AN: Before you come after me for not updating Evergreen Glade, I have a perfectly good excuse: I was working on this chapter instead. Heh ...anyway, I'll keep posting new chapters of whichever happens to strike my interest to write in the most, and if you happen to have the adventure of stumbling across this story, please leave a review if you liked it, want to see more, or just pointing out any errors you find! (Just saying ...I'm not forcing you ...just asking! Also, I'm sorry it's shorter ...Ha! Ed pun ...the next should be longer ... \( ' - ')/)

Disclaimer: I only wish I'd come up with the great idea for Fullmetal ...

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Alphonse looked like a walking mummy. Edward didn't just think that to make fun of him, it was true. To save himself from burning alive in his black clothes on the short trek across the desert, he'd changed clothes into a beige outfit, wrapping up in a thick beige cloak to protect both skin and automail from the ultraviolet glare of sunshine. Edward merely threw a white bed sheet over his head and shoulders, that he'd conveniently come across at their last hotel. As long as his automail didn't scorch his skin, he was fine. Alphonse, however, while he was aching to complain about whatever popped into his mind, the sun was too hot, there was sand in his shoes, they were running low on water, he was hungry, and he could swear he was seeing spots that shouldn't be there, but he kept quiet. Mostly because Edward was talking.

"There's supposed to be someone expecting us - what was his name? No, wait, her, it was a her - what was her name? Lily? Daisy? It was some kind of flower - hold on, I've got it! Rosie, that was her name. We're supposed to meet a Rosie in town, she's supposed to be waiting by the first fountain we see coming from the east this way. Or was it the northeast? I wasn't exactly listening to that Mustang jerk when he was prattling all the info off. Maybe it was southeast? Well, wherever it is, I'm sure we'll find it. She said that the alchemist who showed up would recognize her by the carnation on her dress. Or was it an orchid?" Alphonse groaned tiredly, completely drained from the heat and humidity.

"How much farther, Ed?" He whined hoarsely. "I'm hot and tired and we've been walking way longer than an hour by now, shouldn't we already be there?" Edward pulled out his silver watch, careful to hold it in the shade of his hood so it wouldn't start overheating.

"Huh, you're right, we must have missed it by a mile! Darn it, and I thought that I'd gotten the right directions from that guy by the station platform. Let's backtrack and start curving south west, then there won't be any way for us to pass it by again." Alphonse dropped to his knees, pulling out as much of a pleading expression as he could manage through the trails of sweat running down his face.

"I want to take a break. Please, Ed?" Edward scratched at his head, feeling a bit guilty for ignoring his little brother. He wasn't used to such long and tiring trips, especially with as much automail as he had to weigh him down, and the heat was probably affecting him more around all his ports.

"Sure, I suppose, I mean there wasn't a set time we had to be there," he allowed. Settling into the hot sand, he produced a canteen from somewhere in his cloak that housed a hidden pocket and offered it to Alphonse as an apology. "You ran out of water, didn't you? I've got an extra, you can have the rest of mine." Alphonse took it gratefully. He'd been hoping for Edward to offer him some. Edward pulled out a map and studied it carefully, tracing their course and where they'd veered.

"Here - we're actually only a few miles from the edge of the northwest edge of the city. We kind of went in a cresent shape and missed it by five miles. If we backtrack in a south east direction starting from the top of that dune, we should make it there in a half hour if we hurry." Alphonse nodded. He was feeling revived from the water already and passed the empty canister back to his brother. As long as they could get out of the glaring sun soon, he could manage another thirty or so minutes in it. Edward tucked it back into his cloak and stood, offering his hand to Alphonse. "Let's go." Alphonse followed readily, anxious to be out of direct sunlight.

"Brother," he started ten dreary minutes later, "I know you don't like when I help you with your work, but why do you suppose the Colonel keeps allowing me to come along? Sure, I can defend myself with alchemy, but aren't civilians prohibited from becoming involved in military affairs?" Edward shrugged carelessly, slinging their suitcases over his shoulder.

"Who knows why that jerk does anything," he declared boisterously. "Besides, I'd find a way to smuggle you along even if you weren't allowed to go. It'd drive you crazy staying behind in the barracks with nothing to do but pick up strays and read. It's fine, Al, but if it bothers you that much, I'll ask about when we get back, okay?"

"Okay."

Silence fell again, and this time Alphonse let it. It took too much effort to keep a conversation going in the striking humidity. Before too long, thirty minutes on the nose from when they'd started, Liore's city gates came into view, and with renewed incentive and enthusiasm, the boys let out whoops of excitement and darted forward, relishing in the shade the buildings provided. After catching their breath, Edward guided them to where he'd been told the fountain was, and pointed out a beautiful dark skinned woman with long, rose colored hair, a pale red rose pinned to her plain dress.

"Rosie, right? Edward Elric, state alchemist," Edward introduced, flashing his pocketwatch and holding out his hand. The woman took it, a cute smile blooming on her lips.

"Rose, actually. This is a surprise, when they said they'd send an alchemist, I was under the impression that you'd be ...well, older."

"Excuse me, Miss Rose," Alphonse interjected. "Brother may be young, but he's a very good alchemist. As a matter of fact, I'm an alchemist, too. Oh, I'm sorry! My name is Alphonse Elric, nice to meet you!" Rose chuckled.

"I believe you. The military wouldn't send anybody incompetent, I'd hope. Come with me, I'll show you around town and give you the details while we walk." Edward pulled the wrinkled mission outline free and waved it for emphasis. Alphonse sighed. Did he have to keep pulling it out every time?

"We heard there's been a priest who's been acting oddly lately. Why is that?"

"You know, I never liked that man. Cornello started what he calls a church here - I've visited there once out of curiosity, and I can tell you that that's no church. It's a cult. He's gathered a large following, almost all of Liore, and without anyone to expose him, they'll keep doing whatever he says. I'd expose him myself, but he's dangerous. Once, when there was some doubt publicly cast on his intentions, the critic turned up dead the next day." Rose clenched her fists, her smile dripping down to a frown. "It was my boyfriend. He almost had enough to buy a wedding ring next month. I was going to stop him, tell him it was too dangerous, but I was too late."

"I'm sorry," Edward consoled softly. "So this Cornello - he has goons? I can't think someone as popular as him would risk getting his hands dirty. He's got an image to maintain." Rose nodded, slowly relaxing.

"Yes. Many of our people have become avid followers, and have joined what we know as the Angels. They're anything but, I know they've just become so involved in his false religion that they'll do anything and everything Cornello tells them to do. I will warn you though, Cornello is a big deal around here, so don't badmouth or question him in public. You'll be thrown in jail before you can bat an eye. I was sure I'd informed the military that I needed someone for undercover work as well, so I'm not sure that Cornello won't be suspicious of you boys with how young you are." Edward grinned and jabbed a thumb at his chest.

"Don't worry about it, I can do more undercover work than any other state alchemist! What kind of undercover mission is it?" While Alphonse's heart sank, (they'd never actually done undercover work before, what was brother thinking?!), Rose guided them casually to a more secluded spot and lowered her voice.

"I need you to infiltrate that cult of Cornello's."

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AN: Yes, I am a suspense builder - I give you all the boring details first so the action seems more entertaining. Heh. Heh heh. Anyway, have a second chapter of this to make the number rise to two whole chapters, and hopefully soon I can get Evergreen's next chapter to you before long. Please feel free to drop a review if you liked, and as always, I don't catch everything, so if you spot errors, please let me know so I may fix them! \( ' - ' )/