Edward, Alphonse, and Mustang were about to leave when Lovino ran up and said, "I'm coming too!"

"No," Edward replied bluntly. Before Lovino could object, Edward said, "You'll be safer here. We don't know what the people who took Feliciano will do to he-him."

Lovino still looked ready to object, but Alphonse knelt down next to him and said, "You're going to be needed here. Winry doesn't know everyone and she'll need help. You can give her that help because you do know everyone."

Lovino nodded. "Bring Feliciano back safely," he told them, before turning around and running back over to the group in the living room.

"I think you're getting better about handling him," Mustang said smugly.

"Aw, shut it," Edward growled, walking out the door. "We're going to need to get to the train station if we're supposed to meet this Ludwig guy on time."

Alphonse chuckled, saying, "Coming, Brother," and ran after him. Mustang followed behind, smiling. There wasn't a moment he regretted putting the Vargas Brothers in Edward's care.

xxx

Edward yawned, sighing softly at the same time. The train they were taking to Central had been delayed so now they were stuck waiting for it. Mustang wandered over to the phone to call Ludwig and explain about the delay while Alphonse was sitting next to him.

"This still doesn't make any sense," Alphonse said once he was sure no one was listening. "Everything that's happening with Feliciano and Lovino and Arthur and Alfred and all of them. It's like there's some missing clue."

"You're right about that, Al," Edward grumbled, stifling another yawn. "I just don't know what that clue is. Though, it seems like once we get this clue, everything will fall into place immediately."

A pause. "Do you really think it would be a good idea for us to find out this clue?" Alphonse asked.

Edward shook his head. "I can't say either way. The fact remains that there's something that's not right about the family ties for Feliciano and Lovino, and we're in charge of protecting them."

Mustang walked back over, saying, "He's agreed to wait for us at the train station."

"Did he ever mention how we'd recognize him?" Edward asked.

Mustang chuckled, replying, "He simply said that he gets the feeling we'll know it's him when we see him."

"That's not very helpful," Edward sighed.

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of a whistle blowing. It was the train to Central, and the trio made their way over to it. Edward was looking forward to some sleeping, especially since he hadn't gotten very much of it over the past few days. After a quick count, he found it hard to believe it's only been four days since he was standing in Mustang's office, that a week ago he had been ignorant of the Vargas Brother's existence.

"Brother," Alphonse said, shaking him awake. Edward must've fallen asleep, because the sun was dipping below the horizon. Edward looked out the window and found that the train was slowing. "We're here," Alphonse told him.

Edward stretched and stood up, looking around for Mustang. He spotted Mustang's black hair a few seats away talking to a group of females, probably in their early or mid-twenties.

Edward watched as Mustang bid the ladies farewell and walked off the train once it stopped. Edward and Alphonse followed, Edward prepared to chew Mustang out for what he saw, but he never got the chance.

"Why does the awesome me have to get stuck with someone like you? You're not awesome!" the voice of a kid said. Edward didn't know why, out of all the talk, he picked up this kid's voice. Edward looked around and found he couldn't even see where the kid was.

"You heard that also?" Alphonse muttered, looking around also.

"You heard it?" Edward asked.

Alphonse nodded. Before they could continue their conversation, Mustang appeared in front of them. "What are you two standing there looking like dummies about? We need to find Ludwig, and you two are the only ones that might be able to recognize him."

"Yea, might," Edward scoffed, looking around again. For a moment he thought he caught a flash of silver, but it must've been nothing because the next moment it was gone. "Did he even say where he would be?"

"He just said he'd be waiting for us by the train," Mustang stated.

Edward stood there for what seemed to be a very long time, before finally seeing who he thought he was supposed to. "There," Edward stated, pointing to the blonde near the end of the train. The group picked up their cases and made their way over.

"You're Ludwig?" Mustang asked. Edward was staring in shock. From the sound of it, they were supposed to be meeting a grown man, probably like Antonio. He wasn't expecting to meet a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid decked in black.

"I am," the kid calling himself Ludwig replied. "I've taken a look around the station. So far it doesn't seem like any of Francis' followers have shown up yet."

"Out of the way!" a kid shouted. A silver-haired male shoved through the group, disappearing into the crowd, but not before Edward saw his red eyes.

Edward was sure he was the only one that caught the look of shock that appeared for a brief moment on Ludwig's face. He wasn't sure if he imagined it, though, because the next moment he was composed and looking back at the group. "I've already gotten us rooms so we can talk about what happened in more privacy."

If Edward thought his shocks were over, he wasn't expecting that. He didn't look to be any older than Lovino, yet he was already booking hotel rooms and appeared to be traveling on his own. Edward didn't start until he was twelve, but he always had Alphonse by his side, he was never alone.

The group walked out of the station and made their way to a nearby hotel. Once they were inside one of the rooms, Ludwig sat down on one of the beds and asked, "What do you know about Feliciano's kidnappers?"

"They're a group of beings we call Homunculi. They look human, but they aren't. They've got their own secret agenda that seems to require the Elric Brothers," Mustang stated.

Ludwig nodded. "Then it would make sense for them to take Feliciano. If the enemy won't cooperate, take someone important to them, and they'll follow to make sure the taken remains safe."

"You speak like you know them," Edward said, suspicious.

"The best way to know one's enemy is to think like him," Ludwig stated. "I've learned that in my battles, and it's helped me win because I could find the weak points and send my armies through them."

Edward suddenly took a different view on Ludwig. One moment he seemed like a wandering kid, the next it sounded like he was a military leader. Without thinking, Edward asked, "What are you?"

"I'm not human either," Ludwig replied simply, "but I can also assure you I'm not a Homunculus. If I were to truly tell you what I was, you wouldn't understand right now."

The reply left Edward more confused than before. Ludwig said before he could ask, "Feliciano and Lovino are like me. We're still growing, but one day our bodies will stop growing, and we will live forever in the bodies of young adults."

This left Edward dumbfounded, and just by looking at Mustang, he could tell Mustang was just as confused.

"I'll explain everything else in due time," Ludwig said quickly. "For now we need to focus on getting Feliciano back."

Edward nodded, but he couldn't resist asking. "Who was that kid that shoved through us? You acted like you knew him."

The shock was clear on Ludwig's face, but he said, "That was Gilbert Beilschmidt. He's like us, everyone you've met so far is. Antonio and Roderich, Arthur, Alfred, Peter, Ivan, all of us. The difference is that Gilbert seems to be working for someone else, and that's not good news for anyone."

"How so?" Edward asked.

"Gilbert's fought many wars, he's had a lot of experience. Experience that only comes from fighting over so many years. Whoever he's working with, it's not going to help us, considering that he should be anticipating us to go at him now. And that's just Gilbert. There could be others working alongside him."

Edward shook his head in disbelief. "How could you guys have so much experience, for as young as you guys look?"

"As I explained, we'll stop growing once we become young adults, but we can only grow so fast," Ludwig said mysteriously. "If I had to guess at who else is on Gilbert's side, my first bet would be Abel Densen."

xxx

"Well?" the tall female that was the embodiment of Lust asked as Gilbert ran up.

Gilbert stated, "It's Ludwig all right."

"Well, then, we're just going to have to up our schedule a bit." Lust smiled, and turned and left the station without another word.

Gilbert took one glance at Gluttony and ran after her, not wanting to be left with someone he claimed 'wasn't awesome'.

"You sure there isn't anyone else?" Lust asked him once she made sure Gluttony and Gilbert were following her.

Gilbert said, "I already said that our only other option would be Elizabeta, but she's not going to work with us because you've got Feliciano."

Lust didn't reply, which led Gilbert to scowl. "Listen, if you want someone else, I'll give you someone else."

"Oh, and who might that be?"

"Abel Densen."

/AN

The cookie goes too xxSweet Memory. *gives cookie* Nice job, and thank you for playing my little game~ lol

I enjoyed writing the little session where Edward and HRE were questioning each other, though. Really hard to put it into words, but I like how it turned out.

BTW: I'm getting some of the names from a possible list that Himaruya-sensei posted on his blog. I looked at the names and just picked one. So, until stated otherwise, Abel Densen's Denmark in my story.

R&R Please!

AN/