1: Xing

"Mommy, where are we?" a little boy with bright blond hair asked as he bounced around the small area in the car. His golden eyes were drawn back to the window, gawking at the strange buildings. They were not like the ones back in Amestris at all. Their roofs wee pointed all wrong, turning up at the ends.

"We're in Xing, Tobias," Christin replied. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and looked at Edward. He was staring out the other window in a similar fashion. "Oh, honestly, Ed! Set a better example for your child!"

"Hey, I've never been outside of Amestris before; leave me alone," he replied.

"Oh, so going across the Gate doesn't count?" she grinned.

"You know what I mean," he sighed, glancing down at their one year old daughter Rio. She blinked back at him with her green-brown eyes and smiled.

"Why are people dressed so weirdly?" Tobias asked. He pointed out the window at the people walking by.

"That's how people dress in this country," she shrugged.

"They're weird. Why don't they wear normal clothes?" he asked. He was eight years old now, and curious about everything.

"Well, to them, we're the ones dressed weirdly," Edward replied. He chuckled at his son's face.

"No, really?" the little boy asked. How on earth could he be dressed weirdly?

"Really," Edward nodded. He motioned for the boy to lean closer. "Between you and me, your mom's probably gonna drag us out shopping sooner or later."

"Eww…" Tobias grimaced. "I hate shopping."

"You are definitely your father's child," Christin chuckled. Rio squealed and made other happy noises.

"What's Rio doing?" Tobias asked, peering over his mother's shoulder. Rio reached for him. He reached out and let her small hand grab one of his fingers. "She looks like you, Mommy."

"We're coming close to the palace," the driver announced.

"Finally!" Christin sighed dramatically. "I thought we'd never get out of that desert!"

"Oh, stop complaining," Edward chided playfully. It was not too long ago she had been telling him to stop complaining about the long drive to the emperor's palace. She tried glaring at him, but a smile broke her icy stare. He turned around and felt reassured when he saw his niece's cheery face in the car behind theirs. She waved and pulled a face. Alphonse's face appeared and he seemed to be scolding Ai. She pointed at Edward. When Alphonse looked up at him, Edward made a face. Alphonse made one too. The funny face war was interrupted by Aislinn smacking Alphonse upside the head. Christin was trying, not very well, to hide her laughter.

"Wow!" Tobias breathed. A large gate loomed in front of them. The massive double doors were a shiny bronze with two dragons linking claws in the center where the two doors split. The wall surrounding it was a milky white and lined with arrow of guards that reminded Christin an awful lot of samurai. The car stalled for a moment while the driver explained who he was chauffeuring, then was let inside. A large stone courtyard spread before them with an equally large building rising out of the center. A few groups of armored men were practicing martial arts in the courtyard while random people scuttled about. The two cars parked in front of the building, most likely the palace. "Can you do that, Daddy?" he asked, pointing to the armored men.

"I dunno. Maybe if I tried," Edward shrugged. Truthfully, he hadn't practiced his own fighting style in a while. He was probably out of shape.

"Can Mommy do that?" Tobias asked, tugging on his father's pant leg.

"Probably, knowing her," Edward grinned, taking the child's hand.

"I can do that stuff," Ai said smugly as she caught up with Tobias.

"No you can't," he corrected.

"Any idea what we're here for?" Alphonse sidled up to Edward.

"None," the elder brother shrugged.

"The emperor has heard of you; he wishes a performance," an escort announced, greeting the families at the front door. Ah, so that was it.

"How would the emperor of Xing have heard about us?" Alphonse whispered.

"I'm not sure," Edward whispered back. "It's probably Christin; they know her."

"Maybe, but it still seems a bit odd…" the younger brother mused. Edward nodded in agreement. Why would the ruler of a country request to see them of all people? They followed their escort, Aislinn talking in quick whispers to Christin, who nodded in response. She glanced back at the brothers, and then returned her attention to Christin, brushing her dark red hair out of her eyes. They were led to a small room with a screen as one wall.

"Well, now what?" Aislinn huffed.

"Perform. The emperor has no preferences; whatever is suitable to you," the escort said to Christin. She sighed. The last thing she wanted to do right now was perform for someone.

"Have fun," Edward sang, holding out his arms for Rio. Christin grumbled something incoherent and surrendered Rio.

"She's going to break something, isn't she?" Alphonse asked.

"I hope not. I swear, her temper's worse than mine sometimes," Edward sighed. He watched Christin walk through the screen and quickly slid up close to it.

"How can she do anything without anything?" Alphonse asked. Linkin Park's 'New Divide' started echoing through the room.

"Ohh, I get it," Edward muttered. "She's doing GI."

"GI?" Alphonse asked.

"Generated Image. It's this thing where she projects whatever she's imagining into reality. It's freakishly real," the blond explained.

"What a plain name for her to pick for something," Aislinn commented. "I would've thought she'd call it 'Magical-lights-picture-showy-uppy-thingie', not 'generated image'."

"You're not the only one," Edward chuckled.

'I remembered black skies

The lightning all around me'

The rooms darkened and the others saw flashes of purplish-white light. They could see Christin because of her glowing tattoos.

'I remembered each flash as time began to blur

Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me'

Suddenly, everyone was standing in a field somewhere. Rain splattered against Edward's face and a biting wind threatened to tear up his clothes. 'Generated Image' never ceased to amaze him.

'And your voice was all I heard

That I get what I deserve'

The wind picked up and more lightning split the sky. Edward expected his kids to start crying, but both watched intently. Tobias grinned.

'So give me reason

To prove me wrong

To wash this memory clean

Let the thoughts cross

The distance in your eyes

Give me reason

To fill this hole

Connect the space between

Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies

Across this new divide'

Soft grey flecks of something began dancing in the air, completely unaffected by the wind and rain.

'There was nothing inside

The memories left abandoned

There was nowhere to hide

The ashes fell like snow'

The ground began shaking and Christin walked forward as a massive crack appeared in the ground, a hazy orange glow throwing itself against the dark background and illuminating the one creating it.

'And the ground caved in

Between where we were standing

And your voice was all I heard

That I get what I deserve

So give me reason

To prove me wrong

To wash this memory clean

Let the thoughts cross

The distance in your eyes

Across this new divide'

The surroundings began to shred like something ripping through paper. Edward watched as the storm-ravaged scenery was replaced with an eerie whiteness.

'And every loss and every lie

And every truth that you deny

And each regret and each goodbye

Was a mistake too great to hide

And your voice was all I heard

That I get what I deserve'

The background quickly filled up with dark water, making it seem like they were floating. Above and below were stunning displays of space.

'So give me reason

To prove me wrong

To wash this memory clean

Let the thoughts cross

The distance in your eyes

Give me reason

To fill this hole

Connect the space between

Let be enough to reach the truth that lies

Across this new divide'

The background began fading into blackness again, Christin's tattoos the only source of light.

'Across this new divide

Across this new divide…'

The darkness shimmered away, leaving only the, now blindingly, white rooms and their occupants.

"That was good. You're better than the last time I saw you," a familiar voice said. A man entered the room. He was clad in an expensive looking golden robe with deep red trim and jade green patterns. He wore an Asian style headdress, much like the one Christin had seen Hotohori wear in Fushigi Yugi. She stared at the man for a moment before she recognized him.

"Lin?!" Christin exclaimed. "What? You… you…" she stammered. Lin chuckled as he walked into the room.

"Oh yeah. Believe it, my good friends. I'm now the emperor of Xing!" he announced.

"You asshole! I can't believe you made me do that!" Christin cried, stomping her foot.

"Hey, hey, language!" Edward chided.

"Mommy's having a meltdown," Tobias stated. Edward snickered.

"That can't be the reason you wanted us down here," Alphonse interceded.

"Well, what's wrong with wanting to see your friends?" Lin grinned. His cheery mood sobered instantly. "But there is a more serious reason I summoned you all here."

"Are you really the emperor?" Tobias asked.

"Toby!" Edward chided.

"Idiot emperor, at your service," Lin bowed dramatically. Tobias giggled.

"Ah, you've been upgraded," Edward smirked. "Call me the 's' word and I'll assassinate you."

"The 's' word?" the blond child asked. Christin smiled and took Rio from Edward's arms.

"Short," she clarified.

"Who're you calling smaller than a mosquito!?" Edward raged.

"If you'll come with us…" Lanfan said, appearing by Lin's side. She wore a form fitting purple dress with blue and gold detail.

"So what's wrong?" Aislinn inquired. She could sense that something was terribly wrong, but the exact details eluded both herself and Christin.

"There's an illness spreading through the country," May replied. "Many have been affected by it already and no one knows what it is or what is causing it. Several sections of the capital city have been quarantined because of it, along with many small villages."

"Lots of people have died because of it. Our doctors are stupefied and don't know what to do," Lanfan added.

"You thought maybe we could do something about it," Alphonse stated.

"That is what we are hoping. If not help heal the people affected, at lest help us gain insight as to what is causing this," Lin nodded. "You girls have a direct connection with the Truth, do you not?"

"Maybe it can tell us what's going on?" Aislinn turned to Christin.

Christin pursed her lips. She didn't much like the Truth, after all it had put her through, not to mention what it did to Edward and Alphonse. Still, it might be their only option for finding out what's behind this strange illness. She hoped none of them fell victim to it while they were here, especially the children. She didn't like knowing people were suffering when they did not deserve it.

"We can try," she condoned, glancing at Rio, who was sleeping peacefully in her arms.

A/N: here we go! First chapter of the sequel! Okay, it'll take a couple chapters until the things I mentioned in the disclaimer occur. Please bear with me! I'm only seventeen; I'm doing the best I can here!

the title means 'the core of coruption' in italian.

I hope you lovely readers will like this story as much as the first one.

Read and review and tell me how terrible it is so far!

Just kidding, though flames are more than welcome.

Until chapter 2…