Nothing new here, just breaking it up into chapters so it's easier to read.

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Al walked down the streets of Central wearing a hooded sweatshirt and some jeans the Colonel had gotten him. His hair had been cut and dyed, too, so he could pass off as a normal teenager now, albeit a skinny one. He didn't care about how he looked, though. It had been a couple of days since he'd started his search, and there was still no sign of his brother.

The police were looking too. Al had listened in on their conversations on two occasions, and from what he had heard, they weren't any closer to finding Ed than he was, even though they'd had two more weeks than Al to search.

He began to worry. What if Ed really had been killed? How would he live without his brother? He shook his head. No. That wasn't possible. Ed had to be alive. He just had to. Al tried to come up with other possibilities. Maybe his brother wasn't in Central. Maybe he'd left for some reason.

But where would he go? Resembool was always a possibility, but there were probably people waiting for them there. How would Al get there without being caught? He decided to ask the Colonel. He'd probably know a way.

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"You said you heard someone coming when you were doing that transmutation, right?"

"Yeah, there was a crash, and someone was shouting, and then…"

"And then you were pulled out of the room, right?"

"Huh? How'd you know that?"

"I'm the one who brought you out. It's a good thing, too, otherwise they would have killed you."

"Who are you talking about?"

"The ones who broke into that house."

"But why would they have killed me?"

"I don't know. They were very desperate. That's why we're keeping you here, to protect you from them."

"But wouldn't it be better if I went back to the military instead? I mean, it's not like-" Ed didn't get a chance to finish that. Tessa had brought her hand sharply into the back of his neck, and he fell back into her outstretched arm, unconscious.

"Sorry about that, but we can't have you knowing where you're headed next," she said as she picked him up and walked out of the room.

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Roy agreed to get Al to Resembool, but he insisted that he went by a more roundabout route. Thus, Al ended up on a train to East City. He got out and walked around. It had definitely been a while since he'd been here.

Al wandered through East City for a while, trying to pass the time before he had to board the train to Resembool. Just for fun, he decided to go by the military headquarters. Maybe he'd get a clue there, too.

Across the street from the entrance was a building with wood over the windows. Al looked at the building curiously. People were walking in and out of it as if they lived there. Then, one of the people who came out noticed Al staring at it and came over to him.

"Pretty funny, isn't it? The only reason the windows don't have glass is because we haven't had a chance to get them fixed. It's a perfectly nice building on the inside."

"How did they break in the first place?"

"Oh, kids throwing rocks, random explosions from the military headquarters, you know."

Al nodded. He had a pretty good feeling about why there had been explosions. Ed and Roy hadn't exactly been peaceful during their time together. It seemed like everyone here was used to Roy's antics. They probably enjoyed the peace that came from his departure.

The woman seemed to know what Al was thinking. "It's been a lot quieter since that Colonel left. Makes life here kind of boring."

"Did you ever meet him?" Al asked.

"No, but I did see him from a distance a lot. Man, when the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother came to town, the level of excitement always went way up."

Al involuntarily twitched at this mention of his brother. "So, have you heard about that alchemist lately? I heard he and his brother disappeared after a robbery or something."

"How did you hear about that? Do you have relatives in Central?"

"Actually, I just got back from there, and I'm heading out to visit some relatives in the country this evening."

"Where do your relatives live?"

"Oh, in a small village nearby. I don't think you've heard of it."

"Try me."

"Resembool."

"Hey, I've heard of Resembool, isn't that where the Elric brothers are from?"

"Huh? Yeah, it is. How'd you know that?"

"The friend of a distant relative of mine lives there. So, do you know the Elric brothers?"

"Not too well. Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's getting close to six. Why?"

"I have to go back to the train station. It was nice meeting you," Al said as he walked away. Once he was out of her sight, Al began to run. Something about the woman bothered him, even though she seemed friendly enough.

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When Ed woke up, he was in a small, dark room. The room was nice enough, but something bothered him. Why had Tessa knocked him out? Where was he? Why was it so dark?

While he tried to come up with answers, the door opened, and Tessa came in. "Hey, how are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Where am I?" Ed asked, getting straight to the point.

"We're at a friend's house. Tomorrow we're going to head out into the countryside. I know someone out there."

"Why do we have to keep moving around?"

"Because, those people are smart. They'll find you if you stay in one place too long."

"But why don't you ever tell me? This is the third time I've woken up in a strange place, not counting the hospital."

"It's easier to get you around if you're asleep. That way you don't have to worry about anything."

"Except for the fact that you people are moving me around without my consent."

Tessa sighed. She seemed to realize Ed wasn't convinced. "Look, you'll understand later, okay?"

"Fine." Ed watched as she sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the room and pulled out a book. "What, do you not trust me on my own?"

"I do, but my boss doesn't."

"Your boss?"

"The one who's in charge of this whole deal."

Ed lay down and turned on his side, facing the wall. After a while, he got bored and took a book out of the pile by his bed. As he read, he tried to work things out in his head. No matter how nicely these people treated him, Ed knew he was a prisoner. The only reason they hadn't locked him in a cell was because they knew he wouldn't be able to walk.

He had to get away before they started tightening security. Even if it meant putting weight on his leg and undoing all the healing from the past few weeks. Ed tried to think of a good way to escape, but he wouldn't be able to do much with Tessa in the room. He'd have to get her to leave, but how?

After a while, Ed came up with a plan. It wasn't the greatest, but it was better than nothing. He could hear noises from the other side, so he had a feeling that the wall was an outer wall. If he could get on the other side of it…

He rolled over onto his back. He knew what he had to do. Now to get rid of Tessa. Ed began to sit up. Halfway there, he let out a cry of pain. He put on the "OMG this hurts like hell I need painkillers" act, and Tessa fell for it. She dropped her book and left the room, leaving Ed alone. Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the wall. He created a door in the wall and went through. On the other side was an alley. Ed re-transmuted the wall behind him and limped down the alley to a bigger road. There were plenty of people, so Ed blended in with the crowd easily. He moved down the road to the train station.

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Al sat impatiently in the train, looking through the window at the Resembool station. It seemed to take forever to reach. Finally, Al got off and looked around. There were a lot of military policemen observing the people getting on and off the train. One of them stopped Al, but all he did was ask if he'd seen either of the Elric brothers in the area. Al didn't even have to lie, because he hadn't seen his brother, and there weren't any mirrors in the area.

He walked down the road toward the Rockbell home. Winry was there, taking a vacation from work to visit Pinako. He hoped that they would recognize him.

He didn't get a chance to see them. There were military policemen all around the house. Al would have to wait for one of them to leave the house. He decided to hide and watch the front door.

After a while, Winry walked out. She spoke briefly to one of the policemen and walked down the road with some flowers. Once Al was sure none of the police would see him, Al snuck out of his hiding place and began to follow Winry, trying to get a chance to talk to her.

He followed her all the way to the cemetery. She stopped at her parents' graves, not noticing Al until he was almost right next to her.

"Winry?" he asked, trying not to startle her too much.

Winry stood up and looked at Al. "Um, sorry, do I know you?"

"Winry, it's me. It's Alphonse."

Winry looked at Al for a long time. Then she finally recognized her childhood friend. "You did it?"

"Yeah." They stood there for a while, Al waiting for Winry to react. Then, with a cry of joy, Winry enveloped the still-skinny Al in a hug. Al stood there for a while, grateful that he could be hugged again.

After a while, she let go. "Where's Ed?"

Al hung his head. "I don't know. I'm looking for him."

"Did he run away?"

Al shook his head. "Nobody knows what happened to him. There's a good chance that he's… well, gone."

Winry stared at Al for a while. "Gone? Like, he lost his body?"

"Well, no, not exactly, but Colonel Mustang said that when he found me, there was also something else in the room, something horrible…"

"Oh, my god. You mean Ed was killed?"

"Maybe. There's no way to tell if that was him. That's why I'm looking for him, because I don't think he could have just died like that."

"Is that why you came here?"

"Yeah, but I guess he isn't here, is he?"

"No, but if he is alive, he'll probably stop by here, so you might as well stay."

"But the military's looking for us."

"Well, nobody's going to recognize you now. Come by the house tomorrow. I'll tell the police that you're a distant relative visiting from the south."

"Okay."

Winry looked at Al again. "You're so skinny."

"I know. I'm in better shape than I was a few weeks ago, though."

"We'll have to make sure you eat a lot when you come to stay with us. I'll bake some pie, too."

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Ed made it to the train station only to realize he didn't have any money. That and the military was looking for him. Even though he knew he'd be safer with the military than out on his own, Ed wasn't in the mood to have them arrest him until he found his brother.

Ed turned around and headed toward the slums. Probably not the best place to hide, but it was the only place Ed could think of at the moment. At least nobody would question his presence.

That's what he thought, but someone did question his arrival. Once Ed walked past a certain alley, he noticed someone following him. He tried to lose the person, but whoever it was wanted to catch him, and plus it's hard to go fast when just walking takes a lot of effort.

He caught up with Ed in an alley. Ed cursed as he realized he was cornered. He turned to face his follower. It was Scar.

Scar made sure Ed had no chance of escaping before approaching. Ed wanted to run, but his body wasn't responding. When he did get it to work again, Ed stepped on his left foot the wrong way, sending pain coursing through his leg. He lost his footing and fell back.

Scar, sensing that Ed was helpless, stood in front of the alchemist for a moment. "Why are you here?" he asked. "Running away from what you did in Central?"

"That wasn't me!" Ed responded. He tried to get up, but his leg still hurt.

"Then why are you hiding?"

"I don't have a reason to stay in the military anymore."

"So you're deserting?"

"I'm trying to find my brother. But yeah, the minute I can, I'm getting out of there."

There was a tense silence. Finally, Scar held out his hand. Ed didn't take it. He was suspicious.

"I don't have a reason to kill you if you're leaving the military. Besides, why would I wait? Right now you're the easiest target I've seen."

Ed glared as he held out his hand. Scar pulled him to his feet and led him to where he was currently living.

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Al walked slowly toward the Rockbell home. He wasn't sure what Winry had told them, so he was nervous. One of the MPs noticed him and walked up to him.

"You must be Al. Winry said you'd be coming."

"Uh, yeah, hi… Why are you here, out of curiosity?"

"We're keeping an eye out for the Elric brothers. There's a chance they might come here, and also that they've lost it."

"Lost it? What do you mean by that?"

"Have you heard about that murder in Central? Apparently the guys who did it look like the Elric brothers. We don't know for sure, but if that's true, then there could be something wrong with their minds. We're here to make sure that they don't do anything to the Rockbells or anyone else around here."

"Oh, I get it. I hope someone finds them soon."

"Me too. I'd hate to see those boys get into too much trouble."

Al waved at the MP as he went to the front door. He was about to knock when Winry yanked the door open and pulled him inside.

"What did he say to you?"

"Just about how the Elric brothers are suspects in a murder and how they might have gone insane."

"Oh. Nothing big?"

"No, that's it."

Winry breathed a sigh of relief and led Al into the kitchen. Pinako was sitting at the table, and she smiled at Al as he and Winry sat down.

"Good to see you again."

Al nodded. "It's nice to be back. I just wish brother were here."

"We all do. But don't worry, he'll show up eventually."

"I hope so."