Okay, I know I left you in the brink of suspense and insanity, so I'll continue just for you guys, okay?

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I do own Kararu Rinamino, and Spirit of Thunder owns Shikou Stone, I'm just borrowing.

All's Fair in Love and War

Chapter 5

"No…she wouldn't go there…would she?" Shikou asked in disbelief, taking the binoculars to see for herself. "It is her…but why?" Shikou asked.

"Let me see again." Ed said, taking the binoculars back. He looked at Kararu again. "That isn't the Kararu I know…her eyes are different…see for yourself." He said, holding them out for Mustang to take.

He took them, then looked at Kararu, nodding. "You're right…her eyes look like their soulless…and that definitely isn't what she was wearing when she disappeared…" He said.

"It isn't?" Ed asked, taking them back. He looked again, nodding as he saw her outfit. "Yeah…I've never seen her wear that before…and I've never seen her wear jewelry, either." Ed said. "She's always worn crimson and black, but I've never seen her wearing a leather shirt, or loose black pants with chains, and then…the silver bracelets and earrings she's wearing…and that crimson stone with the silver chain…never seen it. And it's not a Philosopher's Stone."

"I know…" Mustang said, looking at her outfit again. "But, we need to worry more about what we're going to do…we have to fight these things, and there are rebel's mixed in with the armor…"

"All right…I think that we should take down the rebels, and-" Hawkeye said, but Al interrupted her.

"I have a suggestion. I can transmute my soul into any armors that come near, and we can use them for our side." He said.

"All right, let's do that." Mustang said. "Now, you were saying, Hawkeye?" He asked.

"Yes, I was thinking that we should take down the rebels, and then go after the armors that Al hasn't gotten to yet." She suggested.

"I think that would be our best course of action for the moment. No one shoots Kararu or harms her in any way, got it?" He ordered.

"Yes sir!" They all said.

"And now you," He said, turning to Shikou, "I have something to say to you."

"And that would be-" Shikou said, but was interrupted when he pulled her close in a kiss. She almost melted at the touch, then when he pulled away a few minutes later she stared at him dazedly.

"Shikou Stone, I love you, and I always will. I wanted you to know that." Mustang said with a smile.

"And I love you too…" Shikou said, out of breath from the sudden kiss. "To hell with this!" She said, pulling out a gun to cock it with one hand and holding out a series of ninja stars in the other. "I'm gonna live!"

Mustang smiled softly, pulling her back into another kiss as he pulled on his gloves.

A gunshot was heard from the rebel's ranks, Shikou casually stepping to the side to dodge the bullet.

"That does it!" Mustang yelled. "Let's do this then." He reached forward with both hands and snapped, signaling that the battle had just begun.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Kararu watched everything from her perch on the hill, Dante walking up behind her.

"I see things are going well, my Goddess." Dante said.

Kararu nodded. Her voice now had pitch and emotion, but her eyes were still that same, soulless color.

"They are. But…I can't wait to kick their asses." Kararu said.

"I know…but, for now, my Lady, we should watch what they're doing."

Kararu sighed. "I guess you're right."

Dante walked over to Kararu and knelt down, whispering into her ear, "Create a few bombs. We can use them a little later in the battle to catch them off guard, and we can also use them as a distraction."

Kararu nodded, clapping, and put her hands to the ground.

Dante watched as the ground around her hands disappeared, and bombs appeared instead, the ground beneath it. The reason: equivalent exchange.

"Are these good?" Kararu asked.

"These are perfect."

Dante stepped forward, picking one up. "They're much better quality than the ones we've been using."

"They better be good." Kararu said. "Especially in your eyes."

"They are, my Lady. Do not worry." Dante said, setting the bomb down gently.

"What are we going to do about them?" Kararu asked, pointing to the thirteen behind her.

"We will use them when the time comes. When we call, they will answer. You don't need to worry."

"All right." Kararu said, glaring down at the group who was fighting at the bottom of the hill, seeing a few of the armor suits turn against the others. "Al's using his soul…" She commented, then laughed. "I can use that against him!"

"How?" Dante asked.

"I can use alchemy to…wait, I don't have to tell you. I can just let you watch." Kararu said with an evil grin, then clapped her hands and put them on the ground, beckoning for one to come back. It came at her 'call' and she placed her hands on it, the armor glowing slightly for a moment.

Kararu nodded to it and it walked back to the group, grinning as it made its way back to the front of the line, waiting for Al to transmute his soul into it.

"Now, Alphonse…it's time for you to have some fun." Kararu said with an evil smirk.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"Alphonse, how many times can you do that?" Hughes asked.

"Not many more…" Al said, clapping his gloved hands together again, setting them on a suit of armor. The armor turned around, heading towards the other suits, ready to attack.

"This will be the last one." He said. He clapped his hands and put it on the suit of armor, only instead of opening his eyes to see his outstretched hands on a suit of armor…he opened them to see his body fall to the ground.

"Wha…what's going on!" Al yelled, hearing his voice have a metallic ring to it.

"Al!" Ed yelled, turning to see Al's body laying on the ground. He ran over, yelling, "Mustang, Shikou, cover for me," before reaching Al.

"You got it Edward!" Shikou yelled.

"Al…wake up!" Ed said, shaking Al's shoulders.

The suit of armor looked at Ed. "Brother…I'm in here…" The armor said, looking down at Ed; his voice had a metallic ring.

"Yeah, Al, I know, I have to wake him up…first…" Ed said, then whispered, realizing that he was listening to Al. "Alphonse?" Ed asked, looking up at the suit of armor.

"Brother…I'm in a suit of armor…" Al whispered.

"How!" Ed yelled, looking between Al's body and the suit of armor.

"I don't know, Brother! What am I going to do?" Al asked.

"What happened?" Ed asked.

"I don't know! I was transmuting pieces of my soul into suits of armor, and the next thing I knew, I was in here!" Al said, his voice starting to sound panicked.

"But…but that's impossible! You need a transmutation circle to attach your soul to the armor!" Ed said, starting to panic as well.

"What's going on over here?" Mustang asked as he ran over.

"Well…um…uh…" The suit of armor said.

"Alphonse is unconscious?" Mustang asked, snapping to keep the three from getting attacked.

"Yes!" Ed said.

"But I'm in the armor instead!" Al said, his voice panicked.

"But how is that possible?" Mustang asked.

"Neither of us know!" Ed said.

"I'm scared Brother…" Al said.

"There's no need to worry about it, Al." Mustang said. "I'm sure we'll figure this out." He said, snapping again.

"But…I don't want to be stuck in the armor again!" Al said, his voice choking up.

"Al…it's okay." Ed said, hugging Al's body in his arms. "Please…"

"All…all right…" Al said, his voice sounding like he was about to cry.

"Let's get our minds back on the battle for the moment, if you wouldn't mind! I don't know how much longer I can hold them off of you two!" Mustang said.

"Sorry sir!" Ed and Al both said at the same time.

"Here Ed…put…er…me in here…I'll protect myself, I guess…" The suit of armor said, putting it's hand behind it's head.

"All right." Ed said, then picked Al's unconscious body up. The suit of armor pulled open its chest plate and Ed gently set Al's body in, whispering, "I promise you'll be okay."

"I know Brother." Al said, then the two of them got into a similar fighting stance.

"Let's do it Al!" Ed yelled, then he and Al started to fight against the suits of armor.

"What's wrong?" Hawkeye asked as she managed to make it over near them while offering cover with her multiple guns.

"Al's soul is attached to the armor again!" Ed said, clapping his hands.

"How?" Hawkeye asked.

"Don't ask us! We don't know!" Ed answered.

"This is just perfect…"

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Kararu watched the group, laughing maniacally.

"This is classic!" Kararu said through her laughter.

"What is it, my Lady?" Dante asked.

"I attached Al's soul to the armor." She answered.

"Why?"

"Do I have to explain myself to a mortal?" Kararu asked with a growl.

"No, my Lady."

"Good."

"Use the bombs."

Kararu nodded, lifting one of the bombs. She grinned evilly, then threw the bomb as hard as she could and the group.

"Whoops! My hand slipped!" Kararu said, watching the bomb fall. "And in a minute…BOOM!"

She watched it get closer and closer to the ground. "Have fun!"

XxXxXxXxXxXx

The group had just finished off the rebels that were mixed in with the armor when Shikou shouted.

"INCOMING!"

Everyone scattered, Ed and Mustang hiding behind Al.

An explosion took place a few feet away from the group, rocks and dirt flying everywhere.

When the dust settled, Ed and Mustang were the first people to look around.

"SHIKOU!" Mustang yelled, his eyes widening. He looked around frantically, trying to see her. "WHERE ARE YOU SHIKOU!"

Ed looked around. "She's not here?"

"No!" Mustang yelled, his eyes turning frantic. "Where is she? Where did she go?"

"Mustang, calm down, we'll find her!" Ed said, trying to calm him at least some.

"Damn them!" Mustang yelled, then turned towards the suits of armor. He snapped, the flames turning white from the heat.

Everyone threw themselves to the ground, coughing as a wave of heat came at them.

"Mustang…c-calm down…the flames are t-to hot!" Hughes gasped.

"But…they killed Shikou!" Mustang yelled, his bangs hiding his eyes.

"Mustang, calm down!" Havoc yelled.

Mustang whipped around and was about to yell at Havoc and the others for telling him to calm down during such a situation when he fell flat on his face, screaming his head off.

He looked down to see a hand sticking out of the dirt, holding his boot. His eyes widened as another hand popped out of the ground, digging around. A moment later, Shikou had half unburied herself from under the dirt.

"You…didn't…dig…for…me!" Shikou growled.

"Shikou…I'm sorry!" Mustang said, quickly reaching over to start digging her out with one hand while keeping the suits of armor away with flames with the other.

A minute later, Shikou was out from under the dirt, gasping for air, her clothes covered in a layer of thick earth.

"How'd you get trapped?" Mustang asked.

"I had to push Hughes out of the way…I got buried when the bomb exploded…" Shikou explained.

"This is just great…I know how they have bombs, now…" Mustang said.

"How?"

"One word for you: Kararu."

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Kararu grinned.

"That gave him a scare." Kararu said with a laugh. "Envy!" She yelled.

"Yes?" He asked, coming up behind her to kneel in respect.

"Get a few of these bombs and set them up in…well, you know the area, don't you?"

"Yes, of course my Lady." Envy said.

"Good. Now go." Kararu ordered.

"As you wish, my Lady." Envy said, then he seemed to disappear.

"Well…let's just see how many scares they can actually take." Kararu said with an evil smirk. "I have to torture them before I have my fun, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, have as much fun as you want. Just make sure you don't let them go."

"That is quite right, my Lady." Dante said.

"As soon as you are ready, tell Dante to give the signal. She'll know what to do."

"When I tell you to, give the signal, Dante. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Wonderful." Kararu grinned.

"Sloth, send in the rebels with the bombs I created earlier!" Kararu ordered.

"Right away, my Goddess." Sloth said, then she seemed to disappear as well.

"Soon…torture time will come!"

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"They're numbers are decreasing! We've almost got them!" Mustang called.

"Good! I'm starting to get tired…" Ed said with a sigh as he clapped his hands and 'glued' a suit of armor's feet to the ground, making it immobile.

Just as Shikou destroyed the last suit of armor, a bomb exploded near them.

"Not another bomb raid!" Hughes groaned.

"Shikou, Hawkeye, get back to the Rockbell estate and make sure Winry and Pinako get down into the basement!" Mustang yelled.

"Yes sir!" They said, saluting, then took off away down the hill.

"Watch out for bombs!" Ed yelled after them.

"We will!" The two answered just before they ran out of sight. The group watched as Kararu stood there at the top of the hill, staring down at them. Suddenly, she disappeared, as did the person standing behind her.

Ed sighed. "We'd better get back."He said just as another bomb exploded.

"You're right." Mustang said. "Men, move back to the house!"

The others nodded and ran towards the general direction of the house.

"We're almost there!" Ed yelled. "Just hang on a little longer, Aunt Pinako…Winry…we'll be there soon."

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Kararu watched from the distance.

She turned to Dante and said, "You know what to do, so do it now."

Dante nodded and waved her hand.

"It will be just a moment, my Lady." Dante said with a bow.

"All right." Kararu said. "In a few minutes…BOOM! Away they go!"

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"Let's go!" Hughes yelled back at the others from his spot at the top of the hill, pointing to the house.

"We're coming!" Al yelled. The others made it to where Hughes was standing. They nodded to each other. For the past few minutes, they had been dodging bombs and explosions, and they were almost to safety.

"It looks like Shikou and Hawkeye made it…"

Havoc sighed with relief.

"Aunt Pinako, Winry, we're almost," Ed said, but was interrupted as a bomb exploded ahead of them, "there…NO!"

Ahead of them…the Rockbell residence was in flames.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

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I hope you guys enjoyed it! Sorry for leaving you on another cliffhanger, but this IS a war story, here!

Sorry if the battle scenes in this chapter suck because of the dialog…but I needed to get that information in… (-sweatdrops-)

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