Everywhere around her was burning, smoking, smouldering. The room was filled with a thick black smoke, limiting her vision so much she couldn't even see Ling and he was only a few feet away. She never thought she'd miss seeing the squinty eyed, black haired pervert. A few seconds of encompassing blackness and she just wanted to see anything again.

The heat burnt at her eyes and skin, stuck in the back of her throat and dried it out more than the rocky terrain of the planet's surface. It was painful and too ticklish and launched her into a coughing fit. Falling to her knees she gasped as the relatively cleaner air reached her lungs, and the action sent her chest into spasms again. She pushed herself upright.

She crawled blindingly through the smog and coughed against the soot attempting to choke her. Her skin was beginning to blister and peel. She yelled helplessly but no sound came out of her and no answer reached her ears. Everywhere was either black or a dull glowing orange. The chrome helm of a bike glittered in the heat as she staggered past it, coughing and blinking back a flood of tears as the smoke stung her eyes. The exit couldn't have been too far ahead of her now; the smoke thickened for a moment, and then began to clear as she made her way out of the smoke filled garage. She staggered towards the clearing, relief flooding through her system as she collapsed on to her knees only a small distance away from the flames. She could feel the heat on her back still.

Something stood out a small distance ahead and for a moment Winry was terrified that the flames hadn't been contained to the couple of buildings. The thing was vibrant red and yellow, swimming and flickering before her but it was solidifying and becoming more corporeal by the second. The red solidified and focused into a long and sweeping cloak, flaring back as if forced behind by some large objects. The yellow became a familiar spun gold and shone slightly orange with light reflected from the flames. A human dipped into her wavering vision, one so familiar to her smoke-addled brain. Feminine but not and it couldn't be... "Edward?"

The figure turned as she rasped out the name of her best friend. Golden eyes, like that of an eagle pinned her for a moment, no emotion scarring them, and then a whirlpool at once. Regret, sadness, happiness and strangely an underlying peace that she had never seen in them before. He was here! Edward was here! She gingerly reached out a hand towards him trying to reach him and hold him close to her and never let go. He looked worried for a moment and took a slight step back and she nearly cried out in denial. He couldn't leave her again. He wouldn't! He smiled sadly at her and she lost herself in it for a moment and tears prickled at the edge of her vision.

The smile faded from his features and he stepped back away from her, pressing himself into the wall in horror as his face faded away to be replaced by a helmeted figure with two scarlet wings on either side of it's body. Evil intention reeked off its frame and she shuddered at the glare she could feel from beyond that visor. "Get out of here, Human." It said in a cold and muffled voice. "If you value your life." It launched up into the Mars night, beating powerful wings to obtain lift easily. Her eyes locked on blood coloured feathers as an explosion behind her sent her rocketing forward.

Winry's eyes snapped open. She was sweaty and panting, and in the female barracks of the army's compound, not the hangar bay. It took her a moment to realise this and she looked at the tent-style walling and iron beds in confusion before her memory kicked in.

The bombing had been a week ago. There had been no reported angel activity since then. She sighed with relief. "Just a dream"

It took her a moment to realise she wasn't alone in being awake at such a strange hour. Two beds down and on the opposite side of the room a girl of oriental descent sat upon her own mattress and was watching her with concern. Her hair was long and tied ornately into two buns, fixed into sleeping covers which glinted in the light from the stars that came through the window. Her exact features were hard to make out in the dark but Winry knew her as Ran Fan, a girl who had unofficially taken to being the boy Ling's bodyguard.

"You were yelling rather loudly." Ran informed her in a voice nearly toneless. She said it as if stating a fact like the weather and showed little to no care besides her initial worry.

"I'm sorry, Ran." Winry said, sincere. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

The girl shook her head with a small smile. "I was not asleep. I was meditating on a disturbing thought, which you seem to have many of at the moment. This is merely judging by the reactions you had to your subconscious' visions as you slept." Winry felt an eyebrow rise but said noting on the girl's strange talking habits, having grown used to it over the period in which they had been sharing a dormitory.

She sat up, tugging her legs to her chest and covering her front with the military grade blanket. "It was just a bad dream." She smiled weakly and attempted to ignore the tremors still running through her from the visions the dream presented. The room seemed deathly cold, so she rubbed her legs slightly for warmth. "It was nothing really major."

"You should not dismiss your dreams, Miss Rockbell." Ran was sitting straight backed, her legs crossed Indian style in front of her, and her hands were resting in her lap. The pose seemed awkward and uncomfortable in comparison to Winry's inelegant slouch, as if the girl couldn't really let her guard down. "Dreams often hold the key to sources of discontent and unease. Do you wish to tell me of its content and perhaps I can analyse its meaning for you."

"It was just a nightmare about the attack." Winry replied with a small shake of her head. A small smile made its way onto her features. "It's nothing serious, but thankyou."

Ran acknowledged this with a small and polite frown. "It seems that our problems may not be dissimilar then after all, Miss Rockbell." She said.

'Excuse me?"

"I too was thinking of that night." She sighed at Winry's blank look. "More specifically of the strange life energy I sensed from the perpetrator of the bombings."

"Strange life energy?" Winry asked, nonplussed.

Ran nodded, the movement barely visible in the dark gloom. "The angel in question did not seem to me like the other angels that we have had to deal with. In fact, so much are the differences present that I am left to question the true identity of the angel and whether if it is indeed an angel and not another human. The formation of its life energy was that of a human."

Winry's brow crinkled. "You mean a human..."

"Not necessarily. It is not impossible that an angel could have the life force composition of a human. It is only highly improbable. Life force depends not only on what something is, but what they believe they are also. An example would be an eagle that thinks itself a chicken would have a life force pattern less akin to that of an eagle and more toward a chicken. However, the pattern would be confused between them both."

"So the angel," Said Winry, not really understanding. "Is an angel, but thinks it's a human?"

"The angel had a strange and confused life force. It was between angel and human, with no particular stress on either. Which could mean anything, a change in acceptance, a discovery of hidden information or so forth."

Winry worried at her lip gently thinking back to her dream and the transformation between Edward and the red angel. She shrugged, dismissing the thought. "It was just a dream, Ran." She said.

Ran shrugged. "What is that saying I have heard you use... If you say so?"

It had to be a dream.

After all, Edward didn't have wings, did he?

"OW! Owowowowowow!" The prince yelled, wrenching his right wing away from Alphonse's prying fingers. "That bloody HURTS Al!"

Alphonse sighed patiently and rolled his eyes. "It's MEANT to hurt, Brother. And I HAVE to take the feather out for the avian military's records." He explained for the 'n'th time.

His brother scowled stubbornly, folding arms over his torso in a display of defiance. Drumming his left hand's fingers over his metal arm he glared at Alphonse from the crux of the tree limb they were both seated on. With a silent cursed oath, Alphonse glared right back, rattling the holding canister for the feather expectantly. The brothers were situated in the main hall in the very same tree that Alphonse had found the prince in those first few days on board the ship. They were situated much higher up, and both were on the same branch, Alphonse further out. Vines hung around them and Edward was attempting to hide his 'injured' wing behind one of them. Al gave him an expectant look mixed with just a tad of the puppy eyes and Edward cracked.

"Okay FINE." He snapped. "Take the damn feather. It's not like I can damn well stop you anyway, is it? Can you take one that doesn't hurt though?"

With another roll of his eyes, Alphonse shuffled along the branch, taking Ed's wing in hand. "You're such a cry-baby, Brother. They all hurt, and I need to take this one to keep the records consistent." He sighed, taking hold of the offending feather and tugging on it slightly. Much to the protests of the prince. "Now, I'm going to pull this out on the count of three, do you understand?"

"When I'm officially King, this is the FIRST thing that goes."

Alphonse laughed and shook his head. "It's only a small moment of pain, brother."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get on with it."

"One." Alphonse tugged the feather out expertly.

As expected, Edward howled in more indignance than pain. "What happened to three?" Edward asked quite nastily, glaring at his younger brother.

"You would have tensed up on three." Alphonse replied clinically, sealing the feather away in it's container and writing some details in a strange script on the side.

Ed sent him a hurt puppy look which he completely ignored. "Why did you have to take the feather anyway?" his brother asked with a slight pout.

Al shrugged. "Identification purposes really, should the unforseen happen while you're on a mission. I was actually meant to do it before you went out the first time, but I never got the chance."

"So it's in case I die?"

Alphonse levelled his eyes at his brother rather seriously for a moment, before he grinned. "Pretty much, Yes."

Edward laughed and swatted at him before his expression turned inward and contemplative. "Hey Al?'

"Hmm?" asked his brother, already working on something else.

"Am I fighting for the right side?"

"Edward, a word if you please." Startled, Edward looked up from the salad that had been captivating his attention for the past few minutes and into the serious eyes of his captain.

With a slightly puzzled frown, Edward nodded. "If I really have to." He gestured to the free seat in front of him with his right hand, his left occupied using a fork to pick at a slightly wilted green leaf.

Mustang shook his head. "In private, if you will."

Nonplussed, Ed stood and followed the man out of the dining hall, leaving his half-eaten dinner behind him. The two took a short cut through the main hall of the ship, hopping from Tree to tree rather fast, leaving Edward even more confused than before as Mustang appeared not to be stopping. They flew over a large gap in the trees and suddenly, Edward was within a part of the ship he didn't recognise. The air smelt musty here, and the trees were more than a little wild and unkempt.

Mustang stopped so suddenly, that Edward flew into his back with a resounding thud and nearly toppled the both of them out of the trees. They both windmilled wildly, wings flaring and flapping to help with their balance. Once it had been restored, Mustang stood to the side to give Edward more room on the overhanging branch. Turning to face him, Mustang graced Edward with a most peculiar look. "A few trees ahead, the main hall ends and there is a large set of doors. Doors which have not been opened in fourteen years, due to high amounts of speculation and superstition."

"And?" Edward said, raising his left eyebrow.

"The royal chambers lie beyond those doors. I thought you might like to see them before you go into battle tomorrow." Mustang spared him a glance, before continuing on, and Edward followed with slight apprehension. He suddenly noticed how quiet it was in this part of the ship. There was none of the perpetual birdsong, and no insects were around at all.

Suddenly, the trees up ahead parted, and Edward found him staring at a large expanse of chrome steel which was the make up of the ship. Set into the gleaming metal was a white marble door, over twelve feet high and nearly impossibly detailed. Engraved into the middle was a large eye surrounded by a triangle and resembling strongly the trinity of one of the dead earth religions. Set behind it was a large tree, branches heading out and ending in names and dates which were worn and slightly faded. Edward couldn't make them out. Peacock feathers graced the bottom of the door and overall it was a large and rather foreboding structure. Edward sucked in a breath. Roy stood to one side of the monstrosity, typing something into a control panel.

Creaking and groaning like an old tree in a strong wind, the doors slowly swung outwards, expelling fourteen years worth of dust and decay into the air. The room beyond them seemed impossibly black and Edward stared at the opening with trepidation, one hand up to protect his eyes from the dust swirling in the air.

Mustang remained in his position to the side of the doors, gesturing with his head that Edward should go first into the dark room. He did, slowly and carefully, swallowing. As soon as he placed one foot into the room, it flooded with light, and he blinked several times to get his eyes used to the new glare.

There was dust everywhere, covering every surface. It spoiled what would have been a beautiful and ornate room if it were not for the grey-brown covering everything had. There were large terracotta pots scattered about, long since emptied of plants and a dry pond with a rock structure that appeared to be a waterfall in one corner. There was what appeared to be a sitting room section, with old, moth-eaten couches which looked like they would have been highly fashionable and comfortable in their time. Stepping through the room, Edward winced as his footsteps rang hollow and echoed around, causing the room to seem bigger than it really was. He made his way to room containing an elegantly designed bed, complete with a mouldy quilt only slightly raised off the ground. What seemed to be a cradle stood to one side. There were doorways leading off in many directions scattered around, and gold decorations graced the wood panelling of the walls. Glass glittered here and there as the light from overhead caught on it.

"The rooms you are seeing are designed to match the rooms of the avian palace down to the last minute detail. The idea invoked was the prince, who had to be transported from the planet's surface due to a rampant disease crisis, would feel no displacement from his place of birth, no matter how far the ship had to travel." Mustang said, approaching him. Edward jumped slightly at the first word the man spoke, before returning to studying the worn rooms intently. "The only difference was the door through which we entered. The rooms have degraded most obviously, but the external features appear to be still intact."

Edward laid his hands upon the faded wood of the cot. He felt like there was a lump stuck within his throat and choked against it. "I..."

"The room was created for the purposes of getting the young prince used to the palace for his return. However, this plan was forfeited when it was discovered there was no way for us to get home, and the prince was lost. The rooms were sealed off due to the high amount of conspiracy flowing through the people. The decision of your mother to move to a small soldiers quarters until the birth of her second son was one of the most sacrificing ones she would make."

There was a stuffed plush toy within the cot. It was a small orange cat with glistening angel wings. It was slightly rotted and moth eaten, one black eye was slightly loose and the stitching was torn in more than one place.

"Every last one of the infant prince's toys was taken from our home. Plus all of the ones for the new child. Most would never be seen again after we arrived in this sector of the universe."

"I think... I..." Edward stuttered, staring at the toy and seeing a flash of it in it's former glory, fur no longer moth eaten, but long and soft and slender, the orange colour bright, not the dull cream colour it was now. Black bead eyes glinted and then the vision was gone, only replaced with its mouldy counterpart.

The cot changed as well, looming above him and seemingly being a thousand times bigger than it really was, the mahogany-coloured wood shining down at him in a warm way, the polish catching the light from a lamp high overhead. There was a face above him, smiling down warmly. Black eyes crinkled as a slender nose was scrunched into a face that he found hysterical. The young person above him smiled and flicked black hair out of his narrow eyes. Hands reached in and he found himself in the air, but he felt safe, white feathers folded around him. He looked at them, trying to grab one of the feathers that swum into his view, tugging it and dropping it in surprise when he felt a sharp pain. "He likes you, Ronald." A voice said from somewhere and he gurgled.

The vision faded, leaving him looking at the derelict cot in confusion. "I don't understand."

A hand on his chin tilted his head, and he found himself looking into Mustang's face. It was surprisingly soft and open as the man spoke. "The avian memory is an amazing thing, Edward. Every person that you ever meet that is destined to change your life in any way, shape or form you will remember. They are committed forever into your memory at the first point of meeting and nothing you can ever do or accomplish will wipe them. This includes if even under normal circumstances the memory would fade." The hand under his chin moved to his shoulder and rubbed softly. "The rustle of a mother's feathers, a best friend's voice, even the beating of a lover's heart. They will stay with you forever, even as the less important thoughts and memories fade."

Edward sighed, thinking of darkened nights in his apartment when he would hear unexplainable things, see visions dancing across his mind. He had always just known that there was something more for him somewhere, known that he was a part of something greater. It made sense. "Then my breakdown..."

"You called for me, the one person you knew could save you. Who would find you no matter the cost. You told me not to leave you behind, and I don't plan to, Edward. I don't plan to." Mustang reached past him and picked up the small cat toy. Edward stared at it's black eyes intently, not quite able to meet Mustang's gaze. "There's a world out there that's running, Edward. And you have to catch up. But to do that, you have to start taking responsibility for your choices. Your decisions will affect everything around you in some way, shape or form."

Edward nodded, understanding suddenly why the man had brought him here, shown him all this. It was a lesson. A trial. "I'll learn." He said, turning to face Mustang defiantly. "I'll learn if you'll teach me. I'll prove to you that I can be a king to the avians."

Mustang nodded. "I will teach you, Edward Elric, on the provider you call me Roy. I am merely your captain and underling after all. For all the power I hold on this ship."

Edward nodded. "Why do you care what I call you, Mus... Roy? It's not like you're in love with me or anything."

Mustang merely smiled his mysterious smile and didn't answer.

It would be a long time before Edward Elric realised the significance of that action.

A/n: Review? Please? -shakes her faithful tin-