It was now night time at Fuery's second house that Roy had mentioned earlier. Ling and the others were already there, and he was resting on a box near the room where Lan Fan and Chiui were being treated at. There was only one bed in the room, so they gathered something for Chiui to rest on.

"You two walked in the sewers, with one of you having your arm cut off?!" Knox was shocked. "As he put some of his instruments in the water pan next to him, and the blood come off of them in the water. "I wouldn't be surprised if you got tetanus!"

He then sighed in frustration. "I've only dealt with corpses lately. So I may be a bit rough."

A cloth was rested on Lan Fan's mouth so she can hold onto it with her teeth as Knox tended to her wound. Lan Fan moaned in pain as blood was dripping out of her wound. Chiui was waiting patiently, cringing at how much pain the bodyguard was in. Chiui knew she was in less pain than Lan was, but not that less. Chiui had developed a throbbing headache from her severe head wound, and her arm was aching a bit. But she felt bad for Lan, truly, and so did Ling.

He was outside as already mentioned, and had a look of shame on his face...self-shame.

Al and Ed were standing near him.

"I'm sorry..." Ed went to say, but Ling interrupted him.

"Don't get the wrong idea." he then opened his eyes, locking them on the brothers. "We're the ones who offered to help."

Lan Fan's groans could be heard in the background.

"We only worked with you guys because we had a common interest." he continued, pulling one knee up and leaning forward on it in guilt. "I'm seeking something so great as immortality. I was prepared for the worst when I left my country."

He clenched his trembling fist. "No...I wasn't prepared enough. Lan Fan and Chiui were more prepared than I was."

Some time passed by, and the groans and moans of pain from Lan Fan subsided, though some came out of Chiui as Knox tended her wounds.

Lan Fan and the Xingese/Ishvalan girl got some rest, and Lan Fan soon opened her eyes. Her eyesight was blurry, however, at first, but cleared right away. Chiui began opening her eyes as well.

All they saw was Knox cleaning his hands off, and a relieved Ed and Al. It seemed that Riza and Roy were talking to each other, aside.

"Are you two all right?" Alphonse asked them out of concern.

Ed leaned in with a happy smile. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

Lan Fan turned to face him with a weary grin on her face, though it was hard for her to move it. "Your trap wasn't half bad..." she complimented him weakly. "But I can't use it anymore..." She was quiet for a moment. "I need a replacement arm."

Ed's golden eyes widened as he looked at his auto-mail arm. "Sure!" he agreed with a determined look on her face. "I'll introduce you to an awesome auto-mail mechanic!"

Lan Fan's dark eyes seemed to be smiling in relief. Chiui's were like that as well as she stood up carefully from her bed, with Riza helping her out.

"I'm sure Lan Fan will need it, Ed." Chiui smiled. "She's a tough and brave person." she sent a knowing grin in the bodyguard's direction, in which Lan did the same.

Light from a lantern shone on Ling as someone approached him with an outstretched hand. Looking up, he saw it to be Roy.

"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang of the military." Roy introduced himself. "You must be proud to have those two by your side."

Ling stood up, clapping his hands together to show his gratitude. " I'm Ling Yao, 12th prince of the Xing Dynasty. And yes, I'm proud to have a vassal and a friend like Chiui." he felt his cheeks fluster a bit when he mentioned the girl's name, but he then took the man's hand. "I'm grateful that you found us a doctor."

"You helped us out by helping Maria Ross, as well." he reminded the Prince, and then turned around, facing an unused place in the house. "And this thing, too."

As the light shone on Gluttony, the Homunculus squirmed around, making the wooden floor creak beneath him. Soon enough, Ed, Al, and Knox were behind the two dark-haired people.

"Hey, what the hell is that?" Knox spoke up.

"He's a Homunculus by the name of Gluttony." Roy replied.

"Ho-"

"Apparently, this guy has some sort of connection with a portion of upper echelons of the military."

One word that Roy used struck Ling. " ' A portion'?!" he exclaimed. "You have no idea!"

Roy gave him a bewildered look.

"King Bradley." Ling's eyes opened very slightly in annoyance of remembering him. "It's possible that he is a Homunculus, as well."

Everybody looked at him in shock.

"He had a tattoo of Ouroburos on his eye underneath his eyepatch." Ling pointed to his right eye. "He and Gluttony both came after us."

"No way..." Ed was thrown off by this, as well as his younger brother.

"The top man of the country is a Homunculus!?"

Ling had looked away for a moment, which confirmed it. "But...Bradley didn't give off a sense of not being a human, like Gluttony did." He turned to face the group. "He feels the same as an ordinary human."

"Then..." The suit of armor began, but a thought came into his head. "First of all, if the Fuhrer President is a Homunculus, then what about his son?! I read in a book that Homunculi aren't able to reproduce!"

"No." Knox answered his question straight out, seeming to be in thought. "His son, Selim, was adopted. He doesn't carry the blood of the Fuhrer President."

"Hmph."

That simple scoff from Roy got the group's attention, noticing that Roy had a smirk on his face when he heard about that.

"A monster or a human..." the Colonel spoke up, "Whichever it may be, now it's easier to drag him out of his position." He then turned to Gluttony. "We'll get information on this guy, first. Let's take his Philosopher's Stone, too. I may be able to use it to heal my man."

"Hey, hey, hey!" This seemed to set Ling off. "Lan Fan lost her arm to obtain that, as well as Chiui trying to save her as she did so! We're taking that back to Xing!"

Bickering started to go on in the group, making them oblivious to what was going on in the abandoned room.

Gluttony's body was starting to squirm out of the wire, and he was growling in anger. "Mustang...? Mustang..."

This happened to get the groups' attention, causing them to look at the Homunculus with widened eyes.

"You killed Lust...Lust...Colonel Mustang...ROY MUSTANG!"

An eye suddenly emerged on Gluttony's stomach, bearing sharp teeth. And before they knew it, it started glowing, setting of a huge wind beam that took out the whole part of the room in front of it.

Ed's jaw dropped in amazement as he stared at the trench left from the attack. "Wha...what did that thing just do!?"

Riza was outside, still keeping guard when she saw what happened. She gasped. "Colonel!"

She jumped into the trench, skidding down. "What's going on here!? Colonel!"

"Stop, Lieutenant!"

That order from the Colonel stopped her just in team as another wind beam went right past her, ripping the front of her gun completely. She stared at it in shock.

"Colonel!" she yelled, seeing the top of the house fall.

"Where are you, Col...!?" Her fretful question was put to a halt when she saw a round figure emerge from the dust left from the explosion.

The eye of the Homunculus got bigger, showing more teeth and the Homunculus' mouth that merged with it. Riza got ready to fire at him, but heard a crash to the right of her. Her brown eyes caught sight of a fallen Roy, Alphonse, Knox, and Ed. Mei's small panda was holding on to Roy's face, covering it completely.

"Don't get it started, Lieutenant!" Roy took the panda off his face. "I'm the one it's after!"

The Homunculus heard him, sending a wind beam in his direction. He and the rest of the group dodged it just in time.

"Lan Fan! Chiui!" Ling rushed to the room where the 2 girls were staying as the roof rumbled above them.

"What is happening, my Prince?" Lan Fan asked him as Chiui rushed over to their side. Her arm and head were still aching, but not as much as they were earlier. She now had a bandaid over her forehead and one wrapped around the top of her injured arm.

"We're getting out of here." Ling told her. "The monster...had another one hiding inside its stomach. It's swallowing everything in its path!"

Ed stared, wide eyed at the newly formed Homunculus, who was growling at them as he held onto a tree.

"Is...is this the kind of monster...alchemy can create?" his face was sweating and becoming chilled by this.

"We have no choice." Roy replaced the glove he was wearing with his Flame Alchemy glove. "I'm going to kill it.""

"Wait!" Alphonse spoke up. "A live Homunculus is just what we wanted, right!?"

"Our survival is first. Plus, it knows our names and faces." Roy then snapped his fingers towards Gluttony, sending a streak of alchemy. "We can't risk letting this thing escape alive!"

When the streak of alchemy reached the Homunculus, it exploded into flames. However, the Homunculus started swallowing the flames up slowly, releasing a belch afterwards.

"He swallowed...the flames?" The Elric brothers almost said this in unison. The trio then dashed off, missing Gluttony's beam.

"You're useless!" Ed complained to Roy.

"Then why don't you do something!?"

"No offense, Colonel, but could you not follow us!?" Al butted in. "It's you that thing wants!"

The three of them headed for the woods, splitting up. Roy was on his own now, but not for long, as Gluttony appeared near him, his mouth gaped open. Thankfully, Riza passed behind the monster, shooting him with her bullets. It succeeded in altering his balance, but not the beam that came out.

Roy continued running, relieved to be saved by his subordinate for a moment. However, he winced in pain from his wound, falling to his knees. This is pathetic...

"Hurry up, boy!" Knox ordered to Ling as he put Lan Fan in the back of the car, and Chiui in the front. "We're leaving! They can get better medical treatment in the city! Get in or I'm going without you."

He then gritted his teeth as he started up the car. "I'm just a civilian-I shouldn't even be here! Whatever trouble you people started, I'm not about to lose my life over it!"

Ling could hear explosions in the distance.

Gluttony's feet stomped against the ground as he went searching for the Colonel, growling as he did so. He then happened to see him laying down on the ground, resting his hand on his wound. The Homunculus thought that he had finally gotten the Colonel, but when the aftermath of the beam subsided, and he swallowed the top of it, he only saw it to be a dummy, making him angrier than before.

Ed and Al had already arrived at the car, with Roy and Riza not far behind.

"Did it fall for the dummy?" Ed questioned the Colonel.

"Hope it's not in some crazy rage." Al worried.

"Hurry up!" he said to the four, with Roy getting in.

"Hurry up and get in the car, you useless fool!" Ed kicked the car, which didn't really help much. Aside, Alphonse told Riza to get in the car to take care of Lan Fan and Chiui.

"You can't tell me to leave at a time like this!" Roy yelled towards the golden-haired teen, which only caused a bickering between him, Alphonse, and Ed to emerge.

"I'm afraid I must concur, sir." Riza agreed with the brothers. "You'll be no help to them in your condition."

Ed's eyebrows twitched. The Colonel can be dense... "Look, there are things that only can be done by a colonel." he told the Flame alchemist. "The fact that the military head is a Homunculus isn't something you can just ignore, isn't it?"

"This is no time for chit chat!" Knox interrupted. "Hurry up and get into the car!"

Edward, Alphonse, and Ling exchanged glances.

"There's not enough room." Ed gave the adults and injured girls an assuring smile. "Just go on without us."

"Don't be a fool!" Knox said to them, in which the 2nd Lieutenant added, "We can't abandon you kids here on the battlefield!"

Ling leaned forward, resting his hands on the bottom of his sword. "The thing you seek isn't really a Homunculus or the Philosopher's Stone, is it, Colonel Mustang? So shouldn't you be battling the military high command?"

"As for us," Ed added, "we still need to get some info of that Gluttony thing. We'll take care of him. The fact that we are kids isn't important. We're the ones that came up with this plan. It's up to us to clean our own mess." He then gave them a grateful nod. "Thanks for all the help you've given us."

Riza got out one of her guns. "Edward...take this with you." she held it out towards him. "You know how to use it, don't you?"

Ed's golden eyes rested on the tool with fear, and so did Al's.

"That's...a tool for killing people." Al's tone was that of sorrow.

"It's a tool for protecting yourselves."

Ed's eyes were still glued to the gun, but once flashbacks of Winry came into his mind, he took it. The two teens and the suit of armor then heard an explosion going off in the woods.

Ling turned towards the car. "Please take care of Lan Fan and Chiui!"

"Prince..." Lan Fan's voice was weak as Riza rested a cloth on her forehead, and Chiui rested a hand on her own; it was beginning to ache more. "Prince!"

Lan Fan's call for her Prince was mixed in with Chiui's "Ling!", but their calls were too late; he was already gone, along with the two brothers.

"Let's go... ." Roy ordered to the doctor, who hit his fist on the wheel.

"Those idiot brats!" he roared. "Trying to be so noble! It's people like that who die young!"

"The President is a Homunculus!?" The female 2nd Lieutenant exclaimed as the other two men, Chiui, and Lan Fan were farther down the road.

"So Ling says." Roy replied.

"But I can't be sure unless I see it myself."

"So, the one who gave the order for the Ishval Annihilation Campaign might not even be human?" Knox scowled.

Roy rested a hand over his mouth in thought. "If there are other Homunculi living among us pretending to be human...that could be...problematic."

The doctor released a forced laugh. "Heh! It's more creepy than problematic!"

More explosions went off as Gluttony continued to search for the Colonel, bellowing his name over and over again.

"...I know I said I'd battle that thing but...it's totally freaking me out!" Ed shivered as he, Ling, and Alphonse hid behind some trees in the forest.

"You're doing a complete 180..." Ling sighed.

"How are we going to catch it?" Alphonse added.

"If it could at least go back to its original, more gentle form..." Thoughts started going through the Prince's head. "...If only the Colonel was still here...maybe if we threw him into Gluttony's mouth, that would calm him down."

"Good thinking, Ling." Ed complimented, but as he said that the Homunculus spotted them, sending a huge wind beam at them.

"Where's all that stuff it swallows going to, anyway!?" The golden-haired teen yelled towards Ling's angrily.

"How should I know!?" The Prince replied with the same tone. "These Homunculi are made from alchemy, right!? You tell me!"

"Aw, jeez. This is going nowhere!"

Something suddenly got their attention, causing the group to turn. Mei's panda did the same, growling towards the forest.

As the suit of armor went to ask what's wrong, a horse appeared before the group.

"Stop, Gluttony." It spoke up, causing the said Homunculus to twitch.

"It spoke!?" Ling exclaimed, in which the horse's ears perked up by his voice.

"You're the one...from the other day!" the horse grinned evilly, and before they knew it, the creature transformed into someone...someone familiar.

Ed's eyes widened; it was Envy.

"Yo!" The Palm Tree Homunculus smirked. "Long time no see, little Fullmetal boy!"

Time passed by, and Chiui and Lan Fan were now at a different house, Dr. Knox's house. Roy and Riza had departed, and both of the teens were clueless of where they went.

had taken Lan Fan to a room separate from the others, and had the light on. He attached something to Lan Fan's right arm as she lied in the bed, bed sheets covering most of her body. The doctor then found a chair for Chiui to sit in, and something to rest her injured arm on.

"It's a shabby old man's room, but at least it's better than that shack. There are other empty rooms in the house, but they haven't been used since my wife and kids left me. If the lights in those rooms are on, the neighbors will become suspicious." Knox then turned to Lan Fan. "You don't want your whereabouts known, right?"

"Oh..." Lan Fan said weakly. "Thank you very much..."

"Don't thank me." Knox got out a cigarette lighting it with a match. "I did my duty as a doctor, nothing more. Just hurry up and get better."

"This is no time to be lying down..." the bodyguard started sitting up, "I must go to my Prince..."

"Don't be a fool!" the doctor stopped her. "What can you do in your condition!?"

Lan Fan looked over to the mirror next to her, resting her hand where her left arm once was. Her hand slightly trembled. "My arm...it really is gone..." She rested herself down back on the pillow, gritting her teeth in regret, using her hand to cover her eyes.

"I'll watch you and the other girl's I.V's." he told her. "Get some sleep."

"Do you still have that headache?" he asked the Xingese/Ishvalan girl, who shook her head, which meant no.

"But my arm is hurting still." Chiui's breath was coming out in short bursts. "It keeps on hurting off and on, and the pain is unbelievable."

"I can understand." Dr. Knox nodded, grabbing a cigarette from a box and smoking it. "I was in the War of Extermination, taking care of the injured. But their injuries were fare more worse than yours and the other girl's are."

He then became quiet for a moment, and focused his eyes on Chiui. He noticed her slightly tanner Ishvalan skin, and his eyes widened, surprised that he didn't pay attention to that before.

"Y...You're part Ishvalan?" he exclaimed, which threw the girl off.

She didn't know what to say. "Um...I don't think so. I mean, I've read a lot about Ishval and its people back in the library of my house back in Xing, but I don't think I'm part Ishvalan. Why do you ask?'

Knox took out the cigarette for a moment, and pointed to her skin. "It is obvious that you are not fully Xingese, that you are part of another race. Ishvalans have dark, tan skin. You have dark skin, but it is lighter than the usual Ishvalan skin. It is rare for that to happen, especially for Xingese and Ishvalan races to intersect."

"How come?" Chiui was curious now, and Knox knew that. So he filled her in on the details of the Xingese-Ishvalan war, and how the Xingese came to be prejudiced about the Ishvalans since then. He wasn't in the war, but he heard a lot about it from citizens in Ishval during the Ishvalan war.

"Speaking of which," he added after a pause, "I came across this certain Ishvalan named Samuel Minos."

"Samuel Minos?" Chiui's eyes widened at the name. "Who is he?"

Knox became quiet for a moment, trying to recall. "Well, he had just returned back from Xing, and was in the mist of the Ishvalan war. He became injured by falling rubble of buildings, as well as alchemy being used by the Amestrians fighting the Ishvalans. He happened to come across this family in danger, since a huge piece of rubble was about to fall on them, and they were being cornered by Amestrians. Samuel knew what was going to happen, and rushed to save them. He was able to save the little girl from the rubble when it fell down, but the parents weren't so lucky."

Chiui knew what he meant, and stayed quiet for him to continue.

"Thankfully, the Amestrians got distracted by an Ishvalan who charged at them, saving Samuel and the little girl from getting hurt by them. This also gave time for Samuel to find a nearby healing center for the little girl to go. He found one with two Amestrian doctors, and told them to take good care of her. They asked him if he wanted to stay, since he was badly wounded. He politely said no, and came over to where I was healing people. That's when I met him and he told me his fascinating story."

Chiui leaned forward in her chair; this was grabbing at her curiosity by the minute.

"He had told me that he had gone to Xing to learn alkahestry-Xing's version of alchemy. But instead, he came across this noble woman named Rin Youngsen, and fell in love with her. The two have an affair, with Samuel not knowing that the Ishvalans and Xingese were enemies, but he didn't care about that if he had found out. But when their affair was found out by the Emperor of Xing and also Rin's grandmother, Rai, Samuel was forced to go back to Ishval. The Emperor was disappointed in Rin cheating on him, and refused to see the baby when it was born. In other words, Rin had become pregnant during her and Samuel's affair."

As he said Chiui's mother's name and Rai's name, it hit Chiui, and tears emerging in her eyes, making them glassy. She didn't want to interrupt, so she stayed quiet.

"He told me about how he wanted to meet that child when it was born, but knew that he couldn't because he would face death if he was spotted back in Xing. ' I'm sure he or she will be beautiful.' is what he added afterwards. So he didn't know the gender of the baby, and still doesn't." Knox was looking down the whole time at his feet, and was now looking up at Chiui. "That's why I think...that you must be his daughter."

Chiui covered her mouth with her hands, now letting the tears in her eyes run freely down her face. All of her life, she has been wanting to find out about her father, wondering where he was all these years. Now, at 15 years old, almost 16, she has finally found out about him, and knows now where he is.

"I...I have to get to Ishval immediately!" she stood up. "I need to see my father!"

"You can't go just yet, young lady!" Knox stopped her. "You have to let your injuries heal first. It'll take a few weeks, maybe months before you can go."

Chiui sat back in her chair with a slump, letting out a long sigh.

"I...I can't believe it...this is such good news!" she said to herself, relieved.

Chiui then glanced over at the I.V. on the lower part on her injured arm, watching the liquid from it go back and forth as a result of her turning her body slightly. After a few minutes of silence went by, she started to feel drowsy, and her crimson eyes started to close.

She was now in Ishval...or at least, her depiction of it. She was walking around, asking people where her father is, only to get lost when she forgot where to go. She then saw someone appear suddenly before her eyes, and ran towards them.

"Father, is that you?" asked Chiui to the person, only to see that it wasn't her father, but a poor Ishvalan woman.

"Chiui...Chiui..." she began to say, making the girl confused and nervous.

"H-How did..."

"Chiui!"

The Xingese/Ishvalan girl woke up with a start, blinking a couple of times. "Huh, what...?" she spoke up, only to see that the one who was saying her name was Lan Fan. "Oh."

"You fell asleep." The Xingese teen told her. "I'm guessing it was about your father, right?" she added a smile, "I'm sure that you're relieved and happy about finally finding out about him."

Chiui nodded, adding a sigh. "Yep. I have been wanting to meet him for my whole life, and now, I feel like a great amount of weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

"I see." Lan released a sigh of her own, looking away. Her dark eyes then locked on Chiui's crimson eyes.

"...I...have been meaning to tell you something." she spoke up.

"And what is that?" Chiui wondered.

Lan pursed her lips. "...I...I want to thank you for trying to save me a few days back. I...really appreciate it."

Chiui's eyes widened, but soon relaxed with a kind smile. "No problem, but I...feel ashamed of myself for not being able to stop that wretched President from hurting you. He was too fast and powerful for us to stop him."

Lan Fan silently agreed with Chiui on Bradley. "But you don't need to feel ashamed. You...did what you could. Besides, I need a new arm in order to fulfill my purpose to my Prince, and I will need to get one as soon as possible once I've healed."

"That's true." Chiui looked down at the floor. "Ling would be proud of you."

The two paused the conversation for about 5 minutes or so until the bodyguard broke the silence. "I've noticed that you become flustered when you hear about or see the Young Lord."

Chiui's head rose sharply, turning immediately at Lan Fan. "W-W-Who told you that?!"

Lan Fan released a short laugh from her throat, adding a smile. "Well, it's obvious by your blush, which you just got right now. Even though you've only known the Young Lord, Grandfather, and I for a while now, you've become quite fond of him. And he's becoming devoted to you as well."

"Oh, that's ridiculous." Chiui laughed nervously, shooing the subject off with her hand, but it didn't go away.

"I...don't think so." Lan told her, then sighed. "To be frank, I have the same feelings for the Lord like you do, except..."

The sudden pause from the bodyguard caused Chiui's head to cock to the side. "Except what?"

The Xingese girl looked away for a moment, pursing her lips. "...Except if the Young Lord and I happen to fall in love and plan to get married in the future, the Xingese law won't allow it. It clearly states that 'an Emperor, or a Prince that is fated to become Emperor, can not, by any means, marry their own bodyguard of the clan that has served their own for years.' It is looked down up frequently, and is very strong. Emperors of previous dynasties in Xing have been either overthrown or executed for trying to break that law."

Chiui's breath was drawn back a bit. "Wow...that is...very harsh punishment. But...I'm sure that if you and Ling do get together, then Ling could find a way to change it so you two can have a happy and married life without anything bad happening. I'm sure Ling is very fond of you, and loves you dearly, since you're both devoted to each other."

"...Thanks." Lan smiled weakly due to the pain in her cut off arm. "But I know that will not happen. I don't want...the Young Lord to face being overthrown or die because of changing that law. That's why I believe...he might choose you instead, since you're from a different, but noble clan, and not from a clan like mine that serves his."

"But why would he choose me, when truthfully, he loves you the most?" Chiui questioned, then rested her back up against the chair; she had been leaning forward during the beginning of her and Lan's talking. "He wouldn't find anything special or interesting in me, really." she then thought about that. "Or would he...?"

"Besides the point, you would make an interesting Empress...if he does decide to choose you." Lan Fan's voice was starting to fade due to sleepiness kicking in. "Oh, and good luck to you on going to Ishval for your father."

"Oh, same to you too, Lan." Chiui went to say, but the bodyguard was already asleep. Knox was trying to stay awake, but behind his glasses, his eyes were protesting, wanting to close.

Chiui, however, wasn't tired, so she focused her eyes on the window, looking out in the night sky.

...Man...Lan Fan deserves a handsome and strong prince like Ling...it's is shown through his emotions that he loves her truly, and wishes to marry her when he becomes Emperor, but their love is fated, destined to not become true. she then looked at . And speaking of my father, I need to ask help from the doctor-what was his name again?- here to take me to Ishval...no. It might put a lot of stress on him. Besides, he's already done a lot for us. So...I'll just go myself.

However, it might take weeks, even months, like the doctor said, for my wounds to heal...

A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a little short, but I've noticed on my previous chapters of Broken Ties that they're long, so I want to prevent that. I'm fixing to have more chapters than I did for Flaming Minds, which had only 20 chapters. So Broken Ties will have 20+ chapters than the original, but it depends.

Hope you liked the chapter, for those that are reading it and following it! :D Chapter 11 will be worked on tomorrow when I have more ideas. ^_^)/