Chapter 19: Final Front

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or the characters.

Ed paced around the smooth wooden floor of his private quarters as he felt a sudden breeze on the back of his neck from the window that he forgot he left open a few days ago. The rain from outside was getting in, spraying the desk and the papers on it with cold water, but most of the papers were unfinished theories on what Dante was planning from the splintered information retrieved from the complex. It had been twenty days since they had escaped the complex with the help of Sean, who, ironically, captured by the same people that he had saved them from. He felt a pain of guilt that he had not trusted Sean when he should have. That night was another one of the frequently occurring nights where he would just start writing things down that he would put through so many levels of speculation that he would become enraged by this and would destroy some random object of furniture, much to the annoyance of Winry and Alphonse, who sharing the hotel with him. It was a small hotel that was used when officers wanted to be able to be on standby and wanted to be inconspicuous. The innkeeper of the hotel was a small fellow who would be moving around the hotel, cleaning and fixing things around the hotel. It was like visiting a forgotten relative.

"Could you please stop doing that," asked Winry as she kept up with writing the schematics to an automail arm that she was thinking about entering into the automail mechanic competition if there was still one when it was all over.

"I'm just trying to think if I there is a possibility that I haven't been seeing," replied Edward as he continued to pace around the room, still in his full uniform despite the fact that it was almost midnight. "There has to be something that I haven't seen or something that must have been overlooked, something that could tell me where Dante has Sean locked up at."

"Ed, everyone is on this as well and they haven't been able to come up with anything," said Winry as she walked up to Ed and pushed him back into a chair so that he could relax for once and maybe fall asleep while he was at it. "They won't flat out kill Sean, he is too great a mercenary for them to do that and Dante doesn't have the Philosopher's stone so we can easily assume that she is almost running out of time and will try to gain as many lives as she can."

"But there haven't been that many deaths so far and we have yet to find a massive installation of bodies in our military fort system," said Ed as he put his hand to forehead in a bit of annoyance, but he still wished to try and go over it in his mind. "All Ishvalan camps have been put under surveillance and if anyone has been trying to do such a thing we would have easily linked it back to Dante."

"Ed, it wasn't your fault that Sean was captured, I know he doesn't blame you for anything," said Winry softly as she stared into his eyes and noticed how close their faces were to each other. They were close enough to feel each other's hot breath on their lips. "You will find him and rescue him, that you can always count on."

"Sometimes I really doubt that I can do such a thing," said Ed as he got up out of his seat and went to go down to the kitchen where he would get another cup of coffee, but Winry stopped him from moving another inch. "Winry, please there is something that I have to do."

"There…is…also something that….I must do," said Winry a bit nervously as the makings of a blush spread across her face and then she did something she hadn't intended to do, but she heard Sean's words in her head. She let him know how he felt. She pressed her lips against his own lips not really knowing what to do but just moving on instinct.

"Winry, what were you doing," asked Ed as he pulled away from it and he could see that Winry had her eyes shut as if she was straining herself from saying something.

"Like you don't know that I love you," shouted Winry before she ran out of the room leaving Ed standing there, a bit dazed from the events that had just taken place, but still having a bit of consciousness.

"Winry, wait a second," called Ed as he ran after her and jumped down the stairs to stop her from leaving the hotel, his heavy boots making a slight indent into the pavement.

"What is it that you want," asked Winry as she turned to him with tears streaming down from her eyes and sobbing a bit. "I love you, but you're so caught up in everything else that you wouldn't even bother to realize me, just like Sean said, but I guess he was wrong about you listening when I told you the truth!"

"Winry, how long have you felt this way," asked Ed as he looked down a bit in shame at the realization that he had reflexively pushed Winry away because he knew it would leave him vulnerable, a thing that he never wished to be.

"Ever since we were little kids I had a crush on you and over the years I began to admire you for your strength until I finally realized that I love you," replied Winry as she held her head in her hands at to stop the tears from flowing out all over the floor.

"You know I always did have a crush on you when we were kids as well, even though I tried to hide it," said Ed slowly as he walked towards her and lifted her chin up with his hand. "I've always had something after another that I just dive into to stop myself from realizing that I was in love with you as well. I'm sorry for being a stubborn ass, if you don't mind, could you forgive me?"

"Yes, I can always forgive you," said Winry with a smile as she kissed him on the lips again and she felt him return the kiss with a passion. They were interrupted from having a second kiss as there was a slight coughing noise and the couple turned to see Roy sitting in a chair with Riza right next to him.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting something," said Roy as he gave a slight smirk that only Ed caught as he looked at him. "If you wish we can go get the priest if you two wish."

"Well thanks, but I think it would be a long time for us waiting for you to be done with him General Roy," said Ed as he tried to regain his cool, but it was a bit hard when Roy and Riza were both chuckling in his face.

"Actually its Fuhrer now, I'm being confirmed later, but right now I am in control of every military officer," said Roy as he sat back in his chair and motioned for Riza to hand Ed a folder filled with maps. "We have managed to get a fix on his tracking device and are now looking into a plan to lead a rescue mission into the complex and the capture or kill of Dante and Guile. I figured that you might want to go along with the group I'm sending in since he is your friend after all."

"So when exactly are we going," asked Ed as he looked at the paper and he got this look of shock that was from a discovery that Roy's analysis team must have missed. "This is the same markings to try and make a Philosopher's stone!"

"What would be the use of that, she can't possible have the right amount of lives to form that," asked Roy as he took the picture out of Ed's hands and looked at it.

"We don't know that she lacks the lives, we only assumed because we haven't found any evidence to suggest such a thing," replied Ed as he started getting his coat. "Dante may want to take another body or do so many other things with the stone, but regardless of what she has planned we must stop her for good."

"Right I will have my team ready to go in five hours and would like you to accompany it," said Roy as he picked up the phone and started making the necessary calls for such an operation with Ed and Alphonse, who was a bit grumpy from being woken up, getting ready to go. "Okay, there is a team already in there to help with sabotage led by Iristeis! You'll be going in with Breda and Havoc as your second in commands and you will also be given a radio man to call in any reinforcements!"

"Understood," said Ed as he walked towards the door before turning to Winry and added, "We'll talk more about this later."

"Have a safe drive, Riza," called Roy as he started to call for another driver to his office building, turning to see the affectionate smile that Riza gave him before she drove off.

"You know it seems like that car behind us has been following for a while," said Ed as he looked in the rearview mirror of the car and started to notice that their speed had increased since the last ten minutes.

"I've been aware of that for some time now, Ed," said Riza as she tried to swerve a bit more between cars, but at the middle of the night there were only three other cars on the road, not enough to lose another car that was doing the same speed.

"I think that person is signaling to us," said Al as he pointed in the rearview mirror at the person who was pointing in a certain direction. "Do you think we should go along with them or should we act like we don't see it?"

"It's Vashov," exclaimed Riza as she recognized the face under the shadow of the fedora and then decided to turn in the direction he was pointing at, causing both Elric brothers to hit the windows on their side. "Buckle up you two; it's dangerous for you to not have some form of safety harness."

"We did have them on," replied both of them while holding their cheeks and they only got out when she stopped the car.

"Okay Vashov, what news do you have to give after going into hiding for twenty days," asked Riza as she sat against the car with her hand close to her gun holster.

"Roy is taking their bait and I wanted to help him off the hook," replied Vashov as he got out of the car, his military uniform still the same color of red. "Sean isn't being held there and the mark is just a bluff."

"Then where are they," asked Riza in frustration and she was answered by a large explosion off in the distance.

"They are here right now," replied Vashov.