The cool rain pelted my face relentlessly. But I took in the sights and smells gratefully. I lingered on the sweet smell of grass, the open-ness of the road before me. The sunlight streaming through the crying clouds was so beautiful. I hadn't been outside in so long. I sighed and wrapped the beige cloak around my slim form tighter. I didn't have much time. How many people had died to turn me from what I was into what I am? The thought made me sick to my stomach. It's not like I asked to be this way.

But they'd be after me. As sure as the rain pelting my face, they'd be after me. Because I was a successful experiment. I spat on the dirt road, and then began moving. To walk freely with no walls! What a wonderful experience. The air was wonderfully laced with the scent of the rain and trees. I could laugh. But I had to move faster. Once they figured out I was no longer in the city called Central, they would search the countryside for me. I tensed my muscles, and then sprang into a run, heading towards the next nearest city scent. I ran in leaps and bounds, far faster than any normal..human. If I could even be considered human anymore-which I was sure I couldn't. But still…I loosened the knots around my neck and turned off the road, heading down a ditch into the forest. I fumbled for a moment, not quite remembering how to put my feet when descending a slope. I swung around a tree and concentrated.

My hips and knees cracked loudly as they snapped into different positions. I jumped at the sound, my differently shaped hips causing my jump up to become a jump forward, slamming my head into the tree in front of me. Smooth.

I rubbed my now pounding head, glad no one else had seen my idiocy. I shook my head at myself, rebutting the urge to laugh. I focused once again on the critter I wanted to err..turn into. Yea. Weird, huh? They were originally going to use me as a weapon in war, but then we were moved underground, and the plans changed. I had been on stock to be sold to another country-but I escaped before they could take me.

My tail, swinging under the cloak, shortened and broadened. It was the only glitch-I couldn't turn back into my human form without having SOMETHING remaining from the animal form I had changed into before-usually a tail. I grimaced as my fingers sucked back into themselves and my nails compressed and turned into black, stubby dog nails. How gross. My palms widened and grew pads, while my feet did the same. I toppled over onto all fours, feeling my spine force itself into a different shape, and my skull began to pull and squeeze terrible, forming itself into a wolfish face. Mind you, I was still bald, and very much begging in my head for fur. A half mutated dog with no fur is NOT a pretty sight. My eyeballs were squeezed, becoming smaller. My eyesight dimmed and the world lost color-how annoying. My nose became wet and black, pulling between my eyes, changing shape. And then-finally. The fur. White, bushy fur prickled up my arms, back, now thickened and elongated neck, face, legs, belly, and paws.

I was a dog. A rather large, stark white German Shepard if you wanted to be exact. The beige cloak sprawled across my body was an oddity, but I had chosen a form big enough that it wouldn't drag on the ground or hinder me. I stood there for a moment, feeling the outdoor world for the first time ever in another form. I wonder what it would be like to fly. Or swim up a river. If I had a human's mouth then, I would have grinned. Instead, my tail began to flop back and forth. I let out a deep, joyful bark, and sprang forward, pushing powerfully with my hindquarters. Catching myself on my forepaws, the momentum keeping me going forward, my hind legs finding the ground once again and pushing off-how exhilarating! Faster and faster I ran, barking, stopping every so often to smell an odd smell, but mostly running. The squirrels darted up into their trees as I sped past, startled birds barely having time to take off before I was upon them, barking.

The sound of an engine rang in the distance, driving up the road I was running beside. It was enough of a reminder. Though I was hidden, I retreated farther back into the woods, ceasing barking. The car passed before I realized how close I was to town. My stomach rumbled. And no matter what shape I was in, my stomach was my stomach. I kept standing and concentrated. Fur rippled back into skin and the 'hospital' gown. Bones cracked and twisted. My sharp fangs became dull, human teeth. My senses of hearing and smell faded, color and sharpness returned to my vision. My back curved, hips widened slightly. My long, deep red hair fell to my waist-they didn't exactly give us haircuts. Or let us bath. Gross. But my hair was my own. I loved how striking the color was-my father had always told me never to dye it. This human form was mine as well-it was the one I had been born in. I was sixteen years old-not a day older than I had been when they had kidnapped me. My skin was tan. My eyes were my pride-I loved the way they were a striking sky blue on top that faded to green on the bottom. My frame was slender-almost unhealthily so. They never did give us decent food in that shithole.

I stood up, wrapping the cloak tightly around me, bringing the hood up to cover my rose colored hair. The darn dog tail wrapped under my bum, telling me just exactly how nervous I was going into a city. But I had to. I had no money-I would have to pickpocket SOMEONE. I had no money, and I needed food and something to drink. A bath and bed would be really nice too, but hey, wasn't expecting too much. Clothes, too. I had to buy new clothes-my current ones were a bit too..obvious. Actually, maybe I could-

I reached down for the dirt, my finger fumbling for a moment before remembering the drawing. What was my cloak made out of? Cotton. What about my hospital gown? Extremely thin cotton. I ripped off the iron wristband that stated my number; 246. My cloak reached down towards my ankles, so there was plenty of material. Giving a final glance around, making sure I was alone, I stripped, putting the clothing on the circle I had inscribed on the dirt, as well as the iron wristband. Now, one last thing. What exactly did I want? Oh!

Concentrating, I grew fangs and bit my finger. The poke was painful, but brief. I let the red droplets fall onto the clothing-color. I'd rather not go around without color. And with the chemicals that caused both the colors red and blue in my blood, it was rather perfect. My teeth once again became dull in my mouth.

I formed a picture in my mind of what I wanted. Setting my hands on the transmutation circle, I watched the dirt drawing glow brightly, the cloth twisting shape within the light. In a few seconds, it was over. Grinning, I stepped back and admired my work. How in the world could I have forgotten-even if it HAD been five years since I had been captured? How in the world could I have forgotten, even for a moment, that I could do alchemy? Or alchehistory, rather.

My handiwork had paid off. A full outfit, including undergarments, lay out before me. Jean shorts-just because I didn't have enough materials to make full out jeans- rested peacefully on the dirt. They were light blue and even had pockets. A tank top with swirls of red on a white background rested cutely above the shorts, while the under-garments lay below it all. Finally, to the side, a sleeveless hooded light blue jacket lay. How cool. It had been a while since I had worn actual clothes. Regrettably, there hadn't been the materials to make a pair of shoes.

Smiling, I dressed, loving the strange familiarity of real clothes. For the first time in a while, I actually felt like a girl, rather than a mutant (except for the tail that is. But I could hide that). The remainder of the materials lay in strips on one side of the transmutation circle. After pulling my tank top on, I grabbed a strip of beige cotton and held it with my teeth, combing through my disgustingly greasy hair. I bound it together with the cotton strip, shrugging into the light blue jacket. Alright. All was ready to go.

I looked up, towards the houses just a few hundred meters away. Who knows? Maybe I could swipe a couple of coins, and then make a million of them, and never have to worry about money during this escapade of mine. I could even get a dog! I always wanted one.

Grinning, I made my way there, climbing out of the forest and onto the road again.

The rain had stopped.

"Hey, have you heard of the Elric brothers?"

"Yea! The Full Metal Alchemist is called the Alchemist of the people. He goes around helping people."

I sipped on my fruit flavored drink, thoroughly enjoying it as the two guys beside me jabbered on. My tail, unfortunately, was painfully pinned under my bum where I sat to hide it under my long sweater.

"Hey sir!" I called, grabbing the middle aged waiter's attention. His blue eyes drifted over to me, and his mouth smiled warmly under his white caterpillar mustache.

"Yes little lady?"

"Can I get another drink? And while you're at it, add another sandwich onto my tab."'

The guy grinned.

"Aren't you the hungry one. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? We get a lot of visitors, but none that look quite like you."

I smiled. "I'm from a town not too far from here. On vacation, actually. I was wondering if you knew a place I could stay tonight," I continued on smoothly. He seemed taken aback.

"Where's your parents?"

I froze for a second, and then my brain started working again.

"Oh, I'm older than I look. Twenty-one, to be exact."

The guy immediately changed his approach.

"Well then, if you want, you can stay at my place tonight. It's rather cozy, if you know what I mean-

"No thanks." I glared at him. Pervert. I hadn't even washed my hair in months. What kind of a sicko was he?

He wasn't convinced. He stood there, quiet, but smoothed his hair out.

"Just get me my food."

"Very well, miss."

Still, way too suggestive. He came back with my sandwich and my drink. Immediately, I could smell alcohol in the drink. If I hadn't been convinced before, I was convinced now. I dug into my pocket and brought out a handful of coins. Threw them on the receipt and walked away with a bad taste in my mouth.

The sun was setting and I still hadn't found a place to stay at. My hair and skin were begging for a bath, and I had really been looking forward to a bed. But yet-the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn't WANT to sleep inside, anyways. I had slept inside a windowless room in a cage for the past five years.

Most of the people had gone inside their homes. Stores were pretty much closed. The sun was setting, illuminating the sky in beautiful hues of red, pink, purple, and blue. And the air-fresh air. It was something wonderfully sweet. I took a deep breath in the dying light. Smiled.

At the very least, I could find a source of water and some soap. I ducked into an alleyway, glancing around to make sure no one was in sight. I focused, allowing only one finger to change. The skin prickled, bumps popping up like goose-bumps, the skin turning bright orange. The fingernail was pushed forward uncomfortably, fading to black, becoming curved and wicked looking. Satisfied, I dug the eagle talon into the hard dirt, using it to draw. The transmutation circle done, I de-morphed my finger back into human form, and put my hands over it. Light filled the alleyway, and when it faded, a pile of coins were in the center of the circle. I grabbed the coins and wiped away the circle.

"Little late to be doing illegal transmutation, isn't it?"

Shit.

I rose, meeting the eyes of a blonde haired boy in a red coat. His scent filled my nose-normal human overlay with a hint of pine, but I also smelled metal. Very aware, I made sure my tail was tucked under my long hoodie.

"Who are you?"

"Edward Elric," he said with a confident air to his tone. Where had I heard that name before? Oh well, doesn't matter. I rose to meet his swagger, straightening my shoulders and eyeing him.

"Well, Edward Elric, I guess you caught me."

I walked towards him, leaning forward.

"Bye."

With that I leapt backwards, launching myself onto the roof of the building on my left. Well, that was that. I heard a scuffling, and then something landed on the roof behind me. One regular foot, the other left a metallic noise as it landed. A fake leg. I leapt into action, extending my stride, quickening my pace. Leaping to the next rooftop-a slanted one. I twisted in the air, landing sideways, my bare feet gripping the shingles, before pushing off cock-eyed and landing on the next rooftop. The Elric boy cursed.

"Are you even human?"

I couldn't answer that. But turning my attention, I heard his breathing and the wind blew his scent my direction. He was still on the rooftop I had escaped from.

"Are you with the military?" I said, very suspiciously.

"Not anymore, but I used to be."

He seemed sad about that statement.

"Then why are you chasing me?"

"Just because I'm not in the military doesn't mean I can't turn you in."

Not good.

"Sorry little guy-but I won't-

"LITTLE? HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A SHRIMP!"

"Huh? I didn't call you a shrimp."

The little blonde guy jumped off the edge of his rooftop, launching himself towards me. There was no way he was going to make it. Incredibly, his hand caught the edge of the rooftop.

"I AM NOT A SHRIMP YOU GREASY HAIRED SHITHEAD!"

He somehow threw his body weight up and over, effectively facing me, his eyes narrowed, teeth grinding against each other, positively growling. All in all, he resembled a small lion in his fury. I backed up.

"Whoa, now. Calm down-" what was his name? "-Edward."

Yea, that was it.

"Edward, calm down-

"HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN YOU-

Obviously, I was going to have to try a different strategy.

"HEY FUCK-TURD, CALM DOWN!"

He paused for a moment, taken a-back.

"Do you know anywhere I could stay the night in this town?" I asked-trying to redirect his attention.

"Well yea, there's this little Inn on the east side of town-

"Good! Thank you!"

With that, I launched myself off of the building and into the street.

"Hey wait a minute!" Edward called.

But of course, I didn't listen. I ran as fast as my legs would allow, the darkness covering my footsteps.

I ate dinner voraciously, digging into the meat and the bread. I had taken the Edward kid's advice and found an Inn in the east side of town. It was a rather cozy one, too. My food was brought to my room, which had a lodge type coziness to it. There was a rug, a desk, a cabinet, a fridge, along with the standard bathroom and bed. All in all, the best I had been in for quite a while. I was SO happy. Surely there couldn't be any harm in staying in this town for a few more days? I downed the last of my milk. My skin and hair had a fresh, fragrant scent to it. I loved it. My hair, after spending 40 minutes washing it and rewashing it, fell softly down to my hips in deep red curls. I felt clean. More like a person, rather than a mutant who lived in a cage.

My white tail stretched out comfortably on the bed I was sitting on, poking through the hole I had custom made when I had transmuted my bath towels into a night-gown. There was no one to see me, so I could comfortably curl under the covers and read the book I had snatched up from the lobby's bookshelf. It was one of my quirks that hadn't faded or changed-I loved reading. I left my empty plate on the desk, lifted my legs onto the bed, twisting my hips so I didn't sit on my tail. Let out a breath, allowing myself to completely relax.

"FOUND YA!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. Sat on my tail, yelped rather doggishly, and then scrambled to hide it, wrapping the blankets of the bed around my sides. Turned towards the smug blonde boy with a snarl.

"What the HELL. Stop stalking me!"

"Wha? I am NOT stalking you! Who'd wanna stalk YOU, anyways? Turn yourself in!"

"It's none of your business! Leave me alone!"

Edward growled, grabbing my arm.

"Not until you turn yourself in!" He growled, putting emphasis on each syllable.

"Why the hell do you care? I don't even know you, wacko! I'm just trying to enjoy a nice night-

"Using money you illegally transmuted?"

I sighed, standing, pinning my tail against my back, ripping my arm out of his hand.

"Yes, SHORTY. Using money I ILLEGALLY transmuted. You happy? I had no choice. It's not like a person like me can afford to get a job! Now GET OUT of my room!" I growled, slapping my hands together in frustration. A flash of light, and my bed caved in. When my attention re-focused, I saw that the metal from the bed had extended, slamming Edward against the door. My eyes widened. I didn't mean for it to go that far. Wait-how did I….?

I slapped my hands together again, and touched my bed. The metal hand retracted, and Edward slumped to the floor. I ran over to the blonde haired boy-from his scent he didn't seem to be bleeding, but the blood was close under the skin-he'd get a nasty bruise.

"Are you alright? Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to-

"You. Why do you have a tail? Are you a chimera?" he asked, grabbing my arm. My eyes widened.

I raised my head weakly, my arms sore from the shots the mad scientists had given me. Through the bars of my cage, I could now smell the people outside.

"So what is this new experiment? Is it a chimera, or a hummunculus?"

I could sense the pride running off of the scientist. Sickening.

"Neither. It's a whole new creature. It'll revolutionize the way we fight and live."

It? I was just an it. No longer a girl at all, was I?

"No. I'm not a chimera. I…I don't know what I am." My eyes left his piercing gaze. Then, my eyes shot to his, meeting his with an intended fierceness.

"Please understand. I am not going back there. Ever. I intend to live out my life outside of a cage, the way I want to live."

He sighed, wisdom far greater than his youth showing in his eyes.

"I understand. You know, I have a few friends you may be able to relate to. Why don't you come on back with me? At the very least, you can stop transmuting money."

I eyed him suspiciously. But his eyes and his scent were honest.

"Fine."

Smiling, he stood up. Offered me a hand, which I took.

"Alright then. Let's get going."

Plaintively, I walked to the bed and sat on it, folding my arms stubbornly.

"Not yet! I paid for the night here fair and square! I'm gonna take it."

"Transmuting money is NOT fair and square!"

"What's your point?"

He sighed.

"Alright then. We'll leave off in the morning."

He lay down on the rug. My eyes narrowed.

"GET YOUR OWN ROOM!"