I needed a Red Stone.

There was no way in hell I was going to escape without Wrath, but there was no way in hell I was going to be able to escape while dragging an unconscious Wrath behind me. No, I was going to have to get a Red Stone to wake up the little homunculus, and I knew exactly how I was going to do it.

I doubted that Greed was going to be gone for long. He seemed to be enjoying just sitting and talking with me, for some strange reason. As soon as he knew that the engineer hadn't made a run for it, he was going to come back to gloat some more. I had to be ready for his arrival.

My wings popped out of my back, and I winced in anticipation of the pain. To my surprise, there was only a slight twinge from my back, and then nothing. Evidently I was healing; faster than a normal person to boot. That was good, because if my plan was going to work, I was going to have to attack Greed multiple times, and it wasn't going to work if I fell over every five minutes in pain.

Quickly, I slit the bonds with my claws and got to my feet, trembling a little. I leaned against a pile of crates for support, but I had done it: I was up and not in too much pain. Of course, three seconds later I was on the floor, taking deep breaths through my nose and doing my best not to scream. But I had done it. Now I just had to do it again.

Shakily, I got to my feet and staggered to another pile of crates. Quickly, I slid onto the pile and flattened myself against the wood, one tear of exertion trickling from my eye. My wings fluttered daintily, ragged purple edges rippling. I'm ready for you, Greed, I thought, eyes slits. Come on. I don't really want to wait.

I froze. I could hear the door unlocking, and I was rigid, ready for action. I already knew I was going to lose this battle; winning wasn't the point. The point was stealing a Red Stone, and I was an expert pickpocket. A few years of living on the streets can transform anyone into an expert pickpocket.

Greed stepped into the room, the easygoing smile on his face clouding when he noticed the cut bonds on the ground and my obvious absence. "I know you're in here, Leoma" he called softly. "Don't try to hide from me. You'll regret it."

I stayed silent. He was a few paces from me; if he walked forward to or three steps he would be in the perfect position for me to attack him. Come on, I begged silently. Three more steps.

Greed took a step. "You're making a mistake, little girl," he said, and I bristled. Don't call me 'little girl.' "Come out now, and I promise not to hurt you too much." I almost laughed. Yeah, right.

Greed waited, and when I didn't reveal myself, he started forward angrily. "Come here!" He snapped.

He stepped into range. "Certainly," I said, and lunged.

He hadn't been expecting a direct attack, that much was certain. He crumpled under me like paper, and we crashed to the floor. Even as we were falling, my hand dipped into his pocket and grasped something small and crystalline. I couldn't know if it was a Red Stone, but I had to hope it was, because Greed had started to stir under my weight, one clawed hand reaching for my throat.

The fight didn't really matter anymore. I'd gotten what I wanted. But did that stop me from opening my mouth and scorching Greed with as much flame as I could muster? Absolutely not. I had to admit I was vindictively happy, seeing him writhe underneath the blistering heat coming from in between my teeth.

I heard a raspy moan, and Greed slapped me across the face. I gave a sputtering cough, and then the flame died. Greed's scorched neck stump swayed, his head already beginning to reform. I bared my canines and grabbed Greed by the throat, shaking him mercilessly. Blood spurted from between my jaws, and I felt a primal urge to keep on shaking Greed until he went still.

But even as his blood trickled down my own neck, a flash of pain took over my body. I held out as long as I could, but then my jaws were forced open so that a bottled-up scream could force its way out. I fell back to the train floor, making sure to keep my hand tightly closed. The thing in my hand bit into my palm, and I felt a tiny prick of pain added to the rest of it. "This sucks," I moaned out loud, shaking violently.

Greed had gotten to his knees and was now looming over me. "Trust me," he hissed; eyes narrowed and furious. "It's about to get a lot worse."

He grabbed me by the hair and pulled my head up from the floor. "I told you not to try anything, you idiot," he snarled, dropping my head back down with a sickening crack.

"Owww," I moaned, but I didn't cry. I wasn't going to cry in front of Greed. The homunculus released me for a moment, and painfully I looked up to see him tearing off long strips of rope that bound some of the crates together. He returned to my side and flipped me over roughly, quickly re-binding my wrists and ankles and adding rope around my head to keep my jaws shut, and my wings. "Try escaping from that, you little bitch," he hissed, shoving me onto my face, hard. I heard him storm away, and the door slammed.

I didn't waste any time. Who knew how many Red Stones Greed had in his pocket? Sooner or later he'd realize I'd taken one, probably sooner with my luck. I took a deep breath and breathed steam out of my nose, scalding steam that was almost as bad as my fire. I went for the ropes around my wrists, ignoring the pain as my flesh was scorched. The ropes slowly began to fray, and I forced my wrists apart myself, ignoring the flash of hot pain from my shoulder.

I flopped to Wrath, not bothering untying the rest of me. The homunculus still rested against the train wall, blood still oozing from his ruptured forehead. Trying to ignore the fact that he looked incredibly dead, I shoved the Red Stone in my hand into his mouth. Swallow, I thought. C'mon, Wrath. I need you.

For a second, there was nothing, and I resigned myself to having to meet with a woman who obviously wanted to kill me. Then, at the very second an agonized wail from Greed echoed throughout the train, Wrath's eyes snapped open, the wound on his forehead healing quickly. "Leoma?" He gasped, taking in the sight of a bloodied me lying on the train floor, mostly bound. "What's going on?"

"Greed's going to walk in the door in about two seconds," I said, busily unwinding the rope around my jaws. "When he comes in, we have to fight him. I'll keep him busy long enough for you to transmute us a way out of this train."

"Okay…" said Wrath, still looking confused. He got to his feet and pressed his palms against the train wall, just as Greed slammed open the train door.

When he saw the two of us, me just finishing untying myself, he gave a hiss of fury and lunged towards me, armor spreading over his body. I stumbled back and Greed slammed into me, knocking the both of us into a stack of crates. I shrieked as the crates tumbled down on us, shielding me from the enraged homunculus but also bruising me in a dozen places. I winced as one of the crates opened and its contents fell into my lap. There was actually only one thing in the box, a long sword that settled into my lap neatly as though it had been made to sit there.

Heh. This wasn't a part of my plan, but… I am really getting lucky today!

Greed suddenly swept aside the boxes that separated us. His armor covered his whole body now, and I realized that the sword I was clutching in sweaty hands wasn't going to do me much good. Greed cracked a smile at the sight of a bewildered me clutching the sword like a shield and looking terrified.

"I'm not supposed to hurt you," he said, "but I want to. I hope you understand."

"Just try it, you bastard," I said, waving the sword in front of me menacingly. "I'll slice you to ribbons."

"With what? That sword won't penetrate my armor."

"Then I won't use the sword, dumbass," I said, pointing at a spot behind Greed. "I'll use that."

Greed whipped around, and my jaw dropped. He fell for that. He actually fell for that! Wow!

By the time the homunculus turned back around, furious at the fact that there hadn't been anything behind him, I was halfway down the train car, waving and generally acting like an idiot. "C'mon, Greed the Avaricious. Let's fight."

"Avaricious? I didn't know such a big word was in your vocabulary. Orphans don't tend to know such things."

"Shut up about my orphanage education! Wait… I never told you that I was an orphan…"

Greed smiled, the armor from his face receding, revealing a wide smirk and glowing red eyes. "My mistress knew that the one she was looking for believed herself to be an orphan. Perhaps you really are that person. Thanks for giving me such useful information."

"Screw you!" It wasn't the best of comebacks, but I added a sting at the end of the sentence by tossing my sword at Greed's face. It stabbed clear through his head, and as he staggered, I darted up to him and pulled it out. Greed immediately covered the hole in his head with his armored hands, blood leaking through the claws.

"I… hate… you," he snarled, and I stepped back hurriedly.

"Leoma!" Wrath called, from the other side of the train car, and I looked to see that the homunculus had morphed himself into the wood of the train car. It appeared as though the train wall was suddenly pulling itself apart, but I knew better; Wrath, who was now a part of the train, was forcing the wall to create the hole. "Get over here!"

"Coming!" I yelped, trotting to him as fast as looked dignified. I heard Greed growling from behind us, and Greed's head healed and he started towards us. There was a horrific fury in his eyes, and I had a feeling all he wanted to do was fly at the both of us and rip out our throats. His dark eyes surveyed the situation for a moment, and then, to my surprise, he began to laugh.

"Oh, this is funny," he chuckled. "You, Wrath, have made a hole in the wall, but to get out of it, you'll have to transmute yourself from the wall, and then the hole will close before you can get through. And you won't go without him, will you, Leoma?"

Oh, crap, this was bad. Greed was right, of course; and on both counts: I wasn't going anywhere without Wrath. I sighed. "He's right;" I said, looking at Wrath. "You might as well come down from there."

Wrath took a deep breath. "I don't think so," he said. "Good luck, Leoma. I'll keep him busy."

"Wha- No, Wrath, no!" The train floor had morphed itself into a fist, and before I could leap out of its way the fist crashed into me, shoving me out of the hole in the wall. A long wooden splinter caught on my hospital gown, and as I twisted through the air I heard the sound of ripping. "Noo!" I wailed, smashing into the ground and scraping my suddenly bare back. My head snapped up and I stared as the wooden fist bearing my paper gown like a flag was borne away by the fast-moving train. Slowly, it receded into the belly of the train, and I figured that Wrath was engaging Greed so that the homunculus would have no time to go back for me.

A burst of pain took over my body, and I fell into the wet grass, trembling and shaking. A scream worked its way from between my teeth, and I curled into the fetal position, automail arm on my shoulder glinting with dew. I still had the sword hilt clutched in my hand, and the blade pressed lightly against my bare leg. The pain lasted for longer than usual, at least fifteen minutes, and then I opened my eyes and got to my knees.

I looked down at myself, and the pain faded into the background. "I'm screwed," I said calmly. "I am stranded in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but a sword and a healthy amount of pain accompanying me, and to top it off, I'm frigging naked."

I sighed and sat on the grass, secretly enjoying the cool tickle against my fevered skin. I peered around myself, sighing again at my surroundings. I was sitting next to the train tracks, in the middle of nowhere. Rolling green hills stretched off in all directions, marred only by a slight blip on the horizon that was probably Central. "How am I going to get there?" I muttered. "I could fly, but showing up at Central naked is going to give everybody the wrong idea… There's only one thing to do, I suppose. I'm going to have to change all the way."

I got to my feet, tentatively touching my new automail with my fingertips. It didn't hurt, and that made me feel all the worse about what I was going to do. If my automail didn't change with me when I changed, it would break, and all of Winry's hard work would be for nothing.

"Here goes nothing," I said, screwing my eyes shut.

Pain. It washed over me like a sick, sick wave, and I was unconscious before I knew what hit me.

Blearily, my eyes opened, and steam trickled out of my purple snout. I raised my sinuous neck and hissed half-heartedly, terrified to see what had happened to my leg. I stretched my wings and took a deep breath before jerking my head down.

"Holy crap…" I hissed. "Look at my automail now…" In place of the stump of my front left leg, a shining metal limb, complete with claws, was attached to my stump. "That settles it," I exclaimed. "This is definitely alchemy. Well, probably…"

Cautiously, I out some weight on the limb, and nearly passed out again. I rolled onto my back and keened, swishing my tail. The automail may have been transformed into automail that could serve as a dragon's front leg, but it still hurt like hell to use.

Slowly, I turned over again and reared onto my back legs, spreading my wings. I beat them furiously and jumped, flapping into the air and snatching up my sword with one of my back claws. I angled the wings to catch the air flow and soared, following the train tracks.

The world beneath me rolled past in a blur, and I snorted happily. I had escaped; I was free, and… Wrath was still stuck with Greed. I hadn't seen the train beneath me at all, and I figured that it had already made it to Central while I'd been unconscious. Evidently, Wrath had given Greed enough trouble to keep him from coming back for me.

I shivered. Wrath had saved me, over himself to boot. I didn't know why; but evidently Wrath had started to genuinely like me in our time together. I shuddered in the breeze. I don't deserve his friendship, I thought. He's in this whole mess because of me. I suck.

My eyes were much better at catching small details when I was a dragon, a fact I realized when I noticed the movement beneath me. I'd been flying for about an hour, and had halved the distance between Central and me. The landscape below had become dotted with small villages, and though I was flying too high to be spotted by human eyes, I was beginning to think that changing back might be a good idea. Of course, I'd need some clothes first…

Anyway, I was floating over a grassy expanse with no villages for a few miles, when I caught the movement. It appeared to be some kind of huge wolf; pounding over the plains as fast as it could run. I stooped into a dive immediately; I wasn't about to fly past this.

I made it down to a better height; I could see the thing now; but it could see me too. It howled up at me; gray sides heaving. It was indeed a massive wolf, with what looked to be playing cars spines poking out along its spine. I froze in the air. Playing cards? Was this… could this be…? Then, I saw the figure crouched on the creature's back, and I knew that I'd seen this creature before.

"Hello, Crystal," I said.

Crystal's head jerked up, and she pulled on the wolf chimera's fur, bringing it to a halt. She spotted me hovering in the sky, and her pale face grew paler. "Who are you?" She snapped.

"Leoma," I said. "Remember me?"

Crystal gaped. "Leoma? Since when have you been a weird-looking lizard?"

"I can switch from my normal shape to this," I muttered, miffed. "Weird looking?"

"Sort of," Crystal confided. She looked shaken, but not as surprised as I'd thought. "Well," she said, "That makes two of you." She patted the neck of the chimera absentmindedly.

"Whoa whoa whoa," I said. "Is that…. Psiren?"

"Yep," Crystal said. "I decided that it was time to get the hell out of Central today, and Psiren just… changed. I don't know how; or why. But apparently she can be any kind of chimera she wants to. Which turned out to be pretty helpful."

"That's… really weird," I said. "Also… I wouldn't leave Central just yet if I were you."

"Why not?" Crystal asked.

"Remember the person I asked to find out more about the chimeras? She promised to help. She could already have the answers you're looking for, and if you leave it'll be hard for me to tell you."

Crystal sighed. "Alright," she said. "It's just that… I'm kind of wanted."

My dragon jaw dropped. "Wanted? What have you been doing while I was away?"

"Hiding," Crystal replied sourly. "Apparently it was getting Psiren that got me in so much trouble. They've put up posters and everything." She paused, and put a hand on her face. "I must say, the artist's depiction of me isn't half bad." She grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "This really isn't funny," I said. "Why does Psiren matter to them so much, do you think?"

Crystal shrugged. "I mean, if she can change her shape that is pretty useful. The military probably wanted her as a weapon. But I couldn't just leave her there, and I'm not bringing her back, either."

"Yeah," I said, but I had a feeling that Crystal's theory wasn't right. After all, creating chimeras was illegal, and it didn't work for the military the last time they'd tried it. Why would they make something that utterly failed them? No, it made no sense. Inferna was the more likely candidate. I didn't know how, but somehow someone in the military was probably working for her. Maybe she herself was part of the military. Whatever it was, I figured that going back to Central to learn more about the chimeras was a good idea.

"So…" I said. "Do you have any clothes?"

Crystal looked at me suspiciously. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"

"Well, y'see, I sort of, erm, what I'm trying to say is that…"

Realization broke over Crystal's face and she burst out laughing. "Are you naked in your normal form? That is hysterical!"

"I suppose," I grumbled. "Clothes?"

"I've got a jacket and an extra skirt, but I sort of don't want to give them to you. What I really want to see is you running around Central trying to find clothes!" She chortled.

"Crystal! Please?"

"Fine," Crystal pouted, pulling off her jacket and throwing it at me. She stretched out her legs and pulled off her black ruffled skirt, revealing the leggings she had underneath. "Sorry, but you don't get any underwear," Crystal said. "Just try not to let that skirt get blown up in a breeze… Oh, you should see your expression right now!"

"Do dragons have expressions?"

"Yeah. Your eyes get all squinty and steam comes out of your nostrils."

"Oh. I hadn't known."

I dropped the jacket, skirt and my sword on the ground. "Turn around, Crystal," I commanded.

She laughed again. "You don't have to be so modest," she said, but complied with my instructions, barely concealing the wide smirk on her face. As soon as she was looking away, I changed back into my normal form and fell to the grass with a dull thump. The pain was immediate and furious, but I kept my mouth shut and it died away.

I quickly pulled on the clothes Crystal had given me. They fit pretty well, although the jacket was a bit big. I zipped it up quickly and tried not to think about how ridiculous I probably looked. "Okay, Crystal, you can turn around now."

She flipped around and snorted. "You look ridiculous."

"Thanks," I said, picking up my sword and striding to Psiren. My legs were starting to feel suspiciously weak, and this feeling only worsened as I neared the chimera and she gave a horrific growl, razor-sharp teeth bared in my direction.

"No, Psiren, she's a friend," Crystal said, patting the chimera's neck. Psiren looked at me suspiciously. "Get over here and let Psiren smell your hand," Crystal commanded.

I stared at the teeth for a moment. "Do I have to?"

"Hurry!" Crystal said, and I walked forward slowly and held out my hand. Psiren leaned out and put her nose directly in my palm, taking a deep sniff. She whined, her tail wagged, and her tongue flicked out of her mouth and dragged all the way up my forearm. "Ooh, that means she likes you," Crystal said approvingly.

"Hooray," I said weakly. "Now, can I please get up there? If I stand any longer I think I'll faint."

"Sure," said Crystal, offering me her hand. She froze when she noticed the automail arm attached to my shoulder. "Hang on… You got the automail surgery?" I nodded. "Don't just stand there, then!" Crystal shrieked, jumping down from Psiren's back and grabbing me around the middle. "You need time to heal, and from the time I last saw you to now isn't nearly enough resting time! I'll help you up." She lifted me easily onto Psiren's back, nestling me in the base of the chimera's neck.

"You should rest up," she said, steering Psiren around by pulling on her fur. "After all, when we get back to Central we're going to have to be very careful. It's gonna be hard getting in; you'll need your strength." I nodded and snuggled against Psiren's fur. It was rough and scratched my unprotected skin, but it was warm and I was suddenly very cold. Teeth chattering, I curled up in Crystal's warm jacket and allowed myself to close my eyes.

I slipped into an uneasy doze for the next few hours, constantly being awoken by the danger of slipping off Psiren and falling onto the ground below. By the time the city of Central loomed on the horizon, I was awake and in a terrible mood. I glared at the city in front of me as though it were the cause of my distress.

"Here we are," Crystal said. Gently, she pulled me off Psiren's back and turned to the chimera. "Change into something small, now, if you please." Psiren turned to us, and suddenly the giant wolf melted away, to be replaced by the little creature she'd been the first time I'd seen her. Crystal handed her to me. "Put her down your jacket," she said, without preamble.

"Does she bite?" I asked, tentatively placing the little chimera against my bare stomach. I could feel her tiny claws scrabbling against my flesh, and suddenly a set of needle-sharp teeth pinched my stomach. I yelped, and Crystal nodded.

"She'll probably only bite you once, though, unless you jostle her around too much." She reached into the back pocket of her khakis and pulled out what looked to be a red mask, which she placed on her face.

"You're disguising yourself with that?" I asked, amazed. "That makes you even more conspicuous!"

"Not if you've got one too," Crystal said, tossing another mask at me. I caught it on one hand and placed it over my face slowly. "There," Crystal said. "Now we just look like two tourists who don't necessarily want our identity to be known. People are always wearing weird things in Central, after all. In that band of freaks, how could we not fit in?"

"I suppose," I said, staring at the city. It looked to be an hour's walk away, and I sighed. "I hate walking," I said, and started trudging towards the city.

We made it in two hours, due to the fact that I collapsed rather frequently. I hated having such a weak body, but soon I'd be able to move both it and my arm again. I figured the surgery was better than not having an arm, at any rate.

We entered the city slowly, trying not to look suspicious and no doubt failing miserably. Psiren was wriggling underneath the jacket, and I held my arms over my stomach, willing no one to notice the lump. Whenever we passed someone in uniform, I flinched, but Crystal only nodded at them confidently and kept on moving. The sword clutched in my palm only added to our strange appearance, and I considered ditching it for a second before scrapping the idea. I needed my sword.

I blinked up at the sight of Central Command. I hadn't noticed we'd been walking towards the place, but now that we were here, a knot of fear had settled in my belly. Quickly, I caught up to Crystal and grabbed her shoulder. "Are you insane?" I hissed in her ear. "Why the hell are we here?"

"To divert suspicion," Crystal whispered back. "Who would expect a wanted girl and her trusty sidekick to show up here?"

I considered it. "No one," I admitted. "Whoa- trusty sidekick?"

Crystal smirked; I could see her lips curve upwards under the mask. "Come on, sidekick," she said. "Let's get to that apartment of yours."

"It's not mine, actually," I explained. "It's Colonel Mustang's, remember?" Crystal nodded, but she wasn't looking at me.

"Speak of the devil," she said. "Look who's marching in our general direction right now!" I looked. And panicked.

"Gaah, Crystal, it's the Colonel! He'll recognize me, I know he will, and then you'll get found out!"

"Quit worrying," Crystal said. She grabbed me by the elbow and swung me around until I was leaning against a lamppost next to her. "Now pretend to just be hanging out with me," Crystal said softly. "He won't notice a thing."

I took a deep breath and relaxed, looking at Crystal as though we were two perfectly normal friends enjoying each other's company. I heard the clacking of boots, and did my best not to stiffen as the Colonel stepped into my view. His onyx eye was dark with anger, and he had a black cloak on that swirled around his ankles as he stormed forward. There was a cowering man behind him, looking nervous and carrying a stack of papers.

The Colonel's head jerked sharply to the left, and I held my breath as he stopped and his gaze traveled over me. But then, just as quickly, he turned his back to me and stared down the man in front of him. "Damn it, Fuery! Where the hell could she be?"

"I don't know, sir," Fuery said, cowering a little. "I mean, if she disappeared from her room with the homunculus Wrath… for all we know, he kidnapped her to kill her." The Colonel growled.

"If that's the case, I'll tear that homunculus limb from limb," he said curtly. He sighed suddenly and put a hand to his head. "I can't believe this," he said. "The news is going to kill Alphonse and that Noah girl. Somebody should tell them, and I suppose that someone should be me." He turned around swiftly. "I want you to get Havoc and Breda on this immediately. If there's any chance that we can find her, we're going to take it." He started walking again, heading down the sidewalk to his apartment, no doubt. Fuery followed him close behind. As soon as they were out of sight, I sighed and slumped against the lamppost.

"I have to go tell them," I said, slipping off my mask. "I really don't want to scare Noah and Al like that, and Ed and Winry are probably worried sick."

"Yes, you have to tell them, but not right now!" Crystal yelped. "Put your mask back on!" Her eyes darted wildly around the square, and narrowed as she noticed something. "Now you've done it," she groaned. "See you around, Leoma." Before I could stop her, her hands were down my jacket, and she scooped up Psiren. She hurried off into the crowd, and was gone in seconds.

I gaped. "Crystal- huh?" A pair of strong arms encircled me from behind, and I wriggled for a second before realizing that it was Jay who was holding me.

"Leoma!" He shouted, in my ear. "What happened? I called the Colonel's, and he told me you'd gotten the automail surgery!" He held me out and his eyes widened when he saw my new arm. "It's true…" he said, the color draining from his face. "How are you even walking? You should be in bed."

"I would be if that idiot Greed hadn't kidnapped me," I grumbled. Jay stared.

"Greed?" He said slowly. "Another homunculus is back?"

"Yeah," I said. "I managed to escape from him, though." Jay glowered.

"How dare he," he growled. "When I catch that homunculus he's going to pay."

I groaned. "I'm so tired!" I exclaimed. "I've barely been here, and I'm already fed up of chasing the bad guys. Chimeras, homunculi, weird ladies who control said homunculi… If they'd just give me a five-minute break!"

Jay blinked slowly. "Chimera?" He asked; looking strangely nervous. "Are they important, do you think?"

I nodded. "Definitely," I said, and he sighed.

"Leoma… If I showed you something, would you promise to keep it a secret?" He hung his head, looking genuinely afraid that I'd tell him 'no.'

"Of course I would!" I said. "Unless it was something really bad, like a dead body." Jay grinned weakly.

"It's not that bad," he said, grasping my shoulder and turning me around. "Come with me, Leoma," he added, pulling me gently down the sidewalk.

"There's someone I want you to meet."