Yumi: Hi hi! It's Yumi! Yeah, it took me forever to get out, but hey, it's here. And it's LONG. Hopefully you like it.


The graveyard was completely silent when the Elric brothers arrived. A light mist that had survived the harsh sun shrouded the area, making each tombstone look ghostly and unnatural. The brothers shared an uneasy glance before walking to their mother's grave. Ed wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he felt that it should be a clue as to where Eloise could be.

Al reached the grave first and gently picked up the bouquet of flowers that had been left there. Each flower was slightly wilted, but had a surprising amount of vitality left in them. A scrap of paper fell from the bouquet, and Ed snatched it up eagerly. The tingle of excitement that had been building within his heart suddenly ignited, for staring back at him from the paper was his little sister.

She was seated next to a gray haired matron and both of them were smiling gently. Al glanced at the picture over Ed's shoulder and gasped. "Brother, she looks so healthy!" he whispered. Ed had to agree with that. Her cheeks had a rosy glow and her eyes seemed to sparkle happily. She looked about 10 in the picture, which was close enough to her true age for Ed to feel certain that it was fairly new.

He flipped the picture over and smiled. A note was scribbled on the back. It had been written in a hurry and was a bit hard to read, but that didn't matter. What mattered was what it said.

"Dear mama, I miss you. I hope you and Miss Alistar are happy in heaven now. Don't worry about me, I'm living with some friends right now. They're really nice. I think you would have liked them. I wish I could have said goodbye one last time. I love you mama. Love, Eloise."

Al sniffled, a wave of sadness engulfing his heart. Eli probably felt lonely. She had probably been looking foreward to being reunited with her family, but now felt abandoned… "Hey Al, we'll find her. Don't worry. Next time she comes here Win'll be ready and we can look for her while we look for the philosopher's stone. Don't cry." Ed said gently.

Al nodded slowly, his armor creaking with the gesture. "Brother, what do you think Eli will do when she learns about us breaking the taboo?" he asked. He didn't want Ed to know, but he was a bit scared of Eli's reaction to him. What f he scared her? It wouldn't be the first time that he scared someone. After all, empty suits of armor rarely walked and talked.

Eli would probably be able to figure out what had happened. She had been living with one of the best practitioners of Alchehistry in the country, but that wouldn't make it any easier. If anything, after living with Miss Alistar and her philosophy of 'the dead should stay dead', Eli might be more angry then pitying.

Ed sighed, inadvertenly breaking Al's train of thought. "She'll forgive us, I think. She always forgave us before. She's still our sister, even if we haven't seen her in years. Besides, even if she had some of the old bat's ideas about the dead, Alistar would have taught her to value family, right? At least that's what I think. Alistar was annoying, but she always pointed out what a wonderful family we were." Ed said slowly.

He began to head back to Winry's house, deep in thought. He hoped Eli would forgive them, for Al's sake. He would be crushed if his little sister hated him, or maybe even worse, feared him. But that was silly, Eli would understand.

Ed slowly descended into silent brooding, leaving Al alone with his thoughts as they made their way back to the house. He had often thought about reuniting with his sister before, but now that it was an actual possibility… But now she was a young woman, not the innocent child she had been. What had she seen while she was away from them? Would she still be the same sickly girl who gaped at her older brothers' alchemic powers, or would she be a healthy young lady, so skilled in alchehistry that she put grown men to shame? Al wished, not for the first time, that he had been able to see Eli grow up.

The brothers' thoughts were interrupted by Armstrong bursting from Winry's house. "There you boys are! General Mustang just called with new orders for you!" he exclaimed. Any sembiance of a good mood in Ed was crushed at the words. "He can't give us a break, can he?" Ed growled. "What's the mission?" Al asked quickly. He didn't need his brother to some how offend the major.

"You will be going to the town of Sage to investigate the disappearance of Nathaniel Diedric, better known as the Swirling Ink Alchemist. He had been passing through Sage on his way back to Central when he began investigating something he referred to as the 'Guardians'. The last form of contact we had with him was when he reported his findings over two weeks ago. Since then there has been no word from him! Mustang has become distressed and has chosen you fine boys to discover the where abouts of the Swirling Ink Alchemist and finish his investigation of the force known as the Guardians." Armstrong revealed dramaticly.

Ed merely rolled his eyes, but Al was intrigued. "Um, what exactly are the Guardians, major?" he asked. Armstrong sighed loudly. "They are supposed to be a private army used to enforce justice for crimes too small for the military to worry about. However, if Diedric's accounts are to be believed, they are also being used to search for and research the Philosopher's Stone." He said grimly.

Ed jerked to attention and gaped at the news. "So that's why General Bastard wanted us for the job." He muttered. Al nodded mutely. If what the major said was right, then there was a possibility that they knew where a Philosopher's Stone was, and they could lead the Elrics right to it! "Right, so tell me, how do we get to Sage?" Ed demanded.

"There is a train departing for t he town early tomorrow morning. Unfortunaltely, I have been ordered back to Central. But do not weep over the loss of my guardianship. I will be with you in spirit always!" the muscle-bound major said, pulling the boys into an uncomfortably tight hug, rivers of tears pouring out of his eyes. Ed and Al sweat-dropped and mumbled a sort of thanks.

The next morning found the boys on a train bound for the small town of Sage. Ed had falled asleep almost instantly, thus leaving Al alone with his thoughts. Why would someone make something like the Guardians, which could be such a good thing, then use it to try to find the Stone? But that reason was still more logical then why they were going to investigate in the first place. Armstrong had hinted that the Guardians were doing something wrong, but what?

After all, one would think the military would be glad that it didn't have to worry about the crimes commited in such a small town. What had the Swirling Ink Alchemist find that compelled him to investigate the guardians? Al sighed and turned his attention to the window.

A while later the train pulled into the station, jarring Ed awake. He stretched and glanced out the window. "Uh, Al, am I seeing things?" he asked. Al chuckled a bit. He had been watching the citizens of Sage go about their daily business and had discovered that the Guardians all dressed in suits of armor. The people of Sage had all seemed to avoid the Guardians where possible, but hadn't seemed to be scared of them. That was encouraging to Al, but didn't help Diedric's strange investigation make sense.

The Elric brothers exited the train, only to be stopped by a Guardian. "Excuse me sirs, I need to see your papers." He said, his voice echoing slightly because of his helmet. Ed glared at him and dug out his State Alchemist pocket watch. "I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. This is my brother Alphonse." He said gruffly. The guardian glanced over the pocket watch and nodded.

"I see. Well, I'm sure that all of Sage is honored by the prescence of such a… famous State Alchemist. In fact, I'm sure that Mr. Heidreich would like to welcome you himself." He said slowly. Ed raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Heidreich?" he asked. The Guardian nodded. "He is our… leader. He's always interested in meeting our important visitors. Come. I'll show you to our finest hotel, then alert Mr. Heidreich to your arrival." He said evenly, before leading them towards the center of town.

Ed shot a glance at Al, but followed the monotone guardian none the less. All of the citizens flowed around the small group without a second look, which put the Elrics a bit on edge. A small boy darted towards the brothers and tugged at Ed's hand.

"You shouldn't be here! It's bad here, the Guardians'll get ya!" he whispered. Ed glanced at his guide and snorted. "What do you mean?" he asked. The boy shook his head. "I can't tell you. Go away, before it's too late!" he pleaded, before darting back into the crowd.

Ed frowned and turned back to his brother, who had somehow managed to not see the strange scene that had just taken place. "Um, excuse me sir, but what's your name?" Al asked the Guardian. The man paused a moment. "Eric." He answered softly. For that one word, his voice had sounded incredibly young, but it quickly regained its monotone quality. "Here we are, Talia's Tavern and Inn. Now I'll excuse myself." He bowed slightly before pressing through the crowd.

The brothers entered the Tavern warily. So far Sage had been a bit… strange. Ed approached the bar slowly. "Um, excuse me? I'm trying to get a room here." He called. The place was mostly deserted, with only a few customers cradling drinks near the back of the building. At Ed'ss call however, a young red-headed woman rushed downstairs and slid behind the counter.

"Hey there doll, you say ya need a room? Well I got'cha covered there! I'm Talia Mercs, owner here." She said cheerily. Ed grinned a bit. "Yeah, I could use a room and a good meal." He said. Talia winked and leaned closer to him. "Well, I can give ya both. Here's your room key. I'll rustle ya up some food. Put your bags up then sit yourself down. I'll be asking ya all about the outside world, so you best get your strength up!" she said, before slipping into the kitchen.

Al tilted his head a bit. "She seems nice brother. Want me to take the luggage to our room while you wait for Talia to bring your food?" he offered. Ed shrugged and tossed him the key. "Whatever. I'll see what Talia knows about the Guardians." Ed replied. Al nodded and slipt upstairs while Ed claimed a seat by the window.

A crowd of people were slowly weaving they're way through shopping stalls and stationary guardians by the Inn. A small shadow followed them, dodging every Guardian and disappearing into an alley. Ed looked away with a sigh. It was probably just another street urchin after all.

Talia re-emerged from the kitchen carrying a large bowl of stew and a loaf of freshly baked bread. These she sat in front of Ed, before racing back to the kitchen to get him a drink. When she emerged this time, she was carrying a large brown bag as well as the drinks. She left the bag on the bar and handed Ed his glass.

"Here ya are doll. Eat up, I'm going to be bugging you for a while after all. But I'll let ya eat first." She said sweetly. Ed merely smiled and nodded. He was actually dreading the conversation that he was going to be forced into. Talia drifted towards her other customers just as the door opened.

Ed didn't bother to turn away from his food – he wasn't worried about who entered. He listened to the sound of foot steps as the approached the bar, then headed back towards the door. The footsteps paused and Ed felt someone tug at his coat. He turned around, expecting to see another irritating 'Guardian' or street urchin, only to find mismatched eyes staring up at him.

"Eddy?" the girl questioned uncertainly. There was a moment of silence as they stared into each others eyes, each wondering if they were truly the lost sibling. "Yo! Chibi! It's time to bail, we got tin-cans coming!" someone yelled. The girl broke out of her reverie with a gasp and fled, leaving Ed with nothing but surprise and a very confused Alphonse.


Yumi: I hope you enjoyed that. I think it's kinda meh, but I suppose it's alright. Whatever. See ya next time!