Colonel Mustang keeled over the railing of the boat and vomited. The sides of the ship were where he had spent most of the trip. He thought too late that someone whose state name was "The Flame Alchemist" wouldn't be able to travel across the Atlantic without any ill effects.

"Oh god," he gasped, coming back up. "Why did I ever-" he got out before he threw up again. If he had known this would happen he would have just stayed in Amestris and left for Germany or France or somewhere on the same continent.

All the while, Edward just watched, sitting against a large shipping container. He had been sitting there for the last few hours, but the Colonel had just came up and keeled over the rail a few minutes ago.

"The Colonel…" Ed thought. He couldn't really be called that anymore. The government, and perhaps even that government's ruler, that had bestowed the rank upon him had perished. He was no longer Colonel Mustang. Now he was just Mustang. Ed was sure he had a first name, but it had been so long since he had used it that he didn't remember it.

"Hey, Mustang?" Ed asked.

"What?" He almost yelled, coming up from the rail once again.

"I was just wondering what your first name was."

"Didn't I already tell you?"

"I don't know. I guess."

"It's Roy, alright? Why do you want to know?"

"I was just wondering." He stopped for a second. "Have you seen Al?"
"Yeah, he's near the head of the ship. Now could you go away? I think I'm going to-AUGH!" Once more, Mustang bent over the rail.

"Yeah, have fun with that," Ed replied, getting up and walking off.

Ed looked across the deck. It was littered with containers and crates. He remembered the captain of this vessel telling him it was an old carrier, used for shipping supplies across continents.

Ed had never met someone as strange as the captain. He had seen chimeras, he had seen the alchemy of a Philosophers Stone, he even had been through the portal of truth. But the captain was one of the oddest things he had ever been around. He spoke with some odd drawling accent that Ed couldn't even describe. He wore this odd hat that looked a bit like a fedora, but was much bigger. He had told Ed and Al stories from his travels around the world. He had seen ice monsters in Russia, dragons in England, and so many other things. Ed didn't believe him, but Al sure did. But there was one disturbing thing about him that Ed did believe.

The captain was from America.

America was the country they were headed to, and all they heard about it were some very awful things. That it was a country that revolved around war and conflict, and that it had acquired the power to win any that it had started in its short time on this earth. If that was true for its citizens, who know what the captain may have done, or what he might do?

"Hey, sonny, can ya gimme a hand with this here net?"

Ed looked up from his trancelike state and over to the left of the boat. Al and the captain (Speak of the devil) were sitting on the side of the boat, holding a net.

"What are you guys doing?" Edward asked.

"We're fishing, Ed!" said Al "It's actually pretty fun."

"Ok, but why do you need my help?"

"Because," the captain yelled, "whatever is on the other end of this here net is heavier than my second wife, god rest her soul. Just come here and help!"

Ed put the image out of his head and went over to the edge, grabbing the net.

"Ok, on three," said Al. "One… two… three!"

They all pulled on the net simultaneously. There must have been something big on the other end, because it wasn't coming up.

"Damn it, it won't come up." Ed swore.

"Hold on," said Al, kneeling down to the deck. "I think I have an idea…" He pulled a piece of chalk from seemingly nowhere and began to draw on the deck.

"Now, hold on," the captain complained, "you'd better not do any of that magic shit, or I'll-"

But he was a second too late. Al slammed his hands to the steel deck and slowly raised them. A large metal reel slowly formed and rose from the deck, cable and all. When it was all formed right, he took the cable, formed a hook on the end, and hooked it onto the net.

"Good idea, Al," said Ed. He really was impressed. Al wasn't too great with alchemy. Ed remembered when his hair was almost burned off, and he just perfectly formed a spool with a crank.

"God damn it, kid, I said no! Now you gone and fucked up my boat!"

"Quit complaining," said Al, "I'll put it back later. Just let me get the net up."

The captain mumbled something about a "stupid tin can" and Al cranked on the reel. Even with the pulley and Al's strength, it was difficult.

"I think it's snagged, Al. Just let it go."

"No, hold on, it's giv-AH!" Al yelled in surprise as the cable ripped in half and plunged into the ocean. They all looked over the rail at the water below, but couldn't see anything odd.

"Well, now what the Sam-hell was that?"

"I don't know," said Edward, "but whatever it was, I'm just glad it didn't get yanked up onto the deck."

"Hold on," said the captain, "how long have we been traveling?"

"Um, a week, I think," Al replied.

"Aw, shit."

"What? What is it?"

"I, uh, I think-"

Suddenly there was a large boom and a huge wave of water splashed onto the deck and all over them.

"What the hell was that!" Ed yelled

"It was an ocean mine. The net got snagged on it and went off."

"WHAT?" Al began to panic. "YOU MEAN WE'RE SINKING?"

"Now calm down boy, that was just a signal mine, sort of a warning flare. It dives to a safe level and then goes off. It told us we're entering the controlling nation's waters. It's probably American."

Both Al and Edward looked at each other, not sure weather to be happy or uneasy.

Ed looked back at the captain and asked, "You mean THIS," gesturing towards the ocean, "is how America greets immigrants?"

"Well, usually they get a little warning and disable them before incoming ships take a certain path, but typically, yeah."

"How do they disable them?" asked Al, now intrigued.

"Look, I don't have time to teach you American 101. I got to go sail a ship. I've spent enough time screwing around down here, fishing and mine detecting and whatnot." Ed and Al watched the captain walk off, when he turned around and pointed to the reel of cable formed from the deck. "And fix my god damned boat!"