Marcoh explained the situation of why he needed Scar that he told the Elric brothers earlier, but as quickly as he could. Miles had already called for Kimblee, so he was bound to be there any minute.

"Deciphering notes, huh…" Miles looked at the small book in Marcoh's hands, that contained all of the untranslated research notes.

"Yes." Mei answered. "It has groundbreaking research of both Amestrian Alchemy and Xingese Alkahestry."

"All of the important parts are in a language only Scar knows." Marcoh added.

Miles glanced back at Scar for a moment, then looked to Mei.

"You're the Alkahestry girl that FullMetal and Wind were looking for? I have orders to bring you back to the fort."

"Huh?" Mei hid behind Marcoh. "W-What do they want with me?"

"Don't worry, I assure you that you would have a warm welcome." Miles said.

"Yeah, I can certainly vouch for that." Manami said with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes, but Miles didn't hear. He was too busy thinking.

"Scar needs to be kept free… and it would be just as bad if they found out Doctor Marcoh was here, as well…" Miles had a hand on his chin as he thought aloud.

"I think the best course of action… would be to take you to Fort Briggs and hide you from the senior staff." He finally concluded.

"Wait a minute!" Ed stepped forward. "You're bringing that monster back?!"

"We need to decipher those notes, right?" Miles asked.

"..." Ed gritted his teeth. "There's not a damn thing that I want his help with. Just hand him over to Kimblee!" He growled.

"Wait!" Manami interjected. "There might be a way to get your bodies back in those notes!"

"But he—"

"And also," Manami cut Ed off. "Those notes might tell us exactly what those Homunculi are planning!"

Ed's eyes widened when she said that.

"... I get you're angry at him. Trust me, I am too... but this is something only he can do. Are you going to let your grudge get in the way of that?"

"..." Ed frowned deeply. She was right… but he didn't want to admit it.

"Ms. Rockbell is a hostage, being used against you three." Miles said. "If we can act now, we can hide her to where no one can touch her."

Ed's frown turned into a grimace and he turned his head.

"... this is the best way." Manami crossed her arms, also frowning deeply.

"Scar," Miles looked back to Scar. "If you agree to work with us… I will postpone your judgement day."

"Did I have a choice in the matter?" Scar asked. "I'm the only one who can do it. I give you my word that I will translate the notes. I swear on my Ishvalan blood. You can trust me, my red-eyed brother."

"Good." Miles finally lowered his pistol. "Ms. Rockbell, I'm afraid to say that you'll have to wait a bit longer before we bring Scar to justice."

"That's fine." Winry nodded.

Manami heard groans and grunts behind her, and looked to see that the tied-up chimeras were starting to stir out of consciousness.

"Right, I forgot about those freaks of nature…" Miles mumbled. "We have no need for them, dispose of them."

"Yes sir."

"No!" Manami gasped.

"Hold on!" Ed protested.

"Wait!" Al actually stepped in front of a soldier aiming his rifle, his arms spread out. "You don't have to kill them!"

"There's no reason to keep them alive." Miles said simply.

"A life is a life!" Al yelled. "There's no better reason than that!"

"Showing us mercy? How adorable." One of the chimeras chuckled bitterly.

"We don't need your pity, kid." The other chimera said. "Just off us."

"Don't you have family? Any loved ones you'd regret leaving behind?" Manami asked.

"Of course…" The green chimera replied. "But as far as they know, our old selves died the day we turned into these things. We haven't seen them since, and they think we're dead anyway!"

"Then don't you want to get your normal bodies back?" Al asked.

"Of course! But even so… how can we go back to them, looking like this?"

"So you're content with this…" Al clenched his fists. "You're fine with the way you are, and the life you live?!"

Manami's eyes widened when he asked that. She suddenly realized the similarity, and slowly looked to Al.

"No!" The chimeras barked. "Of course we want our real bodies back!"

"Then that's your answer." Al pointed to them. "You can't just say you want your original bodies back, and then give up! Whining, crying, or giving up isn't how you'll do it."

Al suddenly removed his helmet to reveal his empty armor.

"Al…" Manami whispered, her eyes trembling.

"I'm getting my body back." Al said, his voice determined. "No matter how long it takes. I refuse to give up."

The chimeras stared at Al, wide-eyed. His words resonated within them so harshly, that it rendered them speechless..

BOOM! There was suddenly an explosion, making everybody jump and shield themselves with their arms.

"We have to go!" A soldier yelled. "A blizzard is coming!"

"We aren't equipped to march in snow…" Miles gritted his teeth. "We're not gonna make it to the fort."

"This is a mining town, isn't it?" A squeaky voiced inquired, and everyone looked over to Yoki.

"Why don't we just take the underground tunnels?"

Everyone stared at him, baffled. Of course, the tunnels!

A soldier suddenly pulled out a map and whipped it open.

"He's right! He announced. "There are tunnels that come out on the other side of the mountain!"

"Alright," Miles nodded. "We can distract Kimblee while Marcoh and Scar escape to the tunnels, and go to the fort once they emerge."

Miles quickly went to open a notepad and scribble on it. "If you encounter any Briggs soldiers, show them this. It explains the situation and shows my orders for them to assist you."

"Alright… thank you." Marcoh nodded as Miles handed him the notepad. "But… what about Ms. Rockbell? She can come with us, but… once they find out she's missing..."

"Kimblee's going to suspect us." Miles finished Marcoh's sentence. "We need a believable excuse for Winry to escape without risking ourselves…"

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they thought. Surprisingly, Winry was the first to speak.

"Uh…" She sounded hesitant. "I hate to be the one to suggest this, but..."

She looked up to everyone. "But what would Kimblee do… if Scar took me hostage?"

Manami and Ed's jaws dropped. What did she just say?!

"You want Scar… to kidnap you..?!" Al squeaked.

"You're not only suggesting that we let him run free…" Ed started. "But also that you're going to go with him?!"

"Yeah… he could take me, you could make it look like you tried desperately to save me, but failed. He escapes with me, and we're out." Winry said, rather seriously.

"Okay, no that's insane!" Manami protested now.

"It's too risky!" Al agreed.

"I'm a hostage either way!" Winry yelled at them. "So I might as well choose my captor! You three don't have to bear this burden alone!"

"Make up your minds." Miles reminded them. "Whether it's the storm or Kimblee, one of them is sure to be here any second."

"We don't have time— this is the only way." Winry said, then looked to Ed, who gritted his teeth.

"Damn it…" It was written all over his face, that this was the hardest decision he ever had to make.

"Scar!" Ed looked to the Ishvalan. "If you hurt a single hair…"

"I know." Scar nodded. "I'll keep my word."

Manami grimaced, feeling sick with anxiety. But, if Ed had to accept this, she had to as well…

She watched silently Ed transmuted the restraint off of Scar's arm, and he stood up.

"Let us help, too!" One of the chimeras pleaded.

"Kimblee won't let us live, since we failed our mission!" The other cried.

"Plus… we want to find a way to get our bodies back, too!"

"Fine." Manami clapped her hands and deconstructed their restraints.

"I want to keep your hands bound." Miles directed a soldier to tie rope around their wrists. They didn't resist.

"I'll be on the roof." Scar said, going to leave the room.

"Give your best performance, Scar." Miles told him.

Manami sighed through her nose and looked over to Ed and Al, who met her glance, but then they all looked back to Winry.

"Well… see you guys, soon." Winry said quietly, forcing a smile.

"..." Manami approached her and pulled her into a hug. Winry froze in surprise, but then smiled and hugged her back.

"You… are one of the strongest people I know... you know that?" Manami pulled away from the hug but held her by the shoulders.

"It's nothing…" Winry grinned, but then it faded as Manami backed away and she looked to Ed and Al.

"Hey… I—"

"Miss Winry, your earrings." A soldier interjected. "They're made of metal. If you leave them in, they'll freeze and give you frostbite."

"Oh, right…" Winry reached to take out the small earrings, and looked back to Ed.

"Here… you hold onto these for me. I'll see you at the fort."

"..." Ed closed his fist around the earrings. "Right." He said with a nod.

And with that, they watched Winry leave the room.

"We've got to go. Now." Miles told them.

Manami felt like a statue, it was so difficult to get herself to move so that she could walk with everyone out the room. It felt like she was having an out of body experience. Being so out of control of the situation… the severity of the risk… the unknown that was still to come.

She was terrified.

"Manami…" She flinched when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Al.

"Come on…"

"..." Manami nodded, realizing that she was getting the feeling back in her legs, and she walked with him after Ed and Miles.

Once they got to the stairs, they broke into a run down the stairs to the first floor. Before they made it down, there the was a loud explosion above.

Show time.

"Kimblee, you bastard!" Ed had already bolted to the Crimson Alchemist and grabbed him by the collar.

"You were supposed to be watching Winry, and now she's been taken hostage!"

Kimblee opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he saw the smoke dissipate to reveal Scar at the top of the building. Held under his arm was Winry, limp as if she were unconscious.

"Why did you let her come?!" Ed barked.

"Winry! What do we do?!" Manami cried, getting in on the act now.

"Out of my way." Kimblee said in a low voice, going to push Ed aside.

"NO!" Ed yelled, staying in front of him. Manami even joined him now in holding him back.

"You can't! You'll hurt Winry!"

BOOM! Scar sent an explosion down the side of the building and right where they stood, making a giant cloud of snow swirl around them.

"Scar!" Ed yelled, and Manami grabbed his wrist to hold him back.

"No, it's too dangerous!"

The snow settled around them, and everyone looked to the top of the building to find Winry and Scar no longer there.

They were gone.

"Sir! A blizzard is coming!" A soldier warned them.

"... retreat!" Kimblee yelled. His voice was strained.

The squad didn't make it back to the fort, and they stopped at a small abandoned building to ride out the storm.

While Kimblee and Miles were in another room, the trio was in another. Ed and Al sat on a pile of planked wood their backs all facing each other. Manami stood at the window, leaning her back on the sill with her arms crossed. She had rested her forehead against the glass of the window, watching the heavy snow swirl around outside.

They were all silent, their minds racing with different thoughts.

Did Marcoh and the others make it through the tunnel? Did Scar and Winry make it to them at all? What were they going to do now?

"..." Manami saw Ed in the reflection of the window. He stared at his open palm, which Manami saw Winry's earrings in. She looked back out the window once she saw Ed's hand close around the earrings, but suddenly the door opened behind them.

"We have a problem." Miles shut the door behind him and locked it.

"What?" Manami blinked and turned to face him as he approached them.

"The fort is no longer safe." He told her.

"What do you mean 'not safe'?!" Ed demanded, standing up now.

"I mean that General Armstrong has been summoned to Central." Miles explained.

"!" Al gasped and stood up now.

"Troops from Central have already been sent and are infiltrating the fort as we speak. There is no doubt that the Crimson Alchemist has to do with this."

"So that means… Winry and the others are walking into a trap?!" Manami cried.

"!" Ed began pacing back and forth across the room. "We have to find some way to warn them!"

"But how?! There's no way we'd catch up to them in the tunnels..." Manami gestured to the window. "And we can't take any shortcuts in this storm without freezing to death!"

"What do you suggest?! Nothing?!" Ed yelled at her, and Manami flinched.

"... o-of course not..!" She stammered.

"Guys!" Al got in between them to interject. "I… have an idea."

"Huh?" Everyone looked to him.

"Send someone who can't get tired or freeze. Send someone without a body!" Al gestured to himself.

"..." Manami's eyes went wide once it clicked in her mind. She noticed Miles in the corner of her eye, already drawing directions on a map.

"Al, no..!" She pleaded as she looked back to Al.

"Manami, I have to!" He turned to fully face her.

"Here's the shortest route to the Fort." Miles walked up to Al's side and handed him a map. "If you leave now, you can meet them in this sector…" He pointed to a circle he drew on the map.

"There's got to be another way!" Manami looked around anxiously as she desperately racked her brain for an idea.

"M-Maybe if..." She started, but couldn't come up with anything.

"Manami..." Ed's eyes were narrowed, and his fists were clenched. "He's the only one who can…"

"I'll be alright, Manami… I promise." Al said quietly, clenching the map tight in his hand.

"Believe in me."

Manami gasped at his words, and all she could do was stare up at him. He stared right back at her for a few more moments, before she finally lowered her head and reached behind her neck. There were a few flashes of blue light under her hair before she pulled something out from under her shirt.

"?!" Al gasped at the sight of the little heart-shaped pendant dangling on the silver chain in her hand.

"Take this, then." Manami said, seriously.

Ed's eyes widened when he realized what she was holding.

"W-Why?" Al asked, still in shock. "That locket—"

"Is the most important thing to me." Manami finished his sentence as she grabbed his free hand and opened his palm so that she could put it inside.

"So..." She held his one hand with both of hers for a moment, before looking up at him... and he could see the tears that she was holding back in her eyes. "You promise that you'll be alright… and I believe that you'll come back in one piece, so you can give it back to me."

"..." Al stared at her as she slowly dropped both of her hands, and he slowly closed his hand around the pendant.

"Alright..." He finally agreed. "I'll bring it back to you. I promise."

Al then turned to approach the back door. On the way, he tapped fists with Ed.

"You be safe, little brother."

"I will… you two take care of each other." Al looked back at Ed and Manami one last time before opening the door and stepping out.

Manami felt her own heart break the moment the door shut behind him, and she took a shaky breath. The realization that Al was now gone, and that she didn't know when they would see each other again...

It took all of her strength to not break down right there. Thankfully, Ed turned away and left the room just as a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye.

Just in case, she still put a gloved hand over her mouth to stifle a whimper.