The morning came too early for Edward, and woke him up from a rather pleasant dream in which the reality he was in turned out to be a dream itself and him and Alphonse were still on their quest to find the Philosopher's Stone. It felt as if it were real, and because he preferred to believe it instead of his reality, he did.

"Mornin' Al," he said groggily, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Let's get going—this time it sounds like the real thing."

The "alright, Brother" he was expecting never came. Unsurprisingly, in fact, especially after the alchemist had gotten out of that drowsy, half-asleep state. Edward gave out a sigh when he was greeted with Aimee's whiny voice.

"Who the hell is Al?" she questioned, woken up from the sound of Ed's voice (not that she could complain).

Edward's face twisted into a curious expression before sighing heavily. "No one," he lied, standing up. "Let's go, the sooner I can get away from you the better."

"Likewise." Aimee stood up and looked to the sky. "You little brat," she mumbled.

"What was that?"

"No one," she said, in a taunting voice, imitating Ed. "Let's get going," she continued. Aimee glared at Ed.

"Jeez lady I know it's early in the morning but d'ya gotta be such a bitch?" Edward looked at her before starting to walk off. She followed after him.

She paused, considering his question, and stared straight ahead when she finally answered. "I don't like it when people lie to me, Eddy-poo. Tell me who you were talking about." Ed stopped dead in his tracks and Aimee responded by putting her hands on her hips and pouting.

When he looked at her, though, the daggers shooting from his eyes sent chills up her spine.

"What did you just call me?" he questioned through clenched teeth.

"What does it matter? Tell me who you were talking about!"

"What makes you think you can call me 'Eddy-poo'? We don't even know each other! Do you think I'm just some sort of kid that you can order around and give cute nicknames and dress up? It's Ed. Ward. Elric."

"Alright, jeez, Edward. Don't flip out now," she replied. There was a pause in which she thought Ed said something under his breath but they started walking any way. "Any way, who were you talking about? It's pretty obvious that this 'Al' person isn't 'no one'."

Edward glared at her from the corner of his eye but continued nonetheless. "You're right, he's not 'no one' but he's no one you need to know about. My problems are mine."

"Jeez, they call you the Fullmetal Alchemist for a reason—cracking into you is impossible." Aimee made a small little moan and glance at him sideways, hoping somehow he'd be hurt by this statement, cave, and tell her his life story and mysteriously tragic past. "Your skull's as thick as iron, too, isn't it?" she mumbled.

Ed chose to ignore the second statement, knowing that it was meant to piss him off more. "That's not the reason I'm called Fullmetal," he quipped, "and why the hell is knowing everything about me so important to you? I'm not asking you for your life story."

Aimee scoffed. "Sweetie, you're a man," she started, "men don't care about nothing except their family and friends—girlfriends included. So is this 'Al' person family, a friend, or something more?" She added a sly tone to her last three words, and added a smirk. Whether this pissed him off or not (it did) she didn't care.

"Gross! He's my little brother, jeez!" Aimee seemed pretty satisfied with this answer and stayed quiet.

The two walked in silence once more, with Ed thinking of all the ways he could lose Aimee and Aimee thinking of all the ways she could get under his skin. Every now and then, she would glance over to Edward but he seemed too deep in thought and agitated. The look on his face just seemed to always make her forget whatever question she was going to bring up.

Soon enough, the silence was broken. "Do you hear that?" Edward asked. He had only asked because he wasn't sure if he had heard it either. If he had—it was the sounds of war he had only heard the day before, but if he hadn't he was going crazier than he thought.

"Hear what?" Aimee responded. She looked at him as if he were going crazy, and he didn't like that one bit. Edward just shook his head and motioned for them to keep walking. With every step they took, however, the sounds just got increasingly louder.

"Fighting," Aimee pointed out, "people are fighting." Ed could've easily inferred this himself, so he stayed quiet. "C'mon Edward, this could be the Crimean Army!"

Aimee took off, and Ed chased after her with a smirk. All he had to do was get her distracted by the fighting and then he could ditch her and run, then he'd be free to find wherever the hell his brother may be and get out of this crazy place.

"Look!" Aimee said rather loudly, pointing a finger at something stationed on the top of a steep hill.

"What the hell is that," Ed asked, tired of Aimee and all her complaints.

"Are you stupid? It's a ballista!" she shouted at him. Aimee stared him straight in the eye as Ed stared straight at the ballista which slowly turned towards them...

"Watch out!" Edward said instinctively. Quickly, he clapped his hands together and pressed them to the ground, transmuting a large wall that blocked the oncoming bolt the ballista had shot at them. "God pay attention, you're used to this war shit, you think you'd know to pay attention."

Aimee stared at him for a moment in a peculiar fashion. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open.

"What?"

"You just saved my life, that's what!" Aimee shouted. She struck a dramatic pose for effect, placing one hand on her chest and the other on her forehead. "Without you, I would've been shot down by that bolt and embraced by the cold... embrace of death, no longer to ever breathe or see my darling Ike ever again! You are my hero, Edward Elric!" She hoped maybe if she played the helpless, doting female companion that Ed would take interest in her. She was sadly mistaken, however, and Edward had already run off without seeing her little act.

"Brat," she told herself.


"Ike!" Soren called to his best friend. He made another sweeping hand motion in the air, bringing another blade of wind crashing down and killing yet another Daein soldier. "Ike!"

The general responded after cutting down another soldier himself and ran back over to Soren, not taking his eye off the enemy. "What is it, Soren?" he shouted back over his shoulder while blocking an oncoming arrow with his sword.

"Look over there," was the reply, followed with a command shouted in the ancient tongue to take down a stray archer. "That wall wasn't there in the beginning of the battle!"

Ike looked to where Soren had motioned to. Sure enough, it was possible to see through the trees a large wall made of earth. It definitely looked out of place and like nothing any human could make. "What do you make of it, Soren?" Ike inquired while cutting down the last of the soldiers in the immediate area.

"Naesala was in this fight earlier," Soren said calmly and composed, as if he had practiced this speech several times. "He had a skill employed—excuse me for not being able to recall its name—that allowed him to control wind magic from a distance. True, it was a great feat especially for a laguz, however what if it were possible that his skill wasn't the only magic they had up their sleeves?"

"What are you saying, Soren?"

"I'm simply offering the notion that another crow could have perhaps-"

"Edwaaaard! What are you doing leaving me there? I could've been killed by another bolt! Some body guard you are!"

"Watch it, lady! I want to get rid of you, not protect you! There's a big difference!"

Two voices had interrupted Soren and it wasn't long before their bickering owners were in view.

"Oh crap it's Aimee-" Ike started.

"And that boy from before," Soren finished. "But that still doesn't answer the question of where that wall came from."

"Soren. This is not time for wondering how walls may or may not have randomly appeared. Hide me! If that woman catches me, we'll lose this battle for sure. I'm going to go run off and pretend like I don't exist, just please cover me!" And Ike was gone before Soren could even object.

"Well maybe I wouldn't be so annoying if you were a better gentleman!"

"What the hell does that have to do with-"

"Wait a minute! Edward, this battle's between Crimea and Daein! That means my Ikey-poo is here!"

"Hey! Wait! You can't just go running off, you'll get yourself killed!"

"I'll be fine, Edward, they won't—Oh hello there, Soren."

"Hello Aimee," Soren sighed. He could almost already feel the migraine this woman would soon bring him. "May I ask why you're on the battlefield and not back with the caravan?"

"Hey! Lady! Aimee! You can't just run all over the place! Especially not when that place is potentially deadly!" Ed shouted, as soon as he caught up to Aimee.

"Oh? I thought you were getting rid of me, Eddy-poo. So I moved on. Now Soren, where's Ike?" Aimee pouted and placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Soren so she wouldn't have to stare at his feminine face any longer.

"Say Aimee," Soren started, calculating mind already fast at work. "Why don't you introduce me to your friend here?" He was talking slowly, not believing she would understand him easily.

Edward raised an eyebrow at Soren. Aimee just huffed and said, "Forget about it, I'll just find him myself." Then she walked off.

Soren extended a hand with every intent to get Ed to shake it. "I'm Soren, tactician to the Griel Mercenaries and currently, the Crimean Army."

Ed glared at Soren, suspecting him of something, and begrudgingly took his hand. "Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist." Even if Ed wanted to keep a low profile and he didn't trust Soren, he couldn't resist an opportunity to show off... Even if the words 'Fullmetal Alchemist' had no bearing on this world.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, eh?" Soren started again, immediately curious. "That's quite the impressive title. Why do they call you that, Mr. Elric?" Soren knew how to get information, and the best way was to flatter the person you want to talk. He'd done this so many times by now, Soren knew no such thing as 'dignity'. However, as much as Ed liked being flattered, he wasn't about to just tell Soren everything. He contemplated telling the mage or just walking off while he scrutinized Soren.

"Didn't I see you at the fort thing?" Ed asked, brow furrowed. "You seemed pretty okay with me playing dead."

"As I have stated, I'm the tactician for the Crimea army. A strategist, if you will. I only knew it best for both of us had I not talked to you."

Ed couldn't disagree with that. He glared at Soren, still not knowing how to deal with him.

"And," Soren started again. "I could help you find where your brother is, provided you give me information."

"I don't have to tell you anything," Ed replied harshly, biting off the words.

"That's correct. However, as I said before I'm a tactician... And I know this continent better than any one." Ed didn't reply, and the soldiers were breaking through and heading towards them. "Think about it," Soren said as he started conjuring a tornado above his head.

Edward once again didn't reply. He was thinking about this thoroughly. He wasn't about to tell Soren everything, but he did realize that some one from this place would know more about it. Some one with a flexible mind suited for strategies would be the perfect one to help him find Alphonse. He scowled and transmuted his arm back into a sword, ready to fight.

"What would you want to know?" he asked Soren.

"Just about our arm... And how you made that wall," Soren replied, crashing down the tornado onto an enemy soldier.

"Deal."


A/N:: Sorry this one took so long to crank out! School started and you all know how that goes. It didn't help that I don't like this chapter at all... Hope you do. Thanks to any one and every one who has read/reviewed/alerted this story. :3