A/N: Hey dear readers! I'm back (finally)! I can see some of you (judging by some PM's I've received too) were a bit confused to the identity of the stranger that posed as Mustang at the end of the last chapter! Well, it's definitely NOT Envy! I repeat, NOT ENVY! Envy doesn't have blue eyes (which I mentioned as being the stranger's original color)!
ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:
Unlucky Alis: Ah, ah, ah, I would have to disappoint you on that one, that certainly wasn't Envy at the end of the chapter who posed as Roy! :) I think I mentioned it once or twice, but I will dedicate a chapter to Ed, where it shows flashbacks of his past and the accident that got him to lose his arm and leg. All I can say is that it was a fundamental part in shaping him into the hardened soldier he turned into. The story will become just a bit darker as the war rages on, because...well no war was ever fun :P
Sherlsepeare: (embarrassed grin) Ah, sorry about that. Life gets in the way or my other 300 something story ideas/requests get in the way, so it's a bit tough keeping track of it all. ^^ Hmm..indeed the character is a guy with blue eyes and tan skin to note! However, it's not any that's known to the series (so an OC) but the important part is his role in the story and his relationship to the other characters which I will gradually expand on (though I thought it had been obvious ^^). Hmm...Gracia...I think I haven't mentioned her yet, but don't worry I didn't forget her! ;)
Cutepanda12323: Hey there! Thanks for reading my story ^^ Aw, thanks so much for the nice compliment! You made my day right now :3 Thank you! :)
A/N 2#: The poem in the story (about chimneysweeps) is a small paragraph I borrowed from the book "Tyger, Tyger" by William Blake (page 10).
Enjoy! :)
Of Chimneysweeps and Soot
"Dear Edward,
As soon as you read this, could we talk over skype if you're available? I'll be online today at around 7 and then later 11:00 p.m.
Take care,
Winry."
She had sent that just a few hours ago, it was unlikely the letter had gotten to him yet, considering the mysterious circumstances that had occurred only a few weeks before.
Lena had stormed into her apartment and had told her what happened and that moment, that moment had scared the hell out of her.
Not because Lena talked about the deaths of soldiers or the fighting and explosions, but because then, she had been uncertain where Greed and the others were.
Where Edward was.
And that had certainly made her thoughtful. She usually didn't get attached quickly, but...it seemed so easy to talk to Ed. Their communication just improved after their skype calls from time to time. It had begun to be easier to relax around him and banter back and forth, even throw harmless insults at each-other without any hard feelings.
She looked down at the automail arm she was currently working on, her own little project. Granny was well read in the medical field, so she taught Winry about it and gave her some of her medical books as well, making it easier for Winry to construct the metal arm.
Winry hadn't tested out her new model of course, she had worked tirelessly on it, like a woman possessed, but for some reason, it was important to her. It was proof of her skills as a mechanic, of her tireless work and determination, the sweat and blood and sleepless nights she invested into it.
Slowly caressing the smooth side of the steel plating, she sighed.
She sighed and worked tirelessly, but her mind was still on the war, on the battlefield.
On Ed.
Taking measured steps through the moist dirt ground, Hughes looked over his shoulder at Ed and the rest.
Turning to Roy at his right, he leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Don't you think we should take a break? Ed and the others look beat," Roy peeked a look behind him, confirming Hughes' assumption with his own eyes as the two continued to trek through the dense forest.
"If we stop now the enemy may catch up," he closed his eyes, eyebrows scrunching together, "We still don't know who it was that impersonated me, that man may have ties to the military, maybe he sent word to his buddies here to get our heads." He opened his eyes again to look directly at Hughes, his own hard gaze showing his exhaustion, "Besides, I know there's Aerugo's former base up ahead, I doubt they would deny us shelter for a few days until we can pinpoint the exact location of our second base,"
Hughes shrugged, silently agreeing, "That is, if anyone is still there, maybe they moved out,"
Both men suddenly came to a freezing halt when they spotted the base.
It was in shambles, tents were destroyed, corpses of what they assumed were from Aerugo lying on the ground, the place looked like a battlefield and at one point or another it had been one.
Ling adjusted his grip around his brother's waist, eyes widening at the sight, "What...happened?"
Edward cautiously walked passed Roy and Hughes, examining the damage, kneeling down to inspect pieces of splintered wood from support beams and discarded guns nearby, "This is...recent," his eyes widened, "This must have happened sometime last week...maybe two tops," Ed stood up, turning to look at Roy, "What the hell is going on?"
Hughes surveyed the corpses, turning one over on its back and immediately covering his nose from the foul stench coming from it, backing away, "This is definitely older than just a week or two!" he coughed, gaze narrowing, "They've already started to decay. What sort of sick game is this?"
Roy's eyes narrowed, "Setting up older corpses in a base that's been destroyed only a week prior? Why?" he looked around the mess of what used to be a military base, "What would they gain from it? Surely they couldn't have believed we can be fooled that easily,"
Greed growled, "Heh," Roy looked at him, "This is a setup, Mustang. I bet these guys aren't even from Aerugo. I don't know what happened here, but maybe my dear siblings of mine are playing cat and mouse with us," he huffed, balancing his weight as Ling continued to support him.
"...Playing cat and mouse? With this?" Roy grit his teeth, "Let's scout the area and grab anything that's still useful around here, weapons, medical supplies, blankets, anything."
The group nodded, dispersing to stand guard around the destroyed base in lookout for enemies while the other portion searched the tents.
Ed made his way over to a still standing tent, pushing the tattered end of a flap aside he moved forward toward a small night desk near what used to be a bed, opening drawers until he found one with a small, thin book.
Ed rose an eyebrow, picking the dusty book up and brushing the dust away.
It had no title, but when he opened it, it contained scribbles he managed to decipher, partly messy at some pages, as if hastily written, but Edward found it odd.
One page was written differently than some of the rest, in short compact sentence structures and when he read the words, he found it to be a poem of some sort.
"When my mother died, I was very young
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep, weep, weep, weep'
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep."
Edward rose an eyebrow, "Chimney sweeps? What?" he suspected it to be a journal, but why would a soldier write a poem about chimney sweeps of all things? It didn't seem to be a code, at least what he was able to deduce from it.
"Found anything?" it was Mustang, accompanied by Hughes and Edward turned around to look at them and show them the journal.
"Yeah but..." Ed held out the journal of scribbled poetry over to Mustang, "A journal of chimney sweeps?" his superior took the offered book, eyes sweeping over the text Ed had been reading.
But Mustang shook his head, "No..." his eyes darkened, "The soot represents blood," his eyes trailed over the words, "The chimney sweeps are the executors who do the dirty work for the higher ups," Ed's eyes widened and his throat ran dry.
Roy read a line from the poem out loud,
"When my mother died, I was very young
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep, weep, weep, weep'
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep."
Roy looked down at Ed, "When the mother dies, it's when the war began. When the father sold his son out while he was barely able to speak, the newly appointed soldiers were thrown into battle unprepared and were scared of death." Roy's eyes saddened, an emotion portrayed in them Ed recognized as the one he often got when talking about Ishval, "They sweep the chimneys of the higher ups, the soldiers act as executioners who kill their prisoners of war and every night, they sleep in the blood of the people they have executed and are haunted by their terrified faces and their rolling heads," he shut the journal and handed it back to him, "The original story behind the poem was different, but it garnered a different meaning for soldiers,"
Ed stared down at the dusty, tattered old journal with hard eyes.
"The chimney sweeps were imprisoned soldiers forced to kill prisoners of war and the soot they slept in every night was the blood they spilled after they killed them," Ed's heart tightened, "They partly encoded their journals, so if their officials found them they wouldn't think much of it," Ed carefully pocketed the tattered book within his uniform and Roy watched the action with interest.
"He's keeping it...but why?" Roy chose to voice his thoughts, "You're taking it with you, Fullmetal? For what reason?"
He watched the younger man stand up to walk over to the shredded tent flaps, his hand curled into a fist at his side and his voice reminded Mustang of times when he was angry, "As a reminder," Ed offered no further commentary on it as he walked out and hollered orders at cadets who were scouting the destroyed area.
Mustang could only guess what that reminder was.
When the war began, I was very young
Into battle I was flung, unprepared and dumb
While I saw the rolling head on the dirt ground
Into the dark abyss of death I drowned
I slept in the blood of my kills
And I slept still
As still as the mound of the dead grew
With my bloodied hands, my friends I slew
"Hey Riza!" Rebecca's head popped through the partly opened door, eyes alight with mirth, "Wanna go for a bite to eat and some coffee? We're both on break now!"
Riza smiled at her giddy friend, standing from her desk and taking her coat with her, "Sure thing, let me just-" she froze when she saw a slip of paper she was sure hadn't been there peeking out from her coat pocket, "-Let me just make one last call, I'll be out in a minute,"
Rebecca stayed silent for several seconds before her face took on a very large smirk, "Ohh, calling your hubby huh? Well, greet the old flame thrower for me! Oh and greet Jean too!" with that, the brunette shut the door closed and Riza was once again alone.
Shaking her head at her friend, Riza sighed and smiled, "Will do..." before she turned her attention to the mysterious slip of paper.
Making sure she was alone, Riza grabbed the small, square piece of paper from the inside of her coat pocket, unfolding it slowly.
What she read made no sense whatsoever.
Project F.P.
She rose an eyebrow, "What?" she turned it over, but saw nothing else written on it, "What does project F.P. mean? Is it a code?" swiftly, Riza turned on the screen of her computer and typed in the military database the name of the project.
Waiting for several seconds, the screen flashed brightly when the notification popped up in bold red letters.
Access denied.
Her eyebrow shot to her hairline, "Access denied? I have full authority," she tried again, but once again, the same notification kept popping up.
Access denied.
Access denied.
Frowning, Riza closed the folder and shut down her computer, grabbing her coat and stuffing the piece of paper in her pants pocket.
Quietly making her way out of her office, she shut and locked it, greeting her colleagues as she walked out of the imposing building of the State Military.
Rebecca was impatiently tapping her foot by the time Riza approached her calmly, "Man, Riza! I've been waiting here forever! Come on, I heard there's this new café nearby-" she paused when she noticed the serious look Riza fixed her with, "Hey, what's-"
"Let's go to the Madam's. There's something we need to discuss privately," she offered to further information, leading her stunned friend away from military grounds until they were safely out of camera view and possible earshot.
Slipping the piece of paper in her friend's hand, Riza continued walking normally beside her as the trained soldier her friend was calmly looked at the piece of paper in her hand.
Project F.P.
"Found anything?" Rebecca handed it back over to Riza, who safely pocketed it again before shaking her head in the negative.
"I couldn't get access to the files," Rebecca's eyebrows shot up to her hairline at that.
"What? But you're the General's wife, how can you get denied access?!" she seemed outraged by that fact alone.
Riza's gaze hardened as both women approached Rebecca's car, "I don't know. Whoever slipped that paper into my coat must be either helping us or intending to create more confusion. Whatever the case, we will see what the Madam can do,"
Rebecca grinned, "Ahhh, that sassy old hag! You know, I actually really like her! She may be grumpy and all, but we totally get along!" she laughed and Riza couldn't help but chuckle.
"Yeah, what do you want?" Madam Christmas rose an eyebrow at Rebecca's crestfallen expression.
"So mean..." the military woman sniffled, promptly snatching the first glass of alcohol she saw from another table, quickly turning her back when a burly man suddenly sat on the same table and loudly called out, "Hey, who the hell stole my drink?!"
Sending Madam Christmas an apologetic look for her friend's behavior, Riza leaned her elbows on the table, paper already in hand, "I was hoping you may offer information concerning this, madam,"
Chris Mustang was not amused when she took the slip of paper from her daughter-in-law and she certainly wasn't amused when she saw what was written on it, "Where did you get this?" she rose an eyebrow at Riza.
But the blonde shook her head, "I'm afraid I don't know, someone must have slipped it into my coat while I was absent from the office. I don't know how else it could get there," she sighed, "I couldn't find anything in our database either or rather I couldn't get access to the files,"
Rebecca looked very happy with her drink, "Yeah! Unbelievable how rude that is, huh?" Chris Mustang fixed her with a look, "What? It's true! Hell, she's the General's wife and high in the ranks too!" she peeked one eye open at Riza, "I would sue them for this,"
Rolling her eyes at her friend, Riza turned her attention to the woman in front of her, "Could you do this for me?" she smiled.
Madam Christmas smiled back, lighting a cigarette as she handed the paper to one of her girls who passed by, "Was there anything I didn't do for you in the past?" the smile she gave Riza was warm, "Anything for my daughter-in-law, right?" Riza smiled, bowing her head gratefully.
"So, since your friend here is supplied," she fixed Rebecca with a look again, "How about you?" she smirked at Riza, who smiled softly.
"I'll have regular water, thank you," sighing in disappointment at Riza's non drinking habits, she decided to indulge her and offer her simple water, with no traces of alcohol this time.
RockbellAutomail is online.
You have a new message from FullmetalElric.
"Hey Winry, 7pm is fine for me. See you then!" 6:45pm
FullmetalElric is online.
FullmetalElric calling...
I'm so sorry everyone! I know it's a short chapter and a long wait! T_T I hope the next one will come sooner! Reviews are always appreciated and fawned over lol ^^