"They're over this way," Iris gestured down the hall she'd been down so many times now. She had no other choice, not with Winry here. There was never good timing, and all her luck was running out. She clung to her friend and put herself between her and Kimblee, just in case.

"Excellent," the man hissed, his form practically slivering down the hall.

When the three arrived, there was a dead silence from the brothers as they feasted their eyes on the odd trio before them. The Crimson Alchemist smiling at them, Iris giving them guilty and panicked eyes, and sweet, oblivious Winry, ecstatic to see them.

"Hello, boys! I've brought a welcome surprise for you." Kimblee gestures to the girl.

"I'm here to fix your automail!" the blonde girl explains. "I got a call from the military saying that you were going up north and that you needed to be taken care of, so I packed up and came as fast as I could! You should really consult me about these things, Ed! And Al, have you been treating your armor well? I don't want you rusting." She went on and on, but the older brother stopped her, finally having something to say.

"You idiot! You shouldn't be here! The north is dangerous!"

"You really should be more grateful, Ed! You're, like, my worst customer; you never listen!"

"I imagine you need him out of this cell to perform anything you're planning to do?"

"Oh yes, sir."

Kimblee reveals from his jacket's breast pocket the same keys that General Raven had earlier when he freed Iris. She briefly wondered who gave them those. He unlocked the cell, then keyed Ed's handcuffs. He rubbed his sore left wrist.

Ed followed him out of the cell, giving his brother a look that only the siblings could understand.

"Don't worry, Al," the girl alchemist smiled gently. "I'll stay with you for a bit."

"Lucky you. I have to listen to this gearhead talk automail for an hour or two." Winry scowled at Ed's nickname for her and knocked him over the head.

"C'mon. The sooner we start the sooner we finish."

The three head off and are out of sight in no time. The girl sits down and pulls her knees to her chin. The pair settles into a comfortable silence, Iris on one side of the bars, Alphonse on the other.

"How's your cold?" Al asked, turning his head in curiosity. On cue, she sneezed thrice in a row, then laughed.

"Does that answer your question?"

They both laugh together, but it dies down quickly. Suddenly, the armored boy asks something unexpected.

"Do you think Brother will actually get my body back?"

Iris shot upright and faced Alphonse.

"Of course he will! Why? Do you have doubts?"

Al sighed. "No, no. I just... I'm afraid that alkahestry is our last lead. If we don't find anything out from Mei -that is, if we find her- then... I don't know if there will be a next time. You heard what Barry the Chopper said... A soul can't live in anything other than its body for too long."

"Well, I believe in your brother." It was a simple statement but Alphonse wished he felt the same confidence. "Do we need a repeat of that morning at the hospital in Central?"

"No," the suit of armor mumbled, ashamed.

"Well good. Let me know when it gets to that point."

"It won't."

"Even better. You must know that Ed would do anything for you. He doesn't care about his body, his automail, none of that. He just wants you to be who you were. He hates that he took some of your childhood and now your teenage years from you."

"He doesn't have to act like the world is on his shoulders," he comments quietly. Iris gives him a smile, knowing exactly what he means.

"Well, that's what we're for, no? To remind him that we can bear some of the burdens for him. To let him know he's cared for."

Alphonse gets a funny look on his armored face. "And you care for him a lot," he drags out, "Don't you, Iris?"

She swallows harshly and doesn't make eye contact. Chuckling nervously, she wraps her scarf around herself a little tighter. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"Like last night," he offers. She sneezes as if her body wanted to prove her friend's point.

"Oh, shut up! It's not like that."

Silence from both parties.

"Even if it was like that, what about it?" The girl bursts.

Alphonse laughs. He raises his hands up in surrender. "Your secret is safe with me."

"There is no secret!" She exclaims, but then slumps down on the cold tile behind her. She closes her eyes and sighs. "Theoretically, even if I did… have feelings for him… it wouldn't really matter right now. Maybe it could happen, y'know, after all of this is over. Like I said Al, he wants your body back more than anything. And I still have to figure out myself. My own history. Not to mention what I'll end up doing with my sister." She grabs ahold of one of the metal bars and looks straight to Al. "What if she kills me?" she whispers. "Or worse, what if I have to kill her?"

"It won't come to that," he promises. "Brother and I will make sure of it."

Iris just smiles at him half-heartedly. They both know she doesn't fully believe in his promise, but neither acknowledge it out loud. Instead, she bites her lip and looks to the him.

"Back to the first subject… You swear you won't tell Ed?"

He laughs again. "Yes, I promise."

After about an hour of lighthearted conversation, Iris rises from the floor and stretches. "I'm gonna go check on Ed and Winry. Sorry that you have to stay here."

"It's okay. Let them think they have the upper hand, for now."

She nods, then leaves to go back upstairs.

On arrival, Iris walks into something she'd rather not see. Captain Buccaneer was obviously showing off his state of the art automail to her engineer friend, who was completely fawning over him. She was so captivated that she didn't even notice her come in.

"Automail freaks?" Iris asked.

Ed confirmed. "Automail freaks. But hey, check out my new digs." He motions to his faux arm and the girl suddenly realizes he's only wearing a thin tank top and some boxers. She wills herself to only stare at the automail arm but she can feel the hot blush rising up her neck to her face. In hopes of saving herself from total embarrassment, she scoffs and looks away.

"All that time and equipment just for it to look almost exactly the same?"

The boy flexes his fingers to test out the nerves. "Oh, please. Wait until you see what this baby can do!"

"Is that a challenge, Elric?"

"A challenge you'll lose, King!"

She chuckles at his cockiness as she strips away her scarf, coat, and boots, leaving her in her black tights and navy blue long sleeve, which she proceeded to roll up. Iris was half-disappointed when he put on some sweatpants then scolded herself - curse her teenage hormones. She remembered Alphonse's funny expression from earlier in exasperation.

Edward positioned himself in a fighting stance before her. "Are you ready?"

She grinned. "Always."

Ed didn't waste any time. Once she assumed her own personal fighting stance, he moved to grab her by the waist. Just in time, she lifted her shin to his abdomen, quickly took a step back and kicked his flesh leg in the knee, causing him to stumble and switch positions. With him at arm's length, she circles and he follows, pushing aside the surgery cart that was just being used on him not even an hour ago.

The boy throws a few punches with his new automail and she can actually tell the difference. Not that she would tell him that; she'd only commend Winry on a good job later. She blocks them all of course, but when he tricks her with a fake punch then swings with his left, her jaw takes a hit.

Iris is daring enough to kick, but she quickly realizes her mistake as her balanced foot is swept from under her. Ed pins her down, each hand on either of her shoulders. His arms are occupied, which leaves him open on his sides. She could progress this spar, but she doesn't. She makes no move. And neither does Edward.

She stares into his golden eyes and parted open mouth, which is blowing puffs of air onto her face... She wants to kiss him right then and there. But she can't. So she does the second best thing. She pulls on the front of his shirt, tips her head back, then knocks her forehead fiercely into his in a swift movement. He rolls off her and clutches his head in pain. Iris does the same.

"No one wins with a headbutt," she groans. Ed just smirks at her. He gets up and offers a hand to her, which she takes gratefully. She wipes off some sweat and looks around.

"Huh. Where'd Winry go?"

Apparently, Ed thought the same thing and was already headed towards the door. At the end of the hallway, they could hear her cheery voice. The overprotective boy marched right in and Iris followed. He pulled his childhood friend to the side, not caring he was interrupting the conversation she was having with the other engineer.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, grabbing Ed's wrist and pulling away.

"You can't go running off like that," he warned. "It isn't like Resembool or Rush Valley. This is the north. You have to be more careful."

Iris crossed her arms. "Give her some more credit. She's a tough one. Aren't you Winry?" She punches her shoulder as proof and although she winces and rubs her arm, she makes Ed realize her stance.

He scoffs, "Fine. Whatever."

Just then, Kimblee walks in, discreetly asks for Edward, then leaves back into the hallway. They all follow, the two alchemists suspicious.

"I need to speak to the Fullmetal Alchemist privately," he said meticulously, trying to keep his angelic facade in front of Winry.

Iris frowned and opened her mouth to protest, but Ed just gave her a hard look. She quieted, knowing he would tell her and Al later.

She grit her teeth. "We'll wait out here then."

"Perfect," the man smirked, then led Ed into the room down the hall. Iris had no hope; Kimblee was always sinister and had devilish plans with ways to execute them.

"This might take awhile."

•••

Ed's grave face gave away it all. Something terrible was about to happen. Once the door opened and he emerged, Iris put a hand on his shoulder. He was as stiff as a rod.

"What'd he say?" she whispered, seeing his foreboding figure in the doorway.

"I think we should all be together for this announcement."

The four walk back down to the cell and Al was relieved to see his friends' familiar faces. The relief didn't last long as he realized they didn't smile back at him. Winry got Kimblee to open the cell so she could sit down next to Alphonse, but Iris was too tense and opted to lean against the wall and cross her arms over her chest.

"Spill it Elric," Iris mumbled anxiously.

He sighs and looks to the floor, not wanting to meet any of his friends' eyes. "Winry, you should know that you were really only brought to the north as a hostage. As leverage against us." He turns to Iris with a steely look in his eyes. "Iris, as a state alchemist, you're going to have to help me."

"Help you with what, exactly?"

"Our titles as human weapons for this country need to be put to use." Tension is visible in his jaw. "We have to commit mass murder."

Iris's jaw dropped and she looked skeptically at Fullmetal and Kimblee, back and forth.

"They're giving me a philosopher's stone as payment. We need that."

The girl then realized his plan. She shut her mouth and gave a look to his brother, who met her eyes in understanding. Winry went to protest but Kimblee raised his hand. His tattoos were etched onto them, Iris noticed.

"It's already been finalized, right, Fullmetal?"

He nodded sternly.

Alphonse doesn't put up a fight. "I can't stop you, Brother."

The Crimson Alchemist smiles with vigor. "Perfect."

"We're your pawns now Kimblee. Are you satisfied yet?" Iris snarls. Ed stands in front of her and faces him. She still peers around him to give the man a sour look.

"I'm calling the shots, though," Edward claims. "I want to find Scar before I do anything else. He's committed too many tragedies for me to not seek him out first. I also need Al. Scar uses this crazy technique that damages the body. He's got armor, so he can't do much to him."

The man huffs. "I suppose."

"Are we all going, then?" Iris can tell Kimblee suppresses a groan as he rubs his temples with nimble fingers.

"I suppose," he repeats, gritting his teeth. "We're all going to Baschool."