Disclaimer: (Insert some witty sentence pertaining to me not owning FMA here)

Karia: Seven's a lucky number!

Winry: I thought you weren't into that kind of stuff.

Karia: Nah, you haven't seen me before exams. I brought seven lucky rabbit feet, my lucky pencil, and wore lucky everything – even socks! Oh, and I used a lucky eraser too.

Winry: O.o

Karia: I still failed all my exams…

Winry: …proving that those things don't work. Now, will you please get on with the story? I'm waiting to be rescued here!

Karia: Aw, waiting for your dear Edo-kun to come rescue you? (Winry brandishes her wrench) Okay! OKAY! I GET THE POINT!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Hagane no Renkenjustushi

Chapter 7: Xing Rescue Mission Start

Ed's first impression of the Xing Headquarters was the sudden increase of heat. The moment he stepped off that hijacked train, a blast of thick, hot air hit him in the face and smothered his breathing for a few brief seconds. There were already military personnel rushing aboard the train – some to get home and some to investigate the secured terrorists, compliment of Ed, Aria, and Roy.

Ed's heart pounded in his chest, as if nervously preparing for the upcoming task. It was his fault Al and Winry's lives were in danger, so it was only natural that the full responsibility of their rescue should rest on his shoulders. The feeling of responsibility and determination also mixed with, well, annoyance. Dante had caused him enough problems in the past, when he was sixteen, resulting in Al being the Philosopher's Stone, almost immortal Homunculi constantly after their necks, his actually dying once and being stuck on the other side of the Gate for over five years. Now the four-hundred-year-old hag was back with another immortality scheme, and was forcing him through all of this trouble…again.


Roy found Ed's lack of heat tolerance and obvious annoyance rather amusing, and, in hopes of making Ed more annoyed, secretly assigned Ed to the military dorm with a broken air-conditioner. The General wasn't surprised when he heard an explosion followed by a loud stream of curses from down the hall, towards the Elric's room. Closer inspection would show that the Fullmetal Alchemist had attempted fixing the air conditioner via alchemy and failed miserably, causing the broken air conditioner to combust violently.

It was only to be expected that, by the time Ed got down to the mess hall for dinner, he was in a rather dangerous mood, causing most people to steer clear of him…except for one that Ed knew rather well. The moment Ed saw Major Armstrong, his low spirits plummeted even lower, if that was possible.

"HM? IS THAT EDWARD, MY BOY? WHY, WHAT A FORTUNATE COINCEDENCE!" The major exclaimed the moment he caught sight of Ed, the purple sparkles glittering with enthusiasm. Ed groaned in despair and resigned himself to his fate, nearly falling face first into the mashed potatoes sitting on the plate before him. The soldiers sitting on either side of Ed scooted farther away, not wanting to be caught anywhere near the Major.

Ed smiled nervously. "Ahaha…nice to see you, Major Armstrong…" Ed's sentenced stopped short when Armstrong suddenly cut off his air supply in a huge, bear hug. Though Ed grew quite a bit while he was across the Gate, the Major was still and entire three heads taller, and was swinging the younger, smaller alchemist around like a flail, much to Ed's discomfort.

"MEH! YOU'VE GROWN, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME?" Armstrong finally set a rather bedraggled Ed back in his seat. "WE THOUGHT YOU HAD DIED!"

Ed began eating right away with a renewed haste, eager to hasten his escape from Armstrong, and answered through a mouthful of food. "In another world, literally. Ah, Major Armstrong, that reminds me, I came here to find news of Al. Do you have any idea about his capture?"

Armstrong's expression darkened considerably. "AH…About Alphonse...that's classified information, so I can't tell it freely. Trust me, I wish I could, Major Elric."

Ed smirked, "It's Colonel Elric to you. I order you to tell me, how's that?" Armstrong's eyes widened. "A COLONEL! WHY, EDWARD, THIS IS WONDERFUL NEWS!" Armstrong crushed Ed in another bear hug. "Then, because a colonel has ordered me to answer, I have no choice but to comply.

"As you probably know, Major Alphonse Elric, the Diamond Alchemist, went Missing in Action after he lead a search party through a supposedly 'secured' area in search of clues and possible remnants of the rebellion there. We lost contact with his party about 7.8 kilometers southwest of Xing Central, a city noted for its secret revolutionary actions. This happened around 1500 o' clock, a week and a half ago. Currently, we believe Alphonse is held captive in an underground revolutionary headquarters inside Xing Central. We would send undercover agents to confirm this, but the major obstacle is finding some capable enough for the mission, preferably a State Alchemist, as well as familiar with Xing customs and fluent in its language."

Ed had taken out his pocket book and recorded as much useful information as he could. When Armstrong apparently stopped, Ed snapped the small, leather bound book shut and tucked it back into his red coat. "Is that all?"

"General Mustang can give you a complete briefing and the fine details, if you intend to go after your brother." Ed mentally cursed his luck. Roy would most likely take advantage of Ed's request for information to aggravate him more. Ed had a sneaking suspicion Roy had purposely arranged for him to get the room with a broken air-conditioning system too.

"Thanks, Armstrong, I'll go see Roy as soon as I can. Oh, and could you find someone to fix the air-conditioner in room 318 B? I'd appreciate it."

Without another word, Ed grabbed his tray and left, dumping his remaining food and plates in a pile of dishes before heading out of the mess hall, toward General Mustang's big, air-conditioned room. Ed was actually realizing just how useful his rank could be. No wonder Roy used his rank to tick Ed off so much when Roy had been Colonel. It was just too tempting.

Yes, power was nice indeed, if it wasn't for the huge amount of paperwork that came with it.

Roy had his feet kicked up on his desk and was leaning back in his chair, checking his nails when he heard the approaching footsteps. Quickly taking his feet down, Roy slapped on a serious expression before answering the knocks. "Come in."

Then in came Ed…or rather, Colonel Elric, with a deadly glint in his eyes that obviously said something along the lines of don't-tick-me-off-more-than-I-am-already. Roy wasn't a General for nothing – he got the point, but wondered if it had anything to do with the broken air-conditioner.

"General! TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT AL NOW!" Roy winced as he felt his ears pop, but decided to push his luck and tried to tick Ed off more.

"Now, now, Colonel Elric, I cannot allow you to handle this matter until you've calmed down. I don't have a habit of sending frothing mad people on dangerous missions."

To Roy's utter surprise, Ed sobered immediately, and, after wasting a second to suppress his anger, the Fullmetal Alchemist took a deep breath and asked politely, "General Mustang, would you please give me the necessary information about my brother and permission to go after him?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, unbelieving of Ed's suddenly calm, almost professional attitude. Was the heat getting to Ed's head or something? Roy sighed and got out of his chair, turning his back towards Ed to see out the window.

"Oh? And what makes you think I'll send you on this mission? I believe there are better uses for your talent here in Headquarters. As a military leader, I can't send you out a mission that dangerous."

Roy's conscience berated him the moment the words left his mouth. That was a bit harsh on the younger alchemist, especially when Ed was asking about his brother. However, Roy's pride wouldn't let him take back his words, so all Roy could do was staring out of the window determinedly, waiting for Ed's reply.

The silence was so long that Roy thought Ed had left without a sound. The silence made him so uncomfortable that he actually considered an apology before he heard Ed's voice again from behind him, this time in a completely serious and different tone. It actually freaked Roy out to hear Ed talking like that.

"You'll let me go because you aren't a cold, self-centered military leader." Ed's voice was a pitch lower than usual, his words were spoken in a colder tone, his head was lowered, and his usually bright, golden eyes were hidden behind his bangs.

"Why not?" Roy asked despite himself, curious of Ed's response. Now he had never seen this side of the fiery Elric before. It was amazing that Ed wasn't blowing up on him, considering the extent Roy had ticked him off.

Roy waited though another long silence before receiving an answer. This time, Ed raised his head and met Roy's gaze with his own. Roy seemed taken aback at the determination and, dare he say, challenging glint in Ed's eyes.

"I'm not an idiot, Mustang. Since the first time we encountered the military, you were always helping us along, looking out for us. Sure, you were a real pain in the neck at times, I really wanted to kill you for a while, and you used Al and me a lot, for you own purposes, but you never did anything that would hurt us. You think I didn't notice? I'm not a genius for nothing – the moment I got back to Amestris, I read every newspaper for the last three years. I know of all the search parties you sent out looking for Al and me and found out just why you needed to climb ranks so much.

"Even more importantly, you looked after us, kept us out of trouble, and tried to monitor everything we did, making sure we didn't do anything too stupid. I…never really had a father. Hohenheim…he ditched Al, Mom, and me before I could even remember him, for his own purposes. You went out of your way, even as far as disobeying the military and setting your own dreams aside, just to make sure Al and I were safe. You really tick me off, probably now more then ever, but…I guess…you were the closest thing I ever had to a father. It's killing me to say this, but… I sort of looked up to you. That's why I don't believe you'll stop me from looking after my own, only, little brother."

Silence.

Roy refrained from slapping himself awake. The Edward Elric three years ago would have died rather than to admit what the current Ed had just told him. Oh God, what Ed just said made Roy feel old all of a sudden. He turned around to face Ed completely and smiled lightly.

"That other side of the Gate Ms. Shadowen told me about must be a very amazing place. You matured, Fullmetal, without me even noticing it. I guess I still thought you were the fiery, sixteen year old Edward who made rash decisions and had a short temper." Roy sighed in defeat. "Fine, you can go after your brother, Fullmetal. Just…be careful and keep Al safe."

Ed smirked in victory. "Yes sir! I'll retrieve my brother and get him back to headquarters without a scratch, I promise."

The Elric turned to leave Roy's office, but paused at the door and said, "Thanks, Roy," before he left.

Roy stared after the younger alchemist after he left. 'Did he just address me by my first name!'


Ed left Roy's office feeling extremely smug. He had finally outsmarted Mustang in getting what he wanted. Seeing the total surprise in Roy's eyes was worth suppressing his pride and temper.

Then again, Ed knew Roy deserved the 'thank you,' no matter how bastardly Ed's superior acted. Without Roy's help, Ed knew he would most likely be sitting in the bottom of some military prison facility, and Al would be a dissembled suit of armor in some laboratory. The former Colonel, now General, used the military intelligence system to look for leads concerning the Philosopher's Stone purely for Ed and Al's personal goose-chase.

Ed looked up to see Aria leaning against the wall casually, as if the heat didn't affect her in the least.

"Aria, why are you here?" Ed questioned, still unsure of how Aria knew where he was.

"I'm going with you to Xing – to help you along. I don't think you'll object, right?" Ed shook his head, wondering what Aria's motives were. He never knew exactly how her reasoning went, but, then again, Aria had the wisdom of a millennium stored in her head. Ed, though a genius, couldn't compete with that.

"Uh, sure, I won't object. But, how did you know…?" Aria merely smiled smugly and replied, "I shall tell you in due time."

"Alright, so, when do we leave?"

"Now."

"WHAT! But we don't know anything about the situation, and –"

"I have already collected all the information headquarters has, and it's not very much. Most Amestrians can't speak a word of Xing, nor can they understand Xing customs."

Ed nodded before he realized a very serious loophole. "Wait, Aria, we can't speak Xing or understand Xing customs either! I mean, I can recite all of Xing's past century of history from a book I read, but it's not like we can talk fluently or even use those weird 'chopstick' things to eat."

Aria looked slightly skeptical. "You mean that you can't. I spent the last 500 years of my extended life here, so it's natural that I know most of the world better than you do. However, you worry needlessly. I can teach you all of the Xing language and customs on the way there."

"Um, Aria, I might be called a genius, but you need to give me at least a month before I can master a language fluently! The trip's only going to take three hours, max! I can't learn it that fast!" Again, Aria shot Ed a skeptical look.

"Very well, let me rephrase my previous words. I can give you knowledge of all the Xing language and customs on the way there, via highly advanced alchemy procedures. It consists of replacing certain memories with new ones."

"…Could you explain…?"

"I'll tell you in due time."

"That's starting to get annoying."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to bear with it, unless you don't want to get to Alphonse and that girl mechanic of yours?"

"Her name is WINRY!"

"I know, you told me."

"ARGH! I meant…never mind."

"I'm afraid, though capable, I can't read your mind, and so, if you have a request, you must kindly put it into words."

"Just…drop it, okay?"

Aria blinked. "I'm sorry, did it offend you?" Ed stopped dead in his tracks. Aria, for once, had no idea what Ed was thinking, but Ed cleared it up with his answer.

"No, you didn't. It's just that…I felt like I wanted to argue with Winry all of a sudden, so I tried arguing with you. Only problem is, you don't lose your head and start screaming…no, wait, forget I said that. Ugh, I'm even confusing myself. Why the heck would I want that machine geek to scream at me…?" Ed started walking again, too deep in his monologue to notice anything except where he was going.

Aria made mental note of this, smiled briefly, and then followed after the short-tempered Fullmetal Alchemist to the train station.


"Alright, Edward, I'm going to give you knowledge of Xing right now. But, before I do anything, I want to warn you that you won't be able to remember any Amestrian customs or language while you know Xing."

Ed was still deep in his book, not really paying attention when he subconsciously nodded. Three seconds later, it registered in his brain.

"WHAT!" Aria winced, feeling her ears pop from the sonic outburst. She held up a hand, motioning for Ed to hold his questions until after she was done explaining.

"I am going to take all your knowledge of Amestris and exchange it for knowledge about Xing. You are an alchemist, so you should understand the concept of Equivalent Exchange very well. Don't worry; your memories will be completely unaffected, except for the fact that you won't be able to remember any names in Amestrian. Rather, every thing will be automatically translated to Xing. This is a temporary state – just bear with it until we are finished with gathering information and infiltration."

"Wait, don't we already have all the information we need?" Ed questioned, eyeing the stack of papers Aria brought along in a manila folder.

Aria tossed Ed the package and commented. "Take a look for yourself and decide whether the information is useful or not."

Ed pulled out the papers and scanned through the pages. "Figures. The only information they can give us is a map, the government here, and a list of the citizens. Nothing we can't get on our own." Ed smirked as he felt his brain snap into State Alchemist mode. Being a genius often made your job a lot easier. "Let me guess. Since almost no one in the military actually speaks the language of Xing, a remote country that we rarely deal with, the military can only get information the Xing government translates and sends to them. However, based on the information they gave, isn't strange that there isn't a single report pertaining to the terrorist and rebellion groups? If you think about it, that means the government supports the groups. The only reason for doing that is if the government of Xing wants to attack Amestris, but can't because it doesn't have enough military power. So, it resorts to a guerilla-like tactic to wear down our resources and troops under the facade of rebellion groups. However, since the Amestris officials can't prove there's a link, we can't wage war with Xing or send troops onto Xing soil."

Aria nodded. "Your reasoning is right on target, but, do you remember our mission? What do you think of that?"

Ed's eyes narrowed. "That changes everything. If the rebellion groups abducted Al and Winry, and Dante is part of the rebellion, then Dante is related to the Xing government. Could it be…she's trying to start another war to create the Philosopher's Stone once more? Just like with Ishbal and Lior…how far is she going to go with this?"

Aria shook her head. "This time, she made a fatal mistake. She left you alive. Our only problem is, Al and Winry don't know that. I'm quite sure Dante has a lot of influence on the Xing government if she leads the rebellion. I fear Dante planned even farther. She must have purposely advised the Xing officials to make no mention of the rebellion in their reports to Amestris, forcing suspicion and military tension between the two countries. Then, she'll use the insurgents to inflict as much damage as she can on Amestris – partially for revenge, partially to eliminate all people who know something about Ishbal and Lior."

Ed caught on. "And it will be blamed on the insurgents, causing an extreme elevation of military tension. However, since almost everyone who knows something is high up in the military, which means Dante will have supposedly killed them, it will merely look like terrorist attacks. Then, I bet Dante will purposely reveal some proof of a connection between the insurgents and the Xing government, causing a full-fledged war between the two nations! After that, she can make Al create a Philosopher's Stone, take it from him, switch bodies, and leave it behind. In the chaos of war, no one will be able to investigate what happened properly, since, supposedly, everyone who knows something is dead. Since Dante will be in Winry's body, the government will pass her off as a victim of war while Al is executed for betrayal! No one would believe what Al's testimony, even if he did tell."

Ed hissed in anger. "Dante, that evil witch!"

Ed slammed his fist in anger against the side of their train compartment. Unfortunately, Ed decided to use his right arm and punched a hole clean through the wall, to the next compartment. A married couple, going to Xing on vacation, cried out in protest before Ed hastily fixed the wall with alchemy.

Aria watched Ed's display of anger before going back to the original subject. "Now then, Edward, I think we should get to work. Before I change your knowledge and memories, I think it would be best to look like residents in Xing Central. Aria clapped her hands together and brushed them lightly over her eyes. When Ed got a clear look at her formerly scarlet eyes again, he found, to his surprise, that they had gone ebony black.

Ed got the point and followed suit. He changed his gold eyes and hair to black, and blinked a few times to ameliorate the stinging sensation in his eyes. By the time his vision cleared, Aria had already changed into common Xing attire. Ed gaped.

"Aria, when did you change!" Aria shot him a skeptical look again.

"I alchemized my clothing. Unfortunately, you won't know what proper Xing clothing for males' looks like until I alter you head. I doubt you'll appreciate me alchemizing your clothing for you."

Ed hastily agreed, not wanting any female, no matter how talented, alchemizing his clothing anytime soon. Aria sighed and motioned for him to stand closer to her. Without warning, Aria clapped her hands and put two fingers against Ed's forehead.

Ed blinked. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, Ed felt as if there was a nest of hornets in his head. It wasn't surprising – Aria was using alchemy to forcibly tear out his current knowledge and replace it with foreign knowledge he didn't even understand. Yet.

Ed saw a flash of gold light and tentacles of a foreign, black material pulling at him from all directions. From past experience, Ed guessed he was inside the Gate, catching a glimpse of the Talisman of Knowledge. However, this time, his head didn't feel like it was going to burst because, technically, he wasn't gaining any more information – just exchanging old stuff for new stuff.

After a minute or two, the exchanging of knowledge stopped. Ed relaxed his tensed body and prepared to go back to the real world. Only, he returned to the train compartment for a split second before he felt a huge force throwing him backwards. Something hit his head with a bang, and everything went black.


"Ugh…where am I?" Ed woke up groggily, only to see two black, unblinking eyes staring into his. "AGH! WHO ARE YOU? Oh, Aria…sorry, I didn't – WHAT THE-! AM I SPEAKING XING?" Aria leaned away from him and nodded.

"Yes, this would happen to be Xing. We'll be arriving at Xing Central in ten minutes, so I suggest you to alchemize your clothes before we get off the train."

Ed nodded before the shock hit him. "Wait, ten minutes! I thought the trip was three hours!"

"It was. The whiplash from my alchemy was bad enough to cause a shockwave. That threw you against the compartment door rather hard. You've been unconscious for two hours."

Ed gawked. "What about you? I don't see any injuries on you. How did you do it?" Aria shook her head. "That's not important right now, Edward. Anyways, you need to change your clothes."

Ed looked down at his red jacket and black vest. "It looks so weird all of a sudden. I'll never get used to this. The knowledge I have never learned is floating around my head in massive amounts while the knowledge I used to know won't come to mind. This is totally screwed."

Ed clapped his hands together and changed his clothing to something more Xing. Somehow, it looked more natural to him. His memories told him it looked totally foreign, but his knowledge told him it was fine. Ed was starting to get a headache.

"We shall be arriving in Xing Central shortly. All passengers please gather your belongings and prepare for arrival. Thank you for riding International Railway Express."

Ed listened to the voice on the speakers speaking in what he thought was Amestrian. "Hey, Aria, I couldn't understand a word that speaker just said."

"It wasn't anything important, just that we would be arriving soon and should gather our belongings. Since you can speak Xing now, its natural you can't understand Amestrian."

Ed nodded before it hit him. "Hold on, Aria, you can speak Amestrian right now! Why can't I?"

"Unlike you, I actually studied Xing the manual way. Five-hundred years is a really long time, so I filled up my free time by learning new things. If you're interested, I am fluent in every single country's major language and most of the local dialects. It comes in handy once in a while."

Ed sweat-dropped. He was sitting next to someone who studied history and grammar in their spare time for fun. Couldn't she go shopping like a normal teenage girl?

But then again, Aria wasn't a normal teenage girl. She was over a thousand years old and definitely not normal. Ed opened the compartment door, stepping out into the hallway of the train. Aria followed suit. Fortunately, neither of them had brought baggage, knowing it might give them away. Their State Alchemist watches were hidden on them, out of sight.

Xing Central was a busy city, but, other than that, it was nothing like Central in Amestris. Central in Amestris had paved streets, modern houses, and a more civilized atmosphere.

Ed, despite all the knowledge in his head, could only gape in awe as he glanced around, taking in his surroundings. Even at the train station, he could tell they were not in Amestris. Vendors selling all kinds of exotic foods and trinkets prowled back and forth, calling out their wares. The architecture was completely foreign, reminding Ed of a place across the gate called Ancient China. He had read about it in a book in Germany.

Aria pulled Ed out of his trance. "Edward, snap out of it. We need to find the nearest bar." Ed turned around and nodded, knowing how important it was to stay undercover. Yet, he had no idea why Aria wanted to find a bar. "Um, Aria, we don't have time for drinks right now. Shouldn't we start on gathering information?"

Aria shot Ed a skeptical glance. Ed was getting a lot of them from her lately. "Think. If you joined the rebellion and had a day off, where would you go? It's a hot, arid day, you're thirsty, tired, and in need of some dire relaxation."

Ed got the point. "Alright, I get it. Then…" he pulled out the map from his pocket. "How about the pub on Dancing Willow Street? It's closest to us."

Aria glanced over on the map and nodded her approval. The two set out towards the bar, ready to collect information.

Suddenly, Aria stopped and pulled Ed after her into a deserted alley. Ed stumbled forward clumsily, grabbing a pipe running along the wall to regain his balance. "Aria, what was that for!" he hissed, slightly unappreciative of Aria's sudden actions. Aria shot him yet another skeptical glance.

"Edward, don't tell me you didn't notice. It's something rather obvious and could help information gathering." Ed was utterly lost, and his confusion must have showed on his face.

"Notice what?"

Aria sweat-dropped. This person was really thick – he actually ignored all of it? "Have you noticed that you're really popular with the girls here? You didn't notice all the glances and the group of girls tailing you?"

Ed's face promptly went from normal to ashen to beet red. "WHAT?" Aria sighed in disbelief. "You idiot, get back out on the street and pay attention to the people around you. It's so blatantly obvious that it's almost embarrassing."

Indeed, as Ed walked down the street, he noticed for the first time what was going on around him. He noticed the girl that purposely walked way too close to him. Then there were those teenagers outside of the clothes shop. The girls were actually pointing at him and giggling. The guys were shooting him death glares. Ed sulked when he realized that Aria, though she noticed what was happening to him, didn't seem to notice all the guys staring at her.

Ed snapped out of his own thoughts when they stopped outside the pub. Ed blinked. What acheap bar – it was completely over decorated and he could smell the smoke from burning opium pouring out of the place. Maybe, before he went in, he should alchemize a bubble of fresh air around his head.

"Alright, operation 'Collect Information' commence. Let's go in, Aria." Ed took a deep breath and pushed on the doors. Aria nodded to and entered after him. Ed moved to the left side of the bar and Aria strode towards the right.

Now was the serious problem. Ed had no idea how to strike up a conversation with these people. He looked around for anyone who might know something useful, but most were either drunks or prostitutes. Then again, drunks and prostitutes seemed to know a lot more out-of-the-way information than normal people did. Ed looked towards Aria for ideas, only to find her giggling girlishly, already surrounded by a group of horny-looking males.
'Oh my God, I think I'm going to faint.' Ed took a deep breath and chose a random table, collapsing into his seat with a sigh. A waitress in a shockingly skimpy outfit approached and asked to take his order, and Ed, against his screaming instincts, decided to stay in his seat and smile weakly.
"Sir, what can I get you?" The waitress crowed in a low, seductive voice.

Ed winced. "Just coffee will be fine." To his utter horror, the waitress sat down right next to him and leaned onto his shoulder.

"Now what's a strong, fine man like you doing here, just wanting coffee? You can take a shot or two, can't you, lover-boy?" Ed fought the desire to scream in disgust, and managed to say, "Anything will be fine then." 'Winry is going to kill me if she hears anything about this.' Of course, this thought sent him into depression again – Winry and Al were still captive in enemy territory, and every second he wasted in this fetid pub was another second that they were in danger.

Ed suddenly realized that, if he didn't get to work, Dante might actually have her way. If he let his own instincts get into the way, Ed would never forgive himself. So, as the waitress got up to bring him his order, Ed grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down, much to her surprise.

"Wait, please don't go." Ed tried his best to make a sad, begging expression. "I'm sorry. My girlfriend just left me and I'm a little depressed right now. Could you…maybe…stay and chat for a while?" 'For Al, Winry, and everyone else.'

The waitress who had been throwing herself at him swallowed his story, hook, line, and sinker. She cooed happily and slunk into the seat opposite of him, putting on a sympathetic look and layering even more honey into her sickeningly sweet voice. "Tell me about it."

Ed took a deep breath and mustered his resolve before beginning, making up a story as he went. "…so, to make a long story short, my girlfriend and I a huge fight over the Amestrian invasions the Xing Rebellion groups were commencing. I supported them, but she was too sympathetic towards Amestris and talked treachery towards Xing. I gave her a choice between Amestris and me, and she left for Amestris."

The waitress listened with feigned pity pouring out of her eyes until Ed took a deep breath, signaling that the story was over. Then she commented, "You don't need a woman like her. If I were she, I would never ditch a wonderful person like you. Move on without that useless whore – you don't need her tying you down!"

Ed nodded in false realization. "I guess you're right. I can sell our apartment, or maybe even join the Xing Rebellion now. Yeah, I think I'll do that! Do you know where I can join?"

The waitress nodded in smug victory. "See, you don't need someone like her! I can tell you that the Waning Moon Pub is a meeting place for the Xing Rebellion, and that you can join if you go to the Silver Heart antique shop after two in the morning. Don't you think girls like me are much better? I can help you do whatever you like. I fully support the Xing Rebellion, so we share interests. How about we start up?"

Ed, at this, blanched, but hid it behind a smiling mask. "I wish I could, but since I'm going to join the Rebellion, I think its best that our relationship waits. But once this whole thing is over, I'll be sure to come back for you. Thanks for everything though."

Before the crest-fallen waitress had a chance to say anything Ed got up, slapped a tip on the table, and left the scene, meeting up with Aria at the door. Aria gave him a knowing glance before turning to wave sweetly at the gawking males behind her. Ed rolled his eyes and went outside, not wanting to breathe the rancid odors of the pub any longer than he had to.


"So what have you learned?" Aria asked sharply the moment she was outside the bar, having reverted to her original personality in the blink of an eye. "I discovered that the Xing Rebellion meets in Central Square at midnight on every day in the second week of this month, that the total number of insurgents number about two-thousand, and that they have a handful of alchemists as well as a wide array of alchemized or stolen weaponry."

Ed grimaced as he recalled what he had to do in order to obtain information. "I only learned that the Xing Insurgents meet in the Waning Moon pub sporadically, but the most important fact is that we can join if we go to the Silver Heart antique shop after two in the morning. I think our best bet is to wait until tonight and join as soon as possible, and gather more information amongst the enemy."

Aria agreed, and so they set out to find lodgings for the night. In the end, they chose a small motel with a thick, musty carpet and poor lighting. Aria merely sat on her mat, which was supposed to serve as a bed, alchemized a light from the mirror, a coat hanger, and the candle, and began reading her book on advanced swordsmanship. Ed stretched out on his mat, determined to catch a bit of sleep before he started onto his mission.

After all, there was a long way to go before he could find Al and Winry, much less save three worlds.


A/N:

WAAAAAAH! I'm sorry for not updating for…uh…four months, but there were reasons!

For example, I transferred schools, we moved, I had school entrance exams, monthly tests, and midterms, I started going to Chemistry Club and SAT preparation class, causing me not to get home until seven at night…and a lot of other stuff.

So, honestly…I, uh, kinda forgot to update, and the review alerts were sorted as spam, so I didn't check!

Well, sorry about that.

ANYWAYS, about the next chapter!

For those of you that have been bored, I'm long-winded – deal with it, people – so the next chapter will probably be pretty long too…might take a while to come out, seeing that I'm rabidly studying for my second monthly examinations right now…;;

However, there will be more action, and let's just hope for some more EdxWinry goodness, ne? (key word: hope - my ridiculous writing skills and nonexistent planning skills might get into the way...> )