Chapter 23 – Setting Things in Motion

AJ stared at his mother and aunt as they stood at the door of their home.

"What do you mean you aren't coming with us?" Winry demanded, eyes wide with alarm. The large family van was idling by their home, already packed with as many items as they could manage to fit. It was late in the afternoon. A large portion of Resembool had already emptied of people, a caravan of vehicles bumping away down the old, narrow dirt roads.

"Take someone else in my place. I'm sure there are people who still need a ride out of town," he replied firmly.

"But AJ, what are you hoping to accomplish by staying here?" Elsie demanded, a frown creasing her brow. The brown haired mechanic's expression was grim.

"Do you both have all of the things you need from here? Because you likely won't be seeing the place again," he informed them.

"What are you saying?" Winry demanded, clearly not following him.

"Mom, be realistic. Once they get here and take the weapons do you really think they'll leave the place standing unharmed?" he demanded. "They laid waste to South City. They'll do the same thing here."

"What are you planning?" Elsie asked.

"We've taken everything that we can in the way of belongings and weapons, but we can't bring everything. I'm not letting any of my remaining weapons or this shop fall into the hands of people who will use them against us," he replied.

"What will you do?" Winry demanded, slightly pale.

"The one thing I can do. I can't fight them head on, but I sure as hell can leave a trap that will make an impression. They don't know that we know they're coming. They won't know what hit them," he replied. The two woman stared at him. "It'll slow them down a bit, and you never know. Maybe if I make enough of an impression here they'll decide to avoid the rest of the town rather than risk any more losses. Of course they could just bomb it anyway. But at least we'll have done something to fight back," he pointed out.

"How will you escape?" Elsie demanded, concerned.

"I've still got the motorcycle in the shop. Once I'm finished here I'll come after you on that. But you two need to get going. The sooner you're on the road the better. There's no sense in you sticking around here," he told them firmly, "Now go." He ordered. His mother wavered, tears filling her eyes at the prospect of leaving her son behind. He let out a soft sigh and pulled her into a hug. "I'll be fine. The ground troops won't arrive here until tomorrow anyway," he told her, pulling back to look her in the eyes, "Go. I'll be right behind you," he assured her. Winry let out a shaky breath but reluctantly nodded, well aware she wasn't going to be able to talk him out of it.

"Alright. Just hurry," she replied hoarsely. Then she glanced at the dark haired woman standing next to her. "We should go," she said. Elsie nodded. With that the two women turned and headed out the door. AJ watched them head out to the vehicle and get in. As they put the van into drive and rumbled away down the road he let out a relieved breath. He'd been worried they would give him more of a hassle than that. Now he could get to work. The sooner he was finished the sooner he could make good on his promise and follow after them. First though, he was going to make sure the Aerugans received one hell of a welcome to Resembool.

Mustang, still seated at his desk in his military office, set the phone down as he stared into space with a blank expression. All eyes were on him as the other people in the room had listened with bated breath to his side of the phone call. Finally he shook his head slowly.

"Well that was quite something," he stated, a little amazed.

"What did he say?" Envy demanded sharply.

"He agreed to take some people into the heart of the Aerugan camp to destroy their fuel. Though I can't say how reliable he is," Mustang replied.

"Who will go?" Riza asked, expression grave. Mustang's gaze moved to rest for a moment on each person in the room before he answered. He suspected they already knew the answer to that question.

"I need a small group that I know I can trust to get the job done swiftly and get out alive," he stated finally. Edward's expression hardened with resolution.

"I'll go," he spoke up, then glanced at the two former homunculi, "How about you?" he asked them. Envy rolled his eyes.

"As if we'd let you go off on a suicide mission by yourself. There'd be hell to pay if your wife found out I let you die," his tone was dry. Wrath smirked faintly.

"I second that. Besides, if Envy's keeping you alive then he'll need someone to do the same for him. Winry's temper is well and good, but Elsie can be pretty frightening as well when she wants to be," he pointed out, and then glanced at Envy, "She must have learned it from you." At this the green haired man raised an eyebrow. 'Frightening' wouldn't be the first word he'd pick to describe his petite wife, but he could see Wrath's point.

"So the three of you will go then?" Mustang asked. The men nodded. "You have my gratitude. I'm not sure I could spare anyone else with everything that's happened. I'm somewhat low on capable, trustworthy individuals at the moment," the flame alchemist's tone was relieved. A frown had made its way onto Elycia's face and she glanced at Wrath, worry visible in her emerald gaze. The dark haired man intercepted her look with a prick of puzzlement. After receiving the cold shoulder throughout the day, the apparent concern from her wasn't something he would have expected.

"Do we have any idea who was behind the attack on the Council?" Edward asked.

"Elycia seems to believe it was Dominic," Mustang replied. Then his gaze moved to rest on Wrath. "What did you find when you went to his house?" he asked.

"He appeared to have been constructing a bomb. And from the way the door was left open, I'd say he left in a hurry," Wrath replied. Mustang frowned thoughtfully.

"I've sent a team to check the place out. They'll let me know if they find anything," he said finally, "I appreciate everything the two of you did to apprehend him in advance. I want you to know you are in no way responsible for what happened. You did the best you could with the information you had," Mustang told them, expression serious. Wrath's expression grew unreadable, but he nodded. He disagreed with the man, but there was no sense in arguing over it. What was done was done. They'd failed their mission and people had died as a result. The only thing to be done was to move forward with greater caution and attention to detail. He glanced at Elycia and found a similar guarded expression on the young woman's face. Clearly she too was unconvinced by Mustang's reassurance.

"We should begin making preparations for this operation. The sooner the better," Edward spoke up. Envy nodded in agreement.

"Why don't you three head back to the house and rest up a bit. From the sounds of it that creature won't be arriving here before sometime tomorrow. You're all going to need your wits about you," Mustang's tone was that of an order rather than a suggestion. Edward raised his hand in a mocking salute.

"Yes sir," his tone was dry as he turned and headed for the door, Envy following after him. As Wrath turned to follow them a hand grasped his arm, stopping him. He glanced back at Elycia in surprise.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked softly, the concerned frown still creasing her brow. He blinked, a little taken off guard, but nodded. He continued out of the room with her following after him. Once out in the hall he called after the other two men.

"I'll catch up with you," he informed them. Envy raised a hand in acknowledgement, not even bothering to glance back as he was already well aware of what was delaying the younger man. The look Elycia had been fixing Wrath with had not been lost on the green haired man.

Elycia followed Wrath down a different hall and out one of the building's side exits. Outside, the afternoon sun shone down on the small, empty courtyard they found themselves in. The dark haired man turned to face her, still puzzled.

"What is it?" he asked. The look she fixed him with was decidedly unhappy.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded tightly. He blinked in surprise.

"Doing what?"

"Going on this mission," she clarified. He stared at her, still not entirely sure what she was getting at.

"Someone has to do it," he replied finally. She shook her head, eyes narrowing.

"Why does that someone have to be you?" she demanded. The curiously distraught look in her eyes stirred something inside him. She was afraid for him.

"Elycia, where is this coming from? I thought you were angry with me," his tone was perplexed.

"I am angry with you!" She snapped, voice wavering slightly, "Just because I'm angry doesn't mean I don't care about you, you moron!" despite the vehemence of her words her eyes had filled up with tears. Wrath's own eyes widened slightly. Over the last few days he'd been too caught up in the anxiety which his unexpected feelings for her had raised in him to consider any other aspect of the situation. The possibility that she had grown as attached to him as he had to her hadn't even occurred to him. That their feelings for each other were mutual was somewhat startling. And now he was going off on a life threatening endeavor without her. If the roles were reversed, he couldn't say he'd be any happier than she appeared at the moment. He understood that desperate fear for another person's safety all too well. It was in no way a pleasant experience.

"Say something," she demanded, unable to hold back one of the tears which slipped down her cheek. He let out a soft sigh. Then, acting on instinct, he reached out and carefully pulled her into a hug. Her eyes widened and she grew still in his embrace, taken off guard by the gesture. He rested his head against hers for a moment.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you last night," he informed her softly, "But this mission is something I have to do. I can't let Envy and Edward go alone. I'll be fine," he promised her.

"You don't know that," she whispered shakily. Swiftly recovering from the surprise of his unexpected contact, she slid her arms around his waist and clung tightly to the material of his shirt. She was suddenly very reluctant to let him go for fear that he'd leave and she'd never see him again, just as her father had.

"Nobody knows anything for certain. You just have to have faith. I'll come back," he replied, resting his hands on her shoulders to gently pry her off of him. "Don't cry," he told her, staring at her gravely. Though he wasn't terribly willing to admit it, he was shocked and touched at a deep level by the intensity of her concern for him. No one outside his close circle of friends and family had ever treated him this way. It was somewhat bewildering to realize that he had put the woman standing before him in the very same position which he'd been afraid of ending up in himself: becoming attached to someone who he was at risk of losing. He wasn't entirely sure how to respond. She sniffed, raising a hand to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Alright. But you had better damn well keep that promise," she replied hoarsely. He smiled at her faintly.

"Come on. I'll walk you back to your apartment. You need some rest as much as I do," he told her. She swallowed and nodded. Then without a word she slipped her hand into his as if it was the most normal thing in the world and began walking away. He blinked in surprise, but followed after her. As usual, her unconcerned forwardness took him off guard. This woman was forever pushing the boundaries of their relationship. But for a change, he didn't feel threatened by it. He interlaced his fingers with hers, a bemused smile pulling at his lips as they headed down the sidewalk hand in hand.

The next day…

The first thing Elmina became aware of as her mind drifted sluggishly into consciousness was that she felt absolutely exhausted. Her body felt heavy and weak. She wasn't sure why she was even awake. Her eyelids fluttered open and she stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was the feeling of throbbing flames surrounding her as the air blurred and the world spun. Obviously she'd survived the jump with Mania; although, if how she currently felt was any indication then it had been a close call. How long had she been unconscious?

Slowly and shakily she managed to push herself into an upright position. She was on a couch in a small, unfamiliar living room. Much to her puzzlement the carpet was quite charred in a strip from the door to a spot near the wall across the room. The place smelled faintly of smoke despite the window being open.

"Hello?" she called uncertainly. She heard the sound of footsteps in the next room and a moment later someone appeared in the doorway. At the sight of him her heart abruptly plummeted. If she hadn't felt so utterly exhausted she would have been sorely tempted to get up and run away. He was the last person she wanted to see. Even Despair almost seemed preferable. But here he was.

"So you're finally awake," Titus stated. His expression was guarded as he observed her. She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the burning of her cheeks as she swiftly avoided his gaze.

"How long was I out?" she asked stiffly, staring fixatedly at the wall across the room.

"A day and a night," he replied. Her gaze snapped back to him in shock.

"Seriously?! Where is Mania?" she demanded incredulously.

¨Probably keeping Adele company while she works out a way to alter his powers," Titus replied. Elmina's eyes widened.

"She's doing what now?" She demanded in alarm.

"It's not realistic for her to try and alter the brain chemistry of the entire Aerugan army, so she's attempting to give Mania access to the entire population by altering his chemistry," he explained. The dark haired girl started at him, dumfounded.

"Are you guys insane? If you do that, what's stopping him from going after us instead of the Aerugans?!" she cried. Titus grimaced.

"Well, you'll be safe from him as long as the transmutation is in effect. And even if he does betray us, the modification will wear off in a few days so his reign of terror won't last long," he replied, tone resigned. There was a brief silence while Elmina simply stared at him.

"And you're ok with taking that risk?" she asked finally in disbelief.

"It doesn't matter how I feel. As much as I hate to admit it, we're going to need that bastard's help," Titus grumbled, expression slipping into a glower. Elmina blinked at his irritated expression. She couldn't help but feel a distant prick of amusement at the disgust in his tone. An inkling as to what might have burned up the carpet entered her mind, though she wasn't sure asking about it outright was the best course.

"Why am I getting the sense that you don't like him very much?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. His expression remained decidedly unimpressed.

"I can't believe that you could like him any more than I do given that I'm fairly certain he was the one responsible for your little outburst last week," he pointed out flatly. Elmina's eyes widened and then she glanced away quickly, a wave of humiliation crashing over her as her cheeks filled with heat again. She had been hoping he wouldn't bring that up.

"Can we just pretend that never happened?" she asked tightly. He sighed.

"We both know that isn't realistic," he replied. Elmina glanced at him with a helpless expression, floundering for some sort of response.

"Look, I get that you like Adele," she began, "And honestly, you only ever piss me off. My feelings aren't rational," her tone was defensive and she was uncomfortably aware of her burning cheeks. Why did they have to be having this conversation? Titus smiled faintly.

"At least you're willing to admit it," he replied dryly. She glared at him. "Alright, look," his tone was apologetic, "Why don't we call a truce?" he suggested.

"A truce?" she asked skeptically. He sighed again.

"I'll be less of an ass if you'll be less of a bitch," he offered bluntly. She raised her eyebrows.

"With that vocabulary you're making Mania look positively classy. At least he isn't crude," she retorted. Then she hesitated a moment, considering his offer. "What about your vendetta against my dad? I always assumed that was why you didn't like me in the first place," she pointed out guardedly. Titus grimaced.

"Well…you aren't your father," he conceded reluctantly.

"What do you have against him anyway? I've never understood it," she frowned in puzzlement. His expression grew unreadable.

"Let's just say that I overheard some stuff about his past I wasn't supposed to hear," he replied. Elmina blinked.

"Like what?" she demanded.

"It isn't my place to say. Ask Elycia about it," he replied simply. Her eyes widened in surprise. What did Elycia have to do with it? She knew the young woman had always been like an older sister to Titus, but as far as she was aware her father had very little contact with Elycia. She stared at Titus suspiciously for a moment. Well…if her dad had supposedly been some sort of monster then it probably shouldn't be terribly surprising that he had a less than noble past. She was really going to have to sit down and drag some answers out of her parents. She let out a resigned sigh.

"Alright, we can try a truce," she agreed reluctantly. "And…I know your relationship with Adele really isn't any of my business…but if you hurt her…" a warning note entered her voice as she stared at him with a hard expression. Titus's expression grew resigned.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better I've already been told by Sara on no uncertain terms that she'll murder me in my sleep if I try to further my relationship with her baby sister," he replied flatly. Elmina's eyes widened slightly.

"Seriously?" her tone was a little incredulous.

"She doesn't think I'm good enough for her," his expression grew bemused. Elmina stared at him blankly for a moment, before an amused snickered escaped her lips.

"Ouch," her tone was smug, "That's gotta burn." He gave her a flat look. She grinned slightly. "Sorry," she told him sheepishly.

"Yeah, well….yeah," he muttered, a little disgruntled. Elmina smirked. He seemed almost…abashed. It was terribly unlike him and rather amusing.

At that moment she noticed an unpleasant fizzing feeling in her veins and her gaze was drawn to a blur in the air across the room.

"I think we're about to get some company," she commented.

"Wonderful…" Titus muttered. A moment later the blur resolved into the figures of Mania and Adele. Mania had his arm around the blonde who appeared distinctly uncomfortable with the close contact. She pulled away swiftly and upon seeing Elmina sitting up and awake, her eyes lit up.

"You really are awake!" She cried, crossing the room and plopping down on the couch beside her to wrap her in a hug.

"How did you know?" Elmina's tone was puzzled as she returned the hug.

"I felt your emotional discomfort level spike dramatically and surmised that you and Lover Boy were getting a chance to spend some quality time together," Mania spoke up, his tone dry. Elmina's expression darkened to a glare, as did Titus's. Before either of them could respond Adele cut in.

"I'm assuming Titus filled you in on what's going on?" She asked.

"Well, he told me about your plan to perform the transmutation on Mania. Which is a horrible idea in my opinion," Elmina's tone was blunt. Mania sighed.

"Have a little faith Mouse. I'm not the villain here," his expression was one of resigned amusement.

"Could've fooled me," the dark haired girl muttered.

"He's agreed to take some people to where the fuel for the Aerugan planes is being kept so they can destroy it," Adele said. Elmina blinked in surprise.

"How do you know where it is?" she turned a puzzled expression on Mania.

"I don't. We'll have to find it first. It's somewhere with the main ground force and I know where that is, so I'm sure it won't be terribly difficult," he replied unconcernedly.

"And what exactly do you get out of doing this for us?" Elmina asked skeptically. A slow smirk spread across his face.

"The Aerugans," he replied, eyes glinting. Elmina stared at him for a moment.

"You know, I suddenly feel sorry for them," she said finally, mildly perturbed.

"Oh come now. I'm not that bad. I'll treat them better than Despair ever would," he replied, still smirking.

"That isn't saying much," Elmina muttered.

"When are you going to attempt the transmutation?" Titus asked, gaze resting on Adele.

"The sooner the better," she replied before glancing at Mania, "Are you sure Elmina will be safe to make jumps with you once I do it?" she asked.

"My powers won't be able to have any effect on her, so she'll be just fine. The contact probably won't even burn her," the red haired creature replied. Adele nodded.

"Well we might as well do it now then," she said.

"Wait, now?" Elmina demanded, slightly alarmed. She had originally thought they would be giving Mania access to a set group of people, not to everyone. Did Adele and Titus not know what this guy was capable of? A lot of irreversibly bad things could happen over the course of a day or two!

"Mouse, relax. I promise I'll behave myself," Mania assured her. Though he sounded sincere, his eyes still held their typical amused glint.

"What reason do you have to do that?" She demanded, not buying it.

"Well considering that I'll likely be spending copious amounts of time with you and your friends in the future, it would be better for me not to completely alienate the lot of you. Besides, just because I have a tendency of getting carried away doesn't mean I'm inherently malicious you know," his tone was defensive, expression growing slightly pouty. Elmina stared at him flatly, still unconvinced.

"Do you need anything for the transmutation?" Titus asked.

"All the ingredients are inside Mania. I'm just adjusting what's already there," Adele replied, "I'll need a pen for drawing the circles though."

A short time later everything was ready. Adele had drawn the necessary circles on Mania and herself and she was standing in front of the red haired creature with her eyes closed, organizing her thoughts. Elmina sat watching them anxiously while Titus stood by, arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face. Finally Adele raised a hand and pressed it to Mania's forehead. The air around them lit with the usual blue alchemic light. As Elmina watched she felt a prick of alarm as she noticed her friend's hair begin to lift and flutter slightly in a way that mirrored Mania's lively locks.

"What…is this feeling?" Titus spoke up after a moment, sounding slightly taken aback. The dark haired girl glanced at him and found he was staring down at his hands. She was vaguely surprised to realize the fizzing feeling had vanished from her veins. A moment later the blue, alchemic glow faded from the room and Adele staggered backwards. Elmina leapt to her feet and moved to catch her friend, but as Adele fell against her the dark haired girl discovered her legs weren't quite up to the task of supporting that much weight as of yet. Her knees gave out and the two of them toppled to the ground in a heap.

"Adele!" Elmina gasped a little breathlessly, attempting to scramble out from under her friend. "Are you okay?" She demanded. The blonde sat up swiftly, allowing Elmina to push herself into an upright position as well.

"I'm fine!" Adele assured her. Elmina's stomach dropped in alarm at the sight of the slight grin on her friend's face, which seemed rather out of place given the circumstances. Her blue eyes were bright with enthusiasm. That couldn't be a good sign. The dark haired girl turned a very scary look on Mania as she scrambled to her feet. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I didn't do anything, I swear. She came into contact with my energy through the transmutation. It wasn't intentional," his expression was almost sheepish.

"How come I can feel you?" Titus spoke up, fixing him with an equally hard expression. Mania smirked slightly.

"I couldn't hide that even if I wanted to. You're just getting to experience how Mouse feels whenever I'm in the area," he replied.

"Let Adele go," Elmina demanded sharply. Mania gave her a slightly wilted look.

"I can't exactly put out fire with fire. She only experienced a small exposure to my energy. She'll be fine once I'm far enough away," he replied.

"Fine, then take Elmina and get out of here," Titus ordered. Elmina glanced back at him in surprise.

"But—" she began, but he cut her off.

"I can look after Adele. The sooner the two of you get to Central the better," he told her firmly.

"I couldn't agree more. Come on Mouse, let's go," Mania's tone was brisk.

"I…" Elmina glanced down at Adele who was still glowing with cheerfulness as she listened to the conversation from her spot seated on the floor. Well, Titus did have a point. The sooner they put some space between Adele and Mania the better. She didn't want her friend embarrassing herself if it could be avoided. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly. She slowly crossed the room to where Mania was standing. As he reached for her she shut her eyes, bracing for the pain of his burning contact, but it never came. As his arm slid around her waist and pulled her against him her eyes snapped open in surprise. Rather than the usual fiery sensation, his touch caused nothing more than a mild tingling where her skin was in contact with him.

"It doesn't burn…" She marvelled, glancing up at him in amazement. Mania smirked.

"I told you so," he retorted. Then the air around them blurred and a moment later they vanished from the room.

-Author's Note-

Holy a lot happened on this chapter! AJ's on a mission, Elsie and Winry are on a mission (well, if you count evacuating as a mission), Envy, Wrath and Edward are on a mission, Mania and Elmina are on a mission, and nobody knows the precise details about what each of the other groups are doing. XD Hurray! Next chapter will be fun. *grin* I love this part of the story. The drama is only going to keep ramping up from this point onward.

And oh my, some characters actually made some relationship progress! Wrath is finally waking up and smelling the coffee! And thankfully he's a coffee person, even if he doesn't know that for sure just yet. ;) Aaaand Elmina sort of got things sorted with Titus. Honestly they would probably end up killing each other if they somehow ended up as a couple. I'm curious though what your guys' thoughts are on TitusxAdele. How would you like to see that progress (if at all)? I'm willing to be swayed in either direction if anyone has an opinion on it (bearing in mind, of course, that their relationship is by no means central to the plot).

I'm writing the last two to three chapters of the story as we speak. I'm so excited! XD I think I'll actually get it finished before I run out of chapters to upload. So yay!

MissiB: Yeah, Titus still has a lot of growing up to do. Although I hope some of his behavior makes a little more sense now after this chapter lol. I hope the WrathxElycia scene was satisfactory! They've still got a little more developing yet before they fall into each others arms...but it's coming! XD I tend to procrastinate when it comes to writing romance. I swear, out of this whole story those two have been the hardest part for me to write for some reason. I think they're worth it though. xP

Penelope Jadewing: Haha! Yeah, I've actually thought that myself. But unlike Envy, Mania fungus is red and sparkly. Although I suppose mold lets out spores, and Mania lets out energy, so maybe that makes more sense. XD And yes, Despair is still around...*wanders away whistling innocently* Oh man, I keep forgetting about Al too, and I'm the one writing it! XD It's terrible! I had that problem in the last story as well. Poor guy... But we'll be getting back to him a little later. ^^

nettlesnitch92: Indeed. I can't say I would be terribly eager to try that plan if I were in their shoes, but I suppose I've put them in a rather desperate situation lol. I don't think it's possible for Mania not to be a brat honestly. It's just in his nature. XD I hope this chapter kept things progressing in an interesting way.