Chapter Two:

Fullmetal Heart

Puffs of gray smoke floated into the sky, enclosing the near space in speckles of stray particles and very little light. Resembool was as calm and serene as ever. It was a quaint town in eastern Amestris that served as the renowned home of the Elric brothers. The hills, as always, were a brilliant shade of dark emerald green and were rolling gently past the edge of the night heavens.

"Resembool station!" The railroad engineer shouted loudly and, sure enough, the train had pulled into to the grassy expanse that was the eastern sector of Amestris.

Edward Elric sighed. Part of him dreaded leaving the supposed comfort of his coach, but his mind lingered to the chess set hidden in his coat pocket. No. He would have to continue on. He had to face them eventually, and there was not one thing that should stop him from entering that war. If nothing else, he was too curious for his own good. But he knew that these were important matters. He was a State Alchemist, albeit without alchemy itself, but still a member of the military.

Instead of contemplating further, he grabbed his one battered suitcase from the upper compartment above his seat and carried it with one arm over his shoulder, lazily slinging it there like it weighed barely anything at all.

He felt his shoes take him past the town, fruit stands and numerous wandering sheep passing him by. The dirt road kicked up dust, sending dense but fairly minute clouds above the ground while crickets began to chirp as a signal to the beginning of evening. Then he spotted it. It was a yellow house, a slanted roof, and a sign that stated "Rockbell Automail" in the front. Ed smelled the strangely welcoming scent of metal and oil with an eccentric mix of apple pie.

He was home at last.

A black and white dog with an automail leg barked at him. Whether it was with glee or trepidation, he couldn't be so sure, but he was willing to bet on the latter. Den generally liked visitors, especially if those visits included him and his younger brother. He could not help but wonder if she could sense the unnerving and sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had begun to experience ever since he had opened the bottom of that chess piece and grudgingly agreed to the role Mustang gave him. He would not be surprised if the old girl could sense it seeping out from his walking form.

Hastily climbing up the wooden steps that led up to the yellow home, he heard the uneven pounding of his artificial leg and flesh leg on the porch. Nervously, he carefully placed two knocks on the front door with his right fist, expecting to hear a very loud yell of indignation and disproval at Ed's utter nerve to bother showing his face around here, especially in front of them.

"Right," the alchemist breathed to himself, "Duck when the wrench comes." As an added thought, he slapped his forehead, obviously feeling stupid for forgetting something. He scrunched up his eyebrows with his eyes and sighed irritably. "Crap. I should have brought earrings. At least Al I can deal with…a little."

Without his notice, the door creaked open. Out came a short woman, and even to Edward that wasn't an understatement. She had gray-brown hair that was pulled back into a tight and bizarre bun that stuck up on top of her head and pointed upward as if something was holding it up. There were bags under her eyes and crow's feet at the corners. She wore round spectacles, a white apron, tiny leather slippers, and a long-sleeved green dress. In her mouth, which was a thin, disappointed line, there was a long pipe where she puffed out smoke.

"Welcome back, Ed," the old woman said as she took out her pipe and held it in one of her wrinkly palms. Her tone was almost menacing, and for the first time in his seventeen years, Edward was afraid of Granny Pinako. Clearly, someone told her about his…dilemma.

His feet stuck to the ground and for some odd reason, he felt as if he couldn't move, that something like glue kept him in one place and refused to let him step forward. It was most likely because of this that Pinako glared at him suspiciously, earning Ed a disproving shake of her head and a sentiment of "Well, are you just going to stand there as decoration or come inside, pipsqueak?"

At that his head snapped up to attention and he snarled at her, his eyebrow twitching in irritation. "What was that, you undersized termite! I'm taller than you and a lot of other people now!"

"You're still a puppy to those military dogs!"

He crossed his arms, angrily leaning forward to face the old woman. "And you can't be tall enough to reach the carpet, you ancient hag!" Ed huffed, golden eyes meeting her own and filled with full-blown agitation. Then, he put on a smug smirk. "I bet the carpet doesn't have a thread smaller than you."

The grandmother squinted at him, playing along in a tenacious banter. "Foul, tiny shrimp."

"Kernel on the cob!" He shot back.

"Short stock!"

"Bite-sized shriveled up bean with a—" Ed started to say before he was rudely cut off by a door banging wildly in his eyesight. Before he knew it, he and Granny had begun to face each other, his arms crossed over his chest and hers stiffly on her hips. None of them had heard the frantic footsteps of Winry tread forcefully down the stairs and straight into their faces. And as the entrance flew open, Ed had absolutely no time to duck away from the metal wrench from smacking him directly above his hairline.

He collapsed backward with a tremendous thud and was seen next rubbing the top of his head. He had somehow reached the bottom of the three steps that led to the front porch and effectively landed on his behind, legs sprawled out and all. The tool that had hit him was some meters away and was dusted with the dirt from the ground. The blond was no better.

Winry, with her fair hair swaying gracefully across her back and loose from her normal ponytail, had her azure eyes set on the alchemist before her. She was furious, but anyone that knew her could safely say that that was an understatement. They were twinkling with hatred and Ed was well aware that the feeling was directed towards him. He chuckled nervously under his breath.

"Um, Winry…?" He mumbled cautiously all the while attempting to push himself up and back onto his feet, making no move to pick up the wrench and give it back to her. If he did, the effort would only be the death of him. "W—Winry?" Ed blinked and suddenly the mud on his shoes was very interesting.

He heard a scrape in the background and a few more footfalls and realized that Alphonse had arrived on the scene. Great, he thought in a bland tone, Three people are about to murder me and throw the corpse all the way to East City.

Al bit his lip, his line of vision shifting shakily from his childhood friend and his elder sibling.

"Brother?" The youngest Elric questioned when his sight set on the pair before him. Sure, he was more than disappointed with his brother's decision to accept the military's advances and allow himself to be placed as a colonel in some war, but he would show Ed just how upset he was in a more civilized manner than the prosthetics mechanic.

To his query, no one answered and soon Al noticed why. Winry was giving Ed the stare-down and it was plain to anybody that the latter was losing this round. The Rockbell girl growled, his fists curled up and tight, and the staring contest was blatantly won. Her upper lip went up, showing her teeth and glinting in the early moonlight. It was evident that the scene would soon grow into an ugly one. Al almost dreaded it, but some part of him felt that his stupid brother deserved it.

What if he didn't come back from Briggs? What if they lost him? Edward was the only person of his blood relatives left, but that was not the only reason he refused to lose him. He was his brother. Aside from the two remaining Rockbells, the siblings were closer than normal ones were. They had been through so much together that they trusted everything to one another. Al probably knew more things about Ed than even Winry did, and that was saying something. He also had a hunch that Winry could care about his brother a little too much, not that he minded. It was a little fun to tease.

"Alchemy freak!" She shouted fiercely as she made to punch Ed in the gut, but she stopped herself. Her breath was heavy after that and her lips were sealed shut. There was a nasty silence after that and no one dared to speak. Suddenly, Winry fell to her knees and right in front of Ed, the pants of the greasy jumpsuit she wore receiving a healthy amount of dust.

The State Alchemist did not have an inkling or an idea with what to say next. He simply stood still, looking down at her with a mixture of horror and guilt. Her head was bowed in such a pathetic-looking defeat that he was at a loss. What had Ed done? He hadn't said anything of relevance yet, had he?

"Ed, you're such an idiot!" The blue-eyed girl pounded a fist deep into the dirt, a squelch resounding and abruptly it seemed like the crickets stopped chirping their goodnight song. Edward still didn't know what to say, so he just stared, dumbfounded. What had he done?

"I…" Both fists slammed to the floor, causing the pebbles beneath Ed's feet to tremble ever so slightly. "I…I hate you!"

He could hear Al in the backdrop and his surprised intake of breath. Pinako had not moved an inch. But worst of all, he heard Winry start to cry. Ed despised himself whenever he made her do that. It was always his fault, so why couldn't he fix it just as easily as it began? Sometimes, he really agreed with someone when they called him an idiot, and this was one of those times that he did. Hesitantly, Ed knelt down on his faux leg and brushed his hands on her shoulders, a little embarrassed with his actions as his cheeks began to color pink.

Edward sighed and glanced at the top of his friend's head. "Winry…"

"No! You don't get it you idiot!" In response to her yell, Ed's eyes widened. What did she mean? "You never tell me anything! I know there's more! Why are you going to the stupid war? Why are you making Al wait? Why are you making me wait?" She gasped at what she said then paused before rethinking what she was going to say next.

"I don't care about your stupid Equivalent Exchange! Nothing's equivalent if you…" Winry's tears turned into frantic sobs and Ed's grip on her shoulders only tightened. "…if you…"

"If I what?" He responded quietly.

The girl looked him in the eye, emotions pouring out with such a force that Ed felt the need to stumble backward. The blonde punched the ground harder and shouted with a sheer magnitude that shook almost everything in sight.

"You stupid moron!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, gazing at him in the face, "What if you don't come back?"

A hush and a few moments later, the world turned into something that seemed all for unforgivable. The eldest Elric stood up and let go of his best friend's shoulders, brushing himself off from all of the gathering filth on his clothing. A second later and a hand was outstretched toward the shaking form before him, and while she looked at it intently, she made no move to take it in her own. But Ed still kept it there, patiently avoiding her stare.

"Heh," he silently breathed, "You really are an idiot." Winry's pupils flashed in what could be called anger, but was quickly left behind. He went on, "What makes you think I won't come back? Why are you so worried anyway? "

She took his hand and stood up alongside him, wiping away stray tears with her free arm. "You're just brainless. What makes you think you're invincible, alchemy geek?"

Ed smiled with a closed mouth as a reply, motionless and blushing off to the side. He shook his head. "I never said I was, and you never answered my question."

ooo

The next day came as quickly as the previous one and Ed had woken up early to have a walk around town. Alone. The morning was late now, but something was one his mind and he didn't care. His feet dragged him to wherever he willed them too: through the fields of sheep and cows and away from the Rockbell household. If anything, he needed to be as far away from there as possible. At first, he really didn't have a clue as to what he was searching for. He felt like he was a wanderer, like before, but he corrected himself.

He was still wandering.

The truth was, he was more than troubled about what happened last night. He had made her cry and of all of the things that he hated to do, that subject was one of the top on his list. He wanted her to be happy, but not only that; he didn't know how to handle someone's tears. What was he supposed to do anyway? It was almost impossible to find out.

"Excuse me sir," an unfamiliar voice rang out from someplace and brought him out of his reverie, "Uh, were you going to buy something?" Ed swiftly looked up. He had been so engrossed within his own thoughts that he did not even realize that he had made his way into the Resembool marketplace. His cheeks turned into a rosy shade, gulping as he turned his back on the plump middle-aged woman in a dusted apron.

"No," he muttered embarrassed, "S—Sorry I bothered you." As he walked off, hands shoved in his coat pockets, he heard a distant call of "Come back anytime sir!" He thought that he ignored the words, but they somehow came back and lodged an undeniable something down his throat. He tried to swallow the feeling down, but it just would not budge. Then he couldn't quite ignore it anymore…

Come back anytime?

He kept going on, afraid to break his stride. Ed told himself to keep going; otherwise he wouldn't have the strength to move forward. Whether he willed her to or not, Winry was holding him back from going to Briggs, but he needed to do this. Mustang, as much as he found that man almost more despicable than the homunculi, had entrusted him with information that he had a sensation (suspicion?) that only he was supposed to know. His country was in danger. People were counting on him and even though they never really asked him to do it, that included Alphonse and the rest of the people he cared about. They were part of Amestris too. Ed could never bring himself to let them down. He was the Fullmetal Alchemist, alchemy or none. A duty was left out for him to carry out, and he did not want to be the one responsible for the death of so many people.

No. Not again.

Nearby, the alchemist caught a glance at some of the younger men of Resembool. There was about four of them, three of which he did not recognize, but one looked unusually familiar. Maybe he saw the face before, somewhere in his distant childhood. It was difficult to tell. Edward had not associated himself with his lost childhood very often. There were things that occurred afterward that were too hard to forget, so in essence, that made the events before then even more of a challenge to remember.

Ed wanted to stride right past them, but one of the young men, a brunette with messy hair that was halfway past his ears, olive eyes, and a firm chin stopped him. His skin was tanned as if he worked outside often, which Ed didn't doubt. Many of the men in Resembool were workers on the farm or herders. He had lean muscle, different from his own fighting build, and a square-shaped nose. But somehow, he looked very familiar indeed.

With a crooked smile, the teenager who cut the State Alchemist's advance short with a hand on his shoulder asked, "You're Edward Elric, right?"

He was a little startled at first, blinking rapidly in the mere beginning of the situation, but then Ed relaxed. "That's me," he gaped, raising an eyebrow in the process, "Sorry, but who are you?"

The young man, who looked to be about the same age as Edward himself, laughed quite loudly. Then he replaced his hand back to his side and his chest shook with a happy mirth. To say the least, Ed was more confused than ever. Who the heck was this guy anyway? Did he have a problem, or was he just insane? Ed admitted that he met many strange folk around and met a great deal more apprehensive behavior. It was almost as if he could never keep his guard down, so without knowing it, his fists raised slowly to eyelevel.

The unidentified kid shook his head with surprise in response to the defensive maneuver. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's nothing like that!" He scratched the back of his unruly locks of hair. "Heh, you probably think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"That's right," Ed mumbled under his breath, unto which the boy asked if he said anything, earning a quick refusal from the original speaker.

"Well anyway, do you remember me? Name's Pitt. We were childhood friends?" The brunette raised his eyebrows as he awaited an answer. But Ed definitely did not expect that. He was currently at a standstill, needless to say, he was caught off guard.

"Um. Well…"

Pitt chuckled again and he was beginning to seriously get on Ed's nerves, what with that stupid laugh and random happiness. People like that pissed him off. This guy was way too happy for his own good and he somehow just couldn't take it anymore. He growled quietly, but even then, his angry flare seemed to be blatantly ignored.

"It's ok," Pitt said jovially, "Maybe this will help spark up the memories?" Without knowing it, Ed was suddenly hit with a good amount of dirt in his face, along with an annoyingly familiar statement of "Can't take that shrimp?"

Shit, Ed groaned in his head, it's Pitt, that stupid kid from when we were little. I can't believe I miss the bastard right now.

Edward wiped the grime off of his cheeks and some stayed smeared on his nose. "Oh," he moaned, "It's you again."

"That's right, short stuff! But looks like the tiny shrimp grew up! You're taller than me by an inch!" Pitt's green eyes twinkled in delight but Ed wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face. He resisted. Well, almost resisted. In fact, the feat was simply too challenging to resist that the end result was the renowned State Alchemist kicking his so-called "rival" in the shins.

Pitt yelled out in agony as he felt the lower part of his legs swell up into a vicious purple bruise. "What the hell? Why does your leg feel like steel?"

"That's because it is steel," Ed crossed his arms, barely noticing the fact that the other boys behind the one he just attacked were now forming defensive positions themselves. "It's called automail." His voice sounded exactly as if he knew something that the other did not. To any onlooker, it would be like a crazed war veteran giving strange and unusual punishment to a piece of stone that he thought was an unlawful subordinate.

"Why didn't you use your flesh leg?" Pitt huffed while rubbing his aching joints in frustration. "Are you wild or something? What did I ever do to you?"

"Don't ever call me short, you bastard!"

"I said that you were taller than me!"

Ed's golden eyes twitched, clearly irked with the person before him. "Then consider it as repayment for what you used to call me when I still went to school here! Got it? Who's short now? You're on your knees!"

Pitt finally stood up all the way and looked the elder Elric up and down. His pouted his lips and had an equally livid expression, but urgently used a free hand to placate the others behind him as an attempt to tell them all to ease their stances. He rolled his dark green eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to let it out as somberly as possible. From then on he knew that the rumors were true: it was dangerous to call the Fullmetal Alchemist anything that might suggest that he was below the average height. He had no desire to try it again.

"Right, right, whatever," he exhaled noisily while Ed continued to seethe, "Listen, I hear you're a colonel in the Amestrian military, plus you're the Fullmetal Alchemist." The green-eyed young man held out his right arm as if to shake and offered it to the person he was addressing, but Ed disregarded it. "I'll tell you my name again. I'm Pitt. I used to shove dirt in your face when you were litt—I mean, younger. I know you're in the military and that you are some alchemist prodigy. I just wanted to ask if you can help me and my friends here—" He used an arm to gesture to the men behind him, "—get a couple of spots as soldiers in the Drachman conflict."

Edward was too stunned to say something in reply, so he took that as a queue to continue on. "Military officials are starting to go around Resembool and other towns around here for the draft, so there are a lot of guys here that want to join in," Pitt scratched his forehead, slightly nervous and flustered."We want to join the military."

Ed lost his left leg in a failed attempt to revive his mother in the taboo of human transmutation. His right arm was a sacrifice he willingly gave up to the Gate in order to pull Alphonse's soul from behind it and attach it to a cold, unfeeling, suit of armor. His own little brother had given up his soul to save Edward from what could have been a fatal assault and returned his stolen right arm. And finally, it was the older brother that lost his ability to perform alchemy so that he could, once again, pull Al from behind the confines of the Gate.

They had lost it all. They had gained it back. But even if the two brothers had, there was still a reminder and Ed was fully aware of it. He refused to allow more people to see hell and that even included this idiot before him. Ed knew hell. He lived through it once before and he couldn't help but have the feeling that he would have to again sometime soon.

If there was one thing that he learned from anyone who spent their lives in the military, it was that war was hell. That was one thing that the blond could admit he respected Roy Mustang for. His superior officer, now Fuhrer, had fought in the Ishvallan Civil War. But even though war seemed too far away from Edward, he had the knowledge of someone that had experienced one head on and nearly lost everything he ever cared about because of it.

Ed chuckled darkly and glanced up with a grim façade. "Look," he said, "Think about what the hell you're getting yourself into before tying a leash around your neck."

"But…!" Pitt countered, but to no avail. Ed had already beaten him to it.

"You're lucky. The bastard Fuhrer hasn't made the draft absolute yet. You still have a choice." Ed jarringly smirked and squinted up at them. "I'm going to ask you a question." To this, Pitt and the others nodded hurriedly so he went on. "Have you seen hell?"

One of the young men standing aside, a dirty blond one with blue eyes and a round face answered bravely. "What are you talking about?"

Ed shook his head as a gesture that signified a 'no' and asked the question a second time. "Have you seen hell?" To this, the Elric only saw blank expressions. No one made a move to say anything else and he knew that he had won this round. Although it was certainly a noble gesture to want to assist your country with an inevitable adversary, he wanted nothing more than to save a couple of clueless teenagers from a fiery pit of gunfire and explosions.

Of death…

Of hurt…

Of unyielding desperation…

"I joined the military for my own reasons and I'm still in it for other things," Ed kept on, unfazed. "I don't regret it, but you might."

"But we want to do something for Amestris! This is our country! We want to fight!" Another one courageously fired at him and Ed thought he kind of looked like he could be part Xingese.

"Fine. The hell with it," Edward stated blandly. "You want to fight so badly? Be my guest. If you get fucked up in a hole with a bomb down your throat or watch people's limbs get chopped off like they're useless pieces of crap, then go ahead! Join the military!" He glared at them and their shocked faces, shoving his hands deep into his pants' pocket. "You haven't seen half of what I've seen, and I haven't been to war yet," he snarled and his eyes went dark again.

"I'm a dog of the military," Ed said as he pointed to his chest with his thumb. Then he pointed at the four people in his line of sight. "You aren't."

Pitt seemed on the verge of a breakdown. A hand was covering his eyes and he was breathing heavily. Finally, he wiped what looked like a faint sheen of sweat from his features. "Even so," he replied to Edward, "I don't care. I'm still joining. My father is out there." The others behind him nodded in agreement, apparently adamant about their strained decision-making. Ed wanted to slap them upside their heads.

Ed crossed his arms again, this time very tightly. "Fine," he stated aloud in an ominous tone. "I'll get you in. If I can't convince you to stay the hell away, I guess I'll see you on the battlefield." He stared them straight in the eye and stood up immediately, showing them his full height.

"Get on the train tomorrow at noon. It's going to be a military train and there will be officers on board. It's going around the East area to pick up drafted recruits. Show papers that prove your age. I'm the only exception. It will be your only ticket to North City. They'll look you over when we get there. If you're lucky," he corrected himself firmly, "well, unlucky, you're going to Briggs."

With all this information in tow, the teenagers puffed out their chests and frantically saluted to him in a rush. Once again, Ed ignored the notion.

"And," the Fullmetal Alchemist added in a stern voice, "Don't be late."

He turned his back on them, not noticing that the four boys that he left behind were still stuck in their mismatched effort to be respectful to a superior officer. But when he did finally realize it, he was already five feet away. So a few moments later in the distance, the four of them heard a quiet, but clear, "At ease."

ooo

Finally, the day had come. Ed had no desire to think about the disastrous incident yesterday. He did not want to think about the kind of terrible trouble had had put those oblivious people into. Part of him felt guilty that he said anything at all, but he knew, deep in his mentality, that no matter what he did those men were never going to change their minds. He had done all he could and that's exactly what he told himself.

It was fifteen minutes until noontime. If he wasn't mistaken, the train had already arrived at the station in Resembool. Ed could just barely make out the gray hues of smoke that led out to the great, turquoise sky overhead. There were no clouds today and the sun was shining up high in a yellow-white blare. However many times he embarked on a mission he wasn't sure if he would come out alive from, he found that nature was always the master at mocking him. When he was at the front of the train station, the weather was no different.

"Promise me you'll be back safe, Ed. I'll never forgive you if you don't." Winry Rockbell sniffed as calmly as she could possibly muster. "You're an idiot and I'm still mad at you, but you're not invincible either."

"Right. I know, Winry. I promise to come back in one piece and with an intact leg." He felt the difference in weight in his left leg's automail. Winry had attached the new model designed for freezing temperatures the previous night and he could feel the lighter mass to it. Like when he travelled to Briggs the first time, he was fitted with a prosthetic limb that was rich in carbon to prevent frost damage and lighter to help with his movement.

The girl with her golden terraces of silky hair blinked up at her friend and instantly turned her gaze downward, cheeks tinting slightly. "You can replace automail," she mumbled and it took Ed quite a bit more effort just so that he could hear her properly, "but you can't replace a life, Ed."

She looked up again, facial expression a determined one. "You better come back you alchemy freak. You made a promise."

At that, he nodded his 'yes' and the binding promise was made, a pact that held him more tied together than the strings that kept him attached as the infamous dog of the military. But that was the flow of his life, and he realized that it was time to accept it. With that, he hesitated, thinking twice when his hand hovered over Winry's bare shoulder when she wore her sleeveless white shirt and black skirt. His dark blue military uniform stood out like a sore thumb and the number of stars that indicated his relatively high ranking glinted in the sunlight.

His hand still hovered until he settled for placing it on her shoulder and turned his head away to avoid her searching ocean-like eyes. He gulped and replied, "It's a promise." Realizing their close proximity, both of them nearly jumped as quickly away as they had come near. But Winry was feeling a little braver than normal today.

"Uh," she gasped out when she worried her lip. Uncertainly she held out her arms to him as if asking for an embrace. It was now or never. If he somehow didn't keep his promise, Winry wanted a good memory, but she also did not want to think about what would happen if he failed. So she simply held her arms outstretched, not really expecting anything. She decided that if Ed wasn't going to respond to the gesture in the next couple of seconds, she would forget about it. But, surprisingly, Edward did respond.

He hugged her back.

"R—Right," Ed stuttered after they unlatched and stared rather embarrassingly off to their sides while blushing madly. "I'll see you around, automail junkie."

"Oh—Ok. Bye. Ed."

With that, Edward turned around, the Rockbell girl in his wake, and stepped with a tentative foot into a middle coach of the military issued locomotive. Soldiers around him saluted respectfully, murmurs of "Colonel Elric, sir!" ringing throughout his ears. He caught a glimpse of the four boys he regretted recruiting, showing official looking papers to a sergeant in uniform at the entrance to the train. Steam billowed out into the air and he could smell the ashy sensations of burning coal. In a sense he was relieved to be out on the tracks again. Travel really did suit him, but he couldn't help but wonder if he was going to make it back to travel ever again.

Stop thinking like that, he told himself. After all, it wouldn't do to die. But then again, that was something that could not be controlled. He wondered what Winry would do if that happened. Would she even care? Granny Pinako? Who would even give a damn if he collapsed on the spot? Sometimes, he wondered if people should care about him at all. He was notorious for bringing trouble and getting people hurt. But then, maybe they did care after all.

He thought of his brother and of how he sacrificed his soul to save him during the Promised Day.

Maybe…

Then Ed thought of the fact that Alphonse had completely paid no attention to him as he shouted that he was going off to Briggs at noon. He didn't even send him off. Al was probably mad at him, and Ed felt a hole start to form in his heart. At that point, he really hoped that he could come back if only just to apologize. He was sorry that he had to go off to war, but that was his job and this was all he could do to protect his nation. Ed had seen hell already, and therefore, it justified his reasoning for going in the first place. He had a leash complete with a collar, but he also had a choice.

This life suited him, not Pitt. He knew what he was going into. He knew how to fight because he had done it countless times before, and one thing was for sure; there were people out there that needed him and his alchemic intelligence.

But Edward wished nothing more right at that moment than to say 'goodbye' to his brother, because, even if he didn't want to admit it to himself, there could be a chance that maybe…

Maybe…

"…I won't see him again," Edward whispered under his breath, clenching his right fist on his lap and watching the rolling emerald hills of his hope and home sift by.

And as he pondered if he would ever see Alphonse again, he was unaware of the disturbance in the last cargo cart of the moving train. Boxed weapons like machine guns, inactivated grenades, and packages of bullets shifted from side to side as the tracks slid on by. But in one corner, there was a box that budged more than the others, and behind it was the youngest Elric brother. His agenda was a complicated one and his gaze was fierce, unlike the gentle demeanor that the brother usually gave off.

He breathed steadily as if expecting something, and indeed he was, for as more cargo rumbled nearby, he mumbled something that would have been almost incomprehensible if it weren't for his silent corner. Al kept still though, thinking of ways to defend himself if he had to clap his hands in an alchemical reaction. Then he thought of how Edward could no longer do that and his resolve only was reinforced. Alphonse Elric was going to challenge the Truth again to get something back, and he wanted to be there to protect his older brother if he could as Ed had done so many times beforehand to protect Al.

And that, Al smiled, is the law of Equivalent Exchange.

ooo

"First Lieutenant Sergei Char," a heavyset man breathed deeply, voice menacing and eerie enough to send cold chills throughout a room. His hands were large, muscles boldly sticking out from underneath his many layers of the fur-trimmed, dark brown Drachman military uniform. He had jet black hair and a beard, devious wild eyes, the color of the sky before a lightning storm. He was middle-aged and tall, but definitely one of the strongest and the number of silver stars on the shoulders of his clothing indicated his high rank.

Before him, was a scrawny man with mahogany hair and bushy eyebrows. This officer was known to him as his aide, though there was numerous ranks in between theirs that separated them. The man was nervous, but attempted not to show it, and the bulky superior officer did nothing to show that he knew what he was thinking.

"Yes, sir, General Alik Albatross, sir!" Char saluted stiffly, putting his boots together with a determined facial expression. It looked as if he was absolute in staying true to his post. After all, the General was a man of no humor or warmth. The man stuck to the frigidity of the north.

Alik Albatross smirked knowingly, again earning the feeling that something evil was about to enter their locked room. "I assume you know that the Amestrians are ready. We need to be able to take them on, and with the information we now possess, Amestris will soon know the wrath of Drachma." He laughed, the sound echoing in the hallways nearby. Almost as quickly, he halted, gazing his aide straight in his intimidated eyes.

"Char!" He ordered and soon the soldier snapped back into attention.

"Yes, sir!"

The Drachman general crossed his huge arms, storming eyes twinkling with something greater than hate. He clenched his stained teeth while he growled, "Order our spies to close in on the border. With this many soldiers from the enemy about to come in, we'll have more than enough supplies. Make sure that when we attack, we retrieve the State Alchemists." Albatross snarled, "We need to be cautious and not trust any of them. Otherwise, we'll end up just like we did when that Kimblee had Drachma fooled."

"And Char," the general eyed his lower officer again, "Who is Fuhrer Mustang's most trusted alchemist? He could be of some use to us."

Sergei Char saluted one last time, inhaling deeply. "The Fullmetal Alchemist, sir."

AN: And the plot thickens! Stay tuned for the next chapter for bloody warfare and a look into the definition of a soldier, in which this story will turn into a rated M. Will Ed be willing enough to take the life of someone else in order to save himself and others? What does Alphonse plan to do and what does the Truth have to do with it? Read and review your thoughts!