Manami and Al found themselves waking up at two in the afternoon the next day. They were quick to get dressed and get everything ready for leaving when the sun went down.

Manami and Al were leaving their room to go downstairs for dinner, when Manami suddenly realized something...

"Wait..." Manami blinked. "You said to Gracia… that we were crossing the desert with friends. Did I remember right?"

"Yup." Al smiled at her as they climbed down the last stair and were now in the lobby. "It's funny that you mention that, now."

Manami opened her mouth to ask, but…

"Mister Jerso! Zampano!" Al called.

Manami followed his glance, not recognizing the names at first, but put the pieces together when she saw the two familiar men sitting at a table, scarfing down food.

They were the chimera men that used to work for Kimblee… well, the other two that she and Ed didn't get to know, rather. Al had told her about how these two helped him and Winry get to Resembool, after everything that happened in Briggs. Though she and Ed worked closer to Darius and Heinkel, these guys seemed to be just as good of men.

"Hey Al!" The spectacled man, Zampano, looked up from his food to greet him, his mouth full.

"And Manami too!" Jerso followed up. "We were hoping to see you, too!"

"That means she said yes, right?" Zampano smirked to Al and nudged him with his elbow. "Told ya you had nothing to worry about!"

Manami and Al chuckled, their cheeks turning pink as they found chairs to sit at the table with them.

"There's plenty of food, you two! Dig in! Our treat!" Jerso announced, before both men went back to shoveling food into their mouths.

"Thank you!" Both Al and Manami nodded, as they each found a hair to sit at the table with them.

"Excuse me!" Al called to a waitress. "May I have some milk here when you get a chance?"

"And a sweet tea, please!" Manami chimed.

"Coming up!"

And so, the four of them caught up stories as they ate their last meal in Amestris. They were set to embark for Xerxes when the sun went down, which was very soon.

"So, you've paid all your regards?" Zampano asked them, and Manami and Al nodded.

"Pretty sure." Manami looked to Al.

"Yes. We're going to Xing!" Al beamed, saying that fact aloud making him even more excited.

"Then the time is nigh." Zampano smirked.

"You two excited?" Jerso asked.

Both Manami and Al nodded.

"This isn't my first rodeo, but I sure am glad we're making this trek at night." Manami chuckled.

"It's a little more dangerous, since the predators come out at night." Jerso explained. "But that's why we're tagging along! Our animal instincts will sense any nasty critters before they even think of attacking 'ya!"

"But you two aren't just stopping at Xing, right?" Zampano asked.

Al shook his head. "Mei is going to teach me everything there is to know about Alkahestry in Xing… but then, we're going to travel all over the East! There's speculation that one of Manami's ancestors is from one of the Eastern Islands, so I wanted to investigate that as well!"

Manami blinked, having forgotten the night that she and Al talked about the Eastern Islands, how Ling suspected that she may have a lineage from one of them… it had just occurred to her that she could now ask Ling more about it! They would even go to the Island and see it for themselves!

It made her all the more excited, making her smile brightly as well.

"I want to see as much as I can, learn as much as I can… and meet new people!" Al said, excitedly.

"What about you?" Manami asked, looking at Jerso and Zampano.

"Well, after we escort you two to Xing, we're going to split and look for a way to get our bodies back to normal." Jerso said.

Manami and Al's eyes widened in surprise, and Zampano smiled at Al.

"You're the one who told us we should never give up."

"You said to act for ourselves, and not leave it to others." Jerso added.

Manami smiled, reaching to hold Al's hand. She was proud of him, that he got so far with getting his own body back… and even inspiring others to make their own changes.

Al couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, genuinely happy for the two chimera men.

The group got their things together and bid the Halling family farewell before walking down the dirt road that led to the Amestrian border.

"I'll admit, it's weird to see you without your brother." Zampano said, looking down to Al.

"Heh, well… we thought it would be best if we split up so that I could explore the east region, while brother explored the west." Al explained. "That way, we can combine our knowledge…"

Al trailed off, slowly coming to a stop.

"...?" Manami stopped as well, looking back to Al.

"..." Al's smile had faded, his lips curled in a small frown. "Our hope is to prevent the tragedy that befell Nina… from ever happening again."

Manami's eyes saddened when she heard the name "Nina." She knew that story, all too well. She and Winry both knew how the Elric brothers were haunted by what happened, and probably would be for the rest of their lives…

"... Al…"

"It's okay…" Al brought a smile back to his face. "We have more in mind than just that. This isn't just for research…"

He stepped toward Manami, gently taking one of her hands in his own.

"I really meant it, when I said I was grateful that you were coming with me…" He smiled at her. "Because... I couldn't imagine seeing the world with anyone else…"

Manami couldn't help but blush. Al smiled even brighter at the sight and leaned down to kiss her, but just as their lips were about to touch...

"What are we, chopped liver?!"

"We don't have to go if you don't want us to!"

"Huh?!" Manami and Al flinched, looking back to Jerso and Zampano, who burst out in laughter.

"Gotcha!"

"But really, keep the smooching to a minimum!"

"I'll smooch all I want! This is my honeymoon, you know!" Manami shook her fist at the chimera men.

"Yeah, yeah…"

After showing their passports at the border check, the group got horses to carry them and their things across the desert.

Manami took a moment to look out to the scenery that was the desert. It looked much different at night, she had to admit. The sand looked so pretty under the moonlight… that plus the cool night air, Manami definitely preferred this way of travelling across.

And so, everyone got on their horses and began their trek. The further they got away from the Amestrian border and the light, the more the stars sparkled in the clear, open sky.

"Wow…" Manami stared up at the sky in awe. "It's beautiful…"

"Yeah…" Al hummed in agreement, but he wasn't looking at the sky. He was instead looking at Manami, watching how the stars' sparkles reflected in her eyes.

"Don't look up for too long." Zampano warned. "I know we're keeping watch for any predators, but it helps to have an extra couple pair of eyes."

"Even if they're human eyes." Jerso snickered.

Manami looked around, seeing nothing like sand. "What am I looking for aga-"

WHACK! Manami's horse immediately stopped and whinnied when a spike sunk into the ground a few feet in front of it. Manami looked closer to see something wriggling under the spike for a few moments, before losing life.

"Ah… snakes… gotcha."

"On second thought, your eyes are useless." Jerso sighed.

"Jerso, let's take the sides."

"Right."

The horses began to move once more, and Al couldn't help but chuckle nervously.

"Sorry… I didn't know it'd be this dangerous…"

Manami shook her head. "Even with the snakes, I think it's still safer than doing this in the daylight."

"It was that hot?" Al asked her.

"Hottest day of our lives." She nodded. "I'm surprised one of us didn't have a heat stroke, last time… you know about how the cold up north almost gave Ed frostbite, but didn't he tell you that his automail actually burned his skin out here?"

"No…" Al chuckled nervously. "I mean, he said it was 'dreadfully hot,' but…"

"You'll see what he means tomorrow."

After a few hours of travel and fending off snakes, the group started to see structures in the distance.

"That's it." Manami announced. "That's Xerxes…"

"Wow…" Al's mouth was open with awe.

This is where his Father was from… where the Dwarf in the Flask took the souls of the whole town, in one night.

They made their way into the town to find it in ruins, just as Manami remembered. What structures remained standing were all in bad shape, having been battered from sandstorms and lack of upkeep for hundreds of years…

It was literally a ghost town.

Before the group went to scout for a spot to make camp, they took a break. Manami stepped off her horse, and Al watched her as she gently took the reins and led the creature to a fountain to drink.

Now that she thought about it, this was the fountain that Ed jumped into to cool off last time. The memory brought a smile to her face.

"What a time that was…"

She started to remember everything else that happened when she was here last. When Ed found the mural that he recognized in Gluttony's stomach, the Ishvalan refugees…

The latter was probably worth mentioning.

"Is something wrong, Manami?"

Manami snapped out of it to see Al standing beside her, having also led his horse to the fountain to drink.

"You seemed like you were thinking of something."

"Yeah… I was just remembering what I saw here last time." Manami looked back to Zampano and Jerso. "We might need to stay on our guard here, too. Last I was here… Ishvalan refugees were living here."

"All the way out here?" Jerso blinked.

"Back then, where else were they supposed to be?" Manami shrugged.

"Hmm… I believe Scar and Major Miles have been working together to bring Amestris and Ishval together for some time now…" Al thought aloud.

"Right," Manami nodded. "So for all we know, the refugees that Ed and I met here may have gone back to Ishval by now."

"Still, you're right. Just keep your eyes peeled." Jerso smirked at her. "Humans are a lot easier to see than snakes, after all."

Manami rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to snap back at the chimera's jab.

The group decided that it would be best to explore the ruins while it was still dark, then decide on a spot to make camp when the sun came up. Manami showed Al the few spots that she and Ed saw in their time here, including the mural.

"I get it…" Al had his hand on his chin as he looked up at it. "So, the missing piece was inside Gluttony's stomach?"

"Yeah." Manami nodded. "Basically covering their tracks. Can't crack the code if one piece is forever missing."

"What does it mean, anyway?" Zampano asked.

"Well…" Manami thought for a moment. "Ed initially thought that it looked like the circle he saw in Lab Five… the one that was used to make Philosopher Stones."

Al's eyes widened a little.

She pointed up to the top of the mural, where the missing piece would be. "But then we saw the missing fragments that are supposed to be at the top, and it's actually very different… this is actually a circle to perform Human Transmutation."

"To bring back dead people?" Jerso asked.

"Well, that's always the first conclusion that everyone comes to…" Manami paused to look at Al, seeing his confused expression.

"Doesn't your brother tell you anything?" She chuckled weakly.

"I guess it was a detail he forgot..?" Al smiled sheepishly.

"Well…" Manami looked back to the mural. "The truth is… you can actually perform Human Transmutation on yourself."

"Huh?!" The chimera men gasped.

"Gluttony's stomach was basically a knockoff 'Gate of Truth' that Father created, except there was no exit. So, Ed pieced together the missing fragments from this mural and basically came to the conclusion that, if we opened the real gate, we would be able to escape Gluttony's stomach, and be able to come back from the real Gate of Truth… and that's how we came back."

"I see…" Al nodded in understanding. "That's how he saw my body… Brother deconstructed himself, then reconstructed himself… so that there would be no toll."

"Yeah… I did too…"

"..." Al stepped forward to put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He remembered the nightmare he woke her up from, how guilt-ridden she was after learning the truth about what happened to her parents…

Still, Manami rested her hand on top of his, looking up to him to give him a small smile.

"I'm okay…"

"We better get a move on." Zampano said, getting their attention. "The sun is coming up."

"I say we check out there." Jerso pointed ahead to a structure that was held together better than probably any other building they saw. There would definitely be plenty of shade in there…

They approached the structure to step inside, looking around at what was left… there were still traces of old carpet and torn apart furniture.

It was likely that this was where the Ishvalan refugees stayed when they were here… but now, after inspecting the inside, they found that it was as empty and bare as it was outside.

"You guys starving, or can you wait on some cooking?" Zampano asked, looking over to Al and Manami who were already rolling out sleeping bags.

"I can wait." Al answered.

"I honestly might get some shuteye, first." Manami nodded in agreement, stripping her overcoat to reveal the tank top she wore underneath.

"Then I'll take the first watch and make some grub." Zampano nodded.

"Hey, you didn't ask my opinion! I'm starving!" Jerso complained.

"Shut up and have a snack, then." Zampano scoffed, snatching a bag of snacks out of his bag and throwing it at him.

"It'll be worth it to wait for good food."

Author's Note:

Hi guys! This chapter is short I know (Sorry!), but it's honestly been sitting in Google Doc for a couple weeks and I just haven't been in a good headspace to write any more to meet my usual word count. Regardless, I figured I'd rather post what I have rather than let 3/4 of a chapter sit for who knows how long.

On that note, I honestly don't know when I'll update either of my stories again. I'm currently facing a bad case of burnout- not just for writing, but for drawing as well. It really sucks... but I realized that, while I love my projects, I've been using them as an escape from the very dark and scary reality we're currently living in, and it's finally caught up with me. The truth is that I've been HEAVY on these creative projects since about mid-March... and when I say heavy, I mean the "working for hours and forgetting to eat" kind of heavy. While I'm satisfied (in some cases, proud) with everything I've produced in these past months, I'm currently struggling to do them because I'm simply exhausted. So yeah, I think it's best to put on the brakes on these projects now, before the quality is affected.

On a lighter note, while I may not be posting online as much, I did acquire a program called Campfire, that is a fantastic program that helps writers plan out their stories. I'm meaning character sheets with endless details and stats, events and timelines, friendship/relationship/family trees, and more. It's a program you gotta pay for, but you may just find it worth it if you're a writer. I'm utilizing this program to not only plan more extensively for "Promised Future," but also to iron out the details of "The Wind Alchemist." I have a feeling that when I'm ready to create again, I'll start by working in Campfire at my own pace, and even edit/replace some chapters to fix mistakes, continuities, etc. in "The Wind Alchemist."

Anyway, I'm kinda rambling so I'll wrap it up with some plugs: You can still find me on my Twitch channel streaming gameplay every Saturday, or on Discord where I host watch parties on Mondays and Fridays. Otherwise, I hang out on Twitter. All you gotta do is find me by my name, Bizcooitz. If you're on Deviantart, I have a lot of concept drawings for all of my fanfictions on there that you might like, too!

I hope you all stay safe. Black Lives Matter.