he yanked open the curtain where Darius was laying underneath the sheets of the cot in that room.

"Are you the only patient back here?" The lead soldier asked, and Amelia could easily hear his voice from the waiting room. She still kept her head ducked down in case the other soldier happened to look back, trying to hide as many of her facial features as possible.

"Yeah, why are you asking?" Darius asked in a weak voice, "What's wrong?"

"Tell me, were you at the bank this afternoon?" There was a pause following his question, one that was apparently too long for the soldier as he reached for his gun and pointed it at Darius, "Slowly raise your hands above your head!" Amelia could feel that tightness in her chest again as she looked back at the soldiers, glancing over at the door. She knew there was a third man waiting for them outside the door, but how hard would it be to slip past him right now…? Would he be waiting for his comrades before letting anyone out? She jumped as she heard the sound of another gun being cocked, looking up at the second soldier with the leader, who had pulled his gun out and was scanning the room. She looked over at the blonde member of Kimblee's team, and she saw that he was hiding a gun in his hands, ready to turn around and shoot, but he wasn't showing it just yet. The tension was getting worse in the room, and that tightness felt like it was suffocating her. Had it always been this hard to breathe, or was the mask just making it more difficult? "Right now!" The lead soldier ordered as Darius seemed to fail to comply. "Show me your hands!"

Suddenly, there was a heavy thud against the door, and it caught everyone's attention. The lead soldier looked back at the other one who had come in with him, "Check it out." He ordered, and the man nodded, his gun still drawn as he went to do so. As he came around the corner of the door opening, Amelia could see the limp body of his companion on the floor. Her eyes widened, what happened? Who else was here?

"Harris! Harris, what happened to you?!" The second soldier cried out, and Amelia immediately feared the worst. Was it Kimblee? Had he and his men come to hide out here before continuing their work for the homunculi? She watched as the second man kneeled down to try and get his companion up as the door closed. "Come on, snap to! Harri—" his voice was cut off and another thud was heard as the door opened slightly when his body fell to the floor too. Amelia felt her blood run cold. It was Kimblee. It had to be Kimblee, who else would be with these men?

The door was opened slowly again, and the lead soldier quickly moved back against the wall. Amelia watched as a smaller figure, much smaller than Kimblee and definitely smaller than his two goons that she was stuck with, carefully walked into the room, one arm holding a paper bag full of food as he quietly moved across the room. The thing that caught her eye was the long blonde hair that seemed to be trailing down his back. No… it couldn't be.

"Cohen? Harris? What's going on?" The first soldier shouted out from where he was standing by the doorway. When he received only silence as a response, he only grew more nervous and the blonde figure came up to the other side of the doorway, opposite where he was standing, "Hey, answer me!" Amelia watched as the figure raised his automail right arm and punched it straight through the plaster wall, and she stood up as she heard the sound of the first soldier choking as he was pinned back, her heart pounding in her ears as she knew that this had to be him. There was no doubt anymore.

She heard the thud of a body hitting the floor again and she reached up to take off her face mask while Darius got out of his bed, "Damn. You just had to take him out on your own, huh?" He commented as he came around, bending down slightly to look over the condition of the lead soldier, "You're pretty reckless, kid. You haven't even fully recovered yet."

"Don't treat me like I'm an invalid." Edward replied as he came around to the front of the door, his automail hand clenching into a fist, "My injuries are completely healed, and I'm revving at full throttle!"

"Sure, sure," Darius replied as he stood up again, looking over at him, "You get everything on the list?"

"Yeah, and then some," Edward said as he handed over the bag of groceries for him to inspect.

"Good, I'll take care of the rest, and you can take care of your little friend there." He said, "We need to get the hell out of here, so make it quick."

"Friend? What are you talking about?" Edward turned around, his eyes meeting Amelia's and he stopped, silenced in shock as he looked at her. She looked right back at him, her hands trembling a little bit as she stared him in his face. He was alive. Edward was really alive, and he was standing right there in front of her. The two of them were silent for a few moments that felt like a small eternity as they both tried to figure out what they wanted to say. Amelia had a million things she wanted to say, a million things she wanted to do. She wanted to run up and hug him and praise whatever god that would listen that Edward was safe. She also wanted to punch him in the face and call him out for abandoning her to the Central forces at Fort Briggs. Edward seemed to be in a similar state of speechlessness, trying to figure out what to say. He gulped as he knew that just staring at each other wouldn't help anything, so he raised up his flesh hand, putting a small, awkward smile on his face as he said, "Hey,"

His simple greeting immediately pushed away all of Amelia's feelings of relief and gratitude at him being alive and switched her over to anger, "Hey?!" She snapped, marching over to him and his smile quickly fell as he stepped back, "That's all you have to say to me is hey?! Are you fucking kidding me, Ed?!" She didn't hesitate to bring her fist up and punch him right in his cheek. It hurt her fingers to feel them hitting his teeth through his skin, but damn did it feel good to let out her anger.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Edward quickly went up to cover the cheek she had hit.

"You total asshole!" She shouted at him angrily, "You fucking up and disappear for a whole goddamn week, and all you have to say to me is hey?! You fucking dick!" She brought her hand up to hit him again and he quickly blocked it with his automail arm. "Do you have any idea what I've been doing for the last week?!" She brought her fists down on his lifted arm, the sides of her hands hitting against the metal.

"Hey, take it easy!"

"You unbelievable fuckwad!" She emphasized her word with a good hit to his automail arm and continued to do so as she reamed him out, "I have been trapped at Fort Briggs for seven goddamn days in the fucking dark! God, I hate you so much! A whole week Edward?! You couldn't call or something?! You couldn't leave a note?! You fucking piece of—!"

"Hey! I've been in recovery for the last week, that's not my fault!" Edward snapped back at her, trying to move away as she kept hitting him, blocking her with his right arm every time.

"I don't care! You should have done something!" She shouted back at him.

"I was trying to lay low!"

"Lay low?! Fucking seriously, Ed?! I've got half a mind to chuck you out into the garbage like the little piece of shit that you are!"

The 'L' word instantly brought up Edward's own fire after being hit and berated by Amelia, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING LITTLE?!"

"Shut up!"

"YOU SHUT UP!"

"You don't get the right to yell at me, asshole!"

"WHY THE HELL NOT?!"

"I'm the one that's pissed off here, not you! So shut your fucking mouth!"

"How am I not supposed to be angry when you keep hitting me?!"

"Because you deserve it!"

"For what?!"

"I thought you were dead, you bastard!" Amelia's voice trembled as she yelled, and she could see her vision growing foggy as her eyes welled with tears. It was the first time she had ever said out loud that she was afraid that Edward was dead, and to say it now, the tears overflowed and Edward's anger began to disappear as he saw tears rolling over her cheeks and falling to the floor, "This entire time…! I thought you were dead…! I thought…" A sob slipped out in between her words and she hated it. She hated that she was crying like this, but she was so angry, and it wouldn't stop, and she had been in such torment for the last few days, "I mourned for you…!" She brought her hand up again and Edward went up to block it with his automail forearm, but it was just a tap compared to what she had done a moment ago, "I've been…! I've been grieving, you…!" She sobbed again and she pulled her hands back to wipe at her face.

"Amelia…" Edward's expression softened as he watched her break down, he had never seen her like this before, and it was so painful to see her like this. He tried to reach out to her with his automail hand, and she quickly smacked it away.

"Don't fucking touch me!" She glared up at him as she wiped away her tears from her cheeks. "I'm still pissed at you! How could you just leave me behind like that?! I thought we were friends!"

"We are friends!" Edward quickly said, holding his hands up defensively in case she decided to hit him again.

"Then why didn't you come?" Her voice was hoarse from the yelling, and she quieted as she glared up at him, "Why didn't you try to contact me? Why did I have to get smuggled out of the fort?"

"Amelia, I swear, it's not like that," Edward said gently. She sniffled as she wiped away the last of her tears, finally calming down. So many things had come bubbling up at once, she couldn't help herself as she cried like that in front of him.

"Come on," Darius came over to them, wearing his coat and carrying a small bag, "We need to hurry and get out of here. Those guys weren't the only military here." He gave the two of them a nudge and they started to walk out with them into the hall. He looked back at the doctor and his wife, who were pulling the lead unconscious soldier out of their room and dragging him over to the door where the other two unconscious ones lay. "Thanks for everything you've done, Doc."

"Don't worry about it, just hurry up and go." The doctor dismissed his gratitude as he pulled the body along with his wife.

"We've had about all the trouble we can take for today." His wife concurred and the group started to move out, Edward bending down to pick up a piece of paper from one of the soldiers. Amelia looked over his shoulder to see it was a list of descriptive qualities: blonde hair worn in a braid, red coat, short. That was it. Were those the descriptors they were using to try to find Edward? It seemed pretty simplistic, and she was fairly certain she had a whole wanted poster with a sketch on it… hardly seemed fair.

"Freeze!" The shout caught their attention and they looked back to see a pair of soldiers pointing their guns at them.

"Drop your weapons!" One ordered them, seeing the guns in Darius's hand and his partner's.

The blonde one tsked, "We took too long." He said, giving a pointed look to Edward and Amelia.

"Get your hands up in the air!" The second soldier ordered as he readied his gun, "Do it now!"

"Get out of there, kids! Those guys are dangerous!" The first one said, looking at Amelia and Edward. Did he really not know who they were? Maybe she didn't look all that much like her wanted poster in person…

Still, the fact that they were all allies and the soldiers didn't know that gave the two goons an idea. They each picked up one kid, pointing a gun to their heads.

"Stay back or they're dead!" The blonde one threatened dramatically while pointing a gun to Amelia's head.

"Don't force us to blow their brains out!" Darius threatened in an equally dramatic tone, and the two soldiers faltered at the sight of the 'hostages' with them.

Darius picked up Edward and ran out with him, the blonde one doing the same for Amelia, who was a little shocked that she was being picked up so easily by these guys as they ran down the stairs and outside. As soon as they burst through the doors, the other soldiers and their cars looked over at them. The blonde one did some quick work shooting at the snowy roof of the building that they had parked next to, the foot various feet of snow coming rushing down on top of their vehicle and in front of them to keep them from rushing after them on foot while they turned and ran down the street.

"I'll hotwire some wheels for us," Darius said as they ran, both of them with one teenager under their arm.

"Is this what you've been doing since you left Fort Briggs?" Amelia demanded as her goon continued to carry her.

"You seriously want to talk about that now?!" Edward snapped from his place under Darius's arm.

"Not like we've had any other time to talk this week!"

"Don't you take that tone with me, I'm still your teacher, you know!"

"Can't you kids pipe down?!" The blonde one snapped as they ran to a car, Darius pulling on the doors and finding them unlocked, throwing Edward into the backseat and the blonde goon doing the same to Amelia as Darius ran to the engine, pulling up the hood and messing with the wires until it started, and then he ran back in where the blonde one was already waiting with his gun pointing out the window for when the soldiers would come for them. As soon as they drove off, peeling down the icy road, it didn't take long for them to catch up.

"You just left me at Fort Briggs! You abandoned me!" Amelia snapped at Edward.

"I wasn't going to abandon you!" Edward snapped back, clearly pissed that she wanted to bring this up now, in the middle of an escape.

"Then where the hell have you been this last week, huh?!"

"I've been in recovery! I've been stuck in bed and it's sucked!"

"Like I'd buy that bullshit, Edward. Smooth tongue, my ass!"

"This isn't some kind of smooth talk, it's the truth!"

"Can't you kids save it for another day?!" Darius snapped at the two of them.

"You shut up!" Amelia snapped at him, and Edward glanced back behind them to see two more cars pulling up closer as they drove down the road, filled with soldiers.

"Hey, Gorilla, step on it!" He ordered.

"Don't call me that!" Darius snapped at him.

"Just drive faster!" He ordered again.

"These guys are from Northern Command! We're never gonna ditch 'em!" As he spoke, a car began to pull up in front of them at an intersection, and Darius cried out as he quickly turned the car to just narrowly avoid getting in a wreck, knocking Edward and Amelia around in the backseat, putting Edward on top of Amelia.

"That was a little too close…!" The blonde one said.

"Get off of me!" Amelia pushed him off with a glare, "I can't believe you were going to ditch me at the fort!"

"For the last time, I wasn't going to leave you there! We were gonna come back for you!" Edward snapped, glaring back at her as his frustration brought him to shouting at her.

"Bullshit! I know I'm the weakest fighter and the weakest alchemist of the three of us!"

"So what?! Just because you're weak doesn't mean I was gonna abandon you there for those bastards to get their hands on you!"

"How about instead of shouting you make use of that mouth and tell us how it looks behind us?!" Darius snapped at her and she glared at him.

"Don't even get me started on you!" She snapped at him while Edward looked back to see the cars were still in hot pursuit.

"It's not good, they're right on us!" Edward reported.

"Damn it!" Darius pushed his foot down on the gas even more, but it wasn't doing much good to better their chances. Edward looked ahead of them and pushed his way up to point at the intersection ahead of them.

"Hey, turn there! I've got an idea!" He ordered.

"What?"

"Just shut up and turn!"

Darius, frustrated and knowing they didn't have many options, began to do that, the car rocking as they turned suddenly down the road. "This better be a good plan!"

"Just park the car as soon as we turn!" Edward ordered, clapping his hands together and bringing them to the side of the car. Amelia could hear the metal creaking as it was warped by his transmutation. The car jerked to a halt as Darius parked the car like Edward had suggested, and he pulled his hand away. The car looked completely different… to be perfectly honest, it didn't even look like a car anymore. From what Amelia could see from the windows, the metal had been shifted to almost look like armor, like a pill bug, only instead of the usual dark grey color, it was purple, with red flames trailing around it. He had even changed the windshield so the glass was tinted (the only good thing out of this) and changed to look like bulbous goggles with a pair of bull horns pointing outward, with a third horn pointing forward in between them. They all waited in silence in the car as they watched the military cars that had been chasing after them drive right past, heading down the next street and leaving them alone.

Edward let out a small sigh of relief, a bit of a smug grin on his face, "Whew… and you doubted me."

"...Yeah, well can you change it back into a normal car now?" The blonde one asked.

Edward looked genuinely shocked that he had asked, but then scowled, "And why is that? I think this car looks cool as hell!"

"Just change it back! Please, we're begging you!" Darius said as he put the car back in gear and drove back down the road they had been on, heading straight out of town.

"Oh, yeah?! You guys got a problem with my sense of style?!"

"You don't have any." Darius, Amelia, and the blonde goon all said at once, shocking him back into his seat, and he crossed his arms with a pout.

Amelia rolled her eyes, "God, I'll do it." She brought her hands together, bringing them to the side of the car. She could hear the metal creaking again as she changed the shape and paint job of it so that it looked almost the same as before, though now it was a different shade so they could avoid the military as they kept driving. Edward looked over at her, but she refused to look over at him, sitting back in the car, crossing her arms as she stayed still.

"Amelia—"

"No, shush!" She snapped at him, "You'll get your turn to talk! You want to know what I've been doing for the last week since you ditched me?!"

"I wasn't going to—!"

"No! Shut up! I'm talking now!" Edward reluctantly shut his mouth, glaring at Amelia as she continued, "I was held prisoner in my own room! And then Drachma attacked out of freaking nowhere so now there's a whole bunch of bloodshed at Briggs, and you know what I tried to do when that happened? I tried to run because no one had found you and you were either dead or you ditched me, so I ran! And I got caught! And thank God it was Captain Buccaneer that found me, or I'd be shipped all the way back to Central! I'd be stuck there until these assholes enacted their plans and I'd be sacrificed for whatever that is! So instead, I've been hiding for a week in the fucking dark in an empty room living off army rations until they smuggled me out of the fort fucking yesterday! Fucking last night at 2 in the goddamn morning, I got out of the fort! This is the first time I've seen the sun since we were in Baschool! You ditched me, Ed! You abandoned me and you left me behind to do fuck all with the enemy! Screw you! I am so fucking pissed at you, there are not enough cuss words in my vocabulary to describe how much of a shit head you are! And don't give me that bullshit that you weren't going to ditch me because we all know I'm the weakest fighter and the weakest alchemist and leaving me behind would have been the best idea and you know it!" She let out a heavy breath, having gotten it all out as quickly as she could, panting a little bit as she looked at him. Edward still kept his mouth shut, waiting for whatever else she wanted to say. "You're an asshole, Edward." She finished, sitting comfortably.

"...Is that it?" He asked in a surprisingly calm voice, "Is that all you wanted to say to me?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat for a moment before she nodded, "Yeah, I think I made my point."

"Okay," Edward sat up a little straighter, "You want to know what's happened to me since Baschool?" He reached for the hem of his leather jacket, and Amelia's eyes widened as she saw him pulling it up with his undershirt to expose the lower half of his torso, "When Kimblee made the mineshaft explode in Baschool, this is what happened to me." He pulled it up to reveal a rather large injury on his left side, "A piece of metal came crashing down with me and pierced me straight through. I managed to use alchemy to fix the worst of it, but I had to see a doctor, and they gave me this skin graft. You can see my muscles moving underneath, look," He clenched up his stomach and Amelia winced as she saw the fibrous muscles moving underneath the skin graft on his stomach.

"Jesus Christ, Ed." She gasped.

"So, Mr. Gorilla and Mr. Lion—"

"We have names!" The blonde one angrily declared, "We're Heinkel and Darius!"

"Yeah, whatever!" Edward barked back at him before turning back to Amelia, letting his clothes down to cover himself again, "For the last week I've been in recovery following that surgery with a couple of shifty doctors willing to work on us for a super high price, and they can tell you," he pointed to the two chimeras in the front of the car, "That my first plan of action once I got better was to get you out of Fort Briggs and get the hell out of here. Right?"

"Yeah, it's true," Darius said, his eyes still on the road as he spoke over his shoulder, "He had a plan of action to move underground and sneak in to find you."

"He said there was some kind of tunnel that ran under the fort that we could use, so that's where we were planning on going next," Heinkel confirmed.

Amelia listened to all of this and her expression shifted from anger to shock to confusion to guilt as she listened to everything. "Oh…" She felt her cheeks flushing, "I… kind of feel like an asshole now."

"Yeah! You really should!" Edward exclaimed at her, Amelia blushed shamefully, looking away from him as she couldn't help feeling guilty. Edward glared at her for a moment more before his expression softened, "But at the same time… you had no idea any of this was happening. Just like I didn't have any idea of what was happening at Fort Briggs to you." She looked over at him, "Amelia, I was really worried about you. I had no idea what was happening. And honestly, I'm really glad to see you again after everything." It meant the world to him to know that she was safe and sound, even more that she had escaped.

She smiled softly at him, "I'm really glad to see you're okay, too." She said in a quiet tone of voice, "I really thought that, if you weren't dead, you would have left me behind."

"I would never do that to you," Edward said firmly, "Not ever. Not if I thought there was a chance you were still alive."

Amelia was a little stunned at his conviction when he said that, "I… Well, it's just, I know I was the weakest out of the three of us, for basically everything. In my head, it just made sense that you left the half-dead man to die."

"Who said you're the weakest alchemist out of us, huh? I mean, look at what you just did!" Edward gestured to the car, "You just completely undid my transmutation and still changed the color of the car! You're not a weak alchemist, you just haven't had enough experience using it in combat, and that can change." He smiled at her, "You're a great alchemist, you're just not confident like we are about it. We can change that."

She smiled back at him, and it grew into a grin, "Yeah, I guess we can."

"We definitely got the time for it now." Edward said, "Now we're both running from the military and hiding out from them, so we'll have plenty of time to work on your alchemy and combat training while we're traveling."

"Yeah," She couldn't deny that, now that she had gotten out all of her anger, that relief and gratitude was all that she could feel. She felt much lighter now, seeing that he was okay and that everything could go back to normal, at least somewhat, "But what about Al? I would have thought if you left, you would have met up with him somewhere."

"You didn't see him back at the fort?"

"No, there was no sign of him in all the time I was there, Major Miles would have told me. I don't think he came back once he knew it wasn't safe."

"Probably a smart move on his part…" Edward sighed, "We knew when he left it wasn't safe. The plan was always to meet up outside the fort, but we didn't exactly specify where… we might need to figure out what our next plan of action is." Amelia glanced out the window of the car, seeing that the city landscape of the north had been replaced with rolling snow-covered hills and pine tree forests in the time that they had spent talking. They both looked up as they felt the car slowing down.

"What's wrong?" Amelia asked, "Why are we slowing down?"

"After all that insanity, I need to take a piss," Darius said, and Amelia let out a disgusted noise. "It'll only take a second. Stretch your legs for a bit." He pulled the car off to the side of the road, shutting off the engine and stepping out. Heinkel followed him out, leaving Amelia and Edward in the car.

"Well… I guess a little stretch couldn't hurt." Amelia said. They must have been far enough away from the city that they were safe enough to get out and about for the time being. She got out of the car, stretching her arms up into the fresh, chilly air of their surroundings. She heard the door closing and saw Edward walking around the other side to come to her. "So… Are you okay? I mean, how do you recover from that kind of injury?"

"Well, it wasn't easy. I sort of had to improvise." Edward chuckled.

"What do you mean? I thought you were good at bio-alchemy."

"I'm not great at it, it's not my specialty. I just have some education on it." Edward replied, "I ended up using my own soul in place of a Philosopher's Stone to repair some of the damage."

"You what?" She gasped, "How do you even do that? I mean, are… is there… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Edward reassured her, "At most, I think it took a few years off my lifespan, but that's it."

"Jesus, Ed! How can you be so reckless?"

Edward laughed a little, "Come on, that's kind of my style, you know?"

"Don't laugh, Ed!" Amelia quickly said, making him stop, "That recklessness almost got you killed!" She stared him down determinedly, "Edward, do you remember the last time I thought you were dead? You remember what you promised me?"

"I promised you something?"

"You promised me you wouldn't be so reckless anymore! You told me you would at least try!" She looked at him worriedly, "Ed, I'm serious. It's sheer luck that you managed to fix yourself and that these guys lent you a hand. They could have left you down there to die if they wanted to. And you can't just go using your own soul as a Philosopher's Stone whenever it's convenient for you, that'll kill you!"

"I know, I know!" Edward said quickly, and sighed, "Look, I'm not gonna do that again unless I have to."

"So don't get in a situation where you have to!" Amelia replied, "Ed, you need to promise me — really promise me this time — that you won't be so reckless. That you're not gonna jump into anything headfirst anymore. You need to start planning ahead, start thinking of the big picture instead of just in the moment, okay?"

Edward looked up into her eyes as she pleaded with him, asking him to make a promise that seemed almost impossible to him. He couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't be reckless anymore, it was in his nature to be impulsive and jump straight into it… but at the same time, it had cost him a lot to do that. He sighed, "Okay, I promise that I will start planning ahead more, and that I will be less reckless."

"Do you really mean that?" Amelia asked seriously.

"I really mean that," Edward confirmed, looking up at her. "I do."

Amelia relaxed a little bit, seeing that conviction in his eyes that always seemed to be there whenever he was talking about something important to him, "Good." She said, relieved. Edward smiled at her, and she smiled back at him.

"Oh, how's your arm, by the way?" Edward asked, reaching for the hand of Amelia's injured arm from before.

"It's fine now." She said, reaching to pull up her sleeve and expose her forearm to him, showing that there was a long scar along her arm, but no bandages, "The stitches are gone now. I'm perfectly fine." She put her sleeve back down and looked up at him. Edward smiled, letting go of her hand and she let it fall back to her side, though she wished that he had held onto it for a little bit longer.

"Good," Edward sounded relieved to know that she was better, though that scar wouldn't disappear anytime soon. He looked out over their landscape for a moment, frowning, "I should have never dropped my guard around Kimblee." He looked over at her, "I managed to get the Philosopher's Stone out of his hand, but he had a second one hidden."

"What?"

"It was what he used to blow up the mineshaft." Edward said, "I had no idea he was keeping that, it completely threw me off."

"I can't believe it. How the hell are we supposed to anticipate two Philosopher's Stones?" Amelia grumbled.

"I know," Edward sighed exasperatedly in agreement, "Talk about a setback."

"No kidding…" Amelia sighed with him. There was a moment of silence as the two of them thought over everything. Kimblee still hadn't been found, so was it safe to say that he was back with the enemy now? It wasn't likely that he had died in his own explosion, he wouldn't be so careless as that. It was more likely he had gotten away from Briggs and was back to doing what he wanted to do with the homunculi, probably trying to hunt down Scar again, if he wasn't doing more of their dirty work.

"Do you…" Edward's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "Do you think Al made it to Winry okay?"

"I'm sure he must have," Amelia said, "I mean, it's not like he froze to death. What could stop him?"

"Yeah, good point." Edward agreed.

"Hey, Fullmetal," Darius's voice caught their attention and they looked over to him and Heinkel, "What's the next plan of action?"

"Well, let's see…" Edward thought aloud, "The first thing I need to do is meet up with Al. He should be with Doctor Marcoh by now."

"Well, where are they?" Darius asked.

"You do know how to find them, right?" Heinkel asked.

Amelia tilted her head curiously as she looked at them, "You want to help him out? I don't get it, don't you guys work for Kimblee?"

"After that bastard tried to kill us in that mineshaft explosion?" Heinkel shook his head, "No, but I guess this means Darius and I are back to being drifters."

"And you still want to help?" Amelia was still surprised that they wanted to take part in what they were doing.

Darius shrugged, "It's not like we have anything better to do. Besides, I'd really like it if your plans involve sticking back to Kimblee."

Amelia grinned, "I'm sure we can work that in somewhere." She heard the sound of the car creaking and looked over to see Edward sitting down against it, trying to think of where Alphonse would have gone. She looked back over at Darius and Heinkel, "We sent Al to warn some of our friends about Fort Briggs, so he should be leading them somewhere safe by now."

"Okay, and where do you think that would be?" Amelia shrugged in response.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but Edward knows Alphonse a lot better than I do. He probably knows where he would go."

"So, we're doing this all off of a guess?" Heinkel asked, incredulous.

"Well, no. I mean, technically yes, but you don't know how close these brothers are," Amelia replied, "I'm sure Edward can figure out where he went."

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A/N: This is probably the longest chapter I'll write for this story. I've been waiting for this bit for a while now. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!