She sat there across the aisle staring out the window. She was on the train when they boarded. She had been all day. Sitting completely still. Until they'd settled and the train was far from the station.
There was no question that they'd noticed her. So still and silent. Her red hair almost glowed against her white coat in the light of the setting sun. Other than them, she was the only person in the car. They hadn't seen her when they sat down.
Finally, as the sky faded to sapphire, she sighed and shrugged off her coat, then turned toward them. They tried to hide the fact that they were watching her from the corners of their eyes. She laughed at their failed attempt.
"Hello boys." Her voice, though not very loud at all, seemed almost to echo with subdued power in the silence of the car. They both turned to face her; astounded she'd spoken at all.
"Now don't look at me like that. I'm not some astronomical phenomenon. Close your mouth, Edward."
He did just as she said, in awe of the casualty in the command.
"How did you…?" Al asked as she smiled.
"It's few people anymore who don't know of you two. Some knowing more than others."
"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ed asked defensively, his left hand subconsciously moving to rest on his right shoulder.
She smiled, her eyes flashing. "It all depends on where the information comes from. Sure, I've heard the tales of your adventures and the 'myth' behind your name. But I can tell you things you don't even know."
"Listen Lady. I-"
"Don't call me lady. I'm the same age as you."
"I don't care. Look. You're pro-…"
"Ed," Al scolded quietly. "I'm sorry about my brother. He can be a bit rude sometimes, especially when he's stressed."
She smiled and moved over to sit beside Ed. "It's quite alright. To be expected, really. I'm Sacha." She held her ad out to Al, ignoring a fuming Ed.
Her small hand disappeared into his. "I'm Alphonse Elric." She nodded politely, but held to his hand.
"If I'd been in power then I wouldn't have let it happen. Such small children with such pure intentions should not have paid so heavily."
They were silent for a moment as she let go of Al's hand. "What do you mean 'in power'?" Ed asked.
She sighed, looking back across the aisle and out her window. "You won't believe me. You scientists never do…" she barely spoke, her voice seeming far away.
"What are you talking about?" Ed asked, his mind automatically jumping to the worst possibility.
She turned back to look at Ed. "Don't open your mouth until I'm finished." He looked at her incredulously as she took a deep breath. "I'm a witch. Scientifically impossible in the minds of alchemists, I know, but I can do alchemy, too, so that's a moot point. But since…well forever, my family has regulated the Gate. Been a sense of time and such, a conscience, and not strictly in the alchemical sense. We keep worlds from crossing."
There was silence for moment.
"What are you talking about?! The Gate has a mind of its own, and a twisted one at that. And witches? They're just about as real as my right arm. Magic is something out of kids' stories. Such a thing can't exist. Equivalent exchange is the supreme law of the universe. Everything happens for a reason and is retributed equally."
She sat in silence as Ed ranted, looking unimpressed, as if she'd heard it a thousand times. When he'd finished, she held up fingers as she spoke. "One. Yes, it does. Therefore, two, I am sitting here. Three. Yes, everything does happen for a reason. Karma and fate and such. And four…"
She snapped her fingers and a heavy leather bound book suddenly appeared in her hand. Her frown deepened as she drew back and then struck out, catching Ed upside the head and knocking him to the floor. She stood abruptly and strode toward the back of the train, muttering things about hypocritical, insensitive jerks.
"Look what you did brother. You made her mad. And she probably had something important to tell us. Maybe she could've even helped us get our bodies back. You should go apologize to her."
"Al…" Ed whined. "She hit me. With a book. She should apologize to me."
"Well you deserved it. You just told her that she didn't exist. What would you do if someone told you alchemy was a fairy tale and scientists didn't exist?"
"I'd tell 'em they're crazy and give them a show."
"And that's what she did. But instead she told you that you were a jerk."
He sat quiet for a moment, then sighed. "Damn. You're right."
He got up and followed after her. And walking through the next car full of passengers only added to his chagrin. He stepped out the door and closed it behind himself, sighing at the feel of the cool night air on his face. He turned around to see her leaning against the railing, staring up at the stars.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.
"It's not, you know. The supreme law, I mean. Nothing comes from nothing, but everything can come from something. Yeah, it's alchemy, but that really just stems from simple chemistry."
She turned around and held up her hands, horizontal, with the right just above the left. She tipped her right hand and sand poured into the left one.
"Think of this. If you add enough heat and pressure, you get glass, but only as much as the sand can physically give."
She snapped her fingers and a small lightening bolt materialized, striking the sand and forming it into a perfect glass sphere.
"Alchemy is just the application of that heat and pressure without using machinery. And you take that energy from the world around you and from the Gate. That energy is paid for by the energies we naturally give off. Or at least, you give off. I on the other hand use my own energy, but that's not the point."
She closed her hand and the sphere disappeared. She crossed her arms and finally laid her gaze on him.
"But when you think of it in more abstract terms, nothing is equal. the laws of nature: such a large tree can grow from such a small acorn. An adult from such a small child, from ah infinitely smaller cell. And if a life for a life is just that, then how is that equal, since every life is unique. The same goes for souls. And then take into account the Gate. It's much more vast than just containing souls and the truth. The Gate is what separates us from what's out there. Other worlds." She turned slightly and waved toward the stars. "And the people there aren't doing the same things that we are. There's always something different."
She turned back to him now, her wistful expression saddening. "That's why it thinks it can do whatever it wants: it's importance. Really it's just like a child. It needs constant guidance. But it never grows, never learns. That's why I exist. And I am just as real as your arm and leg. Winry poured her heart and soul into making those for you. And now they're a part of who you are."
She stepped up to him and laid her hand on his right shoulder.
"And as for the flesh ones…" She met his uncertain gaze with determination. "…they're there. You just need the means to get them."
She moved around him and stepped back into the train just as the first of the city lights whizzed past the end of the train. Edward didn't know what to think his mind was completely blank. Everything he ever knew about alchemy had just been undermined. After a moment he recovered and turned after her, this time not even noticing the passengers this time.
Alphonse looked up as Sacha returned to gather her things from her seat. She smiled at him before heading for the door. Ed returned just a second after she'd disappeared. He stooped down and picked up her book then headed after her. Al scrambled to gather his brother's suitcase and coat before running out after Ed, stopping just short of knocking him off the platform.
Ed stood staring after her, every time he thought he caught a glimpse of her, it was gone before he could look again. He looked down at the book in his hand and back up again.
"Ed, look." Al spoke from behind him, indicating downward. He looked down again to see the book disappear in a swirl of gold light. A soft giggle resonated through the large building, but it seemed only they heard it. Ed's head whipped around and his eyes landed on a door away from the crowd. She smiled and waved before disappearing around the corner. They ran after her, but she was already lost. Ed sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, but immediately pulled his left back out, the small crystal ball she'd made in his hand.
"Al… I think she was a witch…"