Ed sat in an alley with his back against a wall. Scar had brought him there and left seconds later, saying something about companions. Ed was thinking he meant the bean girl from earlier, so he was surprised when he saw two other people show up as well. He recognized both of them, although they surprised to see him there.
Nobody really said anything that night. Ed was trying to come up with a plan, Marcoh was doing something random, and Yoki was constantly shooting death glares at Ed. Scar had disappeared, and Mei Chan was ignoring Ed due to the fact that he had apparently broken her heart.
After a while, Yoki went to sleep, and Mei Chan wandered off to do something. Ed wanted to check on his leg, but something stopped him. For some reason, he didn't want to reveal that he had gotten part of his body back.
"I'm guessing you found the notes?" Marcoh asked.
"Yeah…"
"Where's your brother?"
"I don't know. I'm trying to find him."
"Shouldn't be too hard, right? I mean, with the armor and all…"
"Well…"
"Did something happen?"
"We managed to find a way, but I only got my leg back. I don't know what happened with Al."
"Your leg?"
"Yeah, but something weird happened, so it's kinda messed up now…"
"Let me see."
Ed pulled up his pant leg carefully. He waited patiently for the doctor to look at it.
"How long ago was this?"
"A few weeks."
"Well, it's taking a long time to heal, but it'll be fine. How were you separated from your brother?"
"I'm still not really sure about that."
"Well, I hope you find him."
"Thank you."
--------------------
Al sat at the kitchen table with Winry. She had kept her promise about baking apple pie, and Al found himself gaining more weight and finally feeling normal again. He had missed his body.
After a moment, Winry stood up and stretched. "So, what do you want to do today? I mean, it's not like we can do much, but…"
"I want to visit mom's grave."
Winry stopped stretching and put her arms down. "You can't go alone, you know that, right?"
"Yeah."
"Come on, I'll act like I'm taking you to see my parents' graves."
"Okay."
They walked down to the cemetery together. Al saw a lot of people on the way that he recognized, but he couldn't say anything to them without risking his secret identity. It was frustrating.
They stayed at the cemetery for an hour. Al was lost in thought when Winry pushed him back toward the road.
"Come on, if we stay too much longer they'll get suspicious."
"You don't have to push, though!"
Winry suddenly let go, and Al fell to the ground. "Hey, I'll race you back!" she said as she began running.
"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" Al shouted as he got up and ran after her. He got unexpectedly tired halfway there, and had to slow down to a walk. Winry was really far ahead. Al walked on his own down the road, avoiding the eyes of people he knew. He wished he could just say who he was.
Soon someone in a military uniform stopped him. Al recognized the person as one of Envy's more popular disguises, but he tried to act like he didn't know him. That didn't work. Al was about to continue down the road when someone came up behind him and grabbed his arms.
"And all this time we thought you'd be running around with your brother. It was nice of you to come straight here. Say, where is that pipsqueak anyway?" Envy asked once they were off the main road.
"I don't know."
"Really? Did he give himself up so that you could have a body again?"
"I don't know. He's just gone."
"What do you mean, just gone?"
"I mean, either he's a pile of rotting flesh or he's lost somewhere. It's not really that complicated!"
"Whoa there, you don't have to get so touchy about it. Have you tried looking for him?"
"What do you think I've been doing all this time?" Al was starting to get pissed.
"Okay, okay, calm down. Look, you're not going to find him by staying here."
"Then where should I go?"
"I've heard rumors about him showing up in East City, why don't you try there?"
"What'll happen when I find him?"
"Then the two of you can live happily ever after in a nice little house in the country. Or not. Worry about that after you find him."
Al glared at Envy, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he quietly walked with Envy back to Winry's house.
-----------------
Ed was fast asleep when they came. He didn't wake up until they were all around him, pointing their guns at him. Ed sat up and looked around. They had military uniforms.
He checked to see what had happened to the others. They had all gone. Ed was alone. One of the soldiers pulled Ed to his feet and pushed him to walk. Ed limped down the alley with several guns still pointed at him. Once they were on a road, they had him get into a car. Ed sat there for a while, not quite understanding what was going on.
Finally, one of the soldiers spoke to him. "You're the Fullmetal Alchemist, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Why? We've been looking for you for several weeks! Where were you?"
"I was being held against my will somewhere."
"Where?"
"I don't know, some building in the city. Does it matter?"
"Of course it matters, we need to find the people who had you! But for now, there's the issue of that murder. You're going to Central the day after tomorrow, although since it's after midnight, I can just say tomorrow."
"I didn't do it, though."
"Well, you can tell that to the higher-ups in Central. Until then, you're to stay in military custody. We'll have someone look at your leg, too."
That's when Ed realized. How was he going to explain the reappearance of his leg? After a moment, Ed decided not to worry. If they were going to kick him out of the military, that wouldn't bother him. Maybe he'd be able to find his brother again and they could go back to Resembool.
-------------------
Al waited patiently at the train station for the train to arrive. When it came, he was surprised to find Envy blocking his way.
"You're not going on this one."
"Why not?"
"Because you're going to Central."
"Why?"
"Because that's where you and your brother are wanted. There's an issue that needs to be resolved. You'll meet him there."
"Wait, you mean someone found him?"
"He was sleeping in some alley in East City. Now come on, we're going to have to wait a while for the right train to come."
-----------------
Ed sat quietly in the car as they drove to the train station. His leg had been bandaged and Ed was supposed to use crutches for a few days. Of course, Ed wasn't expecting to have to walk much for a while, so that was just fine with him.
They stopped the car and walked through the station to the train. Ed made his way to the train surrounded by a buttload of well-armed soldiers. They sat him down in a private room in the front with one other person. He was a State Alchemist. He had long black hair that he kept in a ponytail, and he had transmutation circles tattooed on the palms of his hands.
After a while, he introduced himself as Zolf J. Kimblee. He held his hand out, but Ed didn't take it. He kept his arms crossed and looked through the window. Kimblee didn't react to this. Instead, he concentrated on something else. After a while, the train began to move.
He stared out the window, wanting desperately for this trip to be over. He remembered Riza telling him about this freak, and now here he was, stuck in a train compartment with the Crimson Alchemist. Why was he here, though? Hadn't he been sent to prison?
After an hour or so, Kimblee spoke again. "Why'd you run away?"
"I didn't."
"Oh, right, you were being held captive. So, why didn't you try to get out earlier?"
"I couldn't use my leg."
"Why is it like that in the first place?"
"By accident."
"Oh, so you're stupid enough to hurt yourself that badly?"
Ed tried to come up with a good comeback, but he didn't think of anything, so he just glared. Kimblee smiled and stood up. "Come on now, it was just a joke." He held his hand out to Ed. Something told Ed he should take it, so he did. Kimblee held onto Ed's right arm for a moment.
"Oh, automail, huh? I guess we know where your name comes from now."
"How long until we get there?" Ed asked, completely ignoring the automail comment.
"Several hours at least. Why don't you relax? It's not like anyone's going to kill you."
Ed didn't like how Kimblee said this, but he had a point. Ed was overreacting. He still had a high status in the military, and he was a precious human sacrifice, so why would they just kill him off? Besides, he hadn't slept well the night before. He was getting pretty tired.
-------------------
Al was sent to stay in a small room that was guarded by a few soldiers. He wondered how long it would take for Ed to arrive. Apparently they weren't going to be questioned until the two were together. Al was relieved. He didn't want to have to do this alone.
That evening, Riza stopped by to drop off some papers. She gave them to Al to fill out, even though Al had no clue how to do it. Riza sighed and began to show Al how to fill it out.
"So Edward's alive?"
"Yeah, he's supposed to get here tomorrow."
"That's good. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."
Al nodded. The truth was, he was nervous about seeing his brother. The thought had occurred to him that Ed might have given something up so that Al could have his body. Plus, what if something had gone wrong? There were a lot of things to worry about.
Riza noticed the preoccupied look on Al's face. "Don't worry. At least now you know for sure that he's alive and well. And you have your body, too. Things could have turned out a lot worse."
"Yeah, I know."
"Well, I have to go now, but do you know how to do this now?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Al sat staring at the papers for a while before he gave up. He could always have Ed do them when he got here…
-------------------
Ed woke up just before the train arrived in Central. For the moment, he had been left alone in the compartment. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was getting late, but they were finally coming into the city. Ed was glad. He hadn't liked being stuck with Kimblee.
He sat in the compartment until someone came to get him. He was led through the station to a car, where he sat for a good ten minutes before someone got in next to him. It was Envy. Ed ignored him as Envy started the car and began to drive.
"So you're not dead."
Ed kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to talk to Envy.
"Hey, you know, you're being let off. Nobody's going to say you're a murderer anymore."
Ed was still quiet. He was glad they didn't have to deal with the whole murder-suspect thing, but he wasn't exactly going to admit that he was grateful.
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"Huh?"
"Well, you don't have a reason to travel around anymore, do you?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Jeez, you're not too bright, are you, pipsqueak?"
"EXCUSE ME?"
"Not so loud, I'm trying to drive. Anyway, you accomplished what you wanted to accomplish, even if you messed it up for yourself."
"Yeah, but I have no idea if it worked for Al."
"We're here. Get out."
Ed followed Envy through a military building until they came to a small room with a couple of guards. Envy opened the door and brought Ed inside.
"This is where you're going to stay until we tell you otherwise. You even have a roommate. Enjoy."
Envy left the room before Ed could say anything. Ed sat down on the vacant bed and pulled his one shoe off. His roommate was already asleep. Ed thought he looked familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. He decided to go to sleep. He could always find out in the morning.