Hey-yo. Part 4 is already underway. Please R&R...I am hoping people are at least getting ideas for their own stories out of this...

Thanks to everyone who has added this to their faves and/or alerts. Also a big thank-you to those who reviewed. I know the first two chapters were a little different, and I'm glad you stuck with me. I'm switching to a more normal method of typing this up with this chapter. Let me know if you have any questions or ideas (either for the story, or how to present it). I love feedback. Feedback gets you cookies.

The body was still smoking as they approached it. Hawkeye nudged it with her foot, gun poised to shoot. The body moaned as patches of pink blossomed and spread, slowly covering it. She nudged it harder, rolling it onto it's back.

"Sir, do you want me to shoot it?"

Roy looked at the blond body which by any rights should be a corpse. The clothing was riped and burned badly. What was left was a bright shade of orange, not something he had come to associate with the homunculus he had fought before. As he watched the burns on the face fade, Mustang frowned. Envy and Lust had repaired their cloths when they healed, this one did not. Is it weaker then the others?

"Sir?" Riza prompted, eyeing the intruder suspiciously as it moaned again.

The Brigadier General sighed, what he wanted to do warring with what he knew he should do. "No, don't shoot it unless it moves, Lieutenant. Armstrong, got any ideas on how to tie this thing up?"

"I may have a few ideas, sir, if you mind telling me why?" Alex leaned in, "Sir, this creature shows signs of being a homunculus. It has attacked, unprovoked, putting innocent lives at risk. Forgive me for questioning you, but should we not eliminate this threat?"

"That is exactly why we are not going to kill it unless we have to." Roy ran his gloved hand through his hair. "This thing came out of nowhere, Armstrong. We had no warning before it attacked. We don't know where it came from, or how it got here." His dark eyes met his friend's, worry evident in both sets, "We need to find out this is a part of something bigger."

"'He's dead. My Father is dead.'" Riza said, not looking away from the body as it finished healing. "What did it mean by that? The homunculus 'Father' died three years ago."

"Exactly, Lieutenant. That's one of the questions we need answered. And we just happen to have a fellow here that can answer those questions." He nodded to Armstrong, "So if you can restrain it and get it ready to be moved, I'll think up a way to make a cell monster-proof. Your Alchemy had more of an effect anyway, so you'd have a better idea of how to stop it's movements."

"I see, Brilliant plan, Roy. I assume we are going to keep this quiet from the Fuhrer until we know more?"

"Of course."

"Well then, let us set about..." Armstrong began, flexing his hands as he worked out the formula he'd need to restrain something that could turn into a giant monster. As he was bringing his fist down towards the ground, Riza cried out, firing a shot.

The homunculi glared at Hawkeye, hand firmly holding the barrel of her gun up and away from it's body. With a tug it disarmed her and leapt back, avoiding Mustang's flames. Mustang smirked as his men, who had been standing back, offering support if it was needed, clicked off their safeties. The blond head snapped around at the sound, blue eyes widening in surprise.

Naruto looked down at his hand which still held the weapon he had gotten from the blond woman. When he had grabbed at it, he had felt a burning sting, and looking at his palm he had a long bleeding gash, though there were no sharp edges. Projectiles... he mused, remembering the sting he had felt in the body of the fox.

He had woken up to the sound of the man with the dark hair and pissed eyes suggesting capturing him. He wasn't sure what 'Alchemy' was, or what the hell a 'Fuhrer' was, but he knew he didn't want to stick around to find he had sensed that they were about to make their move, he had jumped into action. Naruto wasn't sure why, but he still felt a little hazy, his body felt stiff and slower then usual as he rushed the woman. Now he was regretting not just fleeing and taking his chances at an attack.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Naruto glared at the dark haired man. He reminded him vaguely of Sasuke. He decided it was the smug look in his eyes."You think you can take all of us?" The man taunted.

Actually, yeah, I think I can...He reached inside for his Chakra, only to find it frighteningly empty. Frowning the blond tried again, only to feel the poisonous chakra of the Kyuubi. His eyes flashed red as his head ached. As he warred with the sudden surge of dark power he saw the blond woman re-arm herself. Forcefully he pushed the power down. no, NO you can't come out. He glared at the man, still silent, feeling the weight of the foreign weapon in his hand.

_Flashback_

"If you can, avoid capture at all cost."Ibiki explained to a young Naruto. He'd personally caught the young prankster sneaking up to the monuments with a pail of paint, and had decided to teach the five year old wanna-be a lesson. Turning his back on the trusted up boy be continued, "A Ninja's job is to compete his mission at all costs. He does this using stealth. If he's caught, his mission fails." Ibiki turned back to the boy giving him a hard glare before continuing, "If capture is unavoidable, a ninja should prevent any information or supplies from falling into enemy hands."

"But, you took all my stuff already!" the boy whined, "Meanie!" The blond had managed to work a hand free, "What the heck do you expect me to do now?"

Ibiki watched the boy struggle for a moment impressed at his progress, "If you were a ninja on a real mission," he began, debating if he should soften his words. "I would expect you to protect your village by taking your own life, if necessary."

"How?" the boy asked, not intimidated at all as his struggle freed his other hand.

"Use the enemies' own weapons. If that's not an option, force them to kill you." Ibiki pulled of his forehead protector, revealing the scars on his head to the young boy, "Remember, in the world of a Shinobi, a fate worse then death usually awaits a captured Ninja."

"...Hey, hey, Hey! Mister, what happened to your head?" Ibiki felt the beginnings of a headache coming on as the boy rattled off questions while still upside down.

_End Flashback_

Naruto eyed the men around him carefully, Ibiki's words ringing in his head. He had no clue how to use the weapon in his hand; it was all he had, his Kunai spent in the battle to protect his home, but they sure did. The problem was, if the dark-haired one could be believed, they weren't going to kill him. He could press the issue, but could he get them to kill him?

The smirk was gone now, replaced with an angry scowl, "Hawkeye."

"Yes, sir." The woman took careful aim, and Naruto couldn't help the involuntary cry of pain as the bullet tore though his shoulder. He could feel the flesh pull back together almost instantly. It was a painful lesson, but the message was clear. They were going to be aiming to maim, and it would take a long, long time for him to die. The ninja glared at the three in front of him, not that they'll let me die...

He tossed the strange weapon on the ground out of reach and raised his hands in the universal sign, "I surrender."

Footnote, Take it or leave it:

Ah! that reminds me, I almost forgot to explain the whole Ibiki bit! Well, remember when Ibiki was doing his exam, and Naruto was totally un-phased by Mr. scary-ass? Not to mention that Ibiki was not surprised at Naruto's antics... Well, since Naruto was always pulling pranks (and avoiding getting caught, which is impressive for dead-last) my hypothesis is that at some point Ibiki tried to scare him strait (probably suggested by the Hokage) and failed miserably, of course. Instead, Naruto took his words to heart, and got REALLY good at pranks.