Chapter 41 –

One month, three weeks later…

Al, Chester, Yoki, Jerso and Zampano walked into Liore with a small amount of nervousness on Al's behalf. Last time he'd visited the town, it had been peaceful only to have that peace turned upside down when he, Ed, Ayala and Chester had revealed Father Cornello for the fraud he was. They'd managed to leave town before it could get over the shock only to find out a few months later from Hughes that riots had broken out in the town and the military had been sent in to try and calm everything down. Judging from the amount of rebuilding still to do, the riots had only died down in the last couple of months and Al couldn't help but feel guilty about it.

"There's a restaurant up ahead. If it's still operational, we can see about getting some food or drinks from it," Al said, hoping Dave's restaurant and Dave himself had managed to come through the riots in one piece. The man and his Animal, Mick, had been very kind to them when they'd first arrived to investigate the reports of the 'miracles' being performed in Liore.

"About time," Yoki grumbled as he dragged his feet from behind the rest of them. His goldfish had swum around his head and nudged his cheek in an effort to cheer him up or encourage him to keep going. Al wasn't entirely sure since he couldn't read the fish's mind or movements.

Al did feel a little sorry for the disgraced lieutenant-colonel. It was obvious the man wasn't used to living on the street, fending for himself or trying to keep out of sight. However, Al also felt an immense amount of annoyance towards Yoki. He'd been living this way for years, ever since he and Ed had gotten the man dishonourably discharged from the military, so he'd had plenty of time to try and adjust to the change in his circumstances and the constant whining and moaning was getting on everyone's nerves. Al had been forced to stop Zampano and Jerso from knocking Yoki out more than once during their journey from the Ishvalen slums to Liore. It was getting harder for Al to ignore Chester's whispers to just leave Yoki behind one night but Alphonse could never do that to the man. Besides, they couldn't guarantee that Yoki wouldn't immediately sell them out to the military in exchange for some money if they did abandon him.

Their journey from the nameless slum they'd taken refuge in after they'd separated from Ed and Ayala and after they'd deciphered the notes that gave them the array to reverse the nationwide one had been long and arduous. They'd stayed in the slums for nearly two weeks after Izumi, Sig and their Animals had visited before they continued their way into the mountains for a 'vacation' that would last until the day the homunculi were going to activate their plans. Ed had been given the date by Calix, who had found out from Hohenheim after he'd investigated the entrance into the tunnel in Liore and was confronted by Pride, as the homunculous had called himself. Though Hohenheim hadn't seen anyone human in the tunnel, the fact that it was the shadows who spoke with him told the man that Pride was Selim Bradley and gave him some ideas on his powers.

Pride had evidently given Hohenheim a warning to keep himself out of trouble since the Promised Day was soon. With a couple of carefully worded questions and comments, Hohenheim had gotten the specific day from the homunculous and had immediately told Calix to tell Ed, according to what Ed heard from the horse. It was a little panic-inducing to find out that the end of their world was going to happen mid-spring on the day of the eclipse but Ed had managed to calm Al down enough by pointing out that they had a date now and could start forming a real plan because of it. It was a little startling for Ed to be the optimistic one in that situation and Al still joked that that was the reason he had snapped out of his panic.

After they decided to move on from the slum, partly to keep going to try and gather more information and put their own plans into effect and partly because they knew they were costing the people there their resources and endangering them, they headed for the nearby town of Pefesy. Al had protested when Zampano and Jerso had gone into town while the rest of them skirted it only to have the chimeras appear on the other side of it in a stolen car. Marcoh had then pointed out that while Al would be able to walk non-stop to Liore, the rest of them couldn't and taking a car was the only way they wouldn't be noticed while making good time. Al had finally put aside his discomfort when Chester chimed in by reminding him that the less time they spent walking, the less chance there was that they would be spotted by a farmer or traveller and reported to the military.

They'd taken their time travelling in the car as much as they could. Zampano was behind the wheel and had been asked by Mei why they weren't going any faster than the speed limit. The boar chimera had pointed out that the best way to stay unnoticed by people was to abide by every law. No one would remember the car going past them if they weren't speeding or driving too slowly. If people didn't see anything interesting, they couldn't gossip about it which meant the military wouldn't be given a tip that would lead them to the group of fugitives.

Zampano, Jerso and Al had some money on them so they could pay for fuel and the necessities when they had to stop in a town but Al had been asked to leave the car before they entered the town and make his way to the other side so he didn't garner any unwanted attention. Al had been understanding and willingly did as he was asked but Chester had taken a bit more offence to the request and made sure Marcoh (who had been the one to actually voice the request) knew it before Al had gotten him to see reason. They'd kept the car until they'd arrived in Jobitu, just north of the north-east border of Amestris. Once they'd gotten to the town's outskirts, they'd agreed it would be best to abandon the vehicle and continue on foot. Well, everyone had agreed except Yoki but everyone decided to ignore his protests and head into Jobitu on foot.

They'd just crossed the border between the north and east of Amestris when Scar and Marcoh announced they would be separating from the group. Scar wanted to seek out as many Ishvalens as he could so he could warn his people of the upcoming threat and to try and find Ishvalen warriors prepared to help them fight, as he'd done in the mountain slum they'd stayed at. Marcoh had decided to go with him to offer medical aid to those who needed it, knowing how bad the Ishvalens were treated by most Amestrians and as a way to try and make up for the carnage he'd helped wrought in Ishval while he was experimenting on the stone.

Mei had wanted to stay with Al but Scar had instructed her to leave the country while she still could. Marcoh had given her his liquid stone, telling her to use it to win favour with the emperor and save her clan, telling her he wanted some good to come from it. Mei had taken the small glass vial with tears spilling down her cheeks as she promised she'd try and make sure that happened. Al had asked how Marcoh was planning on helping the Ishvalens without the stone but the doctor had shaken his head, telling the young alchemist the Ishvalens would never accept him using alchemy to help them. Scar's nod of agreement had stopped any further queries from the others. After a few goodbyes, including a tearful one on Mei's behalf between her and Scar, they'd gone their separate ways with words of caution and reminders to try and contact the others if anything happened.

Mei had stayed with Al, Chester, the chimeras and Yoki until they were halfway to Liore, walking across the country rather than risking towns. After that, she was sent to Youswell and told to look after herself during the journey back across the East Desert. The young Xingese had been in tears once more as she and Xao-Mei had said their goodbyes before heading off from the group, the liquid stone tucked carefully in her pack that had been filled by Al and the chimeras so she wouldn't need to struggle for supplies during the trek. Once Mei had walked out of sight, mainly so Al knew she wouldn't try following them, the rest of them continued towards Liore.

Now, over a week later since they'd said goodbye to Scar and Marcoh, they were finally in Liore and looking for Dave's restaurant so those who could eat and drink could get what they needed. Al was paying more attention to where they were going, since he was the only one who knew the way, but he couldn't help but take in the sheer destruction the town had gone through. The fact that they were in the middle of rebuilding just made him feel worse because the damage he was seeing now was bad enough.

To Al's surprise, he didn't see Dave manning the restaurant but Rose and Molly instead. The look on Rose's face when she looked and saw him approaching was an almost comedic amount of shock before it morphed into a genuinely happy smile. "Alphonse Elric, is that you?"

"Hi, Rose," Al greeted back, happy that she didn't seem to hold him and Ed responsible for Liore's destruction or at the very least, she wasn't angry with them. The pretty white and grey cockatiel that belonged to her chirped her own hello. "Hey, Molly. It's good to see you guys. You're both looking really well," Al said as he and the others finished approaching the benchtop.

"So do the two of you," Rose said, giving Chester his own happy smile before she looked around in confusion. "Are Ed and Ayala catching up?" she asked, obviously expecting them.

"No, they're not coming," Al told her regretfully. "Some stuff's happened and Ed and Ayala needed to stay behind."

"Oh, I hope it's nothing too serious," Rose said, looking concerned.

"They're both fine, I promise," Al said, trying to ease the young woman's worries a little.

"Good," Rose said with a grateful smile before she took in everyone else. "Who are your friends?" she asked as she gathered some bowls and started placing them in front of everyone. Yoki looked exceptionally happy about this and sat down on the stool with more energy than he'd displayed the whole week.

"These are Zampano, Jerso and Yoki," Al said, pointing to everyone before realising she'd set out five bowls. "Oh, no, Rose, don't worry about any for me," Al said, tapping his chest so it rang hollow and reminded the woman that he didn't eat.

She flushed in embarrassment as she quickly pulled the bowl away. "Oh, Al, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot!" she cried, causing Al to panic a little.

"It's okay, Rose. It happens all the time," he tried assuring her. It seemed to work a little but she still looked angry with herself. Before Al could try and make sure she knew he wasn't upset, she was busying herself with serving everyone else then, with another apologetic look at Al, headed for the other end of the bar where people were starting to line up for food. "Here, Ches," Al said as he scooped up the bowl the others had left and placed it in front of the leopard.

"Thanks, Al," Chester said as he chowed down on the food in front of him. Al stood back up, content with just watching the people milling around. He was pleased that it seemed like the townspeople were working well together to rebuild their homes. He couldn't see any disagreements and no one looked mad with anyone else. Chester finished his lunch and Al picked the bowl up to place it on the bench for Rose. As he did so, he felt Chester tense and soon heard a low growl emit from the leopard's throat.

"What is it?" Al asked urgently as he looked down at Chester then in the direction the leopard was facing, hackles standing straight up and lips lifting in a hiss. To his shock, Al saw his father and his Animal standing right there in front of him. Neither of them looked any different to the photo Pinako had given him just after their failed transmutation and that he kept tucked safely in his journal so Ed wouldn't see it. "Dad?"

"It's been a long time, Al," Hohenheim said, clearing his throat awkwardly as he took in his youngest son, the snarling leopard and the three men sitting behind Al who were watching the scene with mild interest and suspicion. Hohenheim suspected that if he made a wrong move, the two biggest men would be joining his son's Animal in attacking him.

"Yeah, it has," Al said, shifting a little. Chester still hadn't let up with his threatening growl and his father's horse looked torn between ignoring the leopard so he could approach Al and heeding the warning. "This is Chester," Al said for lack of anything else to say. Chester flicked an ear and relaxed his snarl but he didn't stand down completely, despite Al's silent pleading to do so.

"This is Calix," Hohenheim said, more out of habit than anything else. He'd expected at least one of his sons to arrive in Liore after he'd given their teacher his message for them but he'd truly expected Ed by himself, despite his eldest son's injuries. "I'm sure you already know about my recent visit to Resembool and what was discussed there," Hohenheim went on to say and Al gave a short nod.

"Yeah, Brother told me," he said, voice neutral. He was truly ecstatic to see his father again, to finally hear his voice and see his face at an age where he'd be able to remember them but at the same time, he felt the confusion, hurt and anger that had always accompanied him whenever he thought of his father. Seeing him in the flesh, standing just out of arms reach, was only adding even more emotions into the mix and Al couldn't tell whether he was happy, angry or upset more at seeing his father.

"Hey, Mr. Ho!" a random voice called from behind Hohenheim and he turned to see one of the Liore men waving at him from near some wooden planks. "Can we get a hand over here?" the man called and Al felt his phantom stomach drop when his father nodded.

"Sure!" Hohenheim called back but instead of just leaving like Al was afraid he would do, Hohenheim turned back to address him. "We'll catch up later in the afternoon, okay?" Hohenheim said and Al nodded.

"Sure," he agreed. Only then did Hohenheim and Calix turn to leave to give the man a hand like he'd asked. "Could you settle down? You knew who it was," Al scolded as he turned to Chester. The leopard's fur had gone down and he no longer had a snarl on his face but he was still watching Hohenheim with a distrusting eye.

"You know full-well that I didn't believe many of the excuses he gave your brother so you'll forgive me for not trusting him right now either," Chester said haughtily and Al felt anger on behalf of his father rise in him.

"He said we could talk later so will you quit acting like this until you have an actual reason?" Al snapped, surprising himself and Chester both. No one else could hear the conversation since it was through their bond.

"I already have a pretty fucking good reason to not trust a word that comes out of that man's mouth and you bloody well know it," Chester snapped right back, adding a snarl for emphasis. "Need I remind you that I was listening through Ed when he and Ayala spoke with him in Resembool?"

"You're just taking Ed's side in this because you think I'm stupid for still wanting to meet my dad and get to know him!" Al cried and Chester glared at him.

"I do not think you're stupid for wanting that but I do think you're an idiot for not being cautious around him! He already abandoned you and your family for 12 or so years just because he couldn't work around having you and look what that did to Ed!" Chester snapped. "He's so angry when it comes to your father that it's almost overwhelming. You aren't like that but that's partly because you don't have those memories of him Ed has. I just don't want to see you try and build a relationship with him only for him to up and leave with no word for years and you start feeling what Ed does," Chester said, his voice growing quieter as he spoke, the anger leeching out of him and Al felt his doing the same.

"I'm not just going to pretend he didn't do any of that. I'm not going to ignore the fact that I don't have childhood memories of him because he left us for over a decade," Al said softly. "But I'm also not going to hold onto a grudge like Ed is. He's that angry because he refuses to let go of his anger and I don't want to be like that. As much as I love him, Edward needs to learn to move on from those sorts of things before they destroy him." Al paused for a moment. "I've already lost Mum and now we know we can never get her back. I don't want to lose my other parent without at least trying to have a positive relationship with him and it's my decision to do so. Not Ed's and not yours," Al said firmly and Chester sighed.

"I know it is and if it's truly what you want, I won't try and talk you out of it but you have a tendency to forgive far too quickly. Just, please make that man earn your forgiveness first instead of you just giving it to him?" Chester asked and Al gave him a nod after a few moments.

"I will," he promised and Chester sighed, relaxing fully. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I know you and Ed are just looking out for me and you didn't deserve that."

Chester gave him an exasperated look. "That right there is exactly what I'm talking about!" Chester said. "I did deserve to be snapped at because I was kind of being an arsehole, even if I think I was justified in doing so."

"Yeah, you were but you were acting that way because you wanted to protect me and I should've realised that instead of getting so defensive," Al said and Chester rolled his eyes fondly.

"We'll work on it," he said. "But I'll forgive you if you forgive me for doing the same thing," he offered and Al nodded.

"Done," the armour said easily.

"Hey, Alphonse Elric, right?" a familiar voice asked and Al looked over to see Dave and Mick standing behind the bar with Rose and Molly. "I thought that was you," the man said with a smile before pointing his thumb up at the radio Al had broken then fixed during their first visit. "You did a bang-up job mending this. It doesn't even pick up static anymore!"

Al internally winced as he looked at the radio that once voiced Father Cornello's sermons. "I'm really sorry," Al said and Dave's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "All of this bad stuff happened because we stuck our noses in," Al explained, voice morose and Dave waved off the apology.

"Don't say that," he chided lightly. "You gotta look at all the good stuff that came from it as well," he told Al. "You and your brother exposed a corrupt fraud and people reacted badly at first, sure, but take a look." Dave gestured widely to those people who were out helping rebuild Liore. "The whole town's working together to rebuild what we lost and you guys are the ones who brought us together." Dave gave him a smile before he got back to work serving people, leaving Al with his companions and his thoughts.

"I'm gonna help rebuild Liore with everyone," Al announced and Chester gave him a proud look. Both chimeras looked at each other before scooping up the last of their meal.

"We might as well help too and earn our food and stay," Jerso said as he got off his stool.

"You heard him, Yoki," Zampano said to the ex-soldier who was stubbornly ignoring them in favour of devouring the bowl in front of him. Zampano sighed in annoyance before he grabbed Yoki by the collar and started dragging him to join Al, Chester and Jerso in helping the others.

"But I'm eating!" Yoki wailed, looking at his bowl as it grew further and further away. Nova was ineffectively trying to help by smacking Zampano's hand with her fins but the boar chimera ignored the both of them as he caught up with the others.

"Hey, dad!" Al called, getting the attention of Hohenheim, who was attaching a makeshift harness to Calix so the horse could help move lumber. "I'd like to help too," Al said and Hohenheim gave him a small smile just as a couple of people walked by with multiple planks of timber in their hands. "Here, let me carry those," Al said as he grabbed the lot and hauled them onto his metal shoulder. "Where are these going?" Al asked and the men were quick to show him the way.

"What can we do to help?" Jerso asked Hohenheim, bringing the man's attention from watching Al and Chester walk away to them.

"You can start by helping me load up this with wood for Calix to pull," Hohenheim said, finishing securing the harness and nodding to the platform that would be loaded. "After that, we'll see where you're needed."


"An underground tunnel?" Hohenheim asked when he and Al managed to find more than a few moments to talk. He'd asked why his son had decided to come to Liore, hoping the answer would be so he could see him but was left a little disappointed when Al told him he was there to look for the tunnel he himself had found a few weeks prior.

"Uh-huh," Al said in confirmation. Chester gave Hohenheim a look that told the man that he knew exactly what he'd been thinking and he wasn't impressed one bit. Hohenheim was starting to think earning his oldest son's respect and love might turn out to be easier than earning Chester's respect. "We're certain it runs under Liore and not near it because Liore's marked on the map, not the area around it," Al said and Hohenheim held up a hand.

"Hold on before you say anything else, Al," Hohenheim instructed. "Let's find somewhere more private first." He gave a significant look to the townspeople around them and Al nodded in agreement. Hohenheim led him through the ruined streets and into an alley where no one would be able to overhear them or stumble upon them without them first hearing them. "Okay. What else were you planning on telling me?" Hohenheim asked as he sat on a crate. Calix carefully folded his front legs before lowering himself to the ground so he wasn't towering over everyone while Al mimicked his father and Chester sat right next to Al, keeping both Hohenheim and Calix in his view.

"We met Father," Al told him even though he knew Ed had done so as well. "He didn't recognise us as your children," he said and Hohenheim nodded.

"I believe that Homunculous has spent so long trying to amass his power and thinking himself above all other life forms that he wouldn't be able to tell a Xingese from an Amestrian, let alone realise that Edward has traits from Xerxes," Hohenheim told him and Al nodded in agreement.

"We thought the same thing," Al said, sounding a little pleased that they'd come to the same conclusion. "Some more stuff has happened since that meeting though. Do you want to hear it?" Al asked and Hohenheim nodded so Al launched into the retelling of everything that had happened since their meeting with Father and subsequent fight with Greed, Gluttony and Lust and ending with his talk with Izumi a little over a month ago. "Thank you for helping our teacher," Al said sincerely.

"I couldn't heal her completely," Hohenheim said, a tinge of sadness in his voice, "but I did what I could to make her as healthy as possible. She shouldn't be spitting up blood any longer." Al felt a little surprise at hearing Izumi wasn't completely healed since the housewife hadn't said anything about not being fully healed and Al mentally swore as he realised Izumi had let them think that by carefully wording what she'd told them.

"Still, thank you for doing what you could," Al said, refusing to accept Hohenheim's obvious attempts at dodging the thanks. He wondered if it something that was passed through people's genetics as he watched Hohenheim shrug in the same way Ed did. Al took pity on his father and changed the subject. "Did Calix sense what happened to Ed?"

Hohenheim nodded, looking a little relieved. "He did. Your brother didn't give us a lot of details but he gave us the gist of what happened," Hohenheim told him. "Is Ed still alright?"

"Yeah, he is," Al immediately reassured him and watched as the few signs of worry he saw on his father disappeared. "Ed's been informed by nearly every Animal he's bonded with to check in at least weekly with them. With Ches and a couple of the others, he has to speak with them daily or he gets in trouble," Al told him, chuckling at how legendary Chester's tongue lashing when Ed had gotten lost in some books and had forgotten his promise had been. Al delighted in the small but genuine smile that graced his father's lips as a result.

"I'm glad he's alright," Hohenheim said a while Chester gave an obviously disbelieving scoff, Al didn't sense any dishonesty. Hohenheim accepted Chester's reaction with no fuss. "Does he know when he's allowed back on his feet?"

"Not yet but he's confident it'll be any day now. He's up and walking around unsupervised and any pain he feels is low enough that Chester can't pick up on it," Al told him, pleased with the fact that Hohenheim was so obviously concerned with Ed's wellbeing. He knew that he would be telling Ed about this the next time he saw his brother, no matter what rant he'll get for purposefully seeking Hohenheim out from Ed.

"That's good to hear," Hohenheim said, looking down at his hands as silence reigned between them until Al decided to go ahead and break it with a question he'd been wanting to ask his father ever since he found out what he was.

"What's it like not being able to die?" Al asked quietly and Hohenheim snorted softly as he looked back up.

"Well, I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't come in handy from time to time but," Hohenheim's levity faded immediately, "it's not worth the price you pay. I can't think of anything worse than watching your loved ones grow old and die while you stay the same." The sorrow Hohenheim felt drenched his voice and Cal gave a low nicker as he bumped his large head against Hohenheim's arm.

"Like Mum," Al said, voice equally as sad and Chester rubbed up against the thigh he was resting against.

"Except your mother didn't get the chance to grow old like she deserved," Hohenheim near whispered and the mood grew so melancholy, Al thought he might break from it so he decided to change the subject immediately.

"I almost forgot!" Al exclaimed before he dug around in his apron pocket while his father gave him a confused look. That look didn't dissipate at all when Al produced his journal. "Scar and some others helped me find these," Al said, showing his father the two arrays drawn on a page each. "This one's the country wide array," Al tapped the one he was talking about before moving to the other, "and this one is the one we think will reverse it."

Hohenheim nodded as he studied the two arrays carefully. "I'm impressed. You've done your homework," Hohenheim said, giving Al a proud smile. "You're right about the second one. It is a reverse transmutation circle.

"Since the homunculous who was digging the tunnels is dead, I though the best way to thwart them now would be by destroying a tunnel and since there's one here…" Al told him, accepting his journal back and was surprised when his father shook his head.

"That's not a good idea," he told him. "They've got an immensely powerful homunculous named Pride watching over the tunnel," Hohenheim told him and Al nodded.

"Yeah, Selim Bradley. We know what he's capable of. He was stupid enough to reveal himself to a really good friend of ours," Al said. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't try before it's too late."

"We already know they've bled the last point and completed the circle. Even if you destroyed part of the tunnel and got out before you were captured or killed, they would just clear the rubble," Hohenheim told him and Al found himself annoyed at the calm tone of his father's voice.

"Why are you so relaxed? We should be doing everything we can to try and stop them!" Al exclaimed and Chester growled next to him in agreement.

"Because it's not time yet, son," Hohenheim said and Al refused to let the warmth he felt at being called 'son' by his father settle him down. "We still have a few weeks to go before the eclipse happens. We can use that time to come up with as many ways as possible to try and slow Homunculous down but there is no point in us doing so when he has more than enough time to fix what we do," Hohenheim lectured and Al felt himself grow embarrassed. He hadn't even thought of the fact that everything they could possibly do could be easily fixed by the original homunculous and would only end up serving as small annoyances to him rather than the winning blows they were aiming for.

"I had to say it but I agree with him," Chester said, certainly sounding annoyed with the fact he was agreeing with Hohenheim. "We've got to be smart about this if we're going to try throwing little hits at Father's plans. The less time he has to retaliate and mend what we destroy, the better for us."

"You're right," Al admitted and Hohenheim nodded but didn't gloat or rub it in.

"Let's get back to work helping this town get back on its feet," Hohenheim said. "While we do so, we can come up ideas on what we can do to win this fight before it can become one." Hohenheim and Calix both got to their feet and Hohenheim held out a hand for Al to grab.

"Okay, dad," Al agreed, accepting the hand without hesitation. Hohenheim gave him a smile before he led them out of the alleyway and back into the streets so they could give a helping hand to the first person to call for it. Al allowed himself a moment to hope his brother wasn't getting himself into trouble before he let his mind focus completely on the task at hand.


Ed cursed the fact that the chimeras and Ayala had managed to talk him into leaving his hair loose when he flicked it out his face for what he was sure was the hundredth time. Both he and Ayala were wandering the streets of the town they'd called home the last two or so months, heading back to the doctor's house they'd been staying in with Ed's arms full of groceries. He wore his blonde hair down and red beanie on his head while his red scarf sat snug around his neck, just under the collar of the white jacket that had he'd borrowed from the doctor. His red gloves sat over his white ones to conceal them from sight as he kept himself as disguised as possible. Ayala had unwillingly allowed Ed to dye her fur black with alchemy but she'd lessened the grumbling when she saw just how terrifying she looked in the mirror. Her piercing gold eyes and dark fur had the added bonus of making sure no one on the street bothered them and Ed felt like she was a little too proud of that.

They'd collected the groceries the nurse had sent them for, only needing to stop by the bakery but it sat only a few doors down from the apartment building the doctor and nurse lived in so Ed had saved it for last. He used the final few dollars he had to buy the fresh bread and two extra rolls, one for him to eat and one for Ayala. Both Darius and Heinkel weren't at work that day, their job having been completed two days ago and they'd declined further work since the doctor had announced they needed to leave his house by the end of the week. Knowing he couldn't be seen drawing money from his bank account, Ed had asked the chimeras to get the cash and they'd agreed, taking the signed note and pocket watch from him.

"There's a problem," Ayala said the moment they'd entered the front door of the apartment building.

"Of course there is," Ed sighed as he chewed the last of his roll. "What is it?"

"Soldiers," Ayala said simply, her nose working overtime to try and determine what was going on. "There's two guarding the door and one inside the apartment. All of them are armed and looking for you. I think Darius and Heinkel are trying to trick them into believing they're the only people in the apartment, aside from the doctor and nurse," Ayala reported and Ed sighed once more.

"Fine. Let's deal with this quickly," Ed muttered as they came to the floor of the apartment and saw the two soldiers standing guard.

"Stop right there, kid!" The first soldier who spotted them ordered, one hand raised with his palm facing Ed and the other resting on his holstered weapon.

Ed didn't bother answering him as he continued walking forward. Both soldiers eyed him and Ayala wearily and Ed took the opportunity to look for their Animals. To his delight, he saw one was a clown fish while the other was a bandicoot. Neither of them was big enough to take them on nor were they dangerous enough like Anahlia to pose a risk so Ed attacked, knocking out the first soldier with a single punch to the temple while Ayala slammed the second soldier into the wall, rendering him unconscious but attracting the attention of the other soldier in the apartment. Both their Animals started panicking and trying their best to get their humans to wake up and Ed gave them an apologetic look

"Colin! Harris!" Ed and Ayala heard the final soldier call out to his unconscious men as they walked into the apartment. Both the nurse and doctor fixed dirty glares on them and Ed set the groceries down as he approached the wall that separated the room he'd been staying in from the room he was currently in. "What's going on?" the soldier called, panic growing in his voice and Ed waited at the wall until he heard the man move closer to it. "Answer me!"

When the man was finally where Ed needed him, he punched his right arm through the drywall, removing his glove first so he didn't destroy it, and wrapped it around the soldier's throat before applying the needed pressure. He couldn't see the man's face and he couldn't see or feel him trying wrench his arm off his throat but he did hear claws scrabbling on the ground just before a Rottweiler came tearing around the corner in an attempt to try and stop Ed from strangling his human. Ayala had it handled in a matter of moments while Ed kept applying the pressure. He heard a slight scuff on the wall and knew the soldier had collapsed as much as he could against it so Ed released his hold, drawing his arm back out of the hole he'd created.

"You'd better fix that," the doctor growled and Ed shot him a flat look as he clapped and placed his hand on the wall, letting his alchemy flow through him until the wall was fixed. The doctor harrumphed before he helped his wife with the groceries.

"Damn, you just had to take him out on your own, didn't you?" Darius grumbled as Ed joined him in the room. Heinkel was already pulling off the fake bandages and getting out of the bed. "You're pretty reckless, kid." The gorilla chimera passed Ed as he grabbed his red jacket from where it sat on his bed. Ed watched as the chimera scooped up the gun the soldier had dropped. "You're not even fully recovered yet!"

Ed scowled at that. "Don't treat me like I'm an invalid," he said as he pulled his hair into a ponytail. "My injuries are fully healed and I'm ready to get back to stopping those fucking homunculi for good."

Both Darius and Heinkel shook their heads at him as they headed out of the room to where the doctor and nurse stood. Ed followed once he'd used his red jacket as a makeshift bag for the books the chimeras had bought him, knowing Al would want to read them when they got the chance. He walked out just as Darius thanked the doctor and nurse for everything they'd for them.

"Don't worry about it," the doctor said. "Seriously. Just get out of here."

"We've had about all the trouble we can take for the day," the nurse grumbled in agreement as she practically shooed them out of the apartment before slamming the door firmly shut behind them, narrowly missing Ayala's tail.

Ed noticed a piece of paper on the floor and scooped it up, ignoring the unconscious soldiers and their frantic Animals. He scoffed as he read it. "It says to look for someone with a red jacket and blonde hair tied back in a braid."

"Guess you're gonna have to get used to that look for a while," Ayala said with a grin.

"So will you," Ed told her, glancing at her blackened fur. "It also says I'd be accompanied by a golden wolf." Ayala pouted at the idea of having to stay this colour for longer than she'd wanted. She loved how the black fur made her look almost demonic but she definitely preferred her gold and white fur more.

"Freeze!" A voice from behind them shouted, making the four of them turn in surprise and they saw a small group of soldiers facing them, guns drawn. "Drop your weapons!" The same soldier ordered as his tiger roared next to him.

"Shit!" Heinkel swore. "We took too long!"

"Put your hands in the air!" the soldier ordered and they complied, Ed with an annoyed scowl on his face as he did so since he didn't drop his bundle of books.

"Move, kid! These guys are dangerous!" a second soldier ordered Ed and the blonde felt his face slacken with incredulity. They seriously didn't recognise him without his red coat or braid.

Ed could feel Darius and Heinkel come up with some kind of plan but he certainly wasn't expecting to be grabbed roughly around the waist – though Darius did make sure he didn't put any pressure on Ed's still-tender wound – and feel the cold barrel of a gun press against his temple. Even Ayala was taken by surprise but she quickly recovered enough to follow along with the chimeras plan and start growling ferociously at them.

"Stay back or he's dead!" Heinkel ordered as he grabbed a gun from the closest fallen soldier and pointed it at the shocked soldiers at the end of the hall.

"Don't force us to blow this kid's brains out!" Darius said when one of the soldiers looked like he was going to try something.

Before they lost the element of surprise, Darius picked Ed up and both he and Heinkel high-tailed it out of the building with Ayala close on their heels. As soon as they made it outside, Ed was placed on his feet while Heinkel shot at the overhang above the door and caused the snow on it to collapse and trap the soldiers. By happy coincidence, the snow also ended up covering the soldiers who had been waiting outside for instructions to enter the building.

"I'll hot-wire us some wheels," Darius said as they hurried along the street and turned the corner.

"Alright, but do it quickly," Heinkel ordered as he brought up the rear, gun ready to fire at anyone wearing a military uniform should they find them too quickly.

Darius ended up finding a car that had been left unlocked and crouched down to pull the plastic covering from the underside of the steering wheel off as Ed opened the back door for him and Ayala so they could get in. Heinkel headed around the other side of the car but didn't get in as he was still providing cover for Darius. The gorilla gave a small whoop of victory as the car sputtered to life and both chimeras were quick to get in. Almost as soon as they'd gotten the car onto the street though, Ed spotted two shiny military cars on their tail.

"Drive faster, Darius!" he ordered as he watched the military cars gain on them.

"I'm trying but those guys are from Central Command!" Darius told him as he turned a corner with no warning, sending Ed and Ayala crashing into the side door. "We're never going to ditch them!" Darius yanked on the wheel to avoid hitting a parked car and Ed and Ayala were sent sliding along the seat again.

"That was a little too close," Heinkel told Darius, who glared at him but didn't say anything as he pushed his foot further on the accelerator, trying to get the car to just give them a little more speed.

"How's it looking back there?" Darius asked and Ed watched as the two cars seemed to inch closer.

"Not good. They're gaining on us," Ed reported and Darius swore. Ed focused his attention on the road in front of them and an idea sparked as he saw the rapidly approaching side street. "Hey, turn there. I've got an idea," Ed instructed, pointing to the approaching street and Darius shot him an incredulous look.

"What?" he asked and Ed scowled.

"Just shut up and turn the damned corner!" Ed snapped.

Darius gave a groan of annoyance as he readied to do so. "This had better be a good plan!" he shouted as they approached the corner.

"Just park the car as soon as we've turned," Ed said, clapping his hands together and making the familiar ring sound in the car. Darius did as he was told and the only thing that stopped Ed from slamming into the seat in front of him was Ayala's grip on his jacket. Ed placed his hand on the first part of the car he reached and willed the transmutation to do its job quickly. The blue energy had just finished dancing along the car when the two military cars sped right past their idling one and Ed gave a victorious grin. "And you doubted me," he gloated as the chimera rolled their eyes before they took in the transmuted car.

"Yeah, you're very clever," Heinkel said as he took in the little of the car he could see. "Can you change it back to normal now?"

Ed gave him an offended look. "Why? I think it looks cool as fuck!" Ed said, grinning proudly.

"You're literally the only one in this car who thinks so," Ayala informed him. Ed glared at her but did as he was asked.

"What now?" Darius asked as the transmutation ended and they sat in the car looking the same way it had done when they stole it.

"We need to meet up with Al and Ches," Ed said immediately but stopped when a voice he hadn't heard for a couple of weeks rang in his head.

"Ed? Are you anywhere near Central?" Laika asked and Ed got over his shock pretty quickly at the desperate note in the yellow-throated marten's voice.

"Not currently but we can be there in a few days. What's happened?" Ed asked, worriedly.

"Something's going to happen to Ling but I can't tell what specifically because our bond is still being suffocated by that damned homunculous," Laika told him and Ed already knew why Laika wanted him in Central. "You're the only one I can think of who might be able to help. Lan Fan is still recovering from her automail surgery and Fu is here with her. I could have Onyx tell Lan Fan but she'd want to go herself and she still hasn't been cleared by her mechanic or doctor to fight yet."

"Don't worry, Laika. We'll head to Central now," Ed said, speaking out loud and Darius gave a nod as he pulled the car back onto the street, this time driving the speed limit. "If you somehow sense Ling's in charge again, tell him we'll be in Central in less than a week and he's to meet us at the shack we took Gluttony to, okay?"

He felt the wave of relief roll off Laika like it was his own. "Thank you, Ed. I owe you one," Laika said but Ed shook the thanks off.

"Don't worry about it," Ed told him as he and Ayala settled comfortably on the backseat. "I'll let you know what happens."

"I appreciate that," Laika told him and Ed gave a nod through their bond. "I need to go before Onyx realises something's up and tells Lan Fan but keep yourself safe. Hopefully we'll see you soon," Laika said, sounding a little apologetic about not being able to talk with Ed any longer but Ed didn't mind.

"No problems. You stay safe as well," Ed told the marten before disconnecting their bond.

"So, Central?" Heinkel said and Ed nodded. "Is that where your brother and his Animal are?"

"No," Ed told him. "A friend of mine might be in trouble soon and his Animal wants me to get there as soon as possible to try and keep him from getting killed."

"Fair enough," Heinkel said before he reached into one of his pockets and handed Ed a bundle of notes. "Here's the extra money you asked us to get this morning, by the way."

"Cheers for that," Ed said accepting the money and – once Heinkel had found it – the pocket watch back. He looked at the small bundle of money in his hand and nodded. "This should definitely cover our fuel and last us until Promised Day," Ed said, pocketing the money.

"Good because we'll be stopping in Ebolas and Aszamem for fuel. As long as we don't have to make any unscheduled detours, we should be able to make it through West City and near Central before we have to ditch the car," Darius told him and Ed nodded.

"Alright," Ed said before he reached down to grab a book out of the bag his red jacket was being used as. "Let me know when we stop so I can get some food," Ed requested. Once he got the nods of agreement, Ed settled himself slightly against Ayala so they could both see the pages and let himself get lost in the book.


In the end it took them only five days to make it to Lijza, one of the small cities that circled Central City itself, where they abandoned the car they'd stolen rather than risk being caught because of it being spotted in Central. Ed had led them around the outskirts of the city, careful to avoid the areas he knew were heavily patrolled by soldiers and keeping his mind open in case one of the Animals he knew who lived in Central still were nearby but they didn't run into anyone except a few homeless or Ishvalens. The Ishvalens seemed to recognise Ed, which led to them giving him a significant nod but he had no clue why or what it meant. He resolved to ask once this situation with Ling/Greed was resolved.

The four of them managed to get to the abandoned shack before anyone spotted them. It looked just as Ed remembered it, only darker since there weren't any lamps on in the building to provide some light. Ed found some lamps and poured the oil from all of them into three lamps so they would burn longer. Since it was nearing sunset, Ed didn't bother lighting the lamps just yet. Instead, he, Ayala and the chimeras settled in to eat an early dinner from the rations they'd put together.

"How long are we going to wait here?" Darius asked and Ed shrugged.

"Laika was positive Ling would get into trouble around today. If he isn't here or we don't hear anything about a Xingese fighting with someone by tomorrow night, we'll leave the next morning and head towards Liore. Chester said he and Al would be there for another week or so," Ed said.

Though the leopard hadn't exactly told him in as many words, Ed also knew Al was there with Hohenheim and Calix and the blonde felt familiar resignation seep into him. When he'd first realised who his brother was spending time with, Ed had almost exploded with a rage that only Ayala had been able to talk him down from. Over the space of a few days, he'd calmed down enough to listen to what Ayala had been saying about this being Al's choice and that Ed had better accept the fact that there were things in this life that he couldn't or shouldn't protect Al from and that this was one of them. That comment had caused Ed to give Ayala the cold shoulder for all of an hour until he realised she was completely correct. Since he'd come to that realisation, Ed had decided to not say anything to Chester about Hohenheim and just hoped his little brother wouldn't end up as hurt by their father as Ed had been.

"Alright," Heinkel said in agreement. "We should have enough rations to last us until then but we'll need to find another car and more food after that," he told them, going through their packs to get an idea of what supplies they had left.

Darkness had crept up on the four of them and Ed headed into the cabin to light the first of the lamps, making sure its light wouldn't be noticed by anyone who happened to look up at the hill the shack sat on. He'd just joined back up with the others, ready to organise a watch rotation when Ayala's ears flicked in response to something only she heard. A moment later, both chimeras were staring intently in the same direction Ayala had fixed her golden eyes on. Ed strained his hearing until he heard what they all had; heavy, stumbling footsteps heading towards them.

The four of them were on their feet and Ayala had moved into a defensive position, ready to launch herself at whatever threat came at them. She gave a sniff of the air and glanced at Ed. "It's Greed but there's a change to his scent. I don't know what it is," she told him before resuming her search of the darkness.

"Heads up. Could be my friend, could be trouble," Ed warned the chimeras, who both gave a nod of understanding. Ed raised his hands into a lax version of his fighting stance, not readying his blade just yet but not giving whoever it was the benefit of the doubt either. Finally, a figure appeared from the darkness and Ed took in the haggard appearance of Ling as the Xingese-turned-homunculous stumbled pathetically towards them. "Ling?" Ed asked only to spot the purple eyes and firmed his stance, making the chimeras do the same thing. "Greed," Ed growled.

To Ed's shock, Greed let out a pitiful moan as he collapsed to the ground in front of them. Even Ayala couldn't hide her shock. "Hungry," the figure sprawled on the ground moaned and Ed rolled his eyes as he relaxed completely out of his fighting stance.

"No, that's definitely Ling," Ed told the chimeras, gesturing for them to relax before he grabbed Ling by the arm and hauled him to his feet. "Let's get some food into you," Ed said as he helped the prince into the shack while Ayala grabbed three of the rations packs from Ed's bag.

"Do you want to tell Laika or do you want me to?" Ayala asked as she dropped the rations where Ed let Ling fall on his arse. The Xingese pounced on them like he hadn't eaten in months and Ed was a little worried he might not have. He didn't know if the homunculi actually ate, with the exception of Gluttony but he didn't count people as food in any case.

"I'll tell him while this idiot eats everything we have here," Ed said, rolling his eyes at Ling, who was already working his way through the second ration pack. "Laika? Ling turned up," Ed told the prince's Animal.

"Oh, thank goodness," Laika said a sigh. "I'd hoped he got my message. I've been feeling our bond a lot more strongly in bursts lately but I wasn't sure if he'd been in charge enough to listen to me," Laika told him.

"Well, he got it," Ed said a little redundantly. "I don't know what happened but he looks like he's been put through the ringer," Ed told him. "I haven't had the chance to ask him anything because he's only just turned up and is now eating me and my friends out of food." Ed made sure his unimpressed feelings were felt by Laika, who had the audacity to laugh at him. "Are you alright? I've noticed you sound tired every time we talk," Ed asked as Ayala shook her head at the prince and went to grab the last three ration packs from Ed's bag at Ed's nod.

Ed felt Laika sigh a little. "It's my bond with Ling. It's being slowly destroyed the longer Greed is in charge of Ling's body and suppressing my bond," Laika revealed. "I started feeling the effects a week or so after we left Central and it's been slowly getting worse. I've been getting tired faster and feeling dizzy more often than not," Laika told him. "It's been getting better in the last day or so because I think Ling is finally pushing back and getting to be in charge for a bit but whenever Greed gets control again, any improvement is lost immediately."

Ed found himself glaring at the oblivious Xingese. "I'll make sure I tell him. You know, once he's finished stuffing his face," Ed said, shaking his head in exasperation as Ling polished off the last of Ed's rations and looked hopefully at Darius and Heinkel's packs.

"Thanks, Ed. I've told Onyx what happened so both Lan Fan and Fu both know now as well," Laika told him and Ed winced a little at the mental image he had of their reactions. "They've agreed – a little reluctantly but they did agree – to leave Ling in your hands unless you say otherwise. Lan Fan is still unable to use her new arm efficiently enough for her mechanic or doctor to clear her," Laika said and Ed felt a little bit of relief. He did not need to deal with an injured and protective Lan Fan while dealing with Ling.

"I'll let you know what happens with him," Ed promised as Darius and Heinkel both sacrificed their rations to the Xingese with numerous grumbles.

"Thanks again, Ed," Laika said. "I'm gonna get some sleep while Ling's still in charge so I hopefully feel a bit better," Laika told him and Ed gave him a small smile.

"I hope you do," Ed said sincerely before letting the connection drop.

"He's eating all of our rations," Darius complained as they watched Ling make his way through the food at a pace that suggested he thought it would be taken away from him if he didn't finish it in record time.

"It's what he does," Ed said, shaking his head. "We've got enough money to buy more food once we leave Central and I know how to survive off the land and these woods are filled with more than enough wildlife, berries and edible plants to last us until we leave," Ed reassured the two chimeras. Neither looked impressed with Ling but they didn't continue complaining about their food rapidly disappearing down the Xingese's throat.

Finally, Ling gave a big satisfied sigh as he finished off the last pack. "Thanks, Edward. You're too kind," Ling said with the big smile Ed was used to seeing on the man's face.

"It's honestly a mystery how you aren't as big as Gluttony yet," Ed told him, shaking his head once more. Ayala huffed at the irony of Ed commenting on someone's eating habits and that noise got Ling's attention.

"I know I haven't been around that much but wasn't Ayala gold before?" Ling asked, eyeing the black fur with a confused look.

For a moment, Ed truly considered fucking with the man and telling him Ayala had always had dark fur but Ayala told him that wasn't a very nice thing to do to someone who'd had a homunculous trying to kill him from the inside out and Ed sighed in defeat. "Yeah, she was," Ed told him sullenly. Darius and Heinkel raised knowing brows at him but Ed ignored them. "We've been on the run from the military for the last two or so months and a golden wolf sticks out too much," Ed explained, "so I used alchemy to dye her fur black for now."

Ling nodded in understanding before his eyes fell on the annoyed chimeras. "Who are your friends?"

"Oh, right," Ed said dumbly as he realised Ling had never met them. "That's Darius and Heinkel. They're chimeras, like the people the old Greed used to hang out with," Ed told Ling and watched as interesting expression flickered across the prince's face.

"We're ex-military but we wound up getting stuck working with this kid so we could try and keep him alive long enough for him to help save the country," Heinkel said, smirking at Ed's offended protest.

"So this is the Xingese prince turned homunculous?" Darius asked and Ed nodded. Ling looked a little surprised that they knew that much. "So how can we be sure it's your friend who's really in charge?" Darius asked and Ed shrugged a little.

"He started begging for food almost immediately upon seeing me," Ed reminded him. "It's Ling." Both chimeras looked a little incredulous that that was how Ed was able to tell the difference but they accepted the answer, even if they didn't look overly convinced that Ling wouldn't suddenly attack them.

"Greed's taking some time to adjust to some very upsetting news he got," Ling assured them and this time, Ed and Ayala joined the chimeras in looking stunned.

"You're going to have to elaborate just a bit there," Ed said, still gaping slightly at the almost laughable statement.

"Greed was confronted by a lizard chimera by the name of Bido – I think it was anyway – underneath Central. This Bido fellow was very happy to see Greed. In fact, he was in tears over how happy he was but Greed had no clue who he was. Bido tried to jog Greed's memory about his time in Dublith and all of his friends. He told Greed about how Wrath had slaughtered all of old Greed's friends but by that time, Greed had grown impatient and had stabbed Bido through the stomach, killing him," Ling told them. "However, doing so brought all of old Greed's memories to the surface and I was able to use his shock and confusion to my advantage, making him rethink his loyalties," Ling said, sounding a little proud of himself. "Of course, he took control back from me and went to hunt Wrath down. There was a fight and I managed to get control long enough to escape Wrath's clutches. We've been wandering around Central for the last couple of days while we fought for control and Greed fought to make sense of his recovered memories. I won the fight for control in the end and made my way here after getting a message from Laika that you would be in this area," Ling wrapped up his tale.

"Yeah, Laika got in touch a few days ago. He sensed something would be happening soon to you and wanted me in the area to help you out or stop you, depending on what was happening," Ed told him and Ling looked a little surprised.

"He asked you and not Lan Fan or Fu?" Ling's voice was tinged with worry but Ed was quick to put his mind at ease.

"Lan Fan hasn't been cleared to fight with her automail arm yet and Laika couldn't be certain Fu would be able to find you in time if something happened since Laika couldn't go with him to help track you," Ed told him.

"Why couldn't Laika track me? He's always been able to do so whenever I've taken off without him or my guards," Ling said and Ed fixed him with a glare.

"Your Animal has been physically suffering because of your choice to let Greed take control of you. That homunculous is slowly killing Laika by suffocating your bond," Ed informed him, a touch more coldly and harshly than likely was needed but he couldn't help it. Ling should've immediately spoken to Laika the moment he got control to make his Animal was alright.

"I didn't know," Ling whispered, looking ashamed enough that Ed believed him. "I need to –" Ling cut himself off as he gave a groan of pain that had Ed and Ayala share worried looks.

"What's the matter?" Ed asked as Ling clutched his head. Both chimeras had gotten to their feet with Darius standing close enough to Ed to pull him out of the way if he needed to.

"It's Greed," Ling ground out, eyes clenched tightly shut. "He's starting to fight back."

Ed looked around for something to help him knock some sense into Ling. "Don't you dare let him take back control!" Ed ordered, settling on a book and smacking Ling upside the head, hoping the pain would somehow make the homunculous retreat. "Don't let him overpower you again!"

"Listen!" Ling shouted, knocking the book blindly out of Ed's hands. "Father is going to open a portal on the day of reckoning. I could be wrong about this but I think you and Al should jump in when he does. It's the best chance you'll have to get your bodies back."

Ed gaped at the prince. At the mention of Father, Ed expected Ling to repeat when the Promised Day would be happening, not offer him a way for him to keep his promise to Al, Ayala and Chester. "Wait a minute, that makes sense and everything but there's a toll that must be paid to open that portal and I'm not willing to risk everyone else just so Al and I can get back to normal. We'll figure something else out," Ed told him. "We know this day of reckoning is going to happen when there's an eclipse but do you know what time specifically this is gonna go down?" Ed asked, hoping to narrow the timeframe so they could refine their plan a bit more.

"I can't hold him back much longer," Ling grunted before looking up at Ed with extreme effort. It was a little disconcerting to see Ling's eyes flash between black and purple as the two fought each other for control. "Are you sure Laika is okay? Lan Fan and Fu too?" Ling asked and Ed nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Laika's getting weaker the longer you're not in control but Lan Fan and Fu are watching over him and keeping him from harm. I'm doing what I can for him as well," Ed promised and Ling gave him a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Ed. That's a relief to hear," he said before doubling over once more and groaning in pain. Just as suddenly as it had started, Ling's groans of pain ceased and Ayala jumped forward, putting herself between Ed and the figure crouched in front of him. "Damned pain in the arse prince. He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," the familiar drawl of Greed said as he straightened from Ling's crouch, a scowl on his face.

"That you, Greed?" Ed asked even as he took in the purple eyes and way the man was sitting in front of him. Ed could feel Darius' hand on his shoulder while Heinkel had a gun pulled and aimed at Greed. Ayala was snarling a warning at the homunculous.

"What tipped you off, kid?" Greed snarked before looking disdainfully at the gun Heinkel held on him. "Don't bother. You couldn't even scratch me with that thing," Greed said as he got to his feet. Ed followed immediately, not letting himself stay in such a prone position around the homunculous. "Well, see you around," Greed said, flapping one hand in a mock-wave before he headed out of the shack without another word.

"Did that just happen?" Ayala asked as she stared after the homunculous, looking as stunned as Ed felt. Ed shook it off and headed after the homunculous, barely registering that Ayala and the chimeras were following him.

"So you're not even going to try and capture us?" Ed asked, a little confused. Last time he'd faced Greed, the homunculous had ended up the victor and callously dragged him by the throat to face Wrath.

Greed turned and face with a look that clearly told Ed he thought the blonde had asked one of the dumbest questions he'd heard in a while. The cool night air ruffled through their hair as Greed spoke. "Did you miss everything the prince just told you?" Greed asked. "I'm working on my solo career now that all of my old memories came flooding back," Greed said. "I did go kind of nuts and attack Wrath and I for one do not want to find out what they'll do to me if I tried to go crawling back, even with you and the chimeras in tow," Greed sneered. "I don't really work well with others anyway so it's probably for the best and that's all there is to that." Greed turned to continue walking down the dark dirt road before stopping when Ed spoke again.

"Why don't you join us?" Ed asked, ignoring the looks he was getting from his Animal and the chimeras. "You've nowhere else to go and no one else to stay with so why not join us?"

Greed started laughing uproariously and Ed rolled his eyes before waiting for the homunculous to get a hold of himself. "Me join you? You want me to, what? Follow you?" Greed laughed, wiping an imaginary tear away. "Thanks for the laugh but this world is my possession, not yours," Greed said. Ed didn't say anything as he watched a thoughtful look flick across the homunculous' face and he held a hand up to silence Heinkel when he went to say something. "Now, it's a completely different story if you wanna follow me. You're welcome to join my team," Greed said before he turned once more with a hand raised in another goodbye.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ed called as he, Ayala and the chimeras headed after the homunculous and Ed almost smirked at the groan of annoyance he heard from Greed.

"What now?" Greed snarled as he turned to face a decidedly unimpressed looking Ed.

"I gave it some thought and I've decided Ayala and I will join your team, or lack thereof at the moment," Ed said, causing Greed to narrow his eyes at him. Ayala didn't look happy but she had known what he was planning and raised no fuss about it. "Now Darius, Heinkel and I have an agreement to stick together until Promised Day but I'm not enough of an arsehole to make them work with or for you if they don't want to," Ed said, looking behind him to the chimeras. Darius and Heinkel shared a look but didn't immediately say anything so Ed left them to continue thinking it over. "There's too much at stake to let any information you've got in your head to let slip through the cracks. I can't let anything, including my ego or feelings on following the likes of you, get in the way of saving the country and her people."

Greed considered him for a moment before nodding once. "Aright, kid, but I hope you realise working for me means living in the shadows. I don't want to hear you whining about any regrets you may feel. Either of you," Greed informed him, glancing at Ayala before looking back up to the blonde and Ed rolled his eyes.

"Give me a break," Ed said, a touch irritated. "I've already got a million regrets and so does Ayala. What's another one?" Ayala growled in agreement.

"A million and one more," the two chimeras behind him quipped and Ed rolled his eyes as he faced the two of them with a flat expression.

"You're both hilarious," he deadpanned.

"So that's you and the wolf settled," Greed said. "What about the two of you?" Greed asked, looking at the chimeras with an unreadable expression.

Heinkel sighed. "Doesn't look like we have much of a choice in the matter," he said. "The kid's right. This is too important for us to not work together."

"I don't really care who I work for so long as they feed me," Darius admitted, shrugging a shoulder as Ed laughed because that would likely be one of his requirements of employment if he ever did leave the military officially.

"If that's everything," Greed drawled, "we should get going before they decide to send Gluttony after me," Greed instructed.

"Yeah, yeah. We just need to go back and get our stuff," Ed said only to be surprised when Heinkel held out his pack and bundled books. "Oh, thanks, Heinkel," Ed said, accepting his gear.

"We figured we wouldn't be returning to the shack tonight," Heinkel said as he and Darius shouldered their own packs. Once they were ready, they nodded to Greed who – after rolling his eyes – led the way out of the woods and in the general direction of Central so they would know where they were and what direction they needed to go in.

"So what kind of chimeras are you?" Greed asked as they walked. Ed ignored him in favour of watching Ayala and the road ahead since Ayala was half paying attention to their surroundings and half focused on Greed, just in case.

"I'm part gorilla," Darius told him and Heinkel followed with his animal half.

"That's cool," Greed said before letting the conversation drop so they were walking in silence.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ayala asked and Ed shrugged.

"No," he admitted. "I fully expect this situation to come back and bite me somehow but right now, we need his information and his abilities so I'm willing to follow him if it means we win," Ed told her honestly.

"Well, it's not like I'm not used to having your back when you make stupid decisions," Ayala teased and Ed rolled his eyes at her as he 'accidentally' bumped into her, causing her to stumble a couple of steps and glare at him as she righted herself. "Behave yourself," she warned and pouted when Ed had the audacity to laugh at her. A small growl from her had Ed settling down but there was still too much amusement in his eyes for her to feel like she'd won.

"Consider me warned," Ed chuckled as they followed the chimeras and homunculous through the wooded area. "So what's the plan, Greed?" Ed asked and the homunculous turned back to look at him.

"We'll be leaving this area to start with. Central will be too dangerous for any of us to be near for a while and I do not feel like going up against Wrath again right now," Greed told him, using a tone of voice that told Ed the answer should've been obvious.

Ed rolled his eyes. "I figured that but we," Ed gestured to himself, Ayala and the chimeras, "need to restock some of our supplies. Ling ate all of our remaining food and we'll need some more money just in case," Ed told him.

"How do you plan on doing that without being seen? You're wanted, kid," Greed reminded him and Ed nodded.

"I know and I do plan on being seen," Ed told him. Greed's eyes widened in surprise but neither of the chimeras seemed overly shocked and Ed figured that was because they were used to him and his potentially disastrous decisions. "I've got people here that I can trust. They'll get me what I need."

"And you trust them completely?" Greed asked and Ed nodded. "How are you going to get a message to them? I don't want to be stuck waiting around here for days."

"Easily," Ed said before tapping the side of his head. "I'm gonna talk to their Animals." Greed looked at him incredulously before he burst into laughter. Ed likely would've been offended if he hadn't been expecting a reaction of that kind.

"That's a good one, kid," Greed laughed. "I might not have an Animal of my own but I still know how they work. You can't talk an Animal that isn't yours telepathically."

"True," Ed said, "with the exception of two people and I'm one of them," Ed told him. Greed narrowed his eyes at Ed, like he was trying to glare Ed into revealing he was playing a trick, but Ed kept his face open and honest.

"This is something I've got to see," Greed said eventually and Ed nodded, taking is as the homunculous giving his permission

"What time is it now?" Ed asked and the chimeras shrugged.

"Maybe 10:00pm?" Heinkel said, looking up at the sliver of moon in the sky. Ed frowned a little. It was later than he thought.

"I'll have to arrange to meet them tomorrow night. It's too late now and the closest person to the outskirts of town likely has soldiers watching his every move and his house to make sure he's not continuing to plot against the military and your father," Ed told Greed.

"That's your friend you're going to trust to get you food and money?" Greed asked and Ed snorted, sharing a look with Ayala.

"No, that's my commanding officer. My friend is his best friend and it's too late for him to drop by my CO's place without raising suspicion," Ed told him.

"Are you talking about Mustang?" Darius asked and Ed nodded. "You want us to use his house as a meeting point?"

"Yeah," Ed told him. "Like I said, it's the closest house belonging to someone I can trust to the outskirts of Central, which means it'll be easier for us to escape Central from there if something happens and we need to get out of town quickly," Ed said.

Greed seemed to be considering whether or not he'd bother staying near Central for that long and since Ed knew he needed to stay with Greed to get more information on the homunculi's plans and to keep an eye on Ling, like he'd promised Laika, Ed would be forced to follow him if he decided to leave. The group were still walking towards Central so that they could choose where to go from there so Ed was content to wait for the homunculous to make up his mind. It took until the lights of Central were twinkling in front of them – reminding Ed and Ayala of when they'd been with Gluttony and they, as well as Al and Chester, had realised that Father lived in Central – before Greed spoke.

"I assume you can get into Mustang's house without being noticed?" Greed asked and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, Ayala and I are pretty good at staying out of sight when need be," Ed told him.

"The lion chimera and I will stay wherever we find to spend the night and tomorrow while you and the gorilla chimera will go and get the supplies you need," Greed decided and Ed resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the commanding tone by reminding himself that he only had to put up with the homunculous for a few weeks. Ayala seemed far more amused than Ed thought she had any right to be.

"We have names, you know," Darius grumbled, irked at being called the 'gorilla chimera'. Ed had noted the two didn't appreciate that early on into his recovery. Greed raised a silently questioning brow and Darius took the hint. "That's Heinkel and I'm Darius," he said, flapping a hand over at his fellow chimera. Greed nodded in acknowledgement and that was the end of the conversation.

"Where does your commanding officer live?" Greed asked Ed as they headed down the hill. Ed had a look at city sprawled in front of them before he found a landmark he recognised and could find Mustang's house from there.

"It's in that area," Ed said, pointing off towards his left towards the houses that were built earlier on in the city's construction. These houses were smaller in size, only one story, unlike the Hughes' house, but they had a larger yard size. When Ed had asked Hawkeye why Mustang would choose a house further from Central Command, she'd told him he needed the yard space for if he ever developed and tested new arrays.

"Alright," Greed said, purple eyes scanning the area Ed had pointed to. "There's an abandoned house that sits right on the edge of that area. If I remember correctly, the closest neighbour is half a kilometre from it. We'll check it out and if there's minimal chance of any of my siblings finding it, we'll set up camp there," Greed declared. He didn't wait for their murmurs of agreement before he headed in the direction of the abandoned house, leaving it for the chimeras, Ed and Ayala to follow him. Ed and Ayala exchanged a look but didn't say anything as they followed the three ahead of them. They didn't need to exchange words or even be bonded to know what the others were thinking. It was going to be a long few weeks.


The house didn't look abandoned. That was the first thing Ed and Ayala thought when they saw it after another hour and a half of walking. Greed was right about the closest neighbour being nearly 500 metres away so they wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing them so long as they didn't try and find any lights to illuminate the dark rooms. Ayala had been apprehensive about entering the house, deeming the yard too clean to be abandoned, until she'd entered the place with Ed and realised that any scents she picked up were weeks old and there was a thin layer of dust on the floor and benches. Greed had looked a bit too smug about it when Ed had told him Ayala had admitted he was right and the wolf had snarled at him before ignoring him for the rest of the night. To add to her annoyance, Greed just seemed to be amused with her behaviour rather than apologetic for his earlier.

Ed and Ayala had called it a night after a couple of hours of exploring the house and listening to the chimeras and Greed talk. The house was big enough that they could all claim a bedroom of their own if they wanted to and Ed had decided to take the one closest to the front entrance so that anyone who tried to break in would have to go through him first, unless someone decided to set up camp in the loungeroom. He and the chimeras all had a bedroll in their packs, having grabbed them from the first town they'd stopped to fuel up their stolen car in when they'd realised they'd actually need camping supplies since the car couldn't hold three of them comfortably enough to sleep in. Ed had forgone the pillow the shopkeeper had tried to sell him since he usually used Ayala or Chester as a pillow whenever he and Al had been forced to sleep outside on a mission and Ayala hadn't raised a fuss about it this time around.

So once he had the bedroll spread out flat, Ayala sprawled herself at the head of it and Ed had lain down, favouring his left side still since it felt a massive bruise. Once goodnights were exchanged, Ed fell asleep fairly quickly but Ayala didn't. A mixture of their surroundings being new, mistrust of one of their group and the fact that they were near one of the most dangerous places for Ed to be right now kept Ayala awake and alert for some time after Ed had managed fall asleep.


Ayala lifted her head when she heard footsteps approach softly a couple of hours later and watched as Darius poked his head into the room before giving her a nod, closed the door again and walked away. Ayala was used to this behaviour from the chimeras since they'd displayed it the entire time Ed was stuck in the doctor's apartment. Though it had died down to one of them making sure Ed was still breathing once a night, Ayala had gotten used to them checking in every few hours at the beginning of their stay, when Ed had still been touch-and-go. She never mentioned about the check-ins to Ed because she knew her human would get embarrassed and ask the chimeras to stop and Ayala knew that the chimeras were continuing the checks because they cared and worried about Ed.

Ayala was almost asleep – the day of travelling and the exhaustion of being tense all the time finally catching up on her – when the topic of the chimeras and Greed's conversation caught her attention. She'd been tuning them out for the most part until Greed had questioned Ed going to bed early and making a joking comment about having thought the kid having more stamina than that. Ayala raised her lips lightly at the teasing comment but didn't actually move from her position since Ed was actually managing to get some restful sleep for once. She did, however, focus on the conversation more so she could listen in.

"From what we've heard about him from our ex-superiors, Ed could – and usually did – spend days in a library doing research for days at a time with only cat naps before going out to capture a rogue alchemist or fight some criminal without giving any signs of how sleep deprived he was," Heinkel told Greed, his voice muffled slightly by the closed door and walls but not muffled enough for Ayala to not be able to make out the words.

"So what happened?" Greed asked and Ayala would bet he'd given the room she and Ed were in a look. "He didn't look like he'd been missing out on sleep earlier so why has he called it a night instead of staying up with us?" Greed asked. Ayala almost did get up to snap at him when she heard the suspicion in his tone.

"He was pretty badly injured a couple of months ago," Darius said. Ayala was surprised to hear how carefully controlled his voice was when he spoke, like he was making sure no emotions were betrayed. "Badly enough that if he hadn't done what he did, he wouldn't be here today." There was a pause for a moment before Darius continued. "He'd ended up on the wrong end of an explosion and the four us fell several metres down a mineshaft. Ed got the worst of all of us. He ended up with a support beam through his side." Ayala wondered what expression was on Greed's face. Would he be surprised? Shocked? Or would he look uncaring?

"That would've been a fatal injury for a normal human," Greed said casually. "It wouldn't have mattered if he was in a trauma room with the best surgeons. That catastrophic an injury should've killed him in moments once the beam was removed," Greed said and Ayala knew the chimeras would be nodding in agreement with his words.

"He would've died too," Heinkel said, "except he used alchemy to patch himself enough to let us get him to a doctor that could help." Ayala was surprised that Heinkel hadn't told the truth about how Ed's injuries were really patched. Maybe the chimeras didn't trust Greed as much as she'd thought.

"Fascinating," Greed said, managing to sound like he was exaggerating his feelings on the matter but Ayala knew she would need to warn Ed to expect to be questioned about his patched-up injuries when he woke up in the morning. "What does that have to do with my original question?"

"Ed won't say anything," Heinkel warned Greed, "but he's not fully recovered yet. We left the doctor's because the military had found us and we've been living rough the last few days. We've noticed Ed is still favouring his left side and Ed knows he needs rest to recover faster if he wants to be in top fighting shape for Promised Day so he's making sure he gets it where he can," Heinkel told him.

"Doesn't stop him from being a pain in the arse when he wants to be though," Darius grumbled and Ayala felt herself smirk as she remembered when Ed hadn't been able to get to sleep a couple of nights ago and decided to test his tree climbing skills without telling the chimeras. The shriek Darius had let out when Ed had dropped down from the tree in front of him when the gorilla chimera had questioned where he was continued to make Ed chuckle whenever the memory came up.

"That sounds like it has some stories behind it," Greed said and Ayala could imagine the grin on the homunculous' face.

"No it doesn't!" Darius said as Heinkel let out a bark of laughter. Ayala let herself go back to tuning them out as Heinkel started talking while Darius tried keeping him quiet before she fell asleep to the sound of Ed's breathing and the faint sound of city life.


"Do either of you know where Greed is?" Ed asked the two chimeras in the loungeroom who were playing with a deck of cards. "I need to talk to him."

"I think he's in the far bedroom," Darius told him as he scowled at the cards laid down in front of him. "Where's Ayala?" he asked before Ed could thank him and track down the homunculous.

"She got bored and decided to hunt some lunch for us," Ed told him, leaving the room before Darius or Heinkel could say anything. "You still all good?" Ed asked Ayala through their bond.

"Yup. I think I found some rabbit dens. How many do you think we'd need to feed everyone?" Ayala asked and Ed almost grinned when he felt her excitement at being able to hunt. It was a rarity for either her or Chester to get to hunt their own food since they normally bought meals already made. The only times they got to were when they were on a long mission and they couldn't buy anything because there weren't any shops around.

"Depends," Ed said. "If Greed doesn't eat, we'd only need four or five good-sized rabbits. If Ling makes an appearance or Greed does actually eat, we might need every rabbit living in those woods," Ed told her seriously though amusement flowed through their bond from him and Ayala laughed.

"I'll start with getting five and we'll go from there," she told him. Ed felt something attract her attention before their conversation was cut with no warning. He didn't worry about it though since he knew from their bond that she'd noticed a rabbit and was preparing for the attack.

Ed found Greed where Darius had guessed he was. The homunculous didn't look like he was doing anything and Ed would admit he was a little curious but he didn't bother questioning it. "Hey, question. Do you eat?" Ed asked and Greed looked mildly surprised at the question.

"I don't have to but food is one of the better things in life so I will," Greed told him.

"Will you eat rabbit? If so, how much?" Ed asked and Greed made a face.

"Rabbit cooked over a campfire?" Greed said and Ed nodded, pretending not to notice the distaste on the homunculous' face. "Pass," he said and Ed shrugged.

"Your loss. Ayala, did you hear that?" Ed asked and felt a brush on his mind from his wolf so he knew she wasn't completely ignoring him in favour of hunting her prey. "Alright, so now that's outta the way, there's something else I want to ask," Ed said and Greed rolled his eyes.

"More questions about how I function differently to you humans?" Greed asked but Ed shook his head.

"Yeah, no, I don't particularly care if you don't need food or sleep or whatever," Ed said. "Can you give Ling control for like three or four hours at least every day?"

Greed looked like he was holding back a scowl. "No," he snapped and Ed frowned.

"Why not?" Ed asked. "It's not like Ling is gonna go anywhere. You could take control back easily even if he tried," Ed pointed out. "He'd probably just spend the time eating everything in sight anyway."

"Why should I?" Greed asked. "Giving over control of this body to that pain in the arse prince isn't something I want and it's not a necessity to my continued survival. I'm certainly more content this way than I would be if Ling was in the driver's seat."

"It's not for your sake I'm asking," Ed told him. "Ling's Animal, Laika, is being killed slowly by you continuously being in charge. You're suffocating their bond," Ed told him.

"So?" Greed asked uncaringly and Ed felt his temper flare.

"So," he emphasised, grounding the word out, "I can feel Laika, remember? I can feel his fear and worry. It only needs to be for a few hours, just to give their bond some time to repair itself."

"Again, so?" Greed asked but Ed noticed the irritation in the homunculous' voice as well as the small scowl on his face. The thing that got Ed though was that neither seemed to be aimed for him. Rather, Ed realised, it was aimed inwards and he would bet a whole year's pay he knew the reason why.

"So, I'm sure Ling would be less of an arsehole if you just let him be in charge for a few hours each day," Ed said, smirking when Greed's expression of irritation deepened. "He's in your mind right now badgering you about this as well, isn't he?" Ed asked and was rewarded with Greed sneering at him.

"It doesn't matter if he is," Greed snapped. "If his Animal dies, he will as well. Humans don't handle their Animals deaths well," he said callously and Ed fought hard to keep the shock off his face at the viciousness in Greed's voice.

"Most humans usually commit suicide or give up living when their Animal passes," Ed agreed, "but there are the very few who are able to cope with the pain and keep on living life. I would imagine Ling would be one of those who would continue living even if Laika passed," Ed said, the conviction in his voice strong. "I would even be willing to bet that if you end up being the reason Laika dies, Ling will make it his mission to stay a thorn in your side and considering how long a homunculous can live for, that's a very long time to have him in your mind for," Ed told him. Greed did not look impressed and his mood seemed to sourer a minute later, telling Ed that Ling was putting in his two cents worth. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Greed gave a growl of annoyance.

"Fine!" Greed snapped ferociously enough that Ed took a step back in shock and caution. "Three hours a day. That's it," Greed said in a manner that Ed knew meant he was talking to Ling as well. "As long as we aren't being attacked or at risk of one. I won't risk getting captured by Wrath or one of the others just because Ling and you want to save his Animal and their bond," Greed sneered as he mentioned Laika.

"I'm good with that," Ed said, agreeing easily. He just had to hope three hours everyday of Ling being in charge would be enough for his and Laika's bond. "Just because I'm pretty sure I know how your mind works; it has to be three consecutive hours. Not three hours spread out in minute intervals over the day," Ed said sternly and Greed rolled his eyes.

"Three hours consecutively," Greed said and Ed gave a satisfied nod.

"Laika will be happy," Ed said before turning to leave the room. "Let me know within a couple of hours if you change your mind about the rabbits," he said, giving Greed a wave without turning around before he disappeared down the hall, leaving the homunculous with only Ling for company.


To say that Nala had been excited when Ed made contact with her almost a full day after she sensed he was near Central would be an understatement. The lioness had almost chattered his metaphorical ear off with questions of why he was there, concerned comments for his safety since the entire Central Command Centre had orders to arrest him on the spot and angered ones about why it had taken almost a whole day to talk to her. Ed managed to calm her down enough while he was using one of his newly created throwing knives to skin and prepare the rabbits he'd found Ayala with to be cooked over the small fire he'd created to ask when Mustang was normally home and for Nala to send him a memory snippet of what her and Mustang's house looked like so he could be sure he broke into the right one.

Nala had been positively thrilled to do so when she realised it meant Ed would be visiting her soon and had almost overwhelmed Ed with the amount of memory snippets she had of her home, wanting to be certain Ed saw it from every angle so he couldn't possibly miss it. Ed had laughed and told her to settle down with the snippets. Nala hadn't felt even a little ashamed as she apologised and told Ed she and Mustang would be home by 6:00pm. Ed had promised he'd see her when he got home before ending their conversation so he could talk to Leo so he could have the fox ask Hughes visit Mustang that night with the supplies Ed needed. Leo had then informed Ed that he'd barely gotten the words 'Ed's in town and needs you to grab this stuff and meet him at Mustang's at this time' out of his mouth before Hughes was agreeing to the plan.

"When do you want to leave for Mustang's?" Darius asked as he helped Ed carry the cooked rabbits inside so the three of them could eat. Ayala had gotten the choice of which rabbit she wanted since she'd done the hard work of catching and killing them and she'd chosen to have hers raw while Ed cooked the others over the fire on a spit.

"Probably should leave here around 4:30," Ed told him. "We don't know how careful we'll have to be to get there so we don't actually know how long it'll take for certain to get to his place. Plus, Nala confirmed there were only two soldiers ordered to keep an eye on his place while he wasn't home so we won't have as many to worry about if we get into his place before he does," Ed said and Darius nodded, happy with the plan.

"Thanks, kid," Heinkel said as he took one of the rabbits Darius had.

"Thank Ayala," Ed said as he down next to Ayala's napping form. "She did most of the hard work."

"Thanks, Ayala," Heinkel and Darius both said. The still-black wolf opened one golden eye at the mention of her name, nodded once before going back to her post-lunch nap.

Greed came out of the room he'd obviously claimed as his own when they were halfway through their lunch. Ed offered him some of his rabbit, despite the homunculous' comment when Ed had offered to have Ayala catch one for him, and Greed – to Ed's surprise – took a leg and joined them. "When are the two of you leaving?" Greed asked and Ed pulled out his pocket-watch.

"In about an hour," Ed said, putting the watch away and returning to the rabbit.

"How long do you think you'll be? I want to get moving as soon as possible," Greed said pushily but all Ed could do was shrug.

"I can't truly tell you," Ed said. "If I was just meeting Mustang, I'd be in and out but since it's Hughes, I could be there for a couple of hours, minimum," Ed told him. Greed didn't look impressed but knew he couldn't demand Ed make the meetup go faster since Ed wouldn't have much control over it so he gave a simple nod as he chewed on the rabbit leg. Ed and Ayala shared a look but decided not to bother commenting.


Mustang let out a sigh as he pulled his private car into the small garage that provided protective cover in case of bad weather and hot days. The soldiers who were acting on the Fuhrer's orders made no attempt at being subtle about the fact they were watching his house as they took up positions on his street where they could see his house best. Nala made an impatient noise and Mustang rolled his eyes. Halfway through the day, his lioness had suddenly gotten extremely excited in a way she hadn't been for months. He knew it had something to do with Edward – nothing and no one else had that kind of effect on her – but Nala had refused to tell him what was going on. Giving another sigh, Mustang got out of his car, closed the door once Nala had let herself out and headed for his front door.

To Mustang's surprise, Nala didn't immediately bolt into the house like he sensed she wanted to do when he opened the door. Rather, she walked in like it was any other day and that really ratcheted up his suspicions. He didn't immediately see anything out of place and none of his traps, alchemic or otherwise, had been set off. He'd seen the two guards who'd watched his place for the day and neither of them seemed like they'd witnessed anything out of the ordinary. With all signs pointing to the fact that he shouldn't have been expecting anything out of place, Mustang truly didn't know why he wasn't surprised when he saw Edward standing in his kitchen with a black Ayala at his feet.

"Nala!" Ed greeted excitedly, pure happiness on his face as the lioness bounded towards him once the front door was shut. Nala nearly took Ed down with the force of her hug, despite Mustang seeing Ed brace for it. "It's so good to see you!" Ed said as he hugged her fiercely around the neck. Mustang almost snapped when someone he'd never seen before had come out of the bathroom.

"He's not going to kill me, right?" the man asked and Ed laughed from where he had his face buried in the scruff of Nala's neck. When Ed lifted his face, Mustang saw the happiest expression he'd seen on the teen in a very long time. It disappeared almost immediately but Mustang had seen it.

"Nah, you're safe," Ed said, giving Mustang a significant look that had the man glare at him but he lowered his hand. The door knocked at that moment and Ed jerked his head to it. "You should get that," he told Mustang.

"I'm assuming you know who's on the other side than?" Mustang asked, even as he headed for the door. He ignored Ed's sarcastic comment how he was cool with letting Mustang answer the door to someone unknown while he was on the run from the military and opened the door to find the Hughes family on the other side. "Hughes," Mustang greeted, "Gracia and Elysia, what a wonderfully unexpected surprise," Mustang drawled.

"Hi, Roy," Gracia said happily as Elysia hugged him. He noted the loaded bags in her arms. "Maes said you hadn't been eating properly for the past few days. You could've come over to ours at any time, you know," Gracia berated as she let herself in.

"I've been too busy catching up on paperwork to cook for myself," Mustang told her as Hughes walked past him, clapping him on the shoulder as he headed after his wife. Mustang rolled his eyes but led Elysia inside after them. He was glad he shut the door as quick as he did when Elysia let out a squeal of Ed's name high-pitched enough to make the Animals wince.

"Hi, El," Ed said as Nala finally released him from her hug so Elysia could give one of her own. "Have you behaved yourself for your parents?" Ed asked as he picked the young girl up so she could hug him better. Leo and Lilith greeted the blonde in a calmer manner than Elysia before Leo chose to stay near Mustang while Lilith sat herself next to Ed so she could lean against his flesh leg in her version of a hug.

"I have!" Elysia told him even as she did her best to strangle him with her affection. "I've missed you so much, Big Brother!" Elysia said, her voice small and cracking slightly and Ed squeezed her a little tighter.

"I've missed you too, El," Ed told her, his voice open and vulnerable in a way Mustang knew he would never have sounded without the young girl in his arms.

Gracia placed her armload of groceries on the counter next to Ed before she wrapped both Ed and Elysia up in one big hug. Ed wiggled his right arm free from where it was trapped between Gracia and Elysia so he could hug Gracia back. "Are you alright, Ed?" Gracia asked, even as she made no move to let the blonde go.

"I'm better," Ed told her, knowing that a big part of her question was about his injury in the mountains.

"Good," Gracia said as she kissed his temple and pulled away, giving him a big, slightly watery smile, "because the lecture you'll be getting when everything's over will be of epic proportions, young man," she informed him. Ed let out a huff of laughter and a grin.

"I'm looking forward to it," he told her sincerely. Gracia gave his cheek a soft pat before she looked over at the fondly smiling Maes, indifferent stranger and perplexed Mustang, though she noted Roy was trying to hide it.

"Did you know they would be here?" Mustang asked, giving Hughes a betrayed look.

Maes raised a brow at him. "Of course I did," he said. "Didn't you?"

"Would I be asking if I'd known?" Mustang snapped venomlessly and Hughes shrugged.

"I assumed you did since this is your house and all." Nala let out a guilty chuckle that had Ed grinning at her while Mustang gave her an exasperated look. Gracia and Hughes shared a grin while Elysia continued trying to hug Ed to death, paying no attention to the adults. "Ed told Leo what he needed and what time he'd be here and that Nala knew about it," Hughes explained.

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise," Nala told Ed, who grinned at her while Mustang rolled his eyes. "Plus I knew you would be as entertained as me," she added.

"You're awesome," Ed told her with a chuckle.

"I know," Nala assured him, a smirk on her face.

Gracia bustled around Ed, her daughter, Ayala, Nala and the kitchen as she took control of the room so she could start preparing the dinner they used as an excuse to visit the Flame Alchemist. Ed seemed to realise he was inconveniencing her a little as he stood in the kitchen with Elysia in his arms so he moved the two of them out of the kitchen, followed closely by Ayala and Nala since Lilith decided to stay in the kitchen, and neither Animal seemed to be willing to let Ed out of their sight. Ed was amused to figure out that Ayala was afraid to let him out of her sight lest Nala kidnaps him.

"So, Ed," Hughes said as Ed joined them. Elysia twisted her head so she could see her father but made no move to get down. "Is there a reason Ayala is black?"

"A golden wolf sticks out quite a bit," Ed told them. "Once we're out of Central and far enough from military outposts, I'll put her fur back to the right colour," Ed said, looking at her and giving her a smile.

"Fair enough," Hughes said, giving him a grin. That was the only warning Ed got before Hughes wrapped him and Elysia into a big hug that rivalled Koda's on her best days. Ed knew his eyes had widened in surprise at the action since Hughes only gave him hugs when things like the fight with Envy had happened but he soon let himself melt into it and return it as best he could with a six-year-old in his arms. Gracia popped her head out of the kitchen, which was what they took as their cue to separate.

"I need some extra hands in here," Gracia said. "Elysia, can you come and help me?" Ed looked as Elysia turned to consider her mum before nodding while Hughes took a step back. Ed placed her on the ground and the little girl headed over to her mother. "Will you be here for dinner, Ed?" Gracia asked and Elysia gave Ed the biggest pair of pleading eyes Ed had ever seen. Ed glanced over at Darius, who shrugged, silently telling Ed it was up to him.

"Sure, Miss Gracia," Ed said, giving her a smile. Gracia and Elysia both seemed exceptionally pleased with the answer.

"Who exactly is 'we'?" Mustang asked, bringing the topic back on track now that the two girls were gone and Ed nodded to Darius.

"Darius is one of the people I'm travelling with," Ed said. "Heinkel is another," Ed told them before taking a small moment to ready himself for the reaction he knew he'd get, "and Greed is the other person."

"I'm sorry, Ed, we must've misheard you because I could've sworn you just said that Greed was someone you were travelling with," Hughes said, voice forcibly calm. Ed gave him a sheepish smile and Hughes' face turned to one of disbelief and concern. "Greed tried to kill you the last time you saw each other! Not to mention the fact that he's part of everything going on with the military! What on earth are you doing with him?!" Hughes didn't raise his voice but it was a close thing.

"Ling got control back for a few minutes," Ed said and both men looked at him with surprise. "The reason I even came back to Central once I could leave where I was rather than finding Al and Chester was because Laika could sense Ling was going to get in trouble and he asked me to be there," Ed told them. "We turned up at the cabin we held Gluttony in and Ling stumbled in. He told us when Promised Day was happening but Greed got back control before he could tell us anything else. However, it turns out that Greed found out what Wrath and the others had done to his crew in Dublith and really didn't appreciate it so he went after Wrath. It didn't end well for Greed which is why Ling was able to take control," Ed explained.

"So you teamed up with him?" Mustang asked, tone telling Ed just how much of an idiot he thought the blonde was. Ed glared at him.

"What else was I supposed to do? Greed has information we'll need and I needed to keep Greed close by so I could keep Ling safe and convince Greed to let Ling be in control every now and then to save Laika," Ed snapped. "Plus, it's not a stupid idea to keep him on our side so he might give us a hand on Promised Day because the kind of abilities he'd bring to the table would help us out immensely."

"He's got a point." Hughes looked like he was chewing on a lemon as he said the words. "If he can convince Greed to help us, it may save lives and who better to keep him safe from the military than someone who knows how the leader thinks?" Mustang looked about as happy as Hughes but he nodded once and Ed relaxed slightly, happy they weren't going to make this into a big deal.

"Alright, Fullmetal," Mustang said with a sigh. "Tell us everything that's happened and everything you've got planned."

Ed sat on Mustang's couch, Nala and Ayala hopping up next to him while Hughes and Mustang sat themselves on the armchairs. Leo decided to stay next to Hughes, curling up next to his armchair while Darius elected to stay standing and chose to do so behind Ed's couch, making sure he could see everything that was happening. "Okay, so you guys already know about what happened in the mineshaft so I'll start with what's happened since."


"I've cleaned up everything I used. You just have to put it away once it dries," Gracia told Mustang as she joined them in the loungeroom after dinner and dessert had been eaten.

"You didn't have to do that, Gracia," Mustang told her as Nala practically crawled onto Ed's lap so Gracia could sit next to him on the couch. Mustang and Hughes had claimed the same armchairs as before but Hughes had Elysia on his lap. Lilith and Leo had decided to curl up on the floor between Hughes' armchair and the couch Gracia, Ed, Ayala and Nala were on.

"I know but I also know what you're like when it comes to domestic duties," Gracia told him sweetly. Ed's half-stifled chuckles caused the pout Mustang had given Gracia to turn into a scowl aimed for the blonde. "Ed, do you have a bag or something to carry the things you asked for?" Gracia asked, fussing slightly and Ed nodded.

"Yeah, Darius and I brought our packs," he told her, nodding to the two bags sitting innocently near one of Mustang's bookshelves with a misshapen red bundle with them.

"I'll pack them for you," Gracia told him, getting to her feet and grabbing the bags.

"Miss Gracia, I can do that," Ed told her, getting ready to make Nala move but Gracia shook her head.

"No, you stay there," Gracia said before giving Nala a smile. "I don't think she'll let you get up any time soon anyway." Nala nodded in agreement before she rolled slightly and stretched back out so she took up Gracia's empty spot again. Ed rolled his eyes at the lioness as Ayala mimicked her movements.

"I can give you a hand, Mrs. Hughes, if you need one," Darius offered and Gracia gave him a smile.

"I'd appreciate that, Darius, and please just call me Gracia," she said as the two of them headed into the kitchen where the foodstuff the Hughes' had bought for them was still sitting.

"Speaking of things you asked for," Hughes said, getting Ed's attention as he dug into his pocket without disturbing the sleepy Elysia too much and pulling out an envelope, "here's the money you needed," he said as he handed the envelope to Ed.

"Thanks, Hughes," Ed said gratefully as he took the envelope. "How did you get it out of my account? I thought it was frozen?" Ed asked, looking up in time to see the sheepish look on Hughes' face. "This is from your account, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Hughes admitted but shook his head when Ed went to protest and hand the money back. "We can afford to loan it to you so don't bother. You can just pay us back when everything's settled," Hughes told him.

"Are you sure?" Ed couldn't help but ask, not wanting to take money from him if it meant they'd be struggling to make ends meet. Ordinary soldiers, even ones of Hughes' rank and calibre, weren't paid near as much as State Alchemists and while the Hughes' didn't have to count every cent Hughes earned, they still had to be cautious with their money.

"Absolutely," Hughes told him. "It won't be long before you can pay us back anyway so don't worry about it."

Ed accepted his words with a nod as he pocketed the envelope in one of his white jacket's pockets. "Thanks, Hughes," Ed said.

"Don't worry about it," Hughes said firmly and that was the end of that conversation.

"So what's been keeping you busy? Are you still in charge of finding Scar?" Ed asked Hughes when no one else seemed to know what else to talk about.

"Officially, yes, but I've been ordered to pass any reports regarding his location on to Kimblee," Hughes told him and Ed scowled. At least he now knew for certain the bastard had survived bleeding Fort Briggs and he might be able to get his revenge on the psychopathic alchemist. "There haven't been very many sightings of Scar in the last couple of months. We got a report saying he was travelling south after your fight with Kimblee but nothing substantial since." Ed nodded, having expected to hear something similar. Chester had been keeping Ed filled in on almost everything and had mentioned that Scar and Marcoh had left their group halfway through the journey to Liore in order to seek out Ishvalen refugees and hopefully gather some warriors to help in the fight. Ed was hoping that he or Al would run into the Ishvalen soon so they could pass on the date of the battle. "We've been kept busy with a series of murders that have occurred though. They bear a striking resemblance to a serial killer, Barry the Chopper, who'd been sentenced to death and has since had that sentence carried out," Hughes told him and Ed winced as he realised that after the explosion and collapse of Laboratory Five, Al had told him his opponent had escaped but neither of them had bothered looking for him in the months since.

"Have you found him yet?" Ed asked but Hughes shook his head.

"No," Hughes told him. "We've broadcast a description of his armour as Al had described it but so far no one has seen him in the area." Hughes saw Ed's concern and guilt and gave him a small smile. "We will catch up with him before long so don't worry yourself about it," Hughes said sternly and Ed gave a small nod.

"Pack's are ready, kid," Darius said as he and Gracia emerged from the kitchen. He had both packs on his shoulders and Ed was a little surprised to see how much they bulged. It seemed Gracia had decided to get more than Ed had asked for.

"Okay," Ed said, knowing it meant they needed to leave now. The Hughes' couldn't stay much longer without raising suspicion anyway and Ed wanted to use their departure as a distraction. While the soldiers were busy watching the family leave, Ed, Ayala and Darius would leave out the back. "I guess that means we should be getting ready to leave." Nala and Elysia let out a whine of protest at Ed's words.

"Big Brother, I don't want you to go!" Elysia cried, scrambling off of Hughes' lap and rushing onto Ed's to hold him tight, causing Ed to grunt lightly as she made him sit back down from the half-rise he'd been in.

"I have to, Elysia," Ed told her regretfully. "It won't be as long as it was last time for you to see me next, I promise," he said but the words didn't console Elysia as much as he wanted. "Listen, El," Ed said, peeling the young girl off of him so he could look her in the eyes. "Are you listening?" Elysia's bottom lip trembled and her eyes watered but she nodded, sniffling a little as Ed gave her a smile. "This mission I'm on, it's the most important mission I've ever gone on. I need to be away from Central for a few more weeks so I won't be able to see you until after it's over but I swear, El, I will make certain you are the first person I see when I'm back," Ed told her, his voice filled with promise.

Elysia looked at him for a moment, tears slipping down her face before she nodded. "Okay, Big Brother," she said, voice trembling as much as her bottom lip was.

"Good girl," Ed said, giving her a smile and kissing her lightly on the temple as he stood up. Both Nala and Ayala hopped off the couch with him and both Hughes and Mustang took it as their cue to stand as well. "Is there any chance you guys would be able to take that home with you? It's just some books Darius and Heinkel grabbed for me to read so I wouldn't be as bored while I was recovering," Ed said, nodding to the red bundle.

"Yeah, of course. We'll keep it with your suitcase and other gear," Hughes told him. Mustang eyed the dirty bundle distastefully before sighing and heading into a different room and returning with a bag similar to the ones Darius was holding onto.

"Pack them into this so no one questions that," Mustang said, giving Ed's battered red jacket a look.

"Thanks, Roy," Gracia said, accepting the bag as Hughes grabbed the bundle of books before Ed could put Elysia down to do so himself. Between the two of them they got the books to fit in the bag and even managed to get the filthy red jacket in on top of them before they zipped the bag shut. Once that job was done, Maes held his hands out for Elysia and – after one final hug – Ed handed her over without much protest from the young girl. Once his hands were free, Gracia wrapped the blonde up in a tight hug. "You keep yourself safe. I expect you, Alphonse, Ayala and Chester home for dinner as soon as this mission is over, you hear me?" Gracia said once she pulled away from the hug and making Ed look her in the eye.

"I hear you and I promise we will do our absolute damnedest to make sure we are," Ed promised her and she nodded in satisfaction.

"We'll see you soon, Ed. Try and stay out of trouble if you can," Maes said as he wrapped an arm around Ed's shoulders once his wife had let go of the blonde completely and pulled him into a one-armed hug.

"It's not like I go looking for trouble," Ed grumbled at the man. Ayala made a very suspicious coughing noise that had Ed glaring at her while Maes openly laughed, Mustang smirked and Gracia tried her hardest to hide her amusement. Darius was nodding at Ayala like he was completely agreeing with her. Ed turned back to the Hughes family. "You guys stay safe too," Ed said and Hughes clapped him on the shoulder while Gracia gave him a warm smile.

"We will," Hughes promised.

"You two look after your humans, okay?" Ed said as he crouched down to Leo and Lilith, both of whom had gotten themselves up and joined their humans where they were standing.

"I'll try but you know what Maes is like," Leo grumbled as Lilith gave a solid nod of agreement.

"We'll see you soon, Ed. Make sure you keep in touch with us though," Lilith told him and Ed gave a promise he would.

"We'll get going now. Keep us informed of what's going on," Maes instructed Ed.

"As long as you do the same for me," Ed said and Maes gave him a grin.

"As if I could stop Leo from filling you in on everything that happens," Maes laughed.

"If Leo didn't, you know Nala would, whether or not she should," Mustang said, glaring at his lioness in what everyone assumed was supposed to be in a reprimand but they could all tell he didn't mean it that way. Nala certainly didn't look like she was being reprimanded.

"While Mustang says goodbye to you lot, Ayala, Darius and I will slip out the back," Ed said, moving towards Darius and accepting his significantly heavier pack from him. Ayala joined the two of them while Nala watched them mournfully.

"Alright. See you in a few weeks, Ed," Hughes said and Ed nodded, giving the man a thumbs up.

"Bye, Big Brother," Elysia said, giving him a sad wave and Ed gave her a big smile.

"Remember, El, you're the first person I'm gonna see when this mission's over, alright?" Ed reminded her and the little girl nodded, looking a little happier but not by much.

"Bye, Ed," Gracia said. "I know I keep asking but please stay safe," Gracia said and Ed nodded once more.

"I'll try and I'm sure Ayala will do her best to make I keep that promise," Ed said and Ayala gave Gracia a long-suffering sigh but nodded, making Gracia smile in thanks.

Nala decided it was her turn to say goodbye to the blonde and did so by repeating her earlier actions and giving the blonde a hug. "You had better make sure you survive this. I will not be impressed if you don't," Nala told him, nuzzling his cheek as he hugged her back.

"Neither will I if you don't stay alive," Ed told her. The hug lasted a couple more seconds before Nala dropped and joined Mustang once more, sharing a look with Ayala that had the wolf nodding to her.

"Stay alive, Fullmetal," Mustang said, pinning Ed with his gaze. "I don't need the paperwork that would come with your death."

"You too, Mustang. Don't need you any more useless than you already are," Ed sneered back. Nala and Ayala rolled their eyes in tandem at their humans. Maes and Gracia merely looked amused while Elysia was practically asleep so she didn't notice the exchange.

Mustang glared at Ed before he ushered the Hughes family out of his house so they could get back home. Hughes made a slight fuss by thanking Mustang for the 'camping gear he'd loaned them' and gesturing to the bag full of Ed's books he'd slung over his shoulder. Mustang had rolled his eyes and quipped about just wanting Hughes out of his hair for a weekend so there was no need to thank him. Hughes had laughed boisterously before allowing Gracia to drag him and Elysia to the cab waiting for them while their foxes followed, keeping their eyes open for any dangers. Mustang and Nala watched until the cab pulled away – Nala taking the opportunity to check that the two teams of soldiers were still out the front of the house – before Mustang shut the front door and they walked back into their living room to find it empty of anyone else. Mustang felt Nala's sadness at not having been able to give the blonde or his wolf a proper goodbye.

"Don't worry, Nala," Mustang said, giving his lioness a pat. "You know he'll be alright. He always is."

"I know," she said, still staring at the spot where the three fugitives had stood before joining Mustang in their nightly routine.

A/N - A little later than I normally post but here is chapter 41! Only 6 more chapters to go until this story is wrapped up and I dunno about you but I'm finding it hard to believe it's so close to being finished!

To my lovely guest reviewers, thank you so much for your reviews!

Guest WS - I'm kinda not sorry for ripping your heart out with the last chapter XD I'm glad you appreciate Calix's forgetfulness and that I kept it :) I hope you enjoyed the meeting between Al and Hohenheim! Thank you so much for your kind words and I really hope you liked this chapter!

Guest - You're welcome! I'm sorry I didn't make it much clearer throughout the story from chapter 25 onwards to avoid that confusion. I hope you do like where I give him that particular ability and that you liked this chapter!

To everyone else who has reviewed, I hope I've been able to message you back but if I somehow missed someone, I truly am sorry and please know I did appreciate you leaving the review! I would love to see reviews from everyone regarding this chapter and what you thought to it :D See you all next week!