A/N: Just so everyone's aware, I never liked the Ed/Winry pairing (or Al/Winry, for that matter), so regardless of my mainly keeping romance out of this story, this WILL NOT be a pairing in it. Take Winry as a younger sister to Ed and older sister to Al (even though she technically fills the 'big sister' role for Ed, too, personality-wise).

Note that Scar will mostly be referred to as Amal for the rest of the story.

New Engineer

About half an hour after the discussion in the cafeteria, Eden knocked on the door to Tseng's office, earning him a call of, "Enter!" Opening the door, the blond Turk stepped inside and saw the man alone while he worked on paperwork at his desk. He closed the door behind himself and moved over to the seat across from the desk to sit and wait for the Wutain to finish up.

It only took a minute for the older Turk to set down his pen and look up at Eden to ask, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," the blond answered.

"Balto informed me of what you told them last night, with some input from Rude," Tseng informed the younger Turk, making him blink in surprise. "Since it's come back to bite you, he felt it would be easier if he informed me so you wouldn't have to tell the whole story a second time within a day." Slowly, Eden nodded, so the black haired man said, "It answered how they fit in with you, and my concerns were actually assuaged by how you answered your brother in the interrogation room yesterday. I am glad to know we hold such a high place in your life. Of course, all of that brings us to the question of what we're going to do with them, since they're obviously people you don't want to leave out in the cold now that they're here."

Eden blinked again, then asked, "You had concerns about something to do with me?"

"You joined the Turks partly because you had nothing and no one to worry about outside us," the Wutain answered quietly. "To have your 'dead' brother right in front of you, it was feasible to think you'd try to leave the Turks in favor of him, but if you had..."

"I'd have been dead," the blond replied. "I know. That had nothing to do with my choosing the Turks over them, and I never really took that as a factor at all in whether or not I joined you, or even in whether or not I stayed. If I really wanted to, I could get below your wire and stay there, Tseng, so you'd have a damned hard time trying to capture and kill me if I actually wanted to leave. I don't. I'm a little surprised you all believe me so easily and so readily, though, because it's not like that—my situation—is an every-day occurrence."

Tseng looked amused by the comment as he replied, "There have been some little tells here and there, things you've said, the way you've said them, things you questioned, things you managed to 'discover', behaviors. We Turks have been noting them all and wondering where they were all coming from—Reno gave me a few of the best ones from when he worked with you. All things considered, as easy as it would be to assign the situation to 'estrangement', for us, that wouldn't answer our questions—but your explanation, even as far-fetched as it is, does. For the purposes of the executives, though, we're going to explain it with the estrangement option."

"Which is?" Eden asked with a raised brow.

"You became estranged from them in an incident stressful enough to warrant you leaving rather than trying to re-establish your relationships. They later realized they had been at fault and came to find you to repair the damage, hence their arrival here. We're saying they're from a tiny, so far nameless, village in the same island chain where Mideel and Banora are, but much further north along the chain. By that assumption, it's the same area you would have come from, and your combat skills become self-explanatory if most of them have such skills—which they do. Mei's arrival with them isn't as suspicious, either, because that region is one of the nearest to the western Wutain coast. That covers everything from before they arrived, like overheard discussions we had, and how they're being handled now, something we need because you passed out in front of several Infantrymen."

"I see..." the younger Turk blinked, then sighed. "It'll do. It's close enough to what happened, anyway. But my greater issue is what can I do with them now that they're here? Just...I really don't think they'll be happy living off my income, but people like Teacher just won't join a 'military' force, let alone one like Shinra, which does a lot of really nasty things."

"So you're saying they need to be active parts of society, but don't necessarily need far-reaching goals?" the black haired man asked.

"I guess so," Eden agreed with a small frown. "But they also don't know much, if anything, about the Planet, let alone Shinra or Midgar. I mean, have they said how long they've been here? Even if it's been a month, they obviously haven't found out much in that time."

Nodding, the Wutain said, "They haven't specified a time, but likely longer than a week, and some of the things your brother said indicate they haven't had the same degree of luck you did. Then again, the Midgar Slums aren't exactly...exemplary educational facilities. The girl called Mei Chang is eleven, so her only real option is to attend the Academy with the rest of our kids and choose a path later on. Because of that very fact, she can also act as the source of lessons for the others so it doesn't become nearly so obvious they don't know things they technically should. What kinds of skills do the others have?"

Pausing to assess the question, the blond said slowly, "Mei is an alchemist and martial artist, but she uses a style completely different from the rest of us in both, and in her homeland, she was a princess. Teacher calls herself a housewife, but she's a very powerful and skilled alchemist and martial artist—the last time I checked, she was stronger than me martially. Amal is—he's been everything from our equivalent to the Death God of the Battlefield to a warrior-priest to a terrorist to a freedom fighter. I'd say he's more like a freelance merc who knows alchemy in many styles. Al has combat and alchemy skills along the lines of mine, but slightly lower on the scale—at least, that's how I would estimate it now that he's back in a flesh and blood body, unless he's been doing a whole lot of real combat recently. If I hadn't been living the life I have for the last several months, I'd say he was the stronger martial artist. Winry is a non-combatant, but she's trained as an auto-mail mechanic and is one of the leading experts in her field despite her age, so she has some medical training and lots of engineering and mechanics training. That covers the 'civilians'."

Leaning back a bit in his seat, he said, "The rest were all in the Amestrian Military, ranked anywhere from Private First Class to...I think the last I heard of Mustang's rank, he was a Brigadier General. He'd be the highest-ranked of them, but there are three each from two different units, and of them, five are basically as highly-trained as Turks but operate under the rule and regulation of the Infantry. The three who are here are from Fort Briggs in the north, and had to live and fight in an environment as harsh or harsher than Icicle Inn and the Northern Crater, so that's why I rank them as Turk-level skills. Major Miles would be their leader of a sort, but I don't know that any of them have any particularly impressive skills.

"Fuery also doesn't have any particular skills in that sense, but he's still skilled enough to survive on the battlefield and command troops. His main function is in communications technology, though, and while our technology is behind yours in most aspects, I think he'd learn it fast, and I know he's happiest when he doesn't have to fight, just establish lines of communication. Hawkeye is a trained sniper and Mustang's right hand—woman. I wouldn't want to go against her if she's got a gun in her hand." He then paused and sighed as he said, "And Mustang is a State Alchemist who has an affinity for manipulating fire, but he's also a highly skilled tactician and strategist. His skills are top-notch, but...If he's got the new input from the Gate, he's probably a lot more versatile than he had been, but probably gets the same debilitation I do."

Tseng linked his hands on his crossed knees while his elbows were resting on the arms of his chair, tipping his head to the side as he assessed what he had just been told. After a pause, he asked, "Did you just tell me we've been sent another five alchemists and several foreign mercenaries, along with a doctor?"

Blinking, then blinking again, the blond teen gave a wry grin and said, "I guess so. Though Winry is honestly more of an engineer than a doctor."

"...Engineer."

Blinking again, Eden said, "I'll take her to Reeve so she can help him, and so she can teach Shalua the kind of prosthetics she wants to learn."

The Wutain chuckled and said, "That's a good start. We now have two with a place. You mentioned your teacher not wanting to join Shinra. If that is indeed the case, do you suppose she'd join Gaia's Refuge once she hears what they're all about?"

"...Look, Teacher is really unpredictable, honestly, so there's no real way for me to know which way she'll go, because she's surprised me more times than I can count, and there's no reason for her to be 'predictable' now. Though...I'd think her most likely option would be to just set her up with a nice home and shop where she can keep pretending to be a housewife. Well, of a sort, if she has no husband."

After pondering the phrasing for a moment, the older Turk nodded. "We'll refrain from taking any action with her status for the moment, then. The military personnel would have the potential of SOLDIER, the Turks, or Gaia's Refuge. Maybe they'll want to have people in all three if it's possible. We'll be able to discuss the issue with them once you've had a chance to talk with them—unless you disagree?"

"...I just wonder if any of them would want to join the Infantry initially to get a good feel for Shinra's military setup. I can't think of anything else they'd like to do off the top of my head, but maybe they'll have suggestions or offers. Hawkeye won't go for SOLDIER of her own accord, though, so it would be the Turks, Gaia's Refuge, or the Infantry for her. I'd favor the Turks being her choice. Well, unless Mustang wants her to be in SOLDIER with him. That's sort of a double-edged blade for her because she'll go where Mustang goes and won't leave his side unless he orders it and gives her a good reason to go, so even if she'd prefer the Turks, she wouldn't really voice that unless Mustang wanted her somewhere other than with him directly."

"Why do you say she wouldn't take SOLDIER of her own accord?"

"She believes in working towards her own skills, not artificially enhancing them—she's a lot like Balto that way."

"Very well. That leaves your brother. What do you think he would do? Follow you into the Turks? He seems the type."

"Follow me around like a puppy, more like. No, Al would probably be happiest as a student or with Gaia's Refuge, assuming he doesn't try to force-establish himself as my—er—sidekick again. And Tseng, I really don't want him to do that when all the things Gaia's Refuge is doing would really be where he would flourish. I don't think Shinra would appreciate him trying to attach himself to me that way, either."

"No, we wouldn't," Tseng agreed. "If he can't act independently of you or you of him, you both become liabilities. Also, if he can't make his decision right away, he could start by attending the Academy because you're a Shinra employee. For Mei, if she's willing, I'd have 'custody' of her to simplify her presence at the Academy."

"I think that would work. I think they'd both like that, too, because then they'd be able to stick together to have lessons. Winry might even want to attend some lessons, even if she's mainly working with Reeve. Is that allowed?"

"It is, with her employer's permission so he knows when her lessons are to excuse her during those times. I feel Reeve would give it."

"So do I."

"Good. Was there anything else, or is this sorted out enough to get started on talking with them to offer what we've discussed?"

After a moment of thought, Eden nodded and said, "I can start talking with them. For my purposes, I'd better get Winry over with, because she's going to slap me at the very least. I'd probably talk with Mei next, then the Briggs guys, then go back to my brother to let him know what we're offering him."

At the words, Tseng commented, "Which brings me to one last point both Rude and Balto commented on—your casual acceptance of violence directed at you. It honestly makes it sound like you've become accustomed to abuse."

"Uh..." Ed blinked, then blinked again—and burst out laughing. When he stopped, he gave the Wutain an amused grin and said, "With Teacher, she doesn't do it often, usually on the basis of what a parent would do when slapping a child's hand away from an electrical outlet—fear for my well-being—then hugs me and patches me up after. I've sure never thought of it as abuse, it's just that she has an explosive temper. With Winry—we grew up together, and she's really not that strong, hence her using a wrench. It's also her way of making me aware I did something stupid, so again, she doesn't do it often, and it's also like Teacher in that it's a caring thing, a reaction to worry. For both of them, it might happen about once a year, maybe twice. Or equivalent to that. You don't have to worry."

After eying him for a moment, the older man rose and agreed, "Very well. Let's head over to the rooms they're being kept in." Eden rose and followed him.

They went down the hall to where the Infantry guards were, where Tseng stopped by the door next to Al's on the same side of the hall. When he nodded at the guard, the man pushed the door open so the two Turks could step inside. The first thing the blond saw was the same table and chairs in the middle of the room, then a plain cot with sheets and a blanket in the back corner, then a still-drowsy, blond sixteen-year-old girl as she sat up to look at them.

For a few moments, she sat on the cot and gazed drowsily and uncomprehendingly at them—then her eyes widened as she realized who she was seeing and came fully awake. Her hair was paler blond than his and Al's and it was tied in a high ponytail with bangs and two locks to the sides of her face, and her eyes were blue. At the moment, she was dressed in her mechanic's clothes, the white pants held up by a belt while the top of the one-piece was tied around her waist and she wore a black and white crop top with a large zipper down the front.

"Ed!" she gasped, jumping up and running to him to hug him tightly. He let her, knowing what was coming—and sure enough, a minute later, she pulled back from him and slapped him as hard as she could (in the absence of having a wrench). He got a faint red mark on his cheek and it stung a bit, but wasn't more severe. "Don't scare us like that again! And you've been way too long without maintenance, too!" Then, as Tseng watched in bemusement, she grabbed Eden's arm, dragged him over to the table, pulled a chair away from it, and stripped the blond Turk of his pants so she could shove him in the chair and kneel in front of him to examine his metal leg closely.

"You didn't tell me she'd practically force you to strip, Eden," Tseng commented dryly to the furiously blushing sixteen-year-old boy.

"I didn't think she would without her mechanic's tools on hand..." the boy replied with a deep sigh.

"When has that ever stopped me?" Winry asked sharply as she pulled some of the casings off his leg to examine them. "And why did it take you so long to come see me?" She then frowned suspiciously as she eyed one of the casings she'd taken off and announced, "Someone's been fixing my auto-mail!"

"That would be Executive Reeve Tuesti, who is an engineer and mechanic, as well as the one who takes care of Urban Development—building cities and stuff," the boy told her. "After we went on a raid in enemy territory, I really needed some maintenance, and he'd figured out enough about how it functioned from looking at it once before to be able to give it some of that maintenance."

The girl looked up at him sharply, then went back to her examination of his leg as she asked, "And the other two questions?"

"You've never been without tools of some kind before, so I thought I'd be spared the embarrassment this time. It took so long because I was halfway around the world until fairly late in the afternoon yesterday, then the first person I walked in on was Al so I pretty much had a breakdown and wasn't fit to see anyone at all until now. Also, I had to work out what we'd be able to do with all of you so you'd have livelihoods here."

"What did you mean when you said 'enemy territory'?"

"We infiltrated the hidden base of the President's private army and annihilated them to rescue Genesis and his sister—and as many others as we could who were still sane."

Winry looked up at him in surprise at that, then fell silent for a minute as she kept working on his leg. Finally, she asked, "Is it really okay for you to share military operations with me? Especially if you were basically keeping your actions hidden?"

"We weren't," Tseng answered that time, making her look sharply at him with a deep frown. "We kept it from the President until we had to act, but once we acted, all secrecy was thrown out the window and the raid is actually common knowledge, as well as its goals and results. The President learned not to play with the lives of people who happen to be part of his company or family of theirs, like he tried to do with Genesis and his sister."

She looked surprised by the data as she looked back at Ed for verification, and when he nodded, she went back to work. "So...you're working against the President?"

"We're working against some of his policies and actions. He's not on the same level as the Führer, though, so we're not really working directly against him—and also, this is actually a company, with a company's rules and regulations, not a country's. Even though the company is basically taking the place of a country," Eden explained.

"...And you expect me to believe you willingly joined something this screwed up?"

"I did. There are a lot of good people in this monster of a company, and I'm taking them all along for the ride on my save-the-world crusade."

Tseng snorted at the words and said, "Of course, that's largely because we're willing to go along for said ride."

"Yes, sir, Boss. You're just blindly following along behind your subordinate!" Eden replied snarkily.

"Do you want to get a spanking, Eden? You've even got your pants down already to make it easier," Tseng asked in a tone like he was talking about the weather.

"Hell no!" the younger Turk replied immediately, cheeks red while the rest of his face was paler than normal. He knew the reference to his own threat to spank Rufus if he tried pulling shit on him. "If it's you, that'll be more like getting electrocuted!"

"Um...I feel like I just missed something completely..." Winry said as she glanced between the two in confusion.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Tseng told her. "But I don't think you were actually told that I'm the current Director of the Turks, which makes me Eden's 'boss'. Since Alphonse asked about it as well, Eden is his name as a Turk. We're not technically allowed to have family, or at least known family, but some of us have siblings, spouses, children, and so on, regardless of that rule. In exchange, we live by the rule that Turks are family, and betrayal equates death."

"That's really harsh, Ed..." the girl said quietly to him.

"It's moot, though," he answered her as she began replacing the casings on his leg.

"What do you mean?"

"Not only do I have no reason to betray the Turks, but they've been a better family to me than I've ever had. One of them basically is the closest thing I've had to a father since just before I turned four, and because I'm the—second youngest Turk, I'm the one being protected for a change. I have one especially protective older brother who even goes up against Tseng repeatedly in my favor if he thinks Tseng's mistreating me."

"Other Turks do it, as well. Emma was the most recent to get in my face, and that was only yesterday. I think you missed it entirely because of your breakdown," Tseng answered in mild amusement. "Only the ones you haven't had much contact with—and the ones who also didn't see Balto lit into me when you got back from Corel—haven't done so at least once. Now, we should likely move on to the reason we came here."

"What reason is that?" Winry asked as she shifted backwards and held both of the boy's legs up in front of her, heels lined up at the back of the ankle as she measured the length of the flesh leg to the length of the prosthetic one.

"I mentioned needing to figure out your livelihoods, right?" Ed asked, and she frowned and opened her mouth to say something. He quickly went on before she could say she already had one, "Auto-mail doesn't exist here right now, though they have a half-developed hack they call 'cybernetics,' so Reeve has been working on trying to develop actual auto-mail because of my leg. My first thought was that you'd like to work with him, and both of you could learn a lot from one another. Also, he's so overworked he'll readily take any help he can get. Maybe between you and Gaia's Refuge, he'll start making it to his bed some nights. There's also a fourteen-year-old girl named Shalua—she's the older of Genesis' sisters—who has decided she wants to be a doctor specializing in prosthetics, and she'd probably be over the moon if you took her on sort of as an apprentice. If there are any classes you'd like to take at Shinra Academy, Reeve would let you take them around whatever projects you're working on for him."

"Why are you sending me to work with engineers instead of doctors?" Winry asked with a small frown, then announced, "You're already a few centimeters off—you'll start having balance issues." She then released his feet and looked up at him expectantly.

"Partly because auto-mail is way closer to this world's engineering than its doctoring, and partly—mostly—because the head of the Science Department is a sadist in the extreme who would completely distort your practice into something horrific if I sent you there, where all the doctors work," Eden replied. "Until Hojo kicks the bucket, you're way better off working with Reeve, because Reeve is a gentle man who has morals. Hojo has none."

Standing up, the girl crossed her arms and asked, "Why does it sound like you don't expect Hojo to live much longer?"

"Because I don't," Eden answered evenly. "Can I put my pants back on now?"

She picked the black material up and threw it at him, then sat down in the chair across the table from where the two Turks were, even as the blond Turk pulled his pants back on and refastened them. For a few minutes, she sat and gazed thoughtfully at the pair, then slowly nodded and said, "I could do that."

Letting out a relieved puff of air, Eden said, "Good, then let's go introduce you to him so you can get on the payroll. Later, when I've had a chance to talk with everyone else, we'll be able to work out a time for all of you to meet again."

The three left the room and Tseng stopped to talk with the guard who had been outside the door, letting Eden take her up to Reeve's office himself. It was a fairly short—and quiet—trip, for which he was thankful.