Railroad tracks.

Foreign, cold, unnatural trails leaving a long path through the countryside. The rumble of the wheels against steel seemed like the thunder arriving just before the new dawn. A steam-powered engine pushed its way into the future, a steady chugga-chugga accompanying the monotonous hum of machinery.

A thirteen-year-old boy looks out the window, taking in the scene. His eyes, golden with red undertones, seem like a sunset trapped behind two tired eyelids. They survey the land passing rapidly before them without a word. His strong eyebrows, the same bleached-white color as his long hair, sit flat and motionless above the sunset eyes.

He holds his head with the chin resting on a gloved mechanical thumb, forefinger stretched over his mouth and other fingers curled somewhere between. The sun dappling through the window exposes the warm undertones of his olive skin, and sends flashes of light bouncing off his companion, his twelve-year-old brother sitting next to him. Of course, he was covered in the bloated metal armor containing his soul rather than flesh. Both sit wordlessly, enjoying each other's company. The silence between them was never awkward.

The desert brush and yellowed grass started to give way to greener pastures and the occasional tree. A real tree, one with large leaves that changed hue with the seasons, not the overgrown, yellow-green brush that populated the desert grassland. The first few caught Ed's eyes and he gazed at them curiously. He carefully took in each new sight out the window.

Ed's stomach growled quietly, and Al looked up and passed over the bag of rolls he'd bought at the station. His brother accepted them with a sheepish, silent "Thank you" and settled back in his seat to snack.

It wasn't until the bag rustled that Ed noticed just how silent the car was, almost as if everyone was holding their breath, waiting for something. He looked up and let his eyes sweep over the train car, noticing how the other passengers suddenly turned away from his direction. They'd been staring. Ed tried not to let his skin prickle with anxiety. Al's going to stick out, he told himself. It's not every day that someone wears armor on a train.

Behind them, a little girl sat with her mother. Ed kept noticing the seat rustle and her small head poke up over the cushion, and she would steal a glance at them. Al caught eyes with her, and she smiled and waved, but her mother quickly pulled her back down in her seat and told her not to stare.

"You don't think we'll get in trouble for being on the wrong train, do you, brother?" Al suddenly asked. It took Ed a minute to remember what he was talking about, his mind wandering back to the events on the train platform.

The phone rang once, twice. Every nerve in Ed's body was crackling with anxious energy. He heard the click of the receiver as someone picked up on the other end, a stoic, deep voice that simply said, "This is Mustang."

Ed fumbled for his words for a moment, managing to stutter, "It's uh- it's me, that is, Edward Elric, reporting at the train station-"

There was a light chuckle. "Slow down, kid. You sound as if you've rehearsed this." Ed didn't know what to say, an embarrassed "umm," coming from him until Roy continued, "Have you bought your tickets for the train to Central?"

"Yes sir. We should be arriving this evening-"

"You aren't taking the earlier train?"

"It was leaving so soon, we're a little behind schedule-"

"Get on it!"

"Excuse me?"

"Get on the train or go home!"

That was it, then. Ed took off, running down the platform, calling to his brother as his boots hit the pavement. "Time to go!"

No matter that their tickets were designated for more than an hour later. They jumped on the train right as it pulled away.

"No," Ed replied. "I can't see why they'd be so strict, as long as we paid to ride." Al made a noncommittal sound of agreement.

Right as he said that, however, the door connecting their car to the one in front of them opened, and a conductor stepped through with a man in a casual suit following right behind. Ed could hear him say, "Tickets, please," to the first three rows of seats.

"Shit, Al," Ed whispered, panic starting to rise in his chest. "How did I jinx us so badly?"

Sneaking off would just make them look more suspicious, and probably do nothing more than buy them a few more minutes. Better to just face the problem head on. Thus, when the conductor reached out his hand for their tickets, Ed handed him them over and hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Did you know these tickets were for a later train?" he asked. The blood left Ed's face.

Should he lie? Tell the truth? Pass it off as a mistake?

He doubted any of those scenarios would work.

"Yes sir, uh, I realize, but we needed to get on this train instead."

"Needed to?"

"Yes, uh…" Was he supposed to elaborate? Even if he offered that Mustang was the one who told him, he had no proof. "We were told to take this train."

The conductor turned to the man behind him, who stepped forward, took a look at them, and said, "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

Ed stood up slowly. He was numb except for one feeling – fear for Al.

They followed the man in the suit, the conductor staying behind to finish punching tickets. Ed tried not to focus on the people watching out of the corners of their eyes, instead putting on a calm face as if nothing was wrong.

"I'm telling you, Roy, I don't know if I could handle it." A man sat lounged back in an office chair in the soundboard room of the train, his feet up and crossed on the desk. "I mean, what if she has the baby tomorrow?"

There was a long sigh on the other end of the line, and Roy's voice started to say something. He was abruptly cut off by another voice behind him yelling, "Major Hughes, babies aren't born after just five months!"

Hughes brushed off the voice with roll of his eyes. "Does Riza think we're really talking seriously?"

"Alright," Roy said, ignoring Hughes. "I just got word we're not being tapped. How are things out there? Anything worrying"

"Nope- "

A third voice, different from Riza's, interrupted him. "We're holding two people right now who seemed suspicious. One's a kid, looks Eastern, and the other guy looks ready for a fight – he's in a suit of armor. They might be with the-"

Roy chuckled. "Is the kid short?"

There was silence, before the reply, "...Actually, yeah, he is pretty short."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK?!" Ed's voice rang through loud and clear.

"It's alright, Hughes, they're with me," Roy assured his friend.

"I told you so," said Ed none too politely, narrowing his eyes at the officer in the grey suit. He looked away, embarrassed.

"Can't be too careful, what with the situation in the East."

"Situation?" Wasn't the war over?

"Yeah," was the reply, but there was no elaboration. "I'm Warrant Officer Falman. I'm sorry about mistaking you two. I can escort you back to your seats, if you'd like."

"No need." I don't need to be ridiculed any more than I already have been, thought Ed, his short temper finding its way through his voice. He took a deep breath to steady himself, realizing his antagonistic attitude wouldn't help things. With a polite bow of his head, he continued, "We'll be fine. But thank you."

With that, Ed and Al shut the door to the front car behind them and started walking back through the passenger cars.

"Where did you find those two, and what are you planning?"

Roy replied, "Relax, Hughes. They're just a couple of young alchemists who wanted my help."

Hughes' eyes narrowed, and though Roy couldn't see it, he could hear the doubt in the Major's voice. "You know something about them."

"I do. And?"

"Be careful, Roy."

The boys had just one more set of cars to pass between before they would be back in their seats. They could endure the rest of the train ride and leave this incident behind them.

Thoughts of doubt, of second guessing if leaving home was the best option, were what passed through Ed's mind as they approached that last car. It was then that he heard a screech, and as Al opened the door they saw two of the passengers – the same ones that had tried not to look at him before – standing in the center of the aisle. The two men were both dressed in black suits with sunglasses covering their faces, and each held a gun in his hand.

Ed turned to run back and warn the officers in the front car, but one of the men had already seen him. He demanded they freeze, and Ed did, hands up in the air and heart pounding.

They started to walk over. Ed tried not to let his eyes dart around the train car, staring straight ahead.

"Why were you two pulled off the train?" one of the men demanded.

Ed didn't reply.

"Answer the question."

By now he was standing just a few feet from Ed. Without thinking, the boy pulled down his arm and shot out a metal fist in one motion, knocking the gunman square upside the jaw. Al caught onto the plan within seconds, slamming his fist on top of the other's head. Both now laid on the floor of the train, unmoving.

"You stupid kids! Now what? They'll notice that two of their men haven't reported in…"

The voice had spoken up from one of the seats. Ed saw that it belonged to one of the people who had glared at him as he walked out.

He's right. How do I fix this?

"We're here to help," Ed assured, forcing his voice not to shake. "We won't let them hurt anyone."

It didn't seem that anyone in this car believed him. That was fine; he was saying it mostly to himself.

"Good luck, big brothers."

That voice was smaller, younger, and originated from next to the seat where they had been sitting. Sure enough, it was the girl who had before been so intrigued by Al's armor. Ed cracked a smile.

Hello all! It's been what, literal years? This is only Part 1 of this chapter! I didn't want to split it up, but I also wanted to post something for Oct 3rd.

Sorry that this fic has been on the backburner to many other important things going on. I hope you all understand. Though my love of fma never wavered, life did catch up to me. Despite everything, here I am again! I'm honestly glad for the hiatus, as not only do I think I've improved as a writer, but I've learned a lot that I can incorporate into this fic in order to analyze the themes of fma more deeply, as was my original intention.

Side note! The best way to improve as a writer is to write, and I've found a great way to do that is to make up a story and characters with some friends and trade short stories about them between you. I've done that for about the last year with my df, and it's turned into a full story that we'll be novelizing! I'm so excited.

I'll also be participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time with a story idea I've had for 2+ years! Yay!

Moral of the story is: don't start anything you don't intend to finish, it doesn't matter how long it takes you to finish it, your friends make you better, and follow your dreams :)

- Cat