The air was clean and moist. It had started sprinkling rain a little earlier, and it was just getting worse. Edward and Alphonse Elric ran for cover under an awning that stuck proudly out of a nearby building. "Are you sure this is the place, Brother?" Alphonse asked. Edward dug into his pocket and pulled out a small, crinkled piece of paper. He squinted and held it closer to his eyes. It was the early evening and it was already getting dark outside, so the only light he has was getting was from the dim street lamp that was flickering a short distance away.

"That's what the note says," Edward replied while pointing to the neat cursive written in blue ink on the note. "See?" he asked his younger brother. Al leaned over and grabbed the note from Ed's hand. He studied it carefully. "Fullmetal and brother-," he read aloud, "Meet me in the alleyway next to the bakery in town in half an hour. It's important, so don't be late, From Col. Mustang." Edward looked around them, while Al continued to look at the note. "Hmm," Ed said, "Why would the colonel want us to meet in a dusty old alleyway?" Al looked up and surveyed his surroundings.

The alleyway was just a simple space between two buildings. If you walked forward, you would be stopped by a large concrete fence. Old pieces of food were littered everywhere. There were two very large dark green garbage bins. And, based on the look of disgust on Edward's face, Al concluded that a pungent smell was radiating from them. This was one of the times when he was thankful he didn't have the ability to smell.

Ed took the paper from Al and stuffed it into his pocket. He took a few steps deeper into the alleyway, his tall, dark shoes scraping against the damp, dirty concrete. His hands were cold, so he dug them into his pants pockets and started whistling a tune Alphonse didn't recognize. Al was about to ask him what the tune was (to fill in the awkward silence between them) until they suddenly heard the light shuffling of feet above them.

"What was that?" Al whispered. "I don't know…" Edward cautiously replied. "Colonel," Edward spoke loudly, "Is that you?" Al stepped forward towards his brother (because he had a feeling something bad was going to happen) but Ed simply signaled for him to stay back. "Stay over there," Ed hissed. His younger brother nodded and continued to stand stiffly. Edward slowly stepped forward. They heard more shuffling. They looked up, and saw the source of the noise.

The light was barely hitting them, but they were so bright that both the Elric brothers could see them clearly.

Two bright blue eyes.

The two brothers were so mesmerized by them that they kept silent.

The figure with the eyes was crouched on top of the concrete wall in front of them. They leaned forward a bit more and the brothers could see slight facial features of the person. A nose…a jaw…high cheek bones. They squinted in attempt to see them better. Edward almost gasped when he realized it.

It was…a girl?

She leapt forward and gracefully landed on the ground in front of them. Ed jumped back and scowled. He put one of his legs behind him for support, and lifted his fists up in preparation for a fight. She was still too far away to see.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Where's the Colonel?" Edward angrily spat out questions.

Ed and Al both slightly jumped when she started speaking.

"It's an honor to meet you," She spoke softly, venom dripping from her words,

"Fullmetal Alchemist."