The Water Alchemist

After

Welcome back to The Water Alchemist. I don't own any of the intellectual property of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter Forty-One

After

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The halls of Central Command were oddly quiet for it being mid-day, or at least, that was what I assumed it was by the way the sunlight filtered through the hall as we walked. We followed Envy, though where to, I wasn't sure. We were lucky enough that he hadn't noticed when Al had allowed us to peek into his armor back in the locker room. If he had, things probably wouldn't be looking so good for the small girl in pink robes laid panting at the bottom of Al's armor. The little panda that had accompanied us rested in there with her, protectively hovering over her. Ed had asked me if I knew her— if we could trust her. I didn't really remember her, but she didn't seem threatening. He wasn't exactly assured by that. He went back and forth with Al a bit for always picking up strays before we left the confines of the locker room— though, this was certainly the largest stray he had taken in. Envy stopped suddenly, turning and pointing to a set of doors.

"Wrath will take over babysitting you now," he said, grabbing the handle.

"Wrath?" I whispered, my limbs going stiff. Ed glanced at me.

"Right this way," Envy said, opening the door. I swallowed hard. I could feel the panic swell in my chest, and I tried to breathe through it as we entered the room. Ed suddenly stopped, his eye meeting Wraths, though he knew him better as Fuhrer Bradley.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed, striding across the room with purpose. He seemed like he was about to lunge at Wrath, who barely regarded him as Al caught Ed before he could. "What did you do to Marina!"

"Only what was necessary," Wrath said, his gaze trailing over me. I shrunk under it, and Ed gnashed his teeth at him.

"You bastard!"

"I suggest you restrain yourself," he said, his palm resting against the hilt of his sword. He addressed Ed, but his gaze was focused on me, cold and indifferent as he tapped the hilt of the blade. Ed seemed to notice, looking back at me before taking a breath. Al released Ed, who had settled down. His eyes never left Wrath as he straightened his clothes out.

"Colonel," Ed said, addressing the man who sat a little too calmly in one of the chairs across from Wrath. "What's going on here anyway?"

"Where should I begin? Fuery's been shipped South, Falman's been sent up North, Breda's been re-assigned to the West, and Havoc the East," he said, listing off the names of his trusted subordinates. The door to the room creaked closed behind us as Envy left, and the air was suddenly even thinner than before. "Lieutenant Hawkeye is now a personal assistant to the Fuhrer." He finished with a pointed glare in Wrath's direction. We all glanced at him in disbelief, and he simply took a sip of his tea, unfazed by the Colonel's demeanor.

"Go ahead and take a seat," Wrath instructed.

I sat in one of the chairs provided, situated between Ed and the Colonel. Teacups sat before each of us, but none of us felt compelled to participate in the paltry show of hospitality. We engaged in a charged silence as we all seemed to be analyzing each other, trying to understand our situation and what to make of it. There was a sudden cough that echoed around in Al's armor, but it wasn't him who it came from. He quickly let out a string of coughs to cover for the girl in his armor, and Ed slammed his hand against the table, trying to muffle the sound further.

"Fuhrer," he said, composing himself. "So, what was that in the hospital that day? When you came to visit me. You really had us going, didn't you?"