Author Note: Here is chapter five. Thanks Baxter54132 for reviewing last chapter.

Disclaimer: I only own my OC's, and even then I don't have any copyrights.

A beam of light filtered in through the curtained window, startling Al out of his thoughts. He got up from his spot on the carpet to see if Ed was awake yet. The older boy still slept, and Al wanted to let him sleep for as long as he could. It wasn't often his brother slept so peacefully.

Ed would be hungry when he woke up, so Al decided to go look for some food. There was some paper and a pen on the nightstand, so Al scribbled a quick note to Ed telling him he'd be back soon. He put the note and pen on the table and tiptoed out of the room slowly, trying not to bump anything or make any excess noise. The footsteps of his armor were loud enough without added impacts. He closed the door gingerly behind him, cheering inwardly at his success.

As he exited through the lobby, he nodded at Ms. Sanders like he had the day before. But to his disappointment, she didn't react. Once he was out on the street, Al sighed; why didn't she even nod back? The morning sun warmed his armor, though he couldn't feel it, as he frowned and shook his head. Al tried to put it behind him and started looking around for a café. He didn't see one, so he walked towards the intersection at 3rd and 8th to see if one was there. When he was in front of the alchemists house, he paused. He looked it up and down, wondering if he had time to check it out.

Since Ed was hopefully still sleeping, Al decided he had enough time to walk around the house once. He moved slowly down the alley, passing the door he knocked on a couple days before. As he poked his head around the corner, he quickly pulled it back. There was a person around the back! He pushed his head around the corner silently to get a better look.

In the space between the building and the next, there was a small square of dirt with a few plants and flowers growing it. It had a small fence around it, just tall enough to keep out rabbits. Inside stood a young girl. She had cropped blonde hair and vibrant gold eyes, and a shaft of light hit her as Al stared. On her right shoulder was a tattoo of a horse head. She was watering the plants in what appeared to be her garden. 'She's kind of cute' he thought to himself, before shaking his head vigorously. It bumped the wall with a loud clang, which echoed through the small space loudly. He lurched backwards as the girl looked around with a start. She crouched down among her plants, but relaxed when she didn't hear anything else.

Al froze before stepping out of the alley in reverse. He was extremely careful, and sighed in relief when he escaped. If he had a heart, it would have been pounding. He stumbled farther down the street and stopped to buy some bread and milk in the first store he found. As he walked back towards the hotel he was overly conscious of how loud his footsteps were. After spending so much time already being silent it was a relief to be able to take proper steps again.

He hurried back to the hotel, being careful not to run into any of the few pedestrians out at this hour. He didn't stop to communicate with Sanders and made it back to the room with his bounty intact. He pushed open the door slowly, wondering if Ed had woken while he was gone. He hadn't, and Al smiled warmly at his brother as he deposited the bread and milk on the nightstand. He allowed his armor to make a little noise since he was about to wake up Ed anyway.

"Brother," Al shook Ed's shoulder, "time to get up."

Ed groaned, "Five more minutes…"

"Nope." Al said firmly, "I already gave you an extra hour." He shook Ed's shoulder again. "Get up."

Ed brushed Al's hand away and sat up. "Alright, alright." He yawned and stretched his arms over his head, his back cracking loudly. "You gave me an extra hour? Thanks, I guess."

Al nodded picking up the food from the nightstand, "I even got you some breakfast."

"Thanks Al!" Ed grinned broadly for a moment, but then he saw what drink Al brought him. "Milk Al, really?" He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I hate milk."

'You might have changed your mind," Al prodded him gently, "Just try it, it might even help you grow taller."

"Nope." Ed steeled his jaw stubbornly. "I refuse."

"Oh well," Al shrugged dramatically, his eyes glinting. "I guess I will just have to find a cat to feed it to, won't I." He chuckled evilly as Ed glared at him.

"Don't you dare, we don't need another one of those creatures following us around!" Ed picked up the pint of milk and glared at it. "Damn you." He growled before chugging it in about five seconds. He stuffed the bread in his mouth immediately after. "From now on," he spoke around the bread, "I can get my own breakfast."

"Oh yeah," Al suddenly perked up. "I stopped by that house where the alchemist is supposed to live, and I saw somebody there!"

"Really?" Ed gulped down the last of the bread. "Anybody we know?"

"No, it was a girl about our age. She was behind the house watering some plants." Al's voice softened, "I bet it was the same person who answered the door."

"Probably," Ed stood up, brushing the crumbs off his lap. "Between the missing person and the kid you saw, I'm starting to think that the military in this town has something to do with the alchemist we were sent to find." He pulled on his red coat, gesturing towards the door. "That might be a good place to start today."

"Yeah," Al nodded, following Ed out the door. "I can get us there with the map." He pulled it out as they walked through the lobby, checking it for the street corners. "The military HQ is at 10th and 11th streets," Al said as he exited the bed and breakfast. He pointed down one of the streets, "So we need to go that way."

"Ok." The boys started walking, making pretty good time. "Oh," Ed suddenly remembered something. "What did that girl look like, Al?" he asked, purely for informational reasons, he convinced himself.

"Well," Al thought about it for a moment. "She was probably about my age, and a little bit shorter than you." Ed smirked, and Al continued, "She has blonde hair and gold eyes, like you, but her hair was really short. She was kind of cute..." Al's voice trailed off, and Ed suddenly had an evil look in his eyes, taking on an almost cartoon appearance. His teeth turned jagged and his hair appeared to converge into one antenna on the front of his head.

"You like her, don't you?" His eyes glinted more obviously when Al shied away, shaking his head frantically. Though Ed's sense of triumph was short lived.

"N-n-no I do not!" Al protested vehemently, suddenly feeling cornered. "Wh-what about you and Winry." He lashed out verbally. "You like her, and you've know her for a long time too." He snickered, mentally shoving Ed in the corner he just escaped from.

"I-I do not like that short tempered mechanic!" Ed stuttered frantically, mentally backpedalling. He felt like a deer in headlights and instantly regretted bringing up this topic of conversation. "Let's just forget about it." He scoffed, abruptly changing the subject. "That girl sounds a lot like the kid who's missing, except for the hairstyle." Ed grinned, his eyes glinting in the sunlight. "She could be our first lead."

End Note: Thanks for reading.

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