Long black pants, long blonde hair and a long red trench coat… It was a marvel how the older Elric boy wasn't melting beneath the Dublith sun as he walked unsuspectingly through the dirt streets. His larger brother should've been worse...pounds of metal armor in the summer heat should have had him frying on the inside, but instead, he walked with all the effortlessness of a crisp autumn day.

Bido watched them with a smirk, his tail swaying slowly in anticipation. He felt a giddiness at being back on the field in his element. He liked stealth missions when there was no danger involved. It was his specialty. He took pride in being good at it. He knew how to observe; he knew how to listen and learn.

Most importantly he knew how to sneak.

The barefoot chimera weaved through shadowed alleyways, following the boys through the busy shopping district as they shopped for various little things. He took the chance to do the same. His cloak pulled low over his face, Bido used his tail to pocket poorly supervised sweets for his tiny companion back home. She'd developed a sweet tooth since her forced growth-spurt. She wouldn't smile...but her eyes would light up when they spotted a colorful sugary treat. He loved to see it. Marta would say he spoiled her, but they all did. The girl was destined to be rotten and no one minded the sentiment enough to intervene.

He pushed up on his toes, peeping for his assigned targets and quickly spotted them again. He couldn't let the boys wander too far. Usually, he'd use his nose to keep track but the larger Elric was tall enough to spot from yards away. They seemed to be finishing up their errands, which meant it was time for the gecko to really get to work. Bido slid deep into an alley and pushed himself up onto the side of a building, scaling along the side of it easily. He quietly followed the boys out of the shopping district.

Greed had sent him out alone to follow the duo, more specifically the armored one. He didn't expect him to find the secrets to the seemingly immortal body on a single recon mission, of course. He did however, expect to learn where the boys stayed or their immediate schedule so the homunculus could "politely inquire" about the armored boy himself. If they were lucky, it'd end with just that.

The green-tinted chimera took note on which boy seemed to be calling the shots. The larger one carried majority of the groceries while the smaller one seemed to bossily point things out. The short teen had been managing to be directly tangled in a lot of the happenings around the city as of late. He seemed to be involved with not only the military, but with the Curtis woman and the other homunculi as well. His brother only seemed to follow suit. No pun intended.

It was really only a matter of time before their path would stumble across the inhabitants of the Devil's nest.

"Maybe we can visit Miss Dante next week and ask her about the stone." The taller one chimed to his brother, catching Bido's attention.

Dante? Oh yes, these boys were finding themselves very involved in a lot of things.

Bido followed the boys until they turned down a secluded street. Tucker had informed Greed that they had been searching for the Philosopher's Stone when he'd met them in the past. It was most likely still a strong point of interest for them. The man seemed reluctant to speak much on the boys. He might have been trying to protect them...he might have been ashamed. Who knew?

Either way, Bido would keep the stone in mind. Maybe it'd make things go a bit smoother.

He flipped down from a low perch and followed directly behind the boys for another block, but noticed something strange. He could only smell one, the short kid.

Bido's eyes widened. This was familiar.

If he could actually figure out what the boy was on his own, Greed could go ahead and focus on his next move...he just had to make sure.

The chimera focused a bit more, closing his eyes as he walked and sniffing at the air. Other than the overwhelming scent of hot metal and leather, there was nothing. No freshly washed fabrics from clothing or musky stench of sweat from carrying the bulk of bags underneath a ton of metal.

No human scent… and the lightness of his movements was just a bit too…

They suddenly stopped.

The blonde looked over his shoulder. "Can we help you?"

Observant children.

"Actually, I'm here to help you." Bido smiled widely beneath his cloak. He'd have to be quick. Adrenaline pumped through him as it often did when executing a plan. He'd even been thrilled to infiltrate southern HQ with Kimblee until everything had gone awry.

This would be much easier. This child was pierced straight through but kept moving? Bido had a guess on how he survived.

"We don't need anything, thanks. Let's go Al." The shorter brother frowned, turning with a swinging ponytail to continue his walk home.

"Al, that would be Alphonse Elric, yes? And Edward Elric, his older brother?" Bido stepped forward, letting his tail slide from beneath his cloak. "Two boys traveling the country looking for the philosopher's stone?"

They stopped again, and turned to face the chimera. "Who are you and what do you want?" The taller boy questioned sternly.

"Do you know something about the stone?" The second added. They were brave kids, to be able to go from the light banter of moments prior, to the adult aura they were currently trying to project.

Bido crouched down low. "Suuure, sure. But first, I was just wondering if you could answer a...question!" He touched his hands to the ground and dashed forward with his tail flying behind him. The boy's eyes grew large with surprise, but the chimera had to move before they had time to think.

They were alchemists after all.

Bido jumped high, spinning in the air close to Al's helmet and the boy staggered at the closeness. Bido swung his tail hard at the spiked helmet, knocking it off and pushing himself away in the process.

"Ah-wah?! My head!"

My head, not my helmet.

The gecko spun on his heels to turn and see his suspicions confirmed. The armor stood headless, bodiless, but moving, with panicked hands patting at where a helmet once sat.

"I knew it!" He proclaimed, proud of his deductive reasoning. Empty armor would have been the last conclusion anyone came to, but with the things that had happened in lab 5...the things he'd seen, it wasn't that far fetched. "You're empty! Just a soul. You're even less human than I am."

There was a clap, and the electrical current of an alchemic reaction stood the chimera's neck hairs on end. Bido reflexively jumped away from where he was standing, just in time to avoid the ground jutting up beneath him.

The static was still in the air. He looked to see the angered blonde pressing his hands firmly against the ground.

Chimera instincts surged through him.

Run!

He scurried along the wall in a zigzag as a trail of concrete spikes chased him up and down. A separate wall was unexpectedly jutted out into his path. He ran into it, smacking his forehead hard enough to knock his grip lose. He fell flat onto the ground with an "ooff", holding his face with wincing eyes.

"Who are you and why did you attack me!"

Bido was yanked up from the ground and held in the air. The armor boy squeezed him, holding him tightly by the tail. Bido jolted in panic.

Getting caught was not a part of the plan.

Reflexively (and reluctantly) he detached his tail.

One swift movement, with a sickening "pop".

Simply and messily, detached.

"Ewww!" The taller boy reeled as he was left holding a squirming chunk of muscle. Bido ran up and over the makeshift wall, finding his escape as his discarded tail was dropped to the ground. It gave one final twitch, as if cursing its previous owner for the betrayal of leaving it behind.