"Well, are you interested or not?" General Raven's voice rang through the radio. "There are only two answers."
"It is intriguing." Came Olivier's reply. Her voice purred in a way Myra didn't think was possible for her. "Tell me General, will my men share in this gift as well? Or is it only for me?"
"I can tell you when the time comes." he tried to assure her.
There was a moment's pause as Olivier seemed to debate on whether she should accept his offer or not.
But before the Major General could finish contemplating, a knock interrupted their conversation. A Briggs officer arrived to deliver news that something had happened to the advanced team in the tunnel. Olivier states that she's going to check it out immediately while General Raven follows.
"Alright, let's go too." Buccaneer said. Everyone stood from their places and headed towards the door.
"Hold on a second." Ed stopped them. He then transmuted the material from a few sacks to make rope. "It has to look convincing."
Moments later, the Elrics were tied up in rope and being escorted down a corridor by Buccaneer and Falman.
Their paths crossed with Major Miles who was giving Solf J. Kimblee a tour of the facilities.
"Buccaneer, what are you doing?" Miles stopped to address the Captain.
"Prisoner transfer, sir." he answered. "I'm moving the Elric siblings from the East cell to the West. May I ask who this is?" Buccaneer looked over to Kimblee.
"This is Mr. Solf J. Kimblee. He's General Raven's honoured guest."
'Kimblee. The Crimson Alchemist. The one who caused all that mayhem in Ishval?' Myra thought, her eyes narrowing.
"Wait, did you say the Elric brothers?" Kimblee asked with a smirk on his face.
"Siblings." Myra clarified after not being acknowledged by the so-called powerful alchemist.
"Now I understand your nickname." he said to Al, completely ignoring Myra. Al shrunk in response, knowing what was to follow.
Miles, Buccaneer and Falman pointed to Ed and Myra motioned to him as best as she could with her hands tied behind her back.
"Oh, it's this one." Kimblee said in disbelief. Ed made a face as if he could snap at any given moment.
"Nice to meet you. I've heard much about the Fullmetal Alchemist."
"Hello." Ed replied blandly.
The Elrics sat in their cells, restraints once again around their wrists. A silence filled the room for several moments before Ed decided to speak up.
"I can't believe what happened in Liore." Ed mumbled into his hands.
"If we knew a riot would happen like that, then..." Al trailed off.
"There was no way you guys could've known what was going to happen." Myra told them firmly, but sincerely. "I heard about what you two did, and you exposed Cornello for being the fake that he was." Ed and Al looked up at her. "The riot that occurred was due to the Central forces, not you guys."
"But even so, now, Liore could—"
"You don't know what Liore is like right now. Who knows, maybe it came out better than it was before Cornello even showed up."
"I suppose... you're right." Al agreed after a moment. "We won't know until we see it for ourselves."
"Yeah, I guess so." Ed gave a kind smile in thanks to his sister. But his smile soon faded when he noticed something in his sister's eyes. "My? You sound like your talking from experience."
Myra was taken aback by his statement as Al looked to her as well. "Well, I didn't go through what you two did, but I did feel a similar amount of regret... after Hughes' death."
"Huh? Why?" Al asked curiously.
Myra bit her lip. "I saw him that night. I was the last person to see him before his death. I couldn't make it in time... I couldn't save Hughes." Myra stared at the wall instead of her brothers to prevent tears from welling up in her eyes.
"But it wasn't your fault." Ed said.
"There was no way you could've known." Al continued. Both of them mimicking her words.
The sound of a door opening and movement down the hall alerted the three Elrics of a new presence, abruptly cutting their conversation short. Ed straightened his back as the three suddenly became more attentive to what was going on around them.
The key to their cell made a sound against the metal door as it swung open. General Raven stepped inside before it closed once again.
"I am General Raven, from Central. I heard a lot about you from the Fuhrer President." he said.
"Hello." Ed greeted back emotionlessly.
"It seems you've been good and kept your mouths shut."
"That was the agreement." Ed said as he stared at his shoes.
"You don't seem too happy."
"Wouldn't it be strange to be happy after having your friends taken hostage?"
"Umm, when can we get out of here?" Al spoke up. "The deal was that we'd be able to continue our journey as long as we didn't get in your way."
"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here soon."
"That hole," Myra said. "It's also part of your plan, isn't it?"
"If they find out..." Ed spoke.
"Again, you don't need to worry. Major General Armstrong agreed to returning the homunculus in the tunnel and sealing the hole." The siblings gasped at his words. "The Major General is on our side now."
"She killed him?!" Ed asked shocked.
"Lieutenant General Raven?!" Al said, equally astonished.
"General Armstrong killed him...?" Myra shared in her brothers' surprised reactions.
"Yup, and that was all I was ordered to tell you." Neil said before turning his back to them to make his exit.
Ed ran up and grabbed the bars of the cell. "Hey, wait! When are you guys gonna let us out of here?!"
"Who knows." Neil replied nonchalantly. "Take it up with the Major General." And with that, he made his exit.
"Dammit..."
"We just need to be patient, Ed." Myra told him.
"Getting angry won't do any good, Brother." Al pitched in. "We should just rest for now."
Ed groaned in frustration. "I can't just sit around when all of this is going on. I need to do something!"
The sound of the door creaking outside their cell captured their attention as Kimblee strolled in.
"How's it going? I've come to speak to the Fullmetal Alchemist."
Ed groaned at his presence. "Oh? It seems as though I'm not very popular here." Kimblee said. "I've brought a guest today for you three."
"A guest?" Ed asked, wondering who it might be.
Footsteps could be heard as a blonde female walked up to their cell.
Myra shot bolt upright from the slouched uninterested position she had taken when Kimblee walked in. Now attentive of the things going on around her, Myra felt slightly nervous as she stared at the blonde through the cell's bars in awe.
But before Myra could be noticed by the blonde, Ed and Al started panicking.
"Winry?!" Ed yelled.
"Why did you come here?!" Al questioned.
"'Why?' To change your automail to the kind they use in the north!" Winry shouted back at them.
"Wait a minute. Why are you guys—" Winry cut herself off, finally noticing the golden haired girl in the cell. "M-M-Myra...?" her breath caught in her throat.
Myra gave a genuine smile. "It's been a while, Winry."
"B-But how? I thought—"
"It's kind of a lot to explain." Myra said apologetically, taking a few step towards the blonde.
"I-Idiot! We missed you!" the girl shouted, suddenly grabbing Myra and hugging her the best she could through the bars, fighting back tears. Myra so desperately wanted to hug her back, but the restraints on her wrists prevented that.
"You've really grown up, Winry." Myra smiled down at her.
A few seconds passed before Winry forced herself to pull away from the hug. "And what are you three doing in that cell?"
"No one called you out here!" Ed argued.
"What's your problem? I was worried about you! Someone from the military contacted me!"
"The military?"
"Come on you guys," Kimblee said putting his hands on Winry's shoulders. "The Fuhrer was very worried to hear of your situation."
All three tensed up and Myra and Ed shot daggers at Kimblee.