"Al... Why did the colonel have to send us to this Racoon City?" Ed asked, crossing his arms. "It sounds like a zoo name."

"I don't know. Maybe because he didn't tell us why we are here. Remember?"

"Oh... Well, I read the paper and it doesn't say why we are here or what is even going on in this city. Maybe this is a blind mission."

"Possibly," Al said. The two Elrics walked side by side down the rode that led to a large, dark city. They thought it was going to be highly populated with regular people and stuff, but they were wrong. When they entered the city it didn't take them long to realize that something wasn't right. Everything seemed abandoned and silent. Too silent. Blood and papers covered sections of the streets and sidewalks. Building were on fire while fire hidrents were pouring out of the side with water. Cars were smashed against either one another or against buildings. Some even overlapped others. Pieces of shattered windows lay scattered on the streets and sidewalks.
The two brother's eyes widened as they saw a courpse lie on the ground. Bite marks rested on the arms, revieling blood. The neck of the man was ripped open with blood gushing out of it.
As they walked slowly around the ghost town they noticed more damages and courpse. One of the courpse lay still on the first step of a passenger bus. The bus had appeared to be in better condition than the rest of the vehicles in the city. The only damages were blood stains resting on the each sides of the bus and on the windows. Also, a few windows have been shattered from the inside. One of the windows looked like someone jumped or threw something out of it, due to the fact that no glass remained. Another window looked like it was struggled open. The window right next to it had a large, bloody foot print on it. In fact, the print looked like it had been recent.
The two brothers approached the bus in caution. They were careful not to slip in any puddles of blood. When they made their way to the steps of the bus they brushed the body off of it with their feet. The courpse they found on the step was in way worse condition than the one they saw before. It appeared that his arms were bitten off by who knows what. His right foot appeared to be twisted all the way around with his large toe dismembered. His other leg had pieces of glass from the bus door sticking out. What scared the brothers the most was that the man's eyes were pecked out by some sort of bird. A small stream of blood used to drip from them, leaving lines of blood on his cheek.
Ed swallowed hard and stepped on the first step of the bus.

"Let's go investigate a bit, Al," he said before taking a few more steps. "We might find some survivors or something."Al nodded unsurley and followed closely, making faint clanking sounds with his armor. He couldn't help it because he was trapped in the armor.
To Ed's surprise he noticed that it didn't smell as bad in here than out in the streets. The brothers gasped in horror as they saw several bodies on the floor and seats. Blood nearly covered the whole inside of the bus. Everyone inside were dead from either head injuries from struggle, or the fact that they were eaten like a feast.

"Their deaths were recent, I can definetly tell," Ed said sharply.

"How do you know for sure?" Al asked.

"If you could smell then you would know."

"What does smelling have to do with anything?" Al asked again with curiosity. Ed smacked his forehead and sighed.

"You know how people smell really bad after a week or more after they die? Well, these people don't smell, so they must have died either today or even yesterday," Ed explained, stepping over a dead body."Either way their deaths were recent."Al gave a nod and brushed a fly of of his metal arm. He looked at the dead bodies as he passed them. They each had bite marks planted somewhere on their body. Suddenly he stopped and examined the bite. Ed stopped as well in turned around to examine his younger brother's curiostiy.

"Al, what is it?" He asked, somewhat of fear in his voice. The two brothers were almost at the back of the bus, about 6 seats away from the rear, 3 on each side.

"Brother, look at the bite marks on another persons body," Al instructed. Ed noticed the fear in his voice and gulped. Something definetly was bothering Al. He bent down toward the body he stepped over thirty or so seconds agoand examined the bites. He wasn't catching on to Al's thoughts and stood back up.

"We already know how they died, Al," Ed started. "But we want to know who... or what did this."

"That's what I am trying to get to," Al said with fear and impatience in his voice. He wanted to blurt out to Ed what he knew, but also wanted Ed to catch on himself. Al decided to look carefully at the bite marks to see if he was orwasn't mistaken, and, to no surprise, he wasn't mistaken.

"Brother, look verry carefully at the bite marks and tell me what you think might have done it," he said, looking at the marks again. Ed sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance and decided to look again. Kneeling down he examined the marks... and gasped. The whos or whats wasn't by a what, but a who... A human being.

"Al... Why would a human do this to another?" He asked in a whisper of fear. At first Al was too affraid to respond, but he thought of a quick theory.

"Maybe they are canibals," he said.

"It seems too simple, Al," Ed replied, trying to sound brave. "I don't think canibals would to this to an entire city. Besides, those things live alone in forests or woods or something." Standing back up, Ed made his way to the back of the bus. The very back window has scratch marks on it.To his surprise there was no blood on the very last seat., except for the blood that drips from the ceiling. Items such as torn purses and bags, cell phones, make up, and papers lay scattered on the floor and seats. Everything in the bus seemed to be lifeless and silent. The only sound to be heard was Al's faint armor clicking as he followed his brother... And the sound of moaning? At first they both didn't know where the dreadful moaning was coming from or who was making, but then they saw something shift in the front of the bus. A lady in a torn, white dress with small pink flowers specked on it and long, curly blonde hair slowly stood up. She limped her way to Ed and Al, starting at the side of seat number six. At first Ed thought she was a surviver and started making his way toward her. Al just took a cautious two steps and remained standing.

"M'am, are you ok?" Ed asked softly, stopping 11 feet away from her. The woman didn't reply. She didn't look up, either, as though she was intentionally not wanting to show her face.

"Look, everything will be-" Ed caught off his own sentence and stared at her, examining her wounds. "Something isn't right... She can't be alive... It's... It's impossible." There was hesitation and faint fear in his voice as he took a step backwards. He almost stumbled over a headless, dead body. The two brothers noticed that the woman lost too much blood from struggle, biting, and glass from windows or other objects.
The woman reached a shakey and bloody hand out to Ed, but continued limping in his direction. Her reach was about 4 feet away now. Ed gasped as he noticed that she was missing several fingers. The woman let out another dreadful moan and finally looked up. Ed tried to let out a scream, but nothing came out but a small choke. His eyes widened in horror as he saw a huge chunk of her face and neck missing. Al let out a small squeal as she neared Ed. She was finally able to touch Ed's shoulder, causing Ed to jump backwards like a frightened dog. When the woman approached them, again, she started to limp a little faster, making a noise that wasn't a moaning sound, but sounded like a phantom growl, or even a vampire's hiss. Again, she grabbed Ed's shoulder and pulled herself toward him, attempting to bite his neck. Ed let out a scream of sudden horror and tried pushing her away. The woman kept hissing and growling as she continued trying to bite any part of Ed.

"Al! Get her off of me!" He yelled. Al didn't hesitate. At first he tried to push her away, but, for some reason, her grip was too strong. Then he started beating on her head and arms until she finally let go. Ed backed away, stumbling into his younger, but yet taller, brother. He thought he was going to pass out from all this horror. He never encountered such death in one city. He now started wishing that this was all just a dream... A bad dream.
The woman stumbled into another seat and fell. She let out a faint hiss and stood back up. Ed looked into the seats aside of him, trying to find a weapon. To his surprise he found a hand gun with lots of ammunition. In a sepreate bag he found shotgun shells and hand gun bullets. He hoped to find a shotgun to give to Al, and, to his luck, he did. He tossed the gun to Al and turned around to face the crazed woman.

"Where should I aim for?" Ed asked. "I need a spot that will take her out in one hit. Heart or head?"

"Uhh... Ummm... The heart," Al replied. Ed gave a quick nodded and pulled the trigger. They both jumped to the loud bang of the gun. The woman stumbled backwards from the impact, but she remained living!

"Damn! I am aiming for the head!" Ed yelled, shooting again. This time the woman stumbled backwards and fell. The two brothers waited for signs of movement. Nothing. The woman didn't even twitch. Blood poured out of the wound in her head. The two brothers sighed in relief and sat in the very back seat. They had to calm the fear away before proceeding their mission.

"Al... There might be more pshycos, so be alert at all times," Ed warned. "If you see someone moving or doing something out of the ordinary then don't hesitate to shoot them."

"Ok, brother," Al replied, standing up. He couldn't exactly promise because he wasn't the type that liked to kill others.

"We had better get off this bus before anyone else decides to attack," Al said, starting to walk down the aisle. Ed rested for a few more seconds and started to stand up. No sooner than he did there was a crash from behind. Many arms were tugging on Ed, trying to pull him throught the back window. Al spun around and saw his brother stuggling for his life. Ed tried to scream his brother's name, but those things had a tough grip around his neck. All that came out was a choking noise.

"Brother!" Al screamed, dashing back down the aisle. "Get off of him! Get off!" Al continuesly beat their arms until there were very few of them with a grip on Ed. Ed's face started to turn a redish color from the choking. Finally, those things gave up and released the older Elric. Ed started coughing and gasping for air. His face color eventually started to go back to normal. Turning to Al he forced a thanking smile.

"Let's go, Al," He said, grabbing his gun. As they made their way down the aisle Al noticed scratches on Ed's neck.

"Brother, your neck... It's all scratched up," Al pointed out.

"They are just scratches... Nothing big," Ed reassured. He touched the small wounds on his neck and flinched. They stung rather badly for just scratches. As they made their way off the bus they noticed moaning in the distance, but it was soon cut off by a few gun shots that came from the far left of them.

"Brother, look!" Al said, pointing behind a police car. As he pointed they both heard a few more gun shots coming their way.

"Aaagh!" Ed yelped, quickly ducking.

"Yikes!" Al yelped, also ducking. "Brother, what are we going to do? I didn't know that these things could fire guns!"

"Me neither, Al, but I don't think he is one of those pshycos," he replied, dodging another gun shot. "His aim was too cordinated."One of the shots rebounded off Al's armor and hit an unknown 'thing' from the left. They both gasped as the body collapsed on Ed's back.

"AAAAHH!" Ed screamed, jumping up. He ran about 10 feet down the street and ducked behind another car. Unfortunatley Ed didn't know that there was one of those things in there. The 'thing' reached its arms out the window and wrapped them around Ed's neck and tried to yank him through the window. He tried to scream, but all that came out was a squeak and cough. The only thing he could do nowwas flail and hope that Al would come to his senses and help him.

"Damnit!" He thought. "I wish I never freaked out! Forgive me Al..." As he thought that he was completley done for he heard a gun shot, and noticed that the 'thing' releasd his neck. Again, he started gasping for air.

"Thanks, Al," he said before realizing it wasn't him. A man in his twentys knelt down near the frightened teen. He had a hansom but serious look on his face. He had very darkeyes that seemed brown inthe light.His hair was brown and neat with a little bit of blonde in it. His bangs were parted down to his ears and the hair in the back reached a few inches past his neck. There was a strap around his shoulder, which was to carry his advanced handgun. He looked kind of muscular and strong, but yet gentle. He wore a leather-like shirt which had sleeves that reached 3 inches above his elbows. He wore a black belt which contained a light on the front ofit around his baggy, leather pants. He wore black, leather gloves which reached down to his wrists, and was cut around an inch past each finger. He appeared to have no scratches or wounds on his body. Just blood from others that he killed.

"Are you ok, kid?" He asked caringly.

"Sure. Being shot at was a hell of a time," Ed replied sarcastically. The man let out a quick sigh.

"I wan't aiming for you," he started. "I thought that metal thing was trying to kill you." Ed glared at him for a short moment. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by another voice behind the man.

"Brother!" Al called out. The man immidiatley spun around in caution.

"Stay back!" He yelled, raising his gun. Al immidiatley stopped and put his hands in the air. He noticed that he still had the shotgun in his hands and quickly and carelessly dropped it.

"Don't shoot him!" Ed yelled running in front of Al. "He's my younger brother!"

"Brother?" The man repeated, raising a brow.

"It's true, sir," Al spoke, picking the gun back up. At first the man didn't belive Al, but then examined the serious expression on Ed's face.

"What are your names?" He asked.

"I'm Edward Elric, and this is Alphonse Elric," Ed introduced. "You could just call us Ed and Al."

"Alright then," he agreed. "My name is Leon Kennedy. You boys better stick with me if you want to get out of here alive." The two brothers nodded and stood up, follow by Leon. He took two steps forward, but stopped.

"How old are?" Leon asked.

"I'm 16, and Al is 14," Ed replied.

"16? You look way younger than that."

"What!" Ed yelled. His face turned red in anger as he started clenching his hands in tight fists. Before he could lunge at Leon Al ran up behind him and held him back.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SMALL, HALF-PINT, QUARTER-CUP, CHIBI MIDGET?" Ed yelled. "AM I TOO SHORT TO TAKE ON THOSE PSHYCOS? HUH? AM I! AM I?"

"Brother, calm down," Al said. "Leon didn't know. We just met him two minutes ago." Ed started to settle down as Al released back to the ground.

"Sorry for offending," Leon apologized. He was about to tell them where they had to go, but examined something on Ed's body.

"Ed, I couldn't help notice those scratches on your neck," He said.

"It's nothing. I-" His sentence was cut off.

"How did you get them," Leon demanded.

"Leon, it's nothing-"

"How did you get them.." Leon's voice started rise and become more serious, if it was possible. His voice couldn't have seemed any more serious from before.

"Those things scratched me back at the bus," Ed explained. "They tried pulling me through the back window." Al noticed the sudden emotion on Leon's face. It looked sad and worried rather than serious and encouraging. His face started to turn a little bit pale. Giving a small sigh, he shook his head in disappointment.

"What's wrong, Leon sir?" Al asked politley, yet frightened.

"Do you two know how most of these residents came to be like these things?" Leon asked.

"That's what we are trying to figure out now," Ed replied in a quiet voice.

"Some of these citizens were infected with something called the T-Virus. It causes genetic mutations and..." Leon paused for a moment.

"It..Umm... Regular people just turn into those things, right?" Ed finished.

"Not only that," Leon continued. "It brings.. The dead... back to life." Edward's eyes widened in horror.

"That's impossible," he whispered to himself. "Is there a cure for these people?" At first Leon was silent and still. Then he slowly and sadly shook his head. Ed frowned and looked at the growned. If Al wasn't encased in the amor he would have frowned also.

"Leon sir, you said that only some of the citizens were infected with the virus. What happened to the others?" Al asked. "How did they turn out to be?"

"The infected who bite into regular flesh transfer the virus to them... And within a matter of hours they become one of them."

"So you're saying that I'm fine since I am not bitten?" Ed asked, somewhat of joy in his voice. Leon looked at Edward's golden eyes directly. He didn't know what to tell him, or how to tell him. It would take him a lot of courage to reveal the truth.

"Sir?" Al said, resting a hand on his shoulder. He jumped a little bit to the sudden contact.

"I'm sorry, Ed, but so much as a single scratch will transfer the virus," Leon finally said. Ed's eyes widened a little bit. But then narrowed them and stared back at the ground.

"You mean... Brother will become one of... them?" Al managed to say. Leon was about to speak, but noticed a few tears starting to run down Ed's face. Al noticed to and knelt down to comfort him.

"Ed, there is a cure," Leon said, kneeling down, too.

"Don't be crazy. You just said there was no cure."

"Not exactly. I said there was no cure for those who are already one of them," Leon explained. "I didn't say there wasn't a cure for those who are scratched or bitten." Ed's face lit up again. Al helped them both up and glanced around to see if anyone... or anything was coming. Al gasped at the sudden ammount of 'things' that were coming their way. Luckily they were more than 100 feet away. He was about to warn Leon, but Ed spoke first.

"Where can we get this cure and how much time do I have left?" He asked, reajusting his red jacket.

"Since you only have scratches instead of bites then you have about 2 hours to get the G-Virus," Leon explained. "The cure should be at the police station in my old office. That's where I left it last."

"Leon sir, look," Al said, pointing down the street. Several 'things' limped their way up the street. Some even crawled from dismembered legs.

"How do we get there now if they are blocking our way?" Al asked. "And I doubt we can shoot them all."

"We arn't going that way," Leon corrected. "We have to walk 3 blocks to get there." The brothers nodded and followed Leon. They were careful not to stain their shoes with blood or puncture them with glass.
As they turned the corned of the second block they were surprised to see the number of zombie-like people roaming the streets and sidewalks.

"What do we do now?" Al asked in a panic.

"Shoot them in the head!" Leon yelled, quickly pulling out his gun. Ed and Al pulled out their guns, too, and started shooting. Al did very little shooting because he didn't enjoy killing others. Many of the bullets Ed fired didn't hit them in the head, but in the shoulder or the upper part of their chest.

"Skrew it!" Ed yelled, running forward. He stopped about 8 feet and front of them.

"Ed! What the hell are you doing?" Leon called to him, shooting one as it approached Ed.

"Equivilant Exchange, bitches!" Ed yelled, clapping his hands together. He quickly placed them on the ground, allowing a quick flash of blue appear. Large spikes appeared from under the walking dead's feet. Leon stared in awe as dozens of them collapsed. Again, Ed clapped his hands together and placed them on the ground. The thorns withdrew back into the ground, tripping some of the walking dead.

"Let's go, guys!" Ed called back to the other. He pulled out his hand gun again and shot one as it approached. Running on the side walk, Ed gestured for the others to follow again. One tried to grab Ed's shoulder, but was immidiatley shot and killed by Al. Ed allowed Leon to run ahead and lead the way. Al was in the back of them to make sure none of the 'things' scratch or bite his brother. He didn't have to worry about Leon because he noticed that he was a skilled cop or something.

"We're here!" Leon announed, dashing up the steps. He quickly opened the two heavy doors and allowed Edward and Alphonse to enter first. Before following them he shot a guy from behind. The guy flew back down the steps and landed on another zombie person. He quickly rushed inside and slammed the doors shut.

"Wow! This place is huge!" Ed complimented.

"I know," Leon said. "Let's quickly head into my office and get the G-Virus." Before Ed could ask where his office was they heard a pitter-patter of foot steps. They were sure who or what was making the sound, but they started to get very cautious.

"Stay away from any doors or windows," Leon warned. "Stand back to back in a triangle and ready your guns."

"Alright," Ed said, taking out his gun. The pitter-patter stopped for a few seconds, but continued even faster. Suddenly they heard a snarl from behind the corner of a hallway. About 4 dogs turned the corner, growling viciously in an intimidating way. Al was about to walk over to help and comfort it, but realized something awkward about them. Their eyes were red and dark. Their teeth were sharp and stained with blood from the meals. Their growls didn't sound like a regular dogs growl. It sounded more vicious, like a wolf. The scariest part about it was it's skin... Or what used to be. It looked as though the dogs were skinned alive by somone... or something. Bite marks that weren't human rested on their bodies. What ever feasted on them beforewas vicious big... Very big. The 3 males were surprised that the T-Virus could even reserect them in that condition.
Suddenly the dog in the front took off at speed that was greater than any other dog, practically faster than a wolf! The other dogs followed the 'leader of the group', giving a nasty snarl as they ran.

"Shoot them!" Leon commanded, shooting at the dogs. Since their was no fir or hardley any skin it was easy to kill, if they aimed in the right places. Leon shot the front legs of them, since he had trouble aiming for the bobbing head. One of the dogs started picking up it's speed and lunged at Leon. Luckily Al jumped in the way before it could hit him. He grabbed the dog by the neck and punched it in the face. Blood poured everywhere on Al.
The other two dogs lunged at Ed, who quickly transmuted a stone barrier. Unfortunatley he was stupid and forgot to make it wide enough. The dogs just ran around the side and lunged at Ed. Ed let out a scream of pain as the dog bit his left arm.

"BROTHER!" Al yelled, rushing to help his brother. The dog took another bite at Ed's side before Al yanked them both off. The dogs yelped and barked uncontrollably as Al bashed them against the stone barrier repeatedly. The dogs died after a few more bashings.
The dog with no front legs was shot in the head by Leon, who was now rushing over to help Ed.

"Ed, are you ok?" Leon asked worridly.

"I... I'm going to die, arn't I?" he replied weakly. It wasn't exactly the best comforting answer to give.

"Brother, don't say that!" Al said strongly. "We've been in bad situations before and-"

"Al, don't be silly," Ed interupted. "Look at me. I'm losing way too much blood and my body is infected from these pshycos."

"We arn't too late, Edward," Leon said, hoisting the injured blonde on his back. "Let's hurry down to my office and get that cure. Al, I have something important for you to do."

"What is it Leon sir?" Al asked.

"First of all I like how you are polite and call me sir, but please call me Leon," he said with a chuckle. "Second you have to watch my back. I have to carry Ed and I don't think I can protect us at the same time. Think you can handle it?" Al gulped a little bit but gave an 'ahuh'.
Leon led them down a different hallway from where they encountered the dogs. Luckily Al only had to kill a few of those things. As they turned a corner that seemed to lead to a door to Leon's office, they noticed a shattered window with the pieces of glass scattered everywhere on the ground.

"Yikes," Leon said, continuing his way down the hall. When they finally arrived at the door they heard heavy breathing from ahead. Leon didn't hesitate to open the door because he didn't want to find out who was making the noise. Al followed directly behind him and quickly shut it.

"Should I block off the door?" He asked.

"With what?"

"I can do alchemy like brother," Al said, pulling out a piece of chalk. He began to draw something on the ground. It looked like a circle with a few more circle inside it and a face up triangle which covered the inside. There were a few more triangles that stuck outside of the circle. Al placed his hands on the circle as it glowed a blue, just like when Ed fought the dogs back at the entrance. Giant vines blocked the door way. As he finished watching Al doing alchemy he rested Ed on a chair to the left of him. Suddenly Al pulled his gun out and aimed it at Leon. Leon's eyes widened in shock.

"Don't move," Al warned. A few seconds later Al pulled the trigger. Leon shut his eyes tightly, but noticed that he didn't feel anything. No pain. No bullet. Nothing but fear and shock.
When Leon opened his eyes he noticed Al was walking toward him. He quickly took out his gun and aimed it at Al's metal head.

"Relax, Leon," Al said calmly. "I was only shooting one of them." Leon looked down and saw a dead person sprawled out on the ground, blood rushing out of the wound on his head. Leon noticed a gun in his hand and bullets in his pocket. He knelt down and took out the ammunition and loaded the gun. He handed the gun to Al.

"Think you can carry this in your armor?" He asked, handing him the gun.

"Uhh, sure," Al replied taking the gun.

"The G-Virus should be in the bag beside my desk," Leon said, walking over to his desk. He realized how messy it was ever since he left to find survivors. Papers lay unorganized and scattered everywhere on the desk and floors. There was blood on the walls and floor. A few chairs were toppled over, one was missing a leg. A few paintings on the wall remained in fine condition while others were torn and smudged with blood. Books were torn and scattered on the ground while others were neatly piled on his desked. A few pictures of employes remained on his desk. Others appeared missing for some strange reason. The trash can aside of his desk was toppled over, leaving balls of paper lay freely one the blue, blood stained carpet.
When Leon rummaged through the bag he found 14 green, needle tubes of the G-Virus. He injected three in Ed's neck, one on his left arm, and one on the side where he got bitten by the dogs. Ed flinched a little bit, but remained calm.

"I truly hope this works," Leon said. "All we can do now is pray."

"Brother and I don't believe in that kind of stuff," Al said, rubbing the back of his metal head. Leon gave a small laugh and sat down on the bench.

"I'm not sure if there is a resting spot for you, Al," Leon said, glancing around the room. "Maybe you can sleep on this bench. I will keep guard."

"Oh, no. That won't be necessary," Al said before Leon stood up. "You see, I don't sleep. This armor prevents me from doing a lot of stuff."

"Well you better tell me what you can and can't do," Leon said.

"Well first of all, I can't sleep, eat, drink, cry, smell, taste, feel physical pain, die, and most of all I can show emotion in my face."

"Sucker," Ed whispered, quietly laughing to himself. Al and Leon pretended not to hear him.

"So you can't die?" Leon asked.

"Well, kinda," Al replied. "You can fire bullets at me, stab me, and dent me, but I still won't die. Then only thing that will kill me is this." At that point Al took off his metal helmet and turned it so that the face of it would face himself. Leon noticed something on the back of the helmet. It was a red circle with a wierd symbol in it.

"This is called a blood seal," Al continued, pointing to the marking. "It encases my soul in this suit of armor. If you put a hole in it or smudge it badly then I will die. Someday brother and I will find a stone called the Philosiphers Stone and restore my body and his missing limbs." Leon nodded and rested down on the bench.

"So are you going to stand guard tonight?" He asked.

"Ahuh," Al replied, leaning against the wall. Al was wandering if Leon had a family at all. Before he could ask the question he heard a slight snore coming from Leon.

"I will ask in the morning," Al whispered to himself. He took his gun out of his metal chest and loaded it, just incase someone... Or someone ambushes them. Al knew this was going to be a long, frightening night.

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Next chapter will be coming soon. Submit reviews and tell me if you enjoyed the story... Or... Maybe... Not...