Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I'd be a millionaire if I did. Curses!

The creaking of the door echoed profoundly as Aakara pulled it open. There was a loud thud followed by a piercing "Ow!" as she hopped on one foot while cradling the other in her hands. Al had been leaning on the door and gravity was now a cruel mistress, for ones with human flesh that is.

"I'm so sorry!" Alphonse apologized. Aakara let go of her throbbing foot testing it gingerly.

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing. Actually, I ….I came to apologize to you." She said averting her eyes to the floor. She felt a little braver somehow now that the ice, or rather, her foot had been broken.

"That's my cue.", Mustang said signaling his departure. Smiling at the two youths, he patted Al's shoulder in a reassuring gesture and hoisted himself to his feet. Aakara jumped in surprise having just noticed her superior's presence.

"Sir!" she saluted clicking her boots together. Alphonse followed suite.

"At ease", Roy waved them off and casually strolled down the corridor whistling a cheerful tune. The two teenagers turned their attention to each other once again.

Al was surprised the young girl had returned and looked at her curiously. He wasn't entirely sure he had heard her correctly. Not many people who had stared at his appearance or called him freak had ever ventured an apology before.

"I'm so sorry about earlier. I just wasn't excepting to run into something so," she paused searching for the right word that wasn't offending, "supernatural I guess. I should know better having heard some of the strange stories from the military's history archives. I was horrible to you and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness." She fell to the floor groveling before the stunned armored teenager.

Now it was Al's turn to be stunned. "Please, don't do that! I forgive you! I forgive you! Really, it's no big deal." The prostration was oddly unsettling for the young alchemist.

Aakarashan tilted her head towards the gleaming metal figure looming over her. She was astounded to say the least. Was it her imagination, or did the armor actually blush? "Are you serious? It seems like a pretty big deal to me. I mean, I don't even know you and you've just been exposed."

The young boy scratched his head and shifted his feet feeling slightly embarrassed. "As long as you don't tell Brother I'm sure it'll be ok. He might do something…..crazy if he finds out I've blown our big secret. Besides, if you're working for Mustang, you might have found out sooner or later." Al extended a metallic arm to pull her up.

"Your secret's safe with me." She affirmed thankful for a second chance at first impressions. "Besides, he doesn't exactly seem like the social type." She wondered how two brothers could be so different. Al had an amiable quality to him where as Edward had shown her a feisty hot-headed attitude. They were polar opposites of each other.

Aakara watched Alphonse curiously noticing she could detect his subtle physical expressions. It was difficult without the facial features to go by but they were there none-the-less. Aakara saw him fidget out of embarrassment. There seemed to be a certain light where his eyes should be that would darken or light up depending upon the emotion he was emanating. It was amazing what one could communicate with simple body language.

"Oh it's nothing like that," Al said bringing the girl out of her inner contemplations, "He's just cranky from all of the traveling we've been doing lately. I think it's catching up to him", Alphonse explained. His new companion nodded in understanding and an awkward silence followed. The two had no particular direction to go since they were confined on a train. Their partners were either busy or sleeping peacefully so they had no one else with which to communicate.

An idea struck the young alchemist out of the blue. He opened his chest plate to the joy of the fuzzy resident inside. He pulled out a deck of playing cards. "Brother and I never leave for a train without these. Do you play?"

Aakara barely restrained herself from peering inside the armor. 'Does he have a whole circus in there or what?' she thought curiously. Alphonse was unlike any magician she had ever been witness to. Instead of making a fool of herself for the umpteenth time that day she accepted his challenge. She was amazed that such a hollow child like voice could be attached to someone who was far more mature and kind then she was.

A few moments later they had found a perch close enough to keep an eye on Alphonse's slumbering sibling. Thankfully, it was still far enough away in order not to disturb him. Aakara had a fierce competitive streak and gave Al a run for his money. She tended to become a tad rambunctious when close to victory.

Instead of betting cens they traded stories, tales of their own adventures and antics. It was a brilliant way to get to know each other. Al had lost several times and traded the story of he and his brother's childhood plight. His new friend was in tears by the end of the tale and found herself hugging the boy. She felt so guilty that she let him win the next few hands. However she was positive he was aware of her strategy.

Aakarashan had decided that three rounds of losses were enough punishment for her guilt so she proceeded to flatten him once again to lighten her mood.

"Royal flush baby!" Aakarashan gloated in triumph. Ah how she loved the game. To think she was putting an infamous prodigy to shame. She had just found a new willing victim. She waited lustfully for his next move. She was sure to be victorious.

Al stared solemnly at his worthless hand. Once again he had been dealt trash. She had lured him into a false sense of security by letting him win those three games. He thought he would have had half a chance playing against someone who didn't cheat the devil unlike his older brother. Alphonse sighed wondering where the Equivalent Exchange was in all of this. "I'm out", he forfeited. His partner giggled like a banshee.

"What's so damn funny?" a slurred and slightly grumpy voice demanded. A disheveled Edward stood before them looking as if he had come from a battle field. Aakara averted her eyes feeling guilty of corrupting his precious nap. Then her eyes slit sinisterly as a wicked smile played on her features. She turned to address her new unsuspecting victim.

"Feeling lucky?" she challenged.

"Brother, you have to give in. You know your limits" Al begged, his pleas unheeded.

"Like hell I will! I'm a state alchemist damn it! I not going to give up that easily!" Ed declared banging his metallic arm on the table.

"You're so stubborn Ed! I'm just thinking of what's best for you. We're brothers remember? We stick together!" Al said with a dramatic flare. Al had opted to cheering his brother on instead of being slaughtered by two maniacs. He could barely handle the one on a regular basis.

Edward and Aakara had imposing auras surrounding their personas as they faced off one another. The famous Fullmetal squinted at her in suspicion. There were definite blue sparkling diamonds surrounding her aura. For reasons unknown to him they made his skin crawl. There was something frighteningly familiar about them. He couldn't shake his feeling of déjà vu. But that wasn't about to stop him from defeating his newest foe.

"Geeze, give it a rest you two. It's just a game." 2nd Leuitenant Jean Havoc said from his seat at the table.

"Somebody's a poor loser", Ed snorted through his hand. "What's the verdict?" Edward asked the older man with a grin on his face. He nodded towards the hand Jean possessed.

Havoc gave a frustrated huff. "Damn you kids! I'm bone dry again!" He discarded his pathetic cards and reached for another cigarette.

"What about you guys?" Aakara asked referring to Fuery, Breda and Falman. Their shouting and roaring laughter had attracted quite a few extra players. The prestigious men of Mustang's team had thought the odds of them winning against a couple of children were high. The officers slightly feared Edward but let their guard down concerning the girl. She basked in their miscalculations.

"That's all she wrote for me", Falman replied, denying another deal.

"If I keep going I'll lose the shirt off my back" Fuery stated miserably.

Breda admitted defeat as well. The only woman of the group was left to battle the esteemed Fullmetal Alchemist solo. She was well aware that he was cheating like a dog. She had silently caught him slipping several cards up his sleeves throughout the game. She wouldn't have noticed it if a single card hadn't fallen out and nudged her foot under the table earlier. He was also most likely calculating the odds of the cards scientifically. 'I may not be a genius but I'm no idiot either. I'll show him.' Aakara promised herself.

"Well Mr. Alchemist, it seems that it's time for sudden death", Aakarashan purred menacingly. "Think you can handle it?"

"Bring it on." He growled. Edward's intense scowl turned to surprise in a split second. "What the hell do you want Mustang?" he asked in annoyance. The Colonel had crept up towards the competitive scene nearly undetected.

"You think I'd fall for a cheap shot like that Elric? I'm not that stupid." She snorted thinking his reaction was a ploy so he give her the slip. That was when she heard the click of a familiar gun. She and the rest of the officers followed their conditioned responses and dove under the table as a bullet ricocheted off the wood.

"We're on our way to in important mission and we find you slackers gambling?" Hawkey huffed in disgust and pointed her pistol towards Havoc. "And with minors no less!" Hawkeye chided. Mustang smirked in amusement while observing his subordinates cower in fear of the female lieutenant. Roy was about to command Havoc to scoot over when the loud speaker clicked on.

"We are now approaching The Eastern City Station. Please collect all belongings. Thank you for riding Amestris Railways." the mundane voice announced. Without waiting for orders the group stood and prepared themselves for their arrival.

A/N: I apologize for the long wait but this chapter was a big pain in the butt. I hope it wasn't as awkward as I fear it is. As always, happy reading and writing everyone. Peace out!