Hello I'm back! :3 As I've said before, exams are piling up and my thesis is suffocating me to no end but I couldn't resist writing to vent off. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! :)

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Emma: Hmmm...we will see ;) haha

QuinzMoon: Hi there! I'm fine thank you, yourself? Ah, don't worry about that, no problem ;) Haha thank you, though I admit I can write better fight scenes but I felt it was too rushed so I'll try and flesh them out more as the story goes. :) *_* Thank you SO MUCH! ^^ I'm really happy that you like my story and how it progresses! Roy mentioned studying the same thing back in college, he referred to the moment where Ed identified the Ourobous symbol as a sign for immortality. Which means, unless he was a medic like Ling or knowledgeable about alchemy...hihi I'll clarify that more in the next chapter! Thank you so, so much! You take care too and have a AWESOME day! :3

Ice Dragon Alchemist: *_* Thank you so much! I'm really happy that you like my story so far! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve it please feel free to write them up! :)

Pouda-P: Thank you ^,^ Well I tried but I can certainly do better! ;) haha That's okay really, not a problem :) I know! ^^ I really like Denny for some reason and I was disappointed he didn't have more screen time...or that there aren't really many fics about him T_T

Enjoy!

Operation initiated

Riza couldn't help, despite everything happening at the moment, to burst out into barely suppressed giggles covered by her hand, a Cheshire grin settled permanently on Lena's face.

"Really? That's his name? I had no idea, I d-don't think Roy or anyone else knows e-either," Riza slowly recovered from her laughing fit, shaking her head.

Lena snickered, "Yeah well...you would think he would have come up with a more original code name right? Or rather that his parents would have come up with something more original...I mean Ling is a typical Xingese name but Greed's...aw hell...I bet he was bullied in high school," she joked, all grins and smiles.

Riza chuckled, "So...I have permission to report this to Roy?" she rose an eyebrow, mischief twinkling in her hazel eyes. Lena grinned.

"Permission granted," Lena laughed when Riza shook her head in disbelief.

"Honestly...if he hadn't adopted that particular code name well...I can still see the reason for that namesake but had his parents known beforehand what he would be like?" Riza's question caused Lena to simply shrug, not quite knowing the answer herself.

She tapped a finger on her chin, thinking, "I remember the first time we met, he introduced himself as "Greed" but then after a while of dating he just randomly told me his real name while we were watching a movie and I was drinking water...you can only guess where the water went after that..." she rolled her eyes.

Riza giggled, "You call him "Greed" all the time despite knowing his real name," she tilted her head in curiosity.

"I've been strictly forbidden to utter his real name in the presence of others...except if we're talking through safe communication lines or when he used to be here and we were alone. Ling still subtly teases him for his choice in code name..." Lena grinned, shaking her head.

And suddenly the phone rang.

Both women stared at the phone, Riza immediately picking it up after the second ring. Lena's blood ran cold at Riza's frown and the thin line her lips formed the longer she listened to whoever just called.

"Understood," her voice was the norm, professional, serious. Lena felt nervousness seep into her body, her legs shifted restlessly, her fingers running small circles over the fabric of her jeans and her teeth biting the soft flesh of her lips as she anxiously awaited to hear what Riza had to say.

What felt like a lifetime, Riza finally hung up, locking eyes with Lena, "Roy just called, he said they are heading back to the main base now and that they retrieved Greed and the rest," Riza paused for a brief moment, "...Kimblee suffered a moderate injury in the area of his abdomen, Ling remained unscathed but Greed had sustained several injuries as well." Lena fought hard to not freak out.

"...How bad?" she was glad her voice didn't crack, after all, it wouldn't be the first time Greed would get injured, but she knew he had dealt with Sloth and as little as she knew about him, he must have been to that degree dangerous that Greed did anything humanly possible to keep her away from him and the rest of his gang.

Riza's gaze hardened, "Several fractured ribs, a moderate head injury, superficial wounds on his torso and no internal bleeding or skull fracture," Lena sighed in relief and worry, while his injuries didn't seem that bad, she still worried for him, they still had to return safely to base after all.

Wait...

"T-that's it?" Lena blinked, astounded.

Riza's eyes widened slightly, "...Pardon?"

"I m-mean...please don't get me wrong but...Greed only sustained these injuries? He had a fight with Sloth! Shouldn't he have been injured far more than this? From what I've caught on several years back, Sloth had been very fast and a brutal fighter, with a great physical prowess. Greed is an expert in hand-to-hand combat but still..." Lena frowned.

Riza seemed thoughtful, "Now that you're mentioning it...perhaps you're right," her eyebrows furrowed, worry lines forming on otherwise smooth skin as she thought.

Lena scratched at the back of her neck nervously, "Perhaps that's um...well some people are more resilient or simply recover faster right?" Riza's gaze met hers and she nodded absentmindedly.

"I suppose..." her gaze moved over to the map, pinpointing the location of the main base at the border, "Greed may not be able to call you today, however I think tomorrow in the afternoon he will be well enough to," she offered Lena a reassuring smile and the younger woman nodded, eyes holding a type of sadness and relief Riza knew all too well.

Riza had the feeling like more questions rather than answers are coming up, her gaze swept over to the map yet again.

Central's location was marked with a red flag.

It meant preparing for war.

He felt the air enter and leave his lungs as he breathed deeply through his mouth, muscles contracting and relaxing with every calm breath. His eyes opened and he let his muscles settle into the rhythm of swordplay, parrying against an invisible attacker, defending against a invisible sword slash to his right flank and stabbing cleanly through the middle, plunging his sword's deadly blade into the formless abdomen of his would-be attacker.

With a circular swing of his double edged practice sword marked the end for his sword training for today, he wiped the sheen of sweat on his forehead, lifting the hem of his shirt up to collect the sweat beading at his forehead, hairline and at the sides of his neck, exposing a miniscule part shining like silver among the hard ridges of muscle lining his abdomen. The glint disappeared with the downward fall of his shirt and Ed heaved a heavy sigh into the air, driving the sword tip into the earth so the sword stood on its own while Ed stretched his pulsing, warmed up muscles, arms stretching over his head, legs stretching one by one, one sounding with a soft 'pop' while the other creaked like a part of a machine. He paid the sound no heed, after all, he was used to it by now.

Ed stood there at the entrance to the tent, looking out at the starry sky in thoughtful silence after his mind and body calmed down from the workout he just had.

"Kid?" Greed sleepily emerged from their tent behind Edward, stretching languidly and yawning, blinking up at the dark sky, "Whatcha doing out here? Bedtime isn't over yet," Greed's eyes zeroed in on his superior's thoughtful expression, so he opted to get him out of it.

With a punch to the back of his head, "Ouch!" Ed nearly fell forward, catching himself just in time to whirl around and glare at Greed, who had his arms crossed and was gazing at him rather calmly.

Ed scoffed, rubbing at the back of his neck, "What's the big idea?! Can't I just have my peace?", he growled in irritation.

Greed scoffed, "Tch, you're too young to be saying that shit. Now spill, how comes you're out here looking like one of those girls in romance novels thinking about their boyfriends?" he rose an eyebrow in question, waiting.

Ed ignored the comment and turned back around, gold eyes reflecting the shining stars above, "...I'm scared..." the low confession stunned Greed, making him freeze in his spot, violet eyes the size of saucers as he registered the words.

"...I'm scared..." Greed shook his head, the lowly muttered words still echoing in his head even after Ed began speaking again.

"Today, we've suffered and been surprised by an enemy we have no knowledge of even existing. He's supposedly from our own ranks, we can't find him anywhere in the database and yet...that unknown enemy managed to overpower you, Kimblee and Ling." Greed watched as Ed's arm shook in anger. A frown marred Greed's features, the bandage on his cheek moving with the movement of his muscles.

Greed sighed heavy and long, collecting his thoughts and the words he would say, "Hey...cut me some slack...the prince took a nap even before the fight began, I was knocked out by stupid flying rocks...we could have taken him if we all had a go at him at the same time," Greed really wondered if the outcome would have been different had unfortunate circumstances not been, but not even he could answer that himself, "Kimblee will pull through, Ling's fine and I'm fine too. Why are you busting your head over this Cap?" he tilted his head, being often teased by Lena for behaving like a confused dog when doing that.

Ed clenched his teeth tightly together, feeling brief pain upon grinding them harshly against each-other in a futile attempt to quench the growl of frustration bubbling on the tip of his tongue, "Because, he won't stay down for long Greed. We don't have the power to imprison him, you told me may be composed like a human but he isn't one, at least not a normal one. With his enhanced abilities, he's no match for my men. He'll return to whoever is giving him orders and report of you being alive, of our location here..." Ed sighed, a shiver passing through him but he shook it off, "...If they were clever enough to not be detected by our own military then...maybe they even know about everyone waiting for us back home...our friends and family..." Ed's voice turned sad and quiet at the end.

Greed tensed, eyes narrowing and lips thin set into a thrown, "...Stop talking shit will you?" Greed moved toward the front, grabbing onto Ed's broad shoulders tightly, staring him straight in the eye, "What happened today was a stupid drawback, I know, but it won't happen again. You're our superior damn it, you didn't get the position of Lieutenant General for being a runt." He sighed, "Listen, if you mention any of this to anyone I'll kill you in your sleep," Ed blinked and slowly nodded.

"I'm scared too, alright kid? But that doesn't mean I won't stay here, get my ass whooped and fight. Unlike the airheads here thinking they are fighting for "our country" and "defending its glory" I only protect the things in this country, my most prized possessions. Lena, the idiots I call friends sometimes, all my war buddies here too. Every single one of them. As long as I'm still breathing and not coughing out a lung, I'll continue to serve under you and wipe the floor with Drachma. Even if I'm complaining like a drama queen, you've been the best superior a guy like me can wish for." Greed grinned softly.

There was a moment of silence until Ed spoke, disturbed with a twitching eye, "...Did you just call me a possession?"

A well aimed punch to the head, "Ouch!" Ed pathetically rubbed at his head, glaring daggers at the taller male.

"I'm pouring my god damn heart out over here and all you can think about is me calling you a possession?! Seriously, how did you pass high school?! Screw that, how did you even get here?!" Greed shook his head, teeth bared at Ed's laughing expression, hands finding purchase on his bent knees as he laughed softly.

"Whatcha laughing for now-?!" Ed cut off Greed's would-be-rant, "Thanks Greed," the Lieutenant General's smile was soft and grateful, a sight uncharacteristic for anyone who didn't know him on a personal level.

Greed rolled his eyes, muttering gruffly, "Yeah, yeah whatever," he crossed his arms stubbornly, a irritated pout on his lips.

Ed nodded toward the tent, "Go inside and get some rest, what did Ling tell you? You need bed rest," Ed pushed at Greed's bandaged back toward the direction of the tent.

"Alright, alright, I'm going. Sheesh, stop being so loud or Ling will hear you and bust my head for walking around," Greed waved with his back turned to Ed, broad back disappearing behind the dark green flap of the tent.

Ed shook his head, sighing heavily and lifting his head up to look at the sky.

"Hm..." he hummed thoughtfully, his hands in his pockets, the dog tag sitting idly on his chest shone in the soft moonlight.

Ed gripped the dog tag, almost like a ritual done before praying, but Ed didn't pray. Many soldiers, no, many people, when faced with insurmountable tasks and situations, often called out to the deity in desperation and need, as if that could have improved or changed their situations.

Edward himself wasn't religious, but he did believe in something. In his own strength, in his friends, his brother, in people...those were all things Ed believed in and he wouldn't change his mind any time soon.

It was true he saw people do many atrocious things in his time spent here as a soldier, he saw comrades betraying one another in the most brutal way possible, a superior shooting one of his own men dead, officers fighting for the top and sabotaging each-other until one of them ended up in the hospital wing.

He had seen all those things and worse and he could still say he believed in humanity, because that was all that really remained if one stripped them all of their ranks, badges, medals, uniforms, titles...everything...all that really remained then was a mass of flesh, bone and blood, they were all the same yet so very different.

That difference drove Ed to believe, because it was that difference that could change the outcome of a battle. Ed gripped the dog tag firmly in his hand before letting it go, it bounced once off his chest before settling back on its former resting place.

The other side was turned up this time, marked with a date and an inscription.

Before he turned around to walk inside his tent he shared with his team and gain some sleep, the moonlight caught the silvery surface of his dog tag and illuminated the words.

'Don't forget 3. October'

"So, you're working with Second Lieutenant Maria Ross?" Winry smiled, enjoying her small ice cream cone while leisurely walking with the tall man beside her.

She learned quickly that Denny Brosh was quite shy but very kind and attentive, just shy with women overall but not bad. He was a gentleman through and through and quite funny too, but he just wasn't quite her type. She had a soft spot for tall, broad shouldered, intelligent and funny men but Denny struck her as more of a big brother type than anything else.

If he perhaps had golden eyes and gold hair then maybe-

Winry's eyes widened and the ice cream she just wanted to swallow nearly ended up sliding down the wrong path, she coughed heavily, pounding a fist to her chest to ease the coughing fit. If she had been interested in Denny, it may have been embarrassing for her, but she laughed it off as did Denny.

"Uh, a-are you alright Winry?" he placed a warm hand on her back, patting gently to help ease her coughing.

Winry shook her head vigorously, face pink, "Uh, yeah, yes I'm fine thank you Denny. I uh, I just thought of something...um...w-well, it's not important," she quickly decided to change the topic, "A-anyway, you were saying?" she grinned, mentally berating herself for even thinking of gold eyes and gold hair and soldiers and letters and this and that.

Denny rose an eyebrow but let it slide, smiling brightly inside, a twinkle in his eyes, "Right! Well, you see, I met Ross when I first joined the academy to become a soldier. We'd both been mere recruits back then, pretty young and we had a lot to learn then too." He laughed, a fond look crossing his features, "She had always been better than me in anything really, she had better aim, she could handle stressful situations far better than me and take control of it without being a nervous mess like me," he laughed, scratching at the back of his neck.

Winry noticed a small smile morphing on his lips, "But I guess that's how we always worked. She would calm me down whenever I'm panicking and I would watch her back whenever we are on missions. It's always been like that, that it feels weird whenever we aren't partnered together," he smiled down at Winry, "Funny huh? I've always been looked down on because of my hyperactive and nervous attitude but Ross didn't mind, in fact, we often goof around when no one's watching, when it's just her and me and I cherish these moments the most because then I can finally see the real her through all her professionalism in uniform," Denny's soft look oddly reminded Winry of Roy's whenever he would look at Riza and she wouldn't be watching. Roy always looked at Riza like that, at least for as long as Winry knew them.

Winry's own smile turned soft and understanding, "Must be really nice having someone like that by your side..." she grinned at him softly, "Well? What are you doing here? Why aren't you with Maria right now?"

Denny stopped walking and blinked rapidly at Winry, before realizing his mistake, flailing with his arms nervously, "A-ah, I'm s-s-so sorry Winry! I'm so sorry! I hadn't meant to talk about Ross all the time, it's just I-I-well I got caught up and- and-" she caught him off guard with a giggle and a playful wink.

"Hey, I think we both didn't really want this date right? It's been really fun Denny but I can see that you and Ross have something going don't you?" she winked and playfully waved with her pointy finger left to right, causing Denny's face to take on a interesting red color.

"W-what?! R-Ross and me!? W-well I-I-I-I-" he was a stuttering nervous wreck and Winry laughed.

"It's alright Denny, seriously I understand," Winry smiled encouragingly and nodded, "Now go,"

Denny paused for a moment, considering, "But I can't just leave you like this, at least let me accompany you home," he seemed insistent, a smile on his face.

Winry would have argued that she was a grown woman and capable of protecting herself, her wrench stored in her purse was proof of that, but she deemed it as untimely if she mentioned the wrench now, "Well...alright, thank you," she smiled brightly.

Denny grinned, scratching at the back of his neck and gesturing for them to continue walking. During their walk home to Winry's house, which was about an hour away, Denny suddenly asked something that caught Winry off guard, "So...I've heard that you have signed up for the "Letters to soldiers" program?"

Winry's blue bell eyes blinked, "Uh...y-yes. Does word spread around so fast huh?" she wondered if gossip spread as rapidly as a forest fire as it did in Resembool, apparently it did.

Denny smiled, "You can say that, the military's something like a strict high school. Once break starts, everyone talks about everyone and everyone likes to be informed of the latest news. I've heard from Ross and she heard it from General Hawkeye-err Mustang," Winry clenched her fist, mentally imagining how she could scare the fearless Hawk's Eye into a cowering form with just her wrench from hell alone.

"Of course it was Riza!" Winry thought with no small amount of exasperation, in truth, she wasn't really angry at Riza, but rather at the meddling of her friends in setting her up with the strangest of men.

Last year, they tried setting her up with a banker, a banker, and well...the date hadn't ended very well. It ended with a wrench to the face of said banker and her quitting her bank account at said bankers work place...not to mention Den biting the idiot in the leg for attempting to "prolong" the date.

Winry also learned that going on a date with another fellow mechanic, while they had many conversation topics, had been nothing less than tiring. They nearly liked the same things, knew everything about each-others work and honestly, it had bored Winry a bit. However, at the end, the date ended in a furious jealousy-fueled bet on whose mechanic shop was more popular.

That had been the only time Winry openly showed her pride about being superior in anything, smugly wiping the floor with the mechanic fool that thought he could satisfy his customers with his second-rate tools.

Winry herself didn't always use high quality metal, as it was too expensive, but the details and time she invested in her work was always well known and her works tended to be very durable and rumored to last a pretty long time until the need for maintenance called their owners back to Winry's shop.

Winry grinned in embarrassment, "Well, what do you know..." internally, she was planning on stealthily killing Riza in her sleep, maybe with poison it could work...maybe she could put some in her tea...

Denny smiled at her, continuing their peaceful walk back home.

"Anyway, do you know the soldier you're writing to?" Denny asked conversationally, giving her a sidelong glance.

Winry bit her lip, smiling as snippets of words and letters flowed through her mind, "Yeah I do...um, I don't know if you heard of him but his name is Edward-"

Denny's eyes suddenly lightened up like Christmas lights and he suddenly, in a impulsive reaction, gently but firmly gripped her shoulders, nearly shaking her in his excitement, "Edward Elric?! You're writing to Edward Elric?! No way! I adore that man! He's the best on the field!" Winry's head was spinning as Denny slowly stopped shaking her, stepping back in embarrassment, "O-oh! Sorry!" he blushed.

Winry waved her hand, signaling it was alright-ish... "...I assume you heard of him?" she most definitely did assume that.

Denny looked bashful but still excited, "Heard of him?! I even talked to him! Well...once, I guess. It had been on my first day as a new recruit a few years back. I'm older than him of course, but back then he had been the rank of a First Lieutenant if I remember correctly. He was really nice and funny! He helped me train a bit before my final testing round and once I got officially accepted into the academy, he paid me a drink when him and the rest of the officers went to the bar. It had been a bit weird for outsiders though, he was still pretty young back then and I had been in my early twenties."

Denny laughed it off, fondly remembering those brief times. Winry smiled, while she didn't know a lot about war and the military in general, she did know a thing or two about camaraderie and friendship, "It must have been nice...getting to know someone so unusual and unique right?"

Denny smiled but the smile soon faded, eyes darkening in memory, "Yes but...that had been the last time I saw him..." Winry's eyes widened slightly, "Drachma officially declared war against Amestris and so any and all soldiers were sent to the battle front. General Mustang was sent with his team and Edward was sent with his. I've heard of him here and there, mostly through secondary sources," he sighed, "I don't know him, on a personal level, but before all of this happened, the war and the country being turned into a battle zone...he had been a pretty nice guy. Short tempered, a bit hot headed but his heart was in the right place for someone so young. However...the horrors of combat can deprive one of their human emotions...and I think that's what happens to everyone who don the uniform sooner or later," Winry fell silent beside him and Denny almost didn't notice.

"A-ah I did it again! I'm so sorry Winry! I didn't mean to make you sad because of my talk! Ross tends to scold me for talking too much!" Denny bowed his head repeatedly, grabbing Winry's hand and muttering apologies at a rapid pace.

Winry quickly snapped out of her trance-like state to calm the older man down, "Oh no, no, it's alright really! Trust me, it's really alright!" Winry lifted her hands up in a peaceful manner and Denny finally calmed down, grinning nervously.

"I'm sorry about that, guess I really do talk too much huh?"

Winry smiled and shook her head, "That's okay, I do that too," he smiled down at her, sighing.

"Well, here we are," Winry stopped and Denny realized they already reached her house, a beautiful yet simple piece of work, with a veranda and a large garage next to it.

Winry smiled, "Thank you for escorting me home, you really didn't have to,"

Denny couldn't help but smile back, "It was no trouble really. I-I'm sorry if it didn't really go as planned..." he scratched at his head, nervousness rolling off him in waves.

Winry winked, "Hey, not like we agreed to this fully right? Besides, you've got Maria by your side and I..." Winry paused for a brief second before grinning nervously, "Right, well, I guess we will see each-other sometime when I visit Riza at the office. Good night Denny!"

Denny nodded and grinned back, "Will do, good night Winry,"

Once the tall male walked away, Winry walked inside her house, locking the door behind her and being greeted by Den with a affectionate lick and nuzzle to her hand. Winry smiled and gently petted his head.

"However...the horrors of combat can deprive one of their human emotions...and I think that's what happens to everyone who don the uniform sooner or later," Denny's words echoed in her mind, creating conflicting emotions within her that felt like a war of its own.

"Edward..." Winry absentmindedly scratched behind Den's ear, worry spreading through her as she thought about her pen friend.

She really hoped he was alright and that nothing bad happened.

She still felt uneasy even as she turned off all the lights and slipped beneath the soft covers of her bed, Denny's words and Edward's letters still on her mind.

"Has Sloth successfully managed to track Greed down?" the tall figure covered by darkness asked from its position at the high chair at the large oak desk, hands clasped together.

A feminine hand rested on a shapely hip, accentuated by the State Military uniform she was wearing, dark ebony locks reaching well passed her shoulders as the tresses shook softly with the movement of the woman's head, "We expect so, yes. He most likely engaged him in battle and the fool let himself be captured. It's only a matter of time before Sloth escapes and reports back to us,"

"Have you found anything about Greed's current life?"

A toothy smile stretched over red painted lips, "I think you will find this very satisfying... General,"

She threw a file on his desk, a small picture slipping from beneath the papers within out onto the desk, his eyes narrowed down at the picture.

"Ah yes...I've seen this nice young lady before..." slowly, he lifted the picture of the young woman to his face, a dark grin showing behind the curtains of shadows.

"Lena was it..." he chuckled darkly.

"My sources reported that she was his lover or wife from the frequency of their calls and their relationship discovered thus far," the woman smiled, "She means a lot to him," her grin was anything but friendly.

"Excellent," another dark chuckle.

Her eyes flashed in murderous delight, "Initiate the next operation?" her voice was like liquid honey, smooth and melodious, but the malicious undertone was unmistakable.

A single red eye flashed from the darkness, lips stretching over a wide, dark grin, "Yes,"

The picture of Lena remained resting on the desk, swallowed by the tendrils of darkness.

...Oh damn I have to stop watching such movies...ahem I really hope you enjoyed it! :) Opinions? Good? Bad? Any ideas to improve the story? Let me hear it! :3