Title: The Heart of Everything: The Song of the Forge Volume 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Summary: When whispers of a Rebellion sweeps across Amestris and a failed assassination reveals a terrifying plot against the State, Brigadier-General Edward Elric and Colonel Alphonse Elric are dispatched with orders to stop the rebels at all costs. The only problem is that the rebels have traveled twelve years into the past.

Chapter 8

The past was silent for the longest time. The most excitement took place when the State Alchemist Killer appeared in a remote village in the East. Basque Gran was killed, and Edward and Tim Marco came close more than once. It was a massive surprise to more than one person when a motorized vehicle on two wheels, ridden by a figure in black leather pants with military boots and the military uniform jacket with a familiar red duster with a flamel emblazoned on it in black, his head encased in a helmet roared past the military vehicle Roy was in, and into the city that Scar had chased the Fullmetal and Crystal Alchemists into.

"What was that?" Jean Havoc spluttered as he recognized the jacket.

Roy blinked. "What kind of vehicle is that?!" he wondered, "It doesn't look very safe to me…"

Riza Hawkeye frowned, "I'm more concerned about the speed he's going at in this rain. I'm surprised Edward hasn't crashed yet. Two wheels can't possibly provide adequate traction in such wet conditions."

~*~

Hughes and Mustang were in the backseat of a military car being driven by Hawkeye.

"When I allowed Fullmetal to requisition one of the prototype motorcycles, I didn't think he'd be taking it out in the rain with the intention of going after Scar," Mustang muttered darkly.

"Aww," Hughes grinned, "You're going all protective again, Roy."

"Shut up, Hughes," the Lieutenant General growled, "You know I care for all of my men."

"Not like with Ed," Hughes sighed, "You don't get possessive with Hawkeye or Havoc or Armstrong or even me like you do with Ed. Hell, Roy, you don't even get possessive when Elysia and Al get in trouble, and we all know you care about them also."

"Ed's one of our best alchemists…"

"Denial~!" Hughes sang, "Tell him, Hawkeye!"

"Sir, I agree with the Major General," Hawkeye said, "From the very beginning, you never could think logically where Edward was concerned."

"And the two of you are here also."

"Someone needs to be your logic," Hughes said, "And it's been raining."

"You're useless in the rain, sir," Hawkeye agreed.

"Ganging up on me again," Mustang sighed, "Fullmetal would be so pleased."

~*~

"This is so surreal," Edward murmured as he pulled off his helmet and watched as his younger self ran past, dragging Tim Marco along and Al clanking behind them. "Honestly, this was not what I was expecting when I agreed to investigate rumors of the rebels' presence out here. Geez…" He quickly clapped and pressed his hands to the ground, forming a wall to block off the back of the alley to hide the vehicle and strode off following the sounds of metal clanking. He stepped off a curb, and immediately leapt back to avoid being hit by an obviously military car.

"Geez, Hawkeye!" the Brigadier General roared as the window was rolled down and he recognized the driver, "I thought Havoc was supposed to be the reckless driver of the pair of you!"

"Sorry sir!" Hawkeye seemed flustered.

"Gate above," Edward groused, "No more trying to kill me! I have more than enough people out for my blood, most of whom are Drachman!" He shook his head then asked with a wry quirk of his lips, "Let me guess, Gran's dead, Marco's missing, Ed and Al are in the vicinity and Scar's on the loose?" Three sets of confused and surprised eyes blinked at him and Edward grinned as he pointed down the street, "Keep going as you were. You'll run into Scar soon enough." He fished out his watch and flipped it open, glancing at the time and added as he put the timepiece away, "Armstrong should be pulling Ed and Al to safety right about now, so if you keep going, you should have the chance to make a fool of yourself, Must-Holy shit!"

"Ed!"

Edward ducked and felt the air shift as a bullet passed over his head and hit the wall behind him. "Dammit!" he growled, pressing himself against the side of car as he pulled his sidearm out and checked it over, "Why does this always happen to me?! It's not like I run around destroying cities anymore! I'm the one signing papers now!"

"Because you're a magnet for trouble?" Jean laughed as he scuttled out of the car to crouch beside Edward.

"Tell you what," Edward growled, "Havoc and I go down that way," he pointed toward an alley not too far away, "And while the enemy tries to shoot us in the back, Hawkeye, you get the Colonel out of here!"

"Um, Boss?" Havoc said, "Not a good idea…" He pointed at the gaggle of poorly hidden people toting guns in said alley.

"Che," Edward tossed his head, "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist. Do you doubt my ability to keep you alive?"

"Not in the least Edward," Hawkeye pulled the door shut and started up the car.

"On three!" Edward called, gathering his feet beneath him, Havoc doing the same beside him. "Three!"

Before Hawkeye had completely gunned the engine, Edward and Havoc were running for the alley, guns blazing. Roy chanced a look back as the tires squealed an the car roared away, and felt his heart clench to see the back of that familiar red coat and long braid racing headlong into danger.

"He'll be fine, sir," Hawkeye said, voice tense as bullets pinged off the metal of the car, "Havoc is with him, and Edward, the Brigadier General, that is, has a point. You're too important to the future to loose."

Roy sat back, muscles tense and ready to duck if necessary. "I don't feel important."

"But Brigadier General Elric thinks you are," Hawkeye said, "I had a talk with his aide, Lieutenant Clyne. She said that Edward believed that you were important enough to take five bullets for you over the course of three years, and the fifth was the only one you knew about."

"But he hates me…"

Hawkeye twisted the wheel hard, and once the car straightened, she snarled, "Edward doesn't hate you, sir! If you would only stop picking on him for a bit, you would see that he respects and looks up to you! And if Edward Elric hates you, Colonel, then why, in the future, would Edward emulate you in almost every way? Why would he refuse to be promoted unless you were? Why would he stay in the military under the condition that he remains under your command long after his childhood goals have been achieved? Why would he take five bullets in three years for you? He will save your life no less than six times in Drachma and nearly die each time from the effort! You are important, sir, and Edward knows it!"

Silence reigned in the car, and Mustang cocked his head after a few minutes. "I think they've stopped shooting at us."

Hawkeye frowned concentrating and nodded, slowing the car. "True."

~*~

"How the hell did this place turn into a warzone?!" Havoc yelled.

"Very easily," Eward grunted as he ducked under a gun, pressed the muzzle of his own sidearm under the gunman's chin and pulled the trigger, and in the same moment lashed out with his automail blade, drawing it easily across and through a man's torso, while simultaneously shifting and firing his sidearm into the face of a man attempting to sneak up behind him with a knife.

Havoc had ducked behind a trashcan, and was shooting around his makeshift cover, and as he stopped to reload, he stared at the older version of the youngest member of their team. This version of the Fullmetal killed so easily. Ed, the Ed he'd known for the past four years, had always gone out of his way to take his opponents alive, even when they wanted him dead, but this older Edward… He kicked a body off his blade, and sliced through another man's throat in the same motion while his gun discharged with frightening accuracy into heads and hearts with little more than a brief glance, usually without even looking! Havoc's heart clenched. This wasn't right. He didn't want this. Not for Ed. Ed shouldn't have to learn how to kill. He shouldn't be able to kill with such frightening ease. Ed shouldn't be a Brigadier General at his age. He should be back in Risembool, with Al, going on dates or free lancing as a civilian alchemist. Certainly not… not this…

"Havoc?"

The blonde lieutenant jerked, and an automail arm knocked the gun away from a pale face framed by golden hair.

"Ah! Sorry Ed!"

"Geez, Havoc! Watch it! What the hell were you thinking about so hard anyway?"

Havoc shivered and looked away from the surreal picture of a taller, leaner, colder Edward Elric, clothing slightly rumpled from the fight and splattered in blood and gore, but straight backed, careless, proud and commanding in a way only high ranking military officers could manage.

"Nothing Boss," Havoc said as tawny eyes narrowed and weight was shifted in a way that was reminiscent of the Flame Alchemist when he knew his staff was lying to him, "Just thinking how like Chief you've grown to become."

Tawny eyes gentled. "If you go on about how Mustang's not the best of role models," Edward said quietly, "I'll shoot you. I get enough of that from your future. Now get up Lieutenant, and let's see if we can't catch up with Lieutenant Hawkeye and the Colonel."

Havoc took the proffered white gloved hand, and found himself hauled to his feet by the diminutive Brigadier General, and they took off running down the street.

~*~

Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang surveyed the carnage within the alley, noting small telltale signs of who had been there. "What the hell happened?" he wondered.

"Looks like someone took cover behind a trashcan and fired from there," Major General Maes Hughes said. "And most of this looks like Ed's work."

"Looks like Fullmetal was on the right track then," Mustang murmured.

"But knowing Ed," Hughes replied, "He probably wasn't here just to investigate the PPP and the PA's presence. Remember what else happened out here?"

"Scar," Mustang's eyes widened, "Shit! That little pain in the ass!" He spun around and ran for the car.

~*~

Major Edward Elric, at sixteen years old had always known the dangers of being a military dog, and only recently had those dangers really slapped him in the face in the form of an invasion from the future, leading to his older self setting up shop in Eastern Headquarters and coming and going with troops in and out of the Command Building at all hours of the day and the night, much to the chagrin of more than one janitor and late night patrol. Of course, he'd never come across his older self dropping a cadaver to the floor and very calmly wiping blood off his automail before either.

"Ah… Brigadier General?"

Tawny eyes swept over them, "Oh, Edward and Alphonse," the Brigadier General said in a tone akin to one used when discussing the weather, "Good evening."

Tim Marco stared between the two blondes, shocked by the similarities between them. The Brigadier General smirked in a very disconcerting way and said lightly, "So this is the Crystal Alchemist, hmm?" and stepped toward the three alchemists and to the haggard man's concern, Ed and Al stepped aside to let the older blonde pass.

"I've heard a lot about your research…" the Brigadier General purred, eyes gleaming darkly. "I would be most interested to learn more about the refining process for the explosive crystal that was used in the later days of Ishbal… We never did get your report on the subject after all…"

Tim Marco swallowed hard and tried not to sigh in relief when the blonde turned to the two children. "And Edward, I hope you are taking Major Havoc's lessons to heart?"

Ed nodded and shifted his black jacket to reveal the gun holstered at his side. Edward nodded in approval. "Don't hesitate to use it," the General said, "Even if it means taking a life at point blank range, your life is precious to the future. Remember it."

Ed smiled at his older self, "Hearing it from my future makes me really believe it."

The Brigadier General tilted his head, and tawny eyes slid toward the far side of the street and narrowed. "That's good then," Edward said calmly, "a little reinforcement never hurt anyone. But for now, it would be best to hurry. You'll meet with Mustang soon enough. Lieutenant Havoc, kindly escort the boys and their… target… to safety."

Havoc stepped gingerly out of the shadows, normally clear eyes haunted as they lit upon the two teens and their target, then flitting over to Edward's older self.

"And you, sir?" he asked.

"You know better than to ask that," Edward said with a distant smile.

Havoc nodded, "Very well. Let's go, Ed."

The four had not gotten very far when an explosion attracted their attention, and Ed looked back in time to see his older self vault over Scar's head, gun in hand, automail blade scoring a line across the Ishbalan's face, missing his right eye by a hairs breadth. His breath caught as his older self used the Ishbalan's outstretched, arrayed arm as a lever by which Scar was thrown quickly away from the group.

"Don't look back, kid!" Havoc cried, grabbing Ed's arm and dragging him away. "Keep running, Boss!"

~*~

And run they did, until they were nearly run over by a military car being driven by Colonel Hawkeye.

"Shit!" Havoc cursed as he pulled Ed out of the way of the car, "Jeez! What's with you and nearly getting run over by Hawkeye? This is the second time she's nearly killed you today!"

The window rolled down, "Where's Fullmetal?" Lieutenant Colonel Mustang demanded.

"That way," Al pointed as the door swung open. "The Brigadier General…"

"Is fighting Scar," Mustang grunted, "I know," and then he was disappearing into the distance, Hughes close behind him.

~*~

Edward smirked indulgently as the Ishbalan raged in his general direction once more. This was the enemy that he and Alphonse had taken so seriously in their childhoods? No, he quickly shook the arrogant thought away. That was the sort of thinking that had gotten Basque Gran killed. Scar was a man, a misguided and angry man, yes, but a man nevertheless, and it was the fact that he was sure of the justice in his actions and fierce in the anger he held close to his heart that made Scar dangerous to begin with. And dangerous men were always dangerous, no matter what the circumstance of the meeting was under; especially so if you had just saved your sixteen year old counterpart from said dangerous man.

Oh dear. That sounded so strange!

"You…" Scar snarled, "How could you! Your brother is but a child!"

Edward blinked as the Ishbalan's voice suddenly penetrated his thoughts. Ah?

"I beg your pardon?" he muttered, "Edward is no child. Has not been since his mother died."

"That is not a passable reason to throw a child into the kennels!"

"Kennels?" Edward nearly tripped at the strangely appropriate term to denote the military headquarters and found himself pressed against a wall, Scar's unarrayed forearm pressed against his throat.

"I should kill you before you lead that child any farther into darkness."

Edward gasped as the pressure on his windpipe increased, and his fingers scrabbled for his sidearm, belatedly realizing that the way he was pinned meant that he wouldn't be able to reach the holster, any of them, and he couldn't transmute because his automail was in a blade form, and he'd have to reach around Scar…

"Get your hands off of him!" a voice roared and Edward's eyes snapped toward the entrance of the alleyway as the familiar snap and crackle of Mustang's alchemy lit the air in waves of gold, red and ochre even as a Scar jerked in pain and surprise, a push knife embedded in his shoulder.

He slammed his automail foot upwards, shoving the man away from him, and staggered to the side, into Hughes, who pulled him way quickly even as Mustang advanced on the State Alchemist Killer, his face a dark mask of fury.

~*~

Lieutenant General Roy Mustang had never been so furious as when he'd seen Edward stumble and get pinned by Scar. Hell, he'd never felt as if he was on the verge of loosing something precious, not even the time Maes had spent unconscious had done this to him. The closest he could place this sinking sensation coupled with a fierce protective rage was when Ed had gone missing, only to return a eighteen months later, bloody, battered, and oh, so horribly broken in body and spirit, unable to speak for grief and horror of what he'd seen. By the infernal Gate he never wanted to feel that way again, never wanted Edward in such a position again, but Edward… The Fullmetal seemed determined to kill him by tearing his heart out, by throwing himself into situations that could get him killed. It was a thought that he found unendurable, because dammit! Maes was right, he didn't just care about Ed; he cared for him, in a less than parental and in more than a purely platonic fashion.

He rasped his fingers together, only distantly aware that he was shouting, "Get your hands off of him!"

~*~

Edward slumped in Hughes' arms, wondering dizzily at his luck. Wow.

"Why is it that one or another of you always shows up in time to save my bacon?" he wondered groggily.

"Because you're an idiot, Ed," Hughes' voice was thick with relief. "Don't you ever get tired of getting into trouble all the time?"

"It's not like I go looking for trouble!" Edward protested, the quick surge of indignation was more than enough to chase away the haze of lethargy.

There was a low rumble and the two officers looked up as Mustang snapped again, and Scar bolted out of the alley as Mustang sent several explosions in succession after him.

"Ah! And he complains about my causing damage during fights!" Edward sighed as the dust settled to reveal several large craters in the ground. He stood up shakily and sighed in irritation as he realized that his ankle had gotten twisted when he'd stumbled earlier. "Oh, great. Just what I needed to make a magnificent day even better."

"Well, at least you're alive, right?" Hughes asked as he braced Edward's injured side, allowing the Brigadier General to limp along under his own power. "And Hawkeye's with the car not too far away from here, so everything will be just fine!"

"That makes me feel so much better," Edward muttered sarcastically.

~*~

Both groups, present and future met up at the Headquarters, and both versions of the Fullmetal Alchemist exchanged bemused looks as soon as they realized that this was the first time that both versions of the entire group, with the exception of Alphonse, had been in the same place at the same time.

~*~

TBC…