Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of its characters. Nor do I own a witty and funny disclaimer. I own Hope, and Hope alone. My friend Peachy300 owns Patience, but I have permission to use her.

Skyler25: Wahoo! Another fanfic by Skyler25? Has the world gone mad? I'm starting another fanfic when I can already barely find time to update the other one? The answer is YES! XD

Skyler: Y-you're just starting this one as an excuse to not write mine!

Skyler25: …LIES! Now go back to YOUR fic. –Skyler disappears- Yes, now, so anyway, this story has a script. Deal with it. I honestly don't care.

Hope: You're abnormally apathetic today.

Skyler25: You're abnormally pathetic today.

Hope: -sniff- Aww…

Notice of Milky, Pie-flavored Doom: This story is rated T because that is simply the nature of FMA, and I can't retell it without rating it T. Unless I mindlessly break away from the storyline, which would be just plain weird.

--

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Ed?" I asked, looking at the large transmutation circle in the center of the room. "Other people have tried before and failed. I'm not saying that you can't do it," I added hastily. "Just…something tells me that it's a bad idea. Or maybe I simply know nothing." I shrugged. Behind me, something shook. I turned my head and noticed that my friend, a small girl named Patience, was shivering behind me.

The young blond boy painting the circle smiled. "Yeah, maybe you do know nothing. It's like you can't do alchemy. And Patience can't do it either." He paused and frowned. "Why?"

"I told you before," I said, carefully avoiding stepping on the circle and walking over to him. "I don't know. We just…can't. Nothing happens when we put our hands on the circle." I demonstrated. "See?"

Ed screamed. "GAH! DON'T DO THAT! IT'S NOT DONE YET!" He recoiled, afraid of the reaction the circle would have. Nothing happened.

"I told you I can't perform alchemy," I said, stepping back.

"Still," Ed muttered. "You shouldn't do that, Hope. You never know the reaction it could have had. It could've turned me into an oyster, for all I know. Or a bottle of milk." His younger brother, Alphonse, a brunette boy sitting next to him, giggled at his remark. "Brother," he said in a half-exasperated, half-amused voice.

I frowned. "God, Ed! Why do you complain so much? I hate you." Edward sighed and rolled his eyes- he had heard that many times before.

Patience, no longer hiding behind me, shivered even more. She tried to hide her scared expression with a smile. "Drafty in here, isn't it?" she said quietly. She swayed back and forth nervously, shook her frilled skirt, and twirled her dirty-blonde-brown hair. She even bit her nails- something I hadn't seen her do in months.

Ed and I looked at her strangely, watching the shivering girl devour her nails as she shook. She tried a smile, but bit her lip instead.

Only Alphonse humored shivering Patience with a smile and a giggle. He reached for a sweater and draped it on Patience's back like a cloak. "Yeah, it is cold in here, isn't it?" he said, rubbing his arms, even though he was sweating.

Edward and I could understand that Patience was nervous about what was about to happen, but what we couldn't understand was why she was trembling so violently. It was the middle of summer. There were no drafts.

--

"There." Ed sat back and wiped the sweat from his face. "It's all done." He stared proudly at his work, a perfect human transmutation circle. "Ready?" He turned to his younger brother. "Don't be scared, Al."

Al nodded, and prepared to put his hands on the circle. Ed, however, hesitated and turned to me. "You sure you two don't wanna try too?"

I nodded, pushing a strand of long, black hair out of my face and stepping in front of Patience protectively. Let the reckless boys do what they want. "I'll just get in your way." I took a step back.

"But you guys have special powers!" Al protested. "You could help, maybe."

I still refused, and they shrugged and began the transmutation. "DON'T DO IT!" Patience cried at the last moment, but her voice was drowned out in the noise. A glorious golden light emanated from center of the circle, where they had placed the ingredients.

It was true. Patience and I did have special powers. We didn't know where they came from or why we had them. It seemed no one knew. So eventually we stopped asking. We mostly kept it a secret. Only Ed and Al and another girl named Winry knew.

--

"It's working!" Al cried in delight. "It's really working! We're gonna have Mom back!"

I felt a pang of jealousy towards him. Unlike the Elrics, I didn't know who my parents were. For all I knew, I never had any.

"Quiet!" Ed hushed, though he was smiling too. "Do you want someone to hear? That could mess the whole thing up!"

"Messed…up?" I heard Patience mutter quietly. She had now broken into a cold sweat. I was beginning to feel similar feelings of nervousness, and I hugged my best friend for comfort.

Then it all went wrong. Suddenly, the glorious golden light became a sinister purple, and the there was a blast of energy from the transmutation circle. I was knocked back and the back of my head hit an open cabinet. The room began to grow fuzzy.

"Edward…?" I muttered quietly, then fell to the ground. The last thing I heard was Ed's hoarse voice say, "…Mom?" Then I heard a scream. "…Edward? …What're you doing?" Why was I asking? I was too dizzy to care. "I hate you for this, Edward Elric. I hate you so much…" Images flashed past my eyes, and I felt myself getting angry at people with seemingly no connection. Edward, Alphonse, their teacher…

Just I completely lost consciousness, I muttered one last sentence. "Mom…why couldn't you…let me…die…?"

--

Skyler25: GAH! I know it's short!

Ed: WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SMALL INSECT WHO ESCAPES THE WRATH OF THE SHOE BECAUSE HE FITS IN THE CRACKS! Furthermore, who're you calling an "IT?"

Skyler25: The chapter. Not you, Ed.

Ed: …Oh.

Skyler25: BWAHAHAHA! BWAHIHIHIHIHI!

Ed and Al: -cowering in fear-

Hope: Don't worry, she gets like this all the time.

Patience: You would too if you had cake for breakfast.

Skyler25: Sooo…yeah. If you liked it, review. If you hated it, review anyway. If you're hungry, get a sandwich, then come back and review. REVIEW!!!! –sniff- No one reviews me…