Bring me out
Come and find me in the dark now
Everyday by myself I'm breaking down
I don't wanna fight alone anymore
Bring me out
From the prison of my own pride
My God I need a hope I can't deny
In the end I'm realizing
I was never meant to fight on my own

**********

Aiden spent her time at Briggs asking the regular questions to the soldiers for more information on General Raven's disappearance. There were three common answers; 'I never came in contact with the General' was the most common, followed by 'I wasn't aware he was here', and then a reluctant 'General Armstrong was with him a lot'. Those answers, among others, kept her walking in circles around the fort. In her haste to complete the case, she completely forgot about Kimblee until she bumped into him.

Aiden had been walking down a hallway, reading the notes that got her nowhere and dodging the odd soldier when she glanced up long enough to see a figure in white. She almost tripped in shock but righted herself immediately. Black hair, cold blue eyes, smirk, clothed in white.

"Ah shit," Aiden cursed. There was no way to avoid him so she stopped walking and closed her folder.

Kimblee paused and grinned down at her. "Well, well, long time no see Sergeant Wilson. Although I guess that rank has long since passed, Lieutenant Colonel," he jeered.

"Kimblee. And here I was hoping I'd never have to see your face again. Tragic day, this is."

"I see you haven't lost any of your bite since the war. No love for an old war buddy?"

"Kimblee," Aiden said sweetly, "the day I show any sort of affection for you is the day Hell freezes over."

The man grinned and leaned against the wall. "Tell me, how's the search for General Raven going? I'm sure it's a tough case."

Aiden raised an eyebrow at the jab but ultimately ignored it and handed him the case file to look over. "I've handled worse, thanks. So far all I've got are seventy-two soldiers all saying the same thing and it's getting me nowhere. I've been going in circles trying to locate General Armstrong to get her statement but as you can see..." she gestured vaguely to the area around them where the General was obviously absent. "If I don't finish this by noon I'll have to file the case as inconclusive and be sent back to Central while the Northern team takes over."

Kimblee glanced between her and the folder several times as she spoke before handing it back. "Sounds like a conundrum. Here's an idea, come with me and we'll talk to the Fullmetal Alchemist and you can ask your questions if you think he has an answer."

Her thoughts strayed back to a conversation she'd had over the phone just earlier that day. Getting close to the brothers would be beneficial to pass on the word. She sighed heavily and nodded. "Lead the way then."

Aiden followed Kimblee at a distance as they made their way across the fort. Two soldiers joined them and she knew immediately that they weren't the native Briggs soldiers. The biggest clue was that the Northern soldiers saluted them, and she knew they rarely ever did so with their own men aside from the General, Buccaneer, Miles, and a few others. They relied on one another too much for such formalities.

The two entered a room and Kimblee's men stayed outside. Aiden's eyes drifted to the golden-haired teen who looked surprised to see her. Kimblee offered her the second and only chair left in the room at the table but she declined in favor of standing off to the side. There may have also been a part of her that wanted to be as uncooperative with him as possible.

"Lieutenant Colonel? What are you doing here?" Ed questioned.

Kimblee interrupted her before she could answer. "We'll get to that in a moment. For now, I'm here to tell you that we have a job for you."

"You've got a job for me?" he repeated.

"That's correct. You are a State Alchemist after all. And it's a few jobs actually." He held up three fingers. "Three, all from the Fuhrer. First off, he wants you to hunt down Scar. You just find him, I'll take care of the rest. Secondly, he wants you to locate doctor Marco who's very likely fled with Scar."

"Why is doctor Marco with Scar?"

"The only thing you need to worry about is finding them. And last but not least, he wants you to carve a crest of blood here."

"A crest of blood?"

"Just like what I did in Ishval. It's very simple, we kill everyone and soak the land with their blood."

Edward jumped to his feet and slammed his hand on the table. "I would never take part-"

"Kimblee you crazy son of a-"

Their shouts were cut off as Kimblee raised a single finger to his lips and gave a pointed look to the door behind Ed that Aiden had neglected to notice until that moment. The teen grimaced and sat back in the chair, arms crossed as he looked away and refused to meet the man's cold eyes. Aiden raised an eyebrow but obediently quieted.

"Did you really join the military without being prepared to kill someone?" Kimblee questioned.

"I was determined not to kill," Ed snapped back.

"Well how original of you. I suppose you could take just as much from that decision."

"Listen Kimblee, do you have any idea what they're doing? What you're helping them to achieve?"

Aiden spoke up before the former State Alchemist could. "You see Edward, he doesn't care the slightest bit. Kimblee, as long he has free reign to make things explode, he'll gladly watch the world burn. It doesn't help when we're at war with the homunculi and he has an unhealthy obsession with war itself."

The man in question glanced and her and she stared impassively. "See, now I'm starting to think you don't like me." Aiden didn't reply so he turned back to Edward. "I'm just helping history decide which side will win. Humans, or homunculi."

"Have you forgotten that you're a human? How can you take sides with them?"

"Weren't you listening to Wilson? They've given me complete freedom to use my alchemy however I want."

"You're insane Kimblee."

"Well my standards do tend to differ from society's."

"Understatement of the century," Aiden mumbled.

Kimblee carried on as if he never heard her. "However, if I survive this battle then the world will have chosen my sanity over yours. I stake my being, the very core of my own existence. This is what I'm willing to bet on the outcome of this battle."

"Kimblee, you don't make any sense."

"That's surprising. I'd always kind of assumed that self-centeredness was a universal trait of all alchemists. Well then, let's see if I can find something that you do selfishly crave. Something you and your brother want more than anything. And if you do what we ask, I'll give it to you." Kimblee reached into his jacket and set his hand on the table to reveal a Philosopher's Stone.

Edward stared at the red stone in shock before slumping down in his seat, seemingly defeated. "I need to consult with Al and Winry."

"Why tell Winry?"

"She has no idea she's involved. Despite what you're asking of me, I refuse to hide the truth from her."

"Alright then. But you're not telling her without me there. I don't want you telling her too much."

Ed stayed silent and Kimblee and his men lead the way to the cells. Aiden hadn't expected Winry to have been in the next room over, which gave reason as to why Edward had silenced himself so suddenly when Kimblee had nodded to the room.

"Oh! Miss Wilson!" Winry said in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you up here so far from Central."

Aiden smiled warmly and shook the teen's hand as they walked. "Nice to see you as well Winry. Did you come up here for Ed?"

Winry sighed heavily. "Yeah... This idiot didn't adjust his automail for the North. He almost got frostbite."

Aiden chuckled as Edward immediately turned around and snapped at Winry.

"Hey! I'm not an idiot! It's not my fault the cold is too unbearable for regular automail! How was I supposed to know?"

"You were supposed to ask your mechanic! Me! I'd know better than you! Automail is my life after all."

"Gearhead."

"Alchemy freak."

Aiden watched the spat with a grin, knowing it was the most entertaining moment she'd had so far in the North. Aside from when Miles slipped on some ice trying to see where she stood with the military, i.e. how loyal she was. The only thing he got for his efforts was laughter and her undying respect for how fast he got back up and brushed off his... accident. She earned his respect by beating Buccaneer in a foot race across the fort. To this day they still don't know how she did it... and she smiles every time someone asks.

When they arrived, Aiden was politely asked to wait outside the area. She saw no point in separating them but nodded all the same and stood outside the door leading to the cells. There was no telling if Kimblee knew she was against the homunculi but he no doubt suspected so since she was called North by the Fuhrer alone rather than Internal Affairs calling for her team.

Internal Affairs and Internal Investigations worked together so often it was a wonder they weren't part of the same category. Back on track... an officer being sent out without a team wasn't all that unusual, in fact it was quite common. But the fact that she was investigating the disappearance of a man so high up within the military raised eyebrows regardless of her amazing record. She'd been quoted more than once saying that she couldn't have done anything without her team and yet there she was in the North, by herself, on the Fuhrer's orders. Fishy? Oh definitely.

The door opened behind her and she almost fell in but quickly fixed her posture and leaned on the wall instead. Kimblee walked out followed by one of his men and then Edward. Aiden put her hand on the teen's shoulder, stopping him in place.

"Woah, woah, woah, hold up. Where are you taking my suspect Kimblee?"

"To look for Scar. You'll have to wait here until we get back." He took a step forward and paused. "Oh, and the younger Elric will be coming along as well."

"You're not going anywhere until I question those two."

Kimblee turned around and met Aiden's gaze. "I'm acting under the Fuhrer's orders."

Aiden glared at him unflinchingly. "As am I. And unfortunately for you, I'm on a deadline." 

The two stared at one another and the guard and Edward glanced nervously between them. The guard known as Darius, and resident gorilla chimera, was put off by the staring and clashing energies of his boss and the investigator from Central. Even without his animal instincts, he could see that the Lieutenant Colonel wasn't one to cross when something important to her was on the line. Jerso, the toad chimera behind them, was having similar thoughts. Edward, on the other hand, was shifting uncomfortably between them. He didn't want to answer any questions, whatever they may be about. And any assignment from the Fuhrer wasn't good news, but he wanted to help Aiden get whatever she was doing over and done with. If anything it'd prolong the time to his eventual massacre he seriously didn't want to take part in.

Ed sighed. "Alright, jeez! Just ask your questions. We've got plenty of daylight left to find Scar."

Kimblee was the first to look away and Aiden allowed herself to feel triumphant after not having backed down. "Fine," he said. Then he walked away, the two guards leaving with him.

Aiden turned and walked back to the cells, thankful that Kimblee was still as hot-headed as she remembered. If he wasn't, then he would have left one of his men behind to monitor her talk with the boys. It was only a matter of time until he remembered so she pulled Edward with her and shut the door behind them.

"Hey Alphonse!" she greeted. "Long time no see!"

"Miss Wilson? What are you doing here?" Al questioned.

"I'm investigating the disappearance of General Raven and since you two were here at the time then I'm here to question you. Before I do that though..." Aiden sent a glance at the door and leaned forward to whisper to the pair. "Roy asked me to pass a message along if I found you. He said that the General and we have a common goal; therefore she's as trustworthy as we can get in these times."

Edward nodded, "Message received. And she already knows."

"Yeah, I figured." The door opened and she straightened up as one of Kimblee's men walked in. "Well that was fast. You get the cars and men ready in just a minute?"

"I'm here to monitor you," was all he said.

Aiden was glad she'd gotten Roy's message out of the way first and turned back to the boys. Winry had been confused during the short conversation and planned to ask Ed about it later. "Anyway," Aiden said, "as I was saying. Where were you when the General went missing?"

"We were in this cell," Al answered faithfully.

She nodded. "And Winry wasn't at the fort yet, correct?"

"You're suspecting Winry of all people?" Ed gaped.

"I'm eliminating possible suspects." She turned to the young woman. "No offence."

"None taken."

"One of the men here at Briggs said Raven came to talk to you boys. What was that about?"

"He just said he'd fix the problem and get us out of here."

Aiden hummed and nodded before she began to walk away. "Okay, see ya."

Ed's mind stumbled to a stop as the woman abruptly left. "Huh? That's it?"

"Of course! You were incarcerated at the point of the General's disappearance and the men here at Briggs can corroborate your end of the story, so you weren't lying and there's no possible way you made him disappear with your own hands. Therefore, you're free to go. On my terms, at least. You're still under Kimblee's watch." Her mind kept going and her mouth continued with it. "It does bring me back to square one, but at least you're no longer suspects... At this rate, I'll never finish this case and it'll be handed over to the Northern police."

She bid the teens farewell and continued on her search to find the General of Briggs. Unfortunately, even hours later, she couldn't find the woman. So Aiden sighed in defeat and made her way back the bunk she'd been assigned and packed her things. One of the men could drive her down the mountain and she could hand over the case to the Northern team before heading back to Central. 

Sebastian was sure to have missed her in her absence. Or perhaps he had traded her out for Roy who'd been taking care of him while she was away. The cat did prefer him over her the one time he visited. Maes was probably bored out of his mind because as the month progressed, the colder the days got so he can't be outside for as long. She imagined Echo would be the type of dog to pounce in the snow and not come in until the last minute. Aiden's thoughts turned to Roy and she smiled inwardly. She'd missed him more than she'd missed Maes and the animals, though that was completely understandable given their relationship. Whatever it was called.

What would it be called? They weren't exactly in a normal relationship - if they were in one at all. It'd be hard to define if they were together and then separate for months with only small interactions here and there. What those interactions were going to be had yet to be decided. Aside from the obvious talks before the Promised Day.

Aiden's thoughts were interrupted as she was joined in the elevator by one Captain Buccaneer and one General Armstrong. She sighed heavily. "Yep," she said. "It only figures I'd find you the moment I leave. What're you heading down to the ground floor for?"

"We have company," the general answered simply. Her voice was hard and she glared at the door in front of them.

The elevator dinged and the trio exited the lift and was quickly joined by a Northern soldier dressed in his white garb. They stepped outside the fort and Aiden immediately noticed the cars headed in their direction. The cars slowed to a stop and they saluted as the men stepped into the snow. Aiden squinted to see in the bright day, they were Central soldiers. Hell, she'd been acquainted with two of the men.

"Long time no see General Armstrong," one of the men says, stepping forward. "Sorry to drop in like this, but it's somewhat urgent. Central Command has a few questions that they'd very much like to have answered."

General Armstrong's eye narrowed and she quickly shot a look at Aiden, no doubt believing her to be the reason the soldiers were taking her to Central. That theory was put to rest however when the Lieutenant Colonel surreptitiously shook her head in the negative, indicating that she wasn't the cause. The General's eyes hardened as they stared at the man from Central. If it wasn't Wilson then it was a ploy from the Fuhrer to get the North under his control.

The man turned from the General to Aiden. "Lieutenant Colonel Wilson," he said. "You've been called back to Central as well."

Aiden nodded obediently. "Yes, sir. I was already headed out."

The two loaded into a car, Aiden opting to take the same one as the General. Thankfully one of the Northern men was driving so she didn't bother lowering her voice or attempting to avoid being heard. "Tell me," Aiden began nonchalantly, flipping through her notes one last time as she wrote her report. "How did it feel killing that ass of a General?"

Olivier cast a cautious glance to the Lieutenant Colonel at her side, who wasn't paying her any more attention than the work she was writing. "I suppose this is why I'm being sent back to Central?"

"No idea, actually. My findings here at the fort were Inconclusive. No one saw Raven after a while and he insisted upon not having an escort in a place so large. Shame that he went missing, don't you think?" Aiden sent the General a grin and returned to the report.

Olivier returned her gaze to the snowy landscape just outside the door. "Yes, it's such a shame."

"I told your men to warn Miles of the change in staff." There was no reply but she didn't need one to know the General was listening. "Oh, and one other thing. Colonel Mustang sends his thanks for the information."

Her review of the missing General would put her in Olivier's not-as-bad-as-others book and it made her question which side Aiden was on, but the last sentence knew she was one to trust with the matter of the homunculi. The Elric brothers hadn't been exact when specifying who was trustworthy with the information or not, but she got the idea that Mustang's men were some who were. Even without Miles' efforts in finding where her loyalties lied, Olivier could see that Aiden wasn't completely loyal to the military. Though she had her suspicions, only one was proven correct when she'd mentioned Mustang.

"The Fuhrer will call you to his office the second we arrive in Central. You know you won't be able to hide the fact you killed Raven so you'll have to come up with an explanation." Aiden slid the folder into her bag and continued. "If you can, grab the seat Raven... vacated. At the very least I won't have to play messenger with you to keep you in the loop and you'll have your own position of power to relay your own words to your troops."

If the General thought she had Aiden figured out then she was wrong when the Lieutenant Colonel's facts and opinions for the immediate mirrored her own. Perhaps she'd misunderstood the woman; thinking her childish at times.

**********

Kimblee: It's been such a long time Aiden how are you?

Aiden: I will literally take General Armstrong's sword and shove it so far up your ass you'll be crapping iron for the rest of your life.