Note; If you recognize any chiz, I don't own it. )':

Also want to mention that this chapter jumps around a bit, but you were warned that I wasn't sticking to the storyline entirely, right? ;D

Oh... By the way... NOT EDITED! ... Just thought I'd say that now... :D

Chapter 2; Adventures

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"Xya..."

"Well? What about now?"

"Winry, shut her up!"

"Are we there yet~?"

"Shut up! No one asked you!"

"Are we-"

"NO, WE'RE NOT THERE YET. NOW SHUT UP!"

Alphonse stifled a chuckle and innocently peeked at Edward, "Hey, Ed?"

"What?" Edward cast him an annoyed stare.

The suit of armor let out a squeak of a giggle, "Are we there yet?"

"ARG!" Edward scruffed his hair up aggressively.

I giggled and sat back in my seat while Winry shuffled in her position beside me and continued to mutter something about how she was sitting with a bunch of children. Ling sat behind us with his companions and interjected when he felt his opinions were needed. Lan Fan and Fu? Well, they were quiet unless Ling was insulted by Edward. Alphonse just continued to poke at his now extremely agitated brother when the poor elder Elric was being ganged up on.

I leaned back against my seat and smiled, "Chill out Ed, it's all in good fun."

"Yeah, you say that because no one's bugging you," Edward muttered and crossed his arms in a huff, "And to answer your question, we'll be another few hours before we get to Central."

"So we get to sit here and pick at you even more? Yes!" I grinned and thrust my fist into the air with excitement.

Ling folded his arms and rested them against the back of mine and Winry's bench seat, "Agreed. You are quiet humorous."

"Who asked you?!" Edward glared at Ling then proceeded to continue his crossed-arm huff.

Ling grinned, "I didn't think I needed an invitation to join in the harassment."

Edward muttered something to himself and proceeded to look out the window with a grumpy stare.

Winry watched him and shook her head with a sigh, "Oh, Ed..."

To save poor Edward the grief for the rest of the train ride to Central (and our well-being due to his unpredictable and excessively violent temper) I turned my full attention to Ling and his two attendants.

"You know," Ling suddenly spoke, "It's refreshing to meet someone like you, Xya."

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly, "What do you mean by that?"

A goofy grin crossed his face, "You're so nice and such a good host! I wish there were more girls like you back home in Xing! Hey, I know! Why not come with me when I leave for home after finish my goal?"

"Uh..." I blinked at his sudden offer, "Thank you for the offer, but-"

"But what?" Suddenly Ling was all up in my personal space, and I felt surprisingly thankful for the bench being a decent barricade between us both, "You don't have a lover that you haven't told me about, have you?"

"No, but-"

"Then come with me!"

The corners of my mouth twitched downwards, "I can't. One day I may be able to go visit, but for now, I can't. Please understand that."

Ling's expression turned serious for the briefest moment before a kind smile grace his face, "Of course."

"What sort of duties do you have here?" Lan Fan inquired as she stared at me.

I smiled small, "Lets just say I have a lot on my plate."

Winry looked at me and gave a knowing smile before turning her attention back to the still fuming alchemist. It would seem Alphonse decided to continue with his pestering when Ling and I pulled back into our own conversation that lasted until our arrival in Central.

"Ahh~" I smiled and stretched my arms above my head, "This is much better then sitting on a train."

Edward chuckled and began walking, "Yeah, I agree."

Winry pulled up beside me and matched paces while the envoy from the East walked closer towards Ed and his brother.

"What sort of mission are they on?" Winry whispered, her eyes forward although her attention was on me.

I looked at her, "He never said anything about it in front of you?" When she shook her head and looked forward and my eyes landed on Ling's back, "He wants to become emperor and along with that, he wants immortality."

Winry blinked, "Well, at least he knows what he wants?"

"Yup," I giggled, "You know, between us girls..." I looked at her and smiled, "I think he'll do it."

Our group walked out of the train station and decided to split up. Winry said she wanted to go visit the Hughes family while Ed and Al went to go visit their commanding officer. Ling, who had been suspiciously quiet the entire time, began to wander off by himself during the whole meet-up planning while Lan Fan and Fu disappeared. Out of curiosity and strong desire not to stick my nose in the others' business, I followed silently until he turned around and smiled at me.

"How nice of you to join me!" He chirped happily, "Shall we explore Central?"

I shrugged and offered a smile, "Sure. It's been a while since I've been here, but so far it looks like the same ol' boring place."

We walked in silence for a few minutes as we passed by many people going about their daily lives. Many passerbyers eyed us curiously-more pointedly towards Ling and his flashy attire.

"How long has it been since you've been here?"

I gave it a little thought before answering, "Not sure. A few years, for sure. Probably around five or six."

"Wow, that's a long time," Ling looked at me before suddenly stopping.

I stopped and looked back at him, "Something wrong?"

"So hungry..." Drop. "Need... Food..."

I quickly rushed to him and kneeled down beside him, "Ling! Get up, people are starting to stare!"

The more I urged him to stand, the more he complained how hungry he was. I started to panic a little until I heard an alarmed yell coming close to us. When I looked up, two guards were standing above the collapsed Xingese man and I with obvious looks of concern plastered on their faces.

"Ma'am, is everything alright?" One asked politely.

I frowned, "It's my friend-"

"Wait," The other interjected, "Is he from around here?"

"No, he's from Xing."

"Ngh..." Was Ling's only reply to all this talk.

"Can we see your passport, please?"

Suddenly Ling tensed up, "I, uh..."

When it was discovered that Ling carried no such thing, he was immediately hauled up in a very harsh manner by one of the guards, "Make way, make way! Illegal immigrant coming through!"

"You're coming too, young lady!" The other reached for me and grasped my upper arm, much more gently then his partner had handled Ling.

"H-hey!" I objected, "I'm an Amestrian! Why are you arresting me?"

"You were with this guy, so you're coming too."

I continued to protest and eventually when we arrive at our destination, I was released after they finally decided to check my credentials and find out that I was in fact not lying and was from the country. However, much to my dismay, I was asked to sit in a holding room to wait for whoever would be around to release me. After what seemed like hours, an officer Grant came in and apologized for my detainment and said I was free to go.

"Can I please go see my friend?" I looked up at the man and frowned.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry Miss, but I'm afraid I can't allow it."

He motioned for me to follow him when a loud commotion coming from a corridor down the hall from behind us caught our attention. Officer Grant told me to stay put and got into a defensive position in front of me as several injured bodies flew into sight. Instinct took over and I felt myself tense and prepare myself to run when a giant suit of armor with a skull mask and long white hair down its back came flying around the corner brandishing a very large chopping blade.

"Sir, gunshots don't work on him!" A man gripping his bleeding shoulder tightly called out from the hall.

"What the hell?!" Officer grant muttered to himself before looking back at me, "Miss, get out of here!"

I didn't need to be told twice as I wheeled around and took off down the hall towards the holding cells. Be damned if I whimped out and left poor Ling here by himself. I know for a fact that two certain bodyguards would probably be very upset with me in the event of their prince being harmed, or worse, being chopped to pieces by a crazed man in a suit of armor.

Unfortunately for me, I was unknowingly being followed by said crazed lunatic.

"Ling!" I rushed down the hall passing cell after cell until I found the Xingese prince, "Ling, we have to get out of here. Did you see where the guard who has the keys went?"

He noticed how frantic I appeared and frowned, "He went to go see what the commotion was."

"Damn it," I muttered angrily.

As luck would have it, the man appeared not even ten feet away from me and an amused look shimmered in its eyes.

"Well aren't you lovely," A male voice spoke out, "If I weren't on a mission, I'd definitely take pleasure in chopping you up. But alas, I must leave."

"Wait!" Ling gripped the bars and looked out as best he could towards the man, "Let me out!"

The eyes narrowed, "I'm in a bit of a hurry here. Who are you anyways?"

"An illegal immigrant from Xing," Ling stated with a little more urgency after hearing several officers yells approaching fast, "Please, if you let me out, I can help you!"

I frowned, "You obviously don't have time to stand here making decisions mister, so just help him out, will ya?!"

The stranger stayed still for a moment before giving a ragged sigh and lifting his blade up, soon bringing it down quickly and hard enough to smash the lock. He gave a short 'follow me' and soon took off down the hall. Ling shoved the cell door open and grabbed my hand pulling me along behind him as we followed the man in armor. Eventually we landed in front of a cell with a brunette woman inside who also joined our party after exchanging some frightened words with the man.

"Come on men, I think they went this way!"

"Come on kids, it's time to leave!" The armor called, and soon we were running through the halls like escaped fugitives.

Well, two of us were, at least.

x-x-x

"Why are you making a fire, Ling?" I walked over to him and stood off to his side, "Those officers are going to find us if you keep that lit for too long."

Ling looked up at me and smiled, "Just wait and see."

Barry the Chopper, who formally introduced himself upon arrival at this secret location, shoved his upper half out the window to holler at Ling, "Put that damn thing out before all of the Central guard is on our asses!"

I looked back at Barry as he spoke but no sooner did I turn around to come face-to-face with Lan Fan and Fu.

"Wow, you guys were fast," Ling complimented before standing up, "I think it's time to go."

"Are we going to meet up with Ed and Al finally?" I stepped forward, "They didn't seem to happy that we took off with Barry when we ran into them in the alley."

Ling grinned, "Well then, lets not keep them waiting!"

I watched as Lan Fan and Fu jumped up to the top of the building in preparation to jump down the other side when Ling looked at me and paused for a moment before stepping closer.

I felt my cheeks heat up, "What do you think you're doing?"

He quickly turned around and squatted down slightly, "Hop on. This will be quicker."

I blushed furiously and quickly skimmed through the quickly diminishing options I had before begrudgingly closing the distance between us and climbing onto his back. To my surprise, Ling leaped off the ground and carried me as if I weighed absolutely nothing at all, effortlessly keeping up with Lan Fan and Fu as they lead us to where everyone was located. During the whole excursion, I gripped his shirt tightly in fear that I might get dropped but Ling's hold on me always tightened in a reassuring manner.

When we arrived, Ling didn't set me down on the roof but instead climbed through the window where we suspected Ed, Al and Winry to be.

"Ah~ Here we are," Ling smiled and sat cross legged on the bed.

Lan Fan leaped in through the window and looked around as well, "Are the others gone?"

"There's a note on the table," I walked over and pick it up quickly scanning it over, "Ed said that they'll be back in a couple days."

A light bulb seemed to go off as Ling suddenly jumped up excitedly, "I'm starved! Lets call room service!"

Hello to the maybe two readers who are reading this! :D

Sorry if this seems a little slow. Once I get passed the whole Wrath and Gluttony bullshit and get to the part when they meet up with Father, things will finally get to where they need to be. :)

I also hope that this story isn't similar to any others that any of you may have read, because honestly I never intended that. I just felt like I needed to say that right now for my piece of mind. ^^

Comments would be very much appriciated and loved! I would absolutely love to hear your guys' opinions! :)