A/N: Hey! Chapter 3 is up and, as you can see, it is visibly shorted. The explanation is that I have many things that I want to happen and if I had to continue, it'd be a huge chapter. And since I couldn't find a better place to end it... eh, here it is. It's not that full of events, but they are the basic, logic stuff that would happen in a foreign country to anyone who's done what Ed and Al did. It's not the kind of trouble they've been in when in Amestris, but this is life, right?

Either way, I hope you like it. Also, I appreciate all the reviews I've got so far, as well as the follows and favorites. I love you and thank you!

:xx- CHAPTER III –xx:

[ guilty until ]

It was now clear that the incident from the square, at the fair, was not a coincidence. It was something that the citizens of Karma were rather aware of, especially since streets seemed to be flooded by the people in white uniform – the so called Intern Corpse. Ed had dared to poke his head out of the café, only to see the sight of the Intern officers interrogating people from the streets about different people, shown in photographs. Slowly, he pulled back inside and frowned, glancing silently at a nonchalant Alma.

"For how long has this been going on?" Ed asked and took a seat at one of the tables. His face softened up slightly at the sight of his muffin, decorated with colorful sprinkles in the shape of a smiling face.

"Eh," Alma huffed dryly, "Not that long, I'd give it a month."

"A month?" Al said worriedly, "Why did it even start?"

"What do you think?" she replied with a huff, leaning in her chair and frowning at Ed who had stuffed the whole muffin in his mouth, "It's just another form of protest against the monarchy, this time taken to the extremes."

"Buw ish now fae!"

All the three people in the room – Al, Alma and Charlotte, glanced at Ed. He blinked and struggled to swallow the muffin and empty his mouth. He cleared his throat and pumped his fist against his chest, coughing. "I said it's not fair," he said soberly, "If it's a form of protest, not only that it shouldn't degenerate to violence, but it definitely shouldn't be violence poured down on innocent people."

Alma sighed silently, "In all your naivety, you're right, kid... Neither the Intern Corpse, nor the policemen responsible for visa should fall for the pitfalls of the manifestation of some angry people."

Al finished his own cupcake and licked his lips, a pleased expression on his face. "That was really good!" he said with honesty and Charlotte flashed a little smile. As she bent forward towards the tray and the empty cup, Al sat up quickly, shaking his hands above them, "No, no. Leave me do it."

She blinked once and shook her head frantically.

Al felt the need to defend himself, "…I mean, your aunt saved us." He knitted his eyebrows slowly and dodged her hazel eyes, which fixed him intently, sending off a powerful vibe. It was a strange thing and unusual. By the time he brought his eyes back on her, she already took the tray and started walking off.

Several people stormed into the café, Alma quickly standing up with a frown. Ed shot up from his seat and carefully took a few steps backwards until he stopped in the back, next to Al. There were three men, all of them dressed in the white uniforms. The one who stood in the front was decorated with silver stars and he started gazing around, much to Alma's anger. He was extremely pale and he had sky blue eyes and thin, short dark brown hair.

"The Intern Corpse…?" Ed breathed out, slightly frustrated.

"What do you want, Lichbein?" Alma hissed lowly, blocking his way when he attempted to move in. She crossed her legs, raised a brow and slammed her fist against the counter. At the same time, Ed and Al quickly looked at each other. It was enough to transfer the same message: they've heard that name before.

Lichbein raised his arm and pointed out a finger towards the Elrics – Ed's shoulder and upper arm were bandaged and Al had a bandage around his head, hand and a little cut on his cheek. "Them," his voice was deep and resonant, "I want them to come over and explain their presence in the square when the rebel attack occurred."

"The hell," Ed huffed and looked with accusation at Alma, "I thought you said you've explained – "

She kicked a chair, knocking it over on the ground with a thud and Ed took a few careful backsteps, while Lichbein stared unimpressed at the woman. "You got it wrong, I never said that," she said through her teeth, but it only made Ed's boil in his veins. Obviously, it was obvious, she couldn't have been trusted. But he decided to turn and face Lichbein, who stared dully at them.

"Who are you?" Ed inquired flatly.

The other's reply came quickly, "My name is Reynard Lichbein. I'm the Captain of Karma City's Intern Corpse." Ed was left a bit puzzled, since Lichbein was professional enough to formally introduce himself. That person seemed, at the very least, a rather sober person, unable to laugh. Most probably, he was the kind of person to take a joke seriously.

"I see," Ed grumbled, "I'm Edward Elric and this is my brother, Alphonse."

Lichbein raised his brows and that expression gave him a sinister air. "Elric? I've heard of you two," he held out a hand towards Ed, "You must be the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Was," Ed retorted quickly, "I was the Fullmetal Alchemist, now an honorary military member. Retired, but honorary."

"Aren't you a bit too young for retirement?"

Ed stopped himself from answering when he noticed Alma's frustration. She wasn't shy in expressing it, "It's not the time for your obsessive military talk that you have a reputation over."

"I agree," Lichbein said, in a rather submissive tone, "We shall get to our duties. Elric brothers, I request that you come with us. In first instance, if you refuse, we'll have to ask you again. If you refuse again, I might have to arrest you."

Ed was about to protest when Alma raised a palm. "You can't do that," she hissed, "These boys are not Aerugo's citizens. And they don't have a visa either. The only place

you can them to is the Immigrant Section."

Lichbein narrowed his eyes, but quickly returned to his dull and dead-serious face, "It is not illegal immigration that we are calling them over for. It's for the conflict. But you're right, whatever it is, they are not our citizens. And therefore, it is not something that the Intern Corpse can deal with. Allow me to rephrase."

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, the two other men behind him stepping forward. "Edward and Alphonse Elric, you are arrested due to involvement into an intern conflict. You are accused of spying, conspiracy and border crossing. You are found guilty until you are proven to be otherwise."

Ed held out his arms, while Al simply froze. For a moment he was about to try and snatch himself away when he saw Charlotte gingerly shake her head. He just had to give in and tap Ed's ankle with his foot.

"Brother, let's just stay still… we might get in more trouble. We didn't do anything," he suggested helplessly.

"I know that, Al!" Ed huffed and gave the one who handcuffed him an offensive look, "But shouldn't we be not guilty until proven otherwise?"

"It's the judiciary system in our country," Lichbein said dryly and he glanced at Alma, who was now behind the counter and was apparently cleaning up the spice shelf.

"Where are you taking us?" Al asked.

"Since it is not my responsibility, we will pass you to the Defense Corpse, since it is its duty to deal with extern matters, among others," said Lichbein.

Ed and Al exchanged looks – Al was worried and, through the anger from Ed's eyes, there could also be seen some concern. 'Defense' Corpse sounded a lot more mighty than 'Intern'. But, putting names aside, they've just been arrested.

When they thought that getting in trouble because of a visa could be the worse that could happen, this happened. Ed didn't let his eyes off of Lichbein's figure, who decided to remain behind, seated at the counter, as he and Al were being escorted out.

The whole situation was fishy.

A/N: This was it! Next chapter won't be Ed and Al behind bars, don't worry... I'll introduce the badass institution which pretty much equals the military- the Defense Corpse. And starting with Chapter 5, the supernatural and fantastic stuff will start.

Don't forget to review! ^_^