Ayane looked a little shocked a first, but then she nodded. "Yes sir. Will do." she said, standing up straight and then bowing. She turned and led the Shiniganes into the trees. As they disappeared, he saw a sickly yellow-green glow appear.
"Those must be the tattoos Generation told us about." Daisy said softly from behind him.
"Yeah. But for now we need to go get some rest... Ow..." he groaned.
As he sank to his knees, Hohenheim and Katsumn moved to catch him. "You should rest. If you don't, I'll give you a sedative so you have no choice but to rest."she ordered.
But her voice was faint, and the world swam before his eyes. He didn't register anything else that was said, having fallen into a dreamless sleep.
When he woke up, he realized he was all alone. The off-white canvas of his tent flapped quietly, the shadowy silhouettes of people moving around outside cast in shades of gray.
Painfully, he got to his feet. Moving outside, he saw just how active the camp was.
Everyone was bustling about. Katsumn, Scar, Miles, Cathrine, Dark, and Ayane had the camp split up into several sections. He saw one was the armory, dominated by Xingese, Invisible Warriors, and Shiniganes. The medical section was filled with Invisible Warriors, the Alkahistory studiers, and a few Shiniganes. The Briggs-men and the Rainbow Alchemists were rigging up a few tanks, and the Ishvalans and Chimeras were taking care of rations and packs. The packs were divided up according to race. The Shiniganes and Warriors had less food and water, more ammo and weapons. The Briggs-men were only slightly different. The Chimera-men had evenly dispersed weapons and rations, and the Xingese and Ishvalans had the same basics.
"Edward!" Dark skidded to a stop in front of him. "I tapped into a telegraph-line and sent Mustang a message that we're attacking today and told him what we're doing; He's coming over in roughly an hour!" the teenager reported.
"Hey, you re-dyed your hair!" he realized. True, Dark's blonde hair was now his signature dark blue. "Good job on the message. Round up my other leaders. Mustang is one of 'em, so when he arrives, bring him too." he ordered.
"Yessir!" Dark sped off.
"Still eager to please. Dark, I admire you." he sighed, going back into the tent.
Katsumn, Nmutua, and Ayane were the first to arrive. They quickly helped him set up a large map of Central. Alphonse and Hohenheim arrived not soon after they'd finished that. Miles, Ling, Lucifer, Scar, Cat and Cathrine came minutes after that. Lyn arrived with Scar at the same time Dark came back with Mustang.
"Good to see you again, Edward." the colonel said upon entering.
"Oh, be quiet. We aren't playing games here. This is a stretch to over-throw that Homunculus, Bradley. And then we're going on to his master. So we need your help." he sighed, shaking his head.
He quickly laid out the groups. He was going with Izumi, Mustang, Al, and Hohenheim. Their group would be the largest. Mustang had already whipped up followers in Central. Katsumn and Nmutua were splitting the Invisible Warriors, and Ayane was leading the Shiniganes. Miles had the Briggs-men, Lucifer the Chimera-men, Ling the Xingese, Scar and Cathrine the Ishvalans, and the others were pick-and-choose.
"Okay, so Mustang and the forces he has will 'aid' the Central forces until my group makes it through to the Command Center. Then I want all of the other forces to make their way into the heart of the city. Take out any Central soldier that tries to stop you. When we get there, we're going to have to push through the Homunculi. We need to find this leader of theirs and eliminate him. That's when we win the battle." he laid out.
"When it comes to finding him, I can easily lead you to him. Homunculus is still just a dwarf in a flask, He shouldn't be too hard to take out. Destroy the leather bag he designed to look like me, and he's done for." Hohenheim said softly.
"Okay. So we have our plan. Mustang, head back to Central. When it becomes noon, we'll attack. We're going to try to drag the attack out until nightfall." he said.
"Why is that?" Mustang wondered.
"The Invisible Warriors are legendary for their ability to move undetected through the darkness. And if the Shiniganes are just a branch of them, I imagine they have the same talent." Ling explained.
"True. And with the Fuhrer's 'all-seeing eye,' attacking him directly is a problem. But..." Katsumn smirked.
"He can't predict hat he can't see!" chuckled Ayane.
The leaders went to locate their soldiers. Mustang went back to Central, and he went to examine the troops and camp.
The messengers and medics were all quick, nimble-footed women and teenagers. This was the section he was most concentrated on. The Invisible Warriors and Shiniganes had their unique Alchemy that could heal wounds almost instantly, and the Xingese had their Alkahistory to take care of lesser wounds and keep the others available for more serious wounds.
Time wore on and on. Noon seemed an eternity away. Finally, it was eleven-thirty.
All of the troops moved into their positions around the city. He was given the signal to announce the battle.
The previous night, Invisible Warriors had rigged speakers up all throughout the city. Now, he was supposed to speak and announce the war they'd decided to wage.
"Gah, I can't do this!" he said, veering away from the mike.
"Then let me!" snarled Ayane, snatching it. "Just tell me what to say!"
"Announce that we're here to take down the corrupt military and that the civilians should clear out. add in that our forces are large and we will not stop until the military senior staff has fallen... That's it..." he said.
"'Kay. Turn it on." she nodded.
There was a soft screech as the broad-casting equipment was switched on. "Attention, people of Central! Attention, people of Central! This is one of the military commanders for the opposing force here! We only mean to take down the corrupt senior staff of the military. We will not stop until they have fallen. They cannot defeat us; Our forces are large and well-trained. Civilians are advised to leave the city to avoid injury or death. I repeat, civilians are advised to leave the city to avoid injury or death. Our attack begins at noon. You have half an hour to leave the city. Again, we will not stop until the corrupt military leaders have fallen!" Ayane said in a clear, loud voice. Her announcement over, she gestured for the equipment to be turned off.
"That was a good speech, but you should return to your force now." he nodded. "Thanks for letting us now you all are ready."
"Right. Seeya at the HQ, sir!" Ayane said, already speeding off towards her troops.
They watched silently as the citizens of Central trickled, then flowed out of the city. Ensured that the population would be safe from injury, Edward and his army waited the last five minutes until noon out.
"Ready?" he asked. "Send the flare up." he ordered.
The rocket whistled up into the air and exploded far above their heads. As one, all of the troops advanced into the city. He transformed into the Spectrum Alchemist, so he would be at a slight advantage.
They met resistance not too far in. A small bomb was launched into his force. But one of the Invisible Warriors he had chosen swiftly picked it up and threw it back. He nodded his praise to the young man. The explosive went off, scattering the small battalion of Central soldiers.
"Forward." he said emotionlessly, walking forward.
Six blocks away from where the first attack had taken place, they were met again.
"Duck!" he ordered, putting up an earthen wall they could duck behind. He saw already several of the soldiers he'd chosen had fallen, bullets either wounding or killing them. "Rats... How do we counter a machine-gun-armed battalion?" he snarled.
"Kyo-Kai Blaze Strike!"
There were screams and a bright light. "You can get up now!"
"Thanks, Katsumn! But why is our group intercepting yours?" he asked, standing up.
"We got chased by a few rocket-launchers that we couldn't see, and when we scattered, they sniped us. I barely managed to trap them inside the buildings they were hiding in." the empress said crabbily, crossing her arms. He could see she had several scratches and one of her legs had a linen cloth wrapped around it.
"I see. Well, you might as well join us since you're here." he sighed.
"Watch out."
They all stopped. Izumi was surveying the street ahead of them. "Look. Some of the stones have been moved. You can tell."
"Mines." Hohenheim said.
"I got 'em." growled one of the Chimera-men Al had picked out. He was mixed with a cheetah and a rat. He was fast and weighed almost nothing. He took out several bright-colored discs.
The Chimera walked forth, crouched low and sniffing. Occasionally, he'd stop and put down a disc. They got his message, and walked forth, careful to avoid the discs and the mines they marked.
So far, they were winning.
But then they met someone that hampered their progress.
Pride.