"What's the matter with you, can't you read? How could you be so thick as to miss all of my 'No Trespassing' signs? Now I'm giving you until the count of three to skee-daddle off my land and get back to where ever you came from."

"Pardon, uh, sir. Please believe me when I say I didn't know I was trespassing."

"Sure. No trespassing must translate to 'come on in, enjoy the company and some supper' wherever you come from with those big ears."

"Please sir, that isn't my case."

"Whatever." The man gave him a hard prod in the head with his gun. "In order to miss the point this is private land you'd have to be…"

"Blind?"

"Wasn't what I was goin' to say but yeah. Now you'd better…"

His voice trailed off. Goxlin turned far enough so both of his dead eyes could be seen. In that instant the man's heart softened for him in sympathy and understanding.

Gox shuddered from uncertainty the moment the man took hold of his forearm.

"Here, lets take ya 'round back so you can get washed up, you're bleeding."

Still? Gox thought. Then again the wetness on his body he figured to be sweat so blood would feel no different.

He was directed to a large barrel behind the house full of water and was handed a large towel.

"There's a wooden wall on three sides so you can give yourself a full body rinse. There's a dry towel on the wall. I'll close the door behind you, just tell me when you're done and I'll get the door and get you something to wear that's not so full of sand."

He heard a door click and footsteps walking away. Had his blindness really softened him so much or was there something else? Still, he wasn't going to pass up a chance to get the last few days' sweat off of him.

Getting clean on his own felt strange, usually Clen gave him a hand with this kind of thing but now it was all up to him. Gox felt along the wall and found the dry towel and a rack to hang clothes. He could sense the man was all right to trust but getting undressed in a bizarre place still made him hesitate before doing it.

Aaahhh! Cold water over his sun beaten skin felt like heaven and replenished every part of him. He actually felt like he had a human body instead of the borrowed body of blackened toast. He seriously considered ringing some of it from the towel into his mouth…but while contemplating this he soaked his arm in the barrel and discovered a frog.

"You done yet, kid?"

"Almost, sir."

If he had his way Gox would've stayed there for hours enjoying the water. But he had to remember that none of his was his. With great reluctance he dried his body then hair, wondering if he would looked as ruffled as everyone said Chanticleer usually looked. After everything hygiene wise had finished the stranger led Gox into his home and sat him down. Gox heard the man leave and wondered what for, but figured since this was the man's house he had right to do whatever.

"There anything you prefer to drink?"

"Excuse me?" Gox turned in the direction of the voice.

"You've obviously been strolling through the desert so is there anything you'd like to drink?" This approach from hostility to hospitality had him feeling a little awkward but why be rude and refuse?

The man placed a glass on a table in front of his guest and sat down himself.

"Forgive me for my impolite greeting earlier. As you might of guessed I much prefer my privacy so my instinct reaction to newcomers is to tell them to get lost."

"It's all right. I understand."

Gox felt for his glass. When it reached his lips he could feel the man's eyes on him.

"Mind if I ask who you are?"

"Goxlin. You?"

"Steven Peterson. Steve works just fine though."

"May I ask why privacy is so important you greet newcomers with a gun?"

"I prefer to be alone. I've had some…unpleasant experiences with people and I'd just sooner be by myself and not interact or get involved with anyone or their affairs. That way I don't have to lose everything like I had the misfortune of doing once before."

Gox was taken aback by the amount of honesty in those few sentences. He was a complete stranger to this guy but he was being quite open with him. This new curiosity made him ask…

"Why tell me this?"

"You asked."

"Well, yeah but I meant why tell me things that seem so personal? You barely know me and that sounds like some pretty deep information."

Once again Gox felt the man staring.

"Because you make me think of someone that was very close to me. But," he half laughed. "He's probably long since dead." Steve was silent for a moment, thinking about the past, and then decided it best to change the subject. "So what were you doing out in the desert? Kind've an odd place to take a stroll."

"Must say I didn't have a choice."

"What d'ya mean?"

"I was left for dead out in the middle of nowhere by a bunch of…well I don't think there's a word for them."

"Why would they want you dead?"

"I knew too much." Gox took a sip.

"About what? Steve asked, thinking of a few things that could make his guest a man wanted by law.

"Kinda. I was the only one in my group of friends to see a thing called a Nomiad before it went haywire and the guy who made it didn't want any witnesses because it would mean one more black mark on his eventual death sentence."

This response was answered by silence.

"Steven?"

A nomiad? How could this kid know about those? I once knew the man who created them but now there's only one person who has access to them…

"Goxlin," he said slowly. "How well, how is it you know about Nomiads?"

"I can only remember what one looked like, at the time I didn't know the name."

"You've seen one?" Steve asked doubtfully referring to Gox's condition. "How long ago was this and how did you get in a situation to get into to see it?"

"Less than a month ago." Gox said thinking back. "My friends and I were working on several experiments that could've eventually worked for the good of all, but the man funding us decided his money best be used for something else and used a Nomiad to make things go haywire instead of just telling us to get lost."

This was sounding a bit too familiar. But Steve thought he'd better not ask now.

"Is that why you look like you do? The Nomiad must've done that."

"Yep. It was put in a machine called a Manistle, it usually takes apart the matter in objects but the Nomiad reversed the effect. In turn fusing us with the animals we worked with."

"What were your friends fused with?"

"Let's see, Annie is a macaw, Clen is cat, Laminol is a horse, Ren is a firefly, his sister Dixie is a fox, and I'm a bat."

"Ah. I wondered about the ears. I hope I'm not pestering you with questions but where did you come from?"

"I walked here from Naunting."

Stunned silence. "Do you have any idea how far that is from here?" Gox waited for an answer. "Naunting is sixteen miles from here and you walked the whole way! I'm surprised your skin doesn't resemble a burned sausage."

Gox couldn't help but laugh. "That was unexpected but funny. Now I've got to ask, why are you so curious about wanting to know why I know about Nomiads?"

He was on to me the whole time?

"I, well I kinda, oh no use hiding it. I think I know the man you're referring to."

Now it was Gox's turn to have a moment of surprised silence. "You know Ca…"

"Caradon Corius, yes. Actually I had the misfortune of knowing him. I knew the man who created the Nomiad and Caradon killed him after the work was done. Afraid that would happen to me I packed up my stuff and high-tailed it to tall timber before my part in the project was finished and I got skinned."

"Is that what you meant earlier about losing everything you had? Not wanting Caradon to get his rat paws on your throat you split with only the shirt on your back?"

"For the most part yes. But that was quite some time ago. Hopefully he's forgotten all about me…but I'm not going to risk being found in case he remembers and I end up dead. Then again, I've got no family to live for so I guess dying and being with them wouldn't be so bad. I never feared death…the only thing that scares me is the method of death."

That way of thinking made sense. "If it's any consolation I don't have much for a family myself. They have a set way of thinking of how things are done or how they should be. That's why when I wanted to go set my talents in the lab they hastily gave me what I needed and booted me out the door, horrified a new, out-of-the-loop way of thinking made it's way across the threshold. Not only that they looked at people with disabilities like they were filth and it was somehow their fault. Cant imagine how they would react if they could see me now. That's why I don't know what I'd do without my friends.

"Who are your friends?"

"I already told you my lab buddies, the others are State Alchemist Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse. The rest are Mark, Chanticleer, Luke, Lu-"

"What was that name!" Steve interrupted fiercely to a point that almost scared Gox.

"Ed, Al, Mark, Chanticleer an-"

"Chanticleer? What's his last name?" Steve demanded. He had to be right; it wasn't like that was a common name.

"Um, don't know. Starts with an 'R' I think."

"Ranora?"

"Maybe, why-"

"Chanticleer Ranora is alive!"

"Yeah," Gox said, totally missing whatever point Steven was trying to make. "He and his brother Brody live with…wait, how do you know them."

At this point the host was panting hard. This was apparently some pretty deep information.

"They're-they're…Chanty and Brody are still alive? How are they! Are they doing all right? Is Chanticleer still part rooster?"

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! First of all tell me how you know them!"

"They're my nephews! After I left Caradon I paid them one last visit, believing it was going to be my last before moving on because I knew he'd be after me. Their father is my twin so their home was destroyed not long after I left because that madman was still looking for me. So many nights I've awoken sweating because me conscience tells me it was my fault. I can't even just stand around and do nothing or else I can still feel those little boys giving me their final hug good-bye. I've lived with that for too long and now you tell me they're not dead?"

Both of them had to take a minute to absorb this new information. Gox thought he heard Chanty say the only family he had were Brody and his friends. But apparently he didn't know his uncle was still alive as much as his uncle knew either.

"Where do you live?" it was more of a demand then a question.

Obviously Gox couldn't give a location except Central but when he also mentioned Colonel Mustang Steve got a good idea which way to go. After Steve packed a small bag of items for the trip he grabbed Goxlin's wrist and yanked him out the door and rather roughly sat him down in what Gox could only assume to be his car. The trip proved quite violent, Steve obviously hadn't paid any attention to any speed limit signs if there were any. But you couldn't really blame him for wanting to see his family after so long so Gox didn't say anything about asking him to slow down. Besides the rough ride he wanted to go home to his family as well…Gox could only imagine the reactions of his friends when it was revealed to them he was still alive.

Chibi me – kinda long, eh?

Me –I know. But what d'ya think? Chanty and Brody have living family after all!

Chibi me – what was it you said earlier about wanting to keep your chapters at a pretty consistent length?

Me – shut up. (holds up golden object)

Chibi me – hey, what's that? Oh crap, what are you gonna do with that? HELP!

(scuffle noises ended by 'clink' of metal)

Me – (wipes brow) Whoa…pant, took forever but my magic retaining triple lock birdcage finally came in. Knowing she would resist I made sure to have a butterfly net handy to prevent her from escaping. Best of all, the cloth that goes over the top…ITS SOUNDPROOF! (happy dance) Ahem…coming up Chanty and Brody have the shock of their lives when their presumed-to-be-dead uncle shows up at the front door with their presumed-to-be-not-one hundred-percent-ok friend.

Chibi me – (rattles cage door) JUST YOU WAIT UNTL I SHRINK YOU AND YOU'RE STUCK IN HERE WITH ME!

Me – did you not hear me that it's a magic retaining cage? If you cast a shrink spell you'd be the one who's likely to get smaller