Chapter Three

Edward moved quickly, rolling out of the way as his attacker's heel came down hard. Grabbing the edge of the rug, he pulled up in hopes of throwing her off. Getting back on her feet, she threw a knife at him and he ducked just in time for it to miss his face. Straightening up, he spit his toothbrush out and wiped his face.

"Fine, you wanna play." He brought his fists up, now ready to fight. Launching into the air, she extended her foot again. Taking a step back, he dodged her and grabbed onto her ankle swinging her around, slamming her into what was left of the bed. She made contact with the metal frame and angrily dug her knife into the mattress. "Aw come on, I still need a place to sleep tonight." She ignored his whining and pounced once more, this time kicking him in the face. Glaring back at her, he picked up one of the bed posts that had come loose. It actually made a good size weapon.

"You think having a weapon will make any difference?" She charged at him once again. It had been a while since he'd fought against someone so determined.

"Sheesh, what did I ever do to you?" He rammed her with the blunt side and brought it around, sending her through the window. Tiredly, he moved to see if she was okay. Seeing that she landed with ease didn't really surprise him much. She was obviously from Xing, if her appearance hadn't given that away, her fighting style did. Turning back, she glared up at him. "Had enough?" Egging her on wasn't such a good idea as she pulled something out and tossed it up through the broken window. He caught sight of what it was as it past him and landed in the room. Jumping quickly, he was mid air when the explosion lit up the room. Ed landed hard on his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs. As he coughed, the metal bed post hit him on the head. "Aw, dammit." He turned over and sat up to see his hotel room engulfed in flames. "Lady, what is your problem! Are you trying to kill me?" Standing back up, he couldn't help but wonder if all female warriors from Xing liked blowing things up when they were loosing a fight. She didn't bother answering as she came at him again. Shaking his head, he didn't even bother turning to her as he blocked with his make shift weapon. His amber glare turned to her as her blade scraped across the pole. Pivoting some, he dropped down again and kicked her away from him. This time she wasn't able to right herself in time as she landed on several wooden crates. Edward walked over and brought his metal foot against her neck. "Fights over," he declared. She brought her arm up swiftly and tried to stab his leg only to find that her blade was useless.

"What is this?" Struggling against his foot, he didn't let up even though he wasn't putting any weight on her throat.

"Do you give up?" She wouldn't answer and he just rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look, I learned a long time ago not to take death threats too easy, so just give up." There was a sudden blur of movement out of the corner of his eye but Ed ignored it, thinking it was just someone from the hotel.

"Edward, that's enough!" Before he could turn to see who it was, something solid made contact with the side of his face. There was enough force behind the kick to knock him off balance. Mae landed and sucked in a breath.

"Ow!" He gripped his face, turning his glare in her direction. "Mae? What the hell was that for!"

"You don't have to be so rough all the time, yah know," she shouted back at him.

"Rough? Rough!" He pointed at his attacker on the ground. "She's the one who attacked me first and blew my room up! Don't talk to me about being rough!"

"She attacked you because of me." Edward's angry expression dropped into a confused one.

"Huh? Why?" The Xingese warrior got up, still rubbing her throat.

"The young Miss said you were one of the best warriors of your country. I had to see if that was true." Ed placed a hand on his side and narrowed his gaze at her.

"And?"

"You're not bad," she admitted. He looked away, pridefully.

"I don't have to prove anything to you."

"This is getting us nowhere! We need to leave," Mae interrupted the two of them.

"What makes you think I'm going anywhere?" He started to walk away from her, realizing how tired he was and how he had no where to stay now because of the two of them. "Yah know every time I run into someone from Xing, it just complicates my life."

"Please Edward, we've been looking for you for so many days. I need your help." Mae hurried after him.

"I still don't see why I should help after you attacked me." Mae finally stopped and brought her gaze down.

"It's Alphonse." Ed halted abruptly and turned back. Even though her voice came out softly when she muttered Al's name, he had heard her.

"What happened?"

"He was taken away. I don't know where he is."

"What?" He spun his whole body around and walked over quickly. Grabbing her by the shoulders he gave her a light shake to get her to look him in the eye. "When did this happen?"

"In Xing about two weeks ago."

"Two weeks! And you don't know anything about who took him?" Mae sadly shook her head.

"I've tried everything but I just can't find him." Edward twisted his mouth to the side and he sucked in a breath, trying to think clearly. Glancing up, he noticed the owner of the hotel along with several other guests now standing out in the street. As much as he didn't normally bail on this kind of situation, there were more pressing matters at hand. And he couldn't just hand the repair bill off to the military like he used to.

"Alright, lets get going before anyone gets suspicious." He turned and headed down the road. Mae hurried after him.

"Where are you going though?"

"Where do you think, we're going to Xing to find Al."

"But the train station is the other direction, Edward!" He swallowed hard as he kept going in the wrong direction.

"You want to explain to the owner of the hotel why your servant blew up my room, then fine. But as far as I'm concerned we need to detour for now." Deciding she was just happy to have some help, Mae quietly followed him down the street.