Author's notes-Okay, I know what your all thinking, who the HELL is Carmen Vega? Well. If you've read my profile, my pen name is the name of a character I made up for Fullmetal Alchemist. I just spelled the last name wrong by accident for the pen name *sweat drop*. I don't feel like explaining all her background info now but, I will tell it in sections at the end of each chapter. Oh yeah, I know that Ed, Al, and Winry are 18 and 17 in the movies, but this is before all of that.

KawaiiChibiHime33, my personal editor, is responsible for editing these chapters for your enjoyment ^_^

Chapter One: The Storm

The sun rose in the Autumn sky, painting the clouds beautiful shades of gold, red, and tinges of pink as late afternoon approached. The meadows were soon drenched in the beautiful light. Taking in the view up on the hillside were four figures. A young, blonde haired woman, about the age of seventeen, sat on the fence, the cool fall air blowing strands of her hair. She wore a white blouse with a brown open over coat over that. From there, she wore black pants, with black shoes on her feet. Her eyes were dark blue, like the sea.

Sitting next to the woman was a young man, who was only a year younger. His hair, like hers was blonde, but with more of a dirty shade. It was long, so he had it in a low braid, which hung halfway down his back. He wore a bright scarlet overcoat, with a black jacket with white trim underneath. His outfit ended with black pants and boots. His eyes were a golden brown that gleamed with courage, but had hints of sadness if one was keen enough to look.

The third of the group was much younger then the other three, around eleven years of age. She sat in front of the fence, her legs crossed Indian style. She had short, straight blond hair that came just above her shoulders and framed her heart shaped face. Her eyes were a dark brown which were widened as she stared in wonder at the sunset. She wore a pale pink shirt whose sleeves came down to her elbows. On her legs she wore a pair of dark blue jeans, which the knees were now covered in grass stains. On her feet she wore pink and white high tops. To top it off, she wore a pink fleece fall jacket.

The last of the four was behind the fence, leaning casually against a tree, with her arms crossed in front of her chest. This woman, unlike the other three, had light brown hair, with some natural blond highlights. It was up in two thick braids, which hung halfway down her back. Her eyes were an extremely dark shade of green, like the color of a heavily wooded forest. She wore a thin, open, dark blue jean jacket with the collar smoothed down. A red tank top was worn underneath. Navy blue jeans covered her legs. Knee high brown combat boots covered her feet, her choice of footwear for the past nine years. Around her neck, she wore a heart shaped golden locket, a gift from her deceased father. Her right hand was strange, however. Instead of where a real hand would be, an auto-mail one was in its place. Over her shoulders, she wore a dark blue hooded cloak. Holding the cloak in place was a small, blue pendent. Water symbols were engraved into the surface; the symbol of the Ikora tribe. A mark was embedded into the flesh on her left arm. An outlined head of a cat; the mark of the cat.

The five of them watched the sunset for a few moments longer. Then, breaking the silence, the youngest sighed. "Prettiest sunset I've ever seen. What about you Carmen?" she asked.

The young water alchemist gave a shrug. "I don't know if it's the prettiest, Sarah. You, Winry, Al, and I have seen plenty of sunsets, and most of them are just the same as this one." was her reply. The other alchemist turned his head to give his childhood friend a smile. Carmen couldn't understand how Alphonse could be so cheerful when so much had happened in the past two years. Carmen and Sarah's father's death (the two girls were sisters), Carmen's hand getting amputated after a brutal fight with the Homunculus, but only to get a replacement auto-mail hand from Winry, and finally, the worst of all, Al's older brother, Edward had left them. Carmen still believed he would return...someday.

Winry stretched her arms over her head. "Well, it's getting late. We should be heading back now."

Suddenly, Carmen sensed the air getting colder. Looking up at the sky, she was surprised to see pitch black storm clouds starting to quickly cover the sun. "What the hell?" she thought to herself. There was no way that a storm could roll in that fast. As if on cue, the wind started to pick up as the rain came pouring down. Lighting lit up the sky as thunder crashed so loud that Carmen could feel the vibration from the boom inside her.

"Run! It's dangerous out here!" Al shouted to the others.

The two alchemists, mechanic, and the girl streaked through the woods, trying to get back to the Rockbelle house. For some reason, Carmen was having a hard time keeping up with the others. It was odd, since her animal spirit was a cat, so she naturally could run fast.

Her foot then got caught in a tree root, causing her to fall right onto her face and into the mud. "Carmen!" Sarah exclaimed, concern in her tone. As she rushed to her sister's side to help her up, a sudden whirlpool of water formed at her feet, rising slowly around Carmen.

"What? Why in God's name am I teleporting now?" Carmen screamed out. The whirlpool by now had engulfed her, blocking off Sarah from her. She then felt herself beginning to teleport. "Carmen!" was the last thing she heard before the water alchemist let out a frightened scream, and everything went dark.

Pain coursed throughout her as she felt the whirlpool subside. Carmen slowly opened her eyes, feeling rain drops fall on her face. She was lying on her side. Looking around, she was in an alley. It reminded her a little bit of Central.

Wait; was she back home in the city? She gingerly got up, heaving a sigh as she looked down at her milk chocolate brown cat legs. Turning into her cursed cat form every now and then was starting to get on her nerves.

As she made her way out of the alley, she realized with a shock that she wasn't back in Central. The buildings here were a lot different then the ones in her old home. As she walked along the deserted, dark streets, her thick cat fur became wetter, soon weighing her down. "God, how am I supposed to find out where I am when I'm a wet, freaking cat?" Carmen hissed to herself.

Then, a loud bang made her stop cold. Turning her head slowly, her heart almost stopped when she came face to face with a huge dog, its eyes gleaming and drool running down its pink, slick, gums.

Cat-Carmen let out a petrified shriek and took off, the beast close on her heels. She could feel its hot, rancid breath beating down on her back legs as it got closer. Then, out of nowhere, the dog struck out at her with one of it's large paws, slicing through the skin and fur on one of her flanks, then flinging her far off to the side. Carmen landed with a screech against a brick wall. She toppled to the ground, slightly dazed and the wind knocked out of her. She could feel the blood seeping out of the large wound on her side and also smell the metallic scent filling her nostrils.

The monster came charging at her again, it's jaws wide open to reveal huge, long, sharp, yellow teeth. Carmen had barley enough time to get out of the way before the beast's skull smashed into the place where she had been just a second ago. As the dog stood there stunned, she scrambled up the wall and crouched down.

The damn beast wasn't going to give up that easily. For a good twenty minutes, it lunged at the wall, trying so hard to get the cat, barking it's head off the entire time. Finally it turned its head so it was looking back down the street. Carmen's ears perked up when she heard the sound of someone calling the dog's name over the rain and wind. The animal barked once more before turning and trotting back down the street.

Carmen half jumped, half slid down the wall. She gritted her teeth as her side sent a jolt of burning pain through her as she landed on her paws. She needed to find someone to help her, and fast.

Limping down the sidewalk, she soon came across a cafe, its windows lit up with a warm golden glow. Dragging herself to the door, Carmen caught sight of the sign as lighting lit up the sky. The sign had the picture of the head of a black cat with yellow eyes. Under the sign, in golden writing, it read: Cat's Eye.

Carmen peered through the glass door. Four figures stood inside. There was a man, who looked like he was either in his late twenties or thirties, with tanned skin and raven black hair that was all spiked up. Must have been like that naturally. He was extremely tall, compared to the others in the room. His eyes were unlike anything Carmen had ever seen. They were a legitimate blood red. He wore what looked like a hakama, the top a dark blue color, and the bottom pitch black. He wore brown sandals on his feet. A long sword was in its sheath and strapped to his waist (squeal if you're a huge Kurogane fangirl like me XD!)

The second man looked about the firsts age, and only a few inches shorter, coming up to the male's shoulder. He had blond hair with long bangs covering his eyes. His eyes were a light, sky blue color. His skin was pale as snow and he was as skinny as a twig. He looked like he was dressed as a bartender almost, since he was wearing a white button down shirt with a black vest over that. A small, red bow tie was under the shirt's collar. Black pants covered his legs, and brown loafers covered his feet. (squeal if you're a major Fai fangirl XD)

Then there was a boy, who looked like he was about Al's age, or a year younger. He had a head of short, milk chocolate brown hair, a little similar to Carmen's, just without the blond highlights. His eyes were dark brown, and he was wearing black from head to toe. Like the taller, raven haired man, a sheathed sword was strapped to his side. (squeal if you're a big Syaoran fangirl XD)

Finally, the last of the four was a young girl, probably the same age as the boy. She had short, auburn hair that came just above her shoulders. She had a pretty face with eyes that were emerald green, lighter then Carmen's were. She wore something that looked like a maid's outfit. A small, rabbit-like creature was perched on her shoulder. It was in the middle of pissing off the red eyed raven.

Maybe these people could help her. Carmen quickly looked to see if the cafe was empty. When she was positive that the four people inside were the only ones, she took a deep breath and let out a screech. The sudden noise caught the attention of the girl, whose eyes widened as she spotted Carmen, soaking wet and bleeding outside the door. Before she could hear what the girl was going to say, she felt her paws slip from under her. Landing on her side, Carmen closed her eyes and faded into the darkness.

Post notes-Whee! That was fun to write! Okay, here is a little back round info on Carmen.

Carmen Vega was born in Central. When she's about eight, her family moves to Risembool, and she becomes best friends with Ed, Al, and Winry. She's able to perform alchemy (water alchemist means she can transmute water if it's around her. She also has really cool healing abilities.) Her mother dies after she gives birth to Sarah is Risembool when Carmen is 8, so Carmen doesn't have a mom. Then, in the series, Lust kills Carmen's father when she's 15 to try to get to her. Before he dies, he hands her a golden locket, telling her that her mom wanted to give it to her, but never got the chance *teardrop*. Then, Carmen's veins in her right hand get cut off during a brutal fight with the Homunculus when she went after Lust to avenge her father, so it gets amputated, but Winry is nice enough to make her an auto-mail hand. Also, Carmen and Sarah are decedents of this tribe who are half animal spirits, so they have marks and abilities like the animal. Carmen has the mark of the cat and, as Sarah gets older, she gets the mark of the hawk. Sarah discovers later that she's telepathic! *throws confetti* Awesome! Oh yeah, and the teleporting thing? Carmen has this power when she can teleport to places using alchemy :D. Also, in the series, an old woman puts a curse on her, so now she randomly changes into a cat every now and then. That's all I'm telling you so far.

Read, Review, and Comment, and I'll see you in Chapter 2.

Your friend,

Carmen Veiga