Together, the two boys hurried across the room and threw the door open. Ling stepped forward and spoke a few lines of a spell, no longer whispering. Now, his voice was loud and confident.

There was another noise from their left, and Ling and Ed ran down the hallway. Ling stuffed the ghost repellant into his pocket and began shouting his spell, and the Xingese dialect sounded eldritch and powerful. Ed felt a thrill of excitement. Maybe Ling hadn't been so wrong after all.

Ling motioned to a tightly closed door, and they slowed to a stop. Ling cautiously opened the door, and he and Ed stepped through the opening, hands raised in warning.

Ed looked around the room, but he didn't see any ghost. Just a slowly decaying study, with somber wallpaper and a few disintegrating chairs.

For a second, Ed thought that was it, then he noticed a door partially concealed in the corner behind the desk. Some sort of private study or something, Ed wasn't sure. Whatever it was, if there was a ghost, it would probably be in there.

Ed caught Ling's eye and gestured to the door. Ling nodded, fishing the ghost repellant out of his pocket as he strode forward. Ed pushed in front of him - if there really was a ghost, he didn't want to give it any extra warning that they were coming. Without pausing to think, he kicked the door with his metal leg, the wood splintering with a satisfying crack.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Ed yelled, as he looked into the dim room to see what they'd caught. The study was empty, aside from the cowering form of Lieutenant Havoc. At the sound of his voice, Havoc slowly removed his arms from above his head and looked up at Ed.

"Ed? Ling? Where's the ghost?" He blinked up at them, clearly terrified. A little blood trickled down his face from his nose and lip, both of which were bleeding. He wiped at it absentmindedly. "I don't wanna die," he whimpered, hugging his knees closer to his chest.

"What do you mean, 'where's the ghost?'" Ed asked him impatiently.

"I...I heard the ghost," Havoc said, still sounding frightened. "It was in that room there." He pointed back the way that Ed and Ling had come. "You...you must have seen it, you woulda walked right past it…."

"What?" Ling said, turning back towards the room and looking shocked. "Lieutenant Havoc, what did you see?"

"I didn't see anything," Havoc said miserably, looking down at the ground. "But I heard it. It was comin' for me, moving really fast, yellin' in this language I don't know…." Ed recognized the sound of the deep country accent that a few people had used even in Resembool. He'd rarely heard Havoc let himself slip into it. He must be really scared.

Ling sighed heavily, and Ed looked at the soldier with some measure of sympathy. "Havoc, that was us," Ed said. "We were the ones yelling in the other room."

Havoc looked up, his bloodshot eyes meeting Ed's. "Why...why were you pretendin' to be ghosts?"

"We weren't pretending to be ghosts," Ling explained exasperatedly. "We thought you were the ghost. That's why we were yelling spells. We're sorry for scaring you."

Havoc looked down again, muttering something about ghosts and just wanting to be able to use his weed house in peace. Ling looked over at Ed.

"We're never going to be able to find the ghost while he's wandering around in here too," Ling said. "We're just going to keep accidentally chasing after him...it's like a viscous cycle…."

Ed snickered.

"What?"

"It's vicious, Ling, not viscous. Viscous is like when something is sticky, we're certainly not talking about that-"

"Whatever," Ling said, waving his hands in irritation. "That's not the point. And you know I'm almost completely fluent in two languages, that's more than-"

"Hey!" Havoc said excitedly, cutting Ling off. Both Ling and Ed turned towards him. He had his fingers pressed into his lip, and he was distractedly smearing the blood across his face. "Guess what? I found my new name!"

"What...what is it?" Ed asked, almost a little nervous to hear the answer.

"Crash!"

Ling blinked at him. "Your new name is Crash?"

"Yep," Havoc said. "Cause I keep crashing into things." He held out his bloody fingers as evidence.

Ed sighed. He had figured that Havoc knew how to handle himself after smoking pot, since this clearly wasn't the first time he'd done it. But now, between the nerves and the extra weed, he clearly wasn't capable of taking care of himself. Ed shouldn't have left him alone, not if he was just going to spend the whole night running into walls and damaging himself.

"Why don't you come with us, Lieutenant Havoc?" Ling said kindly. "You can help us finish exploring the house…."

"It's Crash."

Ling took a deep, steadying breath. "Alright, Crash," he said. "Why don't you come with us for a little bit?"

Havoc considered, then nodded. Ed offered him a hand and heaved the man off the floor to his feet. Havoc looked around vaguely, still rubbing his lip.

"Don't do that," Ed told him, but Havoc wasn't listening and Ed didn't feel like babysitting the Lieutenant anymore than he already had to. Besides, the cut wasn't deep, Havoc couldn't really do any more damage by messing with it.

Ling, Ed and Havoc set off through the house, a little less excitedly this time. Even Ling seemed disheartened by the second discovery of Havoc, and he muttered his spells in a desultory way as they advanced through the halls.

"Can we stop by home base and get some more food?" Ed asked hopefully. Ling nodded, a little dejectedly.

"Yeah…I'm hungry too," he said, putting his bag of ghost repellant in his pocket. Behind them, Havoc gasped.

"Oh! That reminds me!" The soldier stopped walking and plunged his hand into his own pocket. After fumbling around for a few seconds, he produced something brown and dry-looking with a triumphant air.

"...what is that?" Ed asked, unsure if he really wanted to know.

"A leaf sandwich," Havoc said happily. "Do you guys want one? I bet I could make you some leaf sandwiches too. It's a leaf, in between two leaves. Leaf sandwich."

Ed and Ling shook their heads in confused silence. "You're not gonna eat that, are you?" Ed asked with some trepidation.

In answer, Havoc took a bite out of the leaves he held in his hand. There was an odd sort of crunching sound, and he chewed happily as Ed and Ling watched in horrified fascination.

"Does that...taste good?" Ling finally asked.

Havoc shrugged. "It's part of my new life. Crash likes leaf sandwiches."

"Why?" Ling asked him as they set off back to home base.

"I dunno, I just know it's important," Havoc said, banging heavily into an ornate picture frame. He fell to the floor and raised his hand to his forehead. When he took it away, his fingers were bloody again, and a small gash over his eyebrow was beginning to bleed. Ed eyed him uncertainly, wondering if the Lieutenant had really hurt himself this time, but Havoc pushed himself up and continued as though nothing had happened. "It's part of the key."

"Part of what key?" Ed asked, grinning slightly.

"The key," Havoc replied solemnly as he walked into the doorframe. He adjusted and managed to enter the room properly as Ed and Ling rummaged through their many bags for food.

"Are you hungry…Crash?" Ling asked hesitantly, offering Havoc a piece of bread. Havoc shook his head.

"I have some more leaf sandwiches," he said, patting his pocket. Ed sighed heavily, but he didn't particularly want to share his food anyway, so he wasn't going to argue.

While they ate, Havoc installed himself in the corner and produced another leaf sandwich from his pocket. Ed looked over, unwillingly amused by the soldier trying to eat leaves.

"Havoc-"

"Crash."

"Crash- stop doing that! You're gonna hurt yourself." Havoc had pushed his fingers into the cut at his forehead, and was idly smearing his blood over his eyebrow and temple. Unlike the cut on his lip, this wound was fairly deep, and Ed was worried about what the soldier was doing to himself. Havoc blinked at him, but he didn't seem to want to stop. Reluctantly, Ed got to his feet and walked over to Havoc, pulling the soldier's hand away from the wound.

"I'm gonna bandage this," Ed told him. Havoc shrugged, as though it didn't affect him at all, and used the hand Ed wasn't grabbing to stuff a few leaves into his mouth. Ed sighed heavily.

"Ling, do we have any cloth I can use to help this idiot out?" Ling looked slightly scandalized by Ed's insult of Havoc, but even he couldn't argue as Havoc happily chewed on his dead leaves. He merely nodded and passed Ed a length of bandage.

Ed released Havoc's wrist, smacking it as the Lieutenant tried to return his hand to the gash, and wound the bandage around his head. He tied it off and stepped back, glaring slightly at Havoc. "Leave that alone, okay?"

Havoc nodded vaguely, seeming to lose interest. Ed shook his head slightly and retreated to the supplies to get himself something more to eat. Ling, having watched the whole affair with mild interest, shrugged and continued to eat as well.

Ling's enthusiasm seemed to have been restored by the food, and as Ed finished his own snack, Ling bounced up eagerly.

"We haven't checked the attic yet," he pointed out. "Maybe the ghost's up there. Come on!"

Ed brightened. The attic sounded interesting, and he got to his feet. Havoc followed suit, picking a little at the bandage around his head. Ed glowered at Havoc and they followed Ling out of the room.

The stairs leading up to the attic were steep, climbing haphazardly up into darkness. Havoc took one look at them and shook his head vehemently.

"Uh, no way am I going up there," he said, backing away from the stairs as though he thought Ling and Ed were going to manhandle him up to the attic.

"Come on, Lieu- Crash," Ling said, catching himself. "You'll be fine."

"I'll be fine down here," Havoc said firmly, plopping down on the floor and pulling another handful of leaves from his pocket. "Be careful of the ghost. And make sure you don't chase it down here towards me."

"We won't, we won't, just don't leave," Ed said, fighting to keep his voice level. "Stay...stay here."

Havoc nodded happily. He looked like he would be amused a good while yet simply staring at the wall. Ling made eye contact with Ed and nodded, and the two made their way up the stairs, trying to ignore the ominous creaking.

The attic itself was dark and creepy-looking, even more so than the rest of the house. There were no windows, so it was pitch black aside from the candles that Ed and Ling were holding. Dark shapes loomed ominously up out of the darkness, chests containing unknown wares, crooked lamps, furniture covered in white sheets. Ed felt a shiver run up his spine. This whole house was ripe for ghosts, but this was the best room for them. If he were a ghost, he would live right here.

"Do you...do you see anything?" Ling asked. He pushed his way forward a few steps then paused, clearly listening. All Ed could hear was their breathing and the sound of Havoc slowly getting to his feet on the floor below.

And then...a faint creak. Somewhere farther back, in the part of the attic that was completely hidden in darkness.

"That...that can't be Havoc," Ed breathed. "He's downstairs, he couldn't have snuck by us…."

"It's the ghost," Ling whispered firmly. "Stay behind me. I'll make sure it can't hurt you."

Ed was only too happy to oblige. He remained a few steps behind Ling as they slowly advanced forward. Ed's heart was pounding in his ears.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ed said quietly. "This...doesn't seem like a good idea…."

"I want to trap the ghost," Ling whispered. He sounded sure. Ed continued to follow him.

"There!" Ling suddenly said, pointing. But he didn't need to. Ed had seen it too, he was sure of it. Movement. So Ling had been right the entire time. There really was something there. They both plunged forward.

And then, downward. The floor collapsed beneath them with a wet ripping sound, and they were falling in a shower of plaster and wood. Instinctively, Ed curled tighter in on himself, trying to protect his flesh and blood limbs with his metal ones.

Before they hit the floor below, Ed had time for a single panicked hope that they wouldn't crash through the second floor, too. They hit the floorboards, which creaked alarmingly but held, even under the onslaught of wreckage from the attic.

Ed groaned, bringing a hand to his head dizzily. When he'd landed, his forehead had bounced off his automail arm, and for just a second, everything had gone black. Now, his ears were ringing slightly, and his eyes seemed to be a little fuzzy. He squinted at his fingers and found that they were tinged with red. He was bleeding.

"Ed! Ling! Did the ghost attack you? Are you okay?" And then Havoc was in the room, crouching over Ed and looking concerned. Ed sat up, clutching his head as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him.

"Are you hurt?" Havoc asked, suddenly seeming a lot more like his normal self. "I knew it! Ghosts are dangerous and we need to leave RIGHT NOW!" He reached down and scooped Ed up, tucking him into the crook of his arm and turning to Ling.

Ed pushed at Havoc's arm, but the Lieutenant was strong, and Ed's head was pounding thickly. Everything was very slightly blurry, and the movement was making him feel sick….

"Put me down," he said weakly, but his heart wasn't quite in it.

Havoc ignored him, directing his attention toward Ling, who was crouched in the center of the debris. "Ling! Come on, the ghost is mad! Can we please run away now?"

Ling looked up, and even with the blurriness in his eyes, Ed could see the pain on his face.

"Ling, what's wrong?" Ed asked, squirming slightly. "Havoc, let me go! Ling's hurt…"

Finally, Havoc put him down, mercifully forgetting to demand that he be referred to as Crash in the turmoil. Ed made sure he had his balance, then rushed over to Ling.

"What happened?" Ed asked, looking Ling over for any obvious injuries. He glanced down at Ling's hands, and realized he was clutching his arm.

"I think my wrist may be broken," Ling said with a grimace.

Ed knelt on the ground next to Ling. He held out his hand, and Ling gingerly offered Ed his arm, wincing slightly at the movement. Ed took Ling's wrist and pushed his sleeve up as gently as he could, trying to ignore Ling's small, involuntary sound of pain. Sure enough, the Prince's wrist was swollen and purple, bent back just enough to be unnatural. Ed hissed through his teeth.

"I think you're right," he said softly. "It looks broken to me."

"You're hurt too," Ling said, using his good arm to push Ed's bangs aside so he could get a decent look at his forehead. "It's bleeding…."

"It's nothing," Ed said quickly. He pulled back slightly, which made his head spin all the more. He bit back a groan. The constant swirling was making him feel a little nauseous, and the ground felt unsteady beneath him even though he was sitting down.

"Are you sure? It could be a concussion…."

"It can't be worse than what Crash over there has been getting," Ed said, gesturing back at Havoc who was still standing stupidly by the door, now fiddling with his head bandage. He stirred slightly at the sound of his name.

"I think we should get outta here," he whined. "You guys saw the ghost? It must be close still, I think it's gonna come eat us…."

"No," Ling said, surprisingly firmly. "We are not leaving."

"What? No, you're hurt, I actually think Havoc-"

"Crash."

Ed's hands balled into fists. "I actually think Crash may be right this time. It's too dangerous. Ling, your wrist is broken-"

"It's not a bad break," Ling said, but his face was drawn with pain.

"That doesn't matter!" Ed said, starting to get a little angry. "This was supposed to be a...a fun adventure! We weren't supposed to actually get hurt! This was supposed to be a break from getting hurt!"

"But come on, you saw it too, right? So you know it's real now?"

"I don't know what I saw!" Ed yelled, not wanting to be drawn into a philosophical discussion on the probability of ghosts when his head was still pounding so badly. "But that doesn't matter. We still need to leave. You need to go to a...a hospital, or something…."

"We're so close," Ling said. "We saw the ghost, we know approximately where it is, the trap is all set up…."

"Why do you even want to catch this ghost so badly?"

Abruptly, Ling looked down at his lap, where his damaged arm was still cradled. "I just think...you know, what's more immortal than a ghost? If I could actually catch one, maybe I could study it, or something…."

Ed hesitated. He understood what Ling was saying, and the probable concussion was making him sappy. The lengths he had gone to to get information on the Stone, the things he'd do to get his brother's body back…. He certainly wouldn't hesitate about pushing through a little fracture. Who was he to deny Ling the same opportunity?

"Okay…," Ed told him, reluctantly. "I guess I understand. But I wanna splint your arm before we go any farther. And we're not staying here more than another hour. After that I'm taking you to the doctor."

Ling smiled happily and allowed Ed to pull his wrist out straight. Ed looked around for something to splint it with, and called Havoc over.

"Hey...Crash, can you get me those two bits of wood? The ones I'm pointing at?"

Havoc obediently wandered over, and through some miracle, managed to get the wood in question. "Are you making ghost weapons?" he asked curiously. "Can I have one?"

Ed ignored him and tore off a section of his jacket to complete the splint. Ling hissed as he got the wood in place, arm jerking involuntarily in Ed's grasp. Ed wrapped the length of fabric around as quickly as he could, not wanting to cause the Xingese Prince too much pain.

"Okay, it's done," Ed said cautiously. "Does it feel any better?"

"It's fine," Ling said dismissively, but his voice was tight. "Thank you, Ed. And before we do anything else, are you sure your head's okay?"

Ed touched his forehead gingerly. The cut was still bleeding a little, and he was pretty lightheaded. His eyes weren't focusing quite right, which was probably contributing to the dizziness. But this was important to Ling.

"I'm okay," Ed said, tearing off another strip from his jacket and tying it around the cut. At least he could stop the bleeding. He gave Ling a firm nod, ignoring the sudden blur in his vision, and Ling grinned.

"Now, I want to catch this ghost!" he said, getting painfully to his feet.

"How?" Ed asked, glancing up at the hole in the ceiling. As he watched, a loose floorboard lost the struggle and fell to the floor beside them.

Havoc crouched down beside Ed and peered at his impromptu bandage. "Are you trying to be Crash too? 'Cause you can't. Be more careful, huh?"

Ed blinked at him, unsure if he should be annoyed or touched by Havoc's roundabout worry over him. He decided that the best course of action would be to simply ignore the Lieutenant.

"Ling? Got any bright ideas?"

"I...I'm not sure," he said, seeming to be at a loss for the first time all night. He was still cradling his arm against his chest, and his face had drained of all color. His breathing was a little uneven. Ed wondered if he should force Ling to leave the house after all - he really probably needed medical care. But at the same time he knew the Prince could be stubborn if he needed to be, and he had to admit, there was a part of him who was curious about the ghost….

"Should we try and go back up to the attic?" Ed said skeptically.

Ling frowned slightly. "That...I don't know. I don't think we can survive another collapse…."

"Do you guys hear that?" Havoc said from the corner.

"Hear what?" Ling said, head snapping up immediately to look at Havoc.

"There's something movin' around down there," he said, gesturing vaguely to the floor below him. "I think it might be the ghost."

Ling immediately looked over at Ed. "We should hurry. I think the weed has given him super hearing."

Ed narrowed his eyes a little. "Or he's just making stuff up…."

Ling cut Ed off with a quick hand gesture, and they both sat there listening in complete silence for a moment. And Ed had to admit, he thought he could hear something. It was so faint he wasn't sure he ever would have noticed it if Havoc hadn't pointed it out to him.

"All three of us are in here," Ling said quietly. "That has to be it."

Slowly, Ed got to his feet, clutching frantically at Ling when the world dipped alarmingly around him. Ling used his good arm to steady Ed until he found his balance again, and together, they made their way downstairs, Havoc trailing awkwardly behind them.

"You don't have the spell," Ed said at one point, realizing Ling had dropped his ghost repellent somewhere in the fall. He wasn't carrying anything now, just steadying his injured wrist with the good one.

"I know," he said grimly. "We'll just have to try to lure it up into the trap. There's not much else we can do."

Ed nodded, feeling a little more unsettled now that he knew there was nothing to protect them.

They stopped at the end of a passageway, Havoc listening intently for noise. Ed took advantage of the pause to close his eyes for a few seconds, giving his aching brain a break. Every step was making his head lurch sickly. His vision was still blurry, and he had to be careful not to walk into Ling's back, or to bump into a wall. He just wanted to find Ling's ghost and get out of here as quickly as possible.

"There's something down there," Havoc hissed, pointing down a long hallway. Ed paused. He could hear it too, now that he was really paying attention. A strange sort of rustling, so faint it was barely there.

The three of them tiptoed forward, holding their breath as Havoc bounced softly off another wall. But he didn't make a sound, just reoriented himself and continued down the corridor.

There was a thick door at the end of the hallway, scarred with unknown trauma. It was standing ajar. Something stirred in the room beyond, and Ed and Ling exchanged an excited glance. This was it.

Ling reached out with his uninjured arm and pushed the door slowly open. They slipped through the opening, unsure of what they were about to find. A quick glance around the dingy parlor revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

Ling stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Spirit! Come forth and show yourself!"

Ling walked towards the center of the room, his foot nudging a pile of abandoned sofa cushions as he did so. Suddenly, there was a loud yowl, and a streak of something flashed by the Prince, coming directly at Ed and Havoc.

Havoc shrieked loudly, raising his hands in front of his face. "DON'T LET IT GET ME!" he shouted, looking beseechingly at Ed. "OW! Ed, it's CLAWING ME!"

Ed snapped himself out of his shock and looked over at Havoc and his attacker.

"It's a fucking cat," he said. The animal was hanging off the Lieutenant's arms and doing its best to scratch him to death.

"A cat?" asked Havoc, opening his eyes cautiously. He shook himself, yelping a little as the cat's claws disengaged and it dropped to the ground.

"A cat?" Ling said, utter dejection filling his voice.

"A cat," Ed confirmed, watching as the animal shuddered furiously and stalked haughtily out of the room. "If only Al had come along after all, he loves cats…." Ed's eyes narrowed. "Wait a second. Is that...is that what we've been following around the whole time?"

"I think so," Ling said sadly. "Looks about the same size as what we saw in the attic."

The strength seemed to go out of Ling's legs, and he sank to the ground. Ed put a hand on the Prince's shoulder. He knew that Ling had been really hoping they could catch the ghost, and he was at least somewhat sorry that it hadn't worked out.

"I guess we should head back into Central, huh?" Ed said. "I think both of us could use a doctor." He eyed Havoc, who was covered in cuts and bruises from running into objects and now had a few slender lines of cat scratches along his face and arms. "Maybe all three of us."

"Yeah," Ling said, "I think that would be for the best. I can catch a ghost some other time."

"I thought we just decided that ghosts don't exist."

"No," Ling said. "We decided that this ghost doesn't exist. That doesn't mean all of them don't. I can still find one. Maybe next weekend we can try out another haunted house-"

"Ling, I-"

"Phew," Havoc interrupted suddenly from the corner. "That was pretty scary. I'm glad we all survived with our faces."

And with that, he pulled another joint out of his pocket and lit it.