HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Edna was in Hughes home, and if it wasn't for the fact she already knew that "Al" was a spy, she would have been worried. He had been missing for 'days'. Her sense of time was completely out of whack, and it was only the fact she was able to discreetly access the in-game news that she was even aware of what day it actually was.

One month in game was the equivalent of a single day in the real world. She had found that out by tracking the time discreetly. Which meant Idia had been trapped for months now, since it had been almost two weeks.

Mustang pointedly looked at Edna.

"Where's Alphonse?"

"I don't know. He's been missing for three days after a fight we had," said Edna.

"He's missing?" said Mustang.

Edna sighed.

"I figured I could give him a few days to calm down, but he hasn't come back yet,' said Edna.

"This could be bad," said Mustang.

"We'll find out. There's nothing we can do now, not without any leads," said Edna. "Besides...Al's been acting...off. At least since my return. I'm worried something happened to him."

Edna was rather pleased at her acting skills. Spending so much time around Vil and knowing her audience made it ridiculously easy to play Mustang and the others like a fiddle.

Her armor was ready. She knew how to activate the true nature of the 'gift' bestowed to the players. All that was required was to wait for the moment everything would begin...and this farce would finally end.

Which was why she said nothing when someone who looked like Mustang's son appeared at her side, silently.

"Well?"

"The preparations are ready. When the Fated Day arrives, our forces will stand with our king," said Al.

Alphonse had, within the two 'months' he had spent in game, created and amassed a large guild full of strong, competent fighters. Edna was technically the guild master, or 'General', but Alphonse was the one everyone treated as the leader.

Edna's actions hadn't gone unnoticed in the game...she had her own followers, many of whom were eager to fight beside her. Her charisma ranking was ridiculously high after all.

"Good, I want to end this farce as soon as possible. Is your shield ready?" she asked.

"Ready, and at your disposal. If I may, nee-san...may I have the pleasure of taking down that fake?" asked Al.

"Of course," she said with a smile.

Personally she couldn't wait to see Idia's reaction to her 'test' that it was really him. Envy didn't know his personality at all, or that they were dating.

By the time another 'month' had passed, the Fated Day had arrived.

It was time to end this.

The Fated Day. It was something that haunted Al's nightmares, and had followed him all the way until he found Edna again. They still weren't sure how or why Edna had landed in Night Raven, but he could openly admit it had been good for her.

That being said, he refused to live through that hell twice.

If Mustang noticed the fact there were more alchemists/soldiers present than normal, he made no comment on it.

Fuhrer King Bradley looked at them smugly. Edna knew it was the real him, or a digital avatar of the bastard. She had run into him a few times and knew his smug arrogance on sight.

"So Mustang. You plan to pull off a coup against me. How brazen. Do you really think the people would accept you as the new Fuhrer?" said Bradley.

Before Mustang could say anything, he noticed something ominous.

"What is Alphonse doing with you? And who is he holding?" demanded Mustang.

"Alphonse" said nothing, but the fact he was holding Idia hostage (and he looked like shit at this point) was enough for Edna.

Edna tensed, but had to be sure this was Idia and not Envy.

"You know, Erik has been wanting to meet you for some time. Fortunately he has a matinee for his newest movie, and he's sent tickets for all of us. I'm sure Vil would be thrilled to coordinate our outfits," deadpanned Edna.

Idia's expression went from exhausted to downright horrified.

"NOPE, NOPE, NOPE... No way am I dealing with all those type-A personalities! That amount of normies is too much!"

Mustang shook off whatever was going on with Edna as he faced Bradley.

"Enough. It's time to end the devastation you've caused all these years. Fuhrer King Bradley, I'm taking you under arrest...one way or another."

Bradley's smirk didn't diminish.

"Then I suppose it's time I got serious as well," said Bradley, as he raised his sword...and a massive array activated.

All the actual players cried out in pain and shock, as the array began to drain their souls. Idia was even worse, as they were using his unique nature to pull it off.

The only ones unaffected...were those 'resurrected' in the game to keep Edna unaware of the truth, and the Elric siblings. For whatever reason, they were immune to the effects. Bradley seemed pleased with this.

Something in Mustang's eyes seemed to shift. It was likely the memory of this hell was coming back to him, as he had been working on autopilot until now. The memories had been suppressed to keep Edna ignorant of the truth.

Now though...there was no need to hide.

Bradley took his sword, and nearly impaled Mustang with it. He was the ringleader after all.

He did not expect to be countered by Edna's sword instead.

"Fullmetal, what do you think you're doing?" demanded Mustang.

"Al, take care of the fake and retrieve Idia. This bastard is mine," said Edna calmly. She took out a strange crystal and shattered it with her left hand, as the left was holding her 'event' sword.

Her usual red coat and black outfit shattered into digital dust, revealing her new armor instead. It was a slightly altered version of the knight armor Lilia had her train in. The 'true' form would only unlock once she activated the sword's full power.

A figure appeared before the fake, before driving a dagger into the area where the blood seal would have been. The armor collapsed on itself, falling into many pieces.

"Alphonse!" said Mustang in shocked horror. Why wasn't Edna freaking out?

"Yes?" said the figure who had 'killed' the armor. He pulled back his hood, revealing sandy hair, and warm brown eyes. The resemblance to Edna was impossible to miss.

"Al, take care of him for me. I'll deal with this monster," said Edna.

"Got it, Nee-san," said Alphonse cheerfully. He helped Idia up, despite the other male being much taller than him. Thanks to increasing his strength stat so much on top of his agility, he was able to disappear with Idia with ease.

"So you fancy yourself a swordsman now, Fullmetal? Then allow me to test your mettle!" said Bradley.

Mustang wasn't the only one in shock to see Edna fighting with actual skill at a sword. She was not only able to keep up with Bradley, a renowned swordsman in his own right, but she was able to push him back.

So naturally that was when the other Homunculi made their appearance.

Envy, Lust, and Gluttony appeared seemingly out of nowhere. That was the moment the real battle began.

With Idia

Idia was exhausted. However he was glad to be out of that secured server and back with Edna. Though he wasn't sure she was entirely joking about that meeting with Erik.

"How are you doing?" asked Alphonse. He took his job guarding Idia seriously.

"I'm just glad that she's here, and that she has the sword I sent her. Let's hope she figured out the passcode to activate it properly."

"It's Edna. She took one look at the name and guessed pretty quick what it was," said Al. "On a related topic...can you disable the array they created?"

Idia shook his head.

"There are four admins in control of the array. Taking out one won't do anything, even if I have the passwords for two of them. But...I can disable other things, like whatever they're using to drain the players ability to use alchemy. We have to take it out fast though...if anyone dies in this array, it's going to fuel a transmutation circle capable of creating a new stone."

Alphonse froze at that.

"Wait, what? I though the circles were erased?"

"I looked into the stone after Edna made that deal. If you want to make stone, the blood and the rest are unnecessary, but are highly recommended to create a stable one. What you really need are souls, and this game has more than enough to fuel several of them, especially with how many people are playing for a major event."

Alphonse was not happy. He sent a quick DM to his sister, which caused her to swear and nearly be hit by Bradley's sword.

Edna managed to back away long enough to take a specific stance. She'd need to concentrate to pull this off.

"Al, keep her safe while I try to hack the other passwords. These guys aren't that creative when it comes to making one secure enough to keep me out," said Idia.

"Are you sure?"

Idia nodded. Edna needed all the back up she could get, and he was in no condition for a direct confrontation right now. Not that he had the skills for it anyway.

You could feel the pressure waves coming off Edna as she spoke the incantation.

"All that is gold does not glitter

Not all who wander are lost

The old that is strong do not wither

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

From the ashes a fire shall be woken

A light from shadow shall spring

Renewed shall be blade that is broken

The crownless again shall be king!

King's Domain! "

The sword seemingly shattered...before revealing a realistic copy of Excalibur. Several players were gaping at the sight of the true form of the 'event' sword they had gotten.

More importantly was her armor. It had taken quite a beating, but was now shiny and new.

The armor she had on now was an upgraded version of her old Saber Lily, with more armored parts. Even more impressive were the wings that had formed on her back.

Idia had to blink.

"I did not add a wing accessory to the unlockable armor," he said flatly.

"It's Edna...you learn to not question it. Besides, we don't really know the full effect of her signature spell," said Alphonse.

Alphonse readied his own replica of his shield. He stood beside his sister, ready to fight. Idia was far enough that he had been able to create an unbreakable barrier, or a digital one at least. It was unlikely the homunculi were skilled enough to hack their way past it.

Whatever doubts Mustang had about the matter, they died seeing Edna standing proudly against Bradley and the other homunculi. He knew who he would stand behind, and it wasn't them.

Though he wanted to have a long, long chat with Edna to explain what the hell was actually going on.

"Good to have you back, Fullmetal. I mean, Edna," said Roy.

"I would say it's good to be home, but this isn't home," said Edna.

Bradley laughed mockingly at her.

"So you think a sword like that would be enough to let you win? You overestimate your abilities, Fullmetal."

Edna didn't bother to respond. It was clear he was trying to rile her up.

"Do you think you're some sort of knight king, wearing that armor, Elric? You're still a scrawny, shrimpy brat who blindly stumbles around looking for clues," said Lust.

Edna didn't even twitch at the fact Lust had called her 'short'. Thanks to Vil and countless late night reading sessions, she understood that there was still a chance she could eventually kiss her boyfriend without him having to bend down so much.

Inwardly, she steeled herself. She sometimes had long talks with Vil and Malleus on what it took to be a good king...especially after she discovered her signature spell. Malleus was particularly informative about the subject, with Vil going in depth on how to maintain a royal facade in front of your subjects.

She did not have time to hesitate or retreat. She either faced these bastards head on, or it would have all been for nothing. Yes, her home and friends were now gone because of them, but she couldn't afford to hold back with so many lives on the line once again.

She would not let the disaster that was the Fated Day happen again.

With that in mind, Edna steeled her resolve and held her sword in front of her. Her eyes sharpened as she prepared herself for what must be done.

The homunculi sensed the change, and charged forward to stop her. While they didn't know the significance of the sword in her hands, they did know that Edna was about to do something highly detrimental to their plans.

Golden light flowed around her, enveloping her body. While she couldn't see it, Alphonse noticed the awe and admiration in the eyes of the lost souls trapped in the game, as well as the players.

While Mustang and the others didn't understand what that sword was, they understood in their souls what the light meant.

It was the essence of a prayer they had before their deaths during the original Fated Day. A prayer they still clung to desperately even though the source of it had been lost.

The name of that prayer was...

"EX...CALIBUR!"

Even in the digital world, the effect was so massive it almost flattened everyone behind Edna.

Idia's eyes widened as the server he was attempting to hack suddenly began to fragment, the computers unable to withstand even the recreation of Excalibur's full power.

The world around him began to dissolve into ones and zeroes, before going black.

He woke up with the VR helmet being quickly removed from his head, as he took the first real gasp of actual air in two weeks.