Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Conspiracy

Okay, sorry. For whatever reason, I had forgotten this chapter was done and ready to be posted. Honestly, I thought I had already posted it.

Thanks for the reviews!

Fullmetal Alchemist quote:

"What do you mean? Destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin! You must destroy to create! THAT IS THE LAW OF THE UNIVERSE! [takes off shirt, poses epically]."- Alex Louis Armstrong

"Did he have to strip?"- Riza Hawkeye

"Are you surprised? He's clearly insane."- Jean Havoc

"Talking"

Thoughts

Chapter 17: Making Plans

"Isaac is back."

Silence. An uncomfortable, long, shocked silence. That was the only way Edward could describe the silence that fell over the brothers. He stared down into his brother's surprised eyes with a completely serious and dreadful expression. Al was staring up in shock at his brother with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open a little. The man who almost killed his brother was back!

Gritting his teeth, Edward dropped his arms to his sides. "And…..and he has challenged me to a duel to the death, a one on one battle." Edward said quietly.

An even longer silence fell over the boys. The younger alchemist stared in more shock and fear than before. His mouth fell open more and his breathing became heavily. A fight to the death? What the hell kind of adult challenges a twelve year old to a fight to the death? It was completely insane!

Edward looked at his brother expectantly. He was waiting for the reaction that he was sure would be coming any second now. Truth was, he didn't want to fight Isaac in a duel to the death. He knew there was a chance he could die in the fight. No matter how tough and brave he acted, he didn't want to die. He couldn't die. He was all that Al had left. His brother needed him. And he didn't want to die. He liked living.

Abruptly, Al stood up, grabbed his brother's shoulders, and started to shake him. "Please tell me you didn't accept the challenge! You know you can't beat him. He's too strong. Please tell me you didn't accept it."

Edward smiled sadly at his brother. "I can't do that. I don't like being challenged like that so I accepted it. I'm not sure when we are going to fight though. I haven't seen him since we left the train station."

Al fell to his knees and whacked his head against one of the walls he created. Why? Why was he cursed to have such a reckless and hardheaded brother who did the most dangerous things ever? He was going to get himself killed at a young age at this rate.

"It's not that bad, Al. He might not even go through with the fight since he doesn't know what has happened to us since he saw us at the train station." Edward said as he clapped his hands and got rid of the walls.

Al stood up and straightened his jacket. "That doesn't change the fact that you are reckless and always will be. Your recklessness will get you killed some day."

Edward stared at his little brother's deep, troubled eyes. His sad smile transformed into a frown. "Don't worry about me, Al." He said softly, voice laced with pain and sadness. He was more worried that his recklessness would get someone else hurt or killed. He didn't care if he got himself hurt, but he never wanted someone else to get involved in his affairs and get hurt helping him or getting in his way. It would cause him great guilt to get an innocent person hurt.

The young state alchemist looked at the mechanics and soldiers around the fire that one of the officers built. The three soldiers who were hurt had their jackets thrown to the side so as not to be bothered by them. Their wounds hurt enough as it. They didn't want to agitate their wounds more by pulling their jackets back on. Pain flashed across their faces for the briefest moment whenever they moved their injured body parts the slightest inch before they covered it up with a blank expression.

Pain was no stranger to Edward. He had managed to hurt every body part of his being. He's broken his bones, he has had internal bleeding, he's had cuts, scrapes, and bruises, he has had two limbs ripped from his body, and he has been shot and stabbed. Edward could handle the pain. He was used to it all.

"Fullmetal, Alphonse, if you two are done with your secret conversations, get over here." Myers snapped at them.

Edward rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pocket. "Well, someone seems to be in a bad mood." He said blandly to Al.

Al sighed. "Military personal are like this probably. They lose a comrade in battle, but they can't show any weakness from it. Showing any emotion would probably be a sign of weakness to them, especially during a mission. So they cover their weak emotions with anger."

"What is it that you need?" Edward asked when he reached the Lieutenant Colonel.

Myers was kneeling on the ground with Major Lyes, First Lieutenant Haze, and First Lieutenant Cluke; between them was a map of east Amestris. Red lines were all over the map, starting in the north and moving down to Akran, then through the area that the brothers led the group through so far. Haze was tapping his red pen against his thigh.

The two young alchemists kneeled next to the military soldiers. Edward looked over the map and at the landscape around them, obviously teaching himself how to read a map. Al looked quickly at the map, but didn't try to understand it. He didn't really feel up to it and his brother was the best at learning something by himself. If it was important, he would have his brother teach him later.

Myers pointed at a dot on the map that was labeled New Optain. "Our goal is to get here first, then head to East City from there. In New Optain we will restock our medical and food supply."

"So, we're still going to walk?" Edward asked.

"Of course. We can't risk getting on any type of transportation." Myers snapped.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Because you are afraid of enemies, but in case you didn't realize, we were just attacked. The enemy is still attacking us."

"Brother," Al pleaded, pulling on his brother's sleeve. He didn't want his brother to anger the Lieutenant Colonel further. It might get him in a lot of trouble.

"You are just an ignorant brat, aren't you?" Myers scoffed.

Edward seethed at him.

"Fighting an enemy on any type of transportation is more dangerous than fighting out here in the open. On a train we would be confined to that space. And then what? We wouldn't be able to fight at full strength. The other passengers would also be in danger. At least out in the open we can fight at full strength and not worry about any civilians or about being confined." Myers explained annoyed. Honestly, even if he was a kid, he was a military officer and should be able to think about every possibility. It was the way adults had to think and it affected their decisions on missions. The kid needed to learn this if he was going to make it in the military.

Al wrapped his hand around his brother's wrist to remind him that he was here and he had to stay calm. He knew that his older brother hated being ignorant and being wrong about something. Edward prided himself in his high intelligence and on being able to make quick and smart decisions, even in the midst of a battle.

"So we are walking to New Optain where we will restock and you should call your commanding officer to let him know how the mission is going." Cluke summarized to get back on track and away from the fight that was brewing between the Major and Lieutenant Colonel.

Edward groaned. "I don't want to call th….OW! What the hell did you do that for, Al?" He yelled as he rubbed his arm where his brother punched him.

"I don't think you should be calling your comrades names in front of soldiers who don't know you or your relationship with your commander." Al whispered.

"What's to know? I hate him." Edward hissed back.

Al rolled his eyes. "I don't think you hate him."

"You don't, do you?" Edward snapped.

"No. I think you are glad he's your superior because he's the only one who would make that deal with or have you forgotten about that deal?" Al asked, looking sadly at his brother. Were they not going to research what he wanted to research after all?

The young state alchemist frowned and clapped a hand on Al's shoulder. "Of course I haven't forgotten, Al. We're still going to research it. I just have to focus on my mission right now."

"More secret conversations!" Cluke cried in frustration as he threw his hands into the air. "Will you two listen so we can finish up here?"

Edward rolled his eyes irritated. "Go ahead. We're listening."

"Thank you." Lyes growled. God, why did they allow this kid in the military, and as a state alchemist at that? "Once we finish in New Optain, it will be a straight walk to East City from there. Like last time we will be leaving the city at night as a safety precaution."

Edward ran his finger over the path that the group would be taking to make it to East City. His finger stopped at a spot a few inches away from New Optain. "What are these rough lines here?"

"That's a canyon." Cluke replied.

"Are we going to travel through it or over it?" Edward asked.

"Over it." Myers replied without hesitation.

Edward frowned. He rested one hand on his chin and kept his other hand on the map. "If we did that we would have to stay away from the edge because if we were attack we could fall into the canyon. There's no way anyone would survive. If we traveled through the canyon we would have coverage, but if it rained, it could flood and it might be the best place for an ambush. More chimeras could show up and trap us in the canyon, taking us out easily. Traveling over it would be best."

"Glad you approve." Myers said with a roll of his eyes.

Edward glared at him. "Look, Lieutenant Colonel, I was sent here to help you. I am just going over everything to make sure we are going about this right. You don't need to give me the sarcasm. I'm just trying to do as much as I can to help."

"You're one to talk about unleashing anger on others." Al muttered under his breath.

Edward angrily narrowed her eyes. "Did you say something, Al?"

Al shook his head frantically.

Shrugging, Ed went back to tracing the path they were going to take with his finger. His finger stopped on New Optain for a few seconds then it started traveling down to East City. "Are we just going to follow the train tracks to East City or walk away from them?"

"Following the tracks would be easier." Haze commented thoughtfully. "But that would also mean it would be easy for the enemy to find us. They would just have to follow like us."

Myers nodded his head. "So, we aren't following the tracks. We aren't going to make it easy for them."

"If we walk all day and only stop for a rest once or twice a day then we should be able to reach New Optain in about two days and from there, East City will be a four to five day walk, assuming we aren't attack again." Cluke said.

"We also have to add in our injuries and the fact that the mechanics aren't soldiers and don't have the same stamina as us." Edward pointed out.

"Damn, this is going to take longer than we thought when we factor all that in." Haze said, scratching the back of his head in an irritated manner.

Al sighed and crossed his arms. "At least it's not thirty days."

Edward looked at his brother with a grin. "Even if it was going to take that long, we have more than a knife and we know what to do this time, and we're traveling, not staying in the same spot."

Al shrugged. "I'm just saying that staying in the open for that long is dangerous when we're being hunted down by an enemy we don't know."

"Like the Masked Man. I do wander where he came from. Master said there wasn't anything to harm us there." Edward muttered thoughtfully.

"Oh, well. Let's forget about him. We'll probably never learn what that was about." Al replied. He looked at the mechanics that were still sitting by the fire and tilted his head to the side in thought. "So when we factor in the stamina of the mechanics and our injuries that will probably add about two or three days to our traveling, maybe more. I don't know how much the mechanics can take so I can't be sure."

"And if we get attacked again, that will probably add more days because we have to rest after getting attacked so we can treat our wounds." Edward added. "Hmm, this is going to take a while."

"And we might have Isaac hunting us down out here." Al whispered to his brother.

Edward closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them, they were hard and emotionless. "Let's hope he isn't though. We can't deal with him right now, not with these soldiers and mechanics with us."

Al nodded his head in agreement. It was his brother's job to protect the mechanics. He couldn't do that if Isaac showed up for that duel with his brother. They would get in the way and might get hurt or killed. The soldiers would try to interfere with the duel and the boys couldn't allow that. Their honor wouldn't allow them to cheat like that in a duel when it was one on one.

Cluke rolled his eyes. "It's just secret conversation after secret conversation after secret conversation with you two."

Al and Ed looked up at him with blank looks. "Everyone is allowed their secrets." Al said.

"You are twelve and eleven. What could you two possible have to keep a secret?" Haze scoffed.

Edward frowned. "You forget that we are both alchemists and I'm a state alchemist. We have a lot to keep secret." Both boys knew that he was referring to his human transmutation and automail limbs in that as well.

"Are we done planning?" Al asked.

Myers looked up from the map with a hand on his chin. "Sure, I just needed you two to know what our plan was so far."

Not giving Myers a chance to change his mind, Al jumped to his feet and left the group. Edward nodded his head at the soldiers and followed his brother to the fire. They sat down next to the injured mechanic.

The injured mechanic looked up at the two boys. He pushed his brown bangs out of his eyes and smiled at them. "Hello boys."

Edward looked up from the fire and nodded his head. "Hey."

"Hello sir." Al replied, frowning at his brother.

The man chuckled. "No need for such formalities. I'm no soldier. The name is James Johnson. You can just call me James or if you prefer, Johnson. I'm not picky. And you two are Edward and Alphonse Elric."

Edward nodded his head. "Yeah. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. My ankle will be better in a day or two. Thanks for saving me." Johnson replied kindly. He looked from Edward to Alphonse with a thoughtful look.

"What?" Al asked confused.

Johnson shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm just being ridiculous. I mean they were wiped out four hundred years ago."

Edward and Alphonse looked at each other confused. What was this man talking about? Wiped out?

"Who were?" Edward asked curiously.

Johnson smiled. "Besides being a mechanic, I'm also a historian. I study ancient texts and ancient counties. There is one that caught my interest but I could never figure out what happened to them. It is said that the county, which was really advanced, was destroyed completely in one night."

Al sat forward in interest. "What city and what about us reminded you of it?"

"The City of Xerxes. It was a county that existed in the Great Desert to the east of Amestris. Four hundred years ago it was wiped out. No one knows how. It's a great mystery that we may never be able to solve." Johnson explained. He looked intensely at the boys. "All Xerxesians have golden hair, eyes, and tan skin, just like you boys."

Edward and Alphonse stared in shock at the man.

"Our dad looks just like us." Alphonse whispered.

"Is it possible that someone from Xerxes survived?" Edward asked.

"Your father is obviously a Xerxesian and so are you boys because Xerxesians are the only ones with those traits. In all my studying I have never come across another county with traits like that." Johnson replied.

Edward looked at Al then at Johnson. "But the traits…you said the county was destroyed four hundred years ago. How…..how is possible that the traits were able to last that long? Surely, the traits would have died down eventually as the survivor got married and had kids of his own. They wouldn't all inherit the traits and this was four hundred years ago. There is no way that they could survive this long."

Al pulled at his hair in frustration. "And surely if the traits did last this long, then we would see more people with traits like ours and have some relatives. But we don't have any relatives on either of our parents' sides….Why is this so confusing?"

"Damn it." Edward slammed his flesh fist into his automail hand. "If that bastard was still around we could figure this out, I bet."

"Don't call dad that." Al snapped.

Edward ignored his brother and stared into the fire. What did this mean? How could these traits last this long? And what happened to Xerxes? Nothing made sense. How could a county be wiped out in one night? And how did someone survive it?

"Brother, maybe we should just forget about it now. Staring into a fire isn't going to bring the answers to you." Al replied, resting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Sighing, Edward looked at his brother with tired eyes. "I know, Al. I just hate not knowing something and most likely, there will be no way for us to get the answers to this. Not if historians who searched for years can't figure it out."

"You should get some sleep, brother. You lost a lot of blood from that bite." Alphonse said concernedly.

"Maybe. The thought of sleep does sound nice." Edward murmured. He looked at his brother. "You should sleep to, little brother. We both need sleep to keep up our energy."

*B*R*E*A*K*

CRACK!

Al's eyes snapped opened at the sound of a branch being snapped. His eyes scanned the darkness. The dimmed down fire wasn't offering much light for him to see. By the fire he saw Lieutenant Cluke standing with a shot gun in hand and looking around. He reached behind him to grab his brother's shoulder and shake him. "Brother, wake up." He whispered.

"Stop it, Al." Edward mumbled as he turned onto his side to face the opposite direction.

Al turned on his side so he was facing Ed and grabbed his brother's shoulder again. "I think someone is out there, brother."

Edward groaned and sat up. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "If this turns out like it did on that island…"

"Major Elric?" Cluke called into the darkness.

"I'm awake. Did you hear that sound?" Edward asked quietly.

"Yes." Cluke replied.

Edward and Alphonse moved closer to the fire, but stayed close to the ground as they moved. Until they determined the threat it was best to keep down in case the threat had a gun. "Do you know where the sound originated from?"

Cluke motioned to the top of the path. "I think I saw someone on the trail, but as soon as he stepped on the branch he disappeared on the other side of the hill."

"Al, Cluke, keep an eye on the group while I go check it out. Don't wake anyone up. There is no point in worrying them if there is nothing to worry about." Edward replied.

Al frowned. "But brother, shouldn't I come….."

The state alchemist shook his head. "I want an alchemist over here while I check the other side." With that said, Edward ran towards the path, leaving his brother behind to argue at empty air.

Edward skidded down the other side of the hill. At the bottom of the hill, he paused and looked around. He wasn't really sure of what to do now. Thinking ahead wasn't his strong point. He preferred to just jump into something and work it out from there.

"Edward Elric!"

The young alchemist whipped his head around towards where the voice was coming from. "Is that you Isaac?" He asked, staring at the dark outline of the person.

"We have a score to settle, Edward Elric." Isaac said.

"Of course." Edward smirked confidentially, but on the inside he was worried. He knew he wouldn't be able to win an one-on-one fight with Isaac. He wasn't prepared and he was injured. "We have our duel to the death."

"You look more confident than you sound." Isaac said with a laugh.

Edward clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground. As he lifted his hands, a blade came up with them. "Shut up, you bastard."

Isaac jumped back a few feet. "Do you really think I'll let you get close enough to me to slice me?"

"You don't need to let me." Edward said. He fell into a stance, waiting for one of them to make the first move. But before either of them could do a thing, the whole area was filled a deafening BANG!

A/N: Please Review!