119Hey everyone! Needless to say, 2020 has been a doozy for everyone. Being a California resident, I had to put up with a world full of orange earlier this week. Whatever's wrong in your neck of the woods, I hope this next chapter will help put a smile on your face. Enjoy!
Ed must have slept for an hour. He wished he could have said he slept more, but he would be lying if he did. "Edward!" Hawkeye called outside the tent. "May I come in?"
"Sure thing, Lieutenant." Ed answered as he got up.
Riza, wearing a white winter overcoat over her usual uniform, helped herself inside. Ed made note of the rifle strapped to her back. He only saw her armed with pistols until this point. "We're moving out in an hour, and you need to have breakfast. Also, you'll need camouflage." She said as she handed him a white coat.
"Thanks." Ed shrugged. "I'm not really experienced with this much snow." Ed decided to hang his trademark red coat while he donned the white one.
A make shift cafeteria table was assembled outside, the only protection from the chilling wind a flimsy tarp above. Ed received his breakfast: eggs, bread, and a cup of coffee. Ed quickly took a seat and sipped his coffee. "Ugh." He cringed. "This coffee sucks."
"That's Northern Military rations for ya." Ed recognized the bandaged man as the soldier next to General Armstrong during the briefing. "When you're up here long enough, you'll get used to it. All you'll care for is the warmth in the end." Ed nodded, forcing himself to swallow the rest of the coffee. "So, what'd you lose your arm for?" The soldier asked.
Ed saw his metallic wrist slipping out of his sleeve, and quickly covered it up. "It was an accident, okay?"
"Accident, huh?" The soldier named Buccaneer said. "That's it? Nothing more?"
"Well, how'd you lose YOUR arm?" Ed tried to counter.
"This?" Buccaneer gave an evil smile as he flexed his claw-like automail. "We were out on the field. The enemy surprised us with a cannon under the snow. The General was targeted; I stepped in the way, and just as the cannon fired, I grabbed hold of the ball and shoved it back in, killing the gunnery." Buccaneer finally put his arm down. "I was in a coma for a month, and my arm had to be amputated."
At this point, Ed practically turned white. "You didn't take the honorable discharge and retire!?"
"Nah, planting in a nice garden ain't for me. I'm a fighter, and I'll fight until the day I die." Buccaneer sneered evilly.
Ed turned away. "I'm in hell!" He screamed internally. Suddenly, the bell rang.
"Oops. Talked too much." Buccaneer shoveled his remaining food into his mouth. "We need to get into formation. Better hurry."
Ed quickly forced himself to swallow the eggs as well. They were probably worse than the coffee.
Ed quickly got in line with the other soldiers, lining up in the back figuring the Colonel and that hard-ass general would want him there. "Hey, aren't you a state alchemist?" One of them asked.
Ed saw that his watch was out hanging at his side; that was probably how he could tell. "Yeah. What of it?"
"State Alchemists are equivalent to majors, sir! I imagine you need to be up front…sir!" The private said.
"Fullmetal!" Mustang yelled from further up front. "Get your ass up here!"
Ed hurried up, getting in between Mustang and Major Armstrong, with the General in front. "Have you ever been in a battle before, Fullmetal?" General Armstrong asked him, clearly irritated by his lack of formalities.
"Of course I have!" Ed snapped back.
"I'm not talking of your brawls with nobodies and mediocre alchemists!" General Armstrong shouted back. "I'm speaking of actual warfare, where an entire battalion is reigning fire on you with every breath!"
Ed gulped. "Well, no…"
"Have you ever killed?" She asked coldly.
Ed seemed to struggle for an answer. He thought back to Mujahal. The madman challenged him and his brother with a sword upon discovering his sick secret and deeds. Ed used one of his blue roses to transmute a whip, meaning to simply disarm him but the sword flew into his heart upon landing. "Once. But that was an accident." Ed whispered.
"You will not have such fortune here, Fullmetal. The Drachmans will come here in full force. Just because you are a child doesn't mean they will treat you as one. And you're only defense will be killing them in turn." With that, the General turned around. "Forward, march!" She shouted.
The Drachmans took full advantage of their new camp at the fallen base at Briggs. Some celebrated, while others prepared for the battles to come. The country had never won a battle so significant before, and now, they might be able to annex the North of Amestris within the year. General Vlad of the Drachman military looked across the bleak horizon. He was expecting a certain visitor, perhaps the most important to his career. As he heard the footsteps in the snow behind them, he smiled and looked over his left shoulder. "I am pleased you have chosen to come here and observe our battle personally, Mr. Chancellor."
Chancellor Miles chuckled as he tucked his hood up. "Normally, I wouldn't be here in this frozen hell, but I felt it necessary to observe our victory."
"You're confident. Though I can't blame you, with our powerful," The Drachman general paused as he observed Kodos throw a bowl of soup at the chef, forcing the cook to scramble back into the tent. " if not questionable, allies." He had half a mind to shoot these creatures after this was all over.
"If we are to avenge your fallen soldiers, does anything else matter?" The chancellor's eyes flickered green for a moment as he looked into the general's.
Vlad's eyes flickered green in return. "No." He said with an edge to his voice. "It does not."
"The Amestrians are marching to meet us. Let us give them the greatest Drachman greeting one can ask for." The chancellor said.
As the soldiers rallied to meet their enemies, none took notice of his shadow, which had a demonic head, and a sinister smile.
General Armstrong threw her arm up, telling her troops to halt. Signaling for them to lay low, everyone pulled their white cloaks down, blending in with the snow.
Hawkeye in particular took point at the front, next to a tree. She made sure to bury herself in snow as she got her rifle ready.
Ed went along with the others, and pulled out his own binoculars. The Drachman army was closing in on them. But they were too far away to distinguish individuals. Ed waited as they came into view.
Riza, however, had sharp vision, even without a scope. She was able to make out the three creatures that attacked the fort. She remembered what Mustang told her the other night…
"…Fullmetal knows these creatures?" She asked as she, Mustang and Major Armstrong spoke outside in the middle of the night as they endured the biting cold.
"He knows of these ones specifically." Mustang clarified. "He is involved with others."
"I have witnessed it myself during the Alysia incident, as well as during the attack on the Dublith base." Armstrong said. "The ones he knows seem friendly. But it's clear these are not."
"And you want to take these hostile ones alive, I take it?" Hawkeye asked.
"If possible." Mustang confirmed. "But I know that may prove difficult, given that they are enemy combatants."
"Edward asked me to spare the horseman." Alex added. "I don't know why, but it seemed most important to him."
"Then we shall do so, if it's in our power." Mustang said. "I think we can convince Miss Oliver the practicality of keeping at least one of them alive. But if it comes down between our lives and theirs…you know what to do."
Riza came back to the present as she looked through her scope again. The rider was there, in her sights. "Such a perfect shot." She moved her scope across the way, evaluating other potential targets. "Edward, I hope you know what you're getting into."
Oliver scoped the approaching troops. Looking at them, her eyes narrowed. "General." Mustang said as he approached her. "I take it you found something unusual?" Oliver turned to glare at him. "Stranger than lately, anyway." Mustang quickly corrected himself.
"The Supreme Chancellor is with them." She said, handing him her binoculars.
Mustang took them, and confirmed what she saw. "Curtis is a politician, not a soldier." Mustang mused. "You think he's an imposter?" He asked as he handed her binoculars back.
"No, I'm certain it's him." Oliver said. A deadly smile then formed on her lips. "This could be quite an opportunity."
"It certainly seems that way." Mustang agreed. "Which could only mean a trap."
"Just because an opportunity is a trap doesn't mean it's not worth springing. It only means that we must be careful." Oliver put her binoculars down and pulled out her saber. "Flank their sides! Await my signal!" She commanded. Her soldiers, particular Buccaneer and Miles, stayed low to the snow as they moved to the sides. "Is your sniper ready?" Oliver asked.
"She is." Mustang answered.
"And she has no objections?"
Mustang narrowed his eyes. "We are all haunted by Ishvall, General." Mustang answered. "But we have not forgotten our oaths as soldiers."
Oliver snorted. "If only Alex thought of that before he enlisted."
Riza eyed her potential targets. She was also surprised that the chancellor was joining the troops without any apparent protection. Her first instinct was to aim for him, but she decided against that. That seemed too easy, reaching the same conclusion of Mustang. And if it wasn't, it only meant they would still have to fight all the actual soldiers, and she would have wasted a bullet. Her best bet was to take out one of those creatures. The big lion man seemed like a good target; judging by the reports, he was especially deadly, and Ed, from what Alex could gather, did not seem to hold any desire to see him live. Deciding on her target, she put her sights on him.
"Mustang." Oliver said as she kept her eyes on the approaching army. "I trust Hawkeye's judgement on this matter. Give her the signal."
Mustang nodded, and raised his gloved hand. With a snap, an explosion lit up the sky.
The Drachman army halted in surprise, and Hawkeye took her cue. She pulled the trigger, aiming for Kodos' head.
Suddenly, the lion-man turned green. Though the bullet hit target and snapped his head back, the creature was still very much alive afterwards as he lurched forward.
"Careful, Kodos! I can't keep you crystalized forever! And my powers are diminished while I possess another!" Ixis told him through a mental link they shared through their pact.
"I'll try to keep that in mind…master." Kodos reverted back to his organic form, and charged, the soldiers following after him.
"Come with me, Edward!" Alex Armstrong shouted as he pulled the teen towards him. "We'll need to protect the troops!" Ed nodded in understanding as they ran together.
The Drachmans were about to prepare a volley of fire with their own weapons. Both alchemists slammed their hands deep past the snow and into the ground, Ed using his bare hands and Armstrong using his gauntlets. As the volley of bullets were released, a barrier of stone rose from the ground. The bullets harmlessly embedded themselves into the wall, giving the soldiers cover.
"I'm going in!" Ed shouted as he ran to fight.
"Hold it!" Armstrong shouted as he grabbed his shoulder. "I know my sister. She will not make a full frontal charge. Not without a surprise attack…let us wait."
"It's time!" Oliver yelled as she pulled out a gun from under her coat. Instead of pointing it towards the army, she aimed towards the sky. Upon pulling the trigger, a flare shot into the sky.
As the Drachman Army prepared for a full frontal assault, Miles rose from under the snow and fired his revolver.
Several soldiers fell, but before he could hit one of the strangers, the spider-lady shot a web, clogging his gun. "Back for more!?" Uma shouted as she pulled out a nunchaku. Buccaneer intervened, grabbing her arm and slamming her into the snow. More Briggs soldiers attacked, catching the platoon off guard.
The Chancellor only looked around calmly. Had the other soldiers paid attention, they would have noticed no one came to usher him away and protect him. That was because the Chancellor's body had another occupant. And right now, he was intent to watch how this played out.
"Sir." Snively said as he approached his uncle and master. "Our combot spies have confirmed the battle has begun."
"I see that, Snively." Robotnik said, looking through a large monitor he had recently constructed. He had to make it run on hydroelectricity, to his annoyance. But it was a necessary compromise for long-term gain.
"Shall we eliminate them?" Snively asked.
"Not yet." Robotnik answered, holding up his hand. "I just want to make sure one mobian of interest is eliminated." He sneered as his right hand's fingers tapped the console , inching close to a red button. "And I want one specific individual to do it." He began to chuckle darkly.
"Major Armstrong!" Ed shouted. He needed to get in the heat of it all, but he was worried he was too far away to make a difference."Launch me into the fray!"
Armstrong paused. "It will be strong. Are you sure, Elric?"
"I'm sure." Ed whispered.
"Very well, Elric!" Armstrong slammed his gauntlet into the ground, causing the area beneath Ed's feet to rise like a wave in water, Ed crouching as he rode it. "Behold my cooperative alchemy that has been passed down the ArmStrong line for generations!"
As he approached the battle, Ed clapped his hands and transmuted a lance out of the earth carrying him.
"Yaahhh!" Ed jumped off and into the fray. From there, he swung his lance at all who got in his way. Whenever someone approached, he blocked and kicked them back. It seemed he was untouchable…until something massive swung his way. Ed raised his lance, but the force alone was enough to send him flying. Upon landing, Ed noticed his weapon was cleaved in two; he was lucky his skull didn't suffer the same fate. Looking up, he saw the wielded of a big axe. "Warlord Kodos, I presume."
Kodos snarled. "I see you're acquainted with Julian." The lion raised his axe, which Ed quickly dodged.
Jumping up, he kicked Kodos in the face, followed by another under the shin. Kodos quickly back-handed him like he was only a mosquito. "He's tough! Maybe as tough as Armstrong!" Kodos raised his axe, planning to finish him off. "I'm not letting myself die so easily!" Ed clapped his hands and reached deep into the snow.
A pillar suddenly shot up, nailing Kodos right in the nose and sending him flying in turn. "Argh!"he grunted as he held his nose. However, he quickly got up as he straightened his nose. "You'll pay for that, you overlander midget."
A vein popped in Ed's forehead, but for once, he didn't lose his cool. Not completely anyway. "You should have stopped at overlander."
He transmuted the ground again to form a giant canon, which caused even the fearsome mobian to gawk. "Oh shi-"
The cannon went off, putting a large crater where Kodos used to be. Normally, Ed would have been confident he got him. But he wasn't celebrating just yet; that was too easy for a fighter like that.
Just then, he felt his cannon begin to lose balance. He glanced down to see Kodos chopping at the base, like it was a tree! Looking up at him, he sneered. "Timber."
Ed didn't just go with it like an idiot though; quickly, he transmuted what remained of his canon into a sword and sliced on the way down. Though Kodos parried it, Ed still managed to cut off his dread. That seemed to infuriate him. Though Ed was good with weapons of all kinds, there was no way he would last long against Kodos' axe.
Still, Ed took a stab at it, quite literally, and attacked. Kodos had to admit, this kid was pretty good. Still, despite his fancy footwork, Kodos blocked them all. "Enough of this farce!" To Ed's shock, he grabbed the blade, and snapped it in two with his axe, leaving Ed to gawk at the now broken weapon he now held before Kodos backhanded him into the snow.
Kodos sneered, raising his axe to finish him. "You should have used your feet and ran, boy!"
Ed looked up at him…and smirked. "Well, I did do half of what you asked."
Suddenly, something glowed on the ground. Kodos looked down to see himself in the middle of a transmutation circle, carved in the path he was fighting Edward! "He was making this with his feet while fighting me!?" The snow suddenly shot out from the ground and pelted him. Upon contact, it solidified into ice. "You little-!" He growled as he struggled against his ice cocoon.
Ed knew that wouldn't hold him for long. "Major!" Ed shouted as he ran off. "Please take care of this one for me!" As much as he would have loved to trash Kodos around some, he had a more important mission: getting Sally's father to safety.
The chancellor observed the boy in front of him. "So that is the alchemy they've been speaking of. How quaint." Still, it was impressive to see such a young creature display such abilities. "I may have to keep an eye on this one."
"Yahhh!" Oliver yelled as she cut down another soldier with her saber. It was then she found the Drachman chancellor in her sights. "Curtis!" She yelled. Pointing her sword, she said "I cannot imagine why you came here instead of sitting comfortably with your war council!, but this will prove to be your fatal mistake!"
Curtis turned to her. "Ah, the General. I've heard much about you. Seeing the corpses around you, I'd say your reputation precedes you."
"If you intended to surrender, you came to the wrong place!" She swiped her blade, flicking off the blood. "I shall teach you why here in the North, only the strong shall survive!" She charged, but something stuck to her and held her down. She turned to see the Spider-Girl had ensnared her.
As Uma pulled out a Sai, a bullet knocked it out of her hand. Hawkeye ran forward with her rifle, firing again, this time severing her webs with seemingly inhuman accuracy. Uma cartwheeled away as Riza took her shots. She was trained to dodge high speed projectiles, but this gunslinger was proving to be a challenge, proven when a bullet cut across her upper right arm's skin. "This could be trouble!"
Kodos, having broken out of the ice, roared as he split a Briggs soldier in half with his axe. "Where's that little punk!?" The mobian warrior fell to his knee as a bullet embedded itself into his bracer. The bullet couldn't pierce his skin, but the force hurt. The warlord stared at the shooter as his blood boiled. "Overlanders and their cowardly guns!" He shouted as he lunged forward and swung. The soldier lost his grip on the gun and fell on his butt as he barely avoided the blade. "Always trying to be on top, but only doing it the easy way!" Kodos raises his axe. "They never could appreciate the personal feeling steel going through the bone!"
He raised the axe, but someone else caught it and stopped it dead. "You look like a fearsome one." A muscular, mustached man looked him in the eye as he pushed the axe backed to him. "Why don't you test your mettle against me, Alex Louis Armstrong, The Strong-Arm Alchemist!" Finally, he threw Kodos a good four meters away as his feet dragged in the snow.
"Hm." Kodos growled. "You are strong. It will be fun, taking your head."
"Don't be so sure." Armstrong unbuttoned his uniform and tossed his coat into the snow, showing no outward signs of the cold bothering him. "You're about to face the alchemic techniques that have been passed down the Armstrong line for generations. There is nothing fun about that!"
Armstrong dragged his fist across the ground as spikes of earth flew like missiles. Kodos raised his weapon and blocked them, but one managed to embed itself into his weapon's shaft. "I need to be careful not to be disarmed." Pulling out the spike, he spun his axe and squared off against the large man.
If the other soldiers took issue with Ed running across the battlefield, none of them voiced it. Right now, he had one single objective in mind. "I hope I can make it in time!"
The rider poked a solider with his lance. Even on his dark steed, these overlanders were freakishly tall. It was only on his mount that he was able to meet them at eye level. Still, he was strong enough to match them blow for blow. Suddenly, he felt bullets whiz by him. Quickly, he spun his horse and fired his laser at the offenders.
"Acorn!"
The rider turned to face an overlander of shorter and more youthful stature than the others. As the two stared at one another, the rider removed his helmet. Ed saw the squirrel-like face underneath, seeing a slight resemblance between him and his daughter. "It seems you are familiar with my name, but I don't recall seeing your face."
"We don't have time." Ed said as he extended his hand. "Come with me! I can take you to your daughter!"
Max scoffed at him. "You must have me mistaken for someone else." His lance started to heat up as he pointed it at him. "I have no children."
"Oh, for the love of-! You're the King, for crying out loud!" Ed yelled, pointed at him.
"I am no king!" Without warning, Max fired his laser right in front of the alchemist, knocking Ed back into the snow. "I am merely a knight. Sworn to serve my master."
"Ohh…" As Ed sat up, he noticed his ahoge was on fire. "AHH!" Ed shouted as he smothered it in snow.
Max put his helmet back on, beckoning his steed forward. "Prepare yourself. I shall show you no mercy…"
"Yes." Robotnik grinned as he twiddled his fingers. "Fight him, Full Metal!"
Oliver slashed her blade at the chancellor, but it felt like she cut through thin air as her blade went right through him without so much as a scratch. "Wha-?" Suddenly, her boot felt like it got caught in ice, stopping her in her tracks. Oliver reached into her coat for a throwing knife, but collapsed as she suddenly felt like the air was being sucked out of her.
"Apologies." The chancellor said, a green energy surrounding his fist. "I'd have spared you under different circumstances, but alas, you are in the way."
"I do not know how you're doing this, but I'd recommend you stop." Someone called calmly.
The chancellor turned to see Mustang, only grinning in response. "And what if I don't?" He goaded him.
Mustang narrowed his eyes, realizing something was wrong. "He doesn't know me." "Then I will force you to stop." He answered.
The chancellor sneered as he raised his hand, a green ethereal energy surrounded his hand. Icicles slowly rose to encircle the colonel. "I'd like to see you try that."
"The chancellor was many things." The colonel said, paying no heed how he was about to be skewered in all sides. "But sorcerer isn't one of them." Mustang raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers.
An explosion of flame went off right in front of the chancellor, blowing him back. "AHH!"
The icicles instantly turned back to water and fell to the snow, freezing again. Quickly, Mustang ran to offer his hand to Oliver. She coughed as she took it, at the moment not minding the assistance. "Took you long enough, Mustang!"
"Apologies, general." Mustang answered. "I just had to find out something. It seems Drachma's normal leader is not in charge."
"Then who?"
The two stared at where the chancellor fell back. But instead of one person, there were two. If you could call the second a person. The creature got onto his feet, sneering at them with his bat-like face. "Is that a chimera?" Oliver asked. "It's different!"
"Instead of an animal and human, this one seems to be a combination of different creatures." Mustang observed.
The chancellor blinked as he sat up, and screamed. "Run for your lives!" He yelled as he tried to make a break for it. "He-!"
He suddenly fell into the snow floor, and seemed to sink into the ground like it was quicksand! Soon, only his head was above ground. "Apologies, Mr. Chancellor." The creature said, the same energy surrounding his one hand. "You were a useful pawn, but I cannot have you ruin my plans now!" With that, the chairman's head finally sunk below.
"Who…or what, are you?" Mustang gasped.
"Ixis Naugus…" the creature replied. "The rightful king of Mobius…and soon, this world too!"
I know I sometimes pick the worst parts to cut-off, but I promise you all there's more to come soon!
