This chapter is dedicated to everyone who reads this story because reviews motivate me to write this chapter during school. Thank you for your nice reviews.
Disclaimer: As usual. But I would rent Charlotte and her dad. Anyone interested?
And yes: It's still just something I came up with after thinking about Hawkeye's family on her mother's side.

Alex was really unhappy with his current situation – unhappy enough to stop sparkling. Yes, it was a serious case of unhappiness – and it was not even a tradition passed down in his family for generations. He was nearly depressed which was a problem because a true Armstrong was never depressed.

He was somewhere in the South and had even lost his sense of orientation which was even worse.

"…and if you don't want that Jun Li comes back and tells you another story of her family, I highly advise you to tell me why you followed me!" a male voice with a Xingese accent yelled.

"Please … not again…" a female voice whimpered.

"Tell me what you are doing here, Chan!"

"Alright, I will tell you! I am searching for a source of immortality, Yao! So, I told you! Are you happy now? And please, don't call her to torture me again!"

Alex sighed before he made a move towards the people in the forest. Half a second later, he heard a rustle behind him and turned around. Right in front of him stood a woman. She was thin and pretty with her black hair and her pale blue eyes. She wore a black dress with a wide skirt and she held two swords. Alex sighed.

"I don't advise you to disturb the young master," she said calmly.

Another rustle and a second person arrived, younger and even calmer. "Another intruder, Jun Li?" the girl asked and sighed. "Ask him how he found us and who he works for. I'll go and stop the master from killing the girl. I believe he is a little bit annoyed."

"Alright, Lan Fan," the woman called Jun Li said and sighed. "Good, stranger, you have two choices. Tell me everything or live with the consequences. And believe me – you will suffer if I tell you the whole story of my family. Our name reaches back to the beginnings of the Xingese Empire."

Alex smiled at her. "Would you mind to tell me the story even if I tell you what I am doing here?" he asked. "I … eh … I was always interested in your culture…"

She looked at him like he had just told him that he came from the moon. "Wait a second, you would voluntary listen to more than ten centuries of our family history?" she asked, baffled.

"Yes?"

"Well, it's rare that someone wants to hear this story…" she muttered.

Half an hour later, Lan Fan was searching her sister who wasn't where she should have been. Ling and a clearly annoyed Mei Chan were right behind her.

"Even if this guy was that huge…" Ling tried to calm his bodyguard down. "There is no freaking way in hell that he could defeat Jun Li. She is one of the best warriors I know! And your grandfather trained her! The guy will miss his head before he would even know what is happening to him!"

"Jun Li was never trained properly," Lan Fan muttered while she rushed down the street. "She was trained to be a healer and a teacher for the younger children of our clan. Her martial art skills are just so high because she is gifted. She will never be a match for someone who trained properly."

Ling sighed deeply and grabbed her wrist before he turned her around to face him. "Calm down, Lan-Lan," he said. "Jun is a great warrior, one of the best of the clan. Don't doubt her. Breathe and think of her. Where could she be if she has left her post – which she never did before?"

"She … she said that she was hungry after her … conversation with Mei," Lan Fan muttered.

"So … do you think that she went to get some food?" Ling asked.

"It is likely, You…young Master…"

"So … I am hungry too, so let's get her," Ling smirked and dragged both girls down the street.

Mei sighed deeply before she followed him. Why, oh, why did she hadn't run when the older female guard had seen her? Why? If she had left, she wouldn't be in such a bad position. Stuck between her half-brother and his oblivious guard … it was hardly a good place for her.

Finally they got to a little restaurant and Lan Fan's whole body straightened before she walked in – but before she could start to yell at her older sister for leaving the post, she froze and Ling ran right into her. Both fell down and Ling's head landed somewhere where it really shouldn't be until he confessed to Lan Fan (and married her). Even if Ling was Lan Fan's prince and she had vowed to protect him, she was still a girl and girls tend to slap boys if their heads end up right between the breasts of a girl. So did Lan Fan. Mei smirked.

Jun Li looked up and her frown reappeared as she turned away from her dinner companion to look at the three teenagers near the entrance. She stood up and grabbed Ling's collar before she raised him. "What did I tell you about harassing my baby sister?" she hissed.

He lowered his gaze. "I am sorry, Jun Li," he muttered. "I didn't mean to."

She let go of him before she nodded. "You are forgiven," she said and turned her back at him. "But what are you doing here, Lan Fan?"

"You left your post and we were just checking on you … making sure that you're okay," her sister said silently. She had always been the one to hide her feelings behind a perfect mask while her sister was sometimes really obvious. And this time, there was something on Jun Li's face Lan Fan never saw before. It was something like true … true devotion to someone.

"I was hungry," Jun Li said but her eyes betrayed her lie.

Ling felt the aura of two people right behind him but before he could do something, a clear and sharp voice rang out. "Major Armstrong, your sister would like to see you."

The man on the table where Jun Li had sat raised his head to look at the woman at the door. "I never knew that you followed my sister's orders,Hamilton," he said as he stood up. "I thought that you saw her as a greedy and terrible person … and now you follow her…"

"Let me correct myself, Alex," the woman sighed. "We need everyone we can get … and Olivier asked me – really nice, for her standards – if Al and I could drag toWestCity. You know that I could her word for it and knock you out right here and let Alphonse carry you back. We need you."

"I don't answer to you or to my sister. My commander is Colonel Hughes, in case that you forgot. And I don't want to be involved in any trouble between my sister and the higher-ups."

The woman was nothing more than a red flash as she crossed to him and her slap was powerful. "I will not go back without you!" she hissed. "You could become a hostage, Alex, and I won't allow that any comrade of mine will be hurt! So – become a man and follow me! We are taking revenge for Ishbal! Did you forget what Bradley made you do? You disobeyed back then! You showed true courage! And now? Now are you hiding? Now you are running away, Alex? I can't believe it!"

He looked at her for some seconds before he started to laugh. "Out of all people … out of all people Olivier sent you…" he chuckled. "Oh yes, she knows how you work,Hamilton. She knows that you will never go back until you reached your goal…"

Jun Li coughed and interrupted them. "Mind to tell me what's going on, Alex?" she asked.

Ling snickered and cheered. "Oh-ho, Jun Li, I never knew that you were that much of a heartbreaker! We are in Amestris for nine day and you have already a new boyfriend!"

Her shoe flew and knocked him out. "I am sorry, Ling, but you are the one who tries to grope my sister whenever you see an opportunity," she said before she glared at Kay. "Hamilton– if I remember correctly, you have no right to involve Alex in any kind of dangerous situation!"

Kay sighed deeply. "Why does everyone hate me these days?" she muttered. "And why am I born that way if everyone hates me when I solve the problems the other inflicts?"

Alex smiled down at her. "It has been a while since I saw you, Hamilton, but your attitude didn't change. I am glad that you always stay the same. It gives me a feeling of security."

"The thing is, Alex, that we need you in West City," she said. "I am not trying to call in one of the many favours you owe me because all of us know that it could be the end … of our lives. We need you but I will accept it if you say that you don't want to risk your live. I know that Ishbal took a lot of your former spirit and I won't deny that it took mine too. I can just ask you to follow me again."

I thank everyone who reviewed and all the people who put this story as a favourite. You are wonderful people and I hope that you still like the story.
I am really grateful for this great feedback.

AvaEobane