After a short conversation over trying to figure out who was whose hostage, Isabella, Elizabeth, and Ling decided to check on the Elric Brothers and the foreigner's subordinates. When they arrived Edward was muttering to himself about how he was going to need to find a way to become immortal himself if his body kept falling apart like it was, and Ling clapped as he skipped his way over. "You two are pretty tough, huh!?" He complimented, grinning ear-to-ear. "How about it? Why don't two become my subordinates and we can take over a nation together? Even better, so you guys don't get separated, your warmhearted lady friend over there can become my wife!"

Isabella choked on thin air while Edward's eyes bugged out of his skull, Elizabeth's jaw dropping and nearly hitting the ground. Elizabeth then clamped her hands over her mouth, squealing as she looked at her sister in awe. "He wants to marry you~!" Isabella's normally apathetic face turned a dark red quickly, though no one was able to decipher if it was from anger or embarrassment, and she shrieked.

"Who the hell are you calling warmhearted!?" She lunged, hand curled into a fist as she aimed a hit towards Ling's head, but the man just laugh and easily dodged, reaching forward and catching her wrist in his hold. He was beaming.

"Just think about it!" He turned his head towards Edward, "What do you say? You want to help me take over a country?"

"STOP DAYDREAMING! JUST GO BACK TO XING!" The blonde exploded, his broken off arm slung over his shoulder as veins popped out of his neck and face. Edward was furious. Alphonse, in the background, was simply mourning because of what Ling said. Paninya patted him on the shoulder comfortingly as he mumbled upset,

"He took me as a fighting idiot like brother..."

Ling hummed to himself, holding both of Isabella's wrists as the fuming brunette continued to try and attack him. "I can't really go back to Xing until I finish my goal though... haha. Sorry."

"LET GO AND LET ME HIT YOU ALREADY, DAMN IT!"

"But I don't wanna get hurt~!" Ling whined in protest to her words. "Ah, Lan Fan, Fu, stand down. She's harmless." Isabella froze and whirled her head around, but there was no one in sight. Edward and Alphonse jumped and screeched when they realized the attackers were gone.

"Where did they go!?"

"They vanished, brother! What should we do!?"

A new voice spoke, causing everyone to look at the citizens approaching. "It was you two guys who did this, right!?" Their gazes were focused firmly on Edward and Alphonse. The brothers were very much alarmed. "You need to pay for the damages!"

"And the taxing fees!"

"Don't forget the restaurant bills!"

Edward was sweating and-where did Elizabeth go? Isabella looked around once more, but couldn't see the girl anywhere. It was like she had vanished out of thin air-like the black-haired weirdo's flunkies. Isabella decided she would never understand Elizabeth, not truly, for that girl was as mysterious as the night. "You got it all wrong!" Edward was exclaiming, "You should be charging those guys-Hey, where are you going!?" Ling had released Isabella and was running for it, turning to face him right as he reached the top of the hill. He spoke really quickly, his words slurred and barely understandable.

"Thorry, I dunnah sheem to underthtan' thisa langwuage of de countawy! Bai-Bai!"

"HEY, COME BACK HERE!"

Edward and Isabella would have chased after the idiotic foreigner if he wasn't so crazy fast at running away-and if they didn't have a bunch of angry citizens on their tails.

"My shop!" They growled.

"My wagon!"

"Why are you guys always destroying things!? Just hurry up and fix it!"

Edward looked alarmed. "How can I fix it when my arm's like this!?" He then paused and looked at Isabella, who quickly raised her hands up defensively and backed away. She was ready to try and fight, but fixing a town was out of the question. She would accidentally cause all the buildings to become deformed and even more horrendous than their current state.

"Nope! Not doing it."

"Then what are you here for!?"

"Because I was forced to, remember!?" The whole reason she's even here is because Mustang is making her travel with the brothers. Not to mention that she was too scared to take her eyes off of them in fear they might get killed. She took a sword for Edward once-she was prepared to do it again. "I'm not that skilled yet! I can't fix up a whole town!"

"Then do it section by section! I'm out of the equation right now!"

"Screw that; I'm not doing it!"

Alphonse quickly stepped between them, separated the two teens, and said, "I'll do it." He clapped his hands, just as the two teens looked up at him in shock, dumbfounded. Edward stared.

"You can do alchemy without a transmutation circle now? Since when?"

"Not long ago, actually." Huh. Isabella blinked and shrugged, deciding not to question it, and just watched as Edward suddenly collapsed on the ground. She walked over and nudged him lightly with her foot, checking to make sure he was still conscious. He was muttering something about heights and "armored alchemists". "A-Are you okay, brother? What's wrong?"

"...I think he's in shock," Isabella responded, placing a little bit more weight on her foot. "He's completely out of it. Just hurry and fix the town; I'll make sure he doesn't die on us." Alphonse hesitated before nodding, quickly walking over to the middle of the debris. Edward, after a few moments, managed to pull himself back together and pushed himself up, spitting out a little bit of blood, and smacked Isabella's foot off of him.

"Let me help!" He begged, standing, and ran towards his brother who told him it was alright. "Let me help, damn it! I can do it!"

"But your arm, brother... It's fine. I can do this."

After a few minutes of arguing Alphonse was finally able to do the transmutation, Isabella holding Edward back, and they managed to console the fuming citizens. Before long, they were finally able to make their way back to Garfield's shop...

...Where Elizabeth and Ling were waiting, drinking tea with the owner. Ling beamed almost instantly upon seeing them, waving, and exclaimed, "Hello there! We meet again!" Edward wasted no time in dashing over and smacking him upside the head with his detached right arm, yelling. He grabbed Ling by the collar threateningly before Isabella could even get a chance.

"The hell are you doing here?" He growled, voice low. "I thought I told you to go back to Xing!"

"Well, you see~ I fainted again and that beautiful man over there found me and took me in! Elizabeth's been keeping me company!" Garfield blushed at the praise, pressing a hand to his face abashedly, and Elizabeth just laughed. "Aren't they just super nice? I'm beginning to think everyone in Amestris is kind!" He looked at Isabella when he said that, smiling stupidly, and she just scowled and glared. Her hands were balled into fists at her side, shaking.

"I will destroy you..."

"Haha! Your threats are adorable." He laughed loudly and Edward took pleasure in shaking him violently, trying to get him to stop.

"IS IT NORMAL FOR YOU XINGESE TO FAINT ALL THE TIME!? PAY BACK THE MONEY!"

"Aw, come on; don't be that way! We're friends after all, aren't we?"

"Friends!? Bullcrap! Who are you calling a friend!? As if I would trust a guy with shifty eyes!"

Ling's smile faded at Edward's words and he scowled, opening his navy orbs and giving him a sour look. "I was born with these eyes, thank you! I try to keep up a smile all the time because of it!" Isabella grabbed a fistful of his hair, tilting his head back, and glared at him as he stared at her.

"Can I kill him? Please tell me I can kill him." She really wanted to beat him up; he's been pissing her off ever since they met. Ling's eyes remained open as they stared up at her, unnerving her as it felt like he could see right through her soul. He really, really bugged her. "I want to hit him." Bringing up Dublith, trying to get her to talk about Hughes, and... and calling her nice. She hated it. She hated him.

"Be my guest!" Edward growled and released him, shoving him back into the chair he was in. Ling reached up and grabbed Isabella's hand before she could deliver her hit, her fist inches away from the top of his head, and he calmly took another sip of tea. She reached a leg up, trying to kick him, but Ling simply placed the bottom of his foot against her's and snatched her other hand as well, using the same hand he had been holding her in place with. Electricity crackled between them, a smile on Ling's face with a dark glare on Isabella's, and Alphonse looked between them nervously while Edward watched in amusement. Ling took another sip of tea.

"You're pretty violent for a girl, aren't you?" The Xingese stranger questioned, laughing when he saw her grow angrier. "You look like an angry panda cub! How cute! Hahaha!"

"I'll rip you apart!"

"Good luck~!"

"DAMN YOU!"

Elizabeth raised her hands up, tentatively setting her cup down on the table, and stood up slowly as she opened her mouth to speak. "D-Do you really think you should be making him mad, I-Isabel?" She emphasized "him" as if Isabella was supposed to have a clue as to who he was, but it did nothing for her. "A-Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Forgetting WHAT!? His head on a platter!?"

Ling grinned, watching her struggling as she stretched out her fingers in an attempt to gouge her eyes out. She was very focused on her task. "You really need more creative threats. You used that one already."

"SHUT UP!"

Isabella had Ling pinned to the chair at this point, one foot on the edge of the seat with the other still pushing against his, faces inches away with her hands held far away because of his hold. He was thoroughly enjoying this fight. To her dismay and rage, Ling took another drink of his tea before holding it out and asking for a refill. Garfield, who was sparkling and talking about how he didn't care if they had squinty eyes or not, made his way over to refill Ling's cup. At that moment Winry walked back into the room, rope slung over her shoulder with a box full of tools held in her other arm.

"I'm back! Apparently there was this big fight on the main street; you guys don't know anything about... that... do you?" She trailed off, turning her to look at the sight before her. Edward, his arm completely ripped off, contusions all over-Isabella, struggling and wrestling with a strange foreigner that was smiling and drinking tea-Alphonse, who had just a few scratches on his armor-and Elizabeth, who was partially standing with her hands resting on the table. Her brown eyes were wide with alarm. Winry's eyes fixated on Edward's disembodied arm. "Edward..." She sang quietly, voice sweet, before suddenly all you could hear was Edward's horrified screams as the sound of a chainsaw echoed around the room.

...

Winry took a cup of tea from Garfield gratefully, staring in surprise at the Xingese in front of her. In the back Alphonse, Paninya, and Elizabeth tended to the wounded Edward. "You came here from Xing?! That's so far away!" Isabella scowled, pouting like a small child as she stirred the sugar in her tea grumpily. Winry had gotten mad at her after beating up Edward, seeing how she was treating the foreigner. Why was Winry suddenly taking his side anyway? Rude...

"All the ladies in this country are so beautiful and nice!" Ling exclaimed, "Such a lovely country!" Winry laughed at his words, cheeks a light pink, and Isabella felt her eyebrow twitch. Flirtatious little...

"Oh, stop. Flattery will get you nowhere."

Ling reached over and grabbed her hands, smiling charmingly, and exclaimed, "Why don't you become my wife? There's no harm in finding one alongside completing my objective!" Before Winry could even ask what he meant by that Isabella's left hand had already came down upon Ling's head, the male flinching and whining about her violent tendencies. "If you wanted to marry me, you could have agreed earlier when I asked!"

"I'm not marrying you! AND I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU SEDUCE MY FRIEND EITH-!" A wrench nailed her from behind, sending her toppling forward and onto the floor where her soul slowly escaped her body. Ling stared, surprised at Winry's sudden action, and watched as Elizabeth shoved Isabella's soul back into her body and dragged the lifeless girl over to where Edward, Alphonse, and Paninya were. Paninya stopped poking Edward's body to poke Isabella. Edward pushed himself up quickly, hearing Ling's proposal towards Winry, and looked at her angrily as blood trailed down his face.

"WINRY! DON'T FALL FOR HIS STUPID TRICKS! He's a scammer! Besides, you need to fix my arm up right away! I want to hurry up and go back to Central!" She looked at him in confusion.

"Central? What's going on?" Ling looked excited at Edward's words.

"I'll go with you guys!" The rejection was almost instantaneous. The glare Edward sent him caused Elizabeth to struggle to hide her snickers, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth as she snorted.

"Go by yourself," The blonde growled. Ling jumped out of his chair towards Edward, latching around his waist and clinging on with all his might as the fuming blonde tried to push him off.

"Come on~! Aren't we friends!?"

"Friends!? You treat your friends like this!? Why would I ever be friends with you!? You mooched money off of me and then sicked your creepy attendants on me! THOSE TWO DIDN'T GO EASY!"

Ling laughed loudly. "Now, now, I'll give those two a stern talking to later. It's alright." Edward was still struggling to remove Ling from his leg. After a long moment he finally managed to peel him off of his body and throw him back, but Ling quickly reattached himself to him. "Now, don't be that way! Would it make you feel better if I told you who they are!?"

"JUST GET OFF!"

A kunai suddenly came out of nowhere, almost slicing Edward's neck. The blonde went completely still, paling, and screamed when he realized what happened. Unfortunately, when he looked around, there was no one.

"W-Where did that come from!?"

Ling slid down Edward's leg, landing on the floor, and stared at the window where the kunai seemed to have come from. "Lan Fan... don't attack my new friends." Slowly a girl peeked her head up out of the window, her dark eyes glaring at Edward as a light pink spread across her face from embarrassment. "Apologize."

"...He insulted you, Young Master..."

Ling waved his hand at her, sitting up and crossing his legs. "It's fine, it's fine! The angry sleeping lady over there insulted me multiple times before, too, but I don't mind!" He gestured to Isabella who was still bleeding out of the side of the head. "It's all good! We're all friends here!"

"..."

Edward was still freaking out. He pointed at her dramatically, waving his arm in the air, and cried, "SHE JUST TRIED TO KILL ME! EVERYTHING IS NOT "FINE"."

"You destroyed my mask!" She retorted. "You destroyed it and insulted, not to mention attacked, the Young Master!"

Edward scowled, "You want me to make you a new one, is that it!?" Lan Fan remained silent, instead just giving him a sour look.

"Anyway," Ling continued now that he was sitting down properly again, "The girl's name is Lan Fan and the old man is Fu. Their family's been serving mine for generations; they're quite good at what they do." Edward just made a face, completely unimpressed. Isabella finally stopped bleeding and pushed herself up, groaning as she placed a hand against her head. Elizabeth checked her over worriedly, making sure she wasn't harmed anywhere else.

"Oh. So you shake down three strangers for food, yet you can somehow still afford two personal attendants?" The blonde's voice dripped with sarcasm, catching Isabella's attention almost immediately and made her turn her head to look at them. Ling was still smiling, raising his hands up in a shrug.

"Well, I am the Emperor's son after all." Edward blinked while Alphonse stared, and Elizabeth could only snicker while Isabella looked on blankly-staring a hole into the back of Ling's head.

"Emperor's son?" The brothers asked, picturing a man in extremely floral clothing with a crown. They burst out into laughter, wheezing and hitting the floor and they hugged their stomachs. Ling was a little surprised, not entirely sure how he should feel about their responses.

"Not the reaction I was anticipating..." He mumbled, and turned his head to finally address the cold eyes digging their way into his skull. "Yes?"

"You're a prince?" Isabella asked bluntly. Ling nodded. Her face cleared up and he watched as she slammed a fist into the palm of her other hand, pointing at him as she declared, "No wonder I don't like you!" He tilted his head at her, confused at her words, but had to focus on Alphonse and Edward when they started to apologize for laughing.

"W-We just didn't see that coming!" Alphonse gasped. Edward slapped a hand on the floor, wheezing.

"Y-Yeah! The guy who collapsed o-on the side of the road and mooched food off of us is-is the son o-of an emperor!"

Realizing the humor in this Isabella snorted. Elizabeth remained in the background, grinning ear-to-ear. Winry just looked awed. "You're the son of an Emperor? That's amazing!" Ling's smile widened, seeing how at least Winry wasn't making fun of him. However...

"No, they're probably right. It's actually not that big of a deal. The Emperor has a lot of sons." The brothers and Isabella stopped laughing once Ling started to talk again. They looked at him. "It's like this; my country Xing is broken up into fifty different clans with an Emperor up top ruling over all of them. The daughter of each clan's chief becomes one of the Emperor's wives and bears his children." Isabella's face turned sour, deciding she really didn't like this guy. "The current Emperor has nineteen daughters and twenty-four sons. I'm come in at number twelve in that lineup."

"Forty-three kids?" Edward exclaimed, "That's incredible!" Elizabeth looked stunned, despite already knowing this.

"Someone was busy..."

Isabella just looked extremely bothered. "What, and you're going to marry every chief daughter out there when you become Emperor?" The thought left a sour taste on her tongue. He'd probably have better luck visiting a brothel or something. She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting uncomfortably when she remembered being forcefully stripped on her first visit to Rush Valley. Weird things really do keep happening to her in this town... Ling lifted his head up, staring at the girl who was standing. He took notice of her nervous stature.

"Perhaps. It's not as if I have to marry them all; I'd be satisfied with just one wife. But that's if I become Emperor." She looked confused. Elizabeth spoke up.

"You have to compete with your siblings, right?" He nodded. Alphonse said,

"The issue of succession must be a tricky one." Ling held a finger up.

"Indeed it is! That's actually the problem we're facing right now." His voice became grim, "The Emperor's health has begun to deteriorate recently... each clan is doing everything they can to curry favor." His solemn frown turned into an almost bitterly amused smile. "And I'm not exception." Edward looked at Ling in realization.

"You want to up your chances by discovering the secret of immortality." Ling laughed.

"Exactly! Okay; the Philosopher's Stone. What information can you offer?" Edward huffed and turned his head away again.

"Not happening! The stone isn't a tool of power for some political game!" Ling jumped out of his chair at Edward's words, latching onto him once more. He rubbed his face against Edward's.

"Oh, then I'll have to stay with you until you tell me~!"

Edward smacked Ling off with his disembodied arm. "NO YOU DON'T, GET OFF OF ME! HOW DARE YOU!"

"Don't be that way~!"

In the end, after Winry fixed his arm, Edward ended up making a mask that resembled a demon. Lan Fan was pretty angry after that, so Alphonse made her a much less frightening one. Ling had to scold her lightly in order to get her to thank him. After a few hours they got their tickets and boarded the train. Edward was ranting at Ling who was sitting across from him and Winry, next to Alphonse, and in the seat beside the one Isabella and Elizabeth were sitting in.

"I already scolded those guys," Ling said lightheartedly as Winry looked around for Lan Fan and Fu. "Give me a break! Haha!"

"I have a question," Alphonse suddenly asked, raising an armored glove up. "How old are you? You said you're the twelfth son, but you never told us your age..."

"Me? Oh, I'm fifteen." Edward, Isabella, and Winry's eyes almost bugged out of their skulls at his words. Alphonse let out a gasp, and if he could make expression he'd probably of dropped his jaw. "How old are you guys?"

"Edward's almost sixteen," Winry answered through her shock. "I-I think Isabella and Elizabeth are fourteen." Edward quickly stood up and glared down at Ling, ordering him to stand. Ling did so, though confused, and watched as Edward brought a hand up to the top of his head to compare them. He paled, backed away, and pointed at him dramatically as he struggled to find something to say. Isabella and Elizabeth stood up as well, comparing heights, but unlike Elizabeth who remained at a sad five foot Isabella was at least five two now. Unfortunately, Isabella barely even went up to Ling's mouth as Edward did his nose, Elizabeth merely reaching just below his chin. Isabella choked and fell back, falling into her seat, and Elizabeth tilted her head and looked at her worriedly.

"A-Are you alright?"

In a moment of rage and randomness, Edward blurted as he continued pointing at Ling, "UGLY FACE!" Winry and Alphonse gasped.

"He changed the subject!"

"WHILE THE HELL ARE ALL YOU PEOPLE SO TALL!?" Isabella demanded, pushing herself back up as she glared at the giant standing in front of her. At that moment a sword came down from above and nearly got Edward in the head, the male barely moving in time to avoid it. He shrieked as a muffled voice spoke from above.

"You insulted the master again!"

"Lan Fan!" Alphonse exclaimed, voice horrified. "You're riding on top!?"

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING UP THERE!?" Isabella cried. Edward screamed for security, complaining about how Ling's bodyguards were getting a free ride. Winry was too busy freaking out about if they were okay and Elizabeth was just laughing so hard tears were coming out of her eyes. Ling was completely calm, laughing at Edward.

"You think they'll be caught that easily?"