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He paced back and forth before the legions of men and women, ready to die at a moment's notice. Ready to die on his word. That was a lot of pressure. That was a hell of a lot of pressure for one man. He sighed deeply and tilted his head back, looking up at the clear, black sky. It seemed like far too nice of a night for something like this. He lowered his head once more, looking out over all of the soldiers whose lives were depending on his decision. /'If any of them die... am I going to be able to face their families, to tell them that it was my fault?'/

"Oi! Colonel! Everything's ready!" called out a man to his commanding officier, right hand held stiff and flat at his forehead in a salute. The Colonel turned around to gaze sleepily at his underling, his own hand lifted in a salute. But then he sighed and let his hand drop back to his side and nodded. Everything was ready. Great. Perfect. Wonderful. Were there any of words of the sort that he could use out of sarcasm? Or did he have to start getting into words that he actually meant?

"Thank you," the Colonel replied quietly before he turned to his underlings; all of the men and women who had decided to lay their life on the line for him. But now, wasn't he required to give them some sort of pep talk, or something? Ha. That was funny. He lifted his hand and scratched his head, which included a long, overly drawn out sigh.

"This is war!" he called out finally to the, now, cheering men and women. They were happy about a war? /'What the hell is wrong with you people?'/ Although he did manage to spot one man who didn't seem quite as excited as the rest. Quite possibily the smartest - sanest? - person in the group. "Many of you have never seen a real war before! Some of you may have never even seen a real battle before now! But if I have anything to do with it, your first battle will not be your last! If it's the last thing I do, I will return you, safe, to your families. While you're fighting for Amestris, I will be fighting for you!" he called out, to even more up roaring cheers, but again, that one man stood out in the crowd, as the only one with a stark expression and the only one who wasn't cheering. This was obviously a man who had seen the horrors of war a time before. Then something caught his eye. A silver chain? Perhaps the silver chain that was part of the watch that- "But I thought that..."

He walked over to the man with the dark hair, one dark eye - the other hidden behind a black patch - and an equally dark stare. "I thought this was taken from you," he said as he reached out and pulled on the silver chain a little.

"I suppose they figured that I'd be pretty useless without it. I'm not exactly a crack shot with a gun," the man with the dark eyes replied, a stark grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"I guess they realized just how useful the Flame Alchemist is when it comes to a battle."

Roy laughed quietly. As far as he knew, he was the only State Alchemist in the ranks, and they expected him to turn the tide of the battle? He was more, or less, a back-up plan. /'First they rely on us too much, and now they don't rely on us at all. How things have changed since Ishbal...'/

"What about you? Did you ever think that you ascend quite so high in the ranks, Colonel Havoc?"

Now it was Havoc's turn to laugh as he pulled a package of cigarettes out of his pocket, and then a cigarette from the package. Just as he slipped the cylinder between his lips when there was yelling behind him, causing him to drop the rest of the package, only to have Roy put his foot on top of them with a sly grin. "Didn't I always tell you that smoking was bad for you?" Jean opened his mouth to say something in retaliation when a young woman skidded to a stop beside himself and Major Mustang, saluting to the two higher-ups. Once she saw that Mustang, and more importantly, Havoc had saluted in return, she forced her hand stiffly to her side. "Colonel Havoc, Sir! The enemy has been spotted. They will be upon us within mere moments!"

"Ready, Flame Alchemist?" Havoc asked, grinning around his still unlit cigarette, as he pulled off the outer jacket and light blue shirt of the military issued uniform, revealing a long-sleeved, black shirt underneath, with the sleeves pushed up to just beneath his elbows.

"As ready as I'm going to be, Colonel Havoc," Roy said quietly, pulling on the white gloves that were the fear of so many. But those gloves were not nearly as feared as the man behind them. His gaze hardened and he set his jaw, ready for the Annihilation Campaign all over again. Only this time, he was the only State Alchemist. He knew there would be more, but for the moment... it was only him.

The tall blonde undid his belt, and took off the blue pants, black ones beneath. With each new piece of clothing revealed, he was starting to blend in with the surrounding darkness, as was the original plan.