Author's Note: I'm not completely sure if Liore was an assignment or something that Mustang suggested to Elric brothers in order to find the philosopher stone so, for the sake of this story, I'll do the latter.

Chapter 1:

"DAMN THAT COLONEL BASTARD!" A short statured golden eyed and haired boy yelled to the night sky. He shoved his gloved hands into his pockets, the light breeze blowing his red coat behind him. He kicked at the pebbles. "Just before we leave for Liore, he gives us an assignment! To some crackpot town where there's a supposedly haunted house where people are disappearing! Sounds like kidnapping to me. Besides, ghosts don't exist! It can't be haunted!" It was a cool, somewhat chilly evening in East City. Edward Elric's gaze turned to the ground, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful expression.

Then again, a state alchemist was kidnapped too and he would've probably have easily escaped... He dismissed the thought. A drop of water hit the top of his head. His gaze turned to the sky, only to receive more drops of water to his face, causing him to squint.

"Ah crap!" he muttered and pulled the hood of his coat over his head. He broke into a run, his uneven footsteps slightly noticeable. It began pouring, his long bangs getting into his eyes as he made his way to the hotel that he and his brother were staying. It was much warmer and brighter inside the cozy lobby. Ed squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light and made his way to the second floor.

"Hey Al, bad news." Ed stepped into the bright hotel room. He shut the door behind him and shrugged his soaking wet coat off, carelessly tossing it to the side. A rather large suit of armor quickly stuffed something back in his armor and looked up at him.

"What is it brother?" a child-like voice with a metallic echo came out of it.

"That bastard of a colonel's sending us on an assignment. To a supposedly haunted house in a small town called Ramney." He began undoing the metal clasp on his black undercoat.

"What does that have anything to do with the military?" Alphonse questioned.

"It has something to do with the kidnapping of a state alchemist who was also sent to investigate. The townspeople kept on insisting that the house was haunted but the military thought it must've been the work of Ishvalan terrorists taking refuge there. " The coat fell off, revealing Edward's prosthetic right arm and his dark blue tank top. Al nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess that makes sense." Ed let out a big sigh and made his way to his suitcase and began packing.

"Anyway, we're leaving tomorrow. The train leaves pretty early." Ed pushed his left leg against the bulging suitcase and bent down, clicking the clasp into place. He fell back onto his bed, kicking his thick soled, red rimmed, black boots off and spread his arms out, staring at the ceiling. A muffled meow suddenly cut the silence, causing Ed's eyebrow to twitch. He began to realize what exactly Alphonse had been doing earlier. He sat up and closed his eyes, a tight smile on his face and his hands gripping the sheets and blankets so tight that they shook with the effort.

"Al, you didn't bring a stray cat in again, did you?" Another muffled meow answered him which led to 20 minutes of Ed chasing Al around the room. The only thing that stopped Ed from pursuing Alphonse any longer was because he was getting too tired. Ed fell back onto the bed, bags under his eyes.

" Fine, but only until the rain stops." He growled. Al eagerly got out a bottle of milk which he usually kept around for Ed and a bowl, filling it halfway. He let the cat out of his armor, chuckling as it happily lapped up the white liquid. Edward shook his head, flipped over onto his stomach and crawled further up the bed, burying his head in the pillows. He moved his hands to his short braid, pulling the band out and placing it on the bedside table. He flipped over again and pulled the covers up, placing his hands under his head.

"Ed, what if it really is haunted?" Alphonse abruptly asked, fear clearly showing in his tone as he rubbed the cat's chin. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Don't be stupid Al, they're just kidnappers. No big deal, we've been through worse." Ed ran his fingers through his hair, undoing the braid all the way and making sure his little "antenna" was still there. He hated being called small so he put that up in an attempt to make himself taller. Al was silent after that so he took the opportunity to close his eyes and fall asleep.

"Crap, I overslept!" Ed quickly slipped on his black coat and hastily tied his hair into a messy braid. He would fix it later but right now, he was too much in a hurry to care. It was 6:45 A.M. the next day. The train that they needed to get on was departing at 7:00 A.M. which was what was causing these two brothers to be in such a rush. Alphonse made sure the little kitten was inside his armor as Ed grabbed his suitcase and dashed out the door, Alphonse following with Ed's red coat in hand. Ed quickly checked out and they rushed to the train station. A loud train whistle sounded and the two quickened their steps. They handed their ticket in but when they got there, the train was beginning to leave the dock. Al caught up to it and hopped on. Ed tossed his suitcase on and just before the train left the platform completely, he jumped. Alphonse caught him and he was left panting against the railing. They exchanged relieved glances.

"That was a close call." He commented, running his fingers through his bangs. Al nodded and quickly checked on the poor cat that was still inside his armor.

"We should go inside now." Alphonse said after he confirmed that the kitten was mostly unharmed. Ed responded by opening the door and heading inside the train, trying to find an empty seat. Once they found one, they sat down, Ed having to hop up to put his suitcase in the compartments above. Al had been insisting that he could've done it but since Edward was so stubborn, he did it himself. Ed sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. The best way to make long train rides fly by was to sleep and even though he had overslept, he was still tired. A wide yawn confirmed that. True that his back and rear would ache from the uncomfortable seats but there was really nothing else to do. He eased himself onto his back and rested his head on the arm of the seat he was sitting on, crossed his legs and folded his arms over his stomach, falling asleep. Al looked at his sleeping form and shook his head. He knew that one of his hands was going to push his shirt up to reveal his stomach. Sure enough, Ed let out a loud snore and his hand pushed up his shirt just a little bit. The suit of armor sighed.

"What am I going to do with you?"