Across the World I will follow

Chapter 8: Bronze's Den

"TAXI!" Edward Elric yelled out into the void of central waving his hand in the air waiting for a car to pull to the side to give him a ride into the lower city. After a few moments a black car drove in front of him. In the driver's seat was a plump man of about forty in a cabby uniform. He had a long reddish brown beard and he had a slim bowler's hat.

"Where may I take you mister?"

Edward pulled out his watch. "Official Military business my good man, I need you to take me into the lower city." Ed placed his watch back in his black coat and opened the door.

"Why yes so you want me to put it on the Militaries tab right Fullmetal?"

Edward looked up at the mirror to see his face looking back at him and he nodded. Edward sat back and read some of the rumors that had been going on over the past couple of weeks.

A woman apparently now under knowledge as the Moses of the lower city in our records was thought to have entered the city a few weeks ago. Before she arrived there had been many attacks on Military personnel from the other side of town. She had been said to hang around a place called Bronze's Den, a pub in the southeast portion of the lower city. Other than that no records of her appearance and or personality had been recorded.

"Bret, Take me to Bronze's Den." Bret turned to look at him when they were at an intersection.

"Edward I know your one of the best damn Alchemists the Military has to offer, but damn you've got to be insane to go to Bronzes Den."

Edward leans forward and looks him in the eye. "And why is that?"

Bret looks at him with fear in his eye. "That's where all the Alchemists of the lower city hang out, and Bronze he's one tough son of a gun. Rumor has it back in Ishbal he single handedly took out five high ranking Alchemists of the Military one on Five."

Edward scoffs. "I've dealt with worse. Just take me there."

After a few moments Edwards cab arrives in front of a little stone building. Its sign read "BRONZES DEN." "Hey Bret, heres for taking me out here go get yourself something nice." He throws him a small sack.

Bret looks at it and nods. "Thank you Fullmetal." He waves and drives off into the city.

Edward looks up at the buildings around him. Searching to make sure no one was watching him, but he knew the minute he stepped out of the cab he was being watched, and he was pretty sure of it too. He was a military boy after all. Edward slowly walked towards the bar. He opened the door to a loud roaring boom of music and activity. He noticed the crowd was all alchemist oriented. There were transmutation circles drawn all over the place on the ceiling on the floor the tables everywhere. He stepped up to the bar and placed his hand down on the counter. "I'm looking for Bronze." The bartender was a great big black muscular man he stood well above 6ft 7 his arms were huge. He had no shirt on and a pair of Green jeans and a black apron. He was wiping down a glass and he looked up at Edward. "You've found him Edward Elric and if you want me to tell you anything I know." He threw the glass into the air. And quickly punched it and shattered it before it touched the ground. He turned into a fighting stance his fists ready for a fight. On his fists were gloves with two transmutation circles on them. "You have to fight me, THE BRONZE ARM ALCHEMIST!"

"The Bronze Arm Alchemist ey, so you're the famed Hero of Ishbal. The one who turned his back on the Military and fought for the Ishbalan's. Well Prepare to taste FULLMETAL!" Ed jumped forward. Bronze Jumped to the left and tapped the table and it turned into a bronze bullet slamming right into the side of Edward. Ed fell to the ground and jumped up and quickly countered by turning the bronze into a bunch of knives and throwing them rapidly at his foe. One of them caught him right on the corner of his temple. He stopped and looked at him.

"Looks like you've got some skills boy, but you've never had to fight in a war. The first time you kill won't be the last!" He jumped up into the air and yelled and slammed down upon the ground with his fists . He punched the ground quickly knocking small bronze disks out of the ground towards Ed. Ed jumped up and used them as a bridge to get to the alchemist. He did some quite stunning acrobatics jumping from plate to plate across the bar, as the patrons yelled and screamed for the Dog to have his tail cut off.

Edward didn't want to disappoint them on his final leap he slammed his hands on one of the plates and transformed it into a shield. He quickly shifted his wait so that the shield went first and slammed right smack into his skull. The resulting slam created an outrageous roaring sound that erupted through the bar. Silence followed as Fullmetal clapped his hands and created his favorite weapon his arm sword. He stepped forward just a few feet from Bronze. He put his arm out pointing at him with his sword. "Do you give up Bronze ARM!"

Then hysterical laughter erupted from the figure in front of him. He began to stand. "Never I will defy the Military till my dying day, and if this is my day then I'm glad I'll be falling to a worthy opponent such as you. If you were back in Ishbal I believe things could've been differently. You don't seem to be a boy who follows the leash wherever it is tugged. You seem to be a rebellious young one. You aren't to pleased to work for the state are you. What's keeping you tied to them Elric?" Edward and Bronze Stared at each other for a few moments.

"I made a promise to two people very important to me. One is my brother and the other was my love, and now I must use my gateways within the military to find her. I won't stop at nothing till I find her and tell her how I really feel. NOT EVEN YOU!" Edward quickly jumps forward and slams his left fist into his face. Bronze is knocked backwards slamming through the patrons and through the southern wall. Screams are heard outside from the passerby's that were walking in front of the pub. Edward stepped over the rubble and looked at the near lifeless bulk of the Bronze Arm Alchemist. He stepped over him and looked down. "Are you ready yet Bronze Arm."

"I admire your talent, and your determination." Edward looked him in the eye but didn't notice the movement of his hands as he drew out a transmutation circle. "But! YOU STILL HAVE A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT USING ALCHEMY IN BATTLE!" Bronze quickly slammed his hand down upon the circle. The plot of Earth Bronze had been standing on rose from the surrounding concrete plain. It reached up into the sky, and then more and more rose up around it at different space intervals and different heights the largest being the about 25ft by 40ft pillar that bronze was standing. "COME ON FULLMETAL! AFRAID OF SOMETHING THAT IS MUCH BIGGER THAN YOU!"

Ed was just about to walk away and give up on this mad man when that comment came down to him. Ed looked stunned like someone had punched him in the face. He turned and looked up at the tallest pillar. "NO," Ed clapped his hands together and made his arm return to its normal form. ",ONE!" He then clapped his hands on the ground and the earth rose below him to a good level to begin jumping towards the main pillar. "CALLS ME SMALL!" Ed jumps from the first pillar running like a wild demon across the pillars. The second he jumped from there bronze daggers began flying through the air at Fullmetal. Edward jumped with great ease dodging the many attacks and attempts to harm him.

Edward jumps up and finally reaches the final pillar. He puts his foot out in front of him as bronze prepares another attack but instead he gets a foot direct to the face. A loud crack sounds as Edward breaks the mans nose. Ed falls to the ground and looks at Bronze holding his nose and stands up limping to his feet. "Well Fullmetal, I underestimated you. You really do have talent for the art. Now I guess you want to know about Betty."

"Betty, is that the girl who stopped all the rebellions here in Central?"

Bronze stood there and nodded. "Yes Betty was a great girl. She was young she came from somewhere out in the prairies. One day I was walking out here in the cold rain a few weeks back and I saw this girl walking the streets in tattered clothing. She looked like she had traveled a long way. I went up to her and said do you need help. She turned around and looked at me and then she collapsed to the ground. I ran to her and picked her up and brought her back to the pub. I helped her recover for the first few days. Then she started working here and well She ran off not awhile ago to the South. She said she was heading to Ishbal, but I don't know exactly where. She ran off without another word. Now Fullmetal."

He stood up completely straight to his full height. "Now that you know what you've come here to find out." He stepped backward. "I have but one favor to ask you Fullmetal and one thing to tell you." He stands at the edge of the pillar. "Tell her I wish her luck in her life to come, and I am proud to fall at the hand of such a skilled alchemist such as yourself." He then jumped backward off the pillar. He fell from it and slammed into the ground. By that time the Military had arrived and began clean up of the scene. Ed walked to the bar and fixed the wall. He looked at the body of the now Deceased Bronze Arm Alchemist. "It was a great battle Bronze, One that I'll never forget." He then turned away from the battle field. Which surprisingly they did not return to normal. The next day a funeral was held for him. He was buried in the middle pillar.

Edward walked towards the station and entered its busy network. He showed his papers to the conductor and was given a private train car. Edward Elric Then sat back and got some rest preparing for the road to come.

"Mustang, Ed has done well, The road is going forward just as we planned."

Roy mustang looked at the violet clad woman. "You are correct. Everything is coming together nicely. The fuehrer doesn't know what is coming to him. If this war begins not only will there be 2 sides there will be three. The military has always had its factions inside, and this time. This country will be better off. I will be able to keep my promise I made to Hughes. I will become Fuehrer and then everything will be changed."

Edward drifted away into slumber as the train pulled out of the station. On its way to Hiessgart. His dreams drifting on to Winry and once more to what he was going to have to do, if war did come.