Spirit Animals

by TheFullmetalBitch

This is my retelling of FMA where every character has a Spirit Animal. Major canon divergence. Please give it a go and R&R! I do not own FMA or it's characters. *Art by Procastinagoat* This story will be updated every Sunday, Eastern Australia time

32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32 –

"Hi, I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Need anything of yours fixed?" Ed asked for what seemed like the millionth time that morning. He, Al, Ayala and Chester had all been out in the agreed upon area of Central since early morning so Ed could make a helpful nuisance of himself but the whole charade was starting to get old now. The only reason he hadn't called it quits was because he still felt like this was the best, least suspicious way of finding Scar. The feeling he got when someone thanked him profusely when he fixed a family heirloom or when a child gave him a hug worthy of Elysia when he fixed their favourite toy was also a pretty large part of why he stuck with the plan.

"You're such a big softie," Ayala teased when one such child ran back to her mother, waving her now fixed doll.

"Shut up," Ed snapped without any real heat. He thought he heard some giggling from his brother and Chester so he shot them a glare for good measure. "Do either of you know if Fu is still following us?" Ed asked the two Animals, keeping the conversation internal, just in case the ninja overheard them.

"He's nearby. Maybe two or three rooftops away," Chester told him and Ayala nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Ed said as they headed to the next shop. Though he had been using a lot of alchemy that morning, all the transmutations he'd been doing were minor and any energy depletion he felt would be fixed by a small break and some food. "Wanna grab a kinda early lunch?" Ed asked, voice hopeful and was happy when the three with him didn't protest his suggestion.

They found a small café whose meals didn't look like they'd come back to bite them. Ordering enough food for five people, Ed gave the Animals their portions and devoured the rest himself. Al waved off the waitress' queries about whether he wanted anything to eat or drink, claiming he wasn't hungry or thirsty when she'd come over to check on them. They stayed there for nearly 20 minutes before Ed decided they'd best get back to work, pocketing a sandwich he'd ordered for take away just in case Fu was hungry.

The four of them slipped into an alleyway that kept them hidden from the people of the street, a signal agreed upon early that morning that they wanted to talk to Fu. Sure enough, a minute went past and Fu appeared in front of them, mask firmly in place. "Is there a problem?" The older man asked, looking around.

"Nah, we just wanted to check you were all good and see if you wanted some food," Ed told him, offering up the sandwich he'd grabbed.

"Thank you for your concern but I do not eat while on a mission. It only takes a moment of distraction for something or someone to slip past me," he told them politely. "I can go for a day without food."

"If you're sure?" Ed said and Fu nodded once more. Shrugging a shoulder, Ed took the sandwich and split it between the two Animals. "Have you seen anything yet?" He couldn't help but ask even though he knew Fu would've warned them as he'd sworn to do that morning.

"Not yet," Fu told him and Ed nodded, completely unsurprised.

"Alright, thanks," Ed said. "We'll get back out there and keep trying to get Scar's attention," Ed groaned and Fu nodded.

"I'll return to my post and keep an eye out," Fu said before scaling the wall next to them so quickly, the Animals barely saw him moving.

"Do you think he'll teach us how he moves that quickly?" Chester asked wistfully and both Ed and Al made disbelieving noises. "Yeah, that's what I thought too," Chester chuckled slightly.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to keep this up, Brother?" Al asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder as they headed out of the alleyway.

"Hopefully not long," Ed told him. "I reckon that he could wait until we head back to the hotel but I have a feeling he won't," Ed admitted.

"So do I," Ayala told and Ed felt a moment of confusion before mentally facepalming. He'd actually forgotten about the instinct Animals got when their humans were about to be in danger.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ed asked, worry in his voice. He knew that sometimes it caused the Animal great discomfort if they willingly ignored their instincts.

"I'm fine," Ayala assured him. "I'm far too used to ignoring this instinct whenever you're chasing down and fighting criminals," she teased and Ed rolled his eyes as relief flooded through his system.

"Not my fault criminals are idiots who refuse to just surrender when they're caught," Ed sniped the familiar excuse and this time, Ayala was the one to roll her eyes.

Neither of them got the chance to continue their banter and Chester and Al's inputs were never voiced because the four soon found themselves swamped by a small crowd all waiting for the People's Alchemist to help them fix whatever items they could physically carry with them. Though it was his idea to do this, Ed was reminded when a small fight broke out in the crowd over who got to ask for Ed's help first about why he didn't spend a lot of time around strangers or why he very rarely encouraged either of his titles being announced so publicly. He sighed as Al broke up the small verbal fight with assurances that Ed would be helping everyone he could and felt both Ayala and Chester's sympathy as he greeted the first person with a plastered-on smile and question about what they needed help. As he was helping the lady fix a broken saucepan, all Ed could think about was how Scar had better turn up to try and kill him soon.

---

Mustang was having a decent day. He didn't have more paperwork than he ordinarily should've for the day. He wasn't expecting Edward at all that day, having decided without telling the blonde that he would give him this extra day to recover from everything that had happened over the last three days. Though he knew Ed hadn't told them about everything that had happened, he hadn't pushed the younger alchemist into doing so, partly because he knew that whatever he was hiding was likely personal but also because Nala had sworn up and down that Ed wasn't hiding anything pertinent to their investigation into the threat against this country. So when Maes had given him a look partway through Ed's partial retelling, silently asking his best friend if they should push the blonde, Mustang had shaken his head almost imperceptibly and Maes had left it.

His 1st Lieutenant had just dropped a new pile of paperwork on his desk with a warning that this pile needed to be done before he left for the day when Nala had blinked herself out of her nap. Mustang glanced at the clock and frowned when he noticed it wasn't yet lunchtime. Nala had an extremely accurate internal clock so he knew she hadn't woken up thinking it was lunchtime. He raised a curious brow at her but she didn't notice him and he was a little surprised when he reached through their bond to check on her that she was focusing so intently on something he couldn't see or sense that she didn't even notice what he was doing.

Mustang wasn't sure why his first thought wasn't Edward. It would've made more sense since Nala was extremely close to the younger blonde – so close that Mustang would admit to a few instances where he'd gotten jealous of them – but his first thought had been about Breda and Dubuffet. He'd sent the 2nd Lieutenant and his pig to the small town Ed had told them Marcoh was hiding under an assumed name in yesterday and he'd reported back that morning with confirmation on what Major Armstrong had said when he'd paid another visit to the small town; the doctor and his Animal hadn't been since Ed, Al and Armstrong's visit and that his home showed minimal signs of a struggle. When Nala's focus turned onto something only she could sense internally, Mustang had thought that maybe Dubuffet was updating her on their trip back. At least, that's what he thought until Nala started to panic.

"What's the matter?" Mustang asked, his own panic rising as his lioness jumped off the couch and started making aborted moves towards the door, her lips lifted in a silent snarl.

"Edward's using himself as bait for Scar!" Nala told him, her voice almost a wail and Mustang felt his heart stop.

"He's what?!" He asked disbelievingly and Nala snarled out loud at him.

"He's downtown right now, making a big spectacle of himself so he can try and lure Scar out so he can fight him," Nala snapped but Mustang didn't hold it against her. After all, who knew how many times he had snapped at her because he was stressed about something else and she'd asked something.

"Why on earth is he doing that? Does he have a death wish?!" Mustang couldn't believe what Nala was telling him. When he'd heard Scar was back in Central, he'd immediately started worrying about Edward and his unbelievable ability to manage to attract so much trouble but he'd never thought his youngest subordinate would ever go out and purposefully try to lure the serial killer out of hiding.

"I don't know!" Nala cried. "The only reason I even noticed now was because he accidentally let down his blocks for a few moments. I can't figure out what he's doing or why he's doing it now!" Nala told him and Mustang felt a fresh wave of panic roll through her.

"Alright. Do you know where he is or at least was when you sensed his plan?" Mustang asked, forcing himself to stay calm so he didn't cause Nala more worry with his own worry. Nala nodded and Mustang stood. "Good. Let's go get Hawkeye –" the rest of what he was saying was cut off by the sharp ringing of his phone and Mustang swore at it before he picked it up. "Mustang speaking," he snapped, not bothering to hide his annoyance at whoever was on the other end.

"Roy," the unexpected voice of Hughes said and Mustang knew immediately why his best friend was calling him. The franticness of Hughes' voice gave it away. "Leo said that Edward is downtown, trying to get Scar's attention. Gracia and I have been hearing rumours all morning about the People's Alchemist being downtown and offering his alchemy to help people fix broken items or mend damaged buildings free of charge and we couldn't figure out why until Leo and Lilith both sensed something at the same time and told us," Hughes explained and Mustang barely held back a sigh.

"I know. Nala just told me," Mustang said. "Hawkeye and I are going to find Fullmetal and figure out just what he thinks he's doing," Mustang told him and he heard Hughes' sigh of relief.

"I'll have Leo lead me to where Ed is as well. Hopefully before Scar finds him," Hughes said and Mustang had a momentary internal debate about whether to tell his best friend to just go home with his family and leave it up to him or let him help.

"No, you head home with Gracia and Elysia," Mustang said and spoke over the noise of protest his best friend made. "Both of us there isn't necessary and he is my subordinate. I'll deal with this while you stay with Gracia and Elysia. I'll have Nala keep Leo informed of what's going on," Mustang said, offering the compromise as a way to try and persuade Hughes to stay out of this.

"Fine but you tell Ed that I expect him at my house tonight and ready to explain why he's actively trying to get the attention of a serial killer who almost killed him only a couple of months ago," Hughes ordered and Mustang almost answered with a promise that he'd drag the blonde there himself.

"I will," he promised instead. "I've gotta go, Hughes," Mustang told him, already moving the phone away from his ear to hang it up.

"Make sure he doesn't get hurt, Roy," Hughes said Mustang nodded, forgetting for a moment that his best friend couldn't hear him.

"I'll try but you know what he's like," Mustang said dryly. He heard Hughes chuckle but didn't let the lieutenant-colonel say anything else before Mustang hung up on him. "Let's go," Mustang said to the impatient lioness.

Nala didn't need any more encouragement and she glared at her human when he took the two seconds needed to grab his coat and hat off the rack next to the door. Mustang didn't comment on it, instead he just opened the door to the outer office and she trotted through. Mustang didn't even get the chance to open his mouth to order Hawkeye to come with him as he entered the outer office. His lieutenant was already on her feet with Soren perched on her shoulder and ready to go.

"Soren sensed what Major Elric was doing," Hawkeye explained unnecessarily and Mustang nodded.

"Good," he said before looking at the other members of his team. "Breda should be back on this afternoon's train and we will hopefully have gotten to the bottom of whatever nonsense Fullmetal is doing by then. In the meantime, continue your normal day-to-day work and we'll keep you updated where we can," Mustang ordered and received three salutes. "Let's leave, Lieutenant."

Hawkeye nodded and held the door open for him and Nala to walk through before she led them down to the military parking lot. There was a brief pause as Hawkeye secured a car for them to use for the day but they were soon speeding out of the parking lot with Hawkeye behind the wheel. Mustang didn't offer Nala's services as a navigational system, knowing full-well that Soren would be telling his human where exactly to go.

Mustang was amused when he used his bond with Nala to see whether she was calming down a bit now that they were on their way to Ed's location to find that in amongst the worry and fear she felt for the blonde, she was already plotting the lecture she was going to give Edward once he was out of danger. She glared at Mustang when she realised why he was amused and he sent her a silent apology that she huffed at before going back to staring out the window. Mustang spared a moment to wonder if it might be kinder to his subordinate to let Scar have a go at him rather than let Nala loose on him first.

---

Edward, Alphonse, Ayala and Chester were making their way around a small fountain when a black military car pulled up alongside them. For a moment, Ed was worried that the Fuhrer had somehow figured out what they were up to and what they'd discovered but his fear dissipated when the window rolled down to show one pissed off lioness and bored looking commanding officer. "When did you get so theatrical?" Mustang asked and Ed couldn't keep the shock off his face.

"Colonel?" Ed asked, looking between Mustang, Nala, Soren and Hawkeye. "Shouldn't you still be in the office doing paperwork?" Ed asked, trying for his usual teasing tone even as he tried to figure out why exactly Mustang was here. He hadn't expected word of what he was up to this morning to have reached Central Command, let alone Mustang or his team, just yet.

"Probably," Mustang agreed, not bothering to bite back as he normally did whenever Ed brought up his paperwork. At his nod, Hawkeye turned the car off and the four of them left the vehicle. Mustang could sense Nala's desire to tackle the blonde to the ground and pin him down as she yelled at him as the group headed into a nearby alleyway for privacy and was a little surprised when the lioness didn't do so. Soren ruffled his feathers from where he sat on Hawkeye's shoulder and glared at the blonde in a way that had Ed grinning back sheepishly. "There's something we found out this morning that I think you ought to know. Breda went to pay Doctor Marcoh a visit to see if he'd merely gone into hiding and was back but a closer look at his residence told Breda that he hasn't been there for weeks so he's still missing," Mustang revealed and he saw surprise flash across Ed's face as he and Ayala shared a look.

"Maybe he just moved towns after our visit?" Ed suggested but Mustang shook his head.

"It looks like they took him captive. The house was covered in dust and all of his belongings were still there. The only exception was his stone or any potential notes he still had on it. Breda couldn't find any trace of them," Mustang told him. "Breda gathered the same information from the townspeople that Major Armstrong did; no one has seen the doctor since your visit so it's likely he was taken that same night."

"Damn it," Ed swore, glaring at the ground. "I knew I should've completed a bond with Carrie," he muttered and Mustang had a feeling the blonde hadn't meant to say that out loud so he didn't comment on it.

"That's not the whole reason we," Mustang gestured to himself, Nala, Soren and Hawkeye, "are out here. I know for a fact that you're well aware that Scar is back in Central and both Nala and Soren told myself and Lieutenant Hawkeye that you intentionally trying to lure him in, using yourself as bait. Do you really want him to find you? Especially after what happened last time you faced him?" Mustang asked incredulously and Ed nodded.

"Actually, yes," Ed confirmed. "I need to fight him and you guys can't talk me out of it. Not even you, Nala," Ed added, giving the distressed lioness an apologetic look.

"Have you lost your mind?!" Mustang demanded, accidentally stopping Nala from saying something to Ed. "Have you actually forgotten the way he tore you apart in East City? That the only reason the four of you are even alive right now is because we turned up in the nick of time?"

"Because Nala turned up in the nick of time," Ed corrected. "If I remember correctly, you were useless."

"It wasn't my fault it was raining!" Mustang snapped, unable to stop himself from rising to the bait Ed had set and he knew from Ed's shit-eating grin that this would likely turn into a snipe-fest. Before it could though, the sound of Hawkeye's gun being drawn from her holster drew their attention to the other end of the alley and they saw Scar menacingly approaching them. Ayala, Chester and Nala took up protective stances in front of all the humans while Soren puffed himself up and screeched a warning at Scar. "I think he got your invite," Mustang commented dryly as he pulled on his gloves.

"You okay?" Ed asked, smirk still in place. "You'd think it was raining with how much you're sweating," Ed teased before the sound of Hawkeye's gun being racked had him leaping in front of his fellow blonde, knocking the gun to the side before she could fire. "Hold it!" Ed ordered, releasing her. "Please don't shoot him, Lieutenant," Ed said and she gave him a disbelieving look.

"You can't be serious, Ed! He's wanted for over a dozen murders and attempting to murder you!" She reminded him and Ed nodded.

"Yeah but I need to fight him, Lieutenant," Ed said. "He's only the bait for something bigger I'm trying to lure out," Ed whispered and flashed her a smile he hoped was reassuring before he and Ayala moved as one, drawing Scar away from the rest of them.

"Neither you nor the Flame Alchemist will escape my vengeance this time, heathen," Scar said, dodging Ed's fist and heading for Mustang only to be jerked backwards when Ed grabbed the back of his jacket and pulled the serial killer backwards with all the strength in his automail arm.

"You're going against just me this time, Scar!" Ed snarled at him as he clapped and slammed his hands against the nearest wall, sending spikes straight for the Ishvalen and forcing him to stumble backwards as he readied his own alchemy to destroy them.

Ed caught Chester's eyes and nodded. The message was obviously received because Al quickly knelt to the ground and sketched out the array he and Ed had agreed on with some chalk before placing his hand on it and creating a wall, effectively separating Ed, Ayala and Scar from the rest of them. Ed dodged a blow from Scar while Ayala sunk her teeth into his other wrist and pulled the man off balance again. Scar let out a pained grunt before shaking the golden wolf off and kicking out at her but she managed to avoid it and rejoined Ed, panting slightly.

"There will be no one to save you from my vengeance this time, alchemist," Scar told him as Ed sent another set of spikes towards the man only for him to destroy them with a touch. Though Ayala had done some damage to his left arm, it was obvious that Scar either hadn't noticed the pain or was ignoring it as he was still using his left arm as though Ayala hadn't touched it.

"Not if I'm right about what will happen," Ed muttered as he and Ayala continued their assault against Scar, trying to keep the fight going long enough for their intended prey to take the bait.

---

Alphonse straightened before the blue crackle of energy had even dispersed from the wall he'd built. Both Mustang and Hawkeye gaped at him before Hawkeye remembered herself and her impassive mask was back in place. Nala let out a worried noise as she glared at the wall and Al felt the need to defend his actions. "We're using ourselves as bait to lure the homunculi," he revealed and Hawkeye's mask once again slipped to show her shock. "Ed's too important to them, remember? They can't afford to just let him die and we figured Scar would be a big enough threat that they'd have to come to his rescue," Al told them and Mustang's face looked a mixture of anger and disbelief.

"Are you insane?" He asked, voice barely below a shout.

"We're not gonna let anyone else get hurt for us!" Al snapped. "Using ourselves as bait was our only option!" He told them, a slight pleading note in his voice and Mustang shook his head.

"What are you gonna do if Scar gets shot by the MP's?" Mustang asked. "They might get here before the homunculi and all of this would have been for nothing," he pointed and Al shifted slightly.

"Well you can stop that from happening, right?" Al asked and Mustang's jaw dropped slightly.

"You want me to intentionally mislead the military police away from your brother and Scar? An act, I might add, that would have me court-martialed if I was caught and would place your brother in even more danger?" Mustang asked and Al nodded. Nala didn't look very happy when she realised what Mustang was about to say. "Fine," he said, "but I expect you and your brother to share what you catch," he told Al.

Al nodded enthusiastically. "Of course," he agreed easily as he and Chester moved to the wall and Al readied an array so he could destroy it. He could still hear Ed and Ayala fighting on the other side and he heard Mustang order Hawkeye to follow him to Breda's townhouse. "Thanks, Colonel!" He called as Mustang and Hawkeye headed in the other direction. The black-haired man didn't acknowledge him but Al hadn't expected him too. He could tell Chester and Nala were sharing words but he paid no attention as he brought down the wall to reveal Ed and Ayala's fight with Scar.

"Hey, get out of the way!" A voice from behind them had Al and Chester turn to see four military police officers and their Animals standing there, weapons at the ready. "We need a clear shot!" The same officer shouted at Al.

"Don't shoot!" Al said, standing his ground and holding his arms up as Chester snarled at the small group. "You'll hit my brother!" He told them, glancing behind him as Ed let out a pained grunt and saw blood trickling down his brother's face.

---

Ed heard the MP's shouted orders to Al and panicked slightly as he dodged another blow from Scar. "Everything's lost if those guys shoot Scar!" Ed mentally said to Ayala as she tried going for Scar again only to have the Ishvalen dance out of the way just in time. "How long do you think it'll take Fu to send the signal and get to Ling?" He asked as he looked around, trying to seek Chester and Al's positions out only to feel teeth close around his flesh hand and pull him off balance. A brown hand crackling with alchemic energy brushed past his cheek close enough that Ed swore he felt the air move between them and he threw himself into a roll, using the momentum of Ayala pulling him out of the way to get some space between them.

"That was too close," Ayala lectured. "Pay more attention to him than where your brother is," Ayala ordered and Ed nodded. "We will keep this up as long as we need to. Fu has already sent the signal but he hasn't left us yet. I don't know why, before you ask," Ayala said and Ed felt a moment's confusion. The agreement had been that Fu would signal Ling that Scar had appeared before he joined his fellow clansmen and helped them with whichever homunculous turned up. He hadn't been told about any changes to this plan so he was confused as to why Fu was lingering near them.

Suddenly, Ed picked up a voice coming from the MP's radios and he almost froze when he recognised it as Mustang, even if the colonel was trying to disguise his voice. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the fact that Scar landed a blow against Ayala and he felt his leg flare in sympathy pain. Thankfully, the hit was only hard enough to bruise her leg so she was up again quickly but Scar was quicker and Ed barely got in between his wolf and Scar in time to stop him from murdering her.

"Brother!" Al's terrified shout sounded as he and Chester ran to join in on the fight now that the soldiers were distracted by the conflicting orders coming from their radios. He watched as Ed managed to pull his hands apart from the clap as he slid in front of Ayala and intercept the blow Scar was about to land on the wolf with his automail arm. The resulting reaction of the two arrays hitting each other caused a small explosion and sent both Scar and Ed stumbling backwards and some debris hit both of them, giving Ed a new cut above his eyes while Scar's upper left arm had a new scratch on it. "He cancelled out Scar's alchemy," Al said in slight shock as he watched them get back to their feet.

"That was lucky," Ed commented as Ayala fussed as much as she could while Scar recovered and Al found himself jogging over to Ed.

"You're so reckless!" Al scolded before glancing behind him. "Come on, we need to lead him away from here, remember?" Al said and Ed nodded.

"Right, let's get going," Ed ordered and the four of them headed down the alleyway. Ed thought he caught a glimpse of Fu following them but he ignored it as they made sure that Scar was still following them while they kept at a pace that didn't look like it was obvious they were toying with the Ishvalen.

Blue alchemic energy raced along the wall next to them and forced them to veer off course and into an alley on their right. They continued along the new path and turned another corner, heading to the left to try to get back on their original path when blue alchemic energy danced along the wall once more only this time, they didn't have another alley to duck into and the resulting destruction of the alleyway wall sent Ed and Ayala flying forward while Al used his armour to protect Chester from the fallout. Once the dust had settled, Al looked up to see Ed and Ayala being backed into the dead-end wall of the alleyway and knew he had to act.

"Ling hasn't fired the signal flare yet and Brother's getting tired," Al said to Chester.

"We have to buy some time for Ling to get the homunculous," Chester told him and Al nodded. The only question now was how he would do that? He watched as Scar struck Ed – not with a fatal blow, thankfully – and send his brother into the wall behind him and an idea formed in his head.

"Hey, Scar!" Al shouted, getting the Ishvalen's attention and granting his brother the opportunity to get a bit of distance between himself and the serial killer. "You say that you believe alchemists have defied God. Isn't that a bit hypocritical since you use alchemy just like we do?" Al asked and Scar tilted his head.

"I explained it when we met in East City," Scar told him. "It's about balance. Where there are creators, there must be destroyers," Scar told him but Al shook his head.

"That's a lie!" Al exclaimed. "You're using the name of your god to justify murder! Revenge is all you care about! When you killed Shou Tucker and Nina, I suppose you believe you were doing your god's work, don't you?" Al asked and Scar suddenly looked at him as though he was seeing Al for the first time.

"Interesting," the Ishvalen murmured. "You saw that abomination as well, didn't you?" Scar asked, not paying attention to Ed when he snarled at him for his description of the chimera that had once been Nina and Alexander. "Alchemy created that tragic creature. Is that really the science you'd spend your lives following?" Scar asked. "That chimera was made because a man thought he could create when creation's the provenance of God alone!"

"That is not the alchemy we believe in!" Ed exclaimed, getting the Ishvalen's attention. "The alchemy we believe in is the alchemy that can be used to help people! We believe that alchemy should only ever be used for the good of the people, not for us to play god," Ed snapped. "Even if you're right in what you say, what the fuck gave you the right to kill Nina? You stole what little life she had left!"

"As foolish as you are, you must have known that that chimera could never have returned to her human state?" Scar asked, sounding almost as if he would be surprised if they hadn't known that. "It would've lived out its life as a lab specimen; treated as a test subject but never as a human being. What I did was merciful in the face of what awaited it if it had lived," Scar told them and both boys paused as they realised something: they completely agreed with Scar.

"You're right," Ed said, surprising himself, Al and their Animals. Even Scar raised a brow. "Nina would never have been treated with the decency afforded a human or Spirit Animal if she had lived past that night but that still doesn't make what you did right," Ed told him. "State Alchemists have made some awful mistakes but what you're doing? Blindly targeting every single person who has a State Alchemists title? That isn't right. I haven't done anything to you or your people and you're coming after me like I personally caused the Ishvalen Civil War," Ed said. "The soldiers and civilians who you've slaughtered because they happened to be in the way or doing their job of trying to protect a superior officer didn't do anything to you or your people. Your justifications for why you're killing State Alchemists is wrong and we can't let you continue!"

"Will you kill me?" Scar asked, sounding as though he hadn't heard much of what Ed had just said. "That's fine by me. Until one of us dies, this chain of hatred will continue but don't you ever forget that it was the Amestrians who started this! It was your people!" Scar shouted, moving forward so quickly that Ed almost wasn't able to get out of the way quick enough. He managed to, though, and Scar hit the wall behind Ed as he and Ayala moved to the side. With a quick clap, Ed caused the wall that blocked them in that alley to explode outwards and they found themselves in the trainyard, just where they wanted to be.

"Ed, you idiot!" Al shouted. "You're gonna get yourself killed!" He scolded as he rushed in to help his brother and his wolf. Chester used Al as a springboard and launched himself at Scar but the Ishvalen was quick to dodge the enraged leopard and hit Alphonse.

Scar faltered as the familiar hollow noise Al's armour made when it was hit rung out. "There's nothing inside that armour. You're hollow, aren't you?" Scar asked as Al and Chester managed to join Ed and Ayala. Al and Ed shared a confused look. Surely Scar noticed that in East City, didn't he? "You poor boy. Alchemy trapped you in that metal prison and, yet, you still have faith in it!" Scar shook his head as if Al's decision to continue using alchemy disappointed him.

Chester felt Ed stiffen next to him, as did Ayala, and he offered what comfort he could without being obvious about it. Al didn't notice as he replied to Scar. "True. There are plenty of things about this body that are inconvenient but it's nothing I can't live with. I don't need pity from anyone, least of all someone who uses his god as an excuse to murder innocent people," Al sneered. "My brother used alchemy to save my life and to reject my form now would not only mean turning my back on my alchemy but also on him," Al told him and Chester noticed that Scar's features seemed to soften slightly. As though Al talking about Ed in such a manner was affecting him. "I believe in my brother and I believe in alchemy and I won't lose my faith just because people like you think I should!"

"Won't you?" Scar asked but Ed decided he'd had enough of talking and ran for a nearby train carriage and used the steel of the carriage to try and grab Scar with the hands he'd created but Scar destroyed them easily and the fight between the two parties was back on.

"Brother!" Al shouted as Ed sloppily dodged another attack from Scar and he joined in, helping the Animals draw Scar away from Ed to give his brother some time to try and recover. "You really should be more careful," Al scolded once more.

"Let's end this!" Ed said, ignoring his brother and glaring at Scar. The Ishvalen did nothing more than incline his head in agreement.

Scar rushed forward and Ed created his automail blade as he met the man in the middle. Scar, despite being injured and just as tired as Ed, wasn't slowing down any and it was all Ed could do to keep up with the attacks and dodge the ones that would've killed him or destroyed his automail arm. Chester managed to land an attack and gouged Scar's leg with his claws, causing the brown-skinned man to let out a groan of pain. Ayala was quick to follow with her own blow and – in almost an identical move to earlier – she sunk her teeth back into Scar's arm, only a few centimeters above the wound she'd inflicted earlier.

With a growl, Scar used her grip on his arm to lift her off the ground – a feat that Ed almost admired because he knew how heavy Ayala was – and threw her at Chester, who was not quick enough to get of the way and both Animals went down heavily. Bleeding heavily from his leg and with fresh blood joining the blood oozing from the earlier injury on his arm, Scar turned back to the two brothers and they readied themselves for another bout of fighting when a large shadow was cast over them and an almost childish voice exclaimed "ooh! I found you!" with glee.

Looking up, all three of them saw a massively obese man with small, beady eyes and a bald head grinning down at them from a train carriage. Ed noted the skin-tight leotard the man wore and the massive, delighted grin on his face as his black eyes glinted happily at Scar. Both Ayala and Chester were immediately on their feet and by their humans' sides when the fat man turned up. "He's a homunculous!" Both Ayala and Chester hissed to their humans and both Ed and Al turned to face the massive man as he jumped down from the carriage, completely ignoring Scar.

Before anyone could do anything, there was a noise from a nearby sewer cover. Before Ed could decide what to do, the cover of the manhole went flying and Ling came leaping from it, shirtless and with a sword in between his teeth. His expression was thunderous and Ed almost stepped back at how angry his eyes were. Laika crawled out of the sewer behind him and they watched as Ling landed on the homunculous and forced an armed grenade down his throat.

"Go! Move it!" Ling ordered as he leapt off the homunculous' shoulders, landed next to Laika and scooped him up as he rolled for cover. Ed, Ayala, Chester and Al didn't need to be told twice and they instantly moved only to be tackled by Al as he used the armour to provide cover when the grenade exploded. No one noticed Scar moving to lean up against a building, keeping to the shadows as his leg and arm continued bleeding. Al got up and the four watched as the gory remains of the homunculous started to crackle with red energy. "Get me some strong cable!" Ed looked over at Ling's order and nodded.

"On it!" Ed called as he headed over to the train tracks and alchemised them into long lengths of cable as quickly as he could. He hauled them back to where Ling was waiting – the prince's body so taught with tension Ed thought one pinch would have him explode – and handed it over.

Ling barely nodded in thanks as he looped the cable around the still forming homunculous numerous times before tying it up and stepping back. Laika was quick to join his human and Ed noticed that Fu had done so as well. "Your own regenerative ability's working against you," Ling explained when the homunculous let out a frightened whimper and tried to struggle against his bonds. "Your flesh won't stop expanding! It'll keep you tied up nice and tight. You're mine now, homunculous!" Ling hissed in victory but Ed couldn't help but notice the grief hidden behind it and it was now that he realised that Lan Fan and her cat were nowhere to be seen.

"That thing is a homunculous?" Ed heard Scar's shocked question and turned to glare at him.

"Yeah," Ed snarled. "While trying to keep myself from being killed by you, we're also trying to figure what the fuck this thing was made for and uncover why Ishval and a dozen other highly populated cities and towns were bled dry for an array," Ed snapped. His already infamously thin temper had reached its limit and the whimpering of the captured homunculous grated on him so he was now beyond caring about what he said.

The sound of a car being driven at full speed caught their attention and they watched as a convertible car tore across the railyard towards them and sent gravel flying as it skidded to a stop. The dust it had picked up created a curtain between the car and the military police officers just arriving on scene and Ed's jaw almost dropped as he recognised Lieutenant Hawkeye in the drivers seat, even though her hair was down, she was dressed in civilian clothing, wore glasses and Soren was nowhere to be seen.

"Put him in here," she ordered, nodding to the homunculous. "We're getting out of here," she said. Ling looked at Ed, who gave him a nod and he and Fu loaded the homunculous into the backseat. Ling said something to Fu in Xingese and the old man stepped back while Ling got in the backseat to keep a hold on their unwilling passenger. "Contact Soren in a few minutes," Hawkeye said as she threw the car into gear and Ed nodded.

"Hey, what's going on?" Al protested as Hawkeye's borrowed car's tyres spun on the gravel before finally getting traction and leaping forward, spitting gravel from behind it once more. Fu disappeared into the manhole Ling had made his entrance from but Ed didn't spare him another thought.

"Al!" Ed hissed in warning. "The MP's are watching so pretend we don't know her!" He ordered as they leapt back and let Hawkeye's car fly forward as she left.

"They're getting away!" One of the soldiers shouted as the dust cloud Hawkeye had just created started to dissipate. "After them!" He ordered but Ed shouted at them.

"Don't worry about them!" He ordered, overriding the other soldier. "Let's focus on him!" Ed said, pointing to Scar, who hadn't moved since the homunculous had turned up. "You're under arrest for the murder of Nina Tucker and many other people!" Ed told Scar, violently wiping blood out of his eyes as he glared at the Ishvalen. Chester and Ayala took up protective stances in front of him and Alphonse.

"You're going to answer for your crimes!" Al answered, following his brother's plan to get the MP's attention away from pursuing Hawkeye and Ling.

Suddenly, a young girl – Ed didn't think she could've been more than 10 – appeared in front of Scar. She was obviously Xingese and Ed almost groaned at the idea of dealing with another Xingese person. She took up a fighting stance and glared at them with all the fury she could muster, which really wasn't all that intimidating. A small black and white creature growled from her shoulder, poking its head in between a couple of the braids the girl wore. "Are these two giving you trouble, servant?" Ed and Al's jaws almost dropped when they realised that not only was she protecting Scar but that he was apparently her servant. "This is the servant of the man who saved my life! You had better leave him alone!" She ordered and Ed felt some of his surprise disappear upon learning Scar wasn't her servant.

"You don't know who you're protecting, kid," Ed said. He didn't know what to do in this sort of situation. He knew Izumi would beat him senseless for his hesitation but he didn't feel comfortable trying to start a physical fight with such a young person.

"Where'd that kid come from?" Ed heard one of the MP's ask.

"Get away, girl! It's dangerous!" The other – Ed thought it might've been the same one shouting orders before – instructed and Ed saw the girl obviously taking in them all and weighing up her options.

"There's too many of them," she muttered to Scar, loud enough that Ed and Al could hear her but not the MP's. "It's time for us to retreat," she told him.

Ed saw silver flash past him and heard several thunks on the train carriage behind him. When Ed looked back over at the little Xingese girl, he saw her sketch out an array quickly on the ground in front of her, using the toe of her shoe to do so before she produced five more kunai and buried them at each point of the array. A flash of blue energy almost blinded Ed and when he turned away from it, he noticed the carriage behind him light up blue as well from where the kunai the girl had thrown earlier were sitting. An explosion occurred and Ed covered his face, kneeling down to cover Ayala and Chester as well before opening his eyes to a thick fog all around them. The train carriage the girl had picked evidently held water and her explosion had created a blanket of steam.

"What kind of alchemy was that?" Ed asked, coughing as the thick steam stuck to his throat. His eyes watered slightly and he forced himself to draw breaths in through his nose. Neither Animal was able to sense anything moving from the direction of the girl and Scar and they couldn't track her through the steam either.

"She did it from that far away?" Al asked, the steam obviously not affecting his ability to breath but – like everyone else – he couldn't see or hear anything either.

"I can't see anything through this damned steam!" Ed exclaimed, annoyed that a kid managed to one-up them all and focused his attention and anger inwards. Clapping, he spread his arms out to either side of himself and activated his water array and drew in all the excess water from the air directly around him. He continued doing so until the immediate area was clear and found himself standing there with two massive spheres of water wobbling just in front of his hands. Satisfied that they wouldn't be impeded by the thick steam he'd left around them, Ed released the transmutation and the water he'd collected splashed to the ground, spraying him, Ayala, Chester and Al with water and mud. "Oops," was all he said in response to the irritated expressions the two Animals gave him.

"That was literally the most insincere 'oops' I have ever heard you say," Ayala grumbled as she shook her fur and splattered her surroundings with more mud. Chester followed suit and Ed knew he purposefully aimed to get some of the muck onto him.

"Oops," Chester drawled when he realised Ed had noticed what he'd done and Ed rolled his eyes at the leopard.

"Child," Ed teased but Chester didn't seem to care.

Ed shook his head and looked around at their surroundings. The MP's who had arrived on scene just before Hawkeye had were spreading out, looking for any sign of where Scar and the alkahestrist had gone. It had occurred to Ed that she must've been using alkahestry while he was using his water manipulation array. She was Xingese and it definitely wasn't alchemy she had been using which meant she had to be using alkahestry and Ed really wished he'd spent some of his time in Resembool asking Hohenheim about how alkahestry worked and how it differed to alchemy so he could either use it himself or at least defend himself against it.

Sighing, Ed let go of that thought and focused back on the situation at hand. "Come one, let's help the MP's try and track Scar," Ed said and received three affirmative nods.

"Sir!" The highest-ranked officer – the one who'd tried to order the soldiers after Hawkeye – greeted, snapping into a salute as Ed approached. Ed was quick to dismiss the salute with an irritated wave. "Are you alright, Sir? Do you need medical aid?" The 2nd Lieutenant asked, giving Ed's bloody appearance a once-over.

"Nah, it's minor wounds. I'll get patched up later," Ed told him. "Where do you need us?" Ed asked, gesturing to himself, Al and the Animals.

The lieutenant looked mildly surprised that Ed was offering to help and Ed wasn't sure if it was because he was injured or if it was because he – a Major and a State Alchemist – was willing to take orders from a 2nd Lieutenant. However, the lieutenant didn't voice his surprise. "I appreciate your offer to help, Major Elric," the lieutenant said. "If you, your brother and your Animals are willing, would you mind searching the area that little girl appeared?"

"Can do," Ed told him, giving him a nod. "We'll get started now," he said and the lieutenant nodded.

"Thank you, Sir. Please let us know if you find something or need an extra set of eyes or hands," the lieutenant requested, looking a little nervous about doing so. The sugar glider clinging to his collar looked even more so.

"Will do," Ed told him and the lieutenant nodded. With a gesture from Ed, the four of them headed back over to the building Scar had been resting against.

"What are we even looking for?" Chester asked as they approached and Ed shrugged.

"You and Ayala managed to wound him pretty good so let's see if we can pick up a blood trail or scent trail," Ed suggested. No one seemed against the idea as they got to work. There was a fairly decent sized pool of blood on the ground from where the blood from Scar's leg wound had collected and a few centimeters away from it was another, smaller pool of blood created by the injuries Ayala had inflicted.

"Brother?" Al asked as they started following the small drops of blood and footprints Scar and the Xingese girl had left behind. Ed hummed to show he was listening as Ayala and Chester did their best to pick up either scent. "Are you sure it was a good idea to tell Scar what you did about the homunculi?" Al asked.

Ed thought back what he had said before nodding. "He deserved to know that Ishval was destroyed for a reason, even if we don't know that reason for certain, and that the homunculi are probably the reason behind Ishval's destruction," Ed told him. "Hopefully he'll focus his attention on the homunculi and not State Alchemists and give us a bit of breathing room to try and figure out this fucking plot," Ed said, though he didn't sound like he fully believed his own words.

Al didn't say anything for a while and they continued their search. The footprints they were following disappeared when the dust they were walking in turned gravel but they were still able to follow the blood and scent trails for a little while longer. "What do you think Scar's Animal is?" Al asked and Ed startled at the question.

"I have no idea," Ed said, giving Al a confused and curious look. "Why?"

"Don't you think it's weird we haven't seen it? That nobody has reported seeing Scar with an Animal? We should've seen it by now. There's no way it would've stayed out of all his fights, especially the more dangerous ones like when he took on Grand and if it was small enough to hide on his person, Chester and Ayala would've picked up on it during the fights and the teams would've found its scent when they tracked Scar," Al pointed out and Ed blinked as he thought it over.

"Maybe he has it hiding wherever he's holed up so it doesn't get hurt," Ed suggested.

"I don't think he has one," Ayala told him and Ed knew by the startled noise Al made that Chester likely told him the same thing.

"Why not?" Ed asked. "He should have one so why doesn't he?"

"Think about it, Ed. Why wouldn't an adult have a Spirit Animal?" Ayala asked and Ed felt a pang of sadness.

"If their Animal died," Ed said and Ayala and Chester nodded.

"Ayala and I haven't picked up the slightest trace of another Animal with those two. Even if Scar's Animal was alive and they hadn't been together for years, he would still have trace amounts of his Animal with him because their bond was still active. Since we aren't picking up those traces," Chester trailed off.

"It means his Animal is no longer alive," Al said sadly. "That's awful. No wonder he's so angry about everything and careless with his own life," Al commented. Ed wanted to comment about how it didn't excuse Scar's crimes but he didn't bother.

"You said you didn't pick up another Animal with their scents?" Ed asked the two Animals and they nodded. "What about that rat thing on the girl's shoulder?" Ed asked.

"It's not a Spirit Animal. It's just an ordinary animal," Ayala told him as she and Chester continued following Scar's scent and blood trail. "Damn it," she muttered and Ed peered over her shoulder when she came to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Al asked Chester who had also come to a stop.

"Scar must've patched his injuries up because there's no more blood," Chester told them both. "And the scent trail has stopped as well." Chester growled in frustration as he and Ayala fanned out a bit, trying to pick up the faintest trace but, after doing this for a few minutes, they had to call it a bust.

"Come on," Ed said once he realised the Animals wouldn't be able to find anything. "Let's go report back to the lieutenant and tell him we lost them," he said. Both Animals sighed and led the way while Al and Ed brought up the rear.

"I'd like to know how he's always able to lose us so easily," Al mentioned as they headed back to the railyard where the military police were.

"Same here," Ed muttered as they walked.

Now that the adrenaline of the fight and facing another homunculous was wearing off, he was starting to feel all the injuries he'd sustained. He hadn't lied to the 2nd lieutenant when he told him they were just minor but that didn't mean they were painless. He'd managed to avoid broken ribs, something he was very happy about, and damaging his automail, something he was ecstatic about since it meant he wouldn't have to face the wrath of Winry and Michella. Ed hadn't yet seen himself in a mirror so he wasn't certain but he didn't think any of the cuts and gashes he'd gained were severe enough to require stitches or hospitalisation. He'd just have to have Havoc look him over before Elysia or Gracia saw him next.

---

He wasn't paying attention to what was happening around him as he headed for the lieutenant in charge of the scene. Aside from thinking over his injuries, Ed was also focusing on what Ling had told Fu that had the old man disappear into the sewers as well as whether Ling was alright with the homunculous and why Lan Fan hadn't been with him as well as everything with Scar so he was neglecting to pay attention to everything else around him. Because of this, he didn't notice Chester or Ayala find something nor Al heading to investigate it. It wasn't until Al called for his attention that Ed looked up and almost stumbled backwards when a tiny, snarling, black and white animal was thrust into his face.

"What the fuck, Al?!" Ed snapped and glared as the two Animals laughed at him while the small thing Al was holding snarled.

"Look what Chester and Ayala found, Ed! It's a tiny panda bear!" Al cooed over it as Ed watched on in disbelief as his brother tickled the bear's stomach while it growled and snapped at him.

"In case you hadn't noticed how busy we are, Al, we don't really have the time to go around and adopt bloody panda bears!" Ed exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation and winced when the actions pulled at a couple of injuries.

"I couldn't leave her alone in the middle of all that mess!" Al defended himself. "She could've gotten hurt!"

"You have a problem when it comes to adopting strays, Alphonse," Ed told him. "Seriously; do I have to start frisking you after every mission to make sure you don't have anything else stuffed in that armour of yours?" Ed asked and Al snorted.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ed," Al berated as he scratched the little bear on the top of its head and Ed rolled his eyes, grateful that the 2nd lieutenant they'd been taking orders from had spotted them and made his way over.

"We tracked him for a couple hundred metres that way," Ed pointed in the direction he meant, "but we lost both the blood and scent trails," he divulged and saw the flash of disappointment cross the lieutenant's face.

"'Blood trail'?" The lieutenant asked. "He's injured?"

"Yeah. Chester here managed to get his claws into Scar's leg and Ayala got his arm but I wouldn't count on him staying injured," Ed warned. "I think that kid who turned up is a Xingese alkahestrist and from what I understand of alkahestry, it's healing based so it's very likely that she's healed him up by now," Ed explained and the lieutenant let out a small sigh.

"Thank you for telling us. I'll update the team in charge of the search for Scar that he has an alkahestrist?" His tone made the word a question and he paused until Ed nodded that that was the correct word. "That he has an alkahestrist with him who is likely able to heal any injuries he suffers and that we should be on the lookout for a young Xingese girl dressed in pink," he said and Ed nodded.

"Make sure you make it known to the team that it's very likely the girl doesn't know about and isn't complicit in his crimes," Ed ordered and the lieutenant nodded.

As the lieutenant went to say something else, the sound of a car pulling up caught their attention and Ed watched as Hawkeye, Mustang, Soren and Nala climbed out of the vehicle. The four headed straight for Ed and the lieutenant and Ed shared a look with Ayala before he shrugged. The lieutenant immediately snapped a salute and so did Ed but only after Al elbowed him in the side and the salute he offered was the bare minimum of what military procedure dictated was an appropriate salute. Mustang waved the two out of their salutes as Nala moved to Ed's side and started checking his injuries out, despite the blonde's protests and offered assurances.

"Colonel Mustang! May I ask what brings you out here, sir?" The lieutenant queried.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant Liddell," Mustang greeted. "I was in the area when I heard reports that my subordinate had ran afoul of Scar once again and headed over to see whether I could offer any assistance," Mustang told him.

"Thank you, sir, but I believe we have everything under control here," Liddell told him. "Major Elric, his brother and their Animals tracked Scar for us but, as has been the case the last three times, the trail was lost," Liddell reported.

"Very well," Mustang said before looking over at the dust and blood covered blonde. "Do you require a visit to the hospital, Fullmetal?" Mustang asked, sounding completely bored with the whole situation.

"No," Ed snapped as he fended off Nala.

"Are you sure, Ed?" Nala asked and Ed nodded, thankful both Ayala and Nala were sitting next to each other so he could make it look as though he was answering Ayala.

"If your injuries aren't that severe, Lieutenant Hawkeye and I will drop you and your brother off at your hotel for you to clean yourself up a bit. We'll wait so you can come with us to the office and give us your report immediately," Mustang declared and Ed glared at him.

"He doesn't want to take you to the office to give your report," Nala told him and Ed blinked at her in surprise before remembering he wasn't supposed to be able to hear her and shifted his gaze to Ayala. "He's gonna take you and Al to where the homunculous and Xingese prince are waiting," Nala explained.

Sighing a little, Ed nodded once to Mustang before turning to Liddell. "Let us know if you need us for any reason," he instructed and Liddell nodded.

"I will, sir. Thank you for your help this afternoon," Liddell said, nodding to all the Elrics.

"No problems. Sorry we couldn't help you find Scar," Ed said with a slight grimace. Liddell nodded but didn't comment any further on the subject.

With nothing left to say to the lieutenant and nothing else they needed to do at the scene, Ed nodded to Al and the Animals and followed Hawkeye and Mustang back to their car. Mustang joined Hawkeye and Soren in the front of the car, Hawkeye behind the wheel, but Nala elected to ride in the back with the brothers and their Animals. There was only silence in the car for the first few minutes of the trip before Nala decided to break it.

"WHAT THE EVERLIVING FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?! USING YOURSELF AS BAIT FOR SCAR?! ARE YOU INSANE?!" Both Ed and Mustang flinched at the sudden shouting in their heads, even though it was quieter in Mustang's since he wasn't the intended recipient for Nala's ire. He realised pretty quickly that Nala had simply – in her anger – forgotten to block him out of the conversation like she ordinarily would've done when talking to Ed.

"Bloody hell, Nala, lower the damned volume!" Ed said as his headache increased. "Rant all you bloody want at me; just lower the freaking volume." Nala glared at him but obviously saw his head really hurt or felt the headache building because she did as she was asked.

"Well?" She snarled, though at a much lower volume as before. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She demanded and Ed would've rolled his eyes at her mothering if he didn't value his life.

"I thought Al explained our plan to you after Scar turned up and Ayala and I started fighting him?" Ed asked, glancing at Chester, who nodded in affirmation.

"I want to know why you thought putting your life on the line was the only way to find the homunculi. Why couldn't you just have Ayala or Chester track them down?" Nala asked and Ed sighed.

"Because we didn't want them to figure out that we were trying to catch one. We didn't know what they'd do if they caught us actively trying to hunt one of them down," Ed told her and Nala twitched the end of her tail, a sure sign that she didn't like what he was telling her but couldn't argue against it.

"But why did you have to go up against Scar? He almost killed you, Ayala and Chester last time!" Nala reminded him and Ed sighed.

"Who else could I have tried to fight like that? Who else would the homunculi have seen me fight and felt the need to interfere on my behalf to keep me alive for their plans?" Ed asked and Nala grumbled.

"You could've picked any criminal who didn't want to go to jail!" Nala said and Ed gave her a disbelieving look.

"I know I constantly say that criminals who choose to fight me are idiots but do you really believe there are any criminals whose identities we know of right now in Central whose crimes were severe enough to warrant a lengthy jail sentence who would've seen me coming and decided to put up as good a fight as Scar did?" Ed asked and Nala snarled.

"That still doesn't mean you should've done what you did!" She yelled. "What would you have done if the homunculous hadn't turned up? What if the Xingese prince Riza gave a ride to hadn't been there to help you with the homunculous? So many things could've gone wrong with this plan, Ed! You could've been killed!"

"But I wasn't!" Ed exclaimed. "I knew the homunculous would turn up and even if it didn't, Al and Chester weren't out of commission and I had those MP officers right there so I probably wouldn't have been killed. Not to mention, one of Ling's guards was with us the whole time and he would've stepped in to help if he thought we needed it," Ed told her. "I know a lot of things could've gone wrong with this plan but I was fairly certain that I would come out with only minor injuries and a captured homunculous so it was a risk I was always going to take and one that I would take again," Ed told her firmly.

"How fairly certain?" Nala asked, eyes narrowed.

"Like, 63%?" Ed said, sounding a little uncertain and Nala looked at him disbelievingly.

"How are you even still alive?" Nala asked and Ed shrugged a shoulder.

"Mainly out of spite," Ed told her and there were some muffled chuckles from the other Animals and that was Ed's first clue that neither Nala nor himself had remembered to block the other Animals out of their conversation. The suspicious sounding cough from Mustang was Ed's confirmation that Nala had neglected to block her human from her side of the conversation and that he'd spoken that last part out loud. He gave Nala a glare that she looked immensely unfazed by.

"Whoops," was all she said in her defense.

"Nala!" Ed scolded, much to Ayala and Chester's amusement. Much to Ed's relief, Hawkeye finally pulled alongside the front of the hotel the boys and their Animals were currently staying at and Ed climbed out.

"We'll wait for 15 minutes before we come up to find out what's taking you so long," Mustang warned him and Ed rolled his eyes. He didn't say anything in response as he headed into the hotel lobby and was immediately greeted by a worried employee.

"Major Elric! Do you require medical aid?" The woman, Julie, asked as she took in his dirty and disheveled appearance. Ed knew Ayala and Chester didn't look much better but as he had been the main focus of Scar's revenge, he was the one who looked like he'd been put through a wringer.

"No thanks, Miss Julie," Ed said, giving her a small smile. "The first aid kit in my room should be enough to deal with any injuries I have. You might want to restock it though once we leave this afternoon," Ed warned her and she nodded, lips pursed in displeasure at his turning down first aid.

"Very well," she said. "I'll have a new kit stocked and sent up this afternoon," she told them before resuming whatever duty she'd been on her way to do when they walked in the entrance.

"Come on, Brother. Colonel Mustang said we only have 15 minutes and you have to patch you up so you don't bleed everywhere," Al reminded him. "Not to mention both Ayala and Chester need a bath of their own," he added when both Animals started sniggering. His comment immediately made them go silent and Ed laughed as they headed into the elevator.

"You can start giving them baths while I'm in the shower," Ed said. The bathroom in their room offered some privacy so someone who was in the bath wouldn't see much of the person in the shower, something they often took advantage of in this kind of situation. "Once we're both done, you can patch me up and we'll rejoin Miss Riza and that bastard," Ed said.

"Brother," Al sighed but didn't comment any further, knowing anything he said would fall on deaf ears. Instead, he unlocked their hotel room door and ushered the three inside before other guests came out and saw the blood and dirt-stained Edward and Animals. "Get in the shower," was all Al said and Ed gave him a mocking salute.

"Yes, Sir!" Ed teased and Al flicked him on the ear, causing Ed to yelp. Ed leveled his brother with a glare as he grabbed some clean clothes before disappearing into the bathroom.

Al shook his head at Ed's antics as he closed the door to their room, ensuring privacy and that Chester and Ayala's only escape route was cut off. Sitting on the edge of a bed, doing his best not to dirty the linen though he knew that was a lost cause considering how filthy he was, Al waited to hear the sound of running water before he would start herding the two reluctant Animals into the bathroom for their bath, giving Ed a bit of privacy. He suddenly remembered the little panda he'd picked up at the scene and pulled it out of his armour.

"Don't worry," he cooed at the little creature as it did its very best to chew his metal finger off. "We'll find your owner once we've spoken to Ling and the homunculous," he assured it. He spent another minute or so making soothing noises as he gave the creature as much affection as he could before Ed's shout that he could start washing the Animals came. He made sure to place the panda back in his armour before he rounded on the two Animals. "Don't bother arguing. Let's go," Al ordered as he opened the bathroom door. Both Ayala and Chester looked at each other before they walked sullenly through the bathroom door and Al just shook his head at them as he turned the water on, getting it ready for their bath. Of course it was his luck to not only have a dramatic older brother but for his and Ed's Animals to be dramatic as well.

---

The Elrics barely managed to get back down to the war car within the 15-minute time limit Mustang had set. In fact, Nala had started an annoying countdown in Ed's head, reminding him every minute how long he had left before she was allowed to come up to drag him down. Ed had mentally flipped her off but all that did was make her laugh and give him reminders every 30 seconds instead. Ed was still tugging on his red coat when they left the lobby and his hair was unbraided, though he had a tie in between his teeth.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to be on time for anything, Fullmetal," Mustang drawled as the brothers and their Animals climbed into the backseat.

"You're truly hilarious, Mustang. Why don't you try your hand at stand-up?" Ed snarked around the hair tie as he pulled out a set of gloves and put them on.

"Are you alright?" Nala asked, eyeing up the butterfly bandages that were plastered on Ed's face as well as intentionally stopping her human from biting back to Ed's retort.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I told you already; I only have minor injuries this time 'round," Ed reminded her, giving her a reassuring smile before he got busy with putting his hair in a braid so it wouldn't be in his eyes.

"I thought Mustang said we would be going back to the office?" Ayala asked and Ed looked out the window to see they weren't heading to Central Command like Mustang had said.

"Oi, Mustang, what's going on?" Ed asked as he finished tying off his braid.

"You didn't think we were really heading back to the office, did you?" Mustang asked, sounding slightly incredulous and a little bit smug.

"Nala told me we weren't but with the amount of shit you give me about turning a report in on time, I wouldn't have put it past you," Ed shrugged and Mustang rolled his eyes.

"Well maybe if you were on time with your reports more often, I wouldn't be on your case so much about it," Mustang said. The side-eyed 'really?' look Hawkeye gave him was obvious to the entire car and had Ed sniggering into his hand. Mustang shifted slightly in seat and cleared his throat lightly. "We're heading to an old acquaintance of mine. Lieutenant Hawkeye has informed me that there's an injured woman with the Xingese men who caught the homunculous and that she's in need of a doctor. My friend happens to be one, of a sort, so I'm gonna ask him for a favour," Mustang told him and Ed felt his heart drop.

"Lan Fan got hurt? Will she be alright?" Ed asked as Al shifted next to him.

"She's grievously injured," Hawkeye told them somberly. "Her left arm was severed off at the shoulder. The men with her and I stabilised the injury as best we can but she needs a good doctor who will work on her off the record," she reported and Ed sighed.

"Did they say what happened?" Al asked, voice worried but Hawkeye shook her head.

"I'm afraid I wasn't at the safe-house long enough after helping stabilise Lan Fan to find out the details. I needed to pick up Colonel Mustang before anyone discovered we'd split up when we shouldn't have," Hawkeye told them.

"She's alright, Ed. She's a fighter and I'm in contact with Onyx," Soren soothed the blonde.

"Who's Onyx?" Ed asked, latching on to the name that seemed familiar, like he should've known who Soren was talking about.

"Lan Fan's Animal," Soren told him and Ed made a small 'ah' of realisation as he recalled the small black cat Ling had introduced back in Rush Valley.

"But she's alright?" Ed pressed and Hawkeye nodded.

"She was when we left," she told him and Ed and Al both gave a sigh of relief.

"We're here," Mustang announced after a couple of minutes of silence. "Stay in the car," he ordered and though Ed huffed at him, he and the others did as they were told, even Nala.

They watched as Mustang approached a nondescript house that Ed wasn't even sure he'd be able to describe to anyone after a couple of days. There was nothing of interest about the house at all. Mustang headed up to the front door and rapped his knuckles on it twice before taking a small step backwards so he wouldn't be in the occupants face when the door opened. It took a couple of minutes for someone to open the door.

"Doctor Knox, I apologise for interrupting your evening but someone's badly injured," Mustang told the old man who'd opened the door. "I came to you because we need a doctor and we can't go to the hospital," Mustang explained and the old man's expression turned even more sour.

"Gone and gotten yourself in trouble again, have you?" Knox grouched as he adjusted his glasses. He was dressed in casual slacks and semi-formal shirt and despite the fact that he had at least a decade, if not two, on Mustang, Ed couldn't see any grey hairs. "You just can't help it, can you?" Knox muttered and Ed snorted. Since Mustang took the time to glare at him, Ed had a feeling he didn't to it quietly but he didn't look ashamed at getting caught out.

"I know you have a family, Knox," Mustang said. "If you'd rather not endanger them, I'll find someone else," Mustang told him, refusing to let Knox do this favour without knowing about how risky this situation was.

"I'll get my instruments. Wait here," Knox told him gruffly and Mustang didn't bother to his shock.

"You sure?" He couldn't help but ask and Knox sighed.

"My wife and I split up not long after Ishval and she took our son with her. It's only me and Brian here now," Knox told him before disappearing into the house once more.

"'Brian'?" Al queried and Hawkeye nodded as she watched the colonel with eagle eyes.

"Doctor Knox's Animal's name is Brian," she told them.

Neither Ed nor Al got the chance to ask what kind of Animal Brian was as Knox and his Animal left the house, Knox now armed with a doctor's bag no doubt filled with medical equipment. Ed and Al peered through the window as Knox locked his door and nodded to Mustang. Brian, as it turned out, was a bulldog. His coat was chestnut and white and he snuffled and puffed as he walked with his human towards the car. Knox didn't react to the teenager, suit of armour, golden wolf or leopard waiting in the back seat with anything more than a raised brow at Mustang that demanded answers.

"Doctor Knox, Brian, this is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his Animal, Ayala." Ed gave the Doctor a slight nod while Ayala eyed him up. "His younger brother, Alphonse, and his Animal, Chester. I assume you remember Nala, Soren and 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye," Mustang said as he opened the back door.

"I'm assuming you're not my patient this evening," Knox grumbled as he climbed in, eyeing Ed's bandaged face. "You don't look that badly injured to me." Ed gave both Nala and Ayala a gloating grin as Knox and Brian got themselves situated.

"No, I'm not," Ed confirmed as Nala and Ayala rolled their eyes. The sound of Mustang's door closing was the cue Hawkeye had apparently been waiting for as she pulled the car onto the street the moment it did and this time she wasn't paying any attention to the road rules.

"What can you tell me about my patient? I'd like some idea of what I'm dealing with before we get there," Knox said and Al was certain for a moment that he was looking at a possible future version of Ed. Chester's amused snort told him he wasn't alone in that thought.

"She's a young Xingese woman. Maybe 20, 25 at the most," Hawkeye answered. "I'm not certain how she was injured but she's lost her entire left arm. The two members of her group are with her and we'd managed to stabilise the wound to the best of our abilities before I had to leave. I'm not sure of anything else that might be pertinent," Hawkeye told him and Knox pursed his lips.

"She'll be lucky if she hasn't succumbed to shock yet," Knox told them bluntly.

"Don't," Ayala warned Ed before he could tell the doctor exactly what he thought of that answer. "It's his medical opinion. You know how much pain she'd be in right now and she's gone longer than you did without medical attention. With any luck, she'll be unconscious when we arrive but you have to be prepared for the worst case scenario," Ayala told him, trying to be as gentle about it as she could be. "Having said that, Soren did say he was in contact with Onyx and she hasn't said anything about Lan Fan slipping into shock or anything like that," Ayala reminded him and Ed nodded.

"I know," Ed told her. "Lan Fan doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd let an injury slow her down, no matter how bad it was, but I can't help but worry. It's my fault she even got hurt in the first place," Ed said, sighing a little.

"How do you figure?" Chester asked, inserting himself into the conversation.

"She wouldn't have been in that position if I hadn't decided to bait Scar into fighting me so we could lure out a homunculous," Ed told him, the 'duh' in his tone blatantly obvious.

"Well, If you want to get technical, really it's Ling's fault," Ayala told him. "Having the Xingese backing us up wasn't part of your plan at all. Ling was the one who decided to offer his and the others' help so really, it's his fault since she wouldn't have been in that position if he had kept out of it," Ayala said. "In fact, you could argue that her injury is the fault of whoever assigned her to be Ling's guard in the first place. If she hadn't of been, she would likely not even be in Amestris right now," Ayala told him and Ed glared at her slightly condescending tone.

"I get it," Ed grumbled as Ayala took a mental breath to keep going. "I still feel bad she got hurt so badly helping us," Ed muttered and both Ayala and Chester sighed as the cuddled closer to him.

"It's because you're a softie," Ayala informed and Ed flicked her ear.

"Am not," Ed grouched.

"You keep telling yourself that," Chester snorted before growling when Ed flicked his ear.

"Knock it off, you two," Al hissed and that caused Ed to freeze as he suddenly remembered they were not, in fact, alone in the car. Chester snickered at him and Ed flicked his ear again.

"I thought your Animal was the wolf," Knox said as he watched them interact.

"She is," Ed told him, ruffling Ayala's ears.

"I've never seen a human so close with an Animal they aren't bonded with," Knox commented as he almost absentmindedly reached down to pet Brian's ears.

"Fullmetal has an exceptionally close relationship with his brother, especially after their accident. Both brothers are close to each other's Animal," Mustang answered before either Ed or Al could answer themselves. "However, you'll notice that Fullmetal has an uncanny and irritating ability to become close to most Animals he meets. I'm sure there's been a couple of times where someone has mistaken Nala as his Animal," Mustang told Knox, whose brow raised in disbelief.

"You're just jealous that Nala likes me more. Who can blame her though?" Ed said with a smirk as Nala took the opportunity to sit up and nuzzle Ed's cheek affectionately. No one but Ayala saw the shit-eating grin on Ed's face before it was hidden in Nala's hair when Mustang made an irritated noise.

"You let her get away with that sort of blatant affection in public?" Knox asked and Mustang raised a brow at him.

"Are you gonna be the one to try and tell her to stop then enforce that order?" Mustang asked and Ed snorted. He honestly wished anyone who tried forcing Nala to do anything good luck and a speedy recovery when they tried.

"Fair point," Knox conceded. After giving Ed another assessing look the blonde didn't flinch from, Knox spoke up again. "So, would you like to explain to me why you couldn't take someone as severely injured as this woman is to a hospital?"

---

Ling had spent the first ten minutes of their arrival explaining everything that had happened to himself and Lan Fan while Ed was fighting Scar. According to the prince, the homunculous – Gluttony, as the homunculous had called itself – had appeared within a couple of minutes of Fu giving them the signal once Scar had made his appearance. However, they soon found themselves against a second homunculous. Ed hadn't been the only one to show visible shock when Ling informed them it had been Fuhrer Bradley who'd come to the defense of Gluttony.

"The Fuhrer?" Knox had asked, sounding slightly stunned and Mustang nodded.

"I'll explain in more detail later," Mustang had promised before gesturing for Ling to continue.

Ling did, telling them about how he'd tried to fight while carrying a severely injured Lan Fan on his back, trying to use Bradley's limited vision to his advantage but Gluttony had – on the Fuhrer's orders – punched Ling so hard, he'd been sent flying into the building across the street. Lan Fan had set off a smoke grenade while the Fuhrer was trying to interrogate them about how they'd found out about Gluttony and what he was. Ed had perked up at that slightly.

"He doesn't know we're working together," Ed explained. "It might mean that they might give us a bit of breathing room as they try to figure out how two random Xingese knew about the homunculi," he said.

"Maybe," Mustang said with a touch of pessimism and nodded to Ling once more.

"Your Fuhrer isn't as blind as he seems," Ling revealed. "The smoke grenade hadn't affected him at all. The eye he keeps covered? It helps him see in situations he shouldn't be able to," Ling told them. "I set off a smoke bomb and grenade and that gave me the opportunity to get as much distance between us as possible. Lan Fan woke up once more as we were making our escape and realised that her injury was bleeding heavily and leaving an obvious trail for Bradley to follow," Ling said. Ed had a nasty feeling he knew what was coming next. Judging from everyone else's faces, so did they.

"In an effort to conceal our tracks, Lan Fan cut her injured arm off and we used the remnants of her shirt to tie the limb to a stray dog while we went underground into the sewers. I used my jacket to stem the bleeding before we decided I needed to join back up with the Elrics and capture the homunculous so our mission wasn't a failure," Ling said, tilting his chin up in a silent dare for someone to say anything. "When your lieutenant arrived on scene to help me, I told Fu where Lan Fan was and instructed him to get her out of the sewers. I convinced Lieutenant Hawkeye to go out of her way so we could pick them up." The only noise for the next few seconds were of Lan Fan's muffled groans of pain in the other room where she, Fu, Laika and Onyx were occupying.

"YOU LET HER WANDER AROUND THE SEWERS WITH HER ARM CUT OFF?!" Knox shouted once Ling finished explaining what had happened to Lan Fan. "Don't come crying to me if she develops lock-jaw!" He snapped before he snatched up his medical bag and marched into the other room. Fu was doing his best to try and offer Lan Fan some comfort – Ling had explained that he was her grandfather earlier – but she was still squirming in pain and Ed knew just from looking that she'd developed a fever. "I'm afraid that the only patients I've had lately have been corpses so this might be a little rough," Knox said, sounding as apologetic as Ed imagined he could as he put some gloves on.

As Lan Fan's first muffled scream sounded, Ling walked out of the room, looking slightly ill and immensely angry at something. Ed and Ayala were quick to join Laika in following him. Laika climbed up Ling like the prince was nothing more than a tree before nestling himself in the juncture of Ling's shoulder and neck. Ed and Ayala stood there for a few moments, neither of them sure of what say so Ed decided to start with what he felt Ling deserved from him.

"I'm sor-" Ed started to apologise but Ling stopped him.

"No, don't apologise," Ling instructed. "I'm the one who suggested it, remember?" Ling said, giving Ed a wry smile. "We both had something to gain out of it so it made sense," Ling told him. "When I started my search for immortality, I knew I'd need to make sacrifices but I wasn't ready for this," Ling almost whispered. "Lan Fan was though. She made the decision I was too weak to make," Ling said, sighing as he leant against the wall.

Lan Fan's muffled screams could still be heard through the walls and the cloth Ed knew she'd be biting on to stop herself from hurting herself further. Even though Ling wasn't someone he'd considered a close friend, Ed didn't want to see him hurting himself like this, nor did he want to see him blaming himself. However, he had no idea what to say to make this situation any better and, to his surprise, neither did Ayala when he looked to her for advice. After a moments debate, Ed decided to follow his gut. Walking over to Ling, he mimicked his position and laid his flesh hand on his shoulder. They didn't exchange words, just sat there in silence and Ed pretended he didn't feel Ling reach up to squeeze his wrist in thanks.

---

"She's awake!" The sudden shout from Alphonse had Ed, Ayala and Ling moving into action. Laika still clung to his human and stayed that way as they entered the makeshift patient's room to find that Lan Fan was indeed awake after several hours of being unconscious.

"Are you okay? Is there anything we can do?" Ed asked as he came to a stop next to her bedside.

Lan Fan looked exhausted and Ed felt horrible, despite Ling and Ayala's assertions that her injury wasn't his fault. Onyx was curled up next to Lan Fan's head, on her right side to prevent the possibility of her hurting the injured woman. "I'm useless without my arm," she murmured sadly. "I'm going to need to find a replacement," she said and Ed managed a small smile.

"You know, I can introduce you to the best automail engineer in Amestris," Ed told her. "I'm positive that she'd be delighted to work with you to create a functional and combat-ready arm," Ed said and – for the first time Ed could recall – Lan Fan gave him a tentative but thankful smile.

"I don't know much about automail," she admitted. "It's not commonly used in Xing as we have alkahestrists who are usually able to help injuries severe enough they ordinarily would've been amputated anywhere else but isn't the recovery time 3 years?" She asked an Ed shrugged.

"Once the doc says you're healed enough to have the port installed, you only have to wait a couple of weeks to a month for your nerves to settle down before you can have the limb attached. I had two installed at the same time and I was cleared after a year. I have a feeling you could be cleared within a couple of months of getting your automail installed completely," Ed told her, giving her a grin that she returned with an air of confidence.

"I need to perform whatever tests I can," Knox said, coming back into the room. "You can come back in when she's done unless she manages to fall asleep before I'm done," Knox told them, looking specifically at Ling and Fu. He didn't move a muscle but his glare increased in severity until they reluctantly left, leaving Lan Fan with only Onyx, Knox and Brian for company.

They were met outside of the room by Mustang, Hawkeye and their Animals. "We're going to interrogate the homunculous now, if you want to join," Mustang said. Both Xingese nodded and Ed just followed when they headed into the room the bound homunculous was being held. As they walked, Mustang broke the silence. "My name is Colonel Roy Mustang. I'm with the state military."

"My name is Ling Yao, the 12th son of the Emperor of Xing. This is one of my most trusted guards, Fu," Ling said. "We appreciate you finding a doctor to help Lan Fan." Ling and Fu both paused to bow to Mustang.

"It was no problem," Mustang assured him. "Thank you both for helping keep the Elrics out of the danger they would've been in without back up. Nala would've been insufferable if Fullmetal or his brother got themselves killed," Mustang told him.

"We would've been fine, you bastard!" Ed protested vehemently.

"'Nala'?" Ling asked, voice amused at Ed's antics.

"My Animal," Mustang said, gesturing to the lioness.

"Pleasure to meet you, Nala," Ling said. "This is Laika," he introduced the Animal still wrapped around him.

"Pleasure," Mustang said with a downward tilt of his chin. There was a moment where Mustang looked at Fu expectantly but before he could ask after his Animal or Fu could say anything, Knox appeared beside them.

"She's sleeping again. I've given her some morphine to take away the pain so she'll be out of it for a while," Knox told Ling and Fu before they could even ask. He opened his mouth to say something else but the group came to a stop in front of the room holding Gluttony and Knox caught sight of the obese homunculous for the first time. "What do we have here?" Knox asked, apparently unfazed by the sight of a bound person in the room.

"That's Gluttony. He's a homunculous," Ling told him nonchalantly.

"He and his friends have connections with the military senior staff," Mustang told Knox.

"I don't think I mentioned it before but your Fuhrer bears the same mark as Gluttony. The one you described when we discussed the plan earlier. It's on his eye, the one that's covered by the patch," Ling told them. "Plus, the Animals were able to sense him, though Gluttony's scent covered his until he was too close for us to be prepared for him," Ling said.

"Well, at least we have some physical way to prove he is what he is," Ed said with a small sigh.

"Bradley doesn't have the same inhuman presence as Gluttony," Ling warned and Ed gave him a confused look. "At his core, he still feels like a regular human," Ling explained. "It's the other reason why Lan Fan and I didn't feel his presence until too late."

"Would him having started out as human mean he could have a child?" Al asked and the slightly random question got everyone else's attention. Al squirmed a little at the attention on him but continued. "Fuhrer Bradley has a child, Selim. If he feels human at his core while Gluttony and the others don't, wouldn't that mean he was born human and turned into a homunculous later? If so, does that mean he could have children?"

"No, Selim is adopted," Knox told Al with a shake of his head. "There's no direct relation between him and his father."

"It doesn't matter," Mustang declared and Ed glared at him. "Let's get information out of this one and destroy his stone." Both the Elrics and the Xingese put up an argument at that declaration.

"No!" Ling shouted, looking furious. "Lan Fan lost her arm to get him! His stone is ours!"

"Hey!" Ed protested. "We didn't agree to that! That stone might be our only chance to get our bodies back and I'm not gonna let that opportunity pass without a fight!"

"I'm too old for this kind of thing," Knox claimed as Ed and Ling glared at each other. "I'm gonna go home. I need help moving Lan Fan to the car so she can recover at mine," Knox said.

"Are you sure you want her in your house?" Mustang asked. "She'll likely be declared a wanted fugitive by Bradley, unless he just decides to hunt her down himself. You'll be in a world of trouble I likely won't be able to help you out of," Mustang warned and Knox nodded.

"I won't let all my hard work keeping her alive so far go to waste because she catches an infection here and I don't want to be spending my time coming out here everyday. It's best if she stays in my spare room. At least she won't die from an infection so easily there," Knox grumbled.

"Thank you for offering your home to her," Fu said, giving Knox a bow that Ling echoed.

"Don't thank me yet. She could still die from something she caught down in those sewers," Knox told him gruffly. "Give me a hand moving her while the morphine's still in her system. I don't need her screaming in my ear if we move her later," Knox ordered.

"Hawkeye will drop you and your patient at home," Mustang said and Hawkeye gave him a nod.

"Fu will go with you to help with Lan Fan," Ling said and the only sign of Fu's reluctance to leave his prince without any guard was the minute hesitation before he nodded. Ling noticed this and there was a quick exchange of words in Xingese before Fu bowed and disappeared back into Lan Fan's room. "Fu will help," Ling said in answer to the questioning look on most of everyone's faces.

"Fine. I could use the help if I need to help her around the house and it would be good for her to have someone there while I'm at work to ensure she doesn't hurt herself further," Knox admitted a little reluctantly.

The interrogation of the homunculous was put on hold as they helped Knox get Lan Fan ready to be moved as the woman was still unconscious. Hawkeye moved the car so all Fu and Knox had to do was open the door and sit her in the car while Fu sat next to her, on her right, so he could stabilise her as much as possible. Brian and Onyx joined them in the back while Knox joined Hawkeye and Soren sat in the front. Mustang issued an order for Hawkeye to come back to pick him up once she was finished at Knox's and with that, they left. Mustang, Ling, Ed, Al and their Animals waited for a moment as they watched the car leave before they went back into the house to deal with Gluttony.

---

Gluttony was tied in the same fashion Ling had tied him in when they captured him in the rail yard. He was placed on the floor with no chair to sit on, though Ed couldn't blame Ling for not offering the homunculous one. He probably would've broken any he sat on. As they filed into the room Gluttony was being held in, Ed noted that Gluttony gave off a very childish air. The homunculous blinked his beady eyes at them and Ed could see the confused tears clinging in the corners of his eyes.

"Why am I here? Why am I all tied up? Let me go, please," Gluttony whimpered once they were all in the room.

No one answered the homunculous and Ed risked a glance at the others to see their reaction. Mustang wore his usual mask but Ed saw the flash of surprise as it disappeared off his face. Ling was like a brick wall, which was something Ed was surprised about. It was hard for him to mesh this serious version of Ling with the happy jokester who sponged off of him that he was used too. He could tell that Nala, Ayala and Chester were all taken aback by the homunculous' demeanour and he thought Laika might've been as well but he wasn't bonded to the yellow-throated Marten so he didn't know for sure.

Al's armour creaked slightly as he looked at everyone and realised that it didn't look like anyone really knew how to deal with this massive – in every sense of the word – homunculous who spoke and acted like a small child. So, he decided to be the one who asked the first question. "You're here because we need to ask you some questions," Al said, causing Ed to jump slightly while Ling and Mustang glanced at him. Gluttony's focus was right on him. "How did you find me and Ed?" Al asked.

Gluttony sniffled slightly. "I could smell him. The Ishvalen," Gluttony told him. "Wrath told me to find him and take him out," Gluttony said.

"'Wrath'?" Mustang barked and Gluttony's face crumpled and his bottom limp trembled.

"Who's Wrath?" Al asked, keeping his voice soft and Gluttony looked back at him.

"Wrath is my brother," Gluttony told him, voice brightening slightly. "He's in charge of your whole military!" Gluttony said this in the way a younger brother or someone's child would when they bragged about an older sibling or parents achievements.

"Wrath is Fuhrer King Bradley?" Ed asked and Gluttony nodded. "And he's your brother?" Ed asked, seeking clarification.

"Yeah," Gluttony said. "I have lots of brothers and I have a sister too," Gluttony revealed.

"Really? I have a lot of brothers myself," Ling said, jumping on the chance to build a bit of rapport. "How many do you have?" Ling asked.

"Oh, I have Wrath and Pride and Sloth and Envy and Greed," Gluttony told them, looking delighted to talking about his family. "But Father had to destroy Greed because he wasn't following Father's plan and Envy's missing," Gluttony told them, voice turning morose.

"How did your father destroy Greed?" Mustang asked.

"He destroyed his body and turned him back in his true form; a liquid Philosopher's Stone," Gluttony told him, a notable unease in his voice as he spoke to Mustang. "Then Father absorbed what was left of Greed until he could find someone who could be fused with the stone and help us with our plan," Gluttony finished saying.

"Why do you call him that? Father?" Al asked and Gluttony blinked at him.

"Because he made us so that makes him our father," Gluttony told him like it was an obvious answer.

"What is your plan?" Mustang asked, obviously hoping that Gluttony would tell them since he seemed to be very talkative but Gluttony shook his head.

"No, I can't tell you. Father would be really angry at me. He'll already be mad at me for getting caught," Gluttony told him.

"What did Envy look like?" Ed asked, surprising everyone with his unexpected question.

"Hmm, he was smaller than me," Gluttony hummed thoughtfully, "and he had green spiky hair. Have you seen him? He's been missing for a few weeks," Gluttony asked, looking hopeful and Ed looked away.

"You said you have a sister?" Ling asked, getting Gluttony's attention as Ayala pressed her whole weight into Ed. Gluttony nodded and Ling noticed the way his face lit up. "What's her name?"

"Lust," Gluttony told them with a large amount of obvious affection.

"What's she like?" Ling asked, ignoring Mustang's irritated look as he intercepted whatever the colonel had been about to ask.

"Oh, Lust is wonderful," Gluttony told them completely unabashedly. "She's the most beautiful person in the world and she's really smart. She always looks out for me too and she almost always lets me eat anyone I want," Gluttony said gleefully. Ed and Ling weren't able to hide their shock and disgust and Mustang was barely able to keep his own expression neutral.

"She sounds… wonderful," Ling said, swallowing around the word 'wonderful'. "What about your Father? What's he like?"

"He's very clever and he's also really old," Gluttony told them. "He loves us a lot but sometimes he can be mean but only when we do something bad, like Greed did." Gluttony's face fell as he seemed to lose himself in an unpleasant memory.

"What did Greed do?" Al asked, pulling Gluttony out of his thoughts.

"Oh, he decided not to help Father with his plans. He only looked out for himself and the things he likes and not us or Father or his plan," Gluttony glowered. "Then he took you," he looked at Al and Ed blinked in surprise, "hostage so he could get something for himself. He wasn't supposed to make himself known to anyone, especially important human sacrifices," Gluttony told them.

"You guys keep calling me and Al that. 'Human Sacrifices'," Ed said. "What do you guys mean? Why specifically us?"

Gluttony squirmed against his bonds a little. "I'm not allowed to tell you," he whimpered. "Father wouldn't like that," he claimed.

The group seemed to be at a loss before Al had an idea. "Will you take us to meet him? Your father? So that we can ask him some questions?" Al asked, ignoring Chester's protests. From Ed and Ayala's faces, they weren't impressed with him either. Mustang and Ling almost looked… proud of him.

Gluttony hummed thoughtfully. "I guess so," he finally said. "He'll be alright with it since you're a human sacrifice but they can't come with you," Gluttony said, looking at Ling and Mustang.

"Why not?" Al asked.

"Because he's not a sacrifice," Gluttony said, looking at Ling.

"And Mustang?" Ed asked.

"He's mean," was the response and it took all of Ed's self-control to not grin madly at Mustang. He could not, however, completely stop his snort before it sounded and from the glare Mustang pinned him with, as well as the amused glints in Ling's and the Animals' eyes, it was certainly heard.

"If neither of them come with us, will you introduce us to your father?" Al asked, ignoring his brother and the colonel.

"Okay," Gluttony agreed and Al felt a sense of excitement. "Will you let me go now? These hurt," Gluttony whined.

"We need to talk first but then we will," Ed promised. Gluttony didn't seem happy but he didn't verbally protest when they left the room at Ed's pointed look.

---

"You can't seriousy be considering going alone," Mustang stated and Ed rolled his eyes.

"I won't be alone. I'll have Al, Ayala and Chester with me," Ed told him matter-of-factly. Mustang did not look impressed.

"You shouldn't be going without proper back-up – no offense, Alphonse," Mustang said but the youngest Elric just waved Mustang's half-apology away. "The team and I should be positioned nearby wherever this 'Father' is hiding so we can provide you cover and maybe put an end to this whole plot before it can even happen," Mustang said.

"Probably but I did just promise Gluttony that you wouldn't be there and even if I was in the business of breaking promises – which I'm not, as you damn well know – you can't be there," Ed told him. "Gluttony would smell you a mile off and your cover would be blown," Ed told him, causing Mustang to scowl at him.

"I'm not staying away," Ling told them, interrupting their stare-off. "Father could be the answer I need to save my clan," Ling said and Ed could tell immediately that no amount of logic or argument could persuade Ling to stay.

"I suppose," Ed said, finger tapping his chin in thought. "I did only tell Gluttony that neither of you would come with us. Mustang can't go and get the whole team while Gluttony leads us wherever we need to go and hope to catch up with us before we meet Father but you know how to follow without being caught," Ed said, scrutinising Ling. "I can't control what you do in any way which means that I can't stop you from following us even if I extracted a promise from you to not do that," Ed said and Ling grinned.

"No, you most certainly can't," Ling said, a touch of smugness in his voice.

"Are you sure it's a smart idea? Trying to deceive Gluttony and the other homunculi like this?" Ayala asked worriedly.

"You heard what we said, Ayala," Ed said, "I can't stop him from following us after we leave." Both Ed and Ling shared a grin that had Ayala rolling her eyes.

"What are you going to do, Colonel Mustang?" Al asked and Mustang sighed.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Lieutenant Hawkeye will be picking me up soon. Nala contacted Soren and told him we were nearly finished. I suppose I'll head back to the office and await word of any explosions in the area that Fullmetal will undoubtedly cause," Mustang told him.

"Oh, shove off, bastard," Ed snapped.

"It's not like the comment isn't really without warrant," Chester commented lightly and Ed flicked his ear, earning himself a low growl in response.

"Zip it," Ed growled, though there was no real heat behind his words. There were a few beats of silence where no one said anything. "So, shall we let this homunculous go and follow him to his father's hideout to try and figure out what the fuck's about to happen to our country?" Ed asked, clapping his hands together as he looked at them expectantly.

---

Ed clapped his hands, the familiar ringing sound echoing poorly in the rundown cabin, and severed the cable holding Gluttony hostage. The hefty homunculous stood and red energy crackled over his form, healing any cuts or bruises the cable had caused. Mustang, Ling and their Animals had left a couple of minutes ago and Al and Chester were waiting outside for him, Ayala and Gluttony to join them.

"Come on," Ed said once the red alchemical energy dissipated. "Let's go meet your father." Gluttony nodded and waddled behind Ed and Ayala as they led the way out of the cabin.

"As you can see, no one's here but us," Al said once the three had caught up with him and Chester outside.

Gluttony looked around, beady eyes peering into the small wooded area near the cabin as if he could see someone in there. He inhaled deeply and frowned slightly. "I can still smell them," Gluttony told them.

"They only left a couple of minutes ago," Al told him. "Their scent might still be lingering," he suggested and Gluttony frowned as he thought it over.

"I suppose so," Gluttony conceded. "Are you sure they're gone?" He whispered and both boys nodded.

"Positive," Ed swore and Gluttony seemed to relax a little. When his shoulders slumped, both Chester and Ayala relaxed slightly too and that was the moment both brothers realised just how tightly wound they were.

"Okay. Father's this way," Gluttony told them cheerfully as he set off on an unbeaten track. Ed, Al and the Animals started at the level of enthusiasm shown by the overweight homunculous – not expecting him to move so quickly – and hastened to catch up to him.

Both Ed and Al exchanged numerous questioning looks with each other and their Animals but no words – telepathic or out loud – were spoken as they walked. Gluttony seemed content to just walk in silence, taking in the sights of the area, despite how dark it was. Ed had no clue where Ling was, seeing no sign at all of the prince and since he wasn't bonded to Laika, Ed couldn't track them that way. It wasn't until they'd crested a particularly steep hill that the Elrics figured out where Gluttony was leading them.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Gluttony?" Al couldn't help but ask as they came to a stop.

"Uh-huh," the homunculous said, finger in his mouth.

"But this is the way…" Ed trailed off as they stared at the glittering city lights.

"It can't be," Chester said, slightly stunned as he and Ayala struggled to figure out how they had missed this.

"You father lives in Central?" Both Ed and Al asked incredulously and Gluttony nodded.

"Yup! He lives right in the middle but underground because people can't know he's there," Gluttony told them, voice lowered as though he was sharing a secret. "Let's keep going! I'm not supposed to be out during the day by myself unless I need to hunt someone down," Gluttony told them.

"Sure," Ed said, voice shaking a little as he tried to comprehend the fact that they'd been living on top of the homunculi's lair this whole time. "Let's meet your father."

A/N - and here is the confrontation with Scar and Gluttony! I know some of you have been anxious to see more action after the last few chapters of mostly just talking and setting up the story and other characters so I truly hope this chapter helps scratch that itch, so to speak.

In other news, I've decided to revise 'I say 'Vol', You say 'Alchemy' so that I've got that story fresh in my mind because I'm going to be writing its sequel once I've finished the revision. I will say that the story will follow 'Welcome to Amestris, Agents' within in a couple of months of that story's end so I would recommend you guys keep an eye out for the new story being published if you wanna know what happens next in my AMA universe.

However, back to 'Spirit Animals' now. Thank you so much to everyone who left a review, including the couple of wonderful guests who I couldn't answer privately to to thank them properly. I really loved all of the reviews so many thanks to those who have been dedicated to this story enough to leave me a review on nearly every chapter.

I'd love to know your thoughts about this chapter so please let me know your thoughts? See you guys soon!