A/N: Hi guys! :) Right, I've noticed a few seemed confused by the setting of the story, or rather the characters' roles (like Roy's and Ed's rank...etc.)
Here's a small overview:
Roy Mustang (rank: General, married to Riza Hawkeye and leading his own unit in the war)
Edward Elric (rank: Lieutenant General, sometimes called 'Captain' or 'cap' simply because he got famous while under the rank of 'Captain' a few years before 'Letters from War' begins)
Riza Hawkeye (rank: Lieutenant General, retired from field combat, working as King Bradley's secretary)
Greed (rank: Major General, right-hand man to Ed)
Ling (rank: Field Surgeon, member of Al's medic team)
Alphonse (rank: Field Surgeon, commands groups of medics during the war)
Kimblee (rank: Explosives Expert, is the only one capable of not only proficiently using explosives, bombs and the like but also defusing all sorts of explosives)
Olivier Armstrong (rank: Major General, base of operations: Fort Briggs)
Alex Armstrong (rank: Major, currently deployed in Central)
Lust (rank: Intelligence Officer First, directly under Bradley's unit, alias: Solaris)
Envy (rank: Intelligence Officer Second, information gathering and stealth being his primary functions, works directly under Lust, alias: Dan, a police officer)
Sloth (rank: Sapper, brief explanation for the term: a sapperis a combat engineer or soldier that demolishes or builds buildings, digs tunnels, lays or clear minefields and/or field defenses)
King Bradley (rank: Führer/General of the Army/GA, acts as a military figure leading the country and its military, works on the opposing side against Drachma)
Mustang Unit (ranks: retain all the ranks they have in the anime/manga)
Scar (rank: classified as M.I.A or dead, rogue soldier from Ishval, occasionally assists Ed & Co.)
ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:
AuthorBugsy: (blushes) Ah, thank you so much for the nice compliment! :3
Unlucky Alis: haha thank you ^^ Well, the first one is a small paragraph I borrowed from a book I read (mentioned in Author's Notes) and the second one I myself made up and adapted according to what it could mean concerning war and so on. The second one is Ed thinking about the poem at the end.
Pouda-P: Thanks! I read it in a book and after some thinking somehow tied it to this story ^^ Thank you for still reading my story, I hope it won't get boring as quickly haha. You take care too! I just hope I'll have more time to update quicker! :3
Lyllian: (sweat drop) Thank you so much for pointing that out! I read your review a while ago and realized I wrote it wrong! . Ugh, really, thanks for pointing out my mistake, I often make mistakes when I'm tired ^^
Cutepanda12323: Hey there! :) Thanks so much for reading and enjoying my story :3 I hope it won't get boring too soon! ;)
Zacharylee53899: Ah, got it! Thanks for the tip, I did know that but I thought they were addressed specifically by rank just like the ground troops? I didn't do extensive research yet on that so I'm sorry if there are any errors there.
Enjoy! :)
A False Lead
Previously on 'Letters from War'...
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...
"DEN! DEN!" said dog's ears flattened against his head when he saw his mistress frantically run towards her beeping computer, against which he currently had his snout pressed against curiously to try and find out the source of the strange noise.
Accidentally pressing a key on the keyboard, Den started barking at the screen when it flashed and in the next second, it revealed a handsome young man with blond hair.
"...What the-? Hey! Stop barking at me Winry!" the youth's playfully annoyed shout caused Winry to throw caution to the wind and grab her wrench from the coffee table, waving it threateningly at the screen while Den's barking ceased in favor of slowly backtracking to not be in the accidental line of fire from his mistresses' weapon.
"That's not me you stupid idiot! It's Den!" she growled, but stopped when she found her camera not to be on.
Oh...
Quickly setting aside her wrench and sitting on the stool, Winry clicked on the camera symbol on Skype and she saw her own screen appear at the bottom right corner.
"Ahhh, now I can see ya!" Ed grinned, leaning in close, "I still think you were barking at me, sounded like you anyways," he laughed, pointing at her with his finger.
"That infuriating stuck up-!" Winry's hands clenched into fists and she ground her teeth tightly against one another, a biting insult already resting on the tip of her tongue, "Why you little-!"
"Ed my boy!" both young adults froze when a new voice entered their little chat and interrupted what Winry dubbed as 'World War 3'.
" Lt. Colonel H-Hughes! What the hell are you-h-hey!" suddenly, a vaguely familiar face popped up in front of the screen, blocking Winry's view of Edward's face and immediately evaporating her anger and annoyance at the soldier.
Her back straightened, "Um...h-hello?" she waved awkwardly, not really knowing what to do.
The man, whose surname sounded oddly familiar to her, waved cheerfully back, grinning from ear to ear, "Why hello there young lady!" he adjusted his glasses, seemingly mustering her with a critical eye, "Hmm...seems like dear Edward here hasn't been exaggerating a bit! You're every bit as cute as he said! However, not nearly as cute as my darling daughter Elicia! Look! I have pictures!" three different pictures were suddenly pressed far too closely against the camera and for a moment, all Winry saw was black until the screen cleared to reveal a funny picture.
Edward was playfully wrestling with the older man, while the latter tried shoving various pictures of his daughter and seemingly his wife into Edward's face.
"Hughes! I told you to knock it off! Everyone saw your daughter and wife already! There's not a soul on this planet that doesn't know about them! Now get out of here I'm trying to have a call here!" struggling fruitlessly against the overexcited man, Hughes' face was suddenly close to the camera again and Winry drew back in surprise and stunned nervousness, rooted to the seat of her chair.
The man hummed thoughtfully, rubbing the slight stubble on his chin, before grinning again, "Ah, I see! You're trying to have some private time like Greed does with Lena, right? Well, I suppose you're that age already Ed." Hughes slapped Ed on the back and by that time, Winry's face was on fire, "Right! Got it! Leave the kids to themselves!"
The man was about to walk away until another vaguely familiar but deeper and more serious voice sounded from somewhere at the back, "Hughes, where have you been? I've been looking all over for-oh," there was a small pause, until the man began to speak again, "I see Fullmetal's trying to be alone with that young letter lady again,"
Winry's eyebrows shot to her hairline, "...Letter lady? Is that supposed to be me?" she slapped her hand against her face, "What have I gotten myself into?"
"WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?! HUGHES! GET GENERAL USELESS OUT OF HERE!" Ed's enraged roar was accompanied by the other man's almost immediately.
"WHO'RE YOU CALLING USELESS YOU PINT SIZED BEAN?!" the deeper voice grew higher a few octaves with the increase in volume and Winry couldn't help but realize who the voice belonged to.
It was General Mustang! Riza's husband! How could she be so stupid?
Bravely, Winry steeled herself, "Um, h-hello Mr. Mustang!" she gave a small wave, unsure if she should wave or salute but decided it was too late when another face appeared before the camera.
Oh yeah, it was Riza's husband alright. She saw him on a few pictures Riza kept at home, as well as her wallet.
Trying to ignore Edward's reply about his height, 'AT LEAST I OUTGREW THAT PHASE AT SIXTEEN YOU FIRE SPEWING DRAGON!'
Roy's face broke into a friendly smile after he looked at Winry carefully, "Ah, you must be Miss Rockbell, correct? Riza's told me a lot about you," he smiled pleasantly, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Rockbell, considering the circumstances,"
Winry smiled awkwardly, feeling slightly better at seeing a relatively...normal person, "I-It's a pleasure to meet you too Mr. Mustang," she smiled.
Roy smirked, "Oh please do call me Roy miss, 'Mr.' makes me feel too old," he chuckled, eliciting a small giggle from Winry as well.
"Then you can call me Winry," she nodded, grinning a small smile when the man nodded back.
"Tch, as if you can get any older, Mustang," Ed's voice sounded from somewhere behind Roy, an annoyed expression settling almost automatically on the older man's features at the comment.
"If you weren't useful in this war I would have singed that mouth of yours closed a long time ago! After all, you can't cry for help with a closed mouth now can you, Fullmetal?" smugness dripped from Roy's voice like honey from a bee hive and Winry couldn't help but giggle at their interactions.
She would have nearly forgotten about Hughes had the man not unceremoniously pushed Roy out of the camera shot and moved in himself, "So, you're Edward's girlfriend, huh?" he smiled broadly and entirely too innocently.
Winry's eyes widened and before she could utter a protest, Ed was already hollering, "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND YOU HALF WITS!"
"Now that's no way to talk to your superiors," Mustang chided playfully with a smirk when Edward himself forced himself in front of the camera.
"I don't care if you were the Führer yourself! Get out or I'll rip your legs off your body and stick them to your heads!" the threat, while quite impossible to execute, seemed very real coming from Edward's mouth and with two identical great sighs, the two men turned to the screen to face Winry.
"Ma'am, we apologize for this barbarian's ruthless behavior," Ed guffawed at Roy's comment.
Hughes nodded curtly, "Agreed. We shall take disciplinary measures as soon as his private time with you is concluded. Please ignore any profanities and foam that may or may not gather in his mouth during his temper tantrums. Thank you," with suspiciously practiced movements, Roy and Hughes slipped out, effectively making Ed's face go from hot pink to a full blown red color and Winry could practically see the steam coming out of his ears and nose.
"T-That-! T-that-!"
Winry quickly tried to defuse the situation, "A-ah, Ed!" her exclamation caught his attention almost immediately and she found herself being the center of attention by a pair of gold eyes.
She tried not to fidget, "Um...I wanted to talk to you if you don't mind," she smiled, finding it funny that their skype call already lasted eight minutes and not even a full minute of it did he talk to her.
Well...his two superiors were certainly funny so the time that was lost wasn't completely wasted...
He turned his full body towards her, dog tag dangling on his black undershirt, "Sure, I uh..." and suddenly, he went from enraged explosion-ready gorilla to shy fidgeting soldier in 0.5 seconds, "I'm sorry about...err...earlier. They can be...very..." he seemed like he was searching for the right words.
Winry tried to supply helpfully, "Excited?"
"Nah...I was thinking somethin' along the lines of ...tiresome," he smiled awkwardly, "Ahem, anyway, what did you want to talk about?"
His face betrayed his emotions, he looked slightly alarmed, "Did something happen? In Resembool or Central I mean,"
Winry blinked, "Oh, uh, no, no. Nothing happened so far," her face scrunched up in mild confusion, "Why do you keep asking if something happened, Ed?" her eyes slanted with worry, "Do you...do you think the war might escalate that much?"
Ed seemed like he wanted to shoot himself for asking it, but nonetheless he answered her, "Ah...look Winry, we're still unsure how things will work out for us. I mean we haven't heard much from Drachma ever since we got ambushed and that says a lot about their hotheaded leader. We don't know what they're planning but we're working on the counter measures though," he took a deep breath, looking her straight in the eyes, "We don't know when Drachma may plan to start targeting Central," at Winry's slightly alarmed look, he hastily added, "I-I mean, not Resembool necessarily but...anything is possible in war,"
However, Winry surprised him with her response, "Tch, those idiots! Attacking us directly like that where our defense is strongest! And that's where King Bradley is too! If they have any common sense up here they won't think to attack Central directly," she didn't look worried at all, the complete opposite of what he expected, "Don't worry Ed, it's gonna be fine," she winked.
He swallowed thickly, 'If only I could believe that...' he thought with slightly downward tilted lips, a thoughtful hum all that escaped him at Winry's optimistic response.
The mechanic wasn't have any of it, "Hey! Stop making such sour faces! It's making me feel boring when we talk like this you know..." she grimaced.
Ed blinked, then he slowly shook his head and chuckled, amused at her words, "Silly, you aren't boring," at her happy expression, he added just to tease her, "Alright, maybe a little,"
He laughed when Winry waggled her finger warningly at him, "Hey! Watch it mister!" both young adults laughed, feeling comfortable in the created silence.
Ed suddenly leaned over the camera slightly, as if trying to look what was behind Winry, "So, this was the little guy that barked at me earlier, huh?"
Winry turned her head to spot Den under her chair, his head poking out from between one of the legs and watching Ed curiously on the computer.
Ed stared back, intrigued by the animal's fascination with him.
Winry smiled, gently grabbing Den from under his stomach and lifting him to her lap, laughing shortly when he squirmed due to his size on her lap.
"Ed, this is Den. Den, this is Ed," she smiled, watching how Den moved his head curiously closer to the screen, sniffing it a few times.
Ed grinned, "Hey Den! Wow, he's a big guy, huh?" Ed couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at Den's size, nearly covering Winry whole and when the dog slightly drew back when he heard Ed's voice coming from somewhere within the strange device.
Winry smiled, petting the fur on top of his head, "Mhm, but he's a good boy so it's no problem with him in the house," she giggled, "So, tell me again how Den my 'husband' looks like?" she tilted her head playfully, grinning.
Ed frowned, crossing his arms, "...Lemme guess...General Bastard told his wife and Hawkeye told you?" Winry bit her lip from giggling, but nodded her head in agreement and Ed groaned, "Should have punched him unconscious when I had the chance..." she giggled again at his comment, knowing he didn't really mean it by that point.
"That and your letter gave me a clue," Winry giggled again when Ed muttered under his breath.
Ed turned his head toward her curiously, "So, I'm making you laugh, huh?" he grinned smugly and Winry couldn't help but feel...challenged.
"Many people make me laugh, maybe I'm a person that laughs easily," she challenged and Den barked, Winry scratched behind one of his ears in appreciation at his good timing.
Ed chuckled, "Yeah, I don't believe you miss mechanic," he smiled, "Anyway, what's new over there? How's Granny and the shop?"
Winry's smile softened and she allowed Den to jump off her lap, allowing her to lean her elbows on the table to support her chin with her hand, "Granny is doing well, she's in Rush Valley looking for some spare parts for my little project here since I have to look after the shop. Business is going well I guess, but Aaron, my part time assistant, drives me nuts with his mistakes! He originally didn't study anything related to mechanics and electronics so he was pretty much clueless when he applied for the position of my assistant at first,"
Ed rose an eyebrow, "Why did you employ him if he didn't have any qualifications?"
Winry sighed, "He was younger than me and desperate for a job, since he left his family home a while ago he was struggling to work a few jobs to pay for his apartment and tuition fees. I understood his situation since I've been in a similar one before I became independent so I couldn't turn him down, besides he's a fast learner...most of the time," she rolled her eyes playfully, "He sometimes can't differentiate between washers, bolts, nuts, machine screws and cap screws. He doesn't know what a combination screw is or even what a hex lag screw is. A hex lag screw! Can you believe it?!" she huffed, crossing her arms.
Ed imitated her pose, looking thoughtful as he rubbed the slight stubble on his chin, "Wow, what a country bumpkin' not knowing what a hex lag screw is. He brought shame to his family!"
Winry mustered Ed with a serious expression, before she burst into a fit of short laughs and giggles, shaking her head, "Did you just call him a 'country bumpkin'? Seriously Edward? We come from Resembool!"
He chuckled, "Hey, back then Resembool was more advanced than some other shitty backwater villages! It was a rural town! We had cars when they all still had horse drawn carriages!" he grinned at her expression.
"Horse drawn carriages? In what century do you live in Lieutenant General?" she smirked playfully, disbelieving of his humorous comments.
Edward smirked back, absentmindedly fingering his dog tag.
Winry's eyes were immediately drawn to it, "Hey, say, aren't those dog tags engraved with a code or something? Or the status of your rank or your name or whatever?" she tilted her head to the side curiously.
Ed froze briefly, dropping the dog tag to rest on his chest, the screen quality too bad to see what the engravings on it were, "Uh...yeah, something like that." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh, listen we'll talk later, okay? I still got some training with the group,"
Winry's good mood plummeted, noticing the abrupt change in Edward's easy going behavior when she mentioned his dog tag, "Um, I'm sorry if I said something wrong, I guess I do watch too many movies, huh?" she grinned in embarrassment but the soldier just shook his head.
His tone was serious, something Winry wasn't all too used to hearing in their mostly humorous skype calls, "Nah, that's not it. Don't worry, you didn't say anything wrong. I just really gotta run now," he offered her a brief but friendly smile, "See you later Win,"
Winry blinked, "Win?" before she could reply back, the chat was already over.
"W-wait-!" she stopped mid sentence, slumping back in her chair in distress.
Warm, moist licks to the tips of her fingers made Winry look down, where Den was trying to cheer up his mistress, sensing her distress.
Winry smiled, appreciatively rubbing the top of her pet's head and scratching along his snout, making him lick his nose and her fingers again, this time more enthusiastically until she was giggling.
The blonde mechanic stood up and dusted herself off, grabbing her bandana resting on her desk and tying it around her head.
Donning her worn out working gloves, Winry walked towards the door to the garage and opened it, already mentally calculating how much time she would need for the repairs on a car and a motorcycle stationed at the back.
Grabbing the protective goggles as she made her way toward the motorcycle, Winry tried not to let the feeling sink in that Edward was hiding something from her as she tinkered with the bike's exhaust pipe.
Ed frowned, shutting down the laptop and storing it in one of the large backpacks they've brought along.
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck languidly and rotated his dog tag so the engraving stared up at him.
'Don't forget 3. October'
'Quit being an ass to her. She doesn't know,' he tried repeating that again and again in his mind and he felt guilty for abruptly shutting her off like that, 'She's gonna hate me if I continue doing that...' his lips curled into a wry smirk, shaking his head to dispel the thoughts, 'Maybe it would be better that way,'
Edward turned to where his brother was organizing medical supplies in large, first aid kits, "Hey, Al," the head medic turned his head at the mention of his name, smiling when he spotted his older brother.
"What is it, brother?" he stood up, shutting the boxes closed.
Ed frowned, "Those dead soldiers we found at one of Aerugo's bases earlier...how long do you think they've been dead for?" Alphonse was a field doctor, he should be able to determine approximately the time of death or at least for how long rigor mortis set in.
Alphonse rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Judging by the low temperatures here at the border, since we aren't that far from Fort Briggs or Drachma, rigor mortis usually sets in several days later due to the cold." His expression was one of concentration, trying to recall the exact appearance and condition of the corpses he briefly inspected, "It may be a stretch, but I think they died well over three weeks ago. The corpses were already on their way to decomposition that would explain the strong odor coming from them." He locked gazes with his brother, "Why did you want to know?"
Ed didn't hesitate, "Come with me," the order sounded strange when speaking to his brother, but the younger Elric realized his brother was on to something.
Securing the ammunition in his two pistols again, Alphonse nodded to signal he was ready for the small trek toward the destroyed base. Edward nodded, securing a rifle on his back and fastening a smoke bomb on his belt, walking ahead as his brother followed by his side.
"Did you find something out?" Alphonse dared to ask after a lengthy pause, eyeing his brother carefully.
Ed hesitated slightly, staring at the ground, "I'm not sure, but I think I noticed something on one of the dead corpses while we were there. It could just be my imagination though," trekking silently through the moist dirt, Edward turned his head slightly to address his brother, his voice softened, "How is Mei doing?"
Al's face immediately brightened at the mention of his girlfriend and Ed had to force down a chuckle to not embarrass his brother, "She is doing great, she started to learn how to cook western cuisine, apparently Lena and Miss Riza are teaching her." He smiled proudly and Edward barely suppressed the urge to tease his brother.
"Heh, I would be careful if I were to let Hawkeye teach her anything about cooking...or Lena for that matter," a small shiver ran down his spine and suddenly an image of the two frightening women appeared in his mind's eye and Edward had a sinking feeling like his comment would have earned a bullet or punch if either women were present at the moment.
Alphonse chuckled, shaking his head before inquiring curiously, "So, how was the talk with Winry? I think you ended the call pretty quick,"
Ed licked his dry lips, "Yeah, well, we have stuff to do so I couldn't talk long,"
Al rose an eyebrow suspiciously, "Is that really the real reason, brother?"
Familiar gold eyes bore into his own, "Whatcha mean, Al?" Alphonse felt he certainly hit a nerve.
Sighing, Alphonse tried to diffuse the situation, "Nothing brother, but I think you shouldn't ward Winry off like that. She seems nice, so try to stop closing her out, okay?" he smiled kindly, hoping that would soothe his brother's temperament.
Ed scoffed, his mood turning darker as he gripped his arm, "Tch, she wouldn't understand Al,"
Al's voice surprisingly turned firm, "I think she would, brother,"
Ed turned his head toward his younger brother, stopping their walk, "Oh yeah? How can you be so sure, huh?" Ed bit his lip, smoothing out the sleeve of his uniform on that arm, Alphonse noticed the action, a sour taste growing in his mouth at the memory of what happened on that particular day.
"Why don't you tell her the truth brother?" Alphonse asked, watching how his brother lifted up his hand, the hand, "You know it's no shame! Why do you keep trying to hide it? Besides, you told me she builds prosthetic limbs herself! I hardly think she would be appalled or disgusted if she found out the truth!"
Ed frowned darkly, staring at the thing...the hand...his hand. He tightened it into a fist, no...he couldn't tell her that. It would ruin the friendship they have established until now, even if it was through letters and the occasional video call through skype. He wouldn't let her find out just how broken he was. He had enough baggage with him as it was, being a soldier was a baggage in itself.
Ed never regretted once what he did in order to achieve the state he was in currently, never. He had managed to save his brother's life that way and he would never let Al feel bad about it.
Ever.
Yes, he had artificial limbs, made of metal to replace the one's he had lost, but if confronted with the choice of having to save himself or his brother, Ed would always choose his brother. Throughout his life up until now, Al had been the only stability in it, their mother had died when they were young so Ed had acted out both parental roles to Alphonse when they were younger. Ed didn't think their mother, if she were still alive today, would have approved of the lifestyle they chose, being in the military and endangering their lives like that during war time.
His brother was what kept him going most of the time, there were of course his friends, but he wouldn't know what to do with himself if something were to happen to Alphonse. Ed glanced his way and smiled, affectionately patting his brother's head and ruffling his neatly combed hair, causing the youth to growl in displeasure at being treated like a kid. Ed just shrugged it off, taking no offense.
It was their thing.
Ed smiled, shaking his head "With time Al. Wouldn't want to scare off a friend when I didn't even meet her yet for real," he offered a small smile and his face suddenly looked younger, gone was the hardened military man his brother forced himself to grow up to be and Al could still see glimpses of the carefree and stubborn older brother he still was.
Al suddenly went quiet, staring out at the dark green trees thoughtfully and Ed sensed where his thoughts were headed, "Do you think...we have that time brother?" his voice was quiet but Ed heard him.
Ed turned around and continued walking forward, his voice calm and collected, "Who knows Al, who knows..."
After thinking for a long moment, Al finally followed after his brother, smiling slightly when he saw Edward sending him a brief but bright grin his way. Al chuckled, smiling back.
They may in the middle of a war that could potentially become more gruesome than it already was, but they refused to let their minds sink into the depression like many of their other fellow soldiers did.
Alphonse looked up, they finally reached the campsite.
He watched how his elder brother carefully navigated over the foul smelling corpses, holding a hand to slightly block off the smell from his nose. He crouched down at a fallen soldier and fingered the fabric of his military jacket.
Alphonse watched, transfixed, as Edward ripped out a piece of fabric from one of the dead bodies, particularly the spot where the Aerugo flag symbol was located.
"The information was false," Ed suddenly muttered, eyes carefully inspecting the torn fabric.
Al joined his brother on the ground, "What? What do you-" his eyes widened when he saw what his brother was seeing.
Ed's voice was serious as he said this, "Call Mustang and send him out here,"
Flashback, a few hours after founding Aerugo's base
"Fullmetal, have you sent a telegram to Aerugo to inquire about their base?" Roy helped Hughes unpack his backpack as it got caught at his belt stubbornly.
Ed's face scrunched up in confusion, "Yeah, I did. An hour ago and they already sent me one back," he held the telegram between his two fingers up in the air, face looking anything but amused.
Roy frowned, "What did they say?"
Edward reopened the letter and read it aloud
Form No. 192
Subject: BORDER BASE
Sender: Aerugo Royal Office, Prince of Aerugo, Prince Claudio Rico
To: Amestris Border, Lt. Gen. Edward Elric
You are an idiot, Elric. STOP.
P.S. We have no knowledge of this conflict. STOP.
Prince Claudio Rico
Roy and Hughes frowned and Ed angrily crumbled the telegram in his hands, "That little prick! Something's fishy Mustang, why the hell would Rico call me an idiot?!"
Roy replied within a heartbeat, "Because it's true?"
Ed sent him a vicious glare, Roy rolled his eyes, "Well, it does seem a bit strange considering we asked a question concerning their deceased soldiers..." his gaze narrowed, "He said he apparently had no knowledge of it..."
Edward growled, "That bastard, he's hiding something! He must know about his base getting destroyed or his men dead! Why would he call me an idiot for asking if they have a clue who destroyed it and when?" he scoffed, crossing his arms.
Hughes rubbed his chin, "Do you think he really may be hiding something? Edward is right. No respectable ruler of a country, no matter if military orientated or not, is clueless about his own men's status while deployed in a war zone like this."
Roy clenched his fist, sighing heavily, "Of course not. He may be hiding something but the question is for what purpose?" he locked gazes with Hughes, "Killing his own men is beneath Rico, but why would he refuse a proper retrieval of their corpses and offer them a proper burial? If their base had been attacked by hostile forces, it doesn't make sense for the corpses to be older than the base they destroyed."
Edward seemed to have calmed down slightly, his gaze focused and hard, "We had conflicts with Aerugo in the past, Fotset is still a sore spot for them but despite Bradley's reserves Rico has nothing against us," he gestured to Roy and Hughes as well as himself, "I wonder what his deal is,"
Roy stared at the telegram, "I wonder about that..."
Flashback End
"Mrs. Mustang, may I?" King Bradley ever present smile seemed etched onto his aging face as he knocked and opened the door slightly to poke his head in.
Riza looked up from her paperwork, wearing a carefully concealed expression on her face at the surprise visit from the Führer himself, "Of course, sir,"
At her consent, Bradley fully opened the door and allowed himself to enter, shoulders and head held high a she regarded the female with his one eye, "How do you do today?" he smiled pleasantly, hands clasped behind his back.
Riza allowed a small smile in return, "Good, sir. I've been completing my paper work and that of General Mustang,"
Bradley laughed, a rich boisterous sound, "Oh, I think you are allowed to informally address your own husband, Lieutenant General." His expression softened, "No need for such prim behavior around me, I understand the relations of married couples after all,"
Riza smiled, "Thank you, sir but I'd like to keep my role at work professional if I may," she offered her superior the same kind smile he showed her and he nodded respectfully.
"Ah, I see, duty bound are we?" he smiled, "I suppose I understand to some degree. I'm glad my dear wife isn't a part of the military or she would be even scarier than she already is!" he laughed, laughing lines showing by the wide stretch of his lips to reveal smiling white teeth.
Riza allowed herself a small chuckle, "How is your wife fairing if I may ask?"
The old Führer smiled, expression softening while talking about his wife, "She's doing remarkably well, raising Selim and tending to her duties as she does. However, she complains about my frequent and long absences from home due to the war,"
Riza nodded, smiling in sympathy, "I see, sir. If I may, I'd be free to relieve you of some of your paperwork, that way you could return home sooner,"
Bradley stilled for a moment, before he chuckled, "Oh, I couldn't possibly accept Lieut. General. It would be unfortunate if one of my best soldiers were to fall ill due to incredible amounts of work,"
Riza remained calm and inviting, "Not to worry, sir. I have ample experience of extra paperwork thanks to my husband," she smiled, giggling slightly.
The Führer seemed to contemplate her offer, Riza clasped her hands together, gazing at him patiently when he finally spoke, "Hm...well, I suppose a few days wouldn't hurt if that's alright with you. My wife and son are sure to be happier if I were to return home earlier, wouldn't you think?"
Riza nodded, "Of course, sir,"
Bradley lowered his head in a small bow, ever present smile on his face, "Thank you Lieut. General for your kind offer, my door will be open for you in the afternoon after I take my leave,"
Riza nodded, saying her goodbye's when the older man left her office.
She sighed, leaning her head against the back of her black leather chair.
She reopened a tab on her computer, the bold, red letters mocking her as they read, 'ACCESS DENIED' for her search.
Search for: PROJECT F.P.
Riza ran her hand through her hair, sighing heavily.
'I have never heard of this project before. What could F.P. possibly stand for? The names for our laboratories are all numerals, it may be a coded operation but what?' her gaze traveled to the phone, 'I should contact Roy for this, he may know what it is.' Instead of reaching for the phone, Riza retrieved a slip of paper from under her desk and quickly wrote down her message.
Hey honey, I just managed to contact Rebecca about that concert she said she was going to. The band's name is Forever Proud and at first it was a group project made by the original band members, I think you should listen to them too sometime. However, they are hard to find since they travel a lot.
-Riza
Folding her letter once and engraving it with the State Military seal along with her own personal one at the bottom right corner with R.M. she stood and gave it to Sheska as the younger woman nodded with a secretive smile before quickly hurrying off, Riza's letter clutched tight to her chest.
Riza watched the bookworm of a woman scurry off, a fond smile plastered to her face.
"Fullmetal, what are you doing? Alphonse said you found something," Roy rose an eyebrow when he saw Edward crouched down by one of the corpses, holding something in his hands.
Ed nodded, his voice low, "I found a few corpses to look familiar earlier, but now I've taken a closer look,"
Roy's expression saddened, his voice soft, "...War buddies?"
Ed quickly shook his head, standing up and turning toward Roy, "No, no, not like that," he held out the thing he was holding in his hand previously and revealed to be a piece of fabric, "This is what I mean,"
Roy's eyes widened, "But this-"
Ed's eyes narrowed, lips set in a thin line, "-is one of our own,"
The emblem of the State Military was sewn into the back of the Aerugo emblem, covered in blood.
What could Aerugo be hiding? And why the double emblems on the soldier's uniforms? Suspense! ^^