"Shit!" Ed cursed loudly as he kneeled by Mustang's head.

Carefully, he lifted the man's head to inspect the damage. There was a large gash from the impact with the rock, but it didn't appear to mean there was a crack or anything more severe than that. The gash was just above his left eyebrow and stretched around his head to his left temple. As head wounds do, it was already bleeding a lot. At the sound of dogs barking not too far, it became apparent that they didn't have time for a full examination right here and now.

However, the bullet wound was bleeding far more heavily. Not enough to suggest an artery was hit, but enough that it could still be fatal with blood lose if they weren't careful. They couldn't wait to treat this one. Ed pulled off his jacket and shirt before clapping. He transmuted the shirt into a pressure bandage. Quickly, he wrapped it around Mustang's leg and head, hoping that the filthy material wouldn't cause an infection before he could do something better. With another clap, he reformed what he hadn't used back into a shirt. It was roughly the same size, but was now a short sleeve instead of a long sleeve. He quickly pulled it on with his jacket.

"We need to keep moving," Ed said, looking at Havoc. "Help me get him on my back."

"Boss?" Havoc looked unsure.

"We need to be able to move quickly," Ed insisted. "I'll be fine."

Havoc didn't argue the point as the barking was getting closer. Falman stepped up to give Havoc and Ed a hand as Ed pulled Mustang's arms around his shoulders and grasped the man's thighs to hold him firmly in position. Ed looked down to make sure his hand wasn't doing any more damage to the wound on his thigh.

As soon as Ed felt he had Mustang secure, he started moving. He started slow for a few steps, but quickly picked up in speed as he became more comfortable with the weight on his back. The team fell into a run with him. Within minutes Ed was running at the same speed and pace he had been before Mustang had been shot.

The sound of dogs barking and Drachman accents could be heard as they reached a river. Ed came to an abrupt stop at the water's edge and was nearly sent toppling into the water with the weight on his back upsetting his balance. Ed looked around and weighed the situation in his head.

"Follow the river, kid?" Breda panted next to him.

"Thinking it would be for the best," Ed took a deep breath and tried to get his heart rate to lower. "Might be a good way to lose the dogs if we walk in water."

"We get to walk?" Breda looked more than a little hopefully.

"If you want to have a chat with the Drachmen back there," Ed adjusted his grip on Mustang before he stepped into the water. "Cross over to the other side and stay in the shallows. With any luck we can get some distance."

They all went into the water. It was about waist high in the middle. Or a really just over waist high on Ed. Ed hitched Mustang up higher to keep the leg wound out of the water. He really needed to check it and wrap it properly to try and prevent some infection. Once Ed was across the other side of the river with the others, they started to pick up the pace.

The river was similar to the one that had run by their camp. If they were lucky, it was the same one. If they could lose the Drachman soldiers it would a good resource to stay close by. Their other one had fish and had been a good source of water. The river twisted in and around trees, changing its width and depth suddenly and often with very little warning. Everyone was starting to slow down, growing tired as they not only had to run, but fight the resistance the water offered them.

Eventually, when the barking of dogs could no longer be heard, it was Hawkeye that called it.

"Stop," She panted heavily. "Ten minutes."

No one argued. They walked the few steps out of the river and collapsed.

"Too…" Breda breathed. "Much!"

Carefully, Ed unloaded Mustang against a tree, before taking up a seat next to him. He took the time to inspect Mustang's leg. Ed observed that blood has bleed through the bandage around the back of Mustang's leg, suggesting that was where the entry wound was. It wasn't excessive, hopefully meaning that Mustang was clotting on his own, which was good news. However, what was not, was the lack of exit wound. Shit!

"Of course," Ed sighed heavily and looked Mustang's face. "You don't do anything by halves, unless it's a fucking bullet wound. Got stuck halfway. Hope it didn't break your fucking leg or something by hitting a bone."

"What?" Havoc looked at Ed.

"Sorry," Ed shrugged. "Talking to myself."

"He might have a broken leg?" Havoc pressed.

"I won't know until we find a safe place to hide," Ed said. "I'm not going to look at it out here in the open. If he does, we'll need time to split it and dress the wound. No point in removing the bullet, it would just add to the risk of infection out here at this stage."

"Fucking great," Havoc sighed. "I'm over it. I want a fag."

"I'll second that," Breda groaned.

"You don't smoke," Fuery frowned.

"After the past two weeks," Breda looked at Fuery. "I'm considering it. If this can't kill me, then neither can the cancer sticks."

"Famous last words," Ed rolled his eyes.

Carefully, he inspected Mustang's head again. The gash had caused blood to pour down Mustang's face, painting his left eye and check in blood. The wound had clotted by now, but it made Mustang look even more like shit. Never mind the fact he was pale and still out for the count.

The sound of a branch snapping caught Ed's attention. He looked over Mustang's shoulder to see a snow leopard only about twenty paces away from him and still advancing. Movement in his peripheral vision reveals more snow leopards not too far away from Havoc and Breda.

"Guys," Ed said, trying to get everyone's attention. "We've got trouble."

One by one, each of the team became aware of the advancing animals around them.

"We surely aren't that far north, right?" Breda says, fear evident in his voice.

"They have been known to occupy southern parts of the Northern district," Falman explains as he gets to his feet.

Slowly, everyone moves closer to Ed and Mustang. Ed clapped his hands quietly and pressed them to the ground. A large spear formed out of the ground. He took it, braking the sharp tip off of the ground and pointed it at the nearest snow leopard. Another clap, and a barrier started to form around the team, circling around the tree that had Mustang propped up.

"Edward?" Fuery asked quietly.

"I'll be fine," Ed reassured his friend. "Just keep an eye on Mustang for me."

"Well this was certainly a surprise," came a feminine voice with a Cretan accent from behind Ed.

Ed turned his head carefully, trying not to create an opening for the animal. A woman in a black coat walked out into the open. She was tall, light features and had an air of arrogance to her.

"There was only meant to be one alchemist," she explained. "As if you hadn't been a big enough of an obstacle before."

Ed didn't say anything. His eyes were on her arms. Over the coat, were metal arm bands, about twenty of them. There was a faint blue glow to each of them, indicating the use of alchemy. She touched one, and suddenly one of the snow leopards lunched itself at Ed. Ed spun around to the side to avoid the animal, and in the same motion as he turn, he thrust his spear into the back of beast. It went down quickly. Ed retracted his spear and used it to sever the head from the animal. Ed observed that the glow she touched faded at the death of the animal.

"So you're the reason the animals have been behaving oddly," Ed frowned.

"It's a wonderful piece of alchemy, isn't it?" She declared. "It does have potential for human use, but animals don't tend to fight it as aggressively."

"You're a sick fuck," Ed hissed.

"Amateurs just can't appreciate a Master's work," She smiled at him as she ran a hand over her other arm.

The snow leopards sprang into action; all heading for Ed. Ed dropped down and clapped his hands. With their situation as desperate as it was, he threw away caution as he willed the earth to move. Spikes formed quickly, puncturing and impaling the animals. Ed felt a small amount of guilt. It wasn't even their fault that they had to die. It was hers.

"You're no fun at all," she pouted as her hand hovered over the other arm. "A little too resourceful for some nobody among the ranks I would think. Who are you really, boy?"

Ed picked up his spear and advanced on her. The sound of barking was heard again, indicating they really didn't have time for this.

"I'm just a country boy," he said as he closed the distance between them. "Who just wants to serve his fucking country."

"I doubt that!" She snapped as she activated a few other bands.

"Don't care," Ed snapped as jumped over the snow leopards, his spear raised.

Using his automail arm, Ed launched the spear at the woman with as much force as he could manage. Normally, Ed aimed to incapacitate rather than kill. However, he wasn't a child anymore. Sometimes it really was just the best outcome. With this woman dead, chances were that the enemy still would be unaware of the extent of his alchemic abilities, and also it would mean that the animals in the area wouldn't be after them anymore. Unless it was of their own intention or this group had another alchemist who could do the same thing.

The spear shot through the air towards the woman, but missed as she rolled to the side to avoid it.

"You're not a master," Ed told her as he landed and clapped his automail into a blade. "A real master fights their own battles rather than forcing others to do it for them. You're a coward."

"You're a fool then," she laughed at him as she drew her own sword. "A boy playing solider among men."

"A boy is more than a match for you," he countered as he lunged for her.

She just grunted as she parried his blade to right and spun to strike him on the left. Ed ducked under her blade and then sprung up into a backflip. As his body flew up, he landed a hard kick to her jaw which sent her flying backwards to the ground. Ed landed easily near his spear which had only been a few steps behind him. He picked it up before rushing towards her.

"A monkey might be a little more accurate," she spat at him in anger. "You are a fool to protect that monster!"

"But he's mine to protect," Ed said, mostly to himself.

The woman ran her arm along her other arm. Suddenly, the remaining snow leopards came towards him with the obvious intent to kill. Ed clapped his hands and sent spikes towards them, but they jumped to the side. Ed himself quickly had to jump to the side when the woman slashed her sword down where his head had just been. Throwing his spear first at the woman and then dodging the animal attacks that came from behind him that quickly distracted him from his opponent. It was only when the animals suddenly stopped and fled that Ed located her again.

She was impaled on one of his spike. It looks like she tripped when she dodged his spear and landed on a spike. Her harsh breathing could still be heard. The sight made him feel ill. It wasn't easy taking a life or making the hard choices. Even when there wasn't any other choice to make. However, due to the spike having hit a main artery, it seemed that ending her suffering wasn't a choice he had to make. She stopped breathing just a few minutes later. With another clap the spear, spikes and barrier disappeared, leaving the corpse as the only evidence for what had taken place. Ed stared at it for a moment, before clapping again. The body sunk into the ground, leaving no evidence that they had even been here.

"You okay, boss?" Havoc asked.

"We need to leave," Ed said.

"Any idea where the hell we should be going?" Breda frowned at him, not getting up just yet.

"This river is leading us in a southerly direction if we continue to follow it," Ed said as he checked his bearings. "South is our best bet. If there is anyone out here that could help us, they'll be near a river. Also, it'll be a good resource for us."

"That sounds like a pretty good plan to me," Havoc nodded.

"Agreed," Hawkeye added.

"We'll stop as soon as there is somewhere we can hide," Ed reassured them as the barking got closer. "But right now we're sitting ducks."

"Then let's go," Hawkeye said.

Havoc assisted Ed with getting Mustang back on his back. The man was still completely out of it. Apparently, while the barrier had been up, the others had tried to wake him in a number of different ways. They reported that they had no success. It worried Ed. Mustang had been out for at least forty minutes now. It wasn't a dramatic amount of time, but he really just wanted to know that the man was okay. Besides having a bullet lodged in his leg that is.

They continued at a similar pace to before. Mustang was heavy, but Ed didn't let it slow him down. If anything he was the one leading them once again. Sheer stubbornness didn't allow him to go any slower than necessary. Though he wondered if everyone was letting him set the pace, or if they were simply too tired after two weeks out roughing it and it was starting to show.

Up ahead, a loud roaring of water could be heard. The barking behind them continued to grow, suggesting that their pursuers were catching up to them. Ed felt his heart racing as he tried to think of possible outcomes or plans. The landscape so far offered them very little that could assist them in their escape. The dogs would follow them, no matter what they did if following the river wasn't helping.

As the river went around a bend, it revealed a cliff that the water raced off of to form a waterfall.

Breda came to a stop twenty metres from the edge with everyone else.

"Now what?" He panted.

Carefully, Ed unloaded Mustang and left him with Havoc. He quickly and carefully jogged to the edge of the cliff. As he peaked over the edge, he saw the waterfall was quite a drop. At least seven stories up. Maybe eight stories even. At the bottom the water pooled into a lake, before the river continued off into dense tree area. This could be exactly what they needed.

"We go down the waterfall," Ed decided.

"What?" Falman frowned.

"With alchemy," Ed explained. "Not going to make you jump or climb. I see a nice overhang; I might be able to make a cave for us to rest."

"I like that idea," Breda smiled a little.

Falman and Havoc carried Mustang over to Ed, while the rest of the group was already there. Ed kneeled down in the water and clapped his hands.

"I'll try and keep this as smooth as possible," he warned them as he put his hands into the water and pressed them into the river bed below. "But it may get a little bumpy."

Everyone got low for a better centre of gravity. Out of the river bed, Ed created a platform, trying to make it as large as possible without making the size a problem for him to work with. The edge of the cliff that became their platform, slowly and steadily started to move down. The edge that was still connected to the rock and earth of the lift shone a bright blue as it transmuted again and again, giving them their mode of transport down the cliff. Water rained down on them, drenching them as they went.

The barking was growing dangerously close when Ed was only a third of the way down. He took his hands away from the platform. It was a sudden stop, but due to their slow speed, it didn't seem to have any negative consequences. Ed motioned for everyone to clear a path so he could reach the wall of the cliff. Carefully, everyone moved out of his way. Another clap of his hands and suddenly they were moving into the cliff as it became more of a cave. Ed moved the excess dirt out towards the cliff wall to create another overhang so their cave would not be seen.

The space he made was large enough that they would have enough space to move around in, but not excessive and unnecessary with the amount of space he gave. Once Ed had completed his work, the sound of the water falling past the opening could clearly be heard. The only down side was it blocked out the sound of the dogs barking. It left them with no idea of if anyone was up there or if they were going to be found. With any luck, the Drachmen soldiers would think they had doubled back rather then used alchemy to work their way down.

Ed didn't waste any time drying everyone off with a clap of his hands. Expect for their hair. He had never been able to master that one. Every time he tried it just made things worse.

Hawkeye was already working Mustang's pants off with Havoc to get a better look at the wound. She took the bandages Ed had made and tossed them aside.

"There's no exit wound," Hawkeye frowned.

"Ed mentioned that," Havoc pointed out. "He said he might have broken his leg too."

"Possible," Falman interrupted. "But the lack of bruising would indicate that we may have been lucky to avoid that. There is obvious swelling, but that could be from the bullet wound itself rather than a broken bone."

Ed couldn't express how relieved he was that Hawkeye was finally stepping up. For the first time since they started this whole things, she was actually working towards the greater good.

"There are some plants I can use to help with his pain and prevent infection," Ed offered. "But we'll have to keep an eye for them when we're moving."

"I don't think we should move him," Hawkeye told Ed. "It could result in more complications. We're safe here."

"We need to put distance between us and the enemy," Ed countered. "We need to get towards civilization where Roy can be treated. We're all not one hundred percent due to being out here for two weeks. His immune system will be vulnerable, even more so with two open wounds. The bullet wound has sealed itself, but there is still a high chance of infection."

"Moving him could mean moving the bullet and hitting an artery," Hawkeye argued. "He would bleed out before we found anything or anyone."

"We sitting around with our thumbs up our arses isn't going to do any better!" Ed snapped.

"Unlike you," Hawkeye glared. "We do have some experience in life and death situations when at war with an enemy."

"I've been to war," he said, giving her a hard look. "It might not have been an official war, but I do know what life and death situations are like with an enemy breathing down your neck."

Ed touched his side, remembering the beam that impaled him. He couldn't be more grateful that Lion King and Mr. Gorilla had gotten him to a doctor when they did. The fact that he almost didn't make it wasn't lost on him. Kimberly and the Amestris military had been after him at the time. Together the trio had spent months after that in hiding together before Greed/Ling had jointed them. They had this stupid survival training looking like a boy scouts trip.

"I appreciate that you all have knowledge and experience in this," Ed continued. "And I am open to your suggestions. However, if you're not going to step up to be the woman who runs the office for Roy, then I would rather you not give me stupid comments."

"Are you sayin-" She started, standing up.

"Man up, Lieutenant," Ed hissed. "This whole trip you have not done a great deal, but sow seeds of doubt in his ear. I honestly didn't expect this level of lack of practical application from you of all people."

Hawkeye's gaze intensified, but she didn't say another word. No one else seemed to have anything else to say on the matter either. They all looked shocked at what had just happened. Ed moved towards mouth of the cave. He called Fuery over to assist him. He formed a large bowl with alchemy and filled it with water from the falls.

"Am I being an ass again?" Ed whispered, looking at the one person he knew that would be honest with him besides Mustang.

"No," Fuery shook his head. "Everyone's letting you take the lead. Just run with it until someone else steps up, or the Brigadier General is in a condition to do it for you if you would rather not."

"Just wanted to check," Ed said as the bowl filled to the brim. "Doing this team stuff has never been my strong point in a good situation, let alone something less than good."

"I would rather you apologise when we're all safe," Fuery explained as they pulled the bowl away from the falls. "Then regret not taking control when you could have done something."

"Have I ever told you how amazing and unappreciated you are?" Ed smiled at Fuery.

"Not in so many words," Fuery beamed.

Together, Fuery and Ed brought the bowl of water over to Mustang. With a clap of the hands, the water became boiled and was left to cool while Ed inspected the bullet wound. Carefully, with the help of the others, they turned Mustang over to give them better access to it. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be broken. It was probably still going to hurt like hell though when Mustang woke up. They didn't have a lot of material for bandages, just the shirts off their backs which Ed had already given a great deal of, left with shorter sleeves from his earlier action of bandage making.

Ed weighed up the pros and cons of not bandages these wounds or using their filthy cloths to do the job. There were plants that would make a better substitute, but at the present moment, they didn't have access to plants. Perhaps when they reached the bottom of the waterfalls and continued through the trees he could find something. That then left the wound untreated beyond the basic covering they already had on it.

In the end Ed settled for cleaning the wound better and re-bandaging it. Using the sock meant for his automail foot, he created a cloth to wipe it with. Havoc made a face at this.

"What?" Ed frowned as he dunked the cloth in the water.

"You're sock?" Havoc frowned back. "Isn't that a bit… gross?"

"It's for a metal foot," Ed stated. "It's not like it sweats."

No one argued with that. It was probably the cleanest sock in the cave. At that thought, Ed split the cloth in two. Would probably be better for dressing the bullet would. The head wound should be okay until Ed could find the right plants unless they let Roy take a dive face first in the dirt anymore then he had already done so himself.

Once that was taken care of the best they could manage, Ed started to clean up the head wound. It wasn't too deep a gash. It was just the fact Mustang had been out so long that worried Ed.