Another chapter! Thank you to PaperBagGhost for the door idea :D

I hope you like it :)

Hurried footsteps ground to a halt. The blonde looked from one side to the other, golden orbs scanning every crevasse and corner. He took a final glance around the empty street and proceeded to walk, positive he hadn't been seen or followed.

Edward was used to sneaking around. After years of serving the state it was a skill he'd been rather forced to develop. He'd learnt that sometimes, his usual hands on approach didn't always work, and he had the scars to prove it. Ed felt a slight twinge of nerves. If he got caught, there would undoubtedly be consequences, ranging from being dishonourably discharged to facing the angry wrath of Roy Mustang. Ed knew which one he'd rather prefer, no doubt about it. He always looked forward to a healthy discussion with his superior.

The teen's eyes darted nervously, attention shifting from one thing to another. 'This is stupid!' he scolded himself. Why would someone follow him anyway? He was off duty for a start. He smiled at his paranoia. Perhaps the mental trauma he'd managed to escape as a child had finally caught up with him. A rustling sound made the blonde flinch, his head turned to the source of the sound, looking up into the branches of a tree. He stopped.

"Don't look at me like that" Ed glared at the raven perched on the lowest branch, its head twitched from one side to the other as he spoke, as if it were trying to process the conversation. "Go bug someone else! And quit looking at me like that!" the teen continued to walk, ignoring the thoughts of the Colonel the bird had managed to trigger. As much as Edward hated to admit, he did feel slightly bad for not informing Roy, no matter how rude or arrogant the man could be.

Approaching the end of the street, he began to think. If something happened... no one would be able to find him. No. Everything was going to run smoothly! He interrupted the thoughts running through his wild imagination. He quickly erased the worst case scenarios from his head, raising a fist to the door, he took a deep breath.

This was something he needed to do. Without it, there was no moving forward. No leads, solutions, and unfortunately, no end to the problem.

"There's no reason why you should trust me, but I promise I'm not here with the military. I'm off duty now"

A hooded figure began to emerge from a dark corner, slowly leaving the comfort of the black masking shadows. The blonde remained as composed as ever, ignoring the thumping of his chest. He had no reason to be scared. If only his body would be more co-operative.

The steps ceased. The hooded creature glared through his spectacles, trying effortlessly to cover the limbs protruding from his clothes.

"You've certainly grown since we last saw each other... Nina would be so proud... Edward."

The familiar whispers made the blonde fume with anger. It was tempting to let his emotions boil over, but Ed knew he would have to ignore them for now, no matter how hard it would be. He could deal with Tucker later.

"If you hadn't guessed already, I'm not here for a social visit" the teen spat through his teeth, clenching his gloved fists tightly. It would only take a slight slip of his temper, and Ed wouldn't hesitate to kill the man. He'd already come close to doing it before. Without the interruption from Alphonse this time, it would be a walk in the park. The blonde never inflicted damage on anyone unless he had to, but Shou Tucker was an exception.

Ed didn't need to ask for anything. Without a single glance at the chimera that was peering through its thick specs, he made his way to the small library. It had been several years since the teen had stepped foot in this hell hole, but he could clearly remember everything. Especially the source he needed most. Revenge could wait. There was something he had to do first.

"Is there something you need?" each word made Ed grimace, clenching his fist tighter and tighter, ignoring the steps coming from behind.

"A book" he said simply, opening the door with a weak kick. He approached the first bookcase, gold orbs scanning each spine of every text book. The words didn't matter. It was colour. That hideous lime green that matched its contents, etched into his memory, something he couldn't forget. Ed could still remember reading it, the sickening feeling as he shoved it back into its slot on the shelve. There were some things he would never understand. Why anyone would want such a power was beyond him.

Power. Edward thought it shouldn't be dispatched to people artificially, he had seen the affects of it. Back In Germany, he'd seen a man who abused his authority, wasting it recklessly on war. Every tank, each gun and bullet, was the result of a grown man acting like a spoilt child. It angered the blonde beyond words. There was nothing he could have done. The small actions of a single person would never have had the desired effect. It seemed sadly that the Fuhrer of the other world felt he could only express himself through chaos and destruction.

Casting thoughts aside, Ed's eyes paused, casting back through the row he had just seen. There was one book that had almost escaped his eye. A gloved hand reached out for the leather book, quickly scanning through the pages. Edward smiled triumphantly. This was it. Human Modification.

"Mr Elric, it would be in your best interest to lay still!"

"STILL?!" the blonde thrashed at the medics grip, shouting loudly over the ear splitting bangs and screams coming from around him. "HOW CAN I LAY STILL? WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE FIELD AND HALF MY LEGS MISSING!!"

After trying hard to pry the man's hands from his shoulders, Ed gave into the pain and exhaustion. He was pale, unnaturally pale. The colour was completely drained from his skin. He didn't resemble a healthy teenager anymore; he looked more like an old man. His gold eyes were sunk into his skull, every inch of skin and bone appeared more fragile than usual.

"What now?" Ed asked nervously, glancing around at the unfolding scene around him through half lidded eyes.

"It's too dangerous to move" the young medic said, nursing the ringing in his ears, "We wait it out"

"WAIT IT OUT? HOW LONGS THAT GOING TO TAKE? HOURS?" the blonde sat up, pulling the man's collar angrily, "I COULD BE DEAD BY THEN!" he yelled, ducking as a bullet grazed his ear. "You're wasting time! Go help someone else!"

"But-"

"GO!" Ed used his remaining strength to throw the man aside, saving himself from a piece of stray shrapnel. The medic clung to his case and dragged it recklessly across the thick mounds of mud without looking back, ducking as bullets skimmed his limbs.

Ed watched as his only chance of survival disappeared from view. The smoke fogged his vision, the strong smell of blood and burning lingered in his nostrils. As the stench continued to linger, the blonde came to realise. This could be it, couldn't it? Not that it made any difference. Everyone back in central probably assumed he was dead anyway. In his short life so far he'd come close to death many times, could this be- NO! He scolded the negative thoughts drifting through his mind, blaming the smoke for making him delirious.

He wasn't going anywhere. Not now. He refused.

Digging his fingers into the earth, Ed made a bleak effort to drag himself from the reckless battle, as far as he could manage. Clenching his teeth, the feeling of cold metal pressed to his temple.

"I wouldn't bother" he whispered, knowing the man couldn't hear him anyway, "I'm already finished"

The teen closed his eyes, taking a deep breath....

BANG. The blonde sprang from the mattress instantly. His heart throbbed against his ribs painfully, the thick strands of honey hair clung to his neck and back.

There was another bang. A knock at the door. Edward stumbled angrily through the dark, throwing open the door bare-chested, a pair of black pants and slacks covering his legs and feet.

"YOU CHOOSE YOUR MOMENTS!" he yelled to his superior, "I've barely slept for the past week, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?"

The Colonel looked on silently. It was clear the blonde was slightly irritated about being disrupted... again. His hair was mussed beyond control, and dark circles hung under his eyes. Roy made a mental note to give the teen a break over the next few days; otherwise, Ed would certainly have a breakdown. The man sheepishly handed the blonde a new photograph, pushing Jean into the doorway as a shield. Roy Mustang was in no mood to face the wrath of an angry Edward. Not tonight.

"I suppose you better come in..." Ed yawned, showing Jean and Roy to the sitting room. He winced as the bright light burned through his eyelids.

The trio settled into their seats, looking again at the same familiar pictures. Havoc could see Edward was absent from the conversation, he wasn't paying any attention. His usual focused gold orbs were drifting.... The blonde groaned, catching dribs and drabs of the conversation.

"But it could mean.... We'd have to.... So what do you think?.....FullMetal?........Ed?......EDWARD!"

Ed jumped at Roy's sudden change in tone, knocking a small pile of books from the armrest; He clutched his chest, glaring daggers.

"Do you mind? I'm a little jumpy tonight...." he reached for the books, peeling them from the floor and holding them in his flesh hand.

"Anything knew?"

"Actually, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised" the teen threw the textbook into the man's lap, smiling triumphantly. He knew Roy hadn't expected him to get a lead so quickly. Usually, it would take at least a week to find anything useful.

"Human.... Modification?" Roy scanned through the texts and diagrams, "I thought that was a myth, no one's ever been able to-" he paused. His dark eyes focused on a single stamp. This was no ordinary library book. It had to be specially approved. Not just anyone could gain access to it. The ink was faint, but clear. 'Sewing life alchemist'

It updated on time! *claps*

Thank you for reading so far :) It means a lot to me that you all spent time reading this.

See you next chapter : )