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batsutousaiTitle: Reverti Ad Praeteritum
Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood/manga
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: Mature
Pairings: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang, May Chang/Alphonse Elric, Gracia Hughes/Maes Hughes, post-Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Warnings: Spoilers like whoa, Ed's potty mouth, canon-typical violence, pile 'o OCs, mute!Ed, original character death, angst, fluff, past dub-con, past adultery, Ed has all the guilt
Summary: Unwillingly forced to serve as a human trial for a crazy alchemist experimenting with time travel, Edward Elric finds himself standing across from Truth in the moment it takes his leg from him. Armed with the knowledge of what's to come and burdened with guilt for the choices he'd made as an adult, Ed sets out to fix every mistake he ever made and save every life they ever lost, no matter what it takes.
Key: "Speech" | 'Mouthing words'
'Writing'
:Sign Language:
"In another language" | 'In another language'
A/N: This chapter continues to cover the evening of the first of October.
You know what the worst part of this chapter was? Trying to figure out how to differentiate between the Armstrongs in a way that works with Ed. (He would not use Olivier's first name. Ever. And he doesn't really use ranks.) Urgh.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
-0-
Ed and Ling headed down to the cellar a little before nine, and found it already occupied by the Ishvalan contingent – Scar, the four Ishvalan leaders Ed had met previously, and Zouheir – Hohenheim, Lan Fan and Fu, and a handful of men and women who all held themselves with military stiffness, yet wore what looked to be server's clothing, save for Major Miles and an unfamiliar Ishvalan woman, who both wore Ishvalan clothing, but stood with the servers.
Ling, unsurprisingly, parted ways to meet up with his guards, and Ed made his way over to the larger group of Ishvalans, signing, :Hello, Zouheir.:
Zouheir's responding smile was a little strained as he stepped forward a few steps to meet him, but Ed couldn't really blame him. "Hello, Ed," he said, signing as he spoke, as always. He paused to motion towards the mix of attendees, then said, "It looks like we're really going to do this."
Ed shrugged a bit helplessly. :We're not being given much choice.:
"I know," Zouheir replied quietly, tiredly.
Scar and the other Ishvalans moved forward then, trading greetings and filling him in on some additional preparations they'd been handling, as well as the – slightly surprising, admittedly – news that Miles wasn't the only part-Ishvalan officer in the military; the unfamiliar woman with Miles and the other Amestrisans was Major Dinah Hashim, stationed in the east.
Other people arrived as Ed spoke with the Ishvalans, and while Al and May joined him, the other members of the military gave the Ishvalans a wide berth, which Ed rolled his eyes at, but they were all rather resigned to.
That said, most people weren't really mingling outside their respective groups. Roy's team and Hughes' team – and a handful of the group dressed in server's uniforms, as well as Hashim and a woman he vaguely recognised from his childhood in East City (who'd clearly been a ball attendee); likely all eastern troops – mingled a little, but the Yaos kept to themselves, Grand's office team clustered together around him, the lab-based State Alchemists mostly kept to themselves or with their date, and the rest of the group dressed in server's uniforms stayed with Miles on the other side of the room from the Central and Eastern troops. Clearly, they could be brought together for a common fight, but actually socialising with each other was another thing entirely.
Winry and Hawkeye showed up not long after Al and May, and while Hawkeye stepped without hesitation over to Roy and Hughes' teams, Winry stopped for one uncertain moment, before moving slowly over to Ed and Al. "Hi," she offered quietly, before raising her eyes and giving Scar a determined look that had the qi of all the Ishvalans curling with uncertainty.
"Winry–" Al started, while Ed grimaced.
"You're the one who killed my parents," Winry said quietly to Scar.
Scar stared at her for a long moment, his expression blank, but his qi swirling with a sort of uncertain sorrow, and then he looked at Ed.
Ed sighed and nodded, while Al offered, "This is Winry Rockbell." Zouheir and two of the Ishvalan leaders, Laith and Emran, drew in surprised breaths; they clearly knew her last name. "Her parents were doctors who treated Ishvalans during the war."
"I see," Scar said, his qi weighted with regret, and the rage that had seemed to be the one constant, vanished as he turned back to Winry and bowed his head. "I know it means little, but I am sorry for the grief I have caused you."
"You're right," Winry said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him, "no amount of apologies are ever going to bring my parents back to me, and I was really angry at you for that – still am, a little – but Ed told me that even good men do bad things."
Scar let out a harsh noise that could almost be called a derisive laugh. "A good man," he repeated, turning a flat stare on Ed.
Ed raised an eyebrow in response.
"To hate is not bad," the eastern Ishvalan leader, Sabir, commented, "for all people feel hate. It is, instead, what you do with your hate, that makes you a person who is good or bad." He looked straight at Scar, who looked away, refusing to meet his gaze. "It is up to you to balance the harm you have done."
"So you remind me, Mullah," Scar muttered, an edge of belligerence to his qi.
Ed glanced at Zouheir – by the flicker of curiosity from Al and Winry, he wasn't the only one – and the man quirked a strained smile as he silently translated, :Teacher.:
That explained so much.
"So you do," Sabir returned, and surprise sparked through Scar's qi.
"Majhul," Winry called, apparently having heard the Ishvalan name from Al and adopted it. When Scar looked back at her, his expression tight, she pointed at Ed and Al, then said, "Them and my granny are all the family I have left. You want your balance, you keep these two idiots safe."
Ed sighed, while Al said, "Winry, none of us are likely to be with Majhul once this starts."
"You said he's activating that array, right?" Winry snapped, turning a glare on Al, a sparkle of tears in her eyes. "The one that's supposed to make it so Amestrisan alchemy works?"
Al winced and nodded.
Winry huffed. "Then that's what he's going to do, so you can keep fighting and whoever you idiots are with can watch your stupid, suicidal–"
Ed yanked her into a hug and she caught her hands tight in his jacket, muttering insults between sniffles, while a wet patch grew against his shoulder.
"Sorry," Al offered.
"Sometimes," Barika, the western leader, said, "it is necessary to be reminded that war hurts all parties, and that it is for us to discover the form our forgiveness and penance will take."
"I guess..." Al agreed a bit uncertainly.
But Ed just nodded, was unsurprised to discover he wasn't the only one; he wasn't the only member of their little group who knew something about learning to forgive someone who had done you harm, or seeking for someone else to forgive him.
Before the silence could become awkward, there came the rapid clicking of annoyed heels on the stairs, and they all glanced over – Ed letting go of Winry – to see Lucy, Roy's date for the evening, coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, alone. She paused there for a moment, to look around, then started toward Ed, her qi curling with a mean sort of amusement and some vague irritation, the latter of which was obvious on her face. (Clearly, she'd given up on the vapid persona.) "Your boyfriend," she informed Ed when she reached him, "just abandoned me for another woman."
Al and Winry, the jerks, started snickering, while May ducked her head, her qi way too amused, and the Ishvalans turned a mix of amused and confused.
Ed scowled and – very obviously and very slowly – mouthed, 'Not. My. Boy. Friend.'
Lucy flashed him a sharp smile. "Which would you prefer? Suitor? Paramour? Beloved?"
Ed sent her the better-known :Fuck you.:
Al finally decided to be helpful and quietly explained, "Not everyone here knows Brother time travelled and is mentally mature enough to be involved with the colonel, so we don't really talk about it in public."
There was some definite surprise from the Ishvalans at that – Ed couldn't even pretend to be surprised that Scar hadn't shared his time travelling with anyone – while Scar just snorted.
"Really?" Lucy returned with a sad look. "I guess that means you won't be able to publicly fight that pretty little State Alchemist from the north, then."
Ed was mid-way through a shrug, when what she'd said fully registered and he remembered Hughes mentioning Roy'd had a fling with a State Alchemist during Ishval, but she'd been posted north after. Ed had never actually asked Hughes her name, but it hadn't been hard to find out that there were only two female State Alchemists at the moment, and one of them was posted to North City (Andrea Kozlova, the Stardust Alchemist), while the other had been in West City (Stephanie Ruland, the Electric Storm Alchemist), before being transferred to cover East City when Roy and Al returned to Central. Electric Storm, he'd heard, had been sent up to Central by Grumman, and had dragged her brother, the Ceramic Alchemist, into the fold – as evidenced by his current attendance – but he hadn't heard anything about Stardust coming to Central.
"Are you...jealous?" Al asked, shooting Ed a surprised look. "I thought you said his dating habits weren't going to be a problem."
"Dating me and the other girls, maybe," Lucy said, her tone gone suspiciously sweet, while Ed tried to shake the ugly green monster rearing its head in his stomach, "but we don't have the sort of history that involves greeting each other with kisses on the mouth."
Al glanced down at May, whose qi was wavering between gleefully victorious and a sort of worried concern, and said, "You may want to stay with us tonight."
May patted Ed's arm. "Or Edward can stay, and I will have the Yaos' help in making Roy regretful."
Lucy laughed, while Al, Winry, Scar, and Zouheir's qi all flared with approval, Scar's a fair bit more vengeful than any of the others'.
(It was always nice to know who his supporters were, and how far away from Roy he needed to keep each of them if they had a fight.)
"Many angry faces!" Colourway called, announcing his presence, just before he stepped around Lucy and said, "Silent and Mending, my two most favourite State Alchemists!"
Al coughed and managed a strained smile. "Hello, Colourway. Nice suit."
Colourway tilted his head way too far to one side, looking between Ed and Al, then stepped forward and hugged Ed, because this was apparently what they did now. "Are you okay?" he whispered, his qi curling with concern.
Ed sighed and hugged him back, wasn't really sure how to explain how he was torn between concern about Roy's old girlfriend coming back into the picture, and the fact that he believed that Roy was over her and wasn't going to just up and leave. (At least, not in the middle of this mess. After... Well, there was still that really helpful desert and a small earthen house waiting for him in Xing, even if it meant he'd have to put up with his father. And, yes, he knew how shitty it was that a part of him was still just waiting for Roy to realise he was better off with anyone other than Ed, especially since he knew Al was basing his own concerns on that fear, but he really couldn't help his ingrained pessimism.)
Ed pulled away when he sensed Roy coming down the stairs, looking over in that direction. Al and May also turned to look, Al's qi curling with disapproval and a little bit of hostility.
Roy had an unfamiliar woman on his arm, who didn't have quite the sultry air that Lucy put off, but she was certainly pretty, and had chosen gold accents that were a little brighter than Ed's own. They were both smiling, clearly relaxed with each other, which didn't ease Ed's uncertainty, nor did it help calm anyone around him.
Scar murmured something in the Ishvalan language, and Al's qi was no longer the most hostile one focussed on Roy. In fact, it felt downright violent, more than enough to set off any battle-sense Roy had picked up in Ishval.
Indeed, Roy's smile faltered and his head jerked around to look in their direction. The 'oh, shit' wasn't quite visible on his face, but it was definitely in his qi.
(Ed wondered, a bit, how they must look, with Scar, Al, Winry, and May all glaring, while Ed and the other Ishvalans – judging by their qi – kept their expressions blank, Colourway looked a bit confused – though with dawning comprehension – and Lucy was doing a lot of smirking.)
Roy freed his arm from the woman's grip and started signing Ed's sign-name, but he was interrupted by a cold voice snapping, "Get out of the way, Mustang, before I go to the trouble of pulling out my sword."
"Sister," Alex Armstrong complained.
Roy stepped gracefully out of the way and offered Olivier Armstrong a pleasant, almost-flirty smile. "Major General, you look as lovely as ever."
As the Ice Queen stepped into view, Ed had to admit that she did look rather stunning, with gold accents that matched the shade that both Roy's new-found date and what appeared to be her twin – walking between the Armstrong siblings – had chosen.
"Save your pretty words for someone who cares," the Ice Queen returned flatly, shooting a pointed look at the woman Roy had come down with, who flushed and shot her twin a glare. Said twin just returned a slightly mean little smile. "Is everyone here?" the Ice Queen demanded, ignoring the byplay.
There was a moment of everyone looking around the cellar, checking to see who was in attendance, then Al realised, "Where's Teacher?" while Hawkeye reported, "Warrant Officer Falman and Sergeant Major Fuery are unaccounted for, sirs."
The Ice Queen scoffed. "Of course it would be your team, Mustang."
"I'll go find them!" Al called, hurrying toward the stairs and rather purposefully knocking into Roy, who frowned at him. "Sorry, sir," Al offered in his most earnestly sincere voice, and Ed and Winry both let out quiet snorts, because that tone never meant he was actually sincere.
"Will you need assistance, Alphonse Elric?" Alex asked as Al slipped nimbly past the Ice Queen.
"Nope! Five minutes!" Al called back, ducking him and vanishing out of view behind his girth.
Ed frowned a bit, because there remained a sense of his and Al's shared qi on Roy, and it took him an embarrassingly long moment to realise his brother must have somehow snuck a kunai on Roy's person, in case one of them needed – or wanted, given the bastard's entrance – to use distance alkahestry to torment the bastard. His brother was such a sneak, and Ed had a brief moment to appreciate that, for once, instead of regretting how he'd raised him.
"Certain, isn't he?" the Ice Queen commented somewhat derisively.
Roy cleared his throat and Ed sensed a whisper of apology in his qi, aimed at him, just before he flatly explained, "Every living thing puts out an energy field, and the Xingans discovered a way to track it, which Alphonse and Edward learnt while they were living there."
"It was developed for use in battle," Ling offered with an easy-going smile on his face, as if his qi wasn't also pointing disapproval toward Roy and the woman he'd come down with; he didn't need to have been a part of the discussion about what was going on to draw his own conclusions, "to keep track of where your allies were, but I believe it has also some uses in alkahestry?" He looked over at May and Ed.
Ed shrugged and nodded, while May agreed, "The energy alkahestrists use to power our transmutations, Edward and Alphonse have told me, is different from your alchemy's energy. Our energy is more of a living thing, but it is not so easy to find without the ability to sense qi." She glanced up at Ed, a slightly crooked attempt at a teasing smile twisting her mouth, and he made a face at her.
"We have seen this ability," Sabir commented, and Ed glanced back to find the Ishvalan giving him a considering look. "When those monsters tracked you to our hiding place, you were aware of them long before they were in view."
Ed nodded.
The Ice Queen turned a cold stare on Roy. "Precious little ace you've been hiding in your pocket."
Roy flashed her a sharp smile. "Stick around and you might just see the rest of them."
Somewhat disconcertingly, the Ice Queen smiled back. "Nothing you have hidden in or under that suit is going to impress me."
Ed couldn't help it, he just started snickering. Roy shot him a wounded look, which got Winry, May, Ling, and both Hugheses laughing, while Lucy turned to Ed and winked.
Al returned with their missing three as the laughter died down, and everyone spread out a bit, settling into their little cliques, with the civilians (minus Gracia), Colourway (who hadn't moved away), and Ed and Al serving as something of a separator between the mixed Central City and eastern troops (and Stardust, interestingly), and the Briggs troops (and Stardust's twin). Grand, Hughes, and that vaguely familiar woman who'd been with the eastern troops all stepped forward to join Roy and the Ice Queen in the middle of the half-circle they'd all formed, and there was a moment's pause, before they all turned to the mixed mess of Ed and Al's non-military (and Colourway) allies.
"Brother," Al whispered, before giving him a rather pointed shove to get him moving.
Ed shot him a frown, but moved forward to what – he realised a bit belatedly – was the group who would be making the decisions and very likely making an argument on behalf of their sections, coming to a stop between Hughes and Grand. Which, well, there were a dozen reasons why Ed wasn't really the most obvious choice to represent the Ishvalans and the Xingans, but he supposed it was true that he knew the most about the Xingans' abilities in battle, and he'd been the one to sit down with the Ishvalans; in the interest of having as few people arguing at a time, he was probably the best choice. (Also, he was the only one with fore-knowledge, which made it a bit of a necessary thing for him to be involved in the decision-making process; only a little disconcerting.)
"A mute child," Armstrong said flatly, and the eastern woman looked equally unimpressed with him.
It was dim enough in the cellar, Ed didn't pause in pressing his hands together to activate the argon array, forming the words, 'I assure you, Major General, I'm perfectly capable of making myself understood by everyone.'
Completely unsurprisingly, Colourway's qi flared with delight.
"Interesting," Armstrong replied flatly, despite the impressed flicker in her qi.
Ed offered his best little polite smile in response. (Which probably had a bit too much teeth, but she'd almost certainly appreciate that.)
Armstrong looked at Grand. "This is your city, I assume you have a plan."
Grand shrugged. "I suspect I've been as much a part of this planning as yourself or Lieutenant Colonel Lewis–" he nodded towards the East City woman "–which is to say, I only found out there was anything brewing three weeks ago."
Armstrong turned a glare on Roy, so very obviously not happy to be forced to deal with him. "Spit it out, Mustang."
Roy flashed her a smile that could almost be construed as friendly, before blanking his face and coolly explaining, "Given we're facing essentially the entire military, we settled on a multi-pronged attack, which is mostly made up of distractions. We have State Alchemists covering three of the five alchemy labs–"
"Four," Grand corrected with a frown.
Roy, Hughes, and Ed all shook their heads, Roy replying, "While officially condemned, lab five is operational. They've been conducting illegal research, such as human-animal chimeras, soul-bonding, and the creation of Philosopher's Stones, using the condemned inmates from the prison next door as subjects."
People around the room muttered to each other with a mix of horror and disgust, while Grand shot Ed a disturbed look. "This is true?"
Ed sighed and nodded, then pressed his hands together to write, 'Unfortunately. I can't tell you exactly how often it's been in use, but I've sensed humans & homunculi in there as recently as 1 month ago.'
"There are explosives placed throughout the building, and it's guarded by a couple of former serial killers who are in experimental bodies that require neither sleep nor nourishment," Roy added, "so we agreed the wisest course was to leave it until after we've taken the country, rather than splitting our resources."
"Who is 'we'?" Lewis asked, a sharp edge to her tone.
Roy inclined his head to her. "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes–" he motioned to Hughes "–Majors Elric–" he motioned in Ed's direction "–and myself. We've been making these plans for almost a year."
Cue more murmuring from the northern troops and some looks traded among the State Alchemists and eastern troops.
"If I may continue?" Roy requested in that carefully crafted 'I'm only being polite because I don't have a choice' tone that Ed had never quite managed to master, before. (Not for a lack of trying.)
"You have the floor, Colonel," Lewis agreed, motioning for him to go on.
"The Colourway, Blooming, and Ceramic Alchemists all have their own plans in place for loud and showy disruptions, which should bring soldiers running to those labs, while the Ishvalan known as Scar will be leading a party of his choice through lab three to an underground passage, which Edward mapped out. Scar will make for a central point under the city, while five other groups make their way to pre-mapped points around the city. Once they're all in place, Scar will activate an array to reverse one of the Dwarf in the Flask's abilities."
Given the complete lack of surprise or confusion at that name, Ed assumed everyone had already been informed about who they were fighting. Which was awesome.
"Which ability is this?" Armstrong asked.
Roy met her flat stare evenly. "His ability to completely turn off our access to the form of energy Amestrisan alchemy uses."
"What?" someone called, while most of the State Alchemists' qi flared with horror and disbelief.
"Roy," the woman Roy had walked in with called, "tell me you're joking. Turning off our alchemy?"
Roy shook his head. "It's not a joke, I'm afraid. If the Dwarf in the Flask activates this ability, until Scar activates the counter-array, the only people in this room capable of alchemy – or alkahestry, more accurately – will be Majors Elric, Princess May, Van Hohenheim, and Scar himself."
"Disconcerting," Grand commented blandly, as if his qi wasn't a mass of slightly terrified rage.
"Rather," Roy agreed in the same tone, before shaking his head. "There's little we can do, save be prepared for the – hopefully brief – inevitability, and trust that our alkahestrists can bear the brunt of the battle while we switch to more mundane weaponry."
"You'll survive a few minutes being normal humans," Hughes promised with cheer that was very obviously false.
"We hope," someone from their audience muttered.
Roy cleared his throat. "The last distraction was Majors Elric's idea: A radio broadcast sharing the full truth with everyone."
There followed a brief, stunned silence, then everyone started talking at once, the qi in the room overwhelmingly negative. Ed winced and rubbed at the ache starting in his forehead, suspected he wasn't the only one suffering from the stabbing qi, especially since Roy had oh-so-politely made him and Al the sole targets.
There was a snap and a rush of hot air, and Ed looked up to find a ring of fire separating the inner group he was a part of from everyone else. As it died away, Grand rumbled, "That is enough."
"The people of this country deserve to know what's going on," Al said, his voice hard, "the same as all of us in this room. Every single person inside our borders is fodder for a mass sacrifice, whether they're just visiting, like the Xingans, or are prisoners of war, or were born here. Personal beliefs, ancestry, your position in the military; none of that matters in this, because we're all human, and we're all expendable to the Dwarf in the Flask. What right do any of us have to decide who should or shouldn't know that their lives are in danger? That, if we somehow fail, they're still in danger."
"Somehow, someway, all of this will get leaked to the public, eventually," Hughes added flatly. "We've seen it dozens of times in Investigations: Some poor sod comes across some terrible truth the military leadership had thought buried, and they run to the nearest paper with it. Sometimes, they're caught and declared traitors before they can spill what they'd learnt, but there have been plenty of occasions where they made it out alive, and the only thing we could do was minimise the damage.
"Which is what this is. A single radio broadcast with a simple message: This is what your government has been hiding from you, and these are the people who are fighting to save your lives. The brighter the light we shine on ourselves, the less likely we are to face a backlash in our attempt to take control of the country."
There followed another silence, this one more musing, less shocked, and then Armstrong said, "Fine. I have no interest in fighting a civil war to keep this country under control."
"You, turning down a battle?" Roy asked, his smile a little too sharp-edged.
Armstrong narrowed her eyes and her hand went to the hilt of her sword. "Was that a challenge?"
"I would never," Roy lied. "I do think, however, that after hearing all about how our military's warmongering was just a front to power a mass sacrifice, you might not be the best choice for the Führership."
"Roy," Hughes hissed in warning, almost like he could sense the violent spark in Armstrong's qi.
Roy's smile just widened – Ed might just have to kill his lover, because it looked like he was purposefully riling Armstrong to make a point – and he continued, heedless, "Unless, of course, you're lying about not wanting to fight a civil war. After all, with Bradley out of the way, you're free to invite the whole of Briggs–"
Ed was already moving before Armstrong started to draw her sword, pulling out two kunai and stepping forward to deflect her swing with one, while he slipped the other inside her guard, tapping the sharp point against her chin.
For one tense moment, they glared at each other. And then Armstrong raised her free hand in a show of surrender, her qi backing off.
Ed stepped back and slipped his kunai away, then turned to glare at Roy, who was looking quite smug. :I'm about five seconds from punching you in the fucking face hard enough to break your nose.:
Roy's expression twisted into a grimace. :Thank you for not letting her slice me open?: he replied, even as his qi reached out with a mix of love and relief.
Ed huffed and felt a lot of his irritation melting away, even as he stalked back to his position in their inner circle, mostly dodging the bastard's qi.
Armstrong had sheathed her sword while Ed and Roy had exchanged signs, and she pinned Roy with a flat look. "So you're intending to steal the Führership out from under the rest of us."
Roy folded his hands behind his back, glancing over at Grand. " 'Stealing' implies it hasn't already been offered to me," he returned evenly.
When Armstrong turned to Grand, a note of disbelief in her qi, he inclined his head and rumbled, "I have no interest in the Führership, and I believe Amestris needs a friendly face to get her through this upheaval."
Armstrong let out a disgusted noise, but it was clear she knew when she was fighting a losing battle, for she changed the subject: "You've explained your many distractions and how you intend to foil this Dwarf in the Flask's ability to put a halt to your pseudo-science; what is your intention for the proper attack? Assuming you have one."
Roy inclined his head. "Brigadier General Grand has suggested holding the attack during a meeting of the brass, so as to capture as many in one room as possible, and lessen the chance of any making a run for the borders and selling our weaknesses to our enemies. He has agreed to head that stab into their heart, while a small group will infiltrate the Dwarf in the Flask's headquarters and engage him, and a third group will attempt to call the attention of the remaining three homunculi to the parade grounds."
"Three?" Lewis requested. "Lieutenant General Grumman's last intelligence report had that there were a total of seven, one of which is a neutral party living in the south, and another of which is believed to be performing a task in the north."
Roy frowned a bit and glanced in the direction of the mixed group of civilians – Lucy, Ed realised – commenting, "I thought we'd passed on that Majors Elric and Scar managed to destroy two of them."
Some rather interested qi focussed on Ed, Al, and Scar, even as Lucy replied, "I don't know anything about it, but I'll see that it's looked into."
"Who does that leave?" Grand asked.
"King Bradley, Selim Bradley, and Envy, the shapeshifter," Hughes offered.
There was some uncertain qi at the mention of Selim, but no one called out any shouts of disbelief, so Ed assumed that had already been dealt with. (He'd been there when Hughes had finally filled his team in, and it hadn't been particularly fun; Selim was practically the darling of the country, given how much trouble the Bradleys had had conceiving, and the heart-breaking little backstory they'd made up about how he'd ended up orphaned and sent to live with them, so no one really wanted to believe that he was a monster.)
Roy nodded a bit, then said, "I intend to lead the attack on the parade grounds and, given our intention is to attract the homunculi, I'd like as many combat State Alchemists as possible." He looked at Ed. "I expect you'll lead the foray into the Dwarf in the Flask's hideout?"
Ed nodded, but Hohenheim cut in with, "No." When Ed spun and glared at him, his father's own eyes were sad. "There are only four people the Dwarf in the Flask won't kill on sight, and three of us are among the limited number of alkahestrists. The smartest option would be for Mrs Curtis, myself, and either you or Alphonse to head down into his lair, while the other and Princess May are facing the homunculi. Given your disability, you'll be unable to communicate with Mrs Curtis or myself while fighting; you're better served remaining on the parade grounds."
"He's right," Hughes admitted, while Al signed, :You know the most about fighting the homunculi, anyway.:
Ed spun away from his brother and father with a snarl, crossing his arms tight across his chest and scowling at the ground; he hated that they were right, and that Hohenheim had such an excellent point about his communication abilities.
"Now that that's sorted," Armstrong said flatly, "perhaps one of you would like to explain why this Dwarf in the Flask won't kill the four of you, specifically."
"For his massive array to work the way he's planning," Hohenheim replied in a slightly careless voice, "the Dwarf in the Flask requires five sacrifices who have met a particular criterion."
"And that criterion is?" Armstrong demanded, the curl of qi in the room suggesting she wasn't the only one who'd like to know the answer to that.
Ed turned and shook his head at Hohenheim, saw Al doing the same, while Teacher just glared. Hohenheim, for his part, just shrugged. "The ability to perform alchemy without arrays."
Which wasn't really an answer, but it was sufficient for all the non-alchemists, and the other two alchemists in the inner circle with Ed, at least, already knew enough about how one gained that ability, to know they should steer the conversation away from that topic.
Grand pointedly cleared his throat, then said, "Mending, his father, and Mrs Curtis will all be going underground, then, while Mustang, Silent, Princess May, and as many combat alchemists as possible will remain on the parade grounds. I should be sufficient alchemic power for handling the other generals, but I wouldn't mind a sword master, in case Bradley decides to serve as my opponent; I have it on reasonable authority that he's not to be trifled with."
Armstrong let out a rather unladylike snort. "Flattery doesn't suit you, Grand," she informed him, before tapping the hilt of her sword, "but far be it from me to refuse the chance to stab Bradley or a few other of these rotten leaders."
"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes will be in charge of the team at the radio station," Roy announced. "His wife has agreed to be the one on the air, and his position in Investigations makes him well suited to finding and leaking information."
Hughes snorted at that
'I want Winry there,' Ed wrote, using the argon array.
"Miss Rockbell?" Roy repeated, and Winry's qi jerked a bit; Ed was facing the wrong direction for her to see his argon writing.
Ed nodded. 'It's our most defensible position, & the 1 most likely to end up with wounded, without the benefit of alchemists with healing knowledge.'
Roy inclined his head, then asked, "Miss Rockbell, are you and a couple of your fellow mechanics willing to serve as potential medical staff, should things turn sour at the radio station?"
Ed glanced back at her and nodded, and she offered him a slightly grateful smile in return, then replied, "I think I can find a couple of people to help with that."
"If your intention is to hold the radio station from retaliation," Armstrong said, "you'll need a strong defence."
For the first time, Armstrong and Roy shared a smile that said they were on the same page, as he replied, "I'd hoped you might say something like that."
Ed glanced over to catch Hughes' eyes and rolled his own, earning an amused cough from his superior.
"What about Scar?" Lewis asked.
'Scar decides his own team,' Ed wrote in response, wearing his best flat look. 'That was his condition for working with us.'
"That said," Hughes said mildly, "given how close he'll be to the Dwarf in the Flask's hideout, it might not be a bad idea to send him with a couple Xingans."
Ed blinked at that, surprised, then glanced back at the mixed group he was technically representing, raising an eyebrow at them.
Scar frowned at Ling, who offered him a bright smile in response, then said, "It will be my pleasure to work with you."
Scar turned back towards Ed with a disgusted look, and Ed pressed his hands together in a 'please?' fashion, trying to look hopeful. Scar let out a disgusted sound, his qi drooping with resignation, and he snarled, "Fine."
Ed smiled at him, then turned back to the inner circle and wrote, 'I'd like to send 1 military officer with each of the Ishvalan teams setting the outer points of the array, to mediate any miscommunication between them & Central citizens.'
"That's not a bad idea," Lewis commented, while Hughes, Roy, and Grand all nodded. She looked at Armstrong and said, "Major Hashim and your man, Major Miles, should probably be involved in that."
Armstrong snorted. "I doubt Amestrisans will feel particularly comforted by a couple part-Ishvalan officers leading around a group of Ishvalans, but at least they should have an easier time with the Ishvalans." She glanced between Grand, Hughes, and Roy. "Might I suggest one person from each of your commands? To make it more fair."
"To be able to point fingers if it falls through, you mean," Grand returned flatly, and Armstrong shot him an icy smile. "Captain Adams can lead a team in my name."
"Lieutenant Hawkeye," Roy said evenly, and irritation sparked in her qi from where she was standing with the rest of Roy's team.
Ed glanced toward her and found her expression unchanged but, when she caught him looking at her, her eyes narrowed, the message clear: 'He's your job'. Ed quirked a smile and nodded in response; like hell he was going to let anything happen to his idiotic, bastard of a lover.
"Captain Fokker," Hughes said while Ed was having his silent communication with Hawkeye. "I'd like to send the rest of my team to assist with the labs, since fighting isn't really their strong suit." He gave a helpless little shrug and elbowed Ed, who frowned at him. "I assume you can provide a list of potential distractions that non-alchemists can get into?"
Ed snorted and nodded.
"I'd like to send Lieutenant Colonel Smith with your team," Grand said, after glancing back at his team and the majority of the State Alchemists. "She has family in lab one, and will legitimise your team's reason for being there."
"At least until things start going 'boom'," Hughes agreed quietly.
"Fine. Anyone who doesn't have an assignment can be sent to the parade grounds," Armstrong suggested, before flashing Roy a sharp smile. "I assume you'll need the help."
Roy shot Ed an uncertain look around Hughes. "As I believe one of the potential scenarios involves the Dwarf in the Flask fleeing to the parade grounds, that may hold true."
'If he does that,' Ed wrote in warning, 'he'll likely be looking to suck the life force out of anyone who comes near him. Distance attacks will serve us best.' Having the life almost sucked out of him was one thing Ed wasn't likely to forget, no matter how many times he had to relive his life; it was a bit like automail surgery, in that way.
"That's vaguely disconcerting," Lewis commented flatly. "Do we know what he looks like, so we know when to get out of the way?"
"He looks like me," Hohenheim offered a bit tiredly. He was wearing a helpless smile when they all turned to look at him. "His body is a copy of mine."
There followed an uncertain silence, which Roy broke by saying, "So long as Van Hohenheim agrees to remain with Alphonse and Mrs Curtis until we have a confirmed kill, we should have no trouble telling him and the Dwarf in the Flask apart." When Hohenheim gave a nod of understanding, Roy continued, "Do we have an exact date for this attack? The next scheduled meeting of the brass, at least?"
Grand grunted. "We have a regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoons, fourteen hundred. It usually runs about three hours, and certain members are in the habit of arriving up to a half-hour late."
"Then we'll plan to attack at fifteen hundred," Armstrong decided. "We'll need some sort of signal to all get moving at roughly the same time."
"I can do that!" Colourway called, and Ed looked back to find him bouncing in place and waving his hands a bit wildly (but controlled enough not to hit anyone standing near him) while wearing a fucking massive and slightly manic grin. "I can make something big and noticeable!"
"Without levelling an entire city block, please," Al requested a bit tiredly, eyeing the hand that kept just barely missing him a bit suspiciously.
"No casualties!" Colourway sing-songed.
Ed snorted and nodded, figuring that was about the best they could hope for when dealing with the chemicals they kept in lab four, then turned back to the rest of the inner circle.
"That's the sort of lunatic you consider a useful ally?" Armstrong asked him flatly, very obviously unimpressed, and her qi suggesting she was a little disturbed.
Ed just smiled in return, while Grand sighed and Hughes snorted in amusement.
"Fine," Armstrong bit out, very obviously looking away from Ed. "If the lunatic fails, we'll all start five after. Do we have weapons?"
"Edward?" Roy asked, looking over at him, and Armstrong let out a quiet, disgusted sound.
Ed nodded and pressed his hands together to write, 'The Yaos & I have a plan in place to clear out the armoury. We'll set a watch around lunchtime tomorrow & on Monday, then decide Monday night what time is best to clear it out without notice. We'll plan to have as much of it cleared out as possible by 14:00. Brig Gen Grand is in charge of getting weapons from lab 1.'
Grand nodded when everyone turned to him, after reading that. "I can falsify a transfer form and have the weapons dropped somewhere en route, or I can plan to have them delivered Tuesday morning, and you can take care of collecting them that afternoon."
"How likely is your theft to be noticed, Silent?" Armstrong demanded.
Ed shrugged. 'If they open the door, they'll see, but we're going in through the roof, so the guards shouldn't notice us at all.'
"Of course you are," Grand muttered, while Roy and Hughes both just sighed.
"Fine," Armstrong said, unimpressed, before turning to Grand. "Have them take the weapons to the armoury, then; I'd rather not chance leaving a dead-end paper trail that could raise some eyebrows."
"Agreed." Grand glanced down at Ed. "They'll be in there by lunchtime on Tuesday."
Ed nodded in understanding, and made a mental note to find some way to help the Yaos with the weapons theft, if only so he was the one handling the alchemically enhanced weapons. Not because he didn't trust the Xingans, but because handling some of them wrong could have dire consequences, and he needed to make sure they got to people who would know how to use what they'd been given.
"I'll have Majors Armstrong and Elric pass on the coordinates of where the weapons will be stored tomorrow," Hughes offered, looking between the two generals. "Lieutenant Colonel," he added, turning to Lewis, "if you'll tell Major Elric where you're most likely to be tomorrow afternoon, he can drop past a copy of the list to you after he's slipped his tail."
"I'm sorry, tail?" Lewis asked, shooting Ed a frown that was similar to the ones Armstrong and Grand wore.
Ed shrugged and pressed his hands together to reply, 'The homunculus Envy was assigned a member of my guard after my original run-in with Scar. He took personal affront to my habit of losing him & never stopped trying to follow me on Fridays. He's remarkably easy to lose.'
"That's the shapeshifter?" Grand asked, a note of concern in his qi, though his voice was flat.
Ed nodded, then offered, 'He doesn't seem to care for travelling by rooftops.'
"That explains so much," Grand muttered, quietly enough that Ed and Armstrong, on Grand's other side, were likely the only ones to hear him.
"Anything else?" Roy asked and, after a moment of silence, continued loud enough to make it clear he was speaking to everyone in the cellar, "Then let's break up into the groups we've been assigned to and figure out how we intend to work together."
Hughes clapped Ed on the shoulder and murmured, "Good luck with Roy," before moving off towards Gracia and his team.
Roy moved over to his own team and started giving them directions, while Armstrong and Lewis did the same, divvying up those people they had in the room – Ed didn't, for one moment, believe this was all the eastern and northern troops they had in the city – so Ed made his way over to his mismatched group and focussed on the Ishvalans, first, since they were the largest group. Activating the argon array, he told them, 'Separate your people into Majhul's party or the outer array point groups as you please, then we'll find a way to sneak the rest into the parade grounds, if that's acceptable?'
The four leaders traded looks, then gave grim nods. "That is acceptable," Laith, the southern leader, agreed. "I and Sabir would also like to gather with those fighting on your parade grounds, so we might pass on your plans."
Ed nodded, then turned to the Xingans and, aware that Fu and Lan Fan had trouble with Amestrisan writing, switched to Xingan to write, 'Ling will be with Majhul/Scar, & May will have to be on the parade grounds, with me. Lan Fan, Fu, you're free to split up or remain as a team, as you prefer.'
The Yaos frowned at each other and had a quick, whispered conference, before Fu stepped over to stand behind May. Ling met Ed's eyes and said, "I promised my protection to Chang. Fu will watch both your backs."
Ed quirked a smile and gave a grateful bow, which Ling returned, bowing far deeper than he should have, given their differing statuses. But, then, Ed didn't suppose anyone who would know the difference would say anything against Ling showing him extra respect.
Ed turned to Lucy, finally, and told her, 'You may be best served with the radio group; I assume you'll be supplying them with whatever intel you've gathered.'
Lucy flashed him a flirty smile. "You'd better believe it," she said by way of agreement, before planting a kiss on his cheek, then following Winry toward Hughes' group, a sort of smug glee curling through her qi.
Ed groaned and, ignoring the amusement of the others who hadn't already moved off, led the way over to where the largest group was gathering in the middle of the room.
He was waylaid by Roy and the pretty northern alchemist at the outer edges of the group. "Edward, a word? Alone," Roy pressed, shooting May and Fu a pointed look, and not looking at the two Ishvalans at all.
:Are you going to introduce me to your E-X?: Ed signed with a sharp smile.
Roy blinked, then rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to kill Maes," he muttered.
The woman laughed and Ed glanced over at her, getting his first good look. She looked friendly, under her perfectly-applied makeup, the sparkle of amusement in her dark eyes suggesting she was plenty willing to have a bit of a laugh in public. Even her qi was friendly, bright with amusement, despite the unsettled mass clinging to her shoulders and ankles, which Ed suspected was entirely due to the topic of the meeting.
Ed sighed and nodded to his entourage, letting them know it was fine to go on without him.
May patted his arm and reminded him, "You can always stay with Alphonse tonight, if you need us to give him hell without you."
Ed snorted and nodded, turning back to Roy as she followed the Ishvalans, Fu close behind her.
Roy motioned for them to follow him well out of the way of all the forming groups, and offered, "Edward, this is Andrea Kozlova, the Stardust Alchemist, and, yes, my ex."
Stardust coughed a laugh into her hand, eyes sparkling. "Ah, now I understand why you're threatening Maes."
Roy shot her a tired look, then continued, "Andrea, this is Edward Elric-Chang–" Ed couldn't quite stop a smile at the addition of his adopted clan name "–the Silent Alchemist, and my current."
Stardust's eyes narrowed and she gave Ed a considering once over, then turned to frown at Roy. "I know you're hardly the shining beacon of obedience you always play at, but I never took you for a paedophile," she said, tone flat, but quiet enough not to spread past the three of them.
Roy shot Ed a long-suffering look.
Ed snorted and pressed his hands together to write, small enough that no one but them should be able to read it, 'I came across a crazy fuck trying to design a time travel array, which turned out to work--I'm older than I look.'
"He's older than you are," Roy added drily, before Stardust could do more than shoot him a wide-eyed look, "which he takes no little joy in shoving in my and Maes' faces at every opportunity."
Ed rolled his eyes.
Stardust looked between them for a moment, her qi rolling with uncertainty, but there was a hint of trust in there, aimed at Roy, like she was willing to at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Finally, she focussed on Ed. "So, dating Roy. How's that working out for you?"
'I haven't killed him yet,' Ed returned with his best bland look.
Stardust laughed, her qi lighting up with amusement and...not quite approval, but something close.
"This was the worst mistake of my life," Roy muttered, before catching Ed's hands and keeping them carefully positioned that the rest of the room shouldn't notice. "Am I still in trouble?"
Ed snorted and lightly touched his hands together just enough to activate his array, being careful not to lose contact with his stupid bastard. 'I've decided to scrap the doghouse plans.'
Roy closed his eyes, while Stardust let out a quiet snicker, so obviously amused. "Edward," Roy started, before pausing for a moment and opening his eyes to meet Ed's stare, then continuing in Cretan, "Light of my life, beat of my heart–"
Ed hit him and mouthed, 'Stupid sap.'
Roy smiled at him and squeezed his hand, while his qi curled forward, over their still-joined hand and up the length of Ed's arm, warm with love.
"Hey, Chief, Boss!" Havoc called. "Wanna do that planning with the rest of us?"
Ed huffed and freed his hand from Roy's grip to sign, :Fine. I won't make you sleep on the couch.:
:I love you,: Roy offered in return, his qi settling like a warm cloak over Ed's shoulders.
Ed couldn't quite stop a slightly helpless smile. :I love you, too. Idiot.: Then he pressed his hands together and wrote, 'Now stop stalling, and let's plan this shitstorm.'
Roy nodded, and they all joined their group, which was comprised of Roy and Ed, May and Fu, Havoc, Alex Armstrong, Stardust, the Electric Storm Alchemist, Laith and Sabir representing the Ishvalans, Rebecca Catalina, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis, and a large portion of the soldiers wearing the server uniforms (which Ed was fairly certain were mostly eastern soldiers, but he recognised at least one face from the Briggs party).
They covered the salient points about their non-human enemies – including attacks to watch out for and weak points, Roy very obviously deferring to Ed for most of that, and also giving him the chance to bring up his carbon wrist guards idea and ask for exact numbers by Monday – that they should try to avoid killing any soldiers – most of them were only following orders, and those who were involved would serve them best by spilling their story in tribunal – and how best to get everyone onto the parade grounds without undue suspicion.
Most of the military men and women would be easy – if they came in at the end of the regular lunch period, through different entrances, the gate guards wouldn't notice anything amiss, and it wasn't hard to find some out-of-the-way place to cool their heels for a couple hours – and the two out-of-town State Alchemists should be able to do the same, so long as they wore their uniforms. Ed could probably sneak the two Xingans in with some lie about showing them around, or they could send them in as visiting food vendors with Sig (Ed assumed he would end up on their team, since it wouldn't be safe for him to go with Teacher).
The Ishvalans would be the most difficult, and they all frowned over that for a moment, until Havoc said, "Can we put them in uniform and drive them into the garage?"
"The garage guards aren't in the habit of checking thoroughly," Armstrong agreed, nodding. "If they wear their hats low to shade their eyes, they should pass."
Ed looked toward Laith and Sabir and used his array to ask, 'Is that acceptable?' ignoring the snorts some of the soldiers in sever uniforms let out. (He was fairly certain that Roy, at least, would glare them into submission.)
Laith and Sabir traded looks, then both nodded. "We will see to it that you are supplied with those Ishvalans who are willing to wear your uniform."
Ed smiled, while Armstrong said, with some discomfort, "Pass the numbers and general sizes on through Catherine by Sunday, and I'll see them arrived by Monday evening."
"Of course," Laith agreed with a nod.
"Where are they supposedly coming from?" Lewis asked.
Roy frowned. "Is there still fighting in Liore?"
'Limited,' Ed supplied, because he'd been keeping an eye on that mess, his heart heavy. (Hughes and Roy were under strict orders to keep as much information about it from Al as was possible; just because Ed and Al had known there was no way they could really stop Liore's bloodbath, didn't mean Al should punish himself by watching the rising death toll.) 'Most of the soldiers have cleared out, but it's not completely impossible that some wounded looking for discharge from their commander in Central would come through.'
"Bandaging and splints will be easy to arrange," Armstrong agreed grimly.
"Good. I'll grab another one of my people and we'll drive the transport, and we should be able to stop by at least one of the weapons drops to load up, unless there are any concerns?" Lewis decided.
Roy shook his head. "That should work." Then he glanced at Havoc. "I want you stationed in the garage when they come in, in case of any trouble, and so you can lead them the back ways up to the parade grounds."
"You got it, Chief."
They settled on exact timing for everything, and Lewis passed on to Ed where he would find her to pass on the weapons drop locations, then they started filtering back out into the manor, where the ball had reached a much more manageable crowd.
The Xingans all ended up going home with the Hugheses, mostly because Ed decided he wanted to wait to leave until Roy was done – which was almost another hour, because his lover was shameless about making friendly with the upper class civilians – but also because they would then be better positioned for Ed to grab them on his way to collect Al for their pre-meeting-with-Grand lunch, so he could lead them to the armoury to watch for the best time to steal the weapons.
When Roy was finally done, they had to stop to drop Lucy back by Madam Christmas – and promise to come get Nina and Elicia first thing in the morning, to return them to the Hugheses' – before finally making it home.
"Empty house," Roy said as they stepped inside, before catching Ed around the waist and drawing him in close. "Good evening, my gorgeous."
Ed rolled his eyes and kissed the bastard.
Roy smiled against his mouth, then pulled back a hair and murmured, "You know, we spent almost four hours at a ball, and I didn't get a single dance." And, without any further warning, he started leading the way around the entrance hall.
Ed couldn't help a slightly startled laugh, clutching at Roy's arms and mouthing, 'I can't dance!'
"You do dance beautifully," Roy returned, very clearly purposefully misunderstanding.
Ed swatted him.
Roy chuckled and brought them to a slow stop. "Well, if vertical dancing is out, how about some horizontal dancing?" he said, right before his hand groped Ed's arse.
Ed swatted him again, then shoved him back, toward the stairs.
Roy chuckled again and pulled away, catching Ed's hand and bringing it to his lips with the most openly in love look he had in his arsenal.
Ed felt his cheeks heat and hated that he couldn't feel properly angry about it.
"Come to bed with me, my sunshine?" Roy murmured against the back of Ed's hand.
Ed wanted to make a smart remark – it was how he usually dealt with Roy being sappy, after all – but, so close to the decisive battle that could make or break their world, all he could manage was stepping in close and brushing his free hand back, cupping Roy's cheek. 'Yes,' he mouthed, was fairly certain he wasn't actually agreeing to sleeping with the bastard.
Sadness curled through Roy's qi, mixing with the love that had already wrapped itself around Ed, and he let go of Ed's hand to cup his cheek back, pressing their foreheads together. "I love you, Edward Elric-Chang," he whispered, the words feathering against Ed's lips, "and we'll get through this. All of us."
Whether or not love had anything to do with it, Ed felt a little better at Roy's words, and he leant in to kiss him, trying to say everything through that kiss, that he couldn't say aloud.
"So," Roy whispered when they parted, his voice a little rough, "is that a yes to joining me in bed?"
Ed hit him, the moment broken, and Roy chuckled as he led the way upstairs, their fingers tangled comfortably together the whole way.
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