Quick disclaimer. I don't own anything. Sadly. Except a few swords, so even if I didn't disclaim, nobody's gonna take me! Mwahahahaha! Anyway... Onwards!

Edit: fixed that Fuhrer King. (Thanks, reviewer74!)

Führer Mustang sat at his desk, breathing out a heavy sigh at the stacks of paperwork in front of him. He prayed to some God (he probably didn't believe in) that something, anything, would redirect his attention.

It came by a shorter-than-average kid barged in and started pacing across his office. "I'll show him," he grumbled. "Wait and see, too young, 'fear is just perception,' who does he think he's kidding?" Roy glanced up at the blonde who had shifted from muttering to cursing.

"Is there a reason you're interrupting me, Fullmetal?" Mustang sighed.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" He shouted in his annoying ranting tone Mustang had gotten to know oh, so well. He'd heard about a million words in that same tone, whenever Roy made a comment about the pipsqueak's height. "What do I have to do to prove that to people?"

"How about taking this mission?" Roy smirked, passing him the file. This was the perfect opportunity. He'd been meaning to assign Ed and his younger brother, Al to the case for the past two weeks, but, now that Ed was 17, Roy was a bit more than afraid he'd get decked if he suggested it.

"This could work. This is good." Ed's malicious smile was more than enough to send shivers down the Flame Alchemist's spine.

"Don't get so excited, Fullmetal. It's a murder investigation, not Christmas," Roy said, trying to play down the chills he'd gotten. "We're fairly certain that it's Bart Chowdhury, the Sun bending Alchemist."

"Wasn't he imprisoned after the Promised Day?" Ed wondered aloud as he took a look at the grotesque photographs.

"He was, but he escaped during a prison transfer." Mustang didn't like how light Ed was acting. When he told Roy he'd take the case with a light-hearted smile, the Führer had to say something. "Be careful, Ed. This isn't some farming incident. Chowdhury isn't called the Sun Bending because he's good at getting drunk. He's a serious threat. He's very skilled in light-manipulation alchemy. You won't be able to do this without Al and every ounce of Alchemy you have in you."

"I get it, Führer Bastard," Ed smirked, grabbing the two train tickets out of Mustang's hand and marched out the door. No one could ever think Ed was a cowered after he and Al completed this mission. He continued walking as he thought about this and slammed straight into Riza.

"Oh, Edward," she noted. "Did Roy give you that assignment like he was supposed to?" Ed nodded. "Good."

"Sorry I ran into you, Lieutenant," Ed smiled. "The baby's okay, right?" He asked, nodding to her stomach.

"He's fine, Edward. You and Alphonse are so worried about him. You're more worried about him than his father!" She laughed. Ed, despite how much animosity he bore for the father, was still made the godfather and, by association, Al became the god-uncle. Ed knew how much Roy had wanted to make Hughes the godfather of his first child, just like he wanted Hughes to be the best man. But Hughes was dead and the responsibility fell to Ed and Al.

"Very important; no one there really knows about alchemy or automail. Remember how shocking it was to those people in Franca?" Riza mentioned. Ed nodded. He'd fixed a broken glass with alchemy in the capital, Versailles, and he'd been nearly burned at the stake for 'witchcraft.' "Oh, and when you're there, get a communication device called a mobile telephone. They're an amazing technological advance. Everyone there has them. They don't work in Amestris because we don't have the right telephone poles. We don't want you to stick out too much. The military will foot the bill."

Ed nodded. "Thanks, Riza," he said, hugging her. He had to bend a bit to reach around her shoulders past her swollen belly.

Before he'd left Central HQ, he called Al up to tell him they were leaving the country. "Are you sure, brother?" Al questioned. "I didn't get there before Drachma tried to annex Amestris and Führer Mustang needed us. I don't know the country at all."

"It'll be fine, Al," Ed assured him. "We'll stop before we get on the ferry and get some info. They speak a different language there, you know. We'll have to learn it to fit in."

"If you're sure, brother," Al finally said, giving up to his brother's confidence, though he wasn't entirely convinced. "Hey, if this guy is as dangerous as Roy says, won't we need Winry to fix your automail?" Ed sighed. He'd finally gotten his arm back, only to have it chopped off during the Drachman War. He'd had to go through rehabilitation all over again. It took less time with Al's girlfriend helping the healing process, but it was still slow.

"We'll call her if we need anything," he said, knowing full well the unknown technological advances Riza had been talking about like the mobile telephone would be enough to make Winry never want to leave. He liked her where she was; somewhere he could always run to for safety and for longing.

"The train leaves tomorrow at 10:25. That bastard Führer, when was he going to tell us he we were leaving?" Ed shouted more than asked.