(grins) Alright, so I left you all with a evil little cliffhanger in the previous chapter! I love writing fighting scenes so I'll try to flesh it out as much as I can :3 Hope you will enjoy it!

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Lily: Hmm...we will see ;) Though I can't really promise anything!

Emma: Youre very welcome! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please feel free to critize me for anything you think doesn't fit or sound right :)

Pfeh: (grins) Thank you very much! :D Well, since this IS an AU story set in modern times...WITHOUT alchemy, highly unlikely, though I'll also give him something that hints at his shapeshifting abilities ;) Oh thank you so much haha, really, I'm glad a few enjoy this story :3 (tries not to fangirl) Aw, hell I'm gonna blush from all that praise! Guess I have the best luck of my readers spoiling me rotten ^_^ Hihi, without revealing too much, their meeting sure is going to be interesting and since I already decided at the beginning that their meeting will be something of a highlight, it will take a while before they can meet and the story (like in FMA:B) will also focus on other things, people and relationships and not just on them, but I'll try writing more EdWin here! :) Oh and please tell me if there's something wrong in the story or if I should improve something!

Aqua Lilly: First off, hi there! Ah...really? I thought Air Force ranks are very much similar to the forces on land, with Captain being a far lower rank than General? Correct me if I'm mistaken though. I'm not sure if you've continued reading further, but if you did, I already explained it in the story. They call Ed "Captain" because it was at the rank of "Captain" that he made a name for himself as "Fullmetal" and became one of the more respected and more experienced soldiers out there, so the title "Captain" or "Cap" just stuck despite him going up the ranks. Many soldiers who know him to a personal level call him Captain for old times' sake. His official rank is below Roy, so Lieutenant General, with Roy being General. No worries about the rambling bomb, I've had a pretty rough day today so I understand where you're coming from ;) I'm basing it off of the US Army ranks, just like in FMA:B. If you have any more questions though, feel free to ask away! :)

Enjoy!

The Ultimate Shield

Lena was known to drive a bit faster than the norm, but the speed she was going at now, she was truly surprised she hadn't been halted by the cops by now.

She only just so swiveled around incoming cars and blinking red lights, slamming her foot on the gas pedal speeding off towards Central, which, under normal driving conditions, was about an hour away from the rural Resembool. Well...Lena made it there in under half an hour, practically jumping out of her car and running straight toward the large intimidating double doors with the Amestrian military insignia on top of them. She slammed them open, not caring for the alarmed or odd looks from officers and other military personnel.

"Miss, excuse me, but I would need your verification-" a rookie was stopped from talking by a approaching figure.

"It's alright, I know who this is," Second Lieutenant Maria Ross nodded toward the rookie and the man looked relieved to be freed, seeing the eerily frightening and very furious and concerned expression on Lena's face. She looked like she would have strangled him had Ross not interfered.

"Well, this is a surprise, what brings you here Lena-"

"Where is Hawkeye?" Lena's eyes were burning, with worry, with anger, with fear.

Ross blinked, sensing the emergency in her voice, "She's in her office," she nodded and stepped aside to let her pass, but her look revealed she wanted answers once Lena finished her business.

Lena nodded gratefully and ran several corridors and turns south, left and right, straight ahead.

She didn't bother with knocking, "Riza! What the hell happened?!" Riza seemed concerned by Lena's appearance.

"Lena..." she stood up and motioned to close the door, Lena did so, pulling down the shades as well, "I figured you would come here, you abruptly ended our conversation," she closed her eyes and sighed, "I assume you heard about the attack on Fort Briggs,"

Lena growled, "I did! Now tell me what exactly happened? Are they injured?! Who attacked? How many Drachma soldiers did those bastards even send?!" Lena paced back and forth like a caged animal, Riza silently observed her before forcing her to sit down.

"Listen, Roy called me after you hung up. He gave me a brief update, he said Kimblee was injured and that both Greed and Ling were fine," relief immediately flooded Lena's features, a heavy, long sigh escaped her tightly coiled body.

"As for who attacked...it wasn't Drachma," those words caused Lena's eyes to narrow.

"What? You mean to tell me other countries sent their forces to attack us? Which was it? Are they in allegiance to Drachma?" Riza's expression troubled her greatly.

"No...it was within our ranks," brown eyes widened in shock as she tried processing the newly revealed information.

"W-what? Our own forces?! But that...that...how? Doesn't the military keep strict tabs on everyone? How could this happen?" heavy silence hung in the air that threatened to choke Lena with suspense, her right foot nervously tapping on the floor.

Riza's expression was grim, "It wasn't a regular soldier, we couldn't find him in the database but he goes by the name of "Sloth","

Lena's eyes widened in horror at hearing that familiar name again after all these years.

Heavy breathing filled the relatively silent stony hallway of Fort Briggs. Ling was frozen stiff, fear and disbelief radiating off of him in waves. Kimblee could feel his frame subtly shaking, his own eyes wide in disbelief and astonishment.

He admitted, he had had his suspicions that Greed wasn't exactly...normal. His healing factor had been slightly faster than the average soldiers, his eyesight a bit sharper, his strength a bit more increased, his stamina, durability...

His durability was a frightening sight as he soon learned.

"...the composition of carbon in your body can be magnified to the point of having a near to indestructible shield, covered by skin."

Kimblee's eyes widened in realization.

"That's what he meant by rearranging the density of carbon in your body, making them as hard as diamonds or as weak as graphite... By being injected by that serum he spoke of he has the ability to harden his skin and increase his defense and attack strength...unbelievable..." Kimblee keen eyes stayed trained on Greed, who was truly a sight to behold.

His defined jaw was moving with the labored breaths coming out of his mouth, blood smudged at the right corner of his mouth, eyes looked ablaze with murderous intent and determination, but what made even Kimblee's skin crawl wasn't that...

Rather it was his skin. His normally slightly tan skin tone changed to a deeper, metallic like grey, the veins in his arms more pronounced, as if the small particles of metal within his body were manifested on the surface. Apart from the coloration of skin Kimblee couldn't make out much of a difference, but he was sure there was something there since he managed to send the large monster flying with a single punch.

Greed straightened his stance, cracking his knuckles and slowly walking toward the still body of Sloth, buried by crumbled rubble. He snorted in disdain, his voice rough, "Stop shitting me, Sloth. Get the hell up! Stop trying to trick me into believing you're down for the count, you may have the IQ of a two year old, but-" Greed quickly side stepped right before a large blur zipped past him, slamming into the hole where Greed's body previously was.

He smirked, rotating his wrist, "Thought so,"

Sloth slowly shook his head, pieces of stone falling here and there and Ling and Kimblee could only watch in stunned silence as the soldier regarded Greed silently, not attacking.

"Sloth...must kill Greed..." Sloth slowly moved, "...must find...blonde...general," just then, Kimblee noticed a peculiar thing about him. Heavy, thick metal shackles lacking chains were wrapped around Sloth's feet, right above his army boots. He rose an eyebrow, feeling his wound sting, was he a prisoner? Did he escape and disguise himself as military? Just what in the world was going on...

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it already. 'Must kill Greed', 'Must kill blonde general', I get it! But you're not going anywhere until you tell me where the others are," Greed's grin was anything but friendly, sharp teeth flashing in warning. Sloth seemed unfazed by the display of hostility and attacked.

Greed grunted at the brute strength the man forced down on him, while his shield protected him from nearly any and all attacks, Sloth still posed a problem.

Greed's eyes shifted to the position of Sloth's feet, "Right foot, three-fifteen, left foot, seven-forty five no...forty seven. Gotcha!" Greed slammed his elbow against Sloth's joined hands, momentarily stunning him, before he moved down into a crouch and used his hands to slam his legs against Sloth's.

Once the large soldier started losing balance, Greed followed up with a series of punches and kicks, head butting him so Sloth's head hit the hard concrete beneath him, blood seeping from the wound that would have split a normal man's skull in half. Greed slammed his foot harshly against Sloth's broad chest and leaned down, violet eyes burning holes into Sloth's own pale ones, "Now..." sharp teeth flashed menacingly, "Where is the rest Sloth? Talk or you'll die," Greed emphasized his point by applying further pressure on his foot.

Sloth released a groan, "Such a drag..." he huffed before brutally slamming his head against Greed's, sending the startled male crashing against the wall.

When Sloth was starting to move towards Greed still form, Ling's vision turned narrow. He only saw Greed's bleeding head, eyes closed and most likely unconscious, he saw Sloth balling his hand into a fist and then he saw red. A whole lot of red.

With speed Ling only used in rare situations that called for it, he quickly selected two needles from the pouch on his belt and embedded them into Sloth's fist and the side of his head, Kimblee's eyes widened.

"Paralysis needles..." Kimblee quickly deduced upon seeing Sloth quickly falling backward, the ground shook beneath his unforgiving weight and the cobblestone beneath their feet vibrated violently. Ling carefully settled Kimblee against the wall before moving over to check on his brother.

Kimblee opened an eye, breathing shallow but controlled, "Is he...alright...?" he fought down the urge to vomit blood.

Ling sighed in relief after carefully pressing his fingers against Greed's skull, neck and ribs, "He seems alright, he doesn't seem to have internal bleeding. But Sloth may have cracked a rib or two from the looks of it, thankfully his skull isn't fractured, he will just have a nasty bump on his head after that hit." Ling frowned, "But..." he carefully poked Greed's skin on his arm, "Something...something wasn't right before. Did you see that? Sloth attacked him but didn't scratch him, Greed didn't suffer from any internal bleeding or a skull fracture despite being thrown like that." His gaze narrowed at Greed's unconscious face, "Just what are you hiding brother?"

"He said...he wouldn't go easy on someone also injected with the serum didn't he?" Ling turned towards Kimblee, "That means...whatever they injected into this man was also injected into Greed," he motioned toward Sloth tiredly.

"But they don't have the same advantages. Sloth is physically larger and stronger-" Ling's eyes widened when he remembered Greed's words.

"They have been injected with a special serum, which enhances certain qualities. The scientist creating the serum can choose which specific attribute he would want be enhanced." Ling looked at Greed's face.

"He said he was also injected with the serum but...just what did that do to him? Enhanced durability?" he inspected his brother's bloodied fists and frowned, gently caressing the torn flesh.

Kimblee's eyes shifted to the paralyzed Sloth, "Hey Ling...look at his jacket...on his shoulder..." he motioned toward the fallen soldier and Ling complied.

He embedded another paralysis needle into the side of Sloth's neck and another one on his arm, just in case. He moved toward the right sleeve, but found nothing of suspicion or interest. However, when he moved to inspect the left side of the jacket...

His blood ran cold, "What the..." he fingered the red symbol sewn into the dark blue material of the Amestris military uniform.

Kimblee recognized the look in Ling's eyes, "You recognize...that symbol don't you?"

Ling's hands trembled ever so slightly, "...I've seen it in a few medical and alchemical books but...I've only heard myths about such things..." the words he whispered made his blood run cold, "...the symbol for immortality..."

Greed's eyes slowly opened.

Ed's voice rang loudly in the ears of his frightened subordinates, demanding obedience and concentration, "What the hell are you waiting for?! Gather the troops and head out already! One chopper won't be enough!" his teeth grinded harshly against one another, gold eyes narrowing at one soldier that approached him.

"But sir, won't twenty men be enough to apprehend the intruder? Surely we won't need to send any more men out-" the soldier was cut off by Edward's tight grip around his collar.

Gold eyes sent chills down his spine, "Listen up and listen well. The enemy my men are dealing with out there isn't something we've dealt with before. He has nearly destroyed a large portion of Fort Briggs inner defense and managed to immobilize Major General Greed, Head Medic Ling and Kimblee." He pulled the terrified man's face closer, "Tell me...do you still think that twenty men are enough?" his look would have burned him alive.

"Y-Yes sir!" the soldier looked immensely relieved when Edward's grip loosened and the soldier was free to quickly flee his superior's wrath.

Edward sighed heavily, rubbing at the tense lines marking his forehead, "So unlike you to snap so harshly at a officer, Edward." Mustang's tone seemed playful but his expression was anything but, "Well, I understand your predicament."

Edward turned around, "How can you not? My men are out there injured, in a terrain they aren't used to fight in and I can't get Alex on the line! Something's wrong Mustang! Someone must be sabotaging the communication network! Or the enemy sent out their allies!" Ed pulled at his hair, growling.

Roy frowned, rubbing his chin, "Well...aside from that, we may have to face another problem?"

Ed turned around, eyes blinking and utterly strained, "What? What problem?!"

Roy didn't know how to break it to him in the easiest way...

"Absolutely not!" Riza's voice was loud and clear, echoing within the privacy of her locked office.

Lena slammed her hands against Riza's table, eyes sharp and tone even sharper, "Absolutely yes! I'm going and you can't stop me!"

Riza exploded, "You can't head out and just join a warzone like that! There are files to be organized, forms to be filled and training to be accomplished! You can't decide to join the military just because you're worried for Greed and the others Lena!" Riza's gaze was firmly set on her friend.

Lena however was undeterred, "Tch, watch me sharpshooter!" Lena was about to turn around before Riza stopped her with a firm grip on her forearm. Lena's gaze met Riza's hawk eyes.

"Listen...I understand your concern more than anyone, but we can't allow possible casualties to happen while Roy is making up a strategy on how to get them out of there. You know Greed better than anyone else, he wouldn't die for naught, Ling is with him and Kimblee as well so I don't think that's something we need to concern ourselves over," Riza's gaze softened, her grip lessening as Lena's arm fell back to her side.

Lena sighed, slumping down in the chair, her voice was quiet but sure as she spoke, "Riza...I can't just sit here all the time and do nothing while Greed and the others are out there risking the possibility to get killed every day! You know I'm not one to just sit and wait until things are being done! I can fight! I can use a rifle or a sword too! Who do you think can kick the other's ass in our relationship? I'll give you a hint, it sure as hell ain't Greed," she crossed her arms and scoffed, feeling silly being annoyed by her boyfriend who wasn't even here to tease her.

Riza sighed, shaking her head at the small joke before turning serious again, "Trust me, I know how you feel, but for the moment, as difficult as it may sound, there isn't anything we can do except wait and hope for a good outcome. I've informed Bradley of the situation, backup is on their way to the base as we speak and Roy sent out his own troops to aid them against the enemy," Riza's eyes narrowed when she noticed the subtle stiffening of Lena's shoulders and the clench in her jaw.

"May I ask you something?" Riza rose an eyebrow in suspicion.

Lena looked her dead in the eye, confused, " 'Course, shoot sharpshooter,"

"...Have you heard of the soldier named 'Sloth'?" the question hung heavy in the air, weightening down on Lena like a invisible fist slowly coiling around her lungs until the need to breathe became too much to bear.

Lena frowned, eyes dark and long gone, "...I don't suppose I can really hide it anymore," Riza sat back down on her chair, waiting patiently, "You know of Greed's past right? When he fled from his friends after he met me and all," Riza nodded slowly, "Well...these so called "friends" of his...it wasn't the thing that they were criminals and bad news...it was how Greed was like when we first met,"

Lena balled her fists, "Back then, he wouldn't have hesitated to strike anyone down standing in his path, regardless of who they were. Except women, Greed didn't like fighting women even then," she rolled her eyes before sighing, "Greed told me how they planned some raids together, bank robberies, gang fights, the usual. But..." Lena frowned, "I haven't met any of them personally, because by then Greed was laying low for a while until they stopped searching for him and he always made sure I was as far from any potential danger as possible but...I think they weren't entirely normal," she met Riza's gaze.

The blonde frowned, "What do you mean by..."normal"?" her gut twisted uncomfortably.

"What Greed told me...they each had code names based on the seven deadly sins of humans; Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, Sloth and Greed...aside from that, I just had this really weird feeling like they did more than just your usual bank robbery here and there, there was something off about them I couldn't shake off whenever I thought about that time. I guess I was right, with Sloth suddenly being in the military secretly..." her eyes widened, "Do...do you think they...that they're all here? As part of the military?"

Riza's gaze hardened, "...It may be a possibility now that you've told me this. But once the troops have rescued Greed and the others, we will need to ask him that directly." Riza gave her friend a suspicious look, "Anything else I should know?"

The look on the blonde's face suddenly melted into surprise, "Wait a minute...you said they each adopted a name of the seven deadly sins...but that would mean...Greed's name isn't really Greed?" Riza blinked, completely stunned by this new information.

The martial arts instructor grinned in embarrassment, scratching the back of her neck, "Uhh...y-yeah...kinda..."

Riza deadpanned comically, "What is it then?"

Lena grinned widely, "Well...Greed always made a big deal of hiding it because apparently he had such a embarrassing name...if I told you now you would laugh so hard you'd cry," Lena sent her a sidelong grin, winking.

Riza leaned in, military strategies momentarily forgotten to find out about this particular interesting information, "Try me,"

Lena smirked.

While Ling was fussing over Greed's bleeding head injury, Greed suddenly felt a violent shiver race up and down his spine. Briefly, he wondered if Lena did something reckless again but threw the thought of the window. There couldn't possibly be something reckless she could do in Resembool where everything was quiet and peaceful...

His worry increased tenfold before he let out a hiss, "Well, you sure take care of your patients don't you?" he snapped at his younger twin.

Ling harshly slapped the bandage against Greed's skull, "Shut up! You made me worried sick and I won't forgive you for trying to act cool and fight that monster alone!" Greed mumbled something under his breath, but chose to still his tongue to evade igniting his brother's wrath. He still had to treat him after all..."Ouch! Stop hurting me damn it!"

"Stop sulking!" Ling growled, Greed rolled his eyes.

"Hey...did you feel that shiver too?" Ling rose an eyebrow at Greed's question.

"What shiver?" he blinked.

Greed scoffed, shaking his head, "Must have been my imagination..." he grimaced, seriously hoping Lena didn't do anything stupid. She was known to be a magnet for trouble...or was it him? He shrugged, maybe they were a trouble magnet duo or something like that.

Whatever the case, he would have to phone her as soon as he got back to base.

A loud crash suddenly sounded from afar but close enough to send Greed's skin prickling with the sense of danger and Ling's eyes widening at the prospect of another enemy joining the battle field. Ling immediately took a protective stance in front of Greed and Kimblee, a rather large poisoned kunai emerging hidden under his sleeve and a gun aimed forward.

Ling wasn't a pushover in battle, but he had nowhere near the same the same level of skill in melee combat as did Greed or Ed, he was an army doctor after all, not a soldier. However, being a doctor gave him the advantage of knowing his enemies pressure points and where to hit in order to numb his nerves and quickly defeat him, should it come down to that.

Greed struggled to right himself, reaching for his rifle, but Ling turned his head and sent him a sharp, penetrating gaze that even Greed didn't dare to disobey and face his twin's, admittedly, frightening wrath once he got all riled up.

Kimblee's ever watchful eyes watched the silent interaction between the brothers before moving in towards the spot where he could hear faint footsteps, many of them, approaching from.

Ling's body tensed, muscles locking in place, legs bent to spring into attack at any time the moment he caught sight of his enemy.

A rush of gold and dark blue and Ling immediately dropped his weapons and jumped straight at the supposed attacker, who was in fact, his very own superior midget, "EDWARDDD!" the medic expert shouted, arms and legs locking around the struggling General as he nuzzled into Ed, tears of happiness comically streaming down his face.

"What the-?! Ling?! Greed? Kimblee!" Ed shouted in happiness and realization as he took in the state Greed and Kimblee were in, immediately the elated, softer voice of happiness morphed into one of anger and concern, a sharp edge coating his words with every breath he took, "Get the medical team here! Havoc, Breda you secure the area! Alex, Mustang!" almost immediately, Ling's very own medical team rushed passed Edward towards Greed and Kimblee, immediately stabilizing them and carefully placing them on a stretcher, securing them to ensure their balance and moving with quick efficiency toward the exit.

"Thanks," Ling clapped one of his subordinates on the back as they passed, nodding gratefully in their direction.

"Anytime, sir," the younger medic in training nodded back, flashing a quick, optimistic grin before helping bringing his friends away.

"Should we leave you alone Fullmetal?" Mustang smirked looking at Edward who still tried disentangling Ling from himself.

"Shut it!" Ed barked, finally dislodging the happy man away from him, "Ling! Snap out of it!" he lightly punched Ling upside the head, the medic just shook his head and grinned stupidly.

"Ah, I'm just glad you finally came Ed! Man, that had been close!" he wiped away a thin sheet of sweat gathered at his forehead, before his expression turned serious upon looking at the paralyzed body of Sloth.

"What is that?" Alex Louis Armstrong asked, baby blue eyes widening at the sight of the paralyzed man lying on the ground, a man larger than even himself.

Ed and Roy's attention quickly shifted to the man on the ground, Ed crouched down, inspecting the torn uniform, the large stature, small, round beady eyes and a peculiar mark on his neck...

Ed frowned when the man grit his teeth just barely so against the powerful effects of the drug, a warning at touching that particular spot.

"Ling...isn't that something from your medical books?" the medical expert crouched down next to Ed, gaze narrowing in recognition.

"I recognized it too...but you should as well, right Edward?" he pointedly looked at him but Ed brushed him off.

"Well?" it seemed like Edward didn't feel like mentioning anything from his past so Ling relented, "As far as I remember, I've seen it in some medical and...alchemical books before," he shared a brief look with Ed before continuing, "It's vague, but I remember the symbol of a serpent or dragon eating its own tail stands for birth and rebirth or-"

Ed cut him off quietly, "...immortality," Ed's expression grew grim.

He stood, dusting off his pants, he shared a knowing look with Roy, "Well, what should we do about him?" Roy motioned discreetly to talk in private, Ed nodded before walking away from Ling and the rest, behind a corner to have some more privacy.

"You've recognized it too haven't you?" Ed noticed the way Roy bit his lip in worry and his jaw clenched.

"Of course I have, after all, we've studied the same thing back in college," Roy gave a smirk, before shaking his head, "I'm suspicious of that man. Not just his appearance, but he wears our uniform, the rank of a mere soldier but I've never seen or heard of him before. I'll need to inform Riza of this and get some intel on the matter," his dark eyes narrowed, "Furthermore...why has he assaulted Greed and the others so viciously? What could he be after?"

Ed shifted his weight in unease, "Have you phoned General Armstrong?" to his relief, Roy nodded.

"She left before the attack with a large party of her men, perhaps that's why nobody came running after the confrontation here," he gave the destruction a brief once over, "This would have alerted an entire army,"

Ed sighed, "Greed said he had been after Olivier...but for what? One of our own men?" he rubbed his chin in thought, feeling the fine hairs of a growing stubble tickling his fingers.

"Greed said his name was 'Sloth', obviously a code name, and that his physical prowess even surpasses that of the Armstrongs," Roy looked down at Ed, "Edward...do you think Greed is keeping valuable information from us?"

Ed's temper flared, aghast at Mustang, of all people accusing his men of possible treason, "Do you know who you're talking about Mustang? Greed wouldn't keep anything of value from us," he matched Roy's stare with a sharp glare of his own.

Roy sighed in defeat, feeling the day's wearing him down, "Talk to him after he recovers, Edward,"

Ed was about to open his mouth and protest, but suddenly, he himself thought about it. It was Greed that told them about Sloth in the first place, unless the soldier stated his name, which they thought unlikely, how did Greed know his name – or at least codename – was Sloth?

"...Yes, sir," Roy frowned, hearing the uncertainty in his voice.

"I trust Greed as much as you do, but I suspect the information he is keeping from us has something to do with him on a more...personal level. I would be direct if I were you, you know how Greed can get," with that, Roy turned his back on him and joined up with his Havoc and Breda to ask if they found anything of importance.

Ed was left standing there, a mass of insecurity and deep friendship he shared with Greed and the rest of his team. Greed was an honest man through and through, that had become quickly clear in the beginning, he valued honesty highly.

"But...would he keep something from us? What was his relationship with Sloth anyway? Was Sloth after him too?" the image of Greed's bleeding head appeared in front of his mind's eye and Ed shook his head.

In time, he would find out, his gut twisted uncomfortably when he saw the paralyzed body of Sloth being carried outside. He caught the soldier's eye and he swore, it flashed red.

Phew...so little ol' Greed's hiding something huh? What do you guys think it is? Is it ONLY his allegiance to Sloth and the other "Homunculi" or is there more? See you in the next chapter! Reviews are always very appreciated!