OK hi everybody!! First off, IM SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY!!!! Sorry you guys, I said February and its May…hahaha oops…lol Well I could give you my looong list of excuses, some of them actually viable, but I'll spare you the winded explanation and let you get right to the chapter!! The longest yet just to award your patience!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or FMA

"Al you have got to be kidding me!" Ed yelled in exasperation.

"Oh come on brother, it'll make your plan more authentic! And it'll make it harder for the Homunculi to figure out your plan if they somehow managed to find out about it."

"But do I really have to dress up like a girl?"

"Yes! The Homunculi will never expect it. They'll think you don't have the guts to do it!"

"That's because I don't"

"Oh come on, you have to meet the Colonel in 2 hours so you better get ready. Plus I already took the trouble of borrowing these clothes from Lieutenant Hawkeye," after shooting Al a glare that could probably kill, Ed grabbed the clothes and proceeded to put them on, not without many a huff and a gruff, I might add. After a few failed attempts, Ed was fully clothed in a red shin length dress, knee high boots, and a black coat with matching black gloves.

"There I'm ready," Al looked him over,

"Nah, I can still tell you're a guy. Let your hair down and brush it a bit,"

With another glare Ed obeyed, but no sooner had the brush entered his hair than it refused to move. Ed blanched for a moment before looking sheepish. Al could only sweat drop.

"Brother, when was the last time you brushed your hair?"

"Umm, I don't know."

"Ok lets get to work."

It took a whole hour, but finally Ed's hair was combed out and presentable.

"Here put this hat on."

After reexamining Ed, Al actually had to admit,

"You know, you actually could pass for a girl." Ed rolled his eyes,

"Gee thanks. Oh crap!" Ed exclaimed as he looked at the clock. He was supposed to meet the Colonel in 20 minutes. "Come on Al let's go."

"I'm not going brother."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well it would obviously blow your cover if you were seen with me. I can't exactly wear a disguise, but you better tell me everything they say, ok?" Ed grinned.

"You got it Al!" and with that he jumped out the window and inconspicuously made his way to the street, in an attempt to make it seem as though he hadn't come out of that hotel. As Ed disappeared from view Al thought of something.

"So what should I do in the mean time?" he asked to no one in particular.

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As Ed made his way down the street he decided he should go over exactly what he was going to say to the Colonel. They needed to talk about what they were going to do immediately and their plans in the long run, what were they going to do about the Homunculi? And then there was the ever present issue of the Philosopher's Stone. They hadn't yet given up hope on finding a new way to create it. There was something that was making it hard for him to think though , it was too noisy…as Ed looked up to try and discern the source of the noise he was horrified to discover that the noise was catcalls. Catcalls directed at HIM!!!

"Hey cutie! Why don't you come hang out with us?" yelled a rather large, bulky man.

"Ya, we'll show you a good time, how bout it toots?" added his smaller friend.

Oh HELL no, thought Ed,

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to you sick perverts!?! I'm 16 for God's sake!! How old are you guys? 30? You better get the hell out of here before I go over there and kick your asses! And then I'll hand your sorry asses over to the police on account of sexual harassment!!"

Ok, whether it be that Ed can be pretty frightening when he's pissed or that the men were so freaked out to hear a guys voice come out of the 'girl' they were hitting on, I'm not sure, either way they got the hell out of there.

Serves 'em right, thought Ed smugly as he continued on his way, ignoring the shocked looks of the few bystanders on the street. After walking for another 10 minutes Ed arrived at the very large and prestigious Armstrong Manor.

"Yes!" exclaimed Ed, "I beat the Colonel here, and with two minutes to spare!" Having nothing better to do, Ed decided to take a walk among the Armstrong's extensive garden, waiting for whenever the hell Mustang decided to show up

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Roy Mustang could be seen walking rather quickly down the street. He was already 10 minutes late to meet Ed and if he knew that shrimp, he was going to be pissed.

Oh well, though Roy, it was so worth it.

Referring to the extremely beautiful florist who bumped into him on his way out of HQ. They had shared a laugh, a small conversation, and phone numbers.

Damn she was hot, he mused, thinking of their date tomorrow night. Finally after 7 more minutes of rushing, the prestigious Armstrong Manor came into view. As Roy began to walk up the drive way, sure Ed was already inside, he spotted a girl, back turned to him, in the rose garden. She was looking up at the sky holding a yellow rose.

Hm, that must be the major's other sister, the one who rejected Havoc. Well I heard from the guys that she was really cute. Maybe I should take a crack at her, he contemplated cockily as he walked up to her.

"Hello miss, I couldn't help but notice you here all alone. Maybe I could keep you…" but stopped dead in his tracks when the girl spun around to reveal the enraged form of Ed. "Ahhh!" he couldn't help himself from screaming, who wouldn't be surprised at a turn of events such as that?

"Mustang what the Hell do you think you're doing?! And where the hell have you been?! I've been waiting here for 19 minutes!!"

"Wow fullmetal, I'm surprised you weren't counting the seconds. And you shouldn't be talking! What the hell are YOU doing dressed like a woman?!"

"It was Al's idea, he said it would make the plan more authentic and less suspicious. But forget about that, you're almost 20 minutes late and you were STILL going to stop to flirt? What it wrong with you!?"

"For the sake of this conversation I'm going to bypass that last comment and just agree with Alphonse." Ed huffed but didn't disagree.

"We should go in now, the Major's been waiting. I would have gone in earlier but I didn't want to be alone with him." he shivered at the thought.

"I don't blame you for not wanting to be there by yourself, but why did you have to pick the Major's house in the first place?"

"Because he's the only one we can trust that's accessible right now. General Gruman is in the East HQ, your lackeys have been transferred all over, and lieutenant Hawkeye is serving directly under the Fuhrer. He's the only person who can help us right now. Plus his allegiances aren't known yet so Bradley won't be watching him. We're just going to have to put the fact that he creeps the crap out of us out of the way." Roy sighed knowing full well that ed was right.

"Fine lets just go in." after walking up to the door and knocking they both stood there rather awkwardly waiting for the door to be opened. Finally the door was answered by a small pixy like girl with long blond hair, brilliant green eyes, and the infamous Armstrong curl.

So this is the Major's other sister.

"Hello may I help you?" she asked sweetly.

She's adorable! thought Roy,

"Yes we're here to meet with Major Armstrong."

"Oh you're here to talk to Alex! He's in the library."

"But you know, I'd like to talk to you as well. You really are a beautiful woman." at this she blushed a deep crimson color, "Maybe after I'm done talking to your brother we could OUCH OUCH!!" Ed, having become frustrated and, frankly, fed up with Roy's flirting had roughly grabbed him by the ear, with his automail hand, and began pulling him away from Armstrong's sister.

"I'm sorry but we're in a bit of a hurry, isn't that right SWEETY??" Ed said in a very dramatic and strained voice. "We'll just be going to the library now…" he looked expectantly at her until finally she seemed to understand.

"Oh, down the hall, to the left, 2 doors down."

"Thanks." Ed called behind him as he proceeded to drag Roy down the hall and out of the girl's line of sight. "What the hell is wrong with you? Honestly! Is it a disease? Because I'll believe you if you tell me it's a disease. I just need to know there's a reason for the way you are!" Ed began to scream as soon as they were out of ear shot, meanwhile Roy tried fruitlessly to pry Ed's fingers off his practically bleeding ear. Unfortunately he was no match for automail.

"Ok OK, it's a disease!!!" Ed looked scrutinizingly at Roy.

"You liar." a disbelieving look spread across Roy's face,

"You just said…" however, he was cut off

"Here's the library," Ed stated as he roughly let go of Roy's ear leaving him to meekly rub it.

"I honestly don't know why I put up with you." Roy stated.

"Because I'm an alchemic genius and such great company?" Ed ventured sarcastically. Roy merely smirked as he followed Ed into the library. The library was of course huge and filled with row after row of books stacked to the brim. Books on everything from the history of Ametris to alchemy's most complex theorems. The only library Ed could think of that was larger was the State Alchemist library in central. Ed and Roy wandered from row to row looking for Major Armstrong. Then all of a sudden a booming voice shouted from behind them.

"Welcome Colonel Mustang to the gracious Armstrong Manor!" The sound of Armstrong's voice sent chills up their spines as they awaited his next words without turning. "This manor has been home to Armstrongs for hundreds of years! Oh," he said seeming to just notice an important fact, "were is Edward? And who is this beautiful young woman you have with you?" E's eye twitched violently as he spun around to face Armstrong.

"I am not a woman!!" Ed screeched. Armstrong, however, looked slightly shocked but could not help but chuckle at Ed's deranged expression. Roy merely sighed at the sight.

"Calm down fullmetal." Roy stated calmly while placing a hand on Ed's shoulder. Ed just glared but spoke no more. "Hello Major. I would love to speak with you further about the extensive Armstrong history but we did come here for more pressing matters." Armstrong sobered at Roy's statement and led them over to a table so they could sit and speak more comfortably. Once they were all seated Armstrong spoke.

"So Colonel, Edward, what is it you wished to speak with me about?"

"Well as you know," Roy began, "the Homunculi have infiltrated the military. What you don't know however, is how far this corruption extends. All of the higher ups are in on it."

"All of them?" Armstrong asked in disbelief. Roy nodded and continued.

"Every one of them is in on it. Furthermore, the Fuhrer himself is a Homunculus." at this Armstrong was completely speechless. It was amazing, THE Armstrong had actually been shocked into silence, Ed really couldn't believe it, it was actually quite comical. "and there's more." Armstrong started at this remark.

"How can there possibly be more? How can it be worse?"

"I'm sure Fullmetal here could explain it better than I." Roy responded while motioning towards Ed. Armstrong then turned his attention towards the oldest Elric, and he began.

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Armstrong looked positively astounded by the end of E's tale, even Roy was surprised, having never heard the full account. He had explained to them everything that had happened to him since Gluttony had eaten him, Lin, and Envy.

"Unbelievable!" exclaimed Armstrong, "to think that the leader of the Homunculi is not even human, that he has been controlling the military, that the Fuhrer is only a figure head."

"Exactly," agreed Roy, happy they were finally getting somewhere. "so now you know the extent of our plight. We came to speak with you because we need allies in this troubled time. And because we need to discuss our plan of action."

"Well if you want my suggestion, I would follow their advice. Lay low for a while. Let them think you've given up…"

"How does that fix anything?" Ed asked, annoyed at the major's answer.

"The less trouble they think you'll be the sloppier they're going to get while watching you, that'll give you an opportunity to strike back."

"But I don't want to just sit around and do nothing!"

"Relax Edward, you may not have to." Ed started at Roy quizzically.

"How so?"

"Well," he began, "thanks to Alfonse, the Fuhrer has given the two of you a lot more lee way than he gave me." Ed's eyes brightened in understanding, but Roy continued, "since the two of you have been allowed to continue searching for the Philosophers Stone you'll be able to keep researching. You could find ways to defeat them, weaknesses, and maybe allies. And who knows, if you're lucky and you do get the stone, maybe after Alfonse is back to normal and you have your limbs back, there'll be some left over to stop the Homunculi and this Father bastard." he said while smirking at Ed, and Ed couldn't help but grin back. The Colonel could be a really good guy at times, though he would never admit it.

"That's a good idea," agreed Armstrong, "meanwhile the Colonel and I can plan here. Though we won't be able to meet like this for a while." Roy nodded.

"No, I know it would be too risky to try anything like this anytime soon. But that doesn't mean the Major, Hawkeye, and I can't still come up with an adequate plan of action."

"Wait Hawkeye? She's secretary to the Fuhrer. There's no way you can discuss this stuff near her now!"

"I'm well aware of that Edward, but you don't actually think I'd be careless with this do you? She, along with the rest of my subordinates, though idiotic some of them may be, are all highly trained military officials and have no problem communicating in secret. That and the fact that all of them are completely loyal to me is why, when our plan is set, they will help us succeed." Ed threw a skeptical glance his way but said nothing.

"As for the actual planning," interrupted Armstrong, "I believe it would be best to observe the enemy longer and figure out exactly just how tight your reigns are first before mounting a rebellion." Roy was going to disagree but stopped himself.

The Major's right, I can't rush this, it will only get us all killed.

"Agreed Major. Thank you for your time. We need to be leaving soon anyway or they might realize I'm gone." Armstrong nodded as they all stood. After bidding each other goodbye and after Ed had escaped a bone crushing hug delivered by the Major, Ed and Roy left the manor. They were silent for a while as they walked down the nearly deserted street, each lost to their own thoughts. Then Ed spoke up.

"Mustang," Roy turned to him, "you better be careful and not slip up because those Homunculi bastards are holding Winry's life over our every move and I will not let us be responsible for her death. I will not be responsible for her death." he said, all without ever taking his eyes off the road in front of him. Roy's eyes softened. He couldn't help but feel for the kid he had come to know so well, and actually care for.

"You don't need to worry about me. Just worry about how you and Al are going to find a new lead on the philosophers stone. I mean it took you like three years just to get close," Roy joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey! You think its easy getting solid info on something the majority of the world thinks doesn't exist?" Roy chuckled,

"Ya and how much did it take for you to find out what you have? Which reminds me, don't get into trouble, for someone whose so short you show up on the radar a lot." and there it was, just the thing Mustang was waiting for. It was a sure fire sign Ed was feeling better. "who are you calling a super chibi midget who's too short to even..." Roy couldn't help but smile as he walked on, he had learned years ago how to tune out Ed's rants, enjoying the peace this night was offering him and doting only on thoughts of beautiful women, a brown eyed blonde in particular.

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"Finally!" exclaimed Naruto as he set his gaze on central. It had taken the shinobi a whole two weeks to arrive in Ametris and an additional 3 days to make it to Central and Naruto was becoming increasingly irritated, and irritating. They had never traveled so long and far for a mission without adequate sleep and everybody was on edge.

"Naruto shut the hell up before I pound your face in. Do you want the whole city to know we're here? Stop shouting!" Sakura, ironically shouted, though she didn't hurt Naruto as she did. The trip had apparently exhausted her so much she didn't have the willpower to hit him unless he really deserved it. Kakashi could only sigh and decided to break it up before Sakura and Naruto started fighting and Naruto was left with many broken bones.

"Ok we're all frustrated and tired, let's just find somewhere to spend the night, I doubt there's anyone around at this time of night who could tell us about the philosophers stone." they all agreed and proceeded to search for a hotel. As they walked they passed a tall man with black hair and a short blonde woman wearing a red dress who they then asked directions from to the closest hotel. After arriving and getting their rooms, Naruto and Sai, Kakashi and Yamato, and Sakura to herself, they settled down all knowing that tomorrow the real mission would begin.

Yay so there it is! The 4th chapter! I hope it was worth the wait! Or at least kinda worth it lol. Btw, sorry if some of the characters seemed a little OOC, I just couldn't help it! It was too much fun writing the scene where Ed drags Roy through Armstrong Manor. Oh speaking of Armstrong manor, did any of you think that would be the meeting place? Or did you not get any hint AT all!! Lol remember how I said at the beginning how I might throw in little anime references, well that was one of them . The date that was filled with 'Havoc' was referring to Havoc's date with Armstrong's little sister in the anime filler. I hope that makes sense, you know the whole, 'to see where our relationship is going??' I'm sorry if it sucked I told you I wasn't good at that stuff. Lol anyway. I hope you liked it, and Next chapter Ed and Naruto officially meet…kinda!! Anyway its going to be cool!! I've already gotten most of it written up and its going to be even longer than this chapter!!! It'll be up next month for sure!! Well, ttyl! Oh and of course, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~L