A Pen or a Sword?

By: Bar-Ohki

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA and some of the OCs featured in chapters 36-38.

Recap: Jaxith is now learning code in preparation for his new job: spying on Archer.

Other Stuff: Here are the winners of the "find the author" contest I was holding:

The Lava Alchemist, Phantom SunSong, and EdElricRules.

As soon as I figure out your e-mails, I will be sending you copies of the black and white version. I am currently coloring it, so no worries there. It should be in your possession by the end of the month.

Previously:

"Sir!"

"What!?" Jaxith gasped.

Chapter 41: Code Cracking

"I hear a little bit of talent is coming into your possession." The Fuhrer remarked to Archer when he entered the latter's office.

"Oh yes, that young Skibbereen is coming to work for me." Archer smiled. "I have very… big plans for him."

"As long as those plans don't include sexual favors, you are welcome to do what you will, Archer." The Fuhrer went on to say, and Archer stared at him in disbelief. "Master has expressed some interest in using the boy, so do keep him safe." The way Bradley said the word "safe" told of the fact that the word held significant meaning.

"What are you implying?" Archer sounded indignant. "Do you deem me incompetent?"

"It's not that Archer, it's the boy himself I am worried about." Bradley casually explained. "He's extremely intelligent and close to Mustang, you'd best be weary."

"I understand the boy is not without risks." Archer pointed out. "Which is why I'm keeping him on normal work and out of my side work until I know he can be fully trusted."

"Good to hear my worries were needless." Bradley smiled on his way out. "Do make sure they stay that way."

"Of course sir!" Archer saluted the man as he left.

-Break-

"I have a headache!" Jaxith whined as threw his book into the air in a display of childish anger.

"Please stop throwing my books." Falman asked Jaxith politely, deftly catching the airborne tome as if he wasn't doing anything else.

"I don't want to learn this 'code' crap!" Jaxith's head hit the desk with an audible thumping sound. "Owie…."

"Could've told ya that was dumb." Breda muttered, partly amused by Jaxith's theatrics.

"Why am I doing this anyways?" Jaxith moaned. "I already have enough shit I'm trying to cram in my head at school…."

"You're learning code so you can tell us what is going on without it being noticeable." Breda informed him. "What you are doing is spying and we can't afford to have you get caught."

"…Still…." Jaxith sighed. "This isn't easy stuff and you're rushing it."

"Damn right we are!" Breda exclaimed. "We only have two weeks to get you ready."

"It'll take pa some time to get the paperwork and logistics done!" Jaxith snorted. "This is a bureaucracy!"

"Not when the Fuhrer's involved." Falman shook his head. "He was with Edward, you're no exception."

"Why would the Fuhrer be involved?" Jaxith frowned.

"You're underage." Breda pointed out. "Normally employing you would be illegal."

"…Oh."

"Now that you're done resting your mind, I want you to finish reciting page 126 to me." Falman handed Jaxith back the book.

"I hate you all!" Jaxith hissed.

"I know that's not what it says, suck it up and read it boy." Breda ordered lazily.

"…'Lucy was wearing a red dress'." Jaxith read.

"And what does 'Lucy' symbolize?" Falman asked.

"Trouble. Big trouble." Jaxith answered after a long pause, and several amusing facial features that people only express when concentrating very hard.

"And what does 'red' refer to?" Breda quizzed him.

"Myself." Jaxith answered quickly.

"And the dress?" Falman asked within a millisecond after Jaxith finished answering.

"…Well she was wearing it, as opposed to buying it, or wanting it, borrowing it, ruining it, or selling it…. So that means that I need to… disappear?"

"No, it means that the color's corresponding person has been caught." Falman corrected.

" 'Lucy was wearing a red dress' translates as 'Jaxith got caught and is in big time trouble'." Breda explained.

"Now, what color was Edward?" Breda quizzed, smirking as Jaxith made a noise not unlike one a dying cat would make in displeasure.

"He was gray." Jaxith answered, rubbing his temple.

"No, he was blue." Falman corrected him with a stony face, making Jaxith gasp with mortification.

"Seriously, keep doing it and the kid's gonna break." Breda admonished his partner. "No worries, you got it right."

"…I'm going to die!" Jaxith realized after a moment.

"Naw, it'll nearly kill ya!" Breda assured him.

Jaxith's head hit the table again with a resounding crack.

"Owie…."

-Break-

"…Fullmetal." Roy addressed his youngest subordinate in a sad attempt to break the awkward silence. The two were currently situated in Edward's dorm room. Roy had chosen to walk in unannounced in the middle of the day. Edward, despite being a genius, was still a lazy teenager and had chosen to get out of bed but a couple of minutes before Roy decided to barge in. The timing of the two events resulted in Roy walking in just as Edward pulled off his dirty boxers.

"Get out." Edward growled, sounding and looking every bit as hostile as a feral animal. Roy simply took two steps backward and shut the door behind him.

A couple of minutes passed. Roy spent them standing out in the hall awkwardly, staring at the door and trying desperately to appear nonchalant. Despite his efforts, two passing by soldiers remarked about how "uncool" the Colonel looked nonetheless. Roy couldn't disagree with them, much to his own shame.

Edward opened the door a few minutes later, looking angrier than he had before.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Edward annunciated clearly, the acidic words burning a hole right into Roy's soul.

Of course, Roy finding the young alchemist's wrath truly intimidating for once in his life, had nothing to say for a minute.

"…I need you to help with Jaxith's mission." Roy confessed after a long moment. Edward's anger calmed a little at the mention of his boyfriend.

"Since when were you giving Jaxith missions?" Edward asked with a passing glare that could peel paint off cars. Roy then realized just how much a "little" was around Edward.

"He's doing this of his own free will!" Roy decided that saving his own hide was the most important thing he could do at the moment.

"…What is he doing?" Edward didn't look all that convinced.

"Ahem. Why don't we discuss this over lunch? I'll buy." Roy internally mourned the loss of money in his wallet.

"Hm. Alright." Edward consented that the dorm hallway was probably not a good place to be discussing Roy's secret plans. "Can I pick the place?"

"No." Roy answered quickly, knowing full well Edward would be picking something expensive if left to his own devices. "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen that before."

"Unless you want me going around spreading rumors about you being a pedophile-" Edward was quickly cut off.

"Quit being a child Fullmetal, and just follow me." Roy didn't want to hear the end of that sentence. The serious look he gave Edward was thankfully enough to halt any further pursuing of that conversation.

-Break-

"So you are using Jaxith as your eyes and ears in Investigations, hmm?" Edward summarized after he had had his fill of food from Roy's wallet.

"Yes." Roy confirmed. "Jaxith is aware of this. And he's also aware of the dangers it puts him in."

"So how does this pertain to me?" Edward asked, knowing that Roy obviously had a reason for telling him all this.

"For one thing, he's your boyfriend, you should know." Roy rolled his eyes mentally at the thought. "Another thing is that you may be on the receiving end of some of his communications. I need you to know and learn code as-" Edward cut him off.

"Did you know that baking soda can be used to help the yeast raise the bread?" Edward asked Roy.

"What the hell does that have to-!?" Roy demanded, finding himself interrupted.

"Baking soda refers to humans, yeast means ingredient, and bread, being the thing you are trying to make, is referring to the Philosopher's Stone." Edward explained, deadly serious. "It's part of the Crystal Alchemist, Tim Marco's code."

"The code of-" The sudden introduction of Marco's code stunned Roy temporarily.

"Just give me a list of translations and I'll have it memorized in a day." Edward smugly chuckled after a moment. "Or would you like to use my code?"

"Jaxith may be interested in that." Roy remarked after a while. "I think you should go with drinking with Breda tonight."

"…I get it." Edward nodded. "Though you could just tell me right now."

"Edward," Roy gave the boy a flat look, "I still have to work today."

"It's not like you're actually wanting to do it." Edward chuckled.

"No, but Jaxith does." Roy reminded Edward.

"…Right."

-Break-

Learning code was stressing Jaxith out. It showed up at school in his now short temper, dropping grades, and also in his drawing.

This development did not amuse Euclid in the slightest.

"Jaxith Skibbereen!" The calculus teacher snapped, both verbally and physically (his chalk having broken in half when he threw it at Jaxith's desk).

With a jerk, Jaxith was sitting up in straight in his chair, fully alert. This was dropped immediately when he realized that he was not in Mrs. Celt's class.

"What is with your sarcasm today? I do not appreciate being referred to as a 'half-baked quack'." Euclid glared over the edge of his half-moon glasses.

"But you are one." Jaxith insisted.

"…Go down to the principal's office, I'll be following you shortly." Several students gasped. Euclid never sent anyone to the principal's office. "Oh, and tell them to contact your uncle."

"He's at work!" Jaxith protested.

"I know." Euclid was dead serious. "I know."

-Break-

"Colonel sir," Hawkeye began, having just answered the phone, "there is a call for you from the outside."

"Did they mention where?" Roy inquired, not expecting a call from anyone today.

"The Flamel Academy, sir."

"Put them through." Roy picked up the receiver of the phone on his desk. After a few small clicks, signaling that he was getting connected, another voice came on the other end.

"Hello, Mr. Mustang." A male voice greeted him. Roy quickly identified the voice to belong to the principal's secretary.

"Hello, what did Jaxith do today?" Roy asked, sounding flat and methodical now that he was speaking with the man.

"I can't say that's a usual response I get." The man admitted.

"I gave the Academy explicit instructions to not contact me at work unless the situation was dire." Roy answered.

"Euclid Derivative, our calculus teacher, insisted we call you he would not say why." The secretary explained.

"Put him on, then." Roy almost ordered the man.

"Mr, Mustang," Euclid greeted Roy after a moment, "what the hell are you doing to him?"

"Excuse me?" Roy asked.

"He's stressed out enough to be referring to me as a 'half-backed quack' without considering the consequences for that action. This is a recent development for him and it concerns me." Euclid was honest and frank with him.

"Thank you being concerned but I assure you the situation is under control." Roy decided to sweet talk the man.

"I'm a mathematics professor, no amount of smooth talk is going to dissuade me from the logic or the proof." Euclid conjured up that particular "teacher voice" that signaled that you were in trouble. "Jaxith is under continual stress, it is reflecting in his educational performance. I know it was not caused by a school-related event as there are no new stressors in his life there as far as I can tell. Therefore his new source of stress must be coming from home. You even confirmed this by trying to sweet talk me and being evasive."

"You would make an excellent investigator, you know." Roy sighed, remembering having a similar conversation with Hughes.

"I've had my share of time with the military." Euclid left it at that. "Now, either you fess up as to why he's stressed out, or tomorrow he comes to school well rested."

"…I'll make sure he's performing better tomorrow." Roy promised.

"Good, because I'll be starting my own investigations if you don't." Euclid promised him back and hung up.

--

Euclid certainly cares about his students doesn't he?