"Well, I'll be! Ling Yao, what the hell are you doing here?" cried Er-rin.
"I was already on my way into Amestris when I caught wind of a help plea from Prince Hai-Chi. I figured I'd help him out as well as hunt down a Philosopher's Stone." said the young man. "I never thought I'd run into the family of Hayatae before I ran into him. So how have you been, Princess?"
"Fine. We welcome your help." Er-rin answered shortly.
"Er-rin, I could use a heads-up on who this guy is…" Edward said quietly.
"My brother… sorta. The Emperor has fifty kids, and all of them compete to be the next ruler of Xing. This is Ling Yao, prince of the Yao Clan. Terios and I are the children of the Hai-Chi Clan." Er-rin told him.
"Er-rin! Wait… Ling? What are you doing here?"
Terios was on top of the young man, eyes ablaze.
"Hello, Hayatae. We were just talking about you." Ling said casually.
"Terios, it's okay. He's here to help—or so he says." Er-rin said softly, prying her brother off of Ling.
"Terios? Nice new name. But I also wanted to speak with you." Ling became serious and opened his eyes, which had been closed the entire time. "The Invisible Islands are now mysteriously empty. And sightings of the Invisible Warriors moving west have become increasingly common. Several have even spotted Empress Katsumn herself moving through the countryside."
"West? But that's towards here!" cried Ylassa. "And… are you sure all of them are gone?"
"Yes. All of the Invisible Island Warriors have vanished from their native archipelago and were seen moving into Amestris." said a person behind Ling.
"I take these Invisible Warriors aren't good?" he asked.
"No. Oh, they are the worst news possible. The Invisible Warriors are the most fearsome fighters ever. They treat each other as equals, even the ruler. They specialize in many different weapons, styles of fighting, and traps and deception. You never see them unless they want you to, and it's rumored that to become the ruler, you have to kill your own family!" Hikaru trembled.
"How barbaric. We do nothing of the sort. And people so see us." came an offended tone from the trees. "We just practice our camouflage so much that it becomes a natural instinct to blend in."
Turning around, they saw masses of warriors, both male and female, wearing mostly green clothing. They had numerous weapons per person, but all bore an arm-band with four triangles on it. The speaker was the only one on the ground. Her arms were crossed in front of her, and her long brown hair was kept in a pony-tail on top of her head.
"How many stripes are on her left sleeve?" whispered Ling nervously.
"I can see… seven, eight, nine. Nine." he hissed back.
The Xingese were silent. "Empress Katsumn Kasumi." squeaked Terios.
"Just Katsumn, please. But what is this about a rebellion, and why is Xing involved?"
"Uh…"
"Maybe I should tell you why we're involved. The Invisible Islands were cursed, long ago, by a Xingese woman. She said we would be feared for no real reason until we aided the golden country of the west. When we intercepted a messenger pigeon with a cry for troops to move west, we followed the Xingese people moving west ourselves. Imagine our surprise at the color of the country." the woman said. "We're really a gentle people, and before the Xingese ruler tried to take our country over, we worked as healers for hire and peace emissaries. We only became fighters when we were threatened."
"Katsumn, why do you want to help us? Besides our… err, color?" he asked, stepping forth.
She tilted her head to the side a little before answering with a smile on her face. "Because we can and we want to."
"That's a unique reason for wanting to help someone. I like it." Lyn's group had arrived with the rest of their troops.
"Yes, that is a reason everyone should use for helping. Because they can and want to." Dark nodded.
"I also agree with it, but I'm still confused by your eagerness to help—Hey!"
Katsumn had darted up to him and now held his arm. "Why…?" she said sadly. "Why are you like this?"
"I… committed the taboo. Human trans-mutation." he said almost inaudibly.
"I see. I'm sorry."
But as Katsumn turned to go back to the trees and her warriors, he just barely heard her say something.
"You and me both, young Alchemist. You and me both."