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It had started simply enough. An assignment wired to him and Al (officially just for him, though everyone knew where he went, so did his younger brother) from Mustang. Edward had complained and griped but started without much hesitation. In spite of his personal opinion of his commanding officer Edward Elric held a grudging (very grudging sometimes) respect for the man.
So, after traipsing through an old abandoned tower that looked more like a chess piece than an actual edifice, with only the light from a flickering flashlight, the Elric brothers found what they were looking for. Predictably the occupants of the tower objected to their presence. They also objected to Edward objecting to what they were doing with the kids that had vanished off the streets.
The resultant fight was embarrassingly brief.
Al evacuated the children, hurriedly ushering them out of the tower through a alchemically created door that opened right outside. Edward drew the fire from the guns away from Al and the children. He led the villains on a merry chase that ended at the roof of the tower.
“Nowhere to go, you little runt!” taunted the villain in charge.
Edward twitched. “Who you calling so tiny he can't be seen even with a microscope?” he demanded fiercely. He clapped his hands together and slammed them against the stone. The mortar holding everything together crumbled and the stones shifted dangerously. Just as they slipped apart, taking the villains down with them, Edward jumped over the side. He drifted down on a hastily created parachute to where Al was waiting with the rescued children.
Mission complete. It hadn't even been a useful detour, not for his own personal quest.