Prologue

"Hey boss, I think we need a few more recruits," Dolcetto pointed out. I, Martel and Dolcetto were gathered in the main area of the Devil's Nest. It's true though. We need more recruits, unique individuals. Even if we did recruit anyone, who would they be? Martel was rubbing her chin until she suddenly snapped her fingers. "Some locals don't like us 'cuz we're 'strange individuals', am I right?" she questioned. We all nodded in response. She folded her arms and continued, "Why not recruit some innocent looking ones?"

Innocent types huh? This could be interesting. I got up from my seat and headed for the exit with my hands in my pants' pockets. "I'll think about it," was all I said before I left the Devil's Nest.

I have already wandered through the dark alleys of Dublith for quite awhile now. Nothing interesting has caught my eye so far. Speak of the devil. A bright shade of yellow caught my eye. No one in the Dublith I've seen so far wears anything yellow or at least something that bright. What I saw on the floor was a kid that seemed to have passed out. He had long pitch black hair that was tied back into a ponytail. He wore a yellow blazer and baggy white pants. He was covered in dirt, head to toe. Judging by how unique his clothes looked, he must be a foreigner. He started to mumble about something under his shallow breath. "Food..." he moaned clearly enough for me to make out. I bent down to get a closer look at the kid. For some apparent reason, I felt a very light tug on my left pants' pocket.

What I saw in the corner of my eye was the same kid on the floor. This one wore a loose, white and collared shirt which was left unbuttoned and a black trench coat. His eyes were very much like my own, magenta slits. His right hand was the one in my pocket. A pickpocket I suppose. I'm sure glad that I didn't bring my wallet along. I quickly shielded my left hand and swung it at the look-alike in black. I caught a glimpse of blue alchemy sparks along with a flash of white. Not a single step was heard or even the sound of flesh tearing. What I heard was the sound of metal clashing against each other. When I turned my head around to get a better view of the kid, I saw that my hand was wrapped around his left arm, not making a single scratch. "Geez, I'm just an amateur?" he mumbled to himself. As he struggled against my strength, I recalled what Martel had told me and Dolcetto.

I slowly withdrew my hand and crossed my arms, still keeping my shield on. The boy in black quickly went over to his look-alike's side, crouching down. "You still hungry Ling?" the one in black asked, I assume, Ling. "Even though that was an act, I really am damn hungry Greeling," Ling confirmed.

Are these two twins? Well, twins can still act differently from each other. The yellow twin slowly got back up on his feet, using the black twin as a support. I scanned the two for anything odd. Ling, unlike his twin, had his eyes squinted close and his fringe was to the right but the one in black had his to the left.

I sighed and told them, "You know kids, it isn't polite to try pick pocketing the person who's trying to help you." I could see a faint flush of red on Greeling's face. He crossed his arms and looked to the side, probably thinking the dark alley s more interesting than my face. "Urusai ossan," the black twin spat. I ignored whatever insult he might've thrown at me and let my hands drift to find his hands to be interesting. They were pure white in colour and they were glittering. My hands were still shielded but I didn't want a pair of brats giving me away, so I unshielded my arms.

"Where are your parents?" I demanded them to answer. "Why would we tell you old man?" the one in black retaliated. Don't... hurt... the kid... Suddenly, Ling's face lit up. He started speaking in a different language to his twin. Judging by his face and tone of voice, he was pleading Greeling for something. He sounded like he opposed everything the yellow begged for. Then the unexpected happened. Ling's eyes started to well up with tears and he grabbed Greeling by the shoulders. "Stop acting like we don't need help Greeling! We have no more family, we're lost, we have no money and we're foreigners! Do you think that we know anything about this country?! Stop being so stubborn and ask for help, damn it!" Ling yelled at his twin while tightening his grip.

I had to admit, this left me stunned. I turned around to head back to the Devil's Nest until Greeling called out for me and I stopped in my tracks. "I can give you a job along with the necessary for your daily life. You better follow me if you want to live in Dublith," I offered. I turned to see their expressions but they weren't there anymore. Instead, they were gripping my feet like children. Well, they are children. All I heard was them saying 'arigato', whatever that meant, repeatedly.

They got back on their feet and walked by my sides. In confirmation, I asked them, "What are your names?" "My name is Ling!" the yellow one answered cheerfully. "Greeling," the other one answered with much lesser enthusiasm. I just realised something funny. I chuckled softly and introduced myself, "The name's Greed" "Oh great. Your name plus Ling's name equals my name," Greeling spat in annoyance. "Haha! Lighten up. At least we'll fill your brother up," I chimed. He just kept walking by my right, cross-armed as he huffed. "We're both eight-years-old sir," Ling confirmed. Wow, formalities from a kid. Wait, they look too mature to be eight! Then again, I look waytoo young for my age.

We managed to get to the Devil's Nest by sunset. I have to admit, what the hell will happen to these if they see a bunch of weird people? Once I opened the door, all eyes turned to me. "Greed, where have you been?!" I was 'greeted' by an angry Martel. Ugh, scary snake lady. I managed to spot Dolcetto following her from behind. "Hey, you're that guy that I managed to steal his katana and wallet from," Greeling deadpanned. This kid nearly had me fooled so this was no surprise. "Wait, what did you do to my sword?" Dolcetto demanded them to answer. I swear, this dog seriously sleeps with his sword. Ling took out the katana from inside his blazer and held it out to Dolcetto. "Sorry. I needed a weapon but I managed to get one that suits me better, "he said with a carefree smile on his face.

I had to admit that I thought that Ling wasn't the type to give but just be greedy. Dolcetto took the sword by its hilt and started scanning it for any flaws. "Greedo-san, you thought that it was a good idea?" Martel asked. "Heh, why not? I'm not Charity but they're homeless foreigners," I replied sheepishly. Martel squatted in front of the twins and held out her right hand. "My name is Martel. Welcome to the Devil's Nest," she greeted.

Ling was the first to shake Martel's hand with his right and introduce himself. Greeling shook her hand with his left and introduced himself as well. I see. Ling is right-handed while Greeling is left-handed. "I guess you two need a room," she inquired. "We only have one left, "Dolcetto confirmed.

"We don't mind sharing. As long as it has a bed, we're okay with it," Ling explained. Don't... think... the wrong... way... Damn it, they're just kids. Anyway, that's been taken care of. I should probably explain the basic rules in here to them. "Alright kiddie, I'll speak to you in your room," I told them as I walked to the empty room.
"He sounds like a dad..." I heard Ling mumble.

"IT HAS A BED!" the twins exclaimed as they saw the inside of the room. The first thing they did was jump onto the bed. They landed on their backs and laughed together. Well, they were homeless so I don't see why they shouldn't be so excited by the sight of a bed. I sat on the bedside and watched them laugh together. Do not grin or they'll think that you're pedophile. "Anyway, you two feel like explaining why you're homeless?" I asked them politely. They sat up on the bad cross-legged and took a glance at each other, then looking back at me. They were serious now.

We were once princes of a clan in Xing, the Yao clan. We were a successful clan until the Chang clan attacked. They killed everyone and destroyed everything. Being the few who survived the attack, we fled to Amestris. Crossing the desert was already a pain with the lack of food and water. We tried getting jobs but we were too young. We tried a getting a place to stay but no one pitied us at all. Whether we're princes or not doesn't matter to Mei Chang. We'll die if we ever set foot in Xing again.
We decided to try learning self-defence and thievery skills first for our own survival. I'm an Alkehesterist and Ling is an expert in martial arts. We wanted to do our best to develop our own unique skills as well.
Greeling has developed the ability to use the carbon in his body to make a layer of diamond around certain parts of his body. For me, he helped me forge a Xingese-styled sword out of some random meteor we found.

I blinked at their story. What kind of life is this? Shouldn't a prince be living in riches? "We're also able to read the flow of the earth, known as qi," Ling pointed out. "Care to explain why there are thousands of souls in you?" Greeling continued. I was wide-eyed and speechless. What brilliant kids. They'll probably figure out the rest so I might as well just tell them everything now. I sighed and explained, "Just so you know, I don't lie. You should know that I'm the boss here so you should listen to everything I tell you."

I explained to them all about myself and the Devil's Nest crew, all in the detail. They just blinked in amazement. Suddenly, they disappeared from thin air and had their respective weapons pointed at the back of my neck. "You try anything funny-" "-and we won't hesitate to leave immediately," Ling and Greeling warned me respectively. I just applauded for their incredible speed. "Things are going to get pretty lively," I plainly said. They lowered their weapons. I turned to look at them and rested my chin on my left hand. "Now, shall I explain to you my rules?"

Seri: And behold the awesome trio of-

Other 3: Sheer stupidity.

Seri: I wasn't done...

Greeling: I didn't think that you'd say that too Ling.

Greed: He's got a similar mindset to yours kid.

Ling: *stomach rumbles* Um...

Seri and Greeling: RUN! *runs off*

Greed: *notices his wallet missing* Huh?!

Ling: *busy buying food with Greed's money*

Greed: HEY!