Chapter 5

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Deep in thought, President Ling Yao ignored the briefing his attache and bodyguard Lan Fan currently delivered. He reclined in his plush high backed chair and made out a few words yet thought of other things…like Lan Fan in a swimming suit instead of the black and gray station-issued military style garb she always wore to work. Still, he'd worked and clawed his way to the top command at Resembool Station and he felt he could daydream a bit about becoming the Supreme Sol-System Commander someday.

"…Although I have a few more items, this just came in…" She tapped the screen on her thin tablet and a holographic display materialized between her and Ling. Winry Rockbell's station identification photograph appeared. "Dr. Winry Rockbell activated launch of one of our maintenance craft."

"Yeah?" He halfheartedly answered.

"Her implant gave her access but, someone hacked into the launch system security to actually get the shuttle out of the bay."

"Uh, huh." Ling couldn't be bothered with a stupid missing shuttle craft.

"I thought the good doctor was taking a joy ride, but watch this…" She hit her screen and the crystal clear moving image came up in the hologram. It showed Alphonse carrying an unconscious Winry through hallway after hallway and Edward following. "It looks like she was kidnapped. I've ordered station police unit 503 to intercept and bring her back."

"Yes!" His attention piqued upon the mention of the word "kidnapped," the commander stopped daydreaming as he could attend to something exciting for once. "Finally something happens here!"

"Sir, the facial recognition program has determined Major Edward Elric and his android are responsible. Also, Dr. Rockbell is the physician charged with treating Major Elric…he was brought here after his spacecraft crashed earlier this week."

"How are they faring? Can they bring everyone back safely?"

Lan Fan knew the Commander referred to the police. "They are currently engaged." She tapped her screen again and an image of three spacecraft and a small shuttle came into view. "The shuttle is ignoring their pleas to return…shall I give them the order to disable it and tow it back?"

"Only if they can do so without causing any casualties." All he needed was a public relations nightmare the death of a pretty doctor could cause.

"Sir…we are getting a transmission from Sol Command…"

"Right now? Terrible timing, don't you think?"

"Colonel Mustang is arriving in a little under an hour…"

"Great, more military brass. They'll want to take control of this situation so we better do so first." His previous jovial manner morphed into seriousness in an instant. If he could, by way of his subordinates, arrest Edward Elric and rescue the doctor, word would reach all the system stations and could only help him in the general elections in two years.

"I'm not sure you're going to like this…" Her dark eyes told him she was about to drop more bad news. "Colonel Mustang is Edward Elric's commanding officer."

"Shit."


"Watch that one over there!" Al yelled as his brother piloted the shuttle evasively trying to outrun the police craft surrounding them.

"Just let me drive!" He moved the ship drastically to the left, hitting the spaceship hovering next to them causing several alarms to go off and lights to flash.

"Are you the worst pilot in the system?" Winry screeched and held onto the straps of her seat belts. "You already crashed one ship, you're going to wreck another!"

"Shaddup, I know what I'm doing!"

"She's got a point…" Al spoke before thinking.

"Can it Al, I'm flying here!"

"Brother! We've sustained damaged to the aft thrusters, We need them to land!"

"Setting autopilot for entry into the Earth's atmosphere…what's left of it." The ship seemed to stop shaking and even out a bit as they came closer and closer to the planet's surface.

"Uh…Brother…we have another problem." Alphonse spoke so fast, Ed almost didn't hear.

"What?"

"Tractor beam!"

Suddenly, the ship shook violently and all forward momentum ceased. The loud noises and alarms maintained their annoying chirps and buzzing – sounds that failed to drown out the expletives pouring from the young pilot's mouth. He took a deep breath and released his seatbelt.

"Fuck it!" Ed stormed behind their seats and stood watching the sandy planet spin peacefully before them.

"Brother…don't you dare!" Al spun his chair around, he saw the look in Ed's eyes, he was getting ready to transmute. "You cannot transmute the beam! It's light – we don't fully understand every particle that makes it up! Hell, they're still fighting on whether photons are particles at all!"

"Got to stop them, don't see how else since the shuttle has no weapons." Ed grinned, his canine teeth glowing with the flashing lights reflecting off their enamel. He slapped his hands together.


Colonel Mustang moved swiftly through the carpeted corridors of Resembool Station. The greeting party met his ship and led him and a team consisting of First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, Second Lieutenants Jean Havoc and Heymans Breda, Warrant Officer Vato Falman and Sergeant Major Kain Furey. The "Whole Fuckin' Squad" as Maes Hughes told him over beers nights before. Before long, the large group entered the offices of the Resembool Station Commander, Ling Yao.

"Ah! Colonel Mustang, good to finally meet the rising star of the Sol-System!" Indeed, Ling had seen news feed on Mustang's courageous exploits, he knew the man jetted on the fast track to which Ling hoped to hitch a ride.

"Likewise, Commander." Succinct and to the point, the Colonel removed his overcoat and handed it to his First Lieutenant, who took the garment and stood silently by his side.

"I hope you don't mind, the rest of my team need to perform their inspection." He motioned to Fury, Havoc, Falman and Breda. Ling nodded and the four turned on their heals and exited. "…First Lieutenant Hawkeye and I came here to interview you…and inquire on my subordinate who arrived here several days ago."

"You mean Major Elric?" Ling's eyes opened wide enough to see the Colonel nod. "Well, there's been an incident involving the young Major…" Ling found it amusing that every monitor in this office broadcast the current chase between the stolen shuttle and his police, yet the Colonel stood there oblivious.

"An incident?" Roy already felt his blood pressure rise.

"Yes. It seems he kidnapped a citizen and stole a spacecraft…the police ships are pursuing him now." Ling thumbed at one of the large monitors.

Mustang and Hawkeye scrutinized the one sided dog fight between the tiny shuttle and the much larger police crafts. Suddenly, a bright green beam of light poured forth from one of the ships and hit the shuttle, causing that craft to stop all forward momentum. The Colonel sighed, realizing that soon Ed would be in custody and there was probably no way he could keep his young subordinate out of the stockade now.

Boom!

A nearly cataclysmic explosion rolled from around the shuttle, pushing the green beam back and hitting the police craft. Instead of the shuttle being towed back toward the station, all the police ships were sent soaring through space, riding a ring of pale green, the remnants of the tractor beam. At the same time, the smaller craft carrying the Elrics and Doctor Rockbell was catapulted forward and into the gravitational pull of the Earth. Out of control, the shuttle spun and drifted out of the sight of the station's sensors.


"Father?" The young man, now sporting a short haircut and wearing better fitting clothing – a pair of brown slacks and white button up shirt, stood outside the Elder's study. "Somethings not right out here."

"What do you mean?" Father noted his child's uncharacteristic nervousness.

"The mud-men, they are all returning!"

"I see." The elder stood from his desk and calmly exited his study, his child right behind him. Indeed, all the "mud-men" or golems he created were congregating one by one in the large open corridor outside. These human-like sculptures of soil and water, mud and clay lumbered from side to side, foot to muddy foot, their blank faces sculpted into the visages of persons long dead. "You've finally finished your work." Father addressed the crowd. "Thank you." He raised both his hands. "Go now, to all corners and guard your hard toil. Bring me any living humans you should encounter…cause them no harm." Without another sound, the mass of living earth turned and retreated into the tunnels and out of sight.

"That was weird." The youth muttered.


He didn't know if his body or the craft still moved through the scant atmosphere of the planet as every iota of sensory info his neurons fed to his brain told him he lay immobile. Ed didn't remember getting back into the safety of his seat and he sure as hell didn't buckle himself back down. A wet, iron-like substance filled his mouth, causing him to gag.

"Blood." He thought and spat it out.

Almost afraid to move, he tested out each of his flesh limbs. Upon finding nothing broken, the young man turned his head to where Alphonse sat just minutes earlier to find the seat empty. He knew right away that his android brother must have pulled him out of harm's way and to the safe haven of his chair. Al did the same thing a week ago which got half of his body blown off. Typical. Edward almost cursed himself for being so weak that his robot had to save him, then he remembered they just crashed.

"Alphonse?" The straps across his chest and between his legs just would not budge, that or his shaking arms just couldn't work the latches properly. The alchemist started noticing his peripheral vision become blurry and and blue. His golden gaze moved toward the instrument panel and flashing lights and text told him right away just why. The artificial atmosphere of the shuttle was slowly decaying, most likely from damage to the life support systems. Edward finally unstrapped the restraints but only had enough energy to slump to the floor. He lost consciousness before his head found the ground.

Instead of inside the shuttle craft on a dying world, Edward Elric found himself walking rolling hills of windswept grass. He felt warm sunlight on his cheeks as the air moved all about him, causing his fringe to sway and swish around his golden eyes. The young man moved rapidly causing the garment he wore, a red coat with long tails to billow and flap in time with the wind and grass. As he rounded a small hill, a structure grew larger and larger as he approached. This solid yellow house shone as brightly as the sun and it beckoned him, compelling him to walk right to the front door, open it and go inside.

"Hey you." A familiar voice carried down the stairwell as a young woman came into his field of vision. She wore canvas coveralls, unzipped to her waist and her feet were cushioned by comfortable looking sandals. "Did you break it so soon?" Her warm expression changed to anger as she approached.

"Huh?"

"The arm? The leg?" She blew out a sigh and closed her blue eyes. "I don't know what you are doing, but I know it's dangerous. Why can't you be more careful!" She lunged at him and all he saw was cornsilk-yellow hair dash across his eyes and throwing his world into total darkness.

"It…It can't be over…not…not like this?" The broken voice bemoaned. "He, he just left us here?"

"You can't see any more, but you know the truth…Father's gone…Sig's gone…" The woman sobbed.

"Ed?" Al's voice wavered. "Does this mean?"

"I'm sorry, son…but, everyone's gone. I failed you both…again."

"No." His heart hurt. Everyone he loved was gone. She was gone. He'd never see the big yellow house with her in it ever again. "No!"

"Edward?"

He slowly opened his eyes to find brilliant blue ones staring down on him. Ed also realized that a clear mask separated him from this beautiful face.

"Breath, dummy." Winry commanded. She thought her kidnapper had died when she found him in a pile by his chair. Instead of panicking, she grabbed two of the environment suits and got into hers quickly, then struggled to get Edward in at least the helmet of his. She was fortunate these were thin carbon cloth and not the old type used for spacewalks ten years ago so once the helmet was in place, the rest went on easily. "Are you still with me?"

"Yeah." He couldn't get the image of the girl in his dream out of his mind. It was Winry Rockbell, that's for sure. But the others, the voices. They all sounded so familiar yet he couldn't quite recognize them. "Must have passed out." He moved to a sitting position then the doctor held out her hand and helped him stand. "Where's Al?"

"I don't know…I blacked out when we crashed too. When I woke up, you were on the floor and all our air was about gone. I nearly didn't make it to the suits in time."

"I've got to find him…we are too close to let something as stupid as a crash stop us now." He turned and squinted his amber eyes at the bright sunlight searing through the forward windshield of the shuttle. "You stay here…I'm sure rescue crews are on their way." Edward ran toward the exit aperture, but encountered torn instrument panels and debris from inside the craft blocking the round hatch. "Can you help?" Winry joined him, helping him move everything out of the way. Red lights upon the round door indicated that the atmosphere in the short tube leading to the secondary hatch contained no breathable air - it has been opened. "He's out there!" Edward opened the thing with a fast twist and scurried into the tube, indeed the outside hatch was wide open. "Hey Alphonse!"

"No you don't!" Winry followed the young man and landed with a thump on the hard sandy floor next to him. "That ship's unstable…you're likely a walking brain injury too if you think you can roam around here and survive!" She didn't quite know why she was going to follow this man, this crazy, kidnapping, horrible pilot and illegal alchemist. But, Winry remembered his face, a face she'd seen in her dreams and that had to mean something. It had to mean she was supposed to know him, supposed to interact with him if she'd dreamed of him. She wondered just why she realized this.

"Al! Alphonse!" Ed paid her no mind, and continued looking for his brother.

"Brother!" A voice carried through the sand and wind.

"This way!" Edward and Winry ran to the source of the voice and soon found the android half buried in sand. "Al! You ok?"

"Fine, the inner door was damaged and I got sucked out of the craft trying to secure the secondary one shortly after we landed…"

"Do you know how far we are off course?" Ed helped Winry scoop sand from the robot and helped him to stand.

"Ed…we're here." Al pointed to the ground. "The center of Amestris…it's right beneath us."

"Amestris?" Winry scrunched her brow. "Why is that familiar?"

"It was an ancient country, the pre-catastrophe historical texts only mention it as the source of the disaster which caused the slow death of this planet." Edward sighed. "It's the reason alchemy was outlawed in the colonies."

"Why? Why come all the way here?" She motioned to the vast dunes of sand.

"We think…no, we know we'll find the way to fix everything…the way to set everything right." Alphonse answered.

"I don't understand!" The wind picked up causing the young woman to raise her voice. "Make what right?" She turned to Al. "You want to bring him back to life?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ed snarled.

"I know that Alphonse Elric died seven years ago!" She couldn't stop the words, they flew from her lips.

"Winry, you're wrong." Alphonse stepped toward her.

"I read the article…Ed lost his arm and leg in the same accident."

"You don't know anything." Edward stepped away, afraid he'd say more than he should.

"I didn't die…Brother did lose his arm. I was dying though and Brother used alchemy to try to save me." He watched the girl's face twist with confusion.

"Only, I couldn't…I didn't…I could only gain his soul for the price I paid." His amber eyes met her blue ones again, this time he truly hoped she'd understand. "I paid for his soul with my leg and the only thing I could do with it was bond it to the robot that was helping us with the crops."

"I'm…" She stuttered, not believing. "What you're telling me is that your brother is really IN the robot?"

"It's true. Sounds impossible, but true." Alphonse answered. "Brother was swooped up by the military when they discovered the runes we used. You see, even though alchemy is outlawed, our army still researches it and even use it to defend the colonies."

"It's just…hard to imagine." She started to speak again when the ground rumbled and shook. "Hey?"

"Earthquake?"

"No! It's the sand, it's moving!"

Before the trio could move an inch from the spot they stood, the ground began to swirl and sand began to pull them down.

"Can you transmute?" Al yelled over the wind.

"Into what? Glass?"

"Just do something!" Winry ordered.

Edward raised his hands to clap but didn't get the opportunity as a wave of sand crashed over him, burying all three.