Chapter 8 – Impending Invasion
Wrath and Adele were headed down the sidewalk towards the hotel. They were walking through pools of golden light cast by the streetlamps since it had grown completely dark out. The dark haired man glanced at the girl out of the corner of his eye. She seemed…pensive. Of course, that was probably to be expected given her worry about the state of her friend. What had happened to her while she'd been kidnapped? She didn't seem to be frightened or in shock as he'd expected the rather timid girl to be after such a traumatic experience. She just seemed to be deep in concerned thought. It was somewhat puzzling.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he questioned again, tone doubtful. She looked at him and smiled faintly.
"I'm fine, honestly. In any case, I'm not the one you should be worrying about," she glanced away with a worried frown. Wrath blinked. Before he could ask her what she meant by that statement she made a soft exclamation.
"Titus?" she called in surprise. Wrath followed her gaze to see Roy's son strolling towards them down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets. The young man's eyes widened in shock as his gaze lighted upon the blonde girl.
"Adele?!" he gasped, practically staggering in surprise. Then he rushed towards them, reaching Adele and hesitating as if wanting to grab her to make sure she was really there but not wanting to risk accidentally breaking something fragile. "You're here? What happened? Are you ok?" he demanded in a rush, expression unusually unguarded and concerned. Adele blinked, appearing slightly taken aback. She pulled up a weak smile for him.
"I'm ok. They let me go when Mina found me. What are you doing here?" she asked curiously. Titus hesitated, expression wavering before growing solemn.
"I just came from the hotel. I talked with Edward there. He said if I happened to run into you guys to tell you that right now it would be better if you hold off on going to see Mina," he explained. Adele's expression grew bewildered.
"But, is she ok? I need to see her," she protested. Titus shook his head grimly.
"From what I saw of her it's much better if you stay away for now. She isn't herself at the moment," he replied.
"But—" she began but he cut her off.
"Look, your father and your uncle and your sister are all looking after her. Elsie is coming tomorrow morning. I'm sure they'll figure something out and she'll be fine. But right now the less people that are around to complicate the situation the better. We can drop by in the morning and see how she's doing. Alright?" his tone was diplomatic but firm. Adele regarded him with a frown, clearly not at all happy about this information. Titus sighed. "Look, I know you're worried about her. But right now I think you showing up would be more distressing than helpful for both of you," he told her, expression slightly apologetic. The blonde girl glanced at the ground, appearing troubled.
"Well…if you say so," she murmured. The dark haired alchemist stared at her with a mixed expression for a moment, but rather than risk upsetting her more with empty reassurances he turned to Wrath.
"My father wants to speak with you," he informed the older man, tone serious. Wrath nodded, not appearing particularly surprised by the information.
"I know. I've been a little preoccupied the last few days," he replied.
"Why don't you two come and stay at our place for the night? We have spare rooms you can use. And apparently what father wants to speak with you about is urgent," Titus replied, his eyes grave. Wrath frowned slightly.
"Alright. If that's the case then we should get moving," he replied, concern entering his voice. The younger man glanced at Adele. The blonde girl sighed softly.
"Let's go then," she said, tone resigned.
Wrath strolled into the office, glancing around briefly. It was a rather cosy room, lit by lamps with artwork adorning the walls. There was an antique desk covered in piles of paperwork and behind the desk sat a dark haired man with an eye patch. His lined face and slightly greying hair testified to the years that had passed since the conflict which had left him with a single eye. The coolly commanding air about him was marred slightly by the plaid PJs and slippers which he was currently wearing. Wrath's lip twitched slightly as he came to stand in front of the desk. It was much harder to take Brigadier General Mustang seriously when he was dressed so very…casually…
"Wrath," Roy greeted him, "It's been a long time. I'm glad you got back safely," the Flame Alchemist eyed him with an unreadable expression. Wrath nodded.
"I apologize for the delay in coming. I've been slightly…preoccupied by things since I arrived. I assume you received the report I sent before I left Aerugo?" he asked. Roy nodded.
"I want to thank you again for agreeing to help me with this. Your information gathering has been invaluable," he told him, a hint of gratitude in his voice.
"I'm not doing it for you. Resembool and Dublith would be among the first places to be affected if Aerugo invades," Wrath replied, expression serious. Roy grimaced, glancing down at a letter sitting on the desk in front of him.
"It's not an 'if' but a 'when'. If what my sources tell me is accurate then it appears they will be making their move before the end of the year," he told the younger man. Wrath's eyes widened.
"So soon? I thought they were still waiting on Drachma to gather its forces?" his tone was startled. Roy made a face.
"Yes. But while you were away my main agent among the Drachman forces was taken out by their counter intelligence. It took me some time to get another one maneuvered into position. But now, from what their most recent report says, Drachma has moved a large portion of its army to camp near the border. They are ready to invade immediately if their general sees fit to give the order. I'm not even sure what they're waiting for at this point," he sounded slightly at a loss. Wrath frowned deeply, clearly troubled by the news. He was silent for a moment, gaze resting unfocusedly on the desk before him as he turned the information over in his mind.
"I know what they're waiting for," he replied finally, "The reason I came back now is because I needed to convey some information to you in person and discuss our options. I didn't realize things had become so urgent."
"What is it?" Roy asked, mildly alarmed.
"Aerugo has managed to turn several of our Council members to their side. They're planning to assassinate the remaining members to throw the government into chaos before they attack. With the restrictions that have been placed on our armies by the Council that would essentially leave the Aerugans in control of our military," Wrath explained grimly. Roy paled slightly, leaning back in his chair.
"Is that so?" he murmured, a frown creasing his brow, "Then we're in even more trouble than I had imagined."
"They'll have the Council assassinated and then Drachma will invade from the north, effectively tying up the majority of our military forces which are already stationed up there. Blame for the assassination will be placed on the Drachmans, and while everyone is distracted focusing on the northern border Aerugo will launch its invasion from the south. They'll capture South City and move on to take East City. With our forces tied up in the north and our government in shambles they'll have little trouble accomplishing this," Wrath told him, "I made the decision to return with this information because from what I was able to gather this is the final version of the plan they've been formulating over the last few year." Roy shook his head at these words.
"Well then. This certainly complicates things," he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and weaving his fingers together. Silence reigned over the room for several minutes while both men processed what they'd learned. Finally Roy sighed. "I'm sure you're aware of the main problem I'm up against here. The mission I sent you on was a private mission known only to myself. As far as the Council is concerned our relations with Aerugo are quite good. They don't see any reason to believe otherwise. I have attempted speaking with some of the more sensible ones in an attempt to explain the situation to them, but I have been unable to sway any of them. They are all far too eager to hang on to the peace which they believe they've managed to establish after the overthrow of Bradley's administration. And with all of the supposed goodwill coming from Aerugo with trading rights and friendly associations, they believe they have good reason to believe that everything is fine. Still…if what you say is true, then perhaps their stubbornness is not so much naivety as it is Aerugan gold. If they've been bribed into turning a blind eye that would explain a lot of things."
At that moment there was a light knock on the door.
"Come in," Roy called, glancing over at it. The door opened to reveal his wife Riza. Her slightly greying blond hair was falling loosely over her shoulders and like her husband she was dressed in pyjamas, though she wore a robe over them. She walked in carrying two steaming mugs, one of which she handed off to Wrath while the other she set before her husband on the desk.
"I thought the two of you could use a drink," she explained, "It's good to see you again Wrath," she glanced at the dark haired young man with a slight smile.
"Likewise," Wrath replied. Roy sighed.
"My dear I could use something a good deal stronger than this at the moment," he said, staring down at the tea in his mug resignedly. Riza rolled her eyes.
"The last thing you need right now is alcohol. You can have that after you've figured out what to do about our country's problems," she replied dryly, "Why don't you have a seat?" she suggested to Wrath, motioning to one of the chairs near the desk. She sank down into the other free seat as the dark haired man obeyed.
"Getting back to the topic at hand, do you know how they were planning to accomplish this assassination?" Roy asked, fixing his gaze on Wrath.
"It was difficult to get precise details. But I don't imagine it would be especially difficult for them to arrange. You know how lax security has gotten over the past few years. If they've managed to get some of the Council members themselves to switch sides then I don't doubt there are others further down the chain of command or even among the general work force who have been turned as well," Wrath replied speculatively. Riza shook her head.
"They wouldn't even need to go as far as that. With how enthusiastically our government has promoted good relations with Aerugo and Creta there are a number of immigrants from both countries now living here in Amestris. Some of them have even gone to the trouble of gaining Amestrian citizenship and finding jobs within our military and government. All in the name of 'strengthening relations' of course," she pointed out.
"Actually, as far as I can tell Creta has refused to join with the alliance between Drachma and Aerugo. They are only just beginning to recover from the drawn out wars they were involved in with us when our old government was in power. They aren't economically capable of engaging in yet another conflict," Wrath commented, "However, as I mentioned in my last report, the country which borders both Creta and Aerugo to the southwest, Donbachi, has joined the alliance. That's where the majority of the military forces Aerugo has been building up are lying low. It's far enough away from our country that little notice is given to what takes place there."
"Well, if we can somehow expose their plans to assassinate the Council then that would likely serve to delay the invasion. Not to mention the Council would be forced to recognize the immediate threat which our southern neighbor poses to us. With our country alerted to the danger it might be enough for Aerugo and Drachma to forestall the invasion all together. Losing the advantage of surprise would be problematic for them. Despite the cutbacks the Council has enforced on the military, we're still a force to be reckoned with," Roy stated, a thoughtful frown on his face.
"That's true. But finding a way to expose the assassination before it takes place is going to be difficult," Wrath's tone was resigned.
"Actually… I suspect I know who at least one of the rogue Council members is. One of my private agents like yourself managed to get quite close to him and he does happen to be of partially Aerugan decent. He's one of the most active advocates of the positive relations between Amestris and Aerugo. On top of which from what we've gathered he harbors strong feelings towards his mother country. I have been a little unsure what to make of him up till now, but if what you say is true then it paints his actions in a somewhat different light," Roy told him. "I would like you to meet with my other agent who discovered this. You're already distantly familiar with her I'm sure. Her name is Elycia Hughes. She's currently working as my secretary, thought that's simply a front to keep her undercover work for me a secret," Roy's gaze grew meaningful. Wrath blinked. Elycia was working for Mustang? He didn't know her well. For obvious reasons relations with the Hughes family were…tentative. Elsie had certainly spent a fair amount of time with them over the years, especially when Elycia had been younger and in need of a baby sitter. But neither he nor Envy were particularly eager to involve themselves with them. As far as he knew neither of the women were aware of what had taken place in the past, but it was still decidedly uncomfortable, especially for Envy.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts and noted the slightly warning look on Roy's face. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Did Roy honestly believe he'd be as careless as to blow another agent's cover?
"You know I'm not going to let anything slip," Wrath replied flatly. Roy smirked faintly.
"I know. I just wanted to be sure you were well informed of the situation," he replied, sitting back in his chair, "It is my hope that the two of you will be able to work together successfully on this. The girl is as sharp as a tack and she takes after her dearly departed father in more ways than one," the dark haired alchemist told him dryly. Riza chuckled softly. Wrath raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly that cryptic comment meant. "In any case," Roy smothered a yawn behind his hand, "We should all get some rest. I will introduce you to Miss Hughes tomorrow," he said. Wrath nodded.
"You must be exhausted," Riza commented, glancing at Wrath, "Adele told me what's been happening with your family over the last week. Do you have any idea what could be happening to Elmina? From what my son had to say it sounds as if whatever is wrong is rather serious," her tone was slightly concerned. Wrath grimaced.
"At the moment I don't know. I'm sure her parents will get to the bottom of it," he replied. Roy blinked in surprise.
"You'll have to let me in on what's been happening. When you said you were preoccupied this week I didn't realize it was a family thing," the Flame Alchemist commented, "If there's anything we can do to help, you know you just have to ask."
"Actually…" Wrath's expression grew thoughtful, "There might be something you can do. Alphonse has been unconscious in the hospital for the past week. I don't believe he's going to be waking up anytime soon," his tone was grim, "I suspect he'll need to be moved out of the hospital at some point. Although I don't think it would be practical to try and transport him back to Resembool." Roy's eyes widened.
"Al's in the hospital? I had no idea…"
"Ed's been a little distracted. I don't think it occurred to him to mention it to you," Wrath explained. Roy frowned, clearly troubled by the news.
"Why don't you start from the beginning?" he suggested. Wrath's expression grew slightly bemused.
"It's somewhat complicated," he warned. Roy's expression had grown grave.
"That's fine. I've got all night," he replied.
-Author's Note-
Guess this chapter was a bit of a change in pace. Hopefully it wasn't too boring x.x I know it was kind of slow...
This chapter had me stumped for ages. It was hard to come up with the underlying storyline for this story. It isn't entirely about emotional drama. Perhaps that will come as a relief to some of you….though….there's still a lot of emotional drama anyway x'D I get some serious satisfaction from writing that stuff.
So! The WrathxElycia aspect of this story…if you're reading the story mainly for that reason…*shifty eyes* it's….at least as slow a relationship as the EnvyxElsie relationship in the last story….And…they won't get a lot of screen time until later chapters…BUT they will eventually get their share of screen time and once you get into the flow of their own little storyline I suspect you shall enjoy it. They've been a tough pair to write, but I've loved every minute of it. Just wait till you meet Elycia… *chuckle*