Ed stared out the window as the train left the station, fighting back a yawn. Alphonse waved to him as he faded into the distance. Ed sat back in his seat, crossing his arms and legs; glaring at his companion whom was one Roy Mustang who looked even more grumpy than Ed did.

They had been assigned to a recon mission up north in the cold. They had a station posted up there that monitored the border between Amestris and Drachma but one of the posts had gone silent. Fuhrer Bradley was currently holding a grand ceremony that decorated some general or another and so by consequence no one was available to go except Fullmetal. Being young in the military still Mustang's superiors decided to send Mustang himself along to "supervise." Mustang had made it clear he wasn't any happier than Ed to be coming out here very early on when giving the mission to him. The worst part about it? he was going disguised as his son. It wasn't the first time they'd done that, it had to have been done a couple times before. Ed just didn't understand why they had to be disguised this time.

"Why did you not let Alphonse come along anyway, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, keeping a stoic expression as he stared out the window.

"He's been wanting to see Winry and I just don't feel comfortable having him come to a place where he could freeze over. Especially since he won't know he's freezing until he can no longer move." Mustang nodded his head, not responding.

And that was how much of the train ride progressed, dull refusal of the person across from them. Ed was mad at Mustang for giving him this mission when he could be following leads on the philosopher's stone. Mustang was mad at Ed because the young alchemist couldn't understand that if Mustang could he would send Edward away with a lead. That was, if he had any.

Ed eventually fell asleep, his head pressed against the window, face looking close to peaceful save for the occasional wince. Mustang produced a book from a pocket a while ago and was currently reading by the light of the train. Outside trees and fields dashed by in a blur of greens and browns, they had to be a few hundred miles away by this point. The train clacked along, the chatter of the passengers rising above it. Mustang stared amusedly at the sleeping subordinate, contemplating whether he should draw on the boy's face or not. Fullmetal would probably wake up and break his arm in retribution, but it'd still be funny for the first few moments. Mustang smiled thinking about Edward's reaction. He was glad that Hawkeye hadn't come along for 'protection', she wouldn't approve of any of the minor pranks Mustang had planned. Still he missed her presence, she wouldn't have fallen asleep on him and eliminate all chances of conversation. Not that he was complaining, the peace and quiet was a nice change from the normal loud yelling of Fullmetal whenever he came to call.

The squeal of the train increased an octave. Mustang and the passengers all cringed at the ear-piercing sound. Ed jerked awake, his eyes going wide and his eyes darting everywhere.

"What's going on!?" He yelled over the sound of the train. Mustang opened his mouth to reply but at that moment the train rocked sharply to one side and he had to hold onto his seat for dear life. The train fell to its side and Mustang lost his grip. His head hit the roof and that was all that he remembered.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He opened his eyes and looked up, blinking slowly. Leafy boughs greeted his eyes, blowing gently in the wind. He groaned and sat up, his head pounding like a beast. Looking around he saw fire. He jumped up quickly despite the wobble in his steps and backed himself up into a tree. Getting a better look of his surroundings he saw that wreckage was everywhere. In the trees, in the earth, and in the fires. A train crash maybe? That's what the larger chunks of debris made it look like. He looked around for survivors but it seemed all the people had vanished. Or had he been the only one on the train? Maybe he had been further back than the rest? He couldn't remember no matter how hard he tried to. Had he hit his head? He scoped one hand up carefully, feeling for any damage. Pulling his hand back it came away red and sticky. Head injury then. That was just great. What was he supposed to be doing now? Find survivors and hope that they knew who the hell he was.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Mustang whacked another branch aside as he walked through the forest. His eyes scanned the tree lines for any snatches of red or gold, signs of Fullmetal. Nothing made itself known to him and he was getting worried. Not that to anyone else he would ever express concern for the short subordinate of his. Worse yet was that they were close to enemy territory. At this point he was just looking for signs of other people. He hadn't seen hide nor hare of a soul since he awoke among the wreckage. He couldn't even be sure if he was heading in the right direction at this point. Despite this oddity his primary concern was finding Fullmetal before some of the area's more… unsavory people, did so.

The borders between Amestris and Drachma had recently become skewed and more and more frequently. Worse yet, he had not told Fullmetal why there was the need for hiding their identities. Fullmetal's rapidly growing reputation has gotten certain enemies of the nation on the alert for him. They knew what he looked like and it wouldn't do well for them to find him in his trademark coat. He really should have told Fullmetal to change into his disguise before they left.

There was no changing the past though, all he could do now was move forward. Sighing, Mustang picked his pace up; fueled by concern for the young alchemist who was his responsibility.

Stepping over a tree root a flash of bright red passed between two trees in the distance, catching his attention. Mustang began to run, had that been Fullmetal or was it a Drachma spy? He had no way of knowing which for certain but he had to find out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He looked over his shoulder as he dashed between the trees. Was the blue coated man still following him? He couldn't see but had to assume that he was. If he stopped moving now he could be caught, and he wasn't sure if that would be a good thing or not. He wasn't sure of anything right now and he couldn't trust anyone. The man chasing him could easily be the reason the train had been wrecked.

He ran on. He found out one of his arms and legs are fake, after having kicked a tree and actually splintering the bark on it without feeling pain. He didn't know why he hadn't been aware of the missing appendages sooner, he just sort-of assumed they had been there since he could use his limbs as it was. It was scary being able to feel his limbs even though they were prosthetics. He wondered what could have happened to him to have had his limbs removed. It must have been a horrible event. He shuddered thinking about all that could have happened.

Caught up in his thoughts as he was he had failed to pay attention to where he was going. That's why he was so surprised when he slammed face-first into a large chest. Stumbling back, he looked up at a large beefy man who did not look nice at all. The large man sneered down at him and he became aware of just how short he was. He must be a kid or something to be this short.

"Well, look here. What are you doing out here all alone, kid?"

He stepped away from the large man quickly. "I'm not lost," he lied quickly.

"Then what would you be doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" The man was stepping forward for every step that he took back now.

"I could be asking you the same question."

He was backed up against the tree now, his eyes widened as he began the feel panic clawing at his chest. Fight or flight, survive or die. He was terrified. The sneer of the other man turned into a broad grin as he inched closer. "Say," the man said. "That wouldn't happen to be the red cloak belonging to the Fullmetal Alchemist now is it?"

"The who?"

The man looked angry now. "Don't play with me, boy! You're going to get it for lying to me!" With the man raised his fist.

"Stop!"

Both of them turned to look at the new stranger and he recognized the new guy as the blue coated person who he had been running from. "Amestrian!" the angry man yelled at the black haired one.

The black haired man gave a self-satisfied smirk and snapped his fingers. Fire, the other man was on fire. The angry man yelped and danced back. Taking his chance, he ran away from the angry man and hid behind the black haired man who was also taller than him.

The black haired man looked back at him, surprised. Then he turned forward again and focused on the man he had set aflame. "Drachman," the Amestrian spat.

The Drachman had put the flames out at this point, he hadn't seen how, and pulled a gun; firing off two quick shots. Both shots missed the black haired man, and consequently missed him as well. The black haired man snapped his fingers again and shot a bolt of fire at the Drachman.

Alchemy. The Amestrian was doing alchemy. How did he know that though? He didn't get a chance to analyze the new bit of knowledge as he was pressed to the ground by the Amestrian as one of the rounds fired came too close to home.

That was also the Drachman's last round. He and the Amestrian watched as the Drachman clicked his gun uselessly before casting it aside and turning tail. He half expected for the Amestrian to begin pursuit but rather the black haired man knelt down to look at him.

"Are you okay?" the Amestrian asked, concern laced in his voice.

It was then that he became aware he was shaking pretty badly and close to tears. "I'm… I'm okay," he said quickly, fighting the urge to blink lest tears begin to fall.

"You certainly don't look like you're okay, what happened? And why did you run from me?

Now the tears really were falling. He wiped his eyes furiously with his human arm, feeling ashamed. The man kneeling before him was obviously in the military, they probably didn't have time for sniveling children like he apparently was. "Because… I don't know who you are, or who I am."