Finally the Xing crew. Took me longer to write this than I wanted but it was a tricky one. And I'm still not 100% about it. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy!

Characters: Ling, Lan Fan, and Mei (And Xiao Mei!)

They were hardly half a day into their trek back to Xing and Ling was already tempted to bail on his caravan.

First of all, it was hot. So very, very hot.

Second of all, he wanted to know everything that happened between the time he and Lan Fan split up and their reunion, and all that went down with the Chang Clan Princess. Which would be a lot easier if said Chang Clan Princess were being more cooperative but apparently she bore a grudge that ran deep and was hard to talk to.

Third of all… he was so hungry. He could pass out. In fact… he did pass out.

"Ling," Mei scolded from atop her horse, pulling up beside the pile of robes that was her anemic half-brother. "How are we supposed to get there if you keep passing out?"

Lan Fan was already dismounting and pulling Ling into a sitting position. "It may be best to take a rest for now and begin setting up camp."

"Camp already?" Mei asked skeptically, looking at the sun. It was past the worst part of the day but they still had hours before sunset- before the night set in and threatened to freeze them. "We should probably try to make more progress before we…"

Mei trailed off when she saw the look of pain and discomfort flash across Lan Fan's face.

"Alright," Mei agreed with a defeated sigh. They had all known that crossing the desert with automail would be a problem for Lan Fan. Mei hadn't known it would start so early, though.

Ling wobbled to his feet after Lan Fan fished out some dried fruit for him to snack on and the two began untying their things from each of their mounts. Mei was walking in a wide circle around the camp, stopping every few feet to draw something in the sand with her foot.

Ling shot Mei an inquisitive look as he munched on his snacks. "Uh, whatcha doing?"

When Mei completed her circle, she stopped at his side, dropped her kunai in the sand between her feet and activated the series of circles. Suddenly the sand erupted around them and soon they were shielded from the harsh sun by a sandstone dome.

Mei smiled as Ling wilted in the shade. "Oh thank god. Good thinking, Mei."

"It's how I crossed the desert before on my own," she replied as she began taking off her outer layer of robes and shaking out the sand.

"Well, thanks," he said affectionately, dropping his hand atop her head to pat it. "Without you we might be roasted by now."

Her earlier smile faded into a look of irritated contempt and she quickly hopped out of his reach. Ling sighed. Mei had (mostly) come willingly but she was still miffed about the way he had torn the girl away, and also stolen her key to saving her clan from right under her nose.

Speaking of which, Ling carefully fished the little vial out from his pocket, checking to make sure it was still intact. He handled the vile like precious cargo and rarely let it out of his sight. He set the vial of red liquid atop one of their luggage crates and a tense hush fell on the three as it always did when the Philosopher's Stone was present. There was a persistent, ever present question that hung about the trio that no one had yet the courage to speak aloud:

What do we do now?

Ling of course planned to use the philosopher's stone to gain his father's throne. But what exactly did that entail? If he presented the emperor with the vial, he would surely attempt to use it to save and extend his own life. Even if he was named heir- when would he truly be ruler if his father continued to live on?

And not only that… if the emperor sought to make his own Philosopher's Stone? They couldn't just sit by and let innocent people suffer.

Ling sighed and turned to Lan Fan. He caught her eye and that broke her from her own reverie.

"Let's just worry about getting back home for now," he said softly. "None of us are in top shape and this desert isn't going to be kind to us."

The girls agreed and continued to set up camp and prepare a simple meal. There was plenty enough space in the sandstone dome for them each to have plenty of sleeping space and for their horses to have their own feeding area without disturbing them.

As he set up his and Lan Fan's sleeping tent, Ling couldn't help but realize Mei was setting out her own sleeping roll on the far side of the fire, away from him and Lan Fan.

"You're gonna freeze over there by yourself," Ling called out.

"I'll be fine," Mei called back.

"You can't just sleep with your panda and a blanket-"

He was cut off when Mei scowled and with a flash of bright alchemical energy there was suddenly a small but perfectly-to-scale replica of the imperial palace around her sleeping bag. Ling just muttered about her being a show off and Lan Fan came up beside him almost silently.

"Forgive her, my lord. She is merely worried about what will happen when we return." Lan Fan didn't want to see the newly impacted truce she had requested crumble so quickly.

"No need to take it out on me," he muttered with a scowl, but decided to drop the subject. He turned to face Lan Fan with a softer expression. "How are you doing, anyway? Is your arm okay?"

Lan Fan flinched ever so slightly. She had one arm wrapped in bandages, which was worrisome enough, but her automail was already attempting to scald her despite the protective measures they took to keep it wrapped up.

"I'm fine," she said curtly and Ling knew she was at least half lying. Sadly, there wasn't much he could do for her himself other than suggest she rest.

With Lan Fan resting and Mei holed up in her miniature palace, Ling found himself truly alone for the first time in months. He had shared his body with Greed for so long that now it felt weirdly lonely without the second voice in his head.

Not that he really missed being possessed by a humanoid monster that nearly cost him his life, but he had begun to like the homunculus known as Greed and now that all he had left were someone else's memories in his head, he felt truly haunted.

The faces of the chimera people flashed in the back of his mind, people he had never met and yet he felt so fond of. He sighed and stopped by old man Fu's casket- the reason they were making such a hasty journey home in the first place. Fu's blood stained face flashed across Ling's memory as well, someone he deeply cared for and had to witness die right before his eyes.

His eyes finally fell on the little Philosopher's Stone again, such an unassuming vial that was responsible for so much death and blood shed and grief.

You got what you wanted, Ling thought in a voice not his own. Now… was it worth it?

That first night was the hardest. Ling was always a heavy sleeper, and napped often when he could. That night he couldn't sleep a wink. He tried not to move, to feign sleep, and wished it would eventually claim him.

It was too quiet in his mind, without the cacophony of souls whirling about, but it was too noisy around him. Well. It was actually quite quiet, but it was the small noises that broke the silence that kept him awake.

Lan Fan always put on a brave face, even when he knew she suffered. She had hardly shed a tear since leaving Amestris but now, alone in the calm of the night, Ling could just make out her quiet sobs as she cried into her own pillow. He knew she was trying to be quiet and knew that attempting to check on her would just cause her to get defensive and suck it up. She needed to let it out, to grieve.

They were practically sleeping in the same bed, their sleeping rolls pushed together. He could just imagine the lewd comments he would get from Greed if the homunculus could see them now, but it was merely for warmth and safety in case they were ambushed. Though, there was a small part of him that wished he could just roll over and pull her close to him but he knew at a time like this it would just do more harm than good.

He remembered how she had shed a tear, holding onto him as he and Greed threatened to plunge to their death. How she would never let go, no matter the pain it brought her. He wished that had been the only time he would make her cry.

Finally, the tears stopped, and Ling could tell Lan Fan had drifted off by the way she was breathing. He sighed to himself, hoping this meant he could get some sleep as well… when his acute hearing picked up another tiny voice crying in the night.

Ling sighed and sat up, rubbing his sleep dreary eyes, tangled hair falling loose over his shoulders.

He quietly padded over to where Mei was sleeping and pushed away the little sheet she had hung as a door, and saw the young girl huddled up about her tiny panda. Though tears pricked her eyes and stained her face, Ling could tell she was deep asleep.

Crying in her sleep, Ling thought. What a dummy… She is so scared even though I said I'd protect her. If only he could get her to believe him...

Her small body was wracked with shivers, her only source of warmth a small blanket and an even smaller panda. Welp. If he planned on protecting people, he might as well start now.

Mei was the first one up that morning, seeing as Xiao May was scratching at her side to be let out to use the bathroom.

She rose groggily and rubbed her head. Her night had been full of bad dreams that she really would rather forget.

After spending the last few months with Envy in a jar, she had gotten used to bad dreams. The vile creature had always made her feel on edge and at night he would whisper malicious things to her that made her nights swim with nightmares. She saw her clan dying, the world burning, the good people of Amestris being turned to ash and blood. But she always woke up relieved to find that none of that had happened.

Now, though, when she woke, she had to face the reality that the white man-eating faces that had clambered after her had been real, that the enormous shadow that threatened to swallow God had succeeded in doing so, that the boy in the armor she had come to care about had nearly been lost forever due to her intervention. That Alphonse Elric had almost died trying to protect her, and then sacrificed himself to save everyone.

It had all worked out in the end, of course. Father had lost, Ed got his arm back and managed to bring Alphonse back from the other side. Mei had been overjoyed to see her friend back and in the flesh but also… another image that haunted her dreams was the skeletal, sunken face and long lanky golden hair. Al was back, but he still suffered, and there was nothing she could do to help him. To help any of them.

Xiao May finally broke her from her worried thoughts, tugging at her side. Mei shifted and felt a second blanket slip off of her.

"What the…," she eyed it groggily. "This isn't mine…"

She neatly folded the blue blanket and crawled out of her palace-tent and took a moment to use Alkahestry to destroy it. She saw Ling and Lan Fan curled up under the same blanket and sighed a little huff of hair.

Dummy. She thought, laying the folded blanket by Ling. Pervert, she added when she noticed Ling's hands practically up Lan Fan's shirt.

After that she stepped outside with Xiao May and took in the view of the vast world of sand about her. There were shrubs and sparse bits of grass here and there but for the most part it was all sand. It was still cold out but the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon- they would need to leave soon if they wanted to beat the heat and make it to a halfway point on time, especially with Lan Fan's automail.

While Xiao May scampered about, Mei saw some cacti in the distance. She recalled Ling's blanket that morning, a sort of silent peace offering, and sighed. Okay. So she hadn't won the Philosopher's Stone. But her half-brother had and even if it didn't mean she would be crowned empress, befriending and trusting Ling Yao was the next best option for protecting her clan and she decided that maybe playing nice wouldn't kill her and then bounded off into the sand.

When she came back inside, Ling and Lan Fan were both up and tearing down camp. Apparently they had had the same thought. The less moving under the sun, the better.

"Morning, Princess," Ling greeted, handing over a bowl of lukewarm oatmeal . "Eat up, we gotta make up for lost time today."

Mei muttered around her mouthful that she had said that yesterday.

"Yeah, well we all needed a rest and Lan Fan has to be careful in the sun," Ling Said, ignoring the slight hurt expression Lan Fan wore for being called out.

"About that," Mei said, sitting cross legged on the ground and setting down an armful of cacti and succulent plants, "we won't get anywhere if we keep stopping like this for Lan Fan's arm."

Lan Fan drew up defensively. "I promise I'm fine on my own. There is no need to- what are you doing?"

Mei had ignored the outburst and started drawing transmutation circles around the plants and set one of their empty water jugs next to it. There was a flash of bright light and suddenly the jug was full of… something.

"What's that?" Ling asked.

"Desert plants are good for treating burns and making salves. I made a simple salve to put around your automail joint," Mei explained as she capped the jar and handed to Lan Fan. "It's not perfect since I don't have any real medicine to add to it but it should help some."

Lan Fan regarded the jar of ointment with wonder and stammered out a short, "Thank you, Mei."

It was amazing how less than a year ago the two girls had tried to kill each other despite being injured and now they were trying to see to it that the other didn't die a needless death.

After finishing their meager breakfast and tearing down the rest of their camp, the trio set off once again for Xing, in relatively good spirits.

Sadly, the desert was a cruel mistress, and those good spirits would soon wear off.

The sun was setting on the vast sea of sand that was the eastern desert; the sand was seemingly endless and went on unobscured for miles around except for a rather inconspicuous dome of rock jutting out of the ground.

Inside this sandstone rock, three travel weary travelers were gathered around a small fire. Mei sat on one side of the campfire, Xiao Mei at her side, while Lan Fan and Ling the other. Each were mulling over their own small bowl of rice, a tense silence having fallen over the group.

The same silence that fell every time it was brought up; the ever present presence that they could each sense with their heightened senses- the small vial of bright red liquid that was rarely far from Ling's side and never out of sight, sat atop a wooden crate just to the side of the fire.

They had been traveling for almost two weeks now, and Xing was growing closer and closer everyday. Soon they would be crossing the border back into their danger-riddled homeland.

Mei was the first to break the silence.

"So… what do we do with it?"

It was the same question all three of them had been tossing around since they left.

Ling sighed, as he always did when Mei posed this question.

"I don't know," he said, crossing his arms. "I have to present it to the emperor to be named heir but… after knowing what it's capable of…" He trailed off and the girls nodded, each all too well versed in the horrors of Philosopher Stones.

"The Emperor has no experience with alchemy himself," Lan Fan said softly. "Perhaps he would not be able to truly use it…"

"There's gonna be a lot of royal alkahests at his disposal. I'm sure he could order them to figure it out," Ling shot back. "So, let's assume he knows how to use it- what are the chances we're wrong and he doesn't abuse its power?"

Ling sounded like he was grasping at straws. Mei clenched her hands atop her thighs.

"When I was in the North with Dr. Marco… And he told me what it was made of, I knew I could never tell the Emperor how to make a Philosopher's Stone, because I knew he wouldn't hesitate to use his people in it."

Ling nodded solemnly. "Yeah. You're right. If he is desperate enough to send his own kids to risk their lives in such a wild goose chase, there's no telling what he would do to his poorer subjects."

"My subjects," Mei whispered, voice strained. After a moment she practically shouted, "We can't give it to him, Ling!"

Lan Fan was instantly on the defensive while Ling just frowned. "I damn near died from having my body possessed by a monster for half a year trying to get this, I'm not just gonna give up now."

"If you give him the stone, he will just use it to kill more people!"

"I already told you, I'm not letting that happen!"

"How!"

"Mei," Lan Fan said calmly amidst the yelling, "the Young Lord is on your side, there is no point-"

"How can he be on my side," Mei snapped, standing and brushing the sand off her legs, "if he's honestly considering using that thing? It's… it's just people! Their lives are in there!"

"Don't you think I know that better than anyone? After what I went through with Greed? I'm not just going to let our father become another Father, Mei!" Ling was trying to control his temper but everyone's nerves were shot due to the heat and exhaustion; not to mention Mei was proving very good at getting under his skin the way any younger sister could.

"There have to be other ways to obtain immortality. We need to destroy it!"

"Do you even know how to destroy a Philosophers Stone, Mei?" Lan Fan asked.

Mei flinched at that. "No… not really, but I saw Dr. Marco do it in the North so I think I can-"

"I'm not letting you risk something like that! You'll just wind up hurting yourself," Ling said. Mei took another step back and he hated the pained look that crossed her face. He had tried relentlessly to get her on his and Lan Fan's side since the day he carried her away from the Elrics but their old sibling rivalry was a hard thing to eradicate after just a few weeks. He could tell that Mei thought they were ganging up on her and was getting her back up.

"Don't act like you're worried about me, Ling Yao! You're just worried about the stone getting damaged!"

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe you don't care about your people at all and are just mad you didn't get the Philosopher's Stone first!"

Mei gasped and Ling knew he had crossed a line when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes. Her hand was a blur of movement and suddenly she was armed with her trusty kunai.

Lan Fan was instantly between them, assuming Mei meant to hurt her master, her own short blade drawn and ready. There was a tense silence in which Mei took in them both then much to their surprise Mei hurled the blades at the wall of the sandstone dome she had erected and quickly made a small exit. She grabbed her backpack and sleeping roll and stormed out.

"W-where are you going," Lan Fan called. Ling was up in a moment.

"You can't go out there alone in the night, you'll die!"

"I made this tent, I can make another. I'm going back to Xing on my own!"

Ling grabbed the girl about the waist.

"C'mon, I'm sorry, okay? Come back inside and we can- ow!" Xiao May had chomped down on his hand almost to the bone.

"Fine, be that way! Don't come with us!"

"I never wanted to come with you in the first place!" Mei yelled back with a sob and with a bright blue spark the hole in the wall was sealed up tight.

Ling was left grumbling at a blank slate and sucking on his injured hand. Lan Fan came up beside him to inspect the wound.

"She is just upset, Young Lord," Lan Fan muttered. "And nervous about when we return home. Please, don't be too harsh on her."

"You know I won't," he said with a small sigh, then a small smile. "Look at you defending the Chang Princess. When did you get so soft?"

He was graced with one of Lan Fans rare soft smiles. "I realized a while back that children killing children won't get us anywhere. If we truly want to reshape our nation," she continued, tying a small bandage around Ling's wounded hand, "then we have got to start working together."

"Yeah," Ling muttered bitterly, flexing her hand. "Try convincing her of that."

The days in the desert were hot, but the nights were so cold you could easily freeze to death. Luckily, Mei could easily transmute temporary dwellings to protect them from the heat or cold as necessary. Crossing the desert with an alchemist was a lot easier than without.

She not only was able to make protective structures, but Mei could also transmute the water from inside wild plants and cacti, and also tended to Lan Fan's side when the sun threatened to burn her flesh where the automail junction met her skin. And, to top things off, the casket their team of horses drew behind them was sealed alchemically, so it wouldn't suffer in the extreme desert heat.

Basically, without Mei, in their current situation, they'd be screwed. When the night had passed, Ling rolled around lazily for a bit and then finally rose and went to take a leak in the early morning light of dawn. He saw the smaller sandstone dome Mei must have created after their fight and decided to give her a minute to wake up before he went to apologize. They were almost back to Xing and Lan Fan was right- they truly needed to work together from here on out.

Ling got dressed and stole a few of the skewered dried fish Lan Fan was preparing for breakfast. Popping one in his mouth, he made his way over to Mei's sleeping quarters and knocked on the outer wall.

"Hey, wake up, little sister," he called in a jovial tone around the skewer in his mouth. "I bring peace offerings."

After waiting and getting no reply, Ling shrugged and crouched down at the entrance.

"Alright, you better be dressed," he called loudly, half covering his eyes, "cause I'm coming in-..."

He looked around but the little sandstone tent was empty. Hrm.

He crawled back out and scarfed down the remaining fish skewers, rubbing his head in confusion. Maybe Mei had also run off to use the bathroom and needed more privacy- girls were weird like that.

It wasn't until he heard Lan Fan's worried shout that he began to grow suspicious.

"My Lord! Mei's horse is gone!"

"Dammit, she really ran off," Ling muttered to himself.

A cold chill suddenly shot down his spine and he began frantically searching his pockets. When he found it he sighed. Okay, so she didn't run off with the Philosophers Stone. That was a relief.

But he still sighed in frustration. He couldn't just let an injured little girl run off into the desert no matter how obnoxious she was being. Lan Fan was at his side in an instant, a worried look on her face. The only reason she had made it this far was due to Mei's healing abilities.

"She can't have gone far," Ling said, hoisting himself in his saddle. "Stay here in case she comes back, I'll see if I can find her."

"Yes, my lord but…."

"But what?" He was feeling impatient but he always listened to what Lan Fan had to say.

"You're headed toward Xing but…" Lan Fan turned in the direction of the West. "You don't think perhaps…"

Ling swore under his breath. "She did say she wanted to talk to that Doctor about destroying the stone… she isn't really that dumb is she!? To backtrack weeks worth of travel?"

"I don't know. She has been reluctant since the beginning…And there are many people she had to leave behind."

"At least they're alive!" Ling barked, anger rising, tugging at the reigns of his horse. "I swear once I catch that runt, I'm throttling her."

Ling quickly spurred his mount into a gallop, and crested a hill, 100% ready to scour the desert for a little Xingese princess- much to his chagrin, he practically barreled into her the second he topped the hill.

"Waaah!" She shrieked as their horses reared in fear. She managed to stay on but Ling was thrown from his mount. "Ling! What are you doing! What's the rush?"

Ling rubbed his head angrily. "Mei! What the hell are you doing! Why are you-" he cut himself off when he saw Mei's bags and saddle were filled with more desert plants, cacti and water.

"What… what are you doing," he mumbled, defeated and confused.

"Just… gathering some more provisions." Mei replied sheepishly. "There's, um, a spring that way."

Ling glanced in the way she had pointed. They were close enough to Xing now that the land was beginning to be overtaken by coarse shrubs and trees.

"Really? What a relief… I… I honestly thought you had run off back to Amestris."

Mei made a face. "I'm not that stupid. Besides, I... need to return home to my clan."

"Yeah, I know," Ling smiled a bit bashfully. "Guess the sun's finally starting to get to me. Let's grab Lan Fan and check out that spring."

Once Ling managed to recapture and remount his horse, the two headed back to camp to fetch Lan Fan. Ling was so excited that Mei had not run away and about the prospect of a spring that he didn't catch the guilty looks Mei and Xiao Mei exchanged.

Ling groaned in pleasure as they finally came upon the little spring, surrounded by dense shrubs and trees and tall grass. Small woodland creatures were startled at their approach and fish gleamed in the sunlight.

"I know what we're having for dinner!" Ling said cheerfully, quickly hopping off his horse and practically drooling over the fresh fish. "Mei, can you make me a fishing pole? Never mind, I can just make a spear with a reed and a knife and-"

Mei and Lan Fan both exchanged looks of exasperation that he could be thinking of food at a time like this.

"Well, while you procure dinner, Young Lord, I think Mei and I will attempt to have a proper bath."

"Eh?" Ling said, already half waded into the water. "Really? We're just gonna get dirty and sweaty again tomorrow."

Mei made a face, pulling her sticky clothes from her body. "Just cause you're content be a sweaty, gross boy doesn't mean we are, Ling."

Lan Fan shot Mei a look for insulting Ling but… she also had to agree. She would trade her remaining arm for a nice bath right now, so she followed the young girl to the water's edge.

"Is…. is this really necessary?"

Lan Fan had begun undressing but was caught off guard when Mei erected a sort of partition between them and Ling, despite the spring having plenty of natural coverage.

"I don't want that pervert peeking at us while we bathe," Mei said as she removed her outer robes. Lan Fan flushed in anger.

"The Young Lord is not the type to behave so brutishly or low as some peeping Tom! He is to be our Emperor and is of better moral character than that!"

Lan Fan wilted under the scrutinizing look Mei gave her then, expecting some sort of rebuttal. She was shocked when the younger girl just shrugged and said, "If you say so."

The water was surprisingly cool despite the heat, perhaps due to the shade of the trees. The girls sighed in relief as the dirt and sand was washed from their skin. Lan Fan carefully lowered her automail arm into the water- it stung when the water made contact with the inflamed flesh but she reveled in the feeling of water rushing over her.

"Is your arm okay?" Mei asked, coming to her side, concerned. Despite their bickering, Lan Fan had come to realize Mei had a big heart and couldn't stand seeing people suffering around her. She hoped that their truce could continue even as they crossed into their homeland.

"Yes. It should be. Thank you for all your help, Mei. I am glad you didn't leave as the Young Lord thought. I don't know if I could have made it this far without you."

Unlike Ling, Lan Fan did catch the guilty look on Mei's face.

"Mei… what's on your mind?"

Mei sighed and reached up to begin undoing her many braids and buns.

"I… I did leave. This morning. I was so mad, I really did plan on going back to Amestris myself."

Lan Fan looked shocked but she had to admit she wasn't too surprised. Mei was strong willed and hot headed and a penchant for doing what she wanted despite the danger it proved herself.

"So you really did plan to track down Dr. Marco?"

"I… I don't know," Mei muttered, running her hands through her now loose hair. It was so long and spread about her in the pool of water, threatening to pull her under with the current. Mei looked suddenly very young and very vulnerable in that moment. "I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know if I wanted to find Dr. Marco, or ask Mr. Scar for help or check on Alphonse-sama-" here she practically choked on her words and brought her hands to her face.

"I think I just…," the girl muttered into her hands, voice tiny. "I just don't want to go home a failure."

Lan Fan could understand that. Mei had been sent on the same hair brained mission they had- she had seen her own fair share of hell and misery- and what was she bringing back to show for it? Nothing but scars and nightmares.

"You are not a failure, Mei," Lan Fan said softly, searching for any words that could comfort the young girl. "You did a lot of amazing things while in Amestris. And I know you gave up your chance at the Philosopher's Stone to help that Hawkeye lady."

Mei glanced up, surprised. "How did you know that?"

"The Young Lord spoke with Colonel Mustang before we left; he knows all of what you did and holds you in high regard for it."

Mei just scowled to herself as if she couldn't believe it.

"I mean it; we both know what you're capable of. So long as you stay on our side and aid us as we return to Xing, your clan will be protected as well as all those who will stand beside us. Our Clan may not be as low as yours but we have a lot rings to climb before we will be accepted and we need all the friends we can get. It may not be the victory you were hoping for but it is something you can return with and give to your Clan."

Mei was quiet for a long time and Lan Fan thought the girl wasn't going to answer until finally she said, "I became an alkahest to protect my people. My clan is full of hard working, kind hearted people but we are poor and plagued by many sicknesses and don't have access to proper medicine. I thought if I dedicated my life to making people better then we would be okay… I can't just hand them over to be fodder for another Philosopher's Stone."

Lan Fan frowned. She had always reversed her master for his strength and never questioned his position as a prince- now she wondered how cruel the world could be to put the burden of a whole population on such a young person's shoulders.

"Mei… why did you return? If you fear so for your people?"

Mei glanced up, big eyes shining, suddenly looking bashful. "I… I couldn't just leave… not with your arm…"

Lan Fan was truly shocked at that. Her? Mei had come back for her sake?

She watched as Mei took a deep breath and dove completely underwater. She allowed herself a small smile. She shouldn't be so surprised.

Just as Mei had sacrificed her chance to get the Stone to save Miss Hawkeye, she couldn't leave behind someone who immediately needed her help. It was nice to know some of the Emperor's children had kind hearts beside her master.

She hoped, in the end, that wouldn't spell both their deaths.

"Lan Fan, would you like help with your hair?"

Lan Fan glanced up from where she was scrubbing her automail. Mei had been joyously splashing around with Xiao Mei for a bit and was now at her side.

With her injured arm it was difficult to undo the top knot she had her hair in. She had planned on letting it go unwashed but after seeing Mei scrub the dirt and sweat out of her own hair made her somewhat envious.

"Um. Yes, please if you don't mind."

Mei smiled and reached up to unwind Lan Fan's hair, Mei's long black tresses clinging to her body as she shifted out of the water. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy over that as well- she had worn her hair long as a young girl but had taken to cutting it shorter when she became a bodyguard.

It must have taken Mei several years to grow her hair that long, Lan Fan thought as Mei unbound her hair and brushed through it with her fingers.

"Mei…"

"Hmmm?"

"How old are you?"

Lan Fan finally really took in the girl's body as she returned to the water, wringing out her own hair- despite her complaints of privacy before the Chang princess didn't seem to be very modest about being naked outdoors. She couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't as young as she had previously thought.

"Oh, um, I turned thirteen while in Amestris. My birthday was at the end of the year."

So Mei was twelve when she left Xing. That was still surprisingly young. Lan Fan couldn't really judge. She had only recently turned fifteen herself.

Children shouldn't fight children, Lan Fan thought. And yet we're destined to finish the fights our parents started.

Once the girls were thoroughly soaked and scrubbed, they took some time to wash their soiled riding clothes and joined Ling by the fire while they dried and cooked all the fish Ling had managed to catch.

With clean clothes and full bellies they were all in higher spirits than they had been in a while. They ate in a comfortable silence that had not been there at the outset of their journey.

"So…," Ling began after wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve. "Xing's border is about a day away. Thing's are gonna get real gritty from here on out."

Lan Fan and Mei nodded, each bracing herself for what was to come.

"The Imperial City is probably about another week's travel from here, if we act quickly and don't run into any trouble. I'd like to head home first to bury Fu, but after that…"

He met eyes with Lan Fan and she nodded, her eyes made of steel. "Right. Time to take the throne."

Both Ling and Lan Fan turned to Mei then who faltered under the sudden intensity.

"And you, Chang?"

"Me?"

"What will you do?" Lan Fan asked quietly. "Will you come with us? We can see to it that you are safely returned to your family if you wish…"

Mei paused and mulled that over, exchanging a pensive glance with Xiao Mei. She couldn't believe they were giving her a choice.

After a moment she squared her shoulders and set her jaw. In the end, she never really had a choice.

"I'm going with you," she said, eyes set with the same steel as Lan Fan's. Ling and Lan Fan smiled.

"Now that's what I like to hear," Ling said excitedly. He leaned forward and held out his fist. Both girls hesitated.

"We're gonna reform this nation from the ground up and I can't do it without you. Both of you."

Lan Fan reacted first, a determined smile on her face and bumped her fist with Ling's. Mei gave a defeated sigh and a small smile and added hers as well.

"Great! Tonight, the desert. Tomorrow, Xing. From there on out, it's to Hell and back, so get your beauty sleep tonight, ladies."

That night was cold. They all slept restlessly, but it was the first night Mei didn't sleep in her own separate quarters. Despite deciding to side with her older half-brother, Mei still felt on edge. With Xiao Mei curled up under her blanket, Mei held her close, the only living creature she had ever considered a close friend.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing, Xiao Mei," she whispered. She glanced over her shoulder where Lan Fan and Ling were already asleep in their own mats. Despite deciding to join them, Mei felt so alone, as if she was the only one truly fighting for her clan's well being.

"I hope we can really trust them," she whispered into Xiao Mei's fur, tears pricking her eyes. Trusting Ling Yao was her only hope.

That night she shivered, alone, and cried herself to sleep again. But she awoke in the night sweaty and tangled in a mass of limbs.

Mind muddled by sleep it took her a moment to realize that both Ling and Lan Fan had settled themselves on either side of her in the night, keeping her warm, and tangling themselves up in the process. Lan Fan's automail was heavy on her chest and her hair was a mess; Ling was practically drooling on her, with a hand up his shirt and his stomach exposed. She shared incredulous looks with Xiao Mei and then just sighed, accepting that these were the fools she was entrusting her life and Clan to.

Dummies, she thought, tears pricking her eyes again, but a small smile pulled at her lips, and so she curled up to catch a few more hours of sleep and peace before setting foot into Hell.