A/N: I'm sooo sorry for the delays, everyone! I've been writing my stories by hand for the past few days because my computer randomly fried so I had to get it fixed. But, I'm back now. And ready to start posting! Thanks for reading! Also, I previously stated that this chapter would be actiony.
Well, I lied.
It's going to set up for upcoming action though, so, DEAL WITH IT. I love you.

Reviews Appreciated

.

.

They snuck through Dublith, searching heavily for a weapon store. The town was eerily silent - not even a moan from one of those undead bastards. They would have figured the town was virtually ghoul-free, if not for the terrible stench that came when wind blew from the west. Becasue of that, they remained on the eastern side of the town.

The gun shops they had been through were mostly picked over, leaving only semi-automatics and bullets. Nonetheless, the two grabbed these, and anything else they could find. They also ran through marketplaces, taking foos that were either nonperishable, or simply had a while to expire.

"Hawkeye."

She stopped, and turned to her partner.

"Yes, sir?"

"I think we should grab a notebook."

They continued walking.

"Why is that?"

"To take notes on the behaviors of the Zombies. We could study them, maybe find new weaknesses, or battle techniques. Who knows, we could even stumble on a cure."

Hawkeye nodded.

"When we pass through a store that has those, and a pen, I'll grab some."

They headed forward until they found one last gun store. Upon entering, they found several weapons still in stock. Riza took two shotguns, and fixed them up to work correctly. She put one on her back, with the strap around her, and gave the other to Mustang.

"For rainy days."

Mustang looked at it unfamiliarly, and took it.

"I believe we're ready," he stated, making a face at the weapon.

"So then, what comes next?"

He looked to the west. Riza's eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat.

"We're going to exterminate the undead, and establish a safezone throughout this town."

.

.

"We're going to the desert."

He was in the bath at Izumi's one-house, which they had returned to yesterday. Winry was in the same room, wrapped up in a towel. She had just crawled out of her bath with him. She was now brushing her hair with a comb Alphonse had created for her.

"The desert? Why the desert? I thought we were going to Yock Island?"

"That was my original intention, yes. But I've been thinking about it and..."

Winry looked at him, then quickly blushed and looked back to her reflection. It was hard to scold him while he was naked. Rather than complain about how far away the desert was, and how they were right by Yock Island, she simply asked "And?"

"Well, I was thinking about decomposition. Animals and plants decompose faster in hot temperatures. In ice, they will freeze and remain virtually untouched."

Winry huffed, and carefully thought up her response.

"While that is logial, what about Yock Island? There aren't any Zombies there at all."

"We don't know that for sure. If there were, we'd be screwed."

"But how would they even get on that island?"

Ed mulled this over, while Winry was growing tired of the topic.

"Well, how long does it take for the disease to spread?"

Winry thought about her last automail patient. It took him two whole days for the reanimation. Then, she thought about when Al, May, and her had gone through Rush Valley. Paninya had mentioned to her that for most, it only took twenty-four hours.

"About a day, give or take, depending on who it is."

"It doesn't take a day to get there. So, what if someone were carrying the disease, and left for the island?"

He stood up, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

"Edward..."

He was by the door, holding his hand on the doorknob.

"You've got that look on your face. Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back," he said with a warm smile on his face. "The lake's where I'm going. I'll be on the boat. I just want to check on something."

She had a feeling that she couldn't come with him.

"Alright," she sighed, looking down at her feet. "Just...take Al, in case you get attacked."

He smiled, and kissed her cheek. She blushed once again, and grabbed hold of his hair, pulling him back for his lips. She hoped this wouldn't be the last kiss.

"Okay," he said, slowly parting. "I'll be back by supper."

.

.

"So, we're not going to Yock island?" Al asked.

"Nope."

They were in the lake now, about halfway there.

"Wow, the water's really clear."

"That's why we're here, Al."

Al looked at Ed, curiously.

"Are we fishing?"

Edward shook his head.

"We'd have brought fishing poles if we were, dummy!"

"Then what are we doing?"

"Seeing if the undead can swim."

Al was a little startled from that reply.

"If they could, wouldn't this be danger-"

Ed shushed him, and pointed down. "Look..."

At the very bottom of the lake, which at this point was only twenty to thirty feet deep, were three or four walking dead. They didn't appear to notice the boat, and continued heading towards the south. That was the direction for Yock Island.

"So. It isn't safe. And if it is so far – well, it isn't going to be for very long."

.

.

They were gathered up in a military vehicle. Several days of tracking down Edward Elric, and they'd finally managed to get a clue.

The man in charge of the machine gun groaned.

"What if they've already left for the island? Finding them could be impossible."

"Stop being such a bitch, Havoc."

A dog barked. They looked over at Feury, who was holding Hawkeye's pup, Black Hayate.

"He does have a point..."

"You too, Feury?"

"No, seriously! That island is bound to be deserted. We might never find them!" Feury explained. Breda shook his head.

"What do you think, Falman?"

Falman was previously asleep, and refused to wake up to join an argument. Breda sighed.

"Well, if they can't be found, at least we'll be safe."

Dublith was in sight now.

"Wow. No doubt Mustang's been here. Look at this smoke!" Havoc pointed. The once grassland appeared to have been ravaged by fire. Burnt, fried-beyond-movement corpses lay halfhazardly around the area.

"Kinda scary, if you ask me," Feury whimpered, holding on the Black Hayate. Too bad no one had asked him.

"It must have rained recently," a suddenly awake Falman spoke. "Look – footprints. Sure enough, they're headed for Dublith."

"But there are only two sets. If you look closely, they appear to be military uniform boots. So, we're missing Ed?" Breda asked.

"Ah, well. Good thing is, Mustang's still alive – you can tell by the pattern. No stagger.

"So what about Elric? He can't be dead."

"Exactly. No need to worry about him."

They passed by a Zombie, feasting on a corpse. Havoc tossed his cigarette on the ground, and headted up the gun. Quickly he fired, shooting the ghoul down where it sat. Headshot.

.

.

"White this down: The moan of a Zombie is actually a hunting signal used to summon others – this is to have somone assist them with the kill."

"Yes, sir."

"The disease spreads through bites. If you are killed before reanimation, through being eaten or other reasons, you will not reanimate."

"Got it."

They came onto a road with undead scattered about. He aimed for the most infected area, snapped, and set fire.

"After we've cleaned Dublith, we'll barricade it off with Alchemy, and leave any survivors here. Then, we'll move on to other towns, slowly working out way up to Central City. Once there, we'll announce evacuation of the town, and wait for any survivors. After a week, we'll have to destroy it."

Hawkeye nodded and did not say a word. She was troubled.

"Is something wrong?" he asked the silence.

"It's a lot like the war in Ishval, isn't it? Except, they started it this time. But we're grouping them for slaughter, uch like the extermination camp. And it's hard, killing them. Children, Mustang – we have to kill children. Who knows if they actually have emotions, or even feelings..."

"It's nothing like Ishval."

The man said nothing else, but promptly placed a hand on her shoulder. They passed by another street, and set fire to more walkers.

Minutes passed.

Hours passed. They had gotten rid of most of the undead population on this part of town. It was now completely silent, other than the snaps of the fires, and their own footsteps.

"Do you think Elric went off to Yock Island?" asked Riza.

"No."

"Why not?"

He pused, and let out a smile.

"Because I see him."

"What?" she asked, looking around. "Where?"

In the distance, two figures approached. One was instantly recognizable as Edward, but the other was a little harder to figure out. Eventually, she put two and two together, and felt herself gasping for breath.

"Edward! Alphonse! So you're alive!" she exclaimed, then coughed.

"Hey!" Ed yelled, then quickly grew quiet. "Oh...er..."

Al looked at him, confused.

"I'm sorry I ditched you guys."

Mustang, were these the old days, would have scolded him. Instead, he asked him a question.

"Are you going to Yock Island?"

Edward shook his head. "No. It's doomed. The Zombies can walk underwater – they're headed towards it."

Mustang tapped Hawkeye's notebook, to ask her to write it down. She nodded.

"SO then, where are you headed?" he asked Ed.

"The desert between Amestris and Xing. They'll decompose faster out there. You?"

"We're going to cleanse the region, from here to Central."

Ed chuckled.

"Good luck with that."

"As with you. I hope your theory on decomposition is correct."

"We don't have much of a choice."

He felt a nudge.

"Brother," Al whispered. "We do have a choice. We could join Mustang and fight. It sounds crazy, but it might actually be good to stick with him. Plus, with Lan Fan being pregnant..."

"...Then th edesert would actually be a bad idea. You're right."

Ed turned his attention back to the two ex-soldiers, and lifted his chin. This was his final descision.

"Mustang. Hawkeye. Would you mind if we joined you?"

.

.

End-of-Chapter Notes: It's a pretty short and flavorless chapter, I know. BUT I ALREADY HAVE THE NEXT ONE WRITTEN. I'll post it tomorrow, along with other stories. So, uh. Read it if you're still interested. :)