Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own FMA. Could you imagine doing all of those pages every month? And using all those screen tones on Al would be such a pain!

Okay, guess what everybody who's reading this but isn't reviewing? I've finally figured out how this is going to end! I've got it all plotted out in an outline, sort of. Only it's a pretty open ending in the off chance that anybody wants me to continue it. By 'open' I don't mean that it ends on a cliffhanger, I mean it could go in several directions after that point but it would be hard for me to make up a sturdy plot where everyone is included. By the way, can't wait till April! The first anime sucked after the first half, but hopefully they'll stick to the manga this time.

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They had been at the Curtis' for almost a week now, and somehow, every day Sheska seemed to detect more and more bruises on Ed, usually after what Mrs. Curtis told her was their work out session. Paninya told her that sometimes when she passed by the room with all the equipment she could hear screaming, thuds, and metal clanging as she suspected Al was thrown across the room. Apparently Mrs. Izumi Curtis was a violent person, but whenever she was around Sheska and other customers she had an infinitely calm demeanor, so she didn't have any reason to be edgy like the Elrics.

She was just washing the dishes so that she wouldn't feel so guilty when the elder Elric brother burst out of the work out room and made a dash for his suitcase, tossing clothes into it hurriedly. Al rushed to his aid, and Izumi followed at a much slower pace. She stopped and picked up the phone, dialing calculatingly. "Great," she said in an optimistic voice, face unchanged, "this is a perfect opportunity for you to quit being the military's dog."

"Stop!" said Ed pleadingly. "I've been meaning to get to one of the headquarters anyway, sure have!" Al finished making sure Ed has his toothbrush and handed over the suitcase. "Thanks. I should be back in a couple of days, so, see you then!" and he was off.

Paninya looked at Al questioningly, chewing her sandwich. "He forgot about the annual state alchemist's exam, so he's heading to the nearest headquarters. Like he said, he'll be back in a couple of days." He caught sight of Izumi looking dissatisfied and put his glove to his chin thoughtfully. "But you know, he might forget something. I should go to look after him!" He lunged towards the door, but Izumi caught him by the long trailing—what was that thing, anyway? Sheska thought.

"Hold it," she said with a wide smile, cracking her knuckles. "You're going to stay here and spar with me." With that, she dragged him back wailing to the workout room.

Mason popped his head into the kitchen. "You ladies wanna go shopping for us?" Paninya took another bite.

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Rose arrived at Dublith with a little less certainty about what she was doing. She really was interested in pursuing a career in education, but what if she was wrong about leaving Miguel all alone? Or what if she forgot what she wanted to say when she met up with the Elrics again? There wouldn't have been any point.

Anyway, now she had to figure out how she was going to survive down here, since she was officially out of money after she had bought the more expensive candy that tasted exactly the same as regular candy from the train. The obvious course of action would be to get a job, but she didn't know how long it would take to find one. Plus, where would she stay while she worked? It wasn't exactly as if there was some barn to sneak in every night.

She began wandering around the town, taking in the homey smells and thick atmosphere with delight. It was a feeling nearly identical to Liore, and it made Rose feel more rooted, firm, to see that there were plenty of shops and fences and mothers and most importantly children, because children were proof to her that it was a town that was real and alive. She thought, munching on the last of her candy bar. She had told the young and enthusiastic automail mechanic Winry Rockbell that she was interested in the education line of work, but she had no previous experience, just babysitting.

Still, it was her best shot, so she meandered around till she found the town square, where she could ask for a directory on local daycares and inns. Once she had gotten a sizable list from the phonebook the secretary at the front desk had given her, she began looking for the closest ones there. Three out of three of the first ones she visited already were overstaffed, and she hadn't gone to an inn because she didn't want to stay somewhere she couldn't afford. Discouraged, she found a bench and promptly fell into it, unintentionally beating an elderly man to it. Soon she would begin to tire, and then there was no telling how she'd get her next meal.

Suddenly she was aware of two young women sliding into the bench next to her. The one nearest her was a jovial Aerugan girl with overalls, a low ponytail, and a bag of chips, which she held away from her companion in a teasingly stubborn manner. She stuck out her tongue and abruptly proffered one chip to Rose. "Here, do you like sour cream and onion flavor?" she asked insistently. Rose nodded and took it gratefully. "See Sheska, at least somebody doesn't have jacked up taste buds."

"I wouldn't have given you the money to buy that if you'd told me it'd be this flavor," said Sheska in disgust. "Oh well. At least it wasn't barbeque."

The Aerugan's eyes widened and she snapped her fingers in frustration. "Dammit, I shoulda looked for those instead!"

"Um, excuse me," said Rose tentatively. "But would you two happen to know where this daycare center is?"

"Oh, we're not from around here, sorry," said Sheska. "Are you job hunting?"

Rose answered that yes, she was, and when asked she further explained that she hailed from Liore, that she was hoping to be involved in the field of education, and that the reason she couldn't look in her own hometown was because there were too many stressful things going on because of the revolt started up by a certain Fullmetal Alchemist, the mentioning of whom sparked a whole new topic. She then was made to listen to their stories, and how they had gotten here, and where Edward was now. She was disappointed to hear that he wasn't in town, but determined she would have a word with him when he returned. "Why d'ya wanna see him so bad, huh?" asked Paninya cheekily, waggling her pinky finger in indication.

She laughed. "It's nothing like that, I'll tell you right now, although I've a feeling you'll believe what you want. He nearly destroyed my faith, and I want to prove to him that it's possible to live the way he told me to and with the ideas I've been raised with. I just want to prove him wrong, and see the look on his face."

Sheska stole a chip while Paninya was distracted and popped it in her mouth, wincing. "You know, I'm pretty sure that lady whose daughter's cat died is starting to run a daycare center for her daughter and the neighborhood kids. She seemed nice enough; I'm sure she'd help you out."

Rose was unsure, but Paninya agreed, and once she decided the Liorite needed her help, there was no way anything Rose said could stop her. She ended up being hauled off toward a quieter district, where somehow she had least expected them to reside.

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It had been a cruel mistake, a horrendous err in judgment on the Colonel's part, to trust the maniacal former butcher-murderer in Warrant Officer Falman's custody. Or if looked at a more scrutinizing perspective, it was a trick, courtesy of the Flame Alchemist Colonel Roy Mustang. He should have seen it coming even while he offered his services so vaguely, but who could ever predict what the Colonel would do?

Barry the Chopper sat on a lawn chair, hollow head in equally hollow glove, other glove holding up a novel Falman had given him to keep him occupied. He gave occasional snorts and snickers, mocking the contents of it under his breath. Sometimes these gave way to his full garish laughter. "Gyahahaha!" he laughed, turning the last page and snapping the book shut.

"What was so funny about it?" Falman asked curiously. Part of him was sincerely curious, but most of him was feeling depressed that the quiet hours were over.

"Well," said Barry airily. Falman rolled his eyes, suddenly not wanting an explanation. "See, the main guy here was supposed to be this serial killer, right? The back says that the author pulled out his character from real live serial killers he had seen in the federal prison. But when you really read what the guy's supposed to be thinking while he's at it, it's pathetic."

Falman raised an eyebrow, eyelids still halfway closed. "How so?" he asked, now indulgent.

"I mean it's pathetic how the author thinks we think. The guy is supposed to be going around killing people slowly and artistically, planning everything by learning everything about the chumps who get taken out, from the time they get up to the time they get home from work. Whatever! No, that's how newbies do things, you know. A real killer who's serious about what he's doing isn't serious at all. Exhibit A, moi," he said, whacking his own chest. "The author made it out so that the guy was all freaking poetic about it, too. Geez. It just gives us real murderers a bad name."

Falman shook his head, smiling despite himself. "I'll never understand the likes of you, Barry."

"You betcha you won't," replied the cleaver-wielding suit of armor. "Now pull out that chess set and I'll whoop your ass again."

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Ranfan first took out the watch-guard posted in the tower at the border, then used his binoculars to scout out what kind of security she, her grandfather, and the prince were up against. Judging by the guard lying senseless and gagged on the ground, it wasn't much. There were only three other towers in sight, and she had control of the one on the end. On ground level there was no further blockage. She sneered slightly. If all the borders were this easily hopped over, it was no wonder they had so many immigrants from Creta coming in.

Putting the binoculars in her pack for future use, she took out her mirror and signaled toward the place where the prince and her grandfather were waiting concealed in the cover made by night, making sure to do so only when the guard in the tower next to her was preoccupied. A few minutes later a grappling hook she recognized as her grandfather's caught on the edge, and the prince came up, Fu bringing up the rear. "That's it?" said Ling when she made her report. "I didn't think it'd be this easy. What a load of crap all that fuss was about the passport."

"Sir," said Fu, "If you remember, that day there was a lower princess threatening your life."

"Oh, please," said Ling, not meaning to be rude. He sighed.

"It also seemed as if she was after the same thing we are," Fu continued patiently. "Why else would she be in line for a passport? If she makes it across the desert..."

Ling chuckled. "I don't think she's a real threat to our mission. She was only what, ten years old? If we meet her again, we'll gather any information she's managed to scrape up, if any, and then we'll let her on her way. It's not possible that she poses a true threat," he said again, looking at Fu reassuringly. "For now, let's get into that town and grab some chow. I'm starving!"

"These are the Youswell Mines," reminded Ranfan. "It's not uncommon for miners to be walking around on the nightshift, so we should probably be careful. Maybe you sh—could hide somewhere and we'll bring food back to you."

"Oh come on," whined Ling. "Nah, Ranfan, I think I'll come along. I'm sick of watching you two going off on your own and me having to wait like some pompous noble. Let's go!" He slid down the ladder, Fu and Ranfan following with worry.

They concluded the night with seven hotdogs, one box of sushi, three onigiri, and dozens of cans of peaches, peas and green beans. Ling thought it was a good score considering how an alarm was set off and the man of a house tried chasing after them. He hadn't been too bad, either; he made it down half the block before Fu knocked him out with the blunt end of a kunai. As they gobbled away at the new rations, a thought occurred to Ranfan. "Prince," she said pensively, "Have you planned where we are to search first?"

Ling's hand, laden with green beans, halted nearly up to his mouth. Ranfan and Fu stared. Ling grinned sheepishly.

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It was morning, and in the Curtis household, that meant flaring tempers, waning patience, and maybe a suit of armor flying out the window. Sheska woke up feeling relatively good. Last night Paninya and herself had done a good deed, leading the very sweet Rose Thomas to the house of Izumi Curtis' neighbor. Ms. Thomas was even being allowed to stay in a spare room of the generous lady's house, so there was no problem with food. Paninya had promised a visit soon, the idea of which the Liorite didn't quite take to immediately.

Today was the day, she said to herself, rolling off her makeshift futon, standing slowly and folding her blanket loosely, placing it ceremoniously at the place where her head was. Today she would carry out her mission. She had been putting it off for so long, it had almost been a week now, and it was supposed to be done as quickly as possible, like everything was done in the military (save paperwork). Running her fingers lightly over the weak wooden rail, she klunked down the stairs clumsily and made her way to the kitchen. Paninya was there, spooning an unholy amount of sugar into her cereal. Sheska watched her, disgusted and fascinated. She noticed it was the plain old Berry Bran in the bowl. "What are you doing?" she cried as the younger girl raised the spoon to her lips. "It's supposed to be eaten the way it is!"

"It tastes gross until you put a little sweetness in it."

"You're overcompensating! This is pollution!" Izumi trudged into the kitchen, a pair of uncharacteristically fluffy slippers saving her feet from peril by cold floor. "Good morning, Mrs. Curtis," said Sheska.

Izumi blinked and remembered to smile. "No such thing," she said in her voice of stone, sliding to the toaster. "But how are you? Do you have any plans for today, or are you just gonna sit around on your ass like you have been so far?"

The former librarian gasped. She knew it! "I'm so sorry! Actually though, yes, today I'm going to do my mission. First I have to get to a directory. Would you happen to have a phonebook?" Izumi opened the Junk Drawer, rummaged through it, and made as if to pitch the thick book at her, then thought better of it and laid it on the table across from Paninya. "Thank you very much," said Sheska, wondering if the master alchemist had for a second believed she could actually catch the thing.

Paninya munched noisily on the cereal, as with everything else (she could make yogurt sound crunchy). "Where are you going? Can I come with?"

"I'm going to a bar." Paninya perked up. "And no, it's probably best if you didn't. It's going to be my first mission as an investigative private of the military. Anyway, how old are you?" she asked curiously, but in a stern tone.

"Twenty last June," replied the younger woman. "And you're twenty-three since last January." At Sheska's surprised face, she laughed and held out the identification card that had a small picture in the right hand corner of a very nervous and red-faced woman with staticky brown hair. "Saw it in your bag. I was planning on giving it back; what would I do with it?"

Sheska let out an exasperated sigh. "Well, maybe you can come if you want to," she muttered, scribbling down the address in a small notepad she carried in her jacket pocket. "But! you have to be quiet, okay? And don't expect me to buy alcohol."

"Aw! What the heck is that! No fair!" As the two unlikely friends started on their way, Izumi shook her head and was thankful it wasn't so loud usually.

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They had received the mission informally as usual. Whenever the Boss needed something done that wasn't important, he would complain about it mostly. But when he needed something done that was important or serious (which wasn't often) he made it seem like no big deal. There had been quite a few murders of competition that had been the work of Loa, Dorchette, and Martel, and it wasn't because the Boss couldn't do it himself. He had proven himself to the Devil's Nest gang as a more than capable leader many times. The fact was, the Boss was a bit lazy, and preferred to have things done by other people so he could spend his time more on himself. After all, he was greedy for time, too.

Loa ran through the facts on the target before he started them thinking on a plan. The Boss had told them to get him over to the bar, by any means necessary that didn't kill him or his brother. This meant that they had practically unlimited creative freedom. Unfortunately Loa's strong point had never been creativity, ditto Dorchette and Martel. That was why they had been soldiers.

Let's see, he thought. Our target is the younger Elric brother, who has a suit of armor for a body and therefore does not eat, sleep, or feel pain. He is also known to be the better hand-to-hand combatant, although he does use alchemy when he has time. "We should be careful," he said aloud.

"Why?" snorted Dorchette. "Just how old is this guy supposed to be? Remember what that guy who was there at the state alchemist murderer accident said? The older brother was super short, but he's fifteen right now. The younger brother might be like, thirteen or something. It should be a cinch." He took out his pipe but frowned and patted his pockets for matches.

"We shouldn't let our guard down," said Martel, taking a swig of whiskey. "Even if he is just a kid, he's smart enough to do alchemy, so he might have some tricks up his sleeve."

Dorchette found his matches in the pocket on his thigh. He struck one and lit his pipe. "If you're so worried about one little brat, then I guess we could find a way to trick him instead. Make some master plan."

"No," grunted Loa. "It's best we do it head-on and straightforward; that way we can get it over with."

Just then Bido, a sort of lizard chimera who had brought the news that the Elric brothers were in Dublith to the Boss, and was proud about it too, strode in as best he could with his short legs and gigantic in scale tail dragging behind. Dorchette reached over and tugged him over by his hood. "Hey there, buddy," he said sarcastically to the place where Bido should have had an ear, because no one really paid much attention to the lizard chimera except to chide him. "How'd you like to help us out on our mission for Greed?"

"I just helped out, what are you saying!" squealed Bido. "Are you tricking me?"

"Dorchette, quit it," said Martel. She leaned over with her hands on her knees to his eyelevel. "We're not gonna make you do any gymnastics. Just help us out with something simple. It's a follow-up of what you did already."

"Whaddaya gonna do?"

Loa stood and loomed over the smaller chimera. "We've decided to do something simple, the old-fashioned way. You deliver this note to the suit of armor you saw and we'll take it from there."

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It took Sheska and Paninya three quarters of an hour to find the Devil's Nest. First they had to get in the right district, and then there was the trouble with the street is was supposedly on. Sheska kept peering closely at the address she had written down from the phonebook, disbelieving. "It says 713 That Street." At first her companion had been vastly amused by this, but it had become less of a joke and more of an aggravation for Sheska. For the fifth time she found herself stifling a scream as she tried to pry directions out of a knowing, but teasing resident of the district. "No, I'm looking for That Street."

"Which street are you looking for?"

"That Street!"

"Yes, dear, but which one?"

"Argh!" growled the normally peaceable bookworm, throwing her hands up in surrender. The woman stranger smiled sardonically and hurried jovially on her way. "I'm beginning to think this is impossible. Maybe we could try again later on; it's only noon right now."

Paninya handed her a calming lollipop she had swiped from a bank office. Sheska pushed it away, not in the mood. "Aw come on, it can't be that hard. At least it wasn't on 'This Street', you know. 'Do you know how to get on This Street?' 'Whadaya mean? We're on this one, okay!' Hahahaha!" She only received a tired glare. "Let's change tactics." She turned to a passing rough-looking fellow. "Heya, d'ya know where somebody could find a joint by the name of the Devil's Nest?"

"Yes, you could go one block down that way, and then turn left for approximately three blocks. There is quite a large sign, so I am sure you will have no trouble locating it. Have a wonderful day," he said, and adjusting his trench coat and beanie to cover his features better, skip-hopped to his next appointment, leaving a stunned Sheska and Paninya in his wake.

"That was hilarious," said Paninya, completely rooted to the spot.

"Come on, let's go!" said Sheska, energy restored. They zoomed down the streets, dodging other pedestrians, and in only five minutes were standing at their goal. Like the man had said, there was a wide wooden sign posted above the entrance, with the telltale title "Devil's Nest" written in angular black paint. Three gangsters hung about the arch as security. Sheska gulped. "Er—"

"What're the likes of you's doing here?" said one of them, a young person with a sharp nose and a patterned button shirt.

Paninya stepped in front of the older, but more anxious woman. "What, can't a couple of girls get some drinks around here? Geez, and I'd heard so much about this place..."

The biggest of them, with big lips and bigger arms said, "Naw, it's fine. We're just here to keep off trouble."

"No trouble here!" squeaked Sheska, and the three men laughed. Paninya joined in a second into it, nudging Sheska's side. "You really couldn't pull this off without me, could you?" she whispered under her breath, winking.

"Go on in," said the third one, gesturing with one of his two automail arms. They did, Sheska gripping a strap of Paninya's overalls and wondering if she'd really be able to do this.