Hello again! If anyone is still reading this thank you for your patience. I've had to rewrite this chapter about 6 times so it was quite irritating. Let me know if it was worth it.

Disclaimer: See part 1

Spoilers: There are slight spoilers for episodes 7, 11and 12.

"Is this the place sir?" Riza Hawkeye asked once they had come to the end of their trek from the train station. Their journey had taken them across a barren wasteland away from the eastern station. On such a dangerous mission one would expect suspicious characters, deadly henchmen and a heavily guarded fortress. However, the stupefied looks on Roy Mustang's subordinates' faces told otherwise. The land the squadron beheld was not a complicated laboratory, but that of a working farmland complete with livestock. Roy eyed a nearby cow as he stepped in the squishy tell-tail evidence the animal left behind. The Colonel's gloves were just itching to fry some hamburger.

"Yes this is it. Stay on your guard everyone," Mustang answered as he surveyed the area. This section of the region was essentially an old ghost town which no civilian dared to venture thanks to a few rumors started by Eastern town folk. To the naked eye it had appeared that some ambitious soul had taken residency and plowed the land giving birth to many various crops. There were a few cows grazing leisurely in a pasture behind parallel rows of corn, tomatoes, soy beans, lettuce and mushrooms. There was even a silo towering toward the west and a flock of chickens scavenging the earth for its hearty worms. However, the peaceful façade would not fool Colonel Roy Mustang. His instincts were telling him the lab they were searching for were right under his nose.

Roy's thoughts were rudely interrupted by a cry from Alphonse. The brothers were apparently 'playing' with the local farm animals which annoyed Mustang to no end. Edward's hair was mussed and slick from a cow that had mistaken his golden locks for a tasty snack.

"Brother, help!" Al called desperately as chickens fluttered atop his armored shoulders promptly depositing an unpleasant substance on the poor metal boy. The flock was too numerous to simply swat away leaving Alphonse to wave his arms uselessly.

"I'm a little busy at the moment," Edward replied while fighting off another potential hamburger that was munching on his precious red trench coat.

'I thought they were supposed to be from the country,' Aakarashan mused watching the brothers be beaten by a bunch of farm animals. She noticed Hawkeye's disapproving eyes and thought it would be best if the situation were remedied before legendary sharp shooter discharged a bullet. The young girl spotted a hose lying on the ground nearby and took the opportunity to scatter the birds and cow assaulting her co-workers.

"What the hell was that for!" Edward shouted now soaking wet due to the water Aakara had sprayed on him. Edward glared dangerously at her so she scampered behind Hawkeye for safety. She prayed to God that she wouldn't be transmuted into something wicked. Luckily for her Alphonse was relieved (now being somewhat cleansed) and managed to calm down his raging brother.

"Relax Brother she was only trying to help," Al explained holding Ed back by his arms," besides I'm clean again!" he rejoiced. Edward ceased his struggling and clapped his hands together causing Aakara to flinch in fear. Instead of attacking her however, he had dried the waterlogged duo using alchemy.

"At least you look clean now. Just do us a favor and stay downwind," Ed teased his younger brother.

"Thanks Brother," Al said with slight sarcasm in his voice. He was just grateful that his sibling managed to somewhat control his temper for once.

"We should head in. We've made enough of a ruckus to reveal our position. The enemy could have prepared an ambush for us by now," Hawkeye observed keeping her eyes alert while speaking.

Roy nodded while making a mental note to reprimand his younger subordinates at a more appropriate time. "Alright, listen up everyone. Hawkeye, Fullmetal and I will take the front. The rest of you watch our backs. Mustang received a uniformed "Yes sir!" from the group as they fanned out closing in on the entrance of the barn.

Mustang swung the creaking doors aside as Hawkeye drew her gun ready for attack. When none came Edward crept forward like a cat ready to pounce. Aakara jumped at the sound of his echoing voice when he announced all was clear. She felt something fuzzy pressed against her back and discovered Alphonse holding out his little kitten towards her.

"Could you keep an eye on him in case things get bad?" Al asked in a whisper hoping that Edward wouldn't over hear. Al was surprised he had gotten away with his contraband considering how sharp the Fullmetal Alchemist was.

"Sure thing," she replied just as softly depositing the kitten in the huge pocket of her baggy pants. Aakara wondered exactly what it was that he expected to happen and started to fear the worst.

At that instance a bright light shone fiercely on the squadron temporarily blinding them. Malevolent laughter announced the presence of the criminal they were searching for. Out from the shadows lurked the chimeras, their fierce eyes and sharp talons anticipating an attack.

" I can see now that the phrase 'military intelligence' really is an oxymoron. You may as well have just rang the doorbell with all the racket you kids caused out there," a male voice chided them. He stepped out of the shadows past his creations towards the officers. He sported a white lab coat complete with glasses. His greasy head of hair had a tint of green highlights to it giving him the complete mad scientist look.

"You're the one behind the rumors I presume. Tell me your name and purpose and I might go easy on you. Refuse my offer and you'll be burnt to a crisp." Mustang replied bluntly pulling on his gloves. He had other matters to deal with back in his own jurisdiction and didn't wish to waste any more time in East Amestris then he already had. 'If only East HQ wasn't so busy.' He thought becoming even more annoyed.

"Someone's rather grumpy today aren't we?" the middle aged man unwittingly stated. Seeing Roy's patience beguine to falter he decide to continue and get to the point. He could already feel the strong aura emanating from the three alchemists in the room, namely Roy, Edward and Alphonse. However, he felt he only needed the Elric brothers for his secretive purposes.

"Very well then. My name is William Cogsworth the 3rd. Ever since I was a child I was fascinated by mythology and even more so by science's most recent achievements of the chimera. I decided I would follow in my father's footsteps and become the greatest scientist of all time. For years I trained and studied, working day and night to learn the secret to cultivating the best chimera this world has ever seen! Of course alchemy was the key. But one day, something went terribly wrong." William said, his voice dropping to give a more dramatic effect.

Mustang and company was growing weary at his childish antics and even more so of the welcoming committee that was advancing on them. The claws and teeth that awaited the soldiers gleamed in the bright light. Aakarashan was ushered towards the center of the gang for protection by Jean Havoc who was so close to the beasts. One of them was actually drooling on his firearms. They were completely surrounded. Aakara shivered in fear at the thought of being someone else's lunch. She had no idea how Ed and Al could ever deal with these situations day in and day out.

William continued on assured that he had the group's full attention. "In one of the experiments I was tampering with, the red water I used caused a rebound. The results were not as hopeful as I had expected," he woefully stated, and with that he withdrew his coat and cloves to reveal a furry body with clawed hands and feat. A restless tail twitched behind him causing the others to gasp.

Edward's eyes had already popped out of his head long before at the mere mention of the red water. He was no doubt reminded of the unfortunate Nina incident, but the end results of the crazed man's experiments excited him none the less. 'This is it! With a proper transmutation circle I can get Al's body back!' Without thinking he had clapped his hands to transform his automail into his favorite weapon. There was a door on the floor at the end of the room with a red glow shining forth. 'The lab must be down there,' he surmised ready to beat the living pulp out of the poor retched creatures before him.

"Now, now, don't be so hasty Mr. Fullmetal. I have lured you and Tin Man here for a reason." He sneered basking in the confusion on both alchemists' faces. Poor Alphonse was sulking a smidgen from the man's ignorant reference regarding his current condition.

An epiphany hit Edward a second later and the rest of the story came crashing down on him like a ton of bricks. "You sick bastard. You want us to fix your body don't you?" the boy stated rather then questioned.

"Bingo! We have a winner!" he shouted waving his arms around acting as if he was a show host. "When I heard of your exploits I couldn't help but think of the benefits you could bring to myself and the research. For payment perhaps I could help you return your kid brother to his original state. Just like Equivalent Exchange. What do you say my little prodigy?"

Edward fumed at the man's blatant disregard for alchemic laws and human dignity. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT A GRAIN OF SAND TOWERS OVER HIM! There's no way in hell I'm helping a backwater wannabe alchemist like you!" Edward raged with a red face and flailing arms. There was no way he was falling for that little charade, but he would get Al's body back. Even if he had to take down every chimera in the vicinity in order to achieve it. The others cowered in fear of Ed's wake rather then at the threat of the chimeras.

"Fine then, I'll just take you by force!" he cackled while putting his index finger and thumb together to whistle," Sic 'em boys!" he screamed. The chimeras obeyed their master and launched into a chaotic assault snarling and slashing at those they passed by.

Edward and Alphonse were already at work disposing of several savage beasts who were unfortunate enough to come in contact with them. Breda, Havoc and Falman were still in a semi-circle protecting Aakara who was awestruck at raw power of the Colonel and the Elric brothers. 'I shouldn't be here. I'm so useless. I want to go home!' she chanted over and over again while huddling in a ball on the floor. She witnessed Hawkeye spray a round of rapid fire towards the mad scientist just before turning around to see a flash of sharp teeth hurdling her way.

Aakara heard Havoc grunt in pain as a chimera flattened him to the ground in an attempt to rip his arm off. He had jumped in front of her and spared her life. She screamed helplessly for fear of her superior's life and for her own. Breda rushed over to assist his comrade with another one of the beasts on his tail. Her terror elevated as the chimera barreled past the rotund man and headed straight for her yet again. Aakarashan had never known that one could actually see their life pass before their very eyes. But as she experienced the adrenaline filled phenomenon she prayed one last time hoping her awaiting family would forgive her for her failures.

A/N: To all of my fellow Alphonse Elric fangirls who are ready to kill me because I had chickens poop on him just let me say this. It happens to me on a daily basis so there's no need to seek revenge…..right? (insert nervous laughter) I just wanted to add a little comedy before things became too chaotic.