Promise

Damn, I’m sorry. I really am. But I’ve been working hard (I know it doesn’t seem like it) and I’m getting there. I will definitely finish this this summer. I swear I will. And I didn’t’ run this by my beta, so if you see something grossly wrong, say so please. Thank you.


Chapter 8


“You have to!” Auto-mail slammed into the table, making it shudder under the pressure but the blond woman was unmoved and stared straight at him, sneering slightly. “Do you even understand what they’re doing?” Ed’s hand flashed through the air, his voice rising with each word. “Do you have any kind of comprehension of that circle?” Gloved hands passed over the map of the country spread out on the table.

After he and Alphonse had been dragged inside and the younger blond was settled on a cot, Ed had stared blankly up at an historical battles map on the wall of the small office. Suddenly, it all made sense. The useless battles, the military picking fights without cause, the research and development of the philosopher’s stone, the thing he’d just destroyed and its mission of digging, even that freak in the basement of central and his group of lackeys. An array, set in the very flesh of the earth and traced in blood.

All he had to do was connect the dots and fill in the colors.

Cold dark eyes stared back over steepled hands and his shoulders twitched. “If activated it could destroy the country.” The blond General watched red flare over the tanned cheeks with mocking amusement. “We are not the ignorants you believe.” Her smirk taunted him and her blasé attitude grated on his nerves.

“Will! It WILL destroy the country.” Ed felt like screaming. It was as if they didn’t understand what was happening and were too stubborn to listen to him. “They will eat everything, you, me, your family, my BROTHER…” A soft shuffle from behind the curtain that bisected the room and the young alchemist fell silent. ‘I have to stay calm, they don’t know. They haven’t seen it.’ He swallowed heavily and sat down, elbows on the table, head resting on his hands. “Please. You have to help me, you can save us all if you move now.”

“I have to do nothing. I am in charge here, I say who does what, when, and how fast.” Cold fact and the steel in her eyes had Ed backing off. “You want me to leave my post, just take off and run your little errands.”

“No! Look, according to this map, the only place they need to start something is here. So, if we can avoid that, we’ll buy time to think of something else.”

Clear eyes watched him, measuring before her hand lifted and the dark Ishbalan behind her stepped forward. “Go. You know what to do.” Her attention never wavered from the boy in front of her. “I still fail to see why I should assist you. If everything within the circle will be ‘eaten’ as you say, I should obviously move my troops from within the circle.” Dark blond hair whipped up and she raised a brow. “We will be the only army left and the only ranking soldiers.”

“In a country that no longer exists! What good could that possibly be?” Ed shook, rage and fear mixing in his stomach to leave him slightly nauseous. She couldn’t be serious. “What good is ruling an empty country?”

A slight smirk, one that reminded him vividly of Roy, and she opened her mouth. The building shook and yells echoed down the hall. Long hair cocked slowly and she smiled. “Looks like this discussion is over.”

“What? What’s happening?” The dark yellow gaze followed the commanding woman as she stood and spoke to her men. “What is going on?”

“It seems we’re under attack. The Drachman army has finally moved against us.” Ed stared, mouth open at her pleased smile. “Finally, we will wipe them out without allowing them a chance to do any damage and show them it is futile to try and attack us.”

She took long strides out the door and down the hall, coat swinging at her heels. Ed squawked and ran after her. “What do you mean? Wipe them out?”

He caught up as they stepped through the door to the watch post. His mouth fell open and he gaped, stuttering in shock. There was an army, squadrons lined up neatly with heavy artillery scattered amongst them, and he’d never seen anything so awful and brilliant. Cold sun glinted off metal armour and dulled its edges on freezing weapons, blinding him and he raised his right arm to block it.

Chills ran over his spine as he realised his arm was the same color, metal he’d turned to the purpose of fighting, of war. Pale yellow flickered at the edge of his vision and he turned to glance to the side, watching General Armstrong’s hair flutter around her as she grinned proudly at her team.

Their weapons seemed to glow in the mid-day light, cleaner for not having travelled miles to attack, better maintained from not being on the road. The booms were deafening, the rush of air as shells passed over their heads warm and terrifying. Screams echoed in the cool air, audible even over the distance and the sound of artillery. Ed covered his ears and fought the urge to turn away, to run.

This was war, this was what he’d signed up for when he scrawled his name on the forms Roy pushed across the desk at him. Even if this was a slaughter, he had to watch. “Enough.” Olivia’s voice brushed his ears, harsh and low and proud. “Enough. The cowards are running back to report that we are invincible.” Silence followed her words, not even the sound of retreating men making it over the snow covered field.

Deep, eerily beautiful eyes faced Ed and he stared back helplessly. “Is this what you want? This is what you demand of us. To risk our lives and follow you to an impossible battle.” The click of her heels was brutally loud as her men saluted and stood at attention long after she’d vanished.

***********************

“Hey, Al.” The thin body remained still, breathing slowly under the pile of blankets. “What should I do? Roy’s back there, waiting for us, I need to tell him what’s happening, but… I want you to be safe and I don’t know if I can beat them. We could, could get Winry and Auntie and go. Xing would be safe, or even Drachma. They wouldn’t recognize me there.” Even as he spoke, he knew they could never run like that. Never abandon hundreds of thousands of people.

Gold eyes watched the steady rise and fall of the thin chest. “Not much choice, is there? Sorry, Al, I’m gonna have to leave you behind this time. Don’t worry, Falman will take great care of you, or I’ll rip his balls off and make him eat them.” A brilliant grin at the slightly choked sound from behind the divider curtain. “Yeah, I know you’re listening out there. Get in here.”

Falman lifted the curtain and stepped forward, face stoic, despite the flushed cheeks. “I’m heading back, so look after him for me, ‘k? Xing should be good, they have good weather for him to get better in. I’ll send word for you to come back.” Ed paused then shook his head. “Go to Zhongguo and look through the farthest West community. You’ll find help there.”

The older man drew his shoulders back further and saluted. “Yes, sir. Who should I ask for?” He was dying of curiosity but Ed had enough to deal with without answering meaningless questions.

Ed’s lips tilted in a little smile. “You’ll know when you see her.” Now all he had to do was figure out how to stop this mess from getting worse.

**********************

Three hours later, he wandered out of the split room to grab something to eat and stretch his back. He had a semi workable plan, provided he was lucky and nothing else went wrong. A deep sigh as he rounded the corner – as if that would happen. White gloves rubbed his eyes and he used his elbow to push the door open. And stood blinking in the surprising sunlight.

Instead of an enclosed storage facility, the roof had been pulled back, exposing rows of orderly chaos to the winter sun. Men ran between machines, carrying ropes, ammunition, and other provisions under the called orders of their direct commanders. “What’s going on?”

A dark head lifted long enough to give him a look as if he were the biggest idiot in the world before returning to examining the clipboard. “We’re shipping out. By 1800 hours today or so help us all.” Ed stared at him, mouth partially open.

“Hey! You, yeah the lazy blond, move your ass! We’ve got too much to do for you to stand around.” By the time the blond alchemist had figured out he was the one being yelled at, a big hand had snagged him by the back of his coat and was hauling him along. “We’re shipping out, no gawking.”

“But where are we going?” They weren’t seriously going to just move outside the range of the array.

Were they?

He didn’t receive an answer, just dangled from the heavy arm as the free hand came up in a sharp salute. “General!”

“Leave him, he’s coming with me.” Long hair swirled as the tall woman turned and strode off, fully expecting Edward to follow. “Get packed, we leave in three hours. Leave nothing of value.”

“Where are we going? What’s happening?” The alchemist ran after her, questions bubbling out.

She turned and glared and he froze, like a rabbit before a wolf. “I will not repeat myself. We leave for Central in three hours.”

Central, leaving for Central meant… ‘Yes!’ Ed shook the shock off and ran after her. “Do you have a plan to deal with the homunculi? I do, I’ve fought them before, I know what they’re like.”

Her pace did n’t slow but her head flicked to the side, indicating she was listening. Ed jogged along beside her, outlining his modified plan as they went.

*********************

“Hey there Colonel.” The title was sneered and Roy kept his face blank with great effort. The new secretary assigned was fully aware of his new officer’s fall from grace and saw no reason to even pretend to be polite.

An opened letter slid across the desk, the note inside peeking around the corner. “Great job on discipline there, really respectful young man you got. With any luck he can be transferred soon, to someone who’ll actually keep an eye on the brat.”

“Enough, Second Lieutenant, you are dismissed.” Steel backed the rank title and the young man gave a miniature snarl and stalked out. Nowhere near as impressive as Fullmetal in a snit.

He stopped in the door for a second and looked over his shoulder. “How old is he again? Can’t even remember his commander’s name.” A catty smirk. “Some genius.” The door snapped shut behind him with a loud click.

‘Little shit.’ The envelope was lifted idly and flipped between slim fingers. ‘Now what would Fullmetal be sending me?’ The name on the letter said “Flamed Alchemist” and he smirked a bit. Well, well, code then, and obviously one not yet broken or he wouldn’t have it. The note slid the rest of the way out and he pickily avoided the grubby fingerprints from the spy in his front office.

‘Colonel Mustang;

Hey there you lazy ass bastard, what the fuck are we doing out here anyways? I won’t be back for three weeks because you were a lazy asshole and there is absolutely nothing out here you dumb shit. You’re useless! And in this dump, there’re extra jobs!

I didn’t sign up to knock ten icicles down a second so we won’t go to jail for days at a time. This must be the most useless job ever, to run around with a stick knocking icicles off the fucking roof. Take that smirk and shove it, asshole. This is so fucking stupid. The Major General is a true bitch and fucking runs her damn city like a prison camp.

My payslip had better be huge and be there when I get back. When I’m home, you better be ready for a major ass-kicking, you jerk; I’m gonna slam my auto-mail in your nose in three short weeks. Your face will be so red from my fist you won’t have a date for a year.

Bye Bastard, see you in a few weeks,

EE

Ps: I’m charging double time for this!’

“Hmm, well, let’s see.” A pen underlined the proper words and he mumbled to himself. “Three weeks, minus three days for the letter to get here, icicles, useless, prison. Huh, this doesn’t make sense at all. That little brat. Sending me a code too hard to read.”

A few minutes of puttering around, pen scribbling quickly while he worked, snickers from the man in the front whispering through the door to him, and he bounced up, grabbed his coat and was half gone before the snotty brunet could react. “I’m bored! I’m going out, office is closed for the day!” A slightly bitchy wave of the fingertips and he was gone, door slamming on the objections.

The first car he saw was appropriated and directed with silly flairs to his favorite bar and the driver was glad to escape with rolling eyes. Cheers and laughter greeted him on the way in and he started the phone calls while chatting, a cascade of every ally he’d ever made, every favor owed. Only seven days left, after all.







A/N *pant* I did it! I totally did it! I finished the chapter! One more and the rest is mostly written. Thank you so much to those of you who haven’t abandoned me.

Game time! I have a prize for whoever tells me what Ed’s message was. (Not really, but I’ll make one for you, ok?) You can email your guess to me at truly_wished at hotmail. Clues are in the ‘report’, loose as it was, and I’ll even give you a couple of hints. Soldiers are paid on an annual basis, not hourly, and the letter starts at ‘hey’. Good luck!