Manami and the Elric brothers were escorted by leashes tied around their waists back down to the "heart of the Fort," where they met Olivier. She gestured to some horses that were being lowered to the hole below and explained that they would be joining her, Buccaneer, and Falman to go down underground.
When they asked why they were going down, Olivier ignored them completely.
When they got down into the tunnel, they each were assigned a horse to ride on, while a soldier behind them still kept a firm grip on their leashes.
Well, at least their hands weren't bound this time…
"Wow, this place is huge…" Ed looked around in awe.
"It's not just a hole… it's a tunnel." Manami observed.
"I still can't believe an intruder went this far under our noses…" Olivier spat bitterly.
"So, this is the furthest anyone's ever gotten inside the fort…" Al thought aloud.
"There was one other instance in my time at command here," Olivier explained. "Nearly twenty years ago, there was a strange incident where a mountain guard was attacked in the middle of winter. All we know is that an unidentified woman stole food and supplies, enough to last an entire month."
Manami noticed Ed and Al flinch, and she raised her eyebrows.
"Teacher..!" Ed mouthed silently to her, to which Manami shook her head furiously and mouthed back, "No way!"
They traveled a little further down the tunnel before Olivier spoke once again.
"This should be far enough."
"..?" The trio blinked in confusion as their horses stopped and they dismounted. Olivier went to sit down on a rock and cross her arms.
"Now," She started. "We are far away enough from any unwanted eyes or ears… so now you're going to talk. Tell me everything."
Manami and Ed's eyes widened, and they stared back at the General in shock.
"You three wouldn't answer my questions, claiming that you couldn't." Olivier explained. "Which tells me that this information is worth defying me. You three are risking our lives to protect something… or perhaps someone."
Ed and Manami's pained expressions confirmed it.
"It's safe here. Tell me the truth."
"... we… we need your help, General." Ed said quietly— in a rare, pleading voice.
After explaining literally everything they could, Olivier was quiet for a long time… probably taking in everything she had just heard, and trying to process it all.
The only sound in the entire tunnel was the light tapping of her gloved hands, folded above the sheath of her sword.
"The Philosopher's Stone. Homunculi. Furher King Bradley. The mysterious man called 'Father'. And corruption in the senior staff." She said aloud, still deep in thought.
"And hostages, as well." Buccaneer added grimly.
"Yes…" Olivier looked up to Ed. "Your childhood friend, the automail engineer, correct? As well as Mustang's men, and…" Her eyes fell on Manami.
"The family of the late Maes Hughes."
"... did you know him, General?" Manami asked quietly.
"Not closely, no. We've done some joint-training over the years, so I know officers Hawkeye and Havoc." Olivier put a hand on her chin as she thought. "Those two are too valuable to lose."
"And Colonel Mustang?" Falman asked hopefully, but was shot down with a scoff from Olivier.
"I couldn't care less about him. In fact, seeing him fall from power would only mean one less rival in the way."
The trio chuckled nervously.
"Nevermind that, the real question is…" Olivier stood up. "This tunnel. What do you alchemists think of it?"
Manami and the Elric brothers looked around before exchanging glances.
"Well? Anything?" Olivier seemed impatient.
"Well…" Ed thought for a moment. "I think it's safe to say that this tunnel has nothing to do with Drachma. Whatever the reason, it's just our country's problem."
"Which is good." The trio looked over to Olivier, surprised by her comment.
"I can handle our country's affairs." She said, her eyes narrowed. "As long as the enemy isn't involved, then there aren't any foreign tactics."
"That's not entirely true." Manami replied. "I can't help but feel that there's way more to this than we think we know. We're slowly figuring it out, piece by piece, but..."
"..." Olivier pursed her lips, silently admitting that Manami was right.
"So what now?" Buccaneer asked, his arms crossed. "What's our course of action?"
"..." After a pause, Ed looked over to Falman. "Do you happen to have a map of the country?"
"A compass, too." Al added.
Manami looked between the two of them, sure that they both had the same idea… but what was it? She watched along with the others as Falman handed the Elric brothers a map and compass and they put it down on the ground.
"Now…" Ed pulled out a pen from his back pocket. "Officer Falman, can you think of any major conflicts in this country? Particularly… ones that resulted in a lot of bloodshed."
Manami blinked, looking over to Al who met her glance. She got a bad feeling as Falman listed off the locations Ed asked for, Olivier and Buccaneer even adding a few they thought of.
"And finally…" Falman seemed hesitant to say the last location. "In 1914… the riots in Liore."
"What?!" Ed and Al gasped, quickly looking over to him.
Manami blinked in confusion, thinking to herself that this had been something that happened before she joined up with them— in 1914, she was in Xing.
"How?!" Ed demanded. "I sent a report to Eastern HQ about that phony priest before things got out of hand..!"
"Yeah, our troops moved in right away and stopped the violence." Falman answered him.
"So, what happened?!" Al cried.
"Central pulled us out and took over the operations with their own men." Falman looked down to the ground. "And that's when the riots started. They did nothing to stop it."
"Oh no…" Ed put a hand on his forehead. "Damn it..!"
"Keep drawing, FullMetal." Olivier urged him. "There's nothing that can be done about it now. Sitting here and feeling guilty won't get us anywhere."
Ed gritted his teeth and went to pick up the pen once more. He circled Liore on the map with a shaky breath.
"Now... to connect the points…"
In that moment, Manami's eyes widened. It clicked on her mind, and the realization made her sick to her stomach.
"Oh my God…" She croaked, putting a hand over her mouth.
"What?" Olivier looked from her to Edward, who had his eyes narrowed as well while he drew lines connecting the circled locations on the map.
"If the entire country is the shape of a circle… and if there's been bloodshed at all those locations…"
"Gah!" Falman had realized what Ed had drawn up. "Th-That's the same transmutation circle in Lab Five!"
"The one that uses human lives to make a Philosopher's Stone?" Buccaneer asked.
"That's not all…" Ed looked to Falman. "Can you confirm that all these incidents were connected to the military somehow?"
Falman took a moment to think. "... yes." He finally answered.
"... and the date of the first incident, in Riveria…" Ed pointed to it.
"That happened right after Amestris was founded." Olivier answered. "Amestris was not always this big. It actually started out very small, but we conquered neighboring countries and expanded our borders to become what we are today."
"H-Hold on…" Manami felt the hairs stand on the back of her neck. "If this country really expanded to become one big transmutation circle, and if one of the points was made right after the country's founding…"
"Then you were right, Manami." Ed gritted his teeth. "There was a lot more to this than we thought. This was the plan all along. From the beginning, this was all just their plan to make…"
"Mr. Hughes..!" Al gasped, making Manami's eyes widen.
"He said he would look into and… of course…" She ran a shaky hand through her hair. "In his position, he had more resources than anyone else..."
She felt her chest tighten, and her eyes watered. "He realized what was going on. He learned too much and he…"
She couldn't finish. She felt sick.
"Damn it…" Ed growled. "Damn them!"
"I don't like this!" Olivier slammed the sheath of her sword on the map. "If this is all correct, then there is only one point that hasn't seen any bloodshed— and that's right here at my Fort!"
"General!" A distant voice broke all concentration at that point and everyone looked to see a soldier arriving on a horse. "You're needed back at the fort! Lieutenant General Raven from Central is here to see you."
Manami could feel a bead of sweat roll down the side of her head. Just as they figured it out, the trouble had already arrived.
"And our time is already up." Olivier spat.
"General, I have a favor to ask…" Despite the situation, Ed seemed cool when he asked his question. It even took Olivier by surprise.
"What?" She asked.
"You think you can get some information out of General Raven?"
It seemed that Ed already had a plan...
"I apologize for the chaos, sir. We were attacked yesterday."
Olivier sat at a small table with tea, with a man with darker skin and gray hair. This was Lieutenant General Raven. Meanwhile, Buccaneer, Falman, Ed, Al, and Manami were in another room listening to to a radio. Ed had managed to rig up a microphone setup to where they could hear the entire conversation between Armstrong and Raven.
"Attacked? By whom?" Raven inquired, sounding surprised.
"I think it's most appropriate to call it… a monster. Fortunately, we were able to fend it off." Olivier answered.
Manami couldn't stop her own heart from beating harshly, ever since they figured out the Homunculi's plans in the tunnel. Right now, she couldn't imagine being in Olivier's position— she had to choose her words carefully, and just listening in on it made her more nervous.
"A monster?" Raven asked. "What ever do you mean?"
"I mean that no matter how many times we killed it… it didn't die, sir."
There was a pause, and then Raven chuckled softly.
"Is that so…"
"I suspect that it was created in Drachma." Olivier said. "But… those children…"
"Children?" Raven sounded more intrigued now.
"Yes. The FullMetal Alchemist and his brother, along with the Wind Alchemist, arrived only a few hours before the attack. I suspect that they know something, but they refuse to say anything." Olivier explained. "I find it disturbing that a State Alchemist, possibly two, are doubling as spies for Drachma, so I've locked them up. Would you like to speak with them?"
"Certainly." Raven answered. "They haven't told you a thing?"
"No, sir. All they've told me is that they are researching living transmutation, or something like that. What could be more suspicious?" Olivier said, but then there was a pause.
"I've considered torturing them to get them to talk, but… I am a woman, after all. I don't think I could torture children."
Manami raised a brow when Olivier said this. Luckily for Raven, he didn't already know her personality enough to be able to tell that that was…
"A load of crock!" Buccaneer snickered. "She'd torture you brats without a second thought!"
It didn't make Manami feel much better to hear it out loud…
They heard Raven laugh over the radio. "But General Armstrong, aren't you known as the Northern Wall of Briggs? Walls aren't as soft as that!"
"I suppose…" Olivier chuckled. "You know, General Raven… at my age, most women are expected to have had children of their own by now. Unfortunately, I'm well past that..."
"Nonsense!" Raven protested. "You're still plenty young enough to settle down."
"But I know the clock is ticking… with every day, I'm getting older. The thought of it chills me to the bone." Olivier's tone of voice changed. "But that monster… he can't die."
Everyone listened as she continued, holding their breaths.
"An immortal body… it's like something out of a dream, isn't it?"
There was a long pause, but finally Raven spoke.
"What if I told you… that, very soon... the dream of immortality will become a reality?"
"!" Everyone's gasped, all eyes glued on the radio as they listened intently.
"How about it, General?" Raven asked. "Would you be interested… in seeing an immortal army?"
"He took the bait…" Ed whispered.
"Yeah, a little too fast…" Buccaneer was frowning in the dim light.
"You think he's trying to trick her?" Manami asked, and Buccaneer scoffed.
"If he is, he won't succeed."
Raven spoke again, and they turned their attention back to the radio.
"Never dying or getting old… sounds quite intriguing, yes?"
"... honestly," Olivier finally spoke, and Manami found herself holding her breath again. "I have no idea how to answer. It's such an incredible question…"
"There are only two ways to answer, General. Either you're interested, or you're not." Raven replied.
Manami's eyes widened at the sudden realization. At the same moment, Olivier was coming to the same conclusion— this was a trap. If Olivier said that she wasn't interested, it didn't seem likely that she would retain her position here… hell, she might even be offed.
They would do it in the blink of an eye...
He had nothing to lose by telling her this, but she did.
"I'll admit, I'm intrigued." Olivier finally said. "But I have a question: would this gift of immortality be shared with all of my men, or just me?"
"I can tell you when the time comes." Raven answered.
KNOCK KNOCK! A banging on the door cut their conversation short.
"Pardon me…" Olivier went to get up and answer the door.
"My apologies for the interruption," A different voice spoke. "The recon team sent into the tunnel has—"
There was a pause. Everyone listening in exchanged glances.
"What's this about a tunnel?" Raven asked, and Manami swallowed.
He probably wasn't supposed to know there was a recon team in the tunnel...
"Speak, soldier." Olivier said. It would've been more obvious to show disdain that Raven now knew.
"Something's happened to them." The soldier explained.
"Understood. I'll head there immediately. General Raven, could you join me?"
"Me? Oh, yes… of course."
"We got to move." Buccaneer went to stand and everyone followed suit.
"Hold on," Ed went to clap his hands and transmute some rope. "We were tied up. Better keep the act up."
Manami had to resist the urge to groan, because she knew he was right.
Manami and the Elric brothers were once again in leashes, and being escorted by Buccaneer and Falman. Just as expected, they were approached. It took only a few moments to see that it was Major Miles, accompanied by a man in all white suit.
"What's going on here, Buccaneer?" Miles asked.
"Prisoner transfer, sir." I'm moving the Elric brothers and the Wind Alchemist from the east to the west wing" Buccaneer answered casually. "May I ask who you are escorting?"
"This is Solf J. Kimblee." Miles answered. "He's General Raven's… special guest."
Manami's eyes widened a little when she heard the name Kimblee… where did she hear that name before?
"The Elric brothers…" Kimblee seemed to recognize their names as well. "That must mean you're the FullMetal Alchemist."
Kimblee looked Al over. "Quite a fitting name—" He immediately saw the blonde grit his teeth and realized. "Oh, it's you, isn't it? My mistake."
Manami looked to Ed and saw it in his face: "If one more person makes that mistake..!"
She then looked over to see Solf looking over Manami now. "And this is the Wind Alchemist. If I'm not mistaken, you're the only other elemental alchemist besides Flame. I'm honored to meet such a talented young lady."
"... nice to meet you." Manami said, doing a bad job at concealing her frown.
"Alright, enough yappin' from the prisoners!" Buccaneer snapped, much to their relief.
The two groups went their different ways, and Manami looked back to see Kimblee looking right back at her over his shoulder. He gave her another sly smile and tipped his hat before turning the corner with Miles.
Manami's scowl deepened. She didn't like him… not one bit.
"That Kimblee… he's a State Alchemist." Ed said in a quiet voice.
"Huh?" Manami looked back at him. That would explain how she recognized his name.
"Yeah…" He looked back at her. "The Crimson Alchemist."
Manami looked back down to her feet. She didn't need to think twice why he had that name… and who was probably involved.
Tim Marcoh… and Jared Keller.
"Alright, just like before…" Buccaneer had shackled the the trio once more and led them down the hall of cells. He opened the left cell door to gesture Ed and Al inside. "You two to the left, and you—"
"Actually, if I may have them share a cell for a moment." Everyone jumped at the foreign voice and turned to see General Raven. He approached them and looked down at Manami.
"After you, miss."
Manami turned to follow Ed and Al into their cell and swallowed thickly. This wasn't going to be good if this was something he wanted to talk to all three of them about.
She turned to face him as Ed and Al sat down on their respective beds. Raven stepped inside after them.
"You may shut the door."
Buccaneer nodded and silently followed Raven's command, letting the door shut with a loud click. Raven waited until Buccaneer had left the room before speaking.
"I am General Raven from Central City. I've heard a great deal of you three from His Excellency."
"Hello." Manami and Ed had the same lack of empathy in their tone while greeting him.
"It appears that you've been good children and kept your mouths shut." Raven commented.
"That was what we agreed upon." Ed mumbled, looking down to his feet.
"You don't seem happy about it." Raven said, his smile fading.
"That may be because we're not very thrilled about the hostages you're dangling in our faces." Manami snapped back, turning her head.
Raven sighed softly through his nose, frowning now. "You're still too young to understand. Try to see the big picture! What we're doing will be for the good of not only the nation, but the whole world! You should be proud of the opportunity to be involved!"
"Tch..." Ed scoffed, keeping his narrowed eyes to the floor.
"I understand." Raven said softly. "Right now, you feel that you're not being treated fairly... but I assure you, you will soon see how this is all for a better and brighter future and be grateful."
"D-Do you think you could release us from these cells soon?" Al asked, changing the subject. "The deal was if we didn't interfere with your plans, you would let us continue our journey."
"Of course." Raven's frown turned back into a soft smile. "You don't have much longer in here, that I assure you."
"So… that tunnel is a part of your plan then." Ed mumbled, looking back at Raven. "If they find out…"
"No need to worry." Raven nodded. "I've spoken with the General. She will be putting the Homunculus back underground and seal the hole to the tunnel."
"?!" The trio gasped and looked at him with widened eyes.
"You see..." Raven now had a devilish smirk spread wide on his face. "General Armstrong is on our side now…"