If you are always prepared for the harbinger, then you will find yourself prepared for nothing.

"You couldn't have picked out something a little more classy, Fullmetal?"

Roy stepped out of the bushes. He had sent Edward to pick out some new clothes for him, since his military uniform was ragged and a dead giveaway. But they were still too close to Central, which was why Roy didn't go pick out the clothes himself. He still should have known better than to send a fifteen year old boy to get clothes without telling him what kind. Sending him off with his sizes and an "anything that's not stupid" was not enough.

"I went with practicality, not style." Ed said as he examined Mustang's new getup. "You can't travel through the woods efficiently in a pantsuit."

Ed had picked out a pair of khaki cargo pants, a black undershirt, and a dark green button-up. It wasn't bad, definitely better than what he expected Ed to bring back. But the colors clashed and the cargo pants reminded Roy of his days as a cadet in training. Days he wanted to forget. He kept his military boots, since they were actually built to withstand most terrain.

"Whatever," Mustang lifted the collar of his shirt, trying to hide the red lines. He picked up the insulated jacket that Ed had also gotten for the cold nights and started walking. "Let's keep moving."

"The number of military personnel was a lot less than the last town. You think they're giving up?"

"It's more likely that they just haven't caught up yet. The military doesn't know whether I'm headed east or west with the river, and they would be stopping in every town notifying citizens about a dangerous man on the loose. That should delay them a little."

"You know, you still haven't really told me where we're going either." Ed said as he stood up. "Keep heading west and eventually you'll leave the country."

"I know that, it's just…" There was no good way to explain the instinct. The only driving force he had and it was coming from the salamander part of him. Ed would laugh. "It's just where I need to go."

"Listen Colonel, it's not that I don't trust you-" Roy gave him a look. "Okay, I trust you about as far as I can throw you. But the whole 'I just need to go west' is not good enough anymore." Ed was getting irritated. Maybe Mustang should have let him sleep more. "I'm putting my own safety on the line here."

"I never asked you to follow me."

"Yes you did, all those years ago when you came to my house and told us we could get our bodies back."

"If you're not with me, then just go back. I'm sure Al and the others could use your help."

"You know I can't do that." Ed growled. "I'm the only link you have with your team. Without me, you're flying blind and unassisted. So why don't you just tell me what the plan is?"

Roy stopped. He gritted his teeth, feeling the sharp points grind against each other. He spun around so fast that Edward almost fell over. "Okay, listen. I can't tell you where I'm going because I'm not entirely sure myself. There's just this stupid… feeling I guess, that I have that all my answers are in the west. I have nothing else to go off of, because I'm not even sure if this is real or if I'm going insane." His voice grew tight with every word. "I didn't ask to get kidnapped, I sure as hell didn't ask to be turned into this. My future is gone, my humanity has been ripped from me. Everything that I am has been taken away. All I have left is my instincts, which aren't really even mine, and they are telling me to go west!"

Ed said nothing, staring at Mustang with terrified awe in his eyes. It was then that Roy remembered what his face looked like now. Blood-red eyes, pointy teeth, any other person that took one look at him would scream monster and run. But Ed hadn't done that yet. Ed was still here, for now. Mustang sighed and took a step back.

"And I would like to cover as much ground as I can while I still have the energy." Roy knew that as soon as the sun went down his body would begin to slow. "I don't really have a plan, Full Metal. But if you really want one, then that's it. You can either leave or stay… but I will admit that you're not wrong about me needing you."

Roy turned and continued walking, following the same direction his gut kept telling him to. A few seconds later, he heard the footfalls of Edward behind him. They traveled like this for a few hours. The silence was only broken when they would decide how to get around a certain obstacle. Finally, Ed spoke up.

"So what do mean by 'instinct'?"

It wasn't high on the list of things that Roy wanted to talk about. So far the instinct he had gained had caused him nothing but trouble. Burning down Hakuro's office was the big one, but Roy still wasn't sure if that was even the same instinct as the one leading him now. He knew that the one that was telling him to go west was the one that saved his life at the canal by telling him to jump into the water. It felt the same, at least. This was all still very new to Roy, and frankly it still scared the hell out of him. But maybe trying to explain it would help him to understand it better as well. And Ed's opinion was always different from his, so he would take any advice or half-assed guess that he could get.

"I don't really know how to describe it." Roy began. "It's just like any other goal oriented feeling. If you're hungry, then you go to the kitchen. If you need something, you go and get it. Only I don't know what I need. I skipped straight to the 'go and get it' part."

"That doesn't sound like instinct, then." Ed said. "Instinct is was makes birds fly south for the winter, or baby sea turtles head toward the sea when they hatch. It's a predictable repetitive behavior given a certain stimulation."

Roy gave Ed a look. "How do you know that?"

Ed shrugged. "I hung around a dog growing up. It had crossed my mind when I was studying alchemy to take up veterinary practice."

"What made you change your mind?"

"Found out that I didn't like animals all that much."

Roy smirked at that. "So if it's not an instinct, then what is it?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Ed shrugged. "I'm a purely logical being. I don't get 'instincts' or 'gut feelings'."

Roy paused, thinking back and trying to find a stimulus that could have triggered everything. It was then that something occurred to him.

"I was approached by another chimera when they were transferred." Roy said, thinking. "He vaguely hinted about a connection that all chimera could feel with each other. Or at least the ones that the Sentries made. Could that be what this is?"

"That sounds completely ridiculous to me." Ed made a face. Then it softened as he said "but there's been lot of things lately that I thought were ridiculous."

Mustang looked ahead as the wheels in his mind spun. There really was no better way to explain it; a rope that was pulling him, a hand that was pushing him, it was too foreign of a feeling for Mustang to put into words. He wasn't feeling a pull back toward Central where the other chimera were being kept, which seemed to disprove his theory. But maybe it was more complicated than that. There was a reason he didn't specialize in biological alchemy. Transmuting life forms was the least understood field of alchemy, and even the greatest alchemists still didn't know a whole lot about it.

"So let's say the Sentries chimeras do have this 'connection' with each other." Ed spoke up. "I thought you had them all transferred to that warehouse."

"I did." Roy stated. Then he remembered. "Actually no, that's not true. There was one that escaped, a lone chimera that wasn't in a cage like the others. She was in the room with me when I was transmuted, and she ran away through that hole that Armstrong made."

"Could your instinct possibly be leading us to her?"

Roy stopped. They had just crested a hill that opened up into a wide, shallow valley. A storm front was forming over the foothills across the valley, meaning it was going to rain within the next couple of days. At the base of the valley, a small orchard town sat in the early afternoon daylight. The rows upon rows of different trees lined up next to each other gave the town a guarded, mystical look. What were the odds that chimera was even still alive? A lot could happen in three days, Roy knew that more than anyone. However… Roy couldn't deny the wordless connection he had felt with it…her.

"I couldn't tell you, FullMetal." Roy said after a few moments of silence. "Honestly, if this turns out to be a bust, then I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Well that's easy." Edward started. "You keep looking."

Mustang gave Edward a look, not really in the mood for uplifting, motivational talk. But then he saw that Ed wasn't looking at him, or the valley town. His right hand was in front of his face, his eyes were solemn as they took in the details of the automail. The metal shined in the sunlight, casting reflections across the boy's face.

"You just gotta keep looking, and hope that one day…" Mustang wasn't sure if Ed was talking to him or himself. "Hope that one day you find the answer. It's all we can do."

Ed let his hand drop, sighing through his nose. Roy regarded Ed in a light that he hadn't seen in a long time. Roy had been a chimera for only a few days. Ed had been dealing with his condition for years. Roy just now realized that it was a miracle that the boy hadn't simply given up or broken down after all this time.

"How?" Roy asked in a breath. It was a vague question, but Ed looked at him with knowing eyes.

"With the help of your friends, of course."

Hawkeye moved her sunglasses further up on her nose as she regarded the dry landscape around her, a blue and red bird floating lazily on the horizon. Havoc sat in the passenger seat of their all-terrain motorcar. His eyes scanned the map lazily, following roads and highways, formulating a route that would be the fastest and most discrete way to the southern tip of Amestris while also stopping at all suspected areas where the Sentries could be hiding.

"As far as we know, this Rams guy has connections within Aerugo, but he can't actually enter the country?" Havoc scratched his head. "How does that work?"

"Aerugo doesn't want a psychotic criminal inside their borders any more than we do." Hawkeye turned the car onto a dirt road. "Tensions between us and them may be tight, but they are still one of our biggest trading partners. Besides, if Prince Rico really wants to achieve peace with us, then he wouldn't dare think about taking in one of our most dangerous fugitives."

"Meh. All this economic stuff makes sense in the big picture," Havoc sighed. "But when you get down to the nitty-gritty details, it just seems to become so unnecessarily complicated."

They continued driving until they reached a small outlet with a gas station and a phone booth. While Havoc filled the tank, Riza made a call to Central.

"Warrant Officer Fallman."

"Have the others checked in yet?" Riza didn't have to specify. "Yes ma'am." Riza heard the rustle of papers. "They're in Havenport, the headquarters for the West Amestris testing facility."

"Very good." Riza nodded to herself. "Havoc and I will be stopping in Lucasville for the night."

"Okay." Fallman paused. "The last time Ed checked in, he and the Colonel were still heading west. But that was two days ago…"

"They're fine, Fallman." Riza could see the young man worrying on the other side of the phone. "Traveling on foot takes a while."

"I know, sir." Riza was about to hang up, until she heard Fallman was still talking. She pressed the phone back to her ear. "…thought you should know, Hughes, Fury, and Breda said they heard strange rumors around Havenport. Some strange creature has been creeping into town at night and scaring people. It hasn't hurt anybody, just been looting around in trash and…eating flowers out of peoples gardens?"

"That…is strange." Riza had no idea what to think. "Thanks for the heads up, Fallman."

Riza hung up and returned to the car just as Havoc finished paying for gas and a bottle of water. Riza sighed. Phone tag was not her preferred method of communication, but given the circumstances, Team Mustang didn't really have any other choice. Havoc reached under his seat, bringing up a thick file.

"There are five locations that the Sentries are known to have been." He stated. "Given the state of their organization, I think it's safe to assume that they won't try to establish a new base." Havoc paused, thoughts swimming behind his eyes. "Cross checking remoteness and resources, we can probably narrow it down to three… but that's not much."

"Either way, it doesn't hurt to be sure." Riza pulled out of the gas station. "We can't give the Sentries too much time to recover."

"At the same time though, if we find them and it's just you and me, we could be in big trouble." Havoc grimaced at the thought.

"Don't worry." Riza dropped her sunglasses back down on her face. "I won't let that happen."

A/N: I try really hard not to be the writer who doesn't post chapters for years. But that's not really happening. I don't have an excuse, but my finals are this week, and in my desperation to study I decided to write more on this story. I personally don't think this chapter is that good, but it gets from point A to point B.

Please read, review, and enjoy!