Author's Note: We've all seen the fanfictions in which two female alchemists newly accepted into State are taken under Ed's wing and fall for the two Elric brothers, the boys in question eventually returning their feelings. I know my past writing says otherwise, but I can assure you, this will be different. So, just give it a chance, alright? Alright! Let's get this show on the road!

Disclaimer: I'll own FullMetal Alchemist when Ed stops being short. –brick'd by Edward-

Chapter One: A Sense of Foreboding

The sun was barely shining through a cloudy sky, its weak rays passing through the glass of a window in Central's new Library, constructed by the State Alchemists and filled with books donated by alchemists who no longer needed them. In the midst of a mess of papers and books at a table near a particularly bright window, sat a blond perched on the table and a large suit of armor. The suit of armor sat in a chair, the wooden chair looking about ready to collapse from the weight. A book was in its chain mail hands, two glowing orbs in the eyeholes moving as they followed the lines of text. He flipped the page and sighed, the noise sounding slightly hollow, as if someone was in the armor. And technically- there was. Of course, only a select few knew the details of this technicality.

The blond's golden eyes stopped in the middle of a line, his concentration uncharacteristically low today. Although, normally, there weren't quite so many people being 'escorted' out of the Library. Hopeful alchemists were rolling into Central for the state alchemy exam that was due to happen in three weeks. Ever since the blond teen had been accepted into the State, the hopefuls had steadily gotten younger and younger until they reached his current age: sixteen. These mere teenagers often attempted to gain access to the Central Library, which was restricted to military use, and were promptly booted out. At first it had been rather amusing to watch the different schemes and antics the alchemists tried in order to pry their way in, but now...

"This is starting to tick me off," the blond growled, snapping his book closed with a twitch of his fingers. The suit of armor lifted its helmet of a head, the glowing orbs fixed on his companion.

"We could always come back at a later time, Ed," said the suit of armor in the voice of a young boy. Really, the boy 'inside' the armor would be fifteen... if he could age. As a spirit attached to that suit of armor, he could move, talk, hear, and see, but no longer had the sense of touch or taste, nor could his voice age, since the spirit was still that of a ten-year-old.

The blond, Ed, looked over at him and sighed quietly, getting off his perch at the table. He slapped his book down on the table, shaking his head. "They'll still be at it, thinking they can pull all-nighters. You remember how much you and I did that, Al..."

Yes, the two Elric brothers. Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist, and Alphonse Elric, the often-assumed FullMetal. They had been reading up on the Philosopher's Stone, as they often did. If there was anything missed, anything accidentally misinterpreted, or anything that could be interpreted differently, Edward wanted to find it. Humans. They were the main ingredients for such an alchemical enhancer. Edward shook his head. He didn't want to think about it. There had to be another way, and he would find it. He and his younger brother would find it and get their old bodies back.

"Well, then... let's take a break, anyway. I'm sure you're hungry- you ate breakfast too fast so you could beat the other alchemists here," Al suggested, standing up and putting his book down next to a pile of papers. Edward slouched his shoulders in disappointment, obviously finding it unfair that just because some newbies were idiots, his time was wasted. He started out and Alphonse followed.

They found a small crowd of alchemists being blocked off by four security guards. Only a few- at the most five or six- were actually older than twenty-two. Edward rolled his eyes at the sight of two alchemists arguing with the guard that was blocking them off. Surprisingly, both were female. Sure, there were female alchemists, but one didn't often see them trying for State.

One shouted comment caught his attention and pricked his temper: "What does it matter? I'm going to pass the test, anyway!"

That kind of arrogance really grated on his nerves. He turned to look at the girl. She was about as tall as he was- maybe an inch taller if Ed were to take off his shoes. Her hands were on her hips and she glared up at the guard. There wasn't anything special about her. She didn't hold the determination- the motivation- in her eyes. None of them had it. Sometimes it made him sick to think that he could very well be the only State Alchemist who came to such a position after a long series of obstacles- painful obstacles. It was sickening to think that he had to lose so much just to even get the idea of becoming a State Alchemist in his head.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the second girl agree, and the others around them shout a chorus of "Yeah"s and "She's right"s. "Ed?" Edward snapped out of it at the sound of his brother's questioning voice.

"Let's go," he muttered moodily, stuffing his gloved hands in his pockets as he began at a fast pace down the street. He gave once last glance back at the girl. As he turned back around, he snickered at the sight of her being thrown off the steps to the Library to fall onto her rear end at the foot of the stairs.

Elsewhere...

Blood slid down the breakfast bar's side, creeping over the painted wood. The same red liquid stained a pair of adolescent hands- an artist's hands. The fingers of this hand twitched ever so slightly before they fell limp, falling victim to their body's unconsciousness. The sound of a door opening sounded through the almost empty home, followed by two pairs of footsteps and the thunk of the door closing.

"Hello! We're home!" called an older woman from the room just beyond. In came the woman, who stopped in midstep at the sight that lay on the floor of the entrance to her kitchen.

"Hey, Mom? She home?" called a younger male whose voice had not yet changed.

The woman barely managed to even start to form the words "Call 911" before fat tears spilled out onto her cheeks in steady, fast-flowing streams. "My... MY BABY!" she shrieked, running to the form of her daughter in a heap on the floor. There was a large gash on her head, blood flowing from the wound. As she heard her son practically shouting in panic at the people on the phone, her daughter was trying to fight her way out of a dark, dark place.

"Why would you want to leave?"

"Isn't it getting tiring? Isn't high school getting to be too much?"

"You upset three people today- your friends."

"You know they're tired of you... why not come here, to this world?"

The daughter could hear the voices echoing throughout the darkness. She couldn't see anything but hundreds of thousands of little faces staring at her- never blinking, just staring with their wide violet eyes. Hands seemed to grab at her, trying to pull her back and away from the distant cries of her mother.

"Why would you want to go back? She's just going to find out about that homework assignment you put off until the last minute."

"And your other friend died a week ago, didn't she?"

She froze in her place and felt something slithering like a snake around her waist, only it had appendages- fingers. Looking down, she tried to see what it was, but there were faces crawling up and blocking her view.

"Run away from the pain. Let us take you to another place."

A look of fear crossed her face, and she swung her hands in the direction of the faces. "Stop! Stop!" she cried. One merely leaned back and out of the way, still clutching onto her, while the other snapped at her hand. She quickly snatched her hand back. Tears welled up in her eyes. Oh, how badly she wanted to go somewhere else- just for a while. These creatures hadn't, after all, said how long she had to stay. "...What... do I have to do?"

"All you have to give us to live... is your memory."

It didn't seem like a bad deal. After all, her memories could easily be regained with time, or someone could explain things to her. "...It's a deal."

Each one of the faces grinned all at the same time, slowly and eerily. As many black hands extended like elastic to reach her head, she felt she might have trespassed onto foreboding territory.