So enough with everyone else's words
It's just a sign that nothing makes sense to me
This is your last chance
I'd cut you just to watch you bleed
It's the only way to make you see that you are never there for me
Last Chance, Cartel

Chapter Five: Peace

I silently turned my lip white from biting it hard before gently placing the phone in the receiver. I tried to breathe through my nose, in vain attempts to calm myself down. It seemed that it didn't get past Roy that I was now slightly disturbed.

"Faythe, who was it?" He asked sternly, I just shook my head. I knew he wouldn't let it go out so easily, but he would wait for the perfect time to ask. That's just how Roy was. His charcoal eyes sent me a strange look as I headed to sit back at the table along with the other subordinates. All the eyes in the office just silently gawked, unsure if my serenity was a caution. My eyes closed for what was longer than standard blink before I had gotten up again. My feet were lead as they scuffled across the floor, lazily dragging them to the mess hall.

"Faythe!" I heard light footsteps catching up to me, greeted by the sight of Lt. Hawkeye. She sucked in a breath before staring intently at me. "What's going on?" She begged quietly, the floor suddenly becoming the point of interest. I let out a sigh before grabbing her hand to follow my lead.

"If you can keep a secret," I pulled the two of us toward the mess hall. "Then I'll let you in." Shock seemed to run through her, I could feel it in the grasp of her hand. Yet I paid no attention to it. We grabbed an empty table, the two of us sitting side by side. I looked down sadly before staring her directly into her golden brown eyes.

"Do you know where I was?" The hostility in my voice was hard to suppress. Slowly, Riza shook her head, unsure of the direction this conversation was going.

"Havoc was only able to tell us that you were attacked, but didn't identify the attacker." Again, I gnawed at my lip silently before looking at the floor.

"…Zolf J. Kimbley." I murmured, my voice was barely audible. She grasped my shoulder harshly, making me look at her in surprise. She seemed angry, but I knew better. If anything, Hawkeye was just overly concerned. She asked me to repeat my attackers name, I gave her the same flat answer.

"Faythe, that's impossible. He was supposed to die years ago." I growled before tugging my shoulder from her firm grasp.

"Well apparently, the executioners are failing to perform their jobs!" People had stared at my fleeting figure, I ran from the scene. I could sense that Riza made no motion to even catch up to me.

"Faythe, go home." I looked to Roy, my emerald hued orbs clouded with confusion. He only nodded. "Whatever happened earlier, obviously had an effect on you." I only nodded, knowing that there was no possible way for Roy to be wrong.

"I'll take her home." Havoc offered, and Roy hadn't contradicted it. He came up beside me and casually wrapped an arm around my waist. No one bothered to ask, it seems they all knew. The walk and drive had been silent, but not uncomforting. I guess everyone knew that something was wrong. He walked me to my front door and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I'll call you later. Take care of yourself, alright?" I nodded before hugging him amorously. I murmured a goodbye before pulling out a house key from my purse and let myself inside. Caden, who was sitting at the couch while watching TV, made a mad dash towards me. He fired multiple questions at once, it was a mystery as to how he was even able to release it all in one breath. My hands shot to his shoulders, ordering him to breathe. I shot him a small, rueful smile before angling my head down slightly, my eyes matching his slightly deluded emerald eyes.

"You need to relax, Caden." Before shutting his eyes, he let in a breath, opening his eyes when he released it.

"What are you doing home so early?" He murmured almost painfully, the boyish pose on his face not passing off unnoticed. I spotted a random object on the floor, hoping to hold my not existent interest on it. With a sigh rolling off my lips, I slowly answered with how I received an 'anonymous' call during work. He was shocked, almost scared, although I wasn't.

"How can you be so calm about this?" He demanded as I had already began to prepare dinner. I shrugged while his attention was on my face, searching for any sort of emotion, while mine was on my hands at work.

"I'm not exactly sure." I grumbled, still avoiding his Peridot-like gaze. He muttered something beneath his breath before heading back to the family room to continue watching television.

Months had passed, and the anticipation from my next capture had gone to waste. The grimace on my face could not be any more clear, considering how late it had been. With five minutes to midnight on the clock, I still had quite a hefty stack on my hands. Stupid Roy, dumping his old paperwork on me. No he didn't order all of his underlings, just me. Asshole. Not only that, he didn't even let me transfer with him! With an excessively audible groan, I stood from the same chair I had been in for the past three hours, stretching my clenched muscles. I decided a break would be a good idea for now. Grabbing my purse from the seat beside me, I exited Roy's office and locked the door.

I had a bad feeling in my veins.

After making myself a cup of coffee from the mess hall, I just sat at one of the elongated tables, having no desire to return to work. A small gasp escaped my lips as I could hear my name being called.

"Ms. Chevalier, phone for you." The secretary poked her head in. I nodded to her, listening as my chair scraped across the tile. My boots drug along the floor, a look of impatience crossing the secretary's face.

"Holy Alchemist speaking."

Rumblerumblerumble. Silence.

"Soon." My forest hued orbs just rolled in their place. She had been receiving way too many calls like this. They were becoming absolutely pathetic. Again, the phone rang the moment I returned it to receiver. I looked at the secretary, expecting her to answer it. It was her job after all.

"Hello?" She pulled the phone away, catching a few bits of the frantic sentence. "Yes sir." She looked at me. "For you." Again, my delicate fingers grabbed the metallic invention, placing it to my ear.

"Holy Alch-"

"Faythe, I need you to contact Roy immediately." I looked oddly at nothing in particular.

"Hughes?"

"Yes, yes! I need you to relay a message to him. Tell him the Fuhrer's secretary, she's a-" There were hushed sounds of a mixture of gurgling and gushing. On the other end, I could hear a feminine chuckling that I knew sounded all too familiar.

"Hughes? Maes? Maes?" With frustration, I slammed the phone into the receiver before looking to the secretary, a frightened look feigning on her pale face. "Trace that call back to the location!" I demanded, she looked even more afraid and frail.

"I'm sorry sir, the call came from an unsecured line." I growled in frustration, dashing out of Central Headquarters. Where could he have possibly relayed that call from? It took me more than a standard moment until I was able to detect a faint scent despite it was only a waft. What was it? It smelt like something had been rotting. It wasn't strong, so it must have been fresh.

"O-oh my goodness." The sloshing beneath my feet had collided with the scent, disrupting my train of though. I took a quick glance around, noticing a nearby payphone. So this is where he called from. I was able to notice the extreme gash on his neck, blood still leaking and piling around his head. Falling to my knees, my arms folded over his body. My eyes closed for a bit longer than a standard blink, a tear forming in the pit of my eye. "Oh Maes…" His body still had a warmth to it, the kill had been fresh. It hadn't taken long for more military officers to arrive at the crime scene, although none were to go against my crying figure.

"Faythe…" The voice was unmistakable, I looked up towards Armstrong. More tears streaked the same route that they had been forming on their own. He just continued to look down at me, his baby blue eyes toned darker in sympathy.

"Alex…" I couldn't finish until I choked on my sobs, clutching on Hughes' uniform. The color had almost completely drained from his eyes when many of the higher ups had discovered of Hughes' death. Although the full shock of his death had faded, the entirety had not dulled. He was gone. Would it ever really die down?

"Hughes…" I had been the only one who had been able to stay so close, alongside with his subordinates. "This is all my fault." My mangled whimper was pathetic, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered right now.

"Alright, I want everyone to disperse, immediately!" In horror, I looked over to Fuhrer King Bradley, not wishing to leave the scene of the crime. I simply couldn't. His stone cold gaze stared down at me menacingly. "That includes you, Holy." Sucking up my tears, I wiped the free falling ones away. I saluted to our leader, biting my lip that it went from white to red.

"Yes sir." I murmured, my back turned to the blue military men before hopping into my car and heading home. It was already the following day when I had arrived home, the clocking ringing it to be one in the morning. I wouldn't be able to sleep and although I knew I should inform Roy, he wouldn't be awake at the moment. Despite my sniffling, I trudged heavily towards the ringing phone in the kitchen, hoping it wouldn't wake my little brother.

"Hello?" I sounded miserable, even to myself. It made me wonder how bad I really was.

"I'm here." The click of the phone indicated he had hung up, a knock on the door verified his statement. How did he even do that? The answer was unbeknownst to me, but it didn't matter. I knew I shouldn't even bother to check if it was really him, but my mind was just on a serious winding path. With a groggy intent of telling him I simply didn't want to go back, my limp hand reached for the eloquent door handle, turning it to allow a new guest.

"Please leave." My flat statement deflated his ego some instantly. I didn't even bother to look up, a small growl changed that. There was an odd look in his eyes, an emotion I had been unable to detect. It was a sight to behold, honestly. His normally solid golden color had been melted into a molten topaz color. I was absolutely mesmerized, until I could no longer see them, but felt them instead. Lips were heatedly pressed to mine in a possessive welcome, feeling the flames that must have melted his stone cold eyes. I didn't give in, but I didn't necessarily fight either. Tears slipped down my eyes when I became fully aware, yet he couldn't feel them. My shaky fingers found their way to cup his cheeks, trying to pull him away from me. When he finally did, I took the back of my hands to wipe my salty tears.

"Leave." I demanded, turning on my heels so he wouldn't witness me at my weakest. The death of strangers still stung, but the death of a best friend was too much. His hands gripped my shoulder tightly, pressing into it like sand. Forcefully, he turned me around until I was facing him, although my eyes stayed glued to the hardwood floor. I didn't want to repeat myself. He brought his head to my cheek, labored breathing by my ear. It seemed he was trying to speak, but the words are just too hard to describe.

"You will come back with me. You will not fight me, and you will not resist. Do you understand me, Holy?" A growl vibrated, adding to my already trembling lip. With what little force I could muster, I pushed him out the door before activating the transmutation circle on my back. With a delicate hand towards his pocket, I searched through his blood stream until I knew my alchemy was working to freeze his feet into place.

"You will leave when I unfreeze you. You will return to wherever you came, I will attend the funeral, and you will leave me alone forever." His eyes flickered slightly at the word funeral, but his usual color returned after said spark. He blinked for what was longer than a moment, his eyes targeted mine.

"I can't guarantee forever."

"Good-bye, Kimbley." I cut our meeting short, instantly melting the ice at his feet. Before turning back to the nearby vehicle, his lips went to my forehead. He mumbled something along my skin, I faintly caught the wisp of 'Until then.'

"Later." This wasn't good bye.

I held Caden's hand, my mahogany locks swaying in sync with his. Both of our forest green eyes had been locked on the casket that held my late best friend. Instead of wearing my uniform like the other soldiers, I wore a sophisticated black dress, much like the regular mourners. I was more than just a companion or a colleague to Hughes, we were friends. My somber stricken eyes never bothered to leave the casket, despite hearing his beautiful daughter Elisia cry for her father. It was upsetting just to hear, her actions may have made it worse.

After the ceremony, I had walked to be with Roy and Riza, still holding Caden to my side. I gave Riza a hard stare before hugging her tightly, gripping her uniform with my nails. She rubbed my back soothingly, but it wasn't enough. Reluctantly, I released her before staring at Roy. I gulped before wrapping my arms gingerly around him. I could feel his tears follow down my exposed skin from the back of my dress.

"We're gonna be okay Roy." I whispered, hugging my older brother figure even tighter. His arms were locked around my waist and squeezing the breath out of me, sobs not far behind it.

"I know we will." He murmured back, looking to the sky. "It's going to rain today." He commented, making more tears fall down my face. Two arms wrapped loosely around my waist, a very complacent Havoc stood behind me. I bit my lips before throwing my arms around his neck, crying into his shoulder.

"He can't be gone." I sobbed, he took a rough hand to caress my back. I felt a hand go on my shoulder, and saw my little brother at my side. He wasn't so little anymore, and was now the age of sixteen. I sniffled before taking his hand, silently asking Havoc to release me. I hugged Caden swiftly before returning to Havoc.

"I'm going back to South Headquarters with you all." I announced with no emotion in my voice. If it weren't for the situation, he would have looked alarmed. Instead, he nodded before he placed a soft kiss on my temple.

"I have no objections, but what about Caden?"

"He's capable of living on his own for awhile." Havoc only nodded, not wanting to hear how cold my voice had turned. This had been a too dark of a time for me to even think of being my cheery self. Without even looking at my brother in his eyes, I grabbed his shoulders, the blades of grass confining my interest.

"Caden. I'm going back to South for awhile since I'm under Roy's jurisdiction." When I finally looked in his Peridot stone gaze, I could see my reflection. I looked so broken, fragile. It wasn't a pretty sight to see, a soldier groveling on her knees. "I know you're able to take care of yourself, so I'm trusting you. Call Aunt Lacey when you need something. And…" I trailed off before pulling a golden chain from underneath the collar of my dress, his eyes widened slightly. The thing that caught his attention above all else had been the golden pendant, taking the form of hollow heart. Etched in the edges, read a small script. "I want you to have this. You don't have to wear it, but take care of it." I unclasped it from behind me and placed it in his awaiting hand. With nimble fingers, he held the pendant closer to his face to read the script.

Through this birth, all I had was Faythe.

Caden could try to guess what it mean, I really didn't want to know. There could be millions of different significances, but I didn't want to know what the real reason was. I hugged him one last time, as if I would never see him again. I'm sure he felt the same way, when I felt the tears spill down his cheeks.

Roy had no objections to me transferring to South. He was even beginning to question why he had left me in Central in the first place. Since our arrival at the office the week after Hughes' funeral, things had pretty much gone to normal. The rest of us were doing our usual paperwork, save for Lt. Hawkeye who was always at the ready and by Roy's side. A booming knock at the door caused us all to look up, Roy's face hardened.

"Enter." His voice was cold, almost like a true military dog, but we all knew what he was really fighting for. Major Armstrong entered, alongside a pale man who looked like he desperately needed some sunlight, for the sake of his skin. I expected Alex to start speaking, but noticed he had stayed silent, and the ghostly man stepped forward.

"Lt. Colonel Mustang, I need to have a word with you." His voice was sickeningly sadistic, and it made me curious if there was a double meaning to the tone in it. Mustang arched his coal eyebrows, though his eyes narrowed slightly.

"About what? I'm sure you can say it in front of my subordinates."

"One of your subordinates are being transferred to me." His bland statement caused all of us to go into shock and look at each other. All of us had strong bonds with each other, and if one of us got separated…well, let's not think of that. The translucent being looked to Armstrong, towering over him from behind him.

"With the permission of Fuhrer King Bradley, Major Chevalier is being taken under Lt. Colonel Frank Archer's jurisdiction."

Author note: I'm debating whether or not I wanna continue this story. I mean, I love writing it and I love Kimbley, but I've had so many other new ideas and it's hard for words to come for this story. Seriously, did anyone not notice how much this chapter blew? Gah, idk. If I get some reviews, then maybe I'll reconsider. I had a different idea for this chapter, but I decided this one should be based on Hughes' death. What's even worse is I used my favorite song fer this? Something's wrong with me -_-;

Disclaimer: I do not own any publicly recognizable characters, objects, or songs. I do, however, own part of this plot, Faythe and Caden Chevalier, Lacey and Haley. Steal them, and I'll have Gluttony eat you.