"Hey Chanticleer, can you open up?"

Al knocked on the Dawns door but didn't get a reply. He could hear movement inside so he knew Chanticleer had to be in there.

"Hi, Al what's the matter?" Ed walked up behind his brother.

"Oh, hello. I wanted to talk t Chanticleer but he won't answer."

"You know he could be doing something private." Ed turned to open the door to their room and was about ready to hit the sack.

"Even if he was don't you think he could've said something like, 'I'll be out in a minute' or 'can I talk to you later?'"

Edward's hand was on the doorknob. "I guess he could've but why are you so worried."

"Well," Al hesitated. "I saw him earlier today and I was going to apologize for whatever I said last night, when I found him he was staring at the clock. After a few minutes he freaked out and ran up to his room. At least I assume that's where he headed, his reaction was like, 'Oh crap I forgot something!' And now he won't answer."

"Maybe he,"

A squeak came from behind the door, shortly followed by a 'Thump!' as if something hit the ground.

"We going in there to check it out?" Al asked.

"You bet." Ed clapped his hands and grabbed the door handle. Instantly the door unlocked and the brothers rushed in.

The room was empty.

The Fullmetal zipped over to the window and frantically looked around. Nothing was directly beneath the window but something moved about twenty feet away. Chanticleer snuck through the courtyards, kept to the shadows then broke into a sprint away from Central.

"Where do you think he's goin?"

"Only one way to find out." Ed opened the window to their room and quietly slipped out. "Come on, let's follow him."

"Um, you go on ahead I'll catch up to you in a second." Al said. "If you go first you can keep an eye on where he's going then I can follow you, if I came along now he'd hear me."

Ed didn't argue because Al had a bit of a hard time sneaking.

"So I follow him and you follow me? Sounds good."

Fifteen minutes after Fullmetal followed the Dawn he could hear Al clinking behind him. To his great surprise Ed found himself at an old worn out warehouse on the edge of town. It was one of several old warehouses that looked like they would collapse if you threw a pebble at them. Chanticleer glanced over his shoulder then entered the sturdiest looking of the lot. From the broken windows a dim light could be seen flickering inside.

"Brother."

"YAH!"

Ed practically jumped to the moon. "DON'T DO THAT!"

"Sorry."

The two brothers crept around and found an entrance that they snuck through. Inside old crates and boxes were piled against the walls; it provided countless places to hide. Chanticleer came in from the other side of the building and cautiously walked into a clearing in the center of the floor.

"Hey guys." He called quietly. "It's me."

"CHANTY!" a young voice called completely ecstatic.

A blur of color whipped over to the Dawn, knocking him over. On his chest a young boy of about twelve or thirteen squeezed him like an octopus. Laughing Chanticleer sat up and returned the bear hug.

"I am so glad to see you!" the boy cried.

"I'm glad to see you too."

"HEY!"

Three more teens came out from their hiding places to greet the Dawn.

"Long time no see!"

"One of our own is a State Alchemist, never thought I'd live to see the day."

"So tell me, are there any hot chicks at Central?"

"LUCUS!"

"What? It's an innocent question."

"Well it's sure nice to know that some things never change." Chanticleer said with a smile."

From their hiding place Ed and Al listened and observed. The youngest among the four unfamiliar people had to be about thirteen. He had thick black hair that reached to his shoulder blades that reminded Ed of Wrath. But unlike the loco homunculus this kid had a face and eyes that sparkled with happiness and joy.

The one they called Lucus had the same height and build of a boy to his left the only noticeable difference was his hair was shorter than the other boy. It could only be assumed that they were twins.

Lastly was a tall teen that wore an expression that Al knew all too well. It was the look he'd seen from Ed a lot, the look that you deeply cared for someone and that you'd do whatever you could to protect. He pushed his reddish brown hair out of his eyes as he spoke.

"Come on. Get off of him."

"No!" the child clung on tighter to the Dawn. "I'm making sure that he doesn't leave."

"I'm not going to leave until morning."

"Oh, so that leaves the whole night to us?"

"Yep."

"YAHOO!"

The young boy readjusted his hug to around the Dawns neck.

"First of all," Lucus said. "You need to tell us about life at Central."

Chanticleer kept his descriptions short but his friends seemed to be satisfied with what he said.

"You still haven't answered my question, are there any hot girls there?"

"LUCUS!"

Sooooooo, the Dawn has a few secret friends. Does this mean he is running away from the life of a state alchemist? Or is this just a time to partly with the boys? Either way, who are these new kids and what connection does the Dawn have with them? Oh well, if they say the proof is in the pudding, you're all going to be splattered with it!