Nobody spoke for a few seconds not wanting to believe the homunculi army would be coming so soon; much sooner than they thought. Everyone seemed rooted to the spot, mesmerized by the horrifying sounds that were quickly cut off. Mustang was the first to break the trance as he turned and started giving orders to Miles.
"Get Elysia and Richard out of here now. Get Olivier on the line and make sure those support troops are on the way..."
He went on giving more orders and Miles went about his business of relaying them. Edward turned to Elysia and grabbed hold of her shoulders, and kissed her forehead. "That is for our Erika," he began without preamble, "Tell her I love her and I'm sorry she has a fool of a father."
"Edward, please," Elysia pleaded not wanting to hear this.
Edward then took her face in his hands, looking into her eyes as they filled with tears. He wiped a tear away and kissed her. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier, about Mustang keeping Envy alive. I shouldn't have said it like that."
"Did you know? Did you know all these years…?" She didn't think Edward would have lied to her but she needed to know for sure.
"No," Edward cut off knowing how important it was for her to know he hadn't lied. "Mustang literally told me minutes before I knew you were taken. I resigned..."
"You did?!"
Edward nodded. He wanted her to know everything in case this was the last time they would ever see each other. Two officers jumped into the front driver and passenger seats. The jeep roared to life while a third officer set up a portable machine gun in the back. Edward ignored all this as he went on.
"But that was before I knew you were missing. I went to the park to get you. I wanted to leave the country but I found your painting with the Ouroboros on it. Jean made me go back to headquarters and Erika was there and she told me about Richard and how he was missing too... Elysia, Roy offered me my commission back and I accepted..."
He looked at her as if seeking her approval or forgiveness. Elysia could see he was feeling guilty about something but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
"Ed." Someone said urgently from behind him.
"Just give me a minute, Al," he hissed at his younger brother who was hovering close.
Al didn't want to begrudge Edward a few words to his wife and son but they only had so much time; then again, it could be the last time they would see each other. He suddenly wished he could say something to Gloria or write a something down for Elysia to give to her. But his mind froze. He couldn't think of anything to pass on. However, it made him quite determined to make sure nothing happened to him in the first place.
"Elysia, does it bother you that I went back to the military?" Edward continued unaware of his younger brother's distress. "All it's ever done is caused us misery."
Elysia could have slapped her forehead. She was usually much quicker than this. She laughed and shook her head. "If it weren't for the military I doubt we would have fallen in love. If it weren't for the military there wouldn't be our Erika or Richard."
Edward looked somewhat relieved. He gathered her up in a hug and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."
"I love you too," she said trying to keep her voice steady. She could feel his urgency; his muscles were tense and he held her so tight she'd have a bruise across her back. He wanted her as far away from danger as possible and as soon as possible but she just wanted a few more seconds with him. Edward slowly parted from Elysia knowing she needed those extra seconds then turned to his son.
"Richard, I want you to have this," he said handing over his pocket watch.
Richard stared at it as if it would bite. "No... I can't..."
Edward reached over and took his hand, giving him the watch then pulled Richard close and hugged him.
"Dad, please," Richard whispered for only Edward to hear. "Let me stay with you."
"No, I promised your mother I'd bring you back." Edward said, his throat tightening. He hoped he'd have the chance to hear his son call him Dad again. But the small moment of joy was short lived when Richard pushed him away angrily.
"So this is all I get and now you're going to send me away...!" But Richard stopped suddenly looking at Edward horrified. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," he said hugging Edward again, "I'm just scared I'll never see you again. Please, let me stay..."
"You heard what happened over the radio?" Richard nodded solemnly then Edward went on. "We don't know what those things are capable of. I've fought homunculi before but not the ones that we're coming up against. There are more of them and they'll have the same speed, strength and ability to heal quickly. I won't risk your life by being too close to them," Edward said. "I'll feel at ease knowing you and Elysia are safe."
"Then give this to me when you get back," Richard said handing over the watch.
"Alright," Edward agreed. He hugged his son once more and kissed Elysia again.
As soon as Edward stepped away the jeep lurched forward. It turned in a wide arch around him and Al. Soldiers in blue scattered out of the way quickly and the jeep sped up. He watched them go just as Elysia and Richard looked back at him. The jeep turned a corner and they were gone.
"Ed, you ready?"
Edward turned deadly serious eyes upon Mustang. Then got down to business.
"Take Jean and Lin with you so you know where you're going. Go back down to the tunnel entrance and make yourselves scarce. There are plenty of places to hide in that collapsed building but be careful. Gluttony had a heightened sense of smell so they may rely on more than just sight and sound. I hope you're able to do more than just lighting camp fires," he said giving Mustang a smug look. He turned from the Fuhrer before he could retort, taking satisfaction from Mustang's indignant scowl. "Miles!"
The Ishbalan Brigadier General turned his attention to Edward. "Yes, sir?"
"Get as many men as possible on the rooftops surrounding this whole area," he ordered with a sweep of his hand over one side of the collapsed building then on the other. "Al and I will close the gaps to keep them contained within their firing range."
"What about explosives?" Miles asked. "It would help slow them up."
Edward considered for a moment then turned to his brother. "Al, start taking care of things on this side, I'll head over to the northeastern side of the building. When I'm done I'm going back down to seal off the tunnel to keep the homunculi from going after Mustang, Jean and Lin. You three only worry about getting out of here without being seen. Then," he added turning to Miles, "once I've come back you can use explosives. Hand grenades only," he stressed. "I don't want to destabilize the surface and cause any cave-ins below. We still need a route for these three," he said with a wave of his hand towards Mustang, Havoc and Lin, "to come back through. Al and I may not have the strength to do any large scale transmutations later on."
Miles nodded and went off to issue instructions and to get everyone in place.
Edward was about to take off when Al hugged him.
"Take care, Brother."
"You too." Edward said hugging his brother tight; swallowing any fear or doubt he was starting to feel.
They separated and headed off in opposite directions to handle their respective duties.
Elysia held on tight as the jeep bumped along the rough dirt road. They were going through a narrow pass with a rock strewn wall rising up high on their right and a gentle rocky slope on their left with boulders, bits of spindly trees and dry bushes scattered about. The road was only wide enough for the jeep and Elysia had to force herself from looking to her left. At times it felt like the wheels barely held onto the road.
She tried to concentrate on holding on to her seat. Focusing on the pain of her cramped hands kept her from worrying about Edward too much. She didn't want to start crying again, wondering if she'd ever see him again.
"I can't take this," Richard declared suddenly.
"He'll be fine," Elysia said reassuringly as she turned to him. She didn't know who the reassuring words were for: herself or Richard. But they didn't seem to help as he stared ahead breathing heavily like he didn't hear her.
"I'm not going to sit somewhere miles away to wait and see if he comes back or not!"
Suddenly he crawled over Elysia. She made a grab for him but it was too late. "Richard, no!"
He was too fast. He jumped out of the jeep and went sliding down the side of the mountain; rock and dirt sprayed everywhere as he grappled for a handhold to stop himself.
"Richard!" Elysia cried out as she stood up, hardly believing he had just jumped out of a moving vehicle and was still alive.
"Mrs. Elric, please sit down or you'll go over too," the officer in the passenger seat said pulling her back down to her seat.
"We have to go back for him!"
"We can't turn around or stop. Support from Briggs is on its way, we have to clear this pass before they get here, or else we'll delay them from getting to Razkuul in time. We'll tell them to keep an eye out for the boy."
She gripped the side of the jeep and watched as Richard stopped sliding down the mountain side and began to climb back up. Then he was gone as they made a sharp turn around the side of the mountain.
She sat back slightly jealous he had the nerve to go back but she was afraid for him. Now there was one other person to worry about whether they would return or not.