Murphey's Law states: "Things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance," or more commonly, "whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

**********

The days following the encounter with Barry were relatively normal. Everyone in Mustang's unit took turns bringing food to Falman, although most of the time it was Aiden or Jean.

Walking down the road on her way to work, Aiden paused to stare at a small crowd. She stepped closer and people moved to get out of her way, recognizing she was military. There were plenty of things to expect on a road. Puppies and kittens for sale, concerned adults looking over a hurt child, hell there was even that time a small girl played the violin in the middle of the street for money. What she didn't expect however was a man collapsed on the road.

Aiden immediately pointed at a man to her left. "You! Get the military police down here!"

The man looked startled but nodded and went to leave. A voice called out in response. "We're already here." Two MP's walked through the crowd and quickly saluted. "Ma'am!"

Aiden gave a thumbs up and kneeled next to the figure in yellow. He looked dead but a slight movement told her he was breathing at least. "Hey, you okay there?" she asked.

"Food," the person wheezed.

"You say he was collapsed by the side of the road?" the second MP asked the crowd. They all nodded in unison.

"Where are you from?" the first MP questioned the man.

Aiden leaned down to hear the answer better and sighed. Of course she would end up finding the only person capable of collapsing by the road and saying he was from Xing. It was only her luck that she would run into Ling Yao. And if Ling was in Central then that meant the brothers and Katy were back as well.

"If you're from Xing then I assume you have your passport or entry Visa?" she asked.

"He's a long way from home," the second MP commented.

Ling grimaced and Aiden sighed again. She grabbed him by the back of his collar and held him out to the two MP's. "Illegal alien, let's go."

The two men took hold of Ling's arms and began to drag him toward the prison. It was along the way to work so Aiden followed the three, occasionally asking Ling about his country. They split at the prison and Aiden continued on her way. She passed a lieutenant on the way to her office and looked in the room left open. Sheska opened storeroom number three and she watched as Sheska tried to wake Roy.

"That's not going to work," Aiden said before promptly grabbing two books and slamming the covers together to create a loud sound. Roy startled and sat up, the book on his face fell into his lap.

"The hell? Oh, Sheska, Aiden. How long was I out?" He yawned and stood up, scratching at the stubble he was beginning to grow. Sheska answered him with a guess of about ten minutes. He flipped open his pocket watch. "The council meeting's about to start."

"Coffee?" Aiden offered as she held up the cup. She wasn't needed at the meeting but she had nowhere else to be at the present moment. Any investigations on her end always finished quickly and the Maes Hughes case was progressing at a snail's pace.

Roy nodded and sipped at the hot liquid. He nodded in thanks and left the room, Aiden following close behind.

"Uh, Colonel, sir," Sheska called as they left. "It's none of my business but maybe you should get a little more rest?"

"Uh-huh," he waved goodbye.

They were silent as they walked down the halls of Central Command. From the corner of her eye, she noticed how he'd started growing a bit of scruffiness on his chin and how his shirt was just ever so baggy on his frame. Trying to find Maes' killer and the corruption in the military was draining him. She sighed and shook her head. "It's been a week, Roy. You need to take better care of yourself."

"I'm not the only person neglecting their health," he retorted quietly.

The dark circles under her eyes hadn't gone away and thankfully they hadn't gotten any worse. She was still slightly skinnier than normal but the glow in her eyes had come back and he was able to clearly see what she was feeling during certain moments. It seemed that after having shown her his feelings and she'd done the same, Aiden had become easier to read. And while he couldn't truly see how tired the woman was, he could feel it. Like how a person knew when there was something wrong; a gut instinct.

"Yeah well, even I have bad days."

More like bad weeks, he thought. He didn't dare say it aloud.

She waited outside the men's bathroom for Roy to get back. They would both end up near the Elric brothers and if Katy was doing her job then she would be there as well. Aiden wanted her report on their time in the South. Perhaps she'd met Greed or one of his minions.

Major Armstrong left the bathroom and he cast her a glance as he walked down the hallway. Colonel Mustang had found out what the ingredients to Philosopher's Stones were and he'd figured out that Maes Hughes had known and dug too deeply, the result being his death. Perhaps it was just a coincidence Aiden was closely affiliated with the military and maybe she was trying to close in on the murderer of her friend. On the other hand, she may be one of those who killed Hughes and she'd heard what he'd said to Mustang. There would be no way to tell unless one day he too was attacked.

Aiden and Roy walked down the corridor to meet up with Hawkeye. "Hey, thanks for waiting for us," Roy said.

They turned the corner and lo and behold, there stood the brothers and her subordinate. Katy returned Aiden's stare with a raised eyebrow of pure boredom. The woman almost looked away; she still felt guilty about ordering the alchemist away.

Edward was doing a great impression of a shark. "Yep, the Colonel." Aiden tilted her head and wondered if they missed a portion of a conversation.

"Oh, well hello Fullmetal," Roy greeted.

"Colonel Mustang, what are you doing here in Central?"

"You didn't hear? I was transferred to this branch last month."

"Great," Ed said less than enthusiastically.

Aiden sighed and shook her head. "So why are you guys here? I thought you were still in Dublith."

Edward looked over the Lieutenant Colonel with a careful eye, pausing ever so briefly on her wrist. He met Greed who said he didn't work with the rest of the Homunculi, yet there was no way to verify that after he and his chimeras had been slaughtered. Ed never had the chance to ask Greed if Aiden was one of them. There was no telling which side she was on or if she was on a side at all. But given how many times she'd helped them, whether it be for her own gain or not, he'd give her the benefit of the doubt.

"We're doing a little information gathering. After that, we thought we'd go see Lieutenant Colonel Hughes later today. Where is he anyway?"

"He's not here," Aiden said truthfully. She felt bad about lying to the boys but there was no other option, and she'd come to terms with having to lie to those close to her.

"He retired to the country," Roy added, "and took his wife and daughter with him." Riza stared at her commander in confusion. "He wanted to take over the family business. So, he's not here."

The boys looked genuinely saddened to hear that their favorite soldier-friend had left. Katy simply stared at the ground and didn't try to comment or correct her commanding officers. She'd heard the news from Major Armstrong when they were in Dublith. It'd be a harsh thing to do in front of the boys. "I see. Well that's too bad."

"We were hoping to see him," Al nodded.

Roy turned and walked away. He made it only a few steps before he paused, his back still to the boys. "Fullmetal. Watch yourself. Don't do anything crazy," he cautioned.

"Hmm? Okay." Edward was a bit confused as to why the Colonel of all people would advise him. It wasn't like the man didn't, he just tended to tell them after a dangerous event.

Roy continued walking and the two women followed behind him. Katy's eyes narrowed at the trio, glancing down to Ed then back at Aiden as she watched them walk away. "Is he alive?"

Aiden went to reply that she had no idea what Katy was talking about when the words registered in her mind. She'd said them in English. The brothers stared at Katy and Roy and Riza paused to look back in confusion. Aiden was rigid under Katy's stare. She turned and looked back at her subordinate with wide eyes. Then her eyes went blank as her posture became tense.

"I'll see you two later," she said to her friends. "I need to speak with my subordinate." Roy raised an eyebrow at the word 'subordinate'; Aiden almost always called her officers by their names. Unless they were in trouble.

"Sure."

Aiden grabbed Katy's arm and dragged her through the halls and into her personal office. No one on the team got to greet either woman as they passed them too quickly. She closed the door behind them, locked it, and paused to stand behind her desk. Aiden drew her gun and aimed down the barrel at Katy.

"Who the hell are you?" she snarled.

"First, I'd like to apologize for going through your apartment." Katy held her hands up in defense for a moment before lounging on the couch in front of the desk. "My name is Katy, and I'm from your world, but I got here a little differently than you did, I'm sure."

Aiden raised an eyebrow in curiosity but didn't lower her gun. "You went through my apartment and now you're saying you're from my world. Aside from the fact that we speak the same language, you have no proof that we are from the same Earth. As for how I got here... I paid my way via Truth."

"Well, I came with a portal. As soon as I saw you, I had a feeling you weren't supposed to be here. Mainly because I never actually saw you in any of the animes. With how close you are to Maes and Mustang, you would have been in the series at some point or another."

The gun was lowered to her side but she kept a tight grip on the firearm. "Okay, fine. We're both misplaced people of Earth. Answer this: how did you get into my apartment and figure out I was from another world? As far as you could've known this may have just been another variation of Fullmetal Alchemist."

She smirked before disappearing and reappearing in Aiden's chair. "Like that, little miss smarty-pants."

"And I thought Blue Devil was just a title," Aiden stated dryly, turning and staring at the woman. Her subordinate had just teleported across the room. She'd been sent to an alternate dimension - why wouldn't other-worldly beings exist aside from Truth?

Katy gasped, a hand on her chest in false shock and mock offence. "Rude! If anything I'm a goddess, not a devil! And another thing, I wasn't exactly misplaced. My portal wasn't supposed to go here, it was meant to go to another world. But it's being fixed and I'll be leaving in Xerxes."

Yes, Katy was still a smartass. Aiden rolled her eyes and set her gun on the desk. "Don't be an ass, I'm still your superior in this world. I don't care if you're a goddess, a demi-god, or Truth himself because I will shoot you. Now answer my question. How'd you figure it out?"

"I saw your journal," she shrugged, grabbing the crackers from her pocket. They were leftovers from lunch on the train. "Now, miss Wilson, you never answered my question: is he alive?"

Aiden narrowed her eyes. "You mean to say you deconstructed my wall to look at my stuff," she corrected. Katy didn't dispute it and she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Unless teleporting was a new skill the homunculi possessed then she doubted Katy was one of them. With that out of the way Aiden could relax just a bit. There would be no more planning to take out a new homunculus. But a goddess? She sincerely doubted it was true. The term God was just a title slapped on beings with immense power that many people looked up to for one reason or another. If that were true in Katy's case then that meant she had a following at some point. Or she was full of herself.

But that was beside the point.

Regardless of whether or not Katy was a goddess or homunculus, she had talent Aiden couldn't ignore. Teleportation was useful, very useful. It was almost convenient how Katy had revealed herself just after Aiden was told that her latest... shipment wasn't going to arrive in Central on time.

There was no telling whose side she was on, if any. Aiden could trust the friend she'd known for years and let her in on Maes' whereabouts or she could lie and report her mission a failure. But she needed the shipment before the breakout of Maria Ross. Her teeth clenched together and she sighed deeply.

She reached into the desk and pulled out a piece of paper before scribbling something on it and handing it to Katy. "I'll direct you to my cabin in the woods." Aiden holstered her gun and moved to exit the office. "Try not to die. We'll talk later."

"Oh no worries, I'm basically immortal!" she laughed, giving her friend a wink before walking out of the private office and into the team office.

Without pausing or a second thought she opened the window and jumped out, landing gracefully on the grass. Aiden's screech of alarm rang out as she peered over the ledge, only to glare at her subordinate for giving her a mild heart attack. When Katy looked through the window next to her, Jean was staring right at her with a roll in his hand. Katy waved at Jean and then Aiden before she ran off to only Truth knew where. Aiden's cabin, more than likely.

Jean opened the window and looked up to meet Aiden's shocked gaze. "You saw that too, right?"

"Unfortunately."

The day passed and Aiden saw neither hide nor hair of Katy until she returned home. The alchemist - goddess - whatever she was, had been waiting for her boss on the couch for a short time. Aiden had almost shot her when she walked in and saw a shadowy figure sitting in the dark living room. After that small fiasco, they'd settled down with cups of tea and Katy told Aiden about her life.

Aiden stared down at the empty teacup, arms folded in her lap and a contemplative look on her face. "So you're an... entity of some sort that travels through universes for the sole purpose of not being bored. Is that it?"

"That's the gist of it, yes," Katy nodded.

"And you mostly go by the term Goddess due to the time you spent in ancient Greece impersonating the Goddess of Imagination, Iro."

"No, no. I made her up, she is me."

Her eyebrow twitched and Aiden was surprised her cup didn't break under the pressure it was receiving. "And you came to this dimension by accident, yet you stayed in hopes of saving the life of Maes Hughes. But since I already did that you have no reason to stay here and you're returning home when Major Armstrong, Edward Elric, and Breda go to Xerxes. Is that correct?"

"Well, I would have gone home at that point regardless of whether or not I'd been successful."

Aiden nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps if she saw Truth again she'd mention this little conversation and see what he had to say about another possible interference. However, that wouldn't be until she more than likely died in another accident or just died in general.

She glanced at her subordinate. The woman had been as truthful as she could prove so there was no reason to doubt her. That alone proved she could be trusted as an ally of some kind. Of course, now that Aiden knew of Katy's status, she could get a little help with the snag her plan had hit. She sat up straight and stared Katy in the eyes. "I have a favor to ask of you if you feel up to it. There's no shame in backing down."

Katy looked affronted at the idea and a smirk slowly spread across her face. "I'd never back down from a favor. What do you have for me?"

"When was the last time you traveled to Creta?"

**********

The morning started off rough. She'd been exposed to a night of restless sleep, hadn't had time for breakfast of any kind, almost left the apartment blind without her glasses, tripped on the last few stairs, and as a result was a tad moodier than most mornings. The only hint a person would receive as a warning was her uncharacteristic silence.

Her foul mood took a back seat when she was handed a report filed earlier that day. Aiden spit out her water and stared at the document in her hands.

Second Lieutenant Maria Ross Accused of Murdering Brigadier General Hughes. Pleading 'Not Guilty' on all accounts.

She hadn't realized it would happen so soon! She rocketed from her seat and took off down the hallway to Roy's office. A familiar blonde head rounded the corner and Aiden grabbed Riza's hand, taking the woman with her. They burst through the office door, Riza having the sense to close it behind her.

Roy stood from his chair in alarm. He didn't set fire to anything in the recent past so what had both women bursting in like madmen? "What's wrong?"

No sooner had the question left his lips did Aiden gasp out, "Maria Ross was just arrested as the lead suspect in Brigadier General Maes Hughes' death." She held out the document and he snapped it up, Riza joining his side to read it over. "It just came across my desk. She's pleading not guilty."

"Gather whatever information you can gather about her," he ordered his Lieutenant. "Go now. Quickly, and secretly." He handed the document to Riza who nodded.

"Right." She left the office in silence.

"So what now?" Aiden asked.

"Now we wait."

The waiting came to an end only a day later when Breda threw an evening's edition of the Central Times newspaper on the Colonel's desk. Aiden scowled at the thing as if it personally offended her. Not even a day after her arrest and they were already proclaiming her guilt of the murder. "This seems a little too showy, sir," he said.

"Is that what you think?"

"Yeah. They make a point of arresting her in public and now they announce her guilt to the newspapers before she's even had a trial. Something's not right."

She nodded and uncrossed her arms. "They've ignored Denny Brosh's report of the events during the Fifth Lab incident where both he and Maria Ross fired their weapons. I can't bring anything up because I was dismissed from the case under the guise of having been too close to Maes. The Elric brothers could provide testimonies but that would only draw this out. Someone is trying to pin the murder of Maes on the Second Lieutenant and they're doing their best to do so."

"I see." Roy folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. The phone rang and he answered.

"You have a call from an Officer Falman from an outside line," came the robotic voice of the operator.

"Put him through."

"Colonel, I need to speak to you about General Hughes' murder," Falman said. His voice was faint but she could hear him well enough.

"Hey! Falman! Gimme the phone, would'ja?" Aiden raised an eyebrow as Barry took over the phone. "Hey Mustang, did you see the newspaper? There's a pretty interesting article in there."

"What are you talking about, B-" Roy cut himself off as he remembered how the call was more than likely being monitored. Even if it wasn't there was still the chance someone could tap in at any moment. He sat up straight and Aiden could see faint traces of nervousness in his body language. "Bunny, darling, long time no see!" She covered her mouth and turned away to cover her snort of laughter. Roy shot her a dirty look. "You must really miss me for you to ask Falman to call me during work. Ha ha ha! But you know you're not supposed to call me on a military line."

There was silence on the other end and then Barry's voice came back over. And it sounded too much like a girl wannabe. "Oh no! I'm so sorry! Your little Bunnykins just had to talk to you! There's something I wanna tell you, baby, that affects both our futures!"

"Alright, I'll call you back from an outside line. Just hold your horses."

"I wuv you," Barry sang over the receiver.

Roy hung up and looked at Aiden who was practically in stitches in her silent laughter. He huffed and lightly kicked her leg. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Come on, we have to go."

She peeled herself off the floor and gave a wide smile, her shoulders shaking slightly. "This will forever be ingrained into my memory."

They continued their conversation in a phone booth away from Central Headquarters. She wasn't entirely sure what was said between the two but the conversation was short. Then Breda was sent off to acquire certain items that would look like a corpse.

"And my role?" she asked, taking up presence by his side.

"You've been a strategist the entire time I've known you, it's one of the reasons I can't beat you in a game of chess." She didn't have the guts to tell him that she didn't strategize when playing chess. Every move was made without thought. It made winning all the funnier when her thoughtlessness was more effective than his strategies. "You're going to help me plan Maria Ross' escape and if you can, you're going to transmute the ingredients."

It wasn't like she hadn't done it before. They were practically recreating what she'd done with Maes. Aside from a few aspects. "Of course."

"What can you tell me?"

"If Bunny and Rose meet us at Second Street in the Warehouse District, I can hide the present early enough for you to wait for their arrival. If we need, I can create a way for Jacqueline to take Rose on a walk."

"And you're sure it'll work?"

She paused and tilted her head consideringly. "With no interruptions or bumps in the road, yes. And if there are, we'll make something up as we go along." There was no doubt Edward would show up and then by extension, Alphonse.

"I hate having to resort to that."

"And yet you do so well under pressure."

Roy paused and stared down the street that led to the prison holding the innocent woman. "Are you sure you want to be a part of this?"

"I told you, I'll follow you." she reminded.

Aiden went back to the cabin that night. There was a problem she had to clear up with Maes. The man was a good source of wisdom and he often had suggestions to tweak their plans if a problem came up. And she had a feeling the one that had risen was her fault entirely. 

"The field mouse is fast," he prompted.

"But the owl sees at night," she finished, lowering her hands as he lowered his gun. "I think we have a bit of a problem."

The two went inside and Maes retrieved two cups of coffee that had been brewed that morning. They took up seats across from one another and Aiden sipped at the bitter liquid, noting how he'd forgotten to add her usual creamer but ignoring it in favor of accepting a drink from a friend.

He sighed. "So then, what's the problem?"

"I think Roy relies on me too much," Aiden announced, crossing one leg over the other. At Maes' nod, she continued. "I trust Roy to make the right decisions but he always asks me if he's made the right choice. It's been like that for the past few years now and I think it's because I'm too integrated in his life. I've been nudging him in the direction he should be going but..." she hesitated and bit her lip, "what if I shouldn't have?"

Maes sighed and placed his coffee on the table between them. He knew his friend was oblivious, he just didn't know how oblivious until then. Then he chuckled and shook his head. Aiden looked up from her lap and stared at the man. This was serious!

"Oh Aiden," he sighed, smile not leaving his face, "you really can't see it, can you."

"See what?"

"Roy is a complicated man. But you should know by now that he always second-guesses himself. Only now instead of keeping it to himself, he's asking you for your opinion in his decisions. That right there should tell you how much he respects you. If he didn't want you around you would know it in an instant. He's asking your opinion because he trusts you, he wants you around, and he cares what you think."

Aiden groaned and buried her face in her hand. Well she almost did. Her head hit the coffee cup and she jerked away from the touch causing some of the coffee to splash onto her. She was not amused. Maes however was grinning like a loon. 

"If this was how you react to feelings I'd love to see Roy confess his feelings for you," he stated. The sound of a cup shattering did not meet his ears and he watched as Aiden turned red.

"We... Roy and I already talked about it."

Had his cup not been on the table he was sure he would have dropped it. "What? When? Spare me no details!"

"I - well..." She set the mug down, rubbed the back of her neck, and then turned to stare at the fireplace. "He kissed me after... an incident -"

"What incident?"

"Doesn't matter - and then I kissed him right after. Then we didn't speak for a few weeks because I was busy and being childish avoiding him. A few days after Barry came around Roy and I found a chance to talk it out and I told him that it couldn't happen," she finished weakly.

Maes was silent for a moment and she was too scared to look over at him. A semi-hard but definitely papery object whapped into her head. Aiden squeaked in pain and surprise and turned to stare at the man standing over her with a rolled-up magazine. "What the hell was that for?" she yelled.

"Your stupidity," he replied bluntly. Her jaw dropped at his honesty. That'd never been said to her before, not from Maes Hughes at least. She saw the next swing coming but it hit her arm instead of her head. "Why did you tell him that?"

"Because he knows nothing about me Maes!"

"Well eventually he will and you'll think you were an idiot for doing that!" He threw the magazine back onto the table and sat on the couch with a huff.

"We're at war Maes, whether we like it or not." Aiden glared at the weapon and turned her stare on her friend. "Now isn't the best time to start relationships."

"Seems like the best possible time if you ask me." Gracia had been the one to wait for him during his time in Ishval and after overcoming the hardships there, neither of them would be separated from the other. War tested the strengths of bonds in love. 

"Why are you so interested in my non-existent love life anyway?"

Maes shrugged. "Well at first it was just general observations, but when I saw the connection you shared with Roy I had to do everything in my power to get you together." There was silence as Aiden made no move to reply or continue the conversation. He sighed and folded his arms and stared the woman down. "When this is over you will tell him the truth." 

The tone in his voice made no room for objections. Aiden smirked. "Sure. But if he doesn't want me around after that then I'm gonna..." she trailed off uncertainly. "Think of a threat later."

They had roughly six months until the Promised Day arrived. That was plenty of time to save the world. Six months to save the day.

**********

Katy: I'm an interdimensional space god that can pretty much do anything and I was only here to save Hughes but since that's covered I'll be going. And I'm not helping with the Promised Day either.

Aiden: You're my mailman now.

Side note: Katy Erwin is a character made up by Warblinglion0 for her story Fandom Quest, a story I beta for her. This (her character) was a small crossover of sorts. In her own book you'll find Katy's version of these events under the chapter titles SKOMO Quest: Part 1, 2, and 3.