October 13th, 1996

Sara tried to look and feel utterly casual as she strolled through the park in the central part of town, hand-in-hand with Franz, enjoying what was proving to be a surprisingly pleasant autumn day after several days of heavy rain. Rain which, she considered, had probably worked in their favor. Enemies attacking from the ground could ill afford to be flooded, or attack in limited visibility. Though the likelihood of them attacking on a Saturday had only gotten higher with the weather. It had made sense that the day in which the military locations were the least crowded—and thus the least guarded—would be the best time for the enemy to attack unexpectedly.

Except that they were not attacking unexpectedly, if only they knew that. Hopefully they did not. The park was, unfortunately, crowded on such a beautiful day. Plans had been discussed for how to evacuate people in the midst of attack, and Sara was fairly confident they would work. Especially if they took out the enemy quickly, which as the plan. They would not be allowed to get far.

Through-out the crowd, Sara could identify the other State Alchemists and soldiers assigned to the location, all in civilian clothes, pretending to go about a relaxing day. Some were eating from the ice cream stand in the park, or picnicking on the grass. Others were walking, admiring the fall foliage, or otherwise mingling and chatting. No more than one or two of them together; nothing too obvious.

"Want some?" Franz smiled, holding up his ice cream cone to offer her a lick. They had ordered one to split.

Sara grinned back, then leaned over and licked the chocolate, which dripped on her nose.

Franz held up a napkin. If they had been in private, Sara suspected he might have licked it off her nose himself. But it wasn't something he would do in public, even now.

"Thank you." Sara took the napkin and wiped the drop off her nose. "It's delicious."

"Not as delicious as you," Franz whispered in her ear.

Sara refrained from rolling her eyes. "Well, you cannot have me until this evening," she replied just as quietly, though she let out a delighted little laugh, keeping things outwardly relaxed. On any other occasion she would have been fully focused on the flirtation. If only they weren't waiting for the axe to drop. Since their return from Creta, Franz had been in a continued good mood, particularly in comparison to the weeks preceding his eye surgery. His renewed confidence and freedom of movement, and their success in Creta, had revived him in ways she had missed.

If only today were just a regular day out. Then she could pretend she didn't have her hair up with the beautiful hairpin Franz had given her with her preferred alchemy circle worked into it, or that Franz didn't have his pistol concealed on his person, or that half of the people in the park this afternoon were not also there on the likelihood of Arsenic's impending attack.

What mattered, of course, was that everything went right. At least Tore's undercover agent had managed to get the this much information, which was far more than they'd had before Arsenic had tried to kill her parents and burned down a portion of Resembool in the process. Thank goodness it had not spread past the festival grounds, but the losses had staggered her. Pretending her father and uncle were missing, and possibly dead, was difficult, though at least her worries were genuine.

Yes, today simply had to go right. They had planned, and everyone was in place. Hopefully, this would put an end to it.

Maes Mustang tried to pretend that this spontaneous opportunity to visit the Third Laboratory with his son and the Rapid Alchemist was just that; a chance to tour the building while he was available and see some of the new breakthroughs that weren't considered classified. Though it felt more than a little odd to have been included in a military operation, especially a secret one. He appreciated Tore's request for his involvement, but given how limited his alchemy had been since his breakdown years before, he wasn't sure how much help he would turn out to be.

At least he had kept in practice with what he could do now, and it was better than it had been immediately afterward. It was a good thing, in retrospect, that his son had determined to learn Flame Alchemy even against Maes' original wishes. Roy was everything one would expect the grandson of the original Roy Mustang—Flame Alchemist and once President of the Military—to be. He made Maes proud on a regular basis.

The Rapid Alchemist made an interesting partner for this assignment. Ryan Wilkes was a water specialist, and had been training more recently under Cal, along with a couple of the others that Tore had identified ready for advanced training in that specialty. While Maes wasn't sure either of them was quite as powerful as the Whitewater Alchemist, Rapid was exceptionally good at what he could do.

Fire and water, a combination that the enemy would hopefully not expect, and two alchemists that the ones on duty in the lab would respond to when they started barking orders. Not that there were too many working today; maybe a dozen. Still, that would be enough. Maes, like the others, had been told the names and ranks of the few identified spies and sympathizers that had not yet been cleaned up out of the military, particularly because it made them easier to watch and it didn't signal Arsenic that their people had been identified. If they were seen today, however, their first action would be to detain those men and women.

They were not near the blocked old entrance to the tunnels, though they were in a lab nearby, as Rapid showed them several projects of legitimate interest. Maes did not have to feign enjoyment or enthusiasm. Fortunately, his acting skills had only improved over the years as Elena's useful shadow husband. They only needed to be convincing a little longer.

Mira Armstrong—the Mithril Alchemist—felt it was only an appropriate and expected use of her and her brother's expertise as members of the Armstrong family, and State Alchemists, that they be assigned to such a high-profile mission, however secret it may be, as staking out and preparing to defend one of the anticipated attack points of the enemy. Especially when that location was on the grounds of their own family estate. Not that it had turned out to be within the house itself, but it did run across a corner of the grounds. It seemed an odd choice, unless one considered that the Armstrongs were a proud and long-standing supporter of the military, and provider of State Alchemists and officers. It was only natural that this Arsenic group would consider her family a threat. After all, her great-grandfather and his sister, Olivier, after whom she was, in part, named, had been a large part of rescuing the country from Fuhrer Bradley's machinations.

Mira sat under the white gazebo in the garden with her brother, under the guise of having afternoon tea with guests. There was no reason for the enemy to know that their guests were all highly skilled members of the military in plain clothes. Or, more importantly, that the house easily held fifty soldiers that had come in under the guise of doing work on the house. A trick her family had used before, but she found it very efficient. After all, there was always some project going on somewhere on the estate.

Her brother, Philip—the Flex Alchemist—looked amused and managed to appear casual as he sipped from a cup of tea that looked almost too small in his hands. He was not the giant of a man their great-grandfather had been, but he was still tall by general standards, and well-muscled. With his fists, her swords, and both of their alchemy, Mira was confident that their superiors' confidence in them was not misplaced.

She sniffed the fall air, with its fresh crisp bite and the scent of fallen leaves. "It's a lovely afternoon, isn't it? Sugar?"

Philip chuckled. "It is, indeed. Yes, please, dear sister."

If there was anyplace Tore could be without causing undo comment, even on a Saturday, it was anywhere at Headquarters. It was particularly convenient that the old Fuhrer's Mansion—the location they expected an attack from—had been converted mostly into offices that he could plan surprise inspections on, as he did most offices. He never kept to a pattern, because otherwise no one would be surprised.

So, really, there was nothing at all weird about him arriving in those offices with legitimate business with Caroline Flynn and, today, Trisha Mustang in tow. The questions involved some of the funds for upgrading training equipment for potential State Alchemists, and so she had a perfectly valid reason to be there, since she was still in charge of the training program.

No one had reason to question him getting real work done, and even if there were spies among them, if he was one of their targets—which he would have to be if they were going to take control of the government—he wanted to be visible. Let them come to him… he was ready.

The beautiful weather was nice for practice, except for the fact that it was unseasonably warm for rugby practice. Cal was sweating as the team lined up for another play. Practices had been rougher than usual lately. Their next game was against one of the East City teams that was known for being particularly good this season. It would be their most challenging game so far this year.

Even with everything going on lately with Arsenic, Cal had been encouraged by Tore and Alyse to keep going about his schedule as normal. It would look suspicious if they changed up their patterns of behavior too much right before Arsenic might tip them off. He and Alyse still had a security guard with them whenever they left the house. Today's guard was one of their regulars: Second Lieutenant Eugenia Miles. She was young, but consistently scored top marks in marksmanship and was easy to work with, which Cal appreciated. Alyse and Eugenia were watching the practice from the sidelines. Cal was grateful no one on the team ever minded or teased about the security guard, especially when it was a young woman. Enough of them were former military, and they took the Arsenic situation seriously.

A moment of quiet fell before the kick-off. Into the anticipatory silence came the sound of a scream in the distance followed by the report of a gunshot. Cal's eyes left the field, staring in the direction of the noise. There were others, and then just a few moments later, another louder, and suddenly they were there… across the canal bridge, armed and in black, shooting straight out into the rugby field!

Cal had only a moment of shock to wonder what the hell members of Arsenic were doing here before a bullet clanging off his wheel kicked in his instincts. Pandemonium erupted as shouts and frantic scattering started across the field. Gunshots filled the air.

Don't panic. Fight back. He should try and flee, but there was no way to get away fast enough. Three wheelchairs had already turned over, and he had no idea how many of his teammates were wounded… or dead. Several had scattered, and others had rushed for the sidelines. From who-knew-where the coach had pulled a pistol and was firing back. No one could move fast enough, even as fast as they were moving. No one was safe.

Another pistol firing the other way made him turn. Shit, Alyse!

Eugenia and Alyse were behind the park trash cans, the lieutenant firing back with impressive precision. Two of the couple dozen people in black had fallen, and another died while he watched.

Alchemy… Cal cringed as he reached for chalk that wasn't there, gloves that weren't there, even a pistol that wasn't there. Anything. Why the hell was he unarmed?! It's been too long. Why did I think we were safe?

A hot pain in the side of his arm made him look down. A bullet had winged him. He needed to act. The fact that he wasn't dead already was a miracle.

Blood!

Smearing his hand, Cal frantically scribed a circle on the arm of his chair in his own blood. I can't let my friends die. I can't let Alyse die! He fought down panic as he slammed his hand down and transmuted.

The canal was all the water he would need. Drawing all the alchemical energy he could muster, Cal reached for that water, and up it surged, writhing like a living thing. With that, and the air still damp from rain last night, a wall of liquid sprang up between them. It rose to a height of a dozen feet, blocking them from Alyse first, and then the team. It grew thicker, and while he did not turn it to ice, he thickened it until it was nearly a real wall. Since it wasn't solid, it couldn't shatter.

After several moments in which a barrage of bullets failed to penetrate the water, the shooting slowed. Cal held the wall, grimacing at the amount of energy it took. Hells, I'm old…. He heard movements, but they weren't running away. Not that he could let them get away. They were attempting to flank his wall.

To thin it out, or move it? Cal didn't think he had the energy to grow it bigger. He heard them running to his left. Slowly, he began to shift the wall.

Seconds later gunshots from the right told him they had tricked him.

Then the trash cans exploded.

The pained shriek and tossed bodies flying backwards struck his soul, and his insides twisted in horror. Oh, gods no…

The wall wobbled. The members of Arsenic surged forward.

"No, you don't!" Cal shouted raw fury as the water surged, writhed, and swirled, catching them all up and dragging them with a righteous whitewater fury into the canal, which had become a surging river…and whisked them all away.

Cal released the transmutation, spinning his chair as fast as he could and heading in the direction of the two women… unmoving bodies. No… no…. hell…

The shouting hadn't stopped, though it had lost its panic. People were moving slowly back on the field to check their comrades, but Cal's eyes were riveted forward. He couldn't seem to move fast enough. His arms trembled.

Bodies moved…except the ones in front of him. He had to get there… but exhaustion rolled over him like a wave. His vision blurred, and the chair lurched. It stopped moving. Move, damn it! But the wheel was stuck… something was broken. Having taken several gunshots, it wasn't that strange.

He could barely see. What… what was happening?

Blood; dripping down his sleeve, running down his hand. The wound was worse than he'd thought… I can't lose consciousness now… how pathetic. No… Alyse!

There was nothing more satisfying than taking the brutality of combat and dispatching her enemies with elegant ease. Mira Armstrong had been drawn as a child both to alchemy and the fascinating swordsmanship of her namesake. She had turned her talents to making the most elegant and durable weapons, and mastering their skills. While swords were her preference, she could also transmute and fight with various knives, spears, halberds, axes, and almost anything else that could be crafted from metal and used to stab someone or be thrown through the air.

All facts that the enemy was not showing nearly enough appreciation for as she and her brother, along with the soldiers that had been sent to fight alongside them, made enthusiastically short work of them as they had attempted to come up through the tunnel entrance. In fact, she and Philip had only let them through because otherwise it would have been an incredibly boring fight.

Her brother's preference for their great-grandfather's fisticuffs style of alchemy amused her, but it was nearly as elegant—and just as effective—as her swords. It did make it easier to knock out enemies to take as captives. Having a few available for questioning would be incredibly useful.

Not that Mira had killed all of her opponents. Several were maimed and unconscious, and she thought only one or two of them might actually be dead. She couldn't say the same for those engaged by the soldiers supporting them. Every move was designed to be efficient, elegant, and precise. All things that mattered to her. She wanted to prove herself as more than her family lineage, but as a State Alchemist in her own right. As proud as she was of her Armstrong lineage, Mira wanted to be known more for being the Mithril Alchemist, a name that might one day list up there with the likes of Fullmetal, Flame, True Soul, Whitewater, Twilight, Sky Fire, and others who everyone knew. The Strong Arm alchemist had inspired both her and her brother, to be more than just regular military officers, but they both wanted to be known as independently excellent alchemists, the way Firestorm and Proteus were known. Their own names could not help but evoke comparisons between them and their namesakes, which was fine with her. The stories told about them were epic and near-legendary already in their own right.

"Look out!" Philip's shout was all the warning Mira had before one of the enemy nearly ran her through from behind with, of all things, a bayonet fixed on a rifle. She dodged, spun, and sliced his entire weapon neatly in half before her brother's fist took him in the side of the head.

"Thanks for the assist," she replied with gratitude as she stepped back once more, and looked around. There were no more enemies in her immediate vicinity. The few still standing were going down quickly under the onslaught of Amestrian military might. "This has been… almost disappointing." She had expected the fight to be more difficult. Perhaps this force had been sent only as more of a distraction. Still, they would have been trouble if they weren't stopped. Detaining them here meant they couldn't help attack any of the other locations that were reportedly being watched today.

"We have won a victory here," Philip pointed out, though he looked similarly disappointed, and had barely broken a sweat. "It is a critical strike against our enemy. There may be more, so we should remain vigilant."

He had a good point. "In the meantime, let's get the survivors bandaged and tied up," Mira suggested. "I'm sure Headquarters will want them for questioning."

Sara hoped the Assembly would forgive them for destroying most of the landscaping in this part of the park. It was a shame she thought, as she ducked behind a tree, that the tranquil area was already in such a state. The members of Arsenic who had charged out of the alleys into the park had been unprepared for an immediate counterattack, which implied that their undercover agent's messages to Headquarters had not been uncovered. The enemy did not expect organized and immediate resistance.

Not that it meant they had gone down immediately, though Sara thought they were doing a decent job of holding them off. Her alchemy was not limited to her specialty, and she wasn't the only State Alchemist in the park. That, and the soldiers with traditional weapons, meant they had managed to create a stand-off, using park equipment as barricades along the firing line.

Beside her, crouching behind an over-turned picnic table, Franz was panting, though he looked incredibly focused as he would stand up just long enough to fire off a quickly aimed shot, then duck down again. So far as Sara could tell, he had taken out at least two enemies. It might be more, but those were the only shots she'd traced as she used wind to buffet the enemy, and mess with their ability to communicate. The winds in the area were whipped to a frenzy, though it was one that barely touched their allies. At least, not behind the line.

But there were nearly twice the number of members of Arsenic as there were Amestrian Military in the park. Sara did not have a radio, but she knew that the communication's officer about ten yards away, ducked behind a row of trash bins, had radioed for additional assistance.

Bodies were piling up in the park. Sara did not know how many were truly dead, or how many were unconscious, but there had been loses on both sides.
Civilians had been hurried out of the park the moment the enemy appeared, though many were hidden away inside the park's few buildings. Sara wasn't entirely sure that none of the bodies she saw might not also belong to the innocents they had come to protect.

Just keep fighting. That was all they could do, but Sara was going to see these terrorists pay for destroying the peace they had all worked so hard, and given the better part of their lives, to achieving.

A sudden roaring noise across the park nearly deafened her as Sara felt a surge of power, heat, and concussive force. She looked up over her hiding spot long enough to feel her stomach sink.

The enemy had brought large shoulder-mounted guns that appeared to be some modified form of flamethrowers.

If all they have to clean up in this building later is scorch marks, they better be grateful, Maes Mustang thought to himself as he ducked around another hallway corner, getting out of the way of a blast of his son's incredibly powerful flames, which were barreling down the hallway behind the two Mustangs and the Rapid Alchemist.

Even expecting the enemy, they had been barely prepared for the explosive force used to blow out the blocked wall that led to the tunnel they had been keeping an eye on. They had been forced to get back, though they had blocked quite a bit of debris with water and fire.

The problem was, the enemy was not stupid. To attack an Alchemist lab, they had sent alchemists along with the regular rank and file men. Not fantastic alchemists, but those trained enough to give them some trouble. The alchemists had been sent through first, and Maes now found himself part of a delaying tactic as the three alchemists were forced to bear the brunt of the initial attack, containing the attackers pouring up out of the tunnel and basement, and tying them up in the hallways of the Third Lab.

A lab full of alchemical components that could be devastatingly explosive if things got out of control and they went off.

Maes had been only a little surprised when Roy and Rapid had told him that Shock's plan involved everyone in the building—which was minimal staff on a Saturday—just needed to get out before they had permission to blow the entire building sky-high if needed to stop the attack.

Of course, that was a last resort, but Maes was beginning to wonder if it might not end up being necessary. He had no doubts that his son—his amazingly skilled, talented son—could do it.

Turning around, he could see the Firestorm Alchemist silhouetted in the hallway with the roaring flames flying from his snapping fingers down the hallway. In that light, it was clear just how much he looked like his grandfather. Oh, yes, his skin was more tanned than his very fair-skinned namesake, but the height, the build, and even the hair… Maes could almost have been looking at his father's back. There were more clear differences in the facial features, which were not currently visible, but they hardly mattered. The intensity in his son's eyes earlier, had been that of the original Roy Mustang as well.

Maes couldn't find it in him to be jealous. Not now. Not so many years after discharging from the military and taking a different path in life. Leaving the military had freed him from the burdens of being compared to his father, and constantly feeling like he had failed. No, Maes wasn't jealous…. But he was furious that he no longer had the ability to summon the power to support his son to the extent that he wanted to now.

Father and son, two flame alchemists raining death and retribution down upon the enemy to save Amestris… to save the country that the Flame Alchemist and his colleagues had risked it all for. Wouldn't that be something?

Maes had been involved in the initial blows, but the plan was to reserve what little ability he had regained for a critical moment.

Beside him, Roy and Rapid dropped down as they rounded the corner, Rapid sending off an alchemical attack by pulling water from the pipes and sprinkler systems, and using it to flash-steam the hallway. People screamed…bodies fell.

The death toll climbed higher.

Tore stared at the unconscious bodies scattered across the floor of the ballroom inside the Presidential Estate on Headquarters property. He had been expecting more of an attack. At the very least, he had been anticipating this to be the point Vera would have chosen to appear. That was why he had chosen this location for himself. Here, or the lab perhaps. That was why he had put heavy fire power there as well.

Yet there had been only two dozen or so members of Arsenic that had come up through what had once been the Fuhrer's private entrance to the area below, and only two of them had been—in Tore's mind—very weak alchemists. They hadn't had a chance against Flynn's Sensation abilities dazing them, Trisha's air manipulation rendering them dizzy, and Tore's electricity shocking the few who resisted either of those. Tore could have simply destroyed them with a single blast, but it hadn't been necessary.

The soldiers he had brought as back-up had also turned out to be unnecessary. They had joined them after the alchemy was over… and had mostly been used to start tying up bodies and identifying if anyone was dead.

"Clearly, Headquarters was not the primary target," Trisha commented as she stood over the unconscious bodies of their enemies. "Or at least, they weren't expecting much resistance here. Which seems odd to me."

"Me too," Caroline Flynn agreed. "It's suspicious. It implies that taking control of the military was not the prime objective of these attacks."

"Given we're not dealing with someone who is entirely sane, or a group with only one clear leader, we have to accept that their tactics aren't going to make sense." Not that Tore liked it. He turned and walked to the communications officer standing just inside the doorway with the portable radios. "Any new updates from the other positions?"

The Second Lieutenant nodded. "Reinforcements are in-bound to the Park front, though they're taking heavy fire. The Third Lab sounds like its exploding even though no one has seen any signs from the outside. Reports say all personnel aside from those assigned to handle the attack have been successfully evacuated. The Armstrong Estate has apparently subdued everyone at their location and captives are being transported here for Investigations to question them as we speak."

"Well, excellent work on their part." Tore should have expected excellence from them, but that was faster than he had anticipated. "Any sign of Enemy One?" That was the code name they were using for Vera, the former Ultraviolet Alchemist.

A shake of the head. "Sorry, Sir. No word."

"Maybe she's not crazy enough to attack directly?" Trisha suggested.

Tore shook his head. "No, our intelligence was very clear. She intended to take part. Which means she just hasn't played her own hand yet." A concern that worried him.

As he pondered what it meant, the radio crackled to life right there. "—unanticipated attack on Brynfeld Park, in Sector Fifteen. Civilians wounded. Military Police Units five, six, and twelve en-route."

Tore felt his blood go cold. That park wasn't anywhere near any of the reported locations. Why the hell would they… shit. He grabbed the radio without giving the officer a chance to do anything. "Report, Soldier!" he barked. "What's the situation with civilians at that location?"

There was a moment's silence, but they apparently recognized his voice, because they came back immediately. "They attacked handicapped civilians having some kind of sports practice, Sir. Several men and women are down. Casualties are being assessed."

"But the fight is over?"

"It appears that way, Sir, but reports are muddled. More as soon as we have it."

Tore handed the handset back to the officer, and turned away before he could let the man see his face. There was only one reason they would have gone after that location. It held no strategical or political value the way the others did. Whitewater. It's a personal vendetta. They wanted Cal. He'd put security on him. Just as there was security on every house in the city today that was home to anyone in any way related to Fullmetal, or known for being part of the Alchemy program. Families had been encouraged not to be home today. It was Saturday, it wouldn't be weird. Tore didn't trust that during the larger attack, Arsenic might not have sent individual assassins.

Apparently, Cal rated a full out assault. Cal… and Alyse.

This wasn't over. Tore shook himself. He could only hope that his friends had made it out alive.

From their expressions, the other two Alchemists had clearly realized the same thing he had. "What are your orders, Shock?" Trisha asked, her voice impressively calm considering the situation.

"Remain here. See that everyone detained here is taken to cells for questioning. Remove the dead, and collapse that tunnel. No one else gets through this point. I'm going to check the rest of the battlefront." He couldn't focus on one location, and this one had been handled efficiently.

Tore had justice to deliver.

There will be no forgiveness for this. Sara bit her tongue and sent blast after blast of alchemy at the enemy, ignoring the stings of grazing wounds she had received. Unfortunately, however unhinged the planner of the attack, the Arsenic fighters had some skilled marksmen.

The park was a battlefield, as engaged and devastated as any Sara had ever seen. Alchemy and bullets flew with equal abandon and she did everything she could with her alchemy to try and keep the destruction from reaching beyond the park and into the buildings and streets beyond. Bullets flying through windows would kill civilians as well as soldiers.

She couldn't say they were winning, because it looked like a stale-mate. Reinforcements were supposedly on the way. Sara hoped they would be enough, and that the other hot zones weren't having this much trouble. Why they would have sent so many to a public park made little sense.

But then, Ultraviolet's plans didn't necessarily make any logical sense. That was what made this so dangerous. If they hadn't gotten a heads up… this plan would almost certainly have worked. If only they knew it's true objective.

Sara had a feeling its true objective was simply chaos and destruction.

There were moments, even on a battlefield, when quiet fell for seconds at a time. Reloading, reconnoitering, strategizing, a moment to breathe.

It was into one of these seconds that Sara heard the loudest, most strident blaring of what sounded suspiciously like a marching band charging into battle she ever had. Except there was no way a band was charging around that corner.

And it wasn't…. it was rank after rank of Amestris' finest, charging forward in classic style, though they were led by a rank of Alchemists, with a familiar and welcome face.

Of course, he's the one who thinks a battle march is a good entrance.

The lines of soldiers came in and flanked the Arsenic forces like a stampede.

"Took you long enough!" Sara shouted at her nephew as Proteus came up beside her, sending a bolt of massive power across the intervening airspace into the enemy… to the inexperienced eye it probably looked like something out of children's show, but Sara could tell that he was condensing the molecules in the air itself and propelling it at faster-than-sound speeds to create essentially bullets of air itself, by the dozens. He wasn't aiming at the men, she realized, but the artillery Arsenic had rolled up behind.

"Traffic's terrible this morning!" Ted barked back with a laugh. "This congestion is the worst I've seen." He nodded at the crowds in front of them. "Inconsiderate of them to do this in a populated area."

"Very." Sara agreed, refraining from shaking her head. He was in fine form today. She would almost have called it Fullmetal-esque. "I'd have just blasted them if we wouldn't have taken out half the neighborhood."

"We'll get them." Ted looked supremely confident of that. "Reports say that Flex and Mithril, and Shock and Whisper's teams have already got their zones handled."

"Can't have them showing us up," Sara quipped back in agreement. Not that she was worried about that. She was just relieved to know that this attack wasn't overwhelming everyone. The Amestrian military needed to be adequately capable of handling an attack like this one. If not, then her whole generation, and her father's, had failed to prepare them for this kind of situation.

"Doesn't look like that will be a problem." Ted nodded towards the battle and Sara saw what he meant. The flanking maneuver had been unexpected and effective. The Arsenic soldiers were folding underneath it, and the barrage from fresh alchemists had destroyed most of their mobile artillery. The storm of noise was dropping quickly as the enemy fell.

So many dead… Sara didn't think they'd be taking many captives here. She stood up, and joined Ted to inspect the battlefield.

The sound of two shots, and a subtle shift the air around her was the only warning Sara had before a bullet missed her face by inches. Sara spun, hands up to transmute, when she saw that the man who had shot at her was already falling to the ground, the right side of his head spraying blood. Eyes tracked to her left and she saw the silhouette of her savior, arms still raised, gun still up.

Sara hadn't seen Franz move from his position, but her love had her back.

Everything had moved so fast, that the next few seconds seemed to slow to an inexorable and horrible crawl as a never-ending roar filled the air, and the building behind the combat zone exploded, blowing outwards, and sending stone and concrete flying, dust and fire roiling outwards.

It was all Sara could do to dodge, ducking behind the nearest low stone wall. The decorative touch saved her life. The seconds felt like an eternity as she threw her hands up and transmuted the air around her to form a protective barrier that bounced the worst of the debris up and over them. Ted saw what she was doing and followed suite, reinforcing and expanding the transmutation with an additional shell of his own.

They planted a bomb. That or they had used one of their own alchemists. In any case, when everything went quiet it had that heavy silence of the aftermath of battle, punctuated only by the groans of the injured, then slowly the calls of the living. Sara used a breeze to clear the air, regaining visibility. The building was half gone.

Franz was nowhere to be seen.

Oh gods… where are you? She desperately prayed he had made it to cover. Plenty of shapes resolved into people standing, moving…checking their colleagues. Flashes of alchemy were evidence of alchemists using limited healing skills on others. Anyone who could understand the concepts had started being trained in at least the basics, almost alkahestry first-aid. It would save lives today.

Ted coughed as he joined her, eyes wide, but with fury more than shock. "That must have been their last resort, damn it. This doesn't feel like a victory." He shook his head.

"We stopped them," Sara replied with a voice that surprised her with its steadiness. "We need to take captives, and rescue our own." She started moving, walking cautiously around the debris. She wanted to run… needed to run… but breaking an ankle would not save Franz.

She had to save Franz.

Roy was becoming more and more convinced that they were going to have to blow the building. The soldiers from Arsenic were led by several alchemists with a variety of tricks that Roy had never seen before. Combinations of elements he would not have considered, mostly because many of them were dangerous and highly volatile, or toxic if mishandled. Not that he had time to analyze them in depth, but despite flaming several hallways, Roy and his team were still being pressed towards the doors. The enemy had shields, toxic gases they let loose into the air—they were wearing masks to protect themselves he saw at one point—and in the hallways that they had planned to use to keep the enemy trapped, Roy, Rapid, and his father found themselves pushed back. Their backup had suffered heavy casualties from the airborne poisons. If only you were here, Trisha… you could have saved them. His wife's specialty with alchemy and air manipulation would have been incredibly useful. Roy was a fair hand at a variety of tricks, but he hadn't been able to manage it with the hallways already aflame.

Rapid had tried flooding them out, and the lower levels were flooded now, water gushing down through the entryway, but they had failed to collapse the tunnel fully before being pressed back.

They were not unharmed either. Roy was fairly sure they had all breathed in more of that gas than was safe. His breathing was starting to feel labored, and they all had a share of burns and bleeding cuts.

"Our only choice is to pull back and blow the building," his father's voice held a steady resolve as he voiced Roy's own thoughts. "They'll just keep pressing if we don't."

"But if we break it off long enough, they'll make it to the exit." Rapid pointed out. He sounded raspy and he looked ragged. That wasn't good. Roy hoped there were alkahestrists standing by with medical teams today.

"So, we distract them, lead them off and hold them." Maes straightened up from where he'd been leaning against the wall. He looked at Roy with a grim, but firm expression. "To blow the building quickly enough, we need to flame the internal gas lines. The most efficient place to do that is the utilities floor."

"But if we blow it from down there, presuming we could even get there, whoever does won't have time to make it out. It's a suicide run. I won't allow it." Roy shook his head. Sacrificing any one of them for certain was not his plan. "We can access the gas lines from any lab. It should be from the one closest to the exit. Then, at least, we have a chance of escape." He swallowed, biting back a cough. His own lungs were starting to feel scorched, scratchy… it was an odd and unpleasant feeling. He felt light-headed, even as he sent another wave of fire down the hallway to delay the enemy. It wasn't as strong as before.

Shit…. we may be in worse shape than I thought.

His father placed a hand on his shoulder. For a moment, Roy stilled. They didn't have time to delay but there was something in his father's dark eyes that made him wait.

"I'll distract them," Maes spoke quietly. "They're following us. We don't need to press for the exit, we need to lead them in the wrong direction. I'll lead them away while you get to the gas lines."

"Didn't you just hear what I said?" Roy frowned.

"I don't take orders from anyone except your mother, for one thing," his father quipped, his expression grim. "For another, you're both in poor shape, and we're all on borrowed time. If we don't get to an alkahestrist soon, we're likely all dead men. One way or another, it's our best shot. Get to the doors. I'll lead them away and start cranking open every gas line I can get my hands on. Then I'll meet you at the exit and we can blow this place sky high."

It wasn't a bad plan, and it did have a higher chance of success if they split up. Even if the enemy followed them both. "All right, we'll do it your way… Firebrand. But are you sure you can handle it?"

For the first time in a very long time, Roy saw his father's confident grin. The one that Roy saw in his own mirror… the one that he had seen in a few family photos of his grandfather. Crazy Mustang plan; with two Mustangs… it would work.

Maes nodded. "I've got this. Now reserve what you've got for that final blow."

"All right. See you on the other side." Roy resisted the urge to hug his father. This was not the time. He turned to Rapid. "Let's go."

Anika was grateful that working at the zoo included a good length lunch. Outside of the occasional unexpected emergency, her schedule might vary from day to day, but the overall layout was consistent. Which meant that she had time to eat a proper lunch, and possibly—these days—catch a quick nap. The first trimester with her third baby felt like it had gone by much faster than the first two. Perhaps because of how different each had been. She had given up and gone to maternity clothes much sooner with this one, though the early nausea had gone away more quickly. Naps… naps were essential. Fortunately, there was a comfortable sofa in their break room in the wild cats building, that she fully intended to make use of as soon as she finished eating.

At least, that was the plan until there was a resounding bang, and the building seemed to jump underneath her feet. Anika froze, fork halfway to her mouth holding a bite of her half-eaten lunch. Was that an earthquake?

Or was it an attack? Ted had warned her to be cautious the past few days, and he had been very on edge. Not that either of them had expected trouble at the zoo itself. The boys were playing at Ian's today while she worked. Anika did not always work on Saturdays, but they were working on introducing a new potential mate for the Aerugean Ocelot, and first dates were important.

The break room was too deeply inside the building for Anika to hear what was going on outside. Its only natural light came from a spacious skylight in the roof, since it didn't share an outside wall.

Anika stood and left the room. Something felt wrong. On instinct, she went to the weapon's locker where they kept the rifles. Most of the weapons available in the zoo were for tranquilizer darts. A lose or dangerous animal did not mean an animal necessarily had to die. But there were a few weapons for when there was no other choice. Anika reached for one of the rifles. She had experience on all of them, and even after several years of proper civilian life, it felt familiar and comfortable in her hands. She hoped there was no reason to need it today.

As she stepped into the hallway, Anika heard feet pounding toward the doors, and an exterior door opening. The shouts of people fleeing and terror were briefly audible before the door slammed shut.

It was almost certainly not some kind of accident. She would be grateful if it was. In any case, it sounded like evacuation was important. Still, Anika approached the door cautiously, choosing one of the exits out into the back walkways that was not a public thoroughfare. The crowds would do her no good. She took the alley around to the front, where she could look through the fence before stepping out into an exposed area. Remember your training. Snipers do not charge. Anika fought the fear that rose up inside her, stuffing it down, though the screams and the noise reminded her too much of what had happened in Drachma: the attacks in Petrayevka and on her family estate.

The crowds were thinning fast as zoo visitors fled for the exits. Though not everyone was running away. Zoo security was moving past her, a couple at a time, at quick sprints in the other direction. Anika slipped out from behind the fence and followed cautiously.

It was soon evident what had caused the noise. A crater had appeared in the middle of the zoo amphitheater, where they did presentations and educational animal shows. It appeared to be the entrance to a tunnel, and security was lining the perimeter, guns drawn, as it aimed down on a figure standing in the center of the hole, right at the lip, looking perfectly calm.

Anika trained her weapon on the enemy. Through her sites, she could see it was a woman. One with a very edgy haircut, short on one side, and a little longer on the other, though it didn't fall as far. It was a bright mix of blond and a vibrant red-violet. Her outfit was black-and-purple leather, but functionally tactical. She had no apparent weapons, but Anika didn't like the belt she wore that seemed to hold vials, and possible weapons that she had not yet identified. There were more ways to hurt people than with guns. She was almost certain this woman was an alchemist. Is this the woman Ted and the Alabaster Alchemist were trying to flush out? If so, she was extremely dangerous.

Not that she seemed particularly concerned as she looked up at them, scanning the ring as if taking in the scenery.

At least, until she looked straight at Anika. Then, she smiled. A smile that shook Anika's core. "There you are," she spoke not too loudly, but it carried clearly in the amphitheater. "I've been looking for you."

Clarina had felt nothing but a growing sense of horror since she had been trapped in the deception. She couldn't leave, and she had to do Vera's bidding until she found the right moment to strike. If no one else got to her, Clarina had determined to take her former friend down herself. Vera was too dangerous to be left to run free, even if she lost most of her allies today. Which seemed unlikely. All of Vera's plans up until now had been incredibly destructive, but mostly to the other side. She had been cautious with her own people.

When Vera had told Clarina she wanted her to come along that morning, she had been expecting one of the major battlefronts. Possibly the hidden entrance into Headquarters. That would make the most logistical sense.

This… was a civilian target, and as she coughed on some of the dust clearing from Vera's impressive alchemical explosion that had blown open the tunnel and crated an entrance at the point of her choosing, horror filled her. "Why are we here?" She called up to Vera as she made her way up the steep slant the other alchemist had already climbed with unnatural ease.

But Vera did not reply. She spoke to someone outside.

Clarina couldn't see who it was, but she had a horrible feeling. This is the zoo… Ted's wife works here.

Vera wanted revenge. That wasn't news. But she was going after Ted's family directly, while her minions created chaos and destruction across the city.

Vera hadn't even brought back-up. She had assured Clarina that her surprise would keep them both safe.

Clarina did not walk up into the light, but from where she stopped, she could see the rim of the amphitheater, and several armed security and zoo keepers aiming weapons. She saw who Vera spoke to and her worse fears were confirmed. Clarina had only met Anika once, and she had not seen her in months, but the zookeeper with the rifle, the champagne-light braided hair, and a discernable baby bump was definitely Ted's wife. From the way she stood, she was clearly very comfortable with the weapon in her hand, but she couldn't know what she was up against. None of them could.

"Who are you?" one of the security guards aiming a pistol demanded loudly. "What do you want?"

Vera gave him only the barest notice, her eyes riveted on Anika. The expression was almost… hungry.

Clarina shuddered.

"I'm an old friend," Vera replied in measured tones, "of someone you know well. I've come to give him back ten-fold everything he took from me. The rest of you should leave. This is a private matter between myself and the wife of my old friend."

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then… "She's right," Anika Elric spoke clearly, loudly. "The rest of you should go. If she wants to talk to me, we'll talk."

Clarina wondered if the woman was crazy, but it was a foolish, fleeting thought. Anika wanted to stall Vera. If the others went, it would be reported sooner. Military backup would be on the way. If she could delay Vera here… still, to risk herself without hesitation. No wonder she was a good match for Ted. She might be afraid, but you wouldn't know it. Their best chance for survival was this. At least, that assumed Vera let them leave. That she didn't just kill them all right here.

But, apparently, Vera was not going to simply wipe them all out with alchemy immediately.

"A sensible suggestion," Vera nodded with an agreeable tone that was not at all reassuring.

The others around the ring did not look inclined to go, though one or two backed away, then fled. The rest took longer.

Vera raised her hand, and snapped her fingers in her black glove, into which was stitched a transmutation circle. She had several on her person, worked into her outfit, which gave her the ability to do several different transmutations without taking the time to draw a circle.

A blast of flame shot across the intervening space, and destroyed the rim below the feet of one of the security officers. The woman staggered back, and managed not to fall down into the seats. The security fled faster.

Until it was just Anika standing there, her weapon still trained on Vera. "I know who you are," she said clearly when they were gone. "You're no friend of Ted's. You were once, but no friend would behave like this."

"Former friend, then, if you insist on arguing semantics." Vera shrugged, then stepped further forward into the bowl. "Though you can't know much about him, really, if you'd defend him so easily."

"Nor can you, for the blame you place." Anika did move. "I will not let you be the cause of any more destruction and death. I have seen the path this takes, and I will not permitted it here."

Vera chuckled. "How cute. Do you think you can kill me with that toy?"

"I've killed forty-seven enemies with such a toy so far," Anika retorted. "You will make an excellent forty-eighth. But if you wish to try and convince me otherwise, feel free to give your prepared speech. I am curious as to how you can justify the horrors you have caused."

Clarina had been unsure what to expect from Vera, but the other woman seemed amused by Anika's apparent lack of fear. There would be no chase. Vera also did not seem to mind that time was passing. How many minutes would they have before security returned with reinforcements?

"I hate to disappoint you," Vera replied, "But I'm not really into long monologues. The State Alchemists have ruined countless lives, and they will pay for it. Ted personally caused the death of someone very dear to me, and I will grant him the same courtesy. I can just imagine the look on his face when he finds out you're dead."

"You first, bitch." Anika shot.

Ted was certain that his Aunt Sara was far less calm and controlled than she appeared on the outside, as they dug through the rubble, unearthing the injured and the dead, searching for his Uncle Franz. The man's quick shooting had saved Sara's life, and probably Ted's. The position of the shooter implied that he had been setting up after the State Alchemists on purpose. The body, which they uncovered first, revealed the kit of a sharpshooter. Even now they're focused on taking out State Alchemists…. Ted knew his family was being targeted in particular, but they weren't the only ones. It would be arrogance to assume it was a private vendetta against just them, no matter the evidence of a personal grudge.

Sara's expression was grim as she used alchemy to carefully push large pieces of debris up from the ground. Together, she and Ted lifted them away and placed them on the ground where no bodies lay. Methodical clearing, to avoid crushing anyone who might miraculously be alive under the debris.

If it had been Anika or the boys, Ted would be a mess. Not that he felt any better knowing his uncle was under the rubble. Please be alive.

They had worked their way consistently towards where they had last seen Franz standing, though if he had been smart, he would have run when the building went. Presuming he hadn't gotten caught in the blast. He had been just far enough away that Ted wasn't willing to give up hope just yet.

Firefighters and other emergency personnel were arriving in swarms now, and Ted thought he saw Rosa, though she was at work, and he didn't want to distract from either of their missions to confirm it. His cousin's grown daughter was excellent at her job.

A startled, wordless cry brought Ted back to situation in front of him as he finished moving a piece of wall to discover what Sara had already seen.

It was Franz… coated in fine concrete dust… laying on the ground underneath two pieces of fallen concrete that had formed a v-like formation above him. Given the surrounding destruction, it was all that had saved him from being crushed, even though he was pinned underneath a smaller section.

Not that he was moving.

Sara was already on her knees, her hands pressed into a fresh transmutation circle on the ground as she used earth instead of wind to lift the pieces up enough that they were braced above him. "Ted, help me!"

Ted dropped to the ground and transmuted, helping push it up and away, until they could see all of Franz's still form. He didn't dare try to pull him out before they did. If he wasn't dead, they could do permanent damage.

Sara reached him first, barely waiting for the concrete blocks to settle on the ground before she was over top of Franz's form, bending down and checking for any signs of life.

A medical officer arrived at a jog, joining her.

Ted could only await the verdict.

"He's critical… but he's still breathing," the medic said after a very long minute. "We need to get him stabilized." The man looked up. "Parker!" he barked. "Get me a stretcher and splints!"

In a minute, medics had descended, and Ted and even Sara had been pushed out of the way as they worked to try and stabilize Franz. Ted wasn't sure where the blood was from, or what the injuries might be, but if they wanted any hope of his survival, then the only thing he could do was let the medical professionals do their work. When one of them pulled out a Xingese alkahestry scarf and started wrapping his hand, Ted felt a slight lift of hope. Even basic alchemical first aid should be enough to buy his uncle time to get to the hospital. At least, he could hope so.

"Twilight! Proteus!"

Ted turned at the shouts, to see a lieutenant running toward them, wide-eyed and panting. "What is it?"

"Radio report, Sir!" The man saluted, though the form was terrible. Ted didn't correct him. "Enemy One has been spotted. She's at the Central Zoo!"

Anika… All of these target locations, and the leader was after his wife. Damn you, Vera. This is a personal vendetta….

"Go, Ted."
He turned around, and his aunt was looking at him with a serious expression that seemed to ask what he was waiting for. She knew what was happening as well as he did. Ted nodded, then turned, and took off at a run. If he could "borrow" a car on the way he would, but if not, he was going to have to run faster than he ever had in his life. It was only a couple of miles to the zoo. Surely, he could make that in good time.

But would it be enough time?

Ted ran faster.

Tore's actions, and necessity, had led him to the main Communications room in Headquarters, where he could monitor all of the fronts at once. There was too much going on, and he couldn't be everywhere, no matter how much he wished he could. What good was being a powerful alchemist if you were still limited to what one man could accomplish?

The Armstrong Estate was quiet. The tunnel destroyed; the captives taken away. The dead wrapped and taken to the morgue for identification. There had been minimal casualties there on the Amestrian end.

Whisper and Sensation had handled the location on Central Headquarters grounds. Their own captives and dead were gone. That tunnel had not only been imploded and clogged; it had been transmuted into a complex alloy that would take an incredibly experienced alchemist to undo or create a tunnel through, and they had filled the tunnel for several dozen yards in either direction, which meant that most of it was no longer accessible under headquarters at all.

The unexpected attack on the rugby fields was also handled. While there were quite a few wounded, somehow none of the civilians had died yet. All of them, regardless of how critical their condition, were already at the hospital. Apparently, his friend's quick thinking and experience had been fast enough that the Whitewater Alchemist, and the first armed allies on location, had been able to protect almost everyone. Bodies identifiable as members of Arsenic were still being pulled out of the canal river well downstream, and likely would be for some time.

Cal and Alyse were both injured, and had been taken to the hospital. Military reports did not include detailed personal information, so that was all he knew. They had been alive when they left the scene, their conditions a matter of injured and unconscious.

You have the worst luck, pal. Tore hoped he'd have a chance to razz his friend about it later. If not… he'd have to break open a bottle of quality malt whiskey that had belonged to his father-in-law, and drink in his friend's honor.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

The park just outside Headquarters was a disaster zone. The Twilight Alchemist's team, with Proteus' reinforcements, had successfully quelled that front, but a building had been destroyed, and the park was a bloody battlefield. The road beside it was entirely blocked, and would be for some time. Emergency services was on the scene, and there were concerns the rest of the building might still come down.

"General Closson!" One of the communications officers called out, waving to get his attention. "We've got an emergency call on open channel for back-up at the Central Zoo. Enemy One has been sighted and confirmed."

Tore was there in a few strides. The Central Zoo. There was only one possible target she could be after there, and it filled him with fury to think that the enemy would, instead of leading her major attack herself, slip off on a little side vengeance. Was this all to get even with Ted for a mistake that had never been confirmed to be anybody's fault? It wasn't even clear that a mistake had been made. War was war, and they had been a fairly new, inexperienced team in Xing. Ted had taken the losses hard.

Hard enough he had gotten drunk, had a crazy idea, and dragged Firestorm into sneaking with him into the capitol and the Imperial Palace and ended up being the critical point in turning the tide of the civil war.

If Anika's in danger, then that's where Ted's going. "Lieutenant, can we confirm the location of the Proteus Alchemist?"

"Just a minute, Sir."

It really was just a minute before they had confirmation that Proteus had taken off from the park on foot right about the same time Tore had asked the question, which meant only just. Apparently, and perhaps thankfully, two dozen soldiers were forming up to follow.

Additional information said that Vera seemed to have arrived alone, without back-up. Which meant, that she was confident she could handle her mission entirely on her own.

I need to get there. She's got something up her sleeve.

He could leave it to Ted, but somehow, Tore had a feeling that, despite his skills, Proteus would not be enough for this one.

"I'm taking this handset," Tore grabbed one of the portable radios from a charging station. "I'll be on the private channel. Keep me informed."

He didn't wait for salutes before he was out the door.

Maes had considered himself in fairly good shape for his age, but tearing down hallways at top speed, staying far enough ahead of the alchemy—and generating enough flame to be a passable decoy as a tiring version of his son—was taking a lot out of him. He had hit five labs as he made his way around the main level of the building, cranking every gas valve he could get his hands on wide open, then sprinting to the next.

He was bleeding from two bullet wounds—neither lethal he thought, though they hurt like hell—and getting a stitch in his side. Elena was right…I need to get back into running regularly after this. The diplomatic life is making me soft.

By his best estimate, he had held them off for a good ten minutes, and that meant Roy and the Rapid Alchemist should have made it to an exit by now. Maes had a radio, and so did Roy, so as soon as he cleared the building through a side exit—or jumped through a window if necessary—his son could blow the building.

The trail of blood on the tile floors was probably making it very easy for them to follow him, but that was exactly what Maes wanted them to do. He had made the trail as difficult as possible, however, to help keep up the deception. Broken containers of chemicals left fumes in the rooms and halls behind him. There would be no going back. Hopefully, a few of them would die before they realized the air was contaminated.

The crackle of the radio on his hip gave him pause. Maes ducked around another corner and brought it up to his head.

"—pid Alchemist to Firebrand."

"Firebrand here." It still felt odd to use his Alchemist name after all this time, but it had been the easiest option. "What's your statis Rapid?"

"Not good." Static, and what sounded like coughing. "We're clear, but we had to blow the doors to keep them inside… there's no exit here and… Firestorm's passed out a couple of times. We've called for… backup. But you'll have to blow the gas…." He sounded guilty, as if he knew what he was asking.

Maes hoped that backup arrived quickly, and contained medical help for his son and the Rapid Alchemist. I can do this. It won't take much flame to set it off. I can do this much. "Roger, Rapid. I've got it."

Maes slipped the radio back into its holder on his belt, and took off down the hallway, running for the nearest exit. Thankfully, the tour that morning had reacquainted him with the layout of the building. He was on the first floor. Shouting erupted behind him, and shots zinged off the walls, both bullets and alchemical attacks, as Maes made the run of his life.

The window at the end of the hallway loomed closer, closer…. He almost slipped on his own blood in the hallway. Run, Mustang. If you die like this you will not deserve the name.

A snap, fire, and the window in front of him shattered and melted away as Maes dove through it, twisting in the air as he turned his attack on the building behind him. He pulled on more alchemical energy than he had dared in what felt like a lifetime. I will not let you kill my son!

A geyser of flame erupted just past his fingers, destroying the window frames and everything around them with a heat that went from orange to white, to blue…. Back down the hallway, and all Maes heard were screams. He hit the ground in a controlled roll and staggered to his feet, without losing the transmutation. More heat…more fire…. He couldn't stop until the gas cooked off or it was all for nothing.

My father and mother gave everything they had to save this country…. To mold it…and shape it… to make it more democratic, to make it good for its people… to fix the reputation of alchemists. I've given what I could…my son has given everything he can… this has to end!

When it went, the building in front of him seemed to luminesce, growing white and blinding, and oddly silent for just a moment, before the world exploded.

Ryan Wilkes, the Rapid Alchemist, was not prepared for the building in front of him to evaporate. He had expected an explosion… something massive and destructive. Something that might kill them both, even as he and Firestorm lay in the dubious cover of the alleyway across the street from the Third Lab, gasping fresh air and trying to stay conscious long enough for help to arrive.

What he saw defied his own understandings of alchemy. Admittedly—he saw it through a shield of water he had managed to pull up out of the sewers to protect them. But the building did not so much explode, or implode, as go so quickly, and so hot, that it flashed over and basically evaporated the building. What was falling on his water shield consisted of pieces that looked more like volcanic ash than building debris.

When he could speak again, the first words out of Ryan's mouth were a string of expletives that Amalea would have scolded him for, when she finished blushing. "What…was that?" he gasped raggedly, as he lost the transmutation and let the wall drop. The building… well, there was still a foundation, but the rubble that did remain was smoking, and the hold in the middle was filled with whatever had been pushed down instead of going up. There was no Third Lab…. But maybe that was for the best. Whatever had happened, all those poisonous substances had gone with it. The air looked clean. Releasing that many toxins into the air around Central could have been a disaster.

Shit… where's Firebrand?

Lying beside him, Firestorm burst out in another fit of coughing, half-conscious, but apparently that had been enough to stimulate him back into wakefulness. "He did it…" he broke off in another fit of coughing, breathing heavily. "I've never…seen…"

"Stop…talking." Ryan coughed. A couple of flecks came up red. He felt woozy. In the distance, he heard emergency alarms. But then, he'd been hearing those for over an hour, farther away. Were they coming closer? He hoped so. His sight blurred and he leaned back against the building.

Amalea… sweetheart. I didn't let you tell me this morning… I should have told you I knew. I'd already figured out you're pregnant. But… I didn't give you time… and now you might never know that I know… or how happy that makes me… I'm sorry.

If you shot something, or someone, it was supposed to die. Or at least, it was supposed to be hurt.

Anika had realized she was in over her head when she had emptied the rifle into her target and the woman had not died. She had not even gone down. Instead, she had grimaced a little in discomfort, and then the bullets had… fallen out of her body. Red light had flashed as the spots healed in seconds. Anika cursed quietly in Drachman. "What in all the hells of every faith are you?" she shouted from her scarce cover behind one of the poles that held up the canvas coverings above the amphitheater. She hadn't been foolish enough to descend.

This Vera woman's smile was not sane. But then, what Anika had just witnessed should be impossible. What kind of a monster could survive that many rounds to the center of body mass? She should be a shredded corpse. It wasn't natural. She's some kind of alchemical monster. Anika didn't know much about how a person might change themselves with alchemy, but she knew such things were possible. It was the only logical explanation her mind could give her as she tried to fight down a rising panic.

I shot the enemy, and the enemy isn't even hurt. How was she supposed to defeat someone who couldn't die?

"What am I?" she replied with a laugh. Again, one that made Anika's hair stand up on her arms and sent shivers down her neck. "I am the Ultimate Vengeance. I was going to wait and reveal the big surprise when my target took the bait, but I suppose there's no point in waiting."

What happened next was nothing short of nightmare fuel. As if from nowhere, Vera sprouted a tail. A large tail that sparked as it curled up and around her…. But it was not a mammal's appendage. It had a noted exoskeleton, and sections that curled up and ended in a very distinct barb.

It was the tail of a scorpion.

Unkillable, and likely highly venomous. This just got better and better….

"I see you recognize it. But then, I would be disappointed if someone who works in animal biology did not." Vera stepped forward a few steps toward her, beginning to ascend the stairs. "I assure you that it is a hundred times more potent than a scorpion… and there is no antidote." A single drip of liquid fell from the tail, and it hissed as it hit the ground, eating immediately into the concrete.

Run, Anika's instincts told her. One touch and she would die. Her baby would die. Retreat was her only option, but her eyes were riveted on that tail. How fast could this woman move? Could Anika even outrun her? If I stand here, she'll catch me anyway. Anika did not drop her weapon, but she did turn, and ran for her life. She knew the lay of the land and every pass way and alley that wasn't open to the public. She didn't have to be faster, just smarter.

She hoped that was enough.

Clarina's fear was more than just terror. She had never felt the gripping cold that riveted her to the spot as she watched the tail uncoil from Vera's back. It wasn't part of the outfit. It was a real scorpion tail, black and glossy, and somehow part of her. Is she a chimera? It was possible that she could have transmuted herself, or had someone do it… but such an extreme change. Such a dramatic choice…a permanent alteration. Maybe it's poisoning her mind. But if that were true, it must have been long past sane before she would have allowed someone to do this to her.

Yet Clarina could only assume that Vera had been a willing participant. This was the secret weapon she'd mentioned to Clarina, but she wouldn't say exactly what it was. But chimeras are not immortal. She had paid attention in lectures, even though this was not her area of specialty. The lessons passed down from Fullmetal and True Soul and the others who had dealt extensively with chimeras, and human-chimeras, had been very specific and detailed.

She couldn't let this happen. If Vera got to Anika, both she and the baby would die. Clarina wouldn't wish that on anyone. If she didn't do something, she would never forgive herself…and Ted would never forgive her… and she would deserve it.

Her feet started moving, but she didn't run after Vera. Attacking from behind would be a death sentence, and she couldn't save anybody running at that tail. Clarina ran for the side stairs as above her Anika did the smart thing and ran. What else could someone do?

Clarina cleared the top of the stairs only a few seconds later, and followed, but other than them disappearing out of sight, she only had the vaguest direction of which way they had gone. Vera was fast… unnaturally fast.

There was nothing natural left about Vera, Clarina had to admit. Ultimate Vengeance… UV. It's not Ultraviolet anymore.

Clarina took off running, her resolve steeled. If she had to kill Vera herself, she would do it. She would not let anyone else die if she could save them. She just hoped she remembered enough of her combat training.

Ted sprinted through the entrance to the zoo almost without stopping. Only the shouts of warning from military police brought him to a brief pause outside the barricades. He ignored them when he spotted a familiar face, Anika's supervisor, Erice Malone. "Erice!"

She turned around at the sound of him shouting her name, and her eyes went wide. Ted imagined he looked quite a state, running from the battlefield to get here. "Ted?"

"Where is she?" He gasped out, sucking in a couple of deep breaths. He refused to bend over.

"I haven't seen her," Erice admitted. "We were on break when the attack happened. She said she was going to take a nap. There's a breakroom in Wild Cats."

"Are you looking for Anika Elric? She's at the amphitheater… with some woman who blew a hole in it."

Ted spun on his heel and stared at the zoo security officer who was standing behind him. "You left my wife to face the woman who's responsible for the murder of dozens of people on her own?"

"Ted… you're hurting him."

He hadn't even realized he had grabbed the man's collar in both hands. Around him, the military police looked ready to draw on him. Except that he outranked every one of them. He let go. "If they die…. I'm holding you personally responsible."

In the distance, he heard shooting.

Hang on, tsveta…. I'm coming. Ted shoved through the crowd, vaulted the barricade, and ran towards the sound, ignoring the shouts behind him. He wasn't sure where he pulled the reserves from, but he put on even more speed.

If she lived through this, Anika was going to spend the rest of her pregnancy lounging indolently on a sofa being waited on hand and foot. She was sure Ted would oblige, she thought, as she ducked down another alley and took several more quick turns before she paused to catch her breath, sucking it in with huge deep breaths. I'm sorry, baby. This can't be any more fun for you than it is for me. At least their work during the war in Drachma hadn't involved much running.

Reloading and continuing to shoot hot lead through Vera's body had only done so much to delay the woman who was as much creature as person. Still, it had kept her away enough to keep Anika away from that tail. With a normal person, she would have risked close-quarters combat. But that was out of the question here.

Anika was running out of ideas. Her only hope was that the other woman could not regenerate endlessly. If she kept staying ahead and hitting her with things that might damage her, there was hope. If she could find a vehicle and hit her….

"You can't run forever," Vera's voice carried through the zoo. "Not with his brat slowing you down. Not that I'm not enjoying the chase, but you could make these last minutes much easier on yourself."

Fury filled her. His brat? She would never give this woman the satisfaction of revenge. Standing, Anika crept silently down the alleyway between the Xingese elephant and forest-bear enclosures. There was only so far that she could go before she would have to break cover and run to another area, but she would make it as hard as she could for as long as she could.

The thundering crash of something tumbling over caused Ted to change directions, making a sharp turn to the right. He charged up the hill towards the Xingese animals, coming upon a sight that gave him a moment's relief before it filled him with terror.

Anika had shoved over trash bins on purpose as she sprinted into the open, delaying her pursuer, who came out with frightening speed directly into Ted's line of view. A woman… with a familiar face, but an otherwise unfamiliar form. A dark, segmented, tail… one dripping a liquid that left smoke behind.

Ted had never removed his gloves. He slammed his palms together and a blast of wind slammed into Vera. He didn't dare hit her with something more deadly that close to Anika.

Fortunately, the attack did its job, sending Vera spinning long enough for him to follow up with shards of ice.

That hit a barrier as Vera raised her hands and manipulated air.

Anika scrambled out of the way, and Ted kept his attention focused on his target. He didn't like the fact that Vera was grinning.

"Finally!" the woman straightened up, ready to attack or defend. "I was beginning to think you'd just leave her to die. It would be like you."

Don't fall for it. She's trying to rile you. He needed to distract her long enough for Anika to get away. Fortunately, Anika wasn't a fool, or a coward. She was already backing away while Vera focused on him.

"You kidding? I've been waiting for this moment since we set you up." He flashed his most arrogant grin in her direction. The one his grandfather occasionally wore, though Ted had rarely felt natural using it. Confident yes…but he'd never been so sure as to dare to use that particular grin.

He used it now. She thought he was the enemy. There was no point trying to change her mind.

"You mean your half-assed attempts to spy on me?" Vera chuckled. "I caught every one of your pathetic investigations' officers trying to slip into my ranks. I knew exactly what to look for."

"Then how did we know where your forces would be?" Ted asked. He needed to keep her talking. Keep her distracted. Reinforcements would be coming. The barricade at the entrance would not need all of security to hold it. They just needed to make a plan first. Strategize.

Ted did not have time for that. His entire world hung in the balance. As usual, he would have to improvise.

"What are you talking about?" Vera's expression flickered for just a moment, a touch of concern.

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Ted scoffed. Really? Had she really been so focused on coming after his family, so confident in her plan, that she didn't know what was happening? "Your other attacks have failed. Headquarters, the Park, the Third Laboratory, the Armstrong Estate, the Rugby Field… all of them. The tunnels have been destroyed in every one of those locations. They'll never be useable again."

Vera made a brush-off motion. "You presume those were the goal. I've got you here, where I want you. Where we can finish the fight that we started in Drachma."

It took Ted only a moment to realize what she meant. "That was you."

"I'd be hurt you didn't recognize me, but that was the idea." Vera stepped into a fighting stance. "I've learned a lot of new tricks since we last talked, Proteus. If we'd had more time, we might have had this all finished in Drachma, but we didn't, and I've had to go through quite a bit of trouble and resources to set up our rematch."

Ted grinned again. "I'm flattered. All this trouble just for me? I didn't know you cared."

"Arrogant ass." Vera beckoned with a flick of her fingers. "Fight me. I'll even give you a bonus and promise not to use my tail for the first round."

"Yeah, about that." Ted made himself stand in a relaxed stance. Alert, but not without his defenses. It also gave him a moment to catch his breath. "You definitely didn't have that the last time we talked, and you're not a chimera, unless I'm mistaken, which seems unlikely." It had been his first thought upon seeing the tail. That she had somehow been combined with a scorpion, but the rest of her body was too normal. Also, the color of the tail, and the skin that was barely visible at her wrists, brought to mind a much more concerning likelihood… from lessons and stories from his grandfather. "So, before I humor you, why don't you tell me how the hell you became a homunculus."

From her expression, he had guessed right, though she looked neither surprised, nor displeased.
Ted had to keep his own face neutral, because he was still processing that shocking revelation. It shouldn't have been possible.

"The same way as Fuhrer Bradley," Vera startled him with a straightforward response. "I injected myself with the serum form of a philosopher's stone."

Which only offered a million more questions, such as how the hell she had made or gotten her hands on a philosopher's stone, and survived the process. When Fuhrer Bradley had been made a homunculus, the other candidates had died. The mortality rate had been insane. Or so the history they had learned as State Alchemists said. Ted's presumption was that she had either discovered, or recreated, the knowledge through her own research. It wasn't as if they hadn't been openly warned that the critical ingredient for one was human lives, and that was why they were forbidden. That was one of the reasons the Fuhrer had been overthrown. Clearly, that hadn't bothered Vera.

"Well, that must mean you have an ultimate power." Ted nodded at the tail. "I'm guessing that's it."

"That and being generally invincible," Vera confirmed. "As you can see, despite a few dozen rounds hitting me today, I am unharmed. I'm hoping you at least, will be a little more of a challenge before I kill you, and your wife and children."

Ted felt his heart quicken again before he remembered the boys were not at home. There was no reason Vera should know where they were. "I hate to tell you, but you're not getting any of us today. I won't let you."

"How noble," Vera looked disgusted. "Does your wife know you've been harassing women at work?" She said it loud, clearly, as if she expected a big reaction.

Thank goodness Anika knew about the ruse. To her credit, she managed to look startled, but she didn't stop moving away.

Unfortunately, Vera was looking to see her reaction. Apparently, she didn't see Ted as enough of a threat… or she didn't care, because she lunged so quickly at Anika that she left her back fully open.

For a moment, Ted thought his heart would stop. He struck out with an alchemical attack, but it was a second too slow. Anika turned, but there was no way she was fast enough. She made it two steps before Vera closed the distance, her tail lashing out—

-and striking the body that flew between them at the last second, arms outstretched as she shouted, "Vera, no!"

Clarina tumbled to the ground as Anika fell back, then bolted, running for the gates. There was immediate agony on Clarina's face as the wound on her arm began to smoke, and she quickly turned a sickly greenish-gray, collapsing to her knees.

For once, Vera was shocked. "What the hell, Clare! Why… why would you do that?"

Clarina looked up at her. "You tried to kill an innocent woman and child. This is… wrong, Vera. Revenge won't solve anything. You've gone…too far." Then she wobbled and tilted, collapsing in a heap on the ground.

"Will you yield?" Ted asked in the moment of silence that followed. "She was your friend, and you killed her. She doesn't want this for you. It's not too late. Give yourself up now, Vera."

The brief look of shocked sorrow vanished, and seething hatred returned. Vera turned that gaze on him, and there was murder in those eyes. "This is all because of you. You drove her to seek me out. You broke her heart. You harassed her. This is on your hands not mine! It's time to die, Elric." And without another moment's pause, she launched at him, hands outstretched, flinging an alchemical barrage that Ted barely managed to block, before he dodged her, and got off a counter attack.

It was worse than their last fight. Vera had improved, or she'd been holding back the last time, because it was all Ted could do to keep up his footwork, resorting to as much acrobatics as his grandfather had used in the day to dodge that tail while throwing alchemical attacks at his opponent. Not that he didn't strike her, he knew he hit her several times. She hardly seemed to care. It was evident why after a couple of minutes, because every time he was sure he had burned or cut her, Vera healed in seconds. She really did have a nearly-immortal body and he was going to have to find a way to trap or disable her if he couldn't kill her. One thing was for certain… he couldn't hold back.

Not that he tried. It was all Ted could do to keep himself alive, and dodging the tail meant taking risks with other injuries. Though he was grateful they were in the middle of one of the major crossroads, because they were destroying tables, chairs, trash cans…. He didn't want to hurt the animals, and he was certain Vera wouldn't care any more about them than she did hurting people.

So, he took one injury…then another. Small ones, but they added up. Slashes and cuts, some deep, some shallow; burns from small bursts of fire. He hadn't forgotten the fire, and he countered with every attack he knew, trying to get in some kind of damage that would hurt her for more than a couple of seconds as he tried, desperately, to remember what Grandpa Ed had taught them about how to take out a homunculus.

Unfortunately, all he could remember—which might have been all of it—was that you had to just keep hitting them and wearing them down until they ran out of regeneration ability; preferably with more than one alchemist. Some had only managed it with the aid of a philosopher's stone… but only Roy Mustang had ever successfully done enough damage to take one out solo.

I'm losing blood… and time. We're almost an even match in combat skills, but I can't hurt her, and I have to avoid that damned tail. If he didn't have an answer soon, death was inevitable. Ted had to go on the defensive more than not…offensive wasn't getting him anywhere. Where was help? Maybe it wasn't coming after all.

They circled, closed, attacked, avoided, and circled again, a constant barrage of alchemy. Ted had never had to fight like this. How the hell did Grandpa do this? The idea of seven homunculi loose in the world seemed far more horrific with the reality of one in front of him, doing her best to kill him.

Blood was dripping to the ground from at least one of his wounds. Ted landed hard, rolling and coming up after one particularly violent attack, and wobbled. I'm out of ideas… There was nothing to throw at her. Nothing but attacking and attrition…but she didn't seem to be slowing at all.

"Proteus, disengage! Give me ten feet!"

The voice was familiar, but Ted didn't have a moment to register it as he dodged the tail again, slammed a combination of both ice and fire at Vera's face, and flipped backwards, somersaulting away as a searing bar of heat and crackling power struck the ground where he'd been a moment before, shocking Vera, who jumped back with a shout that was both fury and pain.

If you don't have a flame alchemist electricity might be the next best thing.

Vera's body sizzled as it healed where she had been scorched up the entirety of her right side; a gruesome and disturbing effect. She glared at Tore. "How kind of the President of the Amestrian Military himself to present himself for execution."

The Shock Alchemist stepped out from the tree-lined path, gloves on, one hand still up. He didn't smile. "Actually, I'm here to see to an execution of my own. I see you, homunculus, and your kind are not welcome in Amestris. The making of homunculi, even using one's own person, is forbidden for reasons I have no need to repeat in present company. I have the authority to execute you, and the power to kill you. Do you yield? I will give you one chance."

"Yield? You're insane. I don't care how many times you flash your lights at me, you cannot do more damage to me than I to you. I only need to strike you once. Are you willing to die at the height of your power?"

Ted came around to Vera's flank as she focused on Tore. He didn't know how much more he had in him, but he wasn't stopping until this was finished. The Shock Alchemist looked nearly fresh. His own fight clearly hadn't taken much out of him. That meant there was hope.

Instead of responding verbally to the taunt, Tore snapped his fingers, and struck Vera again….and again. She screamed, and dodged away, avoiding two more strikes as she healed, before a larger one hit her again. Then there was a series of small ones, only half of which hit her, then another large one that left marks out ten feet from her.

The air began to smell of ozone and even the hairs on Ted's body began to react to the electricity crackling around them.
Vera's attacks grew more virulent, but the more she charged at Tore, the more he struck her. The healing began to take longer, and Tore had no trouble keeping her beyond tail's reach. Though he moved a few times to avoid stray drips of toxin that flew through the air.

Twenty strikes. Thirty. Forty…. The dance continued and Ted could only watch in horrified fascination. He didn't dare strike out himself. He was too tired, and he wasn't sure he had the precision to miss Tore at that distance. Not right now.

But if anyone had ever doubted Tore's ability, they wouldn't now. Strike after strike came out of the air, not only from his gloves, but down from the sky itself, never missing by more than a few inches, and with lightning, that was hardly necessary.

Vera began to smoke, and screams turned to voiceless, inhuman yowls, as she struck at Tore again and again, missing by larger and larger margins. Then, in less than a second, she turned and lunged at Ted, her eyes bulging and furious. "I won't let you get away!" she yowled, striking for him.

Ted threw up his hand, hitting her in the face and tail with a freezing blast of water from out of the air that turned to ice around both with a pre-prepared circle. Then he threw himself sideways as she flew past him, slamming into the ground.

Turning quickly, he drew himself back into a defensive position, but Vera did not move. "Is she dead?" Ted asked, not daring to get close enough to find out. She was certainly scorched… not as badly as a regular body would have been, but she was no longer rapidly healing. She was at the very least, damaged and unconscious.

"Unlikely," Tore replied as he joined Ted. "We've used up a lot of her philosopher's stone but not all of it. If it were all, she'd be crumbling a little. You can see it on the tail."

Ted looked, and realized Tore was right. There were flakes on the slate black of the tail, and it looked an ill color. There were cracks. So much for impervious. "Do you still plan to execute her?"

"Maybe, but not at this moment. We can't leave her as she is either." Tore pulled out a knife from his boot. Just a standard, military issue knife. "I'm cutting off that tail. When I do, I want you to use flame to sear the wound shut. Can you do that?"

He wanted to… Ted swallowed. "Yeah, I can do it."

Tore nodded, then reached out, stepping on the tail well away from the dripping barb, raised the knife near the base of it near her spine, and then struck with the knife, leaving a notable gash, though it did not bleed. He hacked again, then a third time. He finished the job with a pinpoint flash of electricity.

Ted was ready, and flash-cooked the stump. It was a horrible smell. He was about to ask how they were going to transport her to prison, or keep her there, when he heard footsteps and voices, and several soldiers appeared down the path, prepared to take her into custody with ropes, chains, and a thick plastic bag designed not to be punctured by sharp objects. The tail went into the bag. Vera, now non-venomous, was bound, any and all transmutation circles on her clothing or accessories was removed—cut off if necessary—and she was carried out to the waiting ambulances. They carefully wrapped Clarina's body as well, which was now a horrid shade, as the poison had flowed through her whole body in a matter of seconds.

Ted had to look away. The site was horrible, and while he rarely got queasy on a battlefield, he felt ill. Of course, that might be from blood loss.

He didn't fight them as Tore put an arm around him and gave him someone to lean against as they limped to the front of the zoo. He let the medics put him in the ambulance. Lying down was the best feeling. He closed his eyes, almost hoping for unconsciousness. Hands bandaged his wounds, and they asked him questions that he answered with minimal thought. Yes, he was sure he hadn't been touched by the tail. If he had, he'd be dead by now. He knew his name. He could count to ten. It wasn't his head that hurt.

Then he felt the familiar presence of his wife, and heard the door closing. The sounds, the scent… her hand on his. Anika was safe… he could worry about the rest of it later.