Chapter 4: Landing Right Side Up

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any aspect of it (besides Seren Soulheart and any other OCs that I add).

Two people stood outside of Christmases' Bar, talking to each other. Al stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of them, idly wondering in the back of his mind if he should run away. Riza Hawkeye leaned slightly against a bench, long blonde hair hanging beneath her slim shoulders, uncharacteristically arguing with Armstrong about something. As Al and Seren drew near the two arguing friends, they were able to hear the conversation quite clearly.

Riza seemed to be at wit's end as she snapped at Armstrong, "I'm tired of this happening each year. Sure, I miss him too, but this is just taking it too far!"

Armstrong had been waving his arms in a placating manner the entire time, "But, Riz.."

Riza's amber eyes flashed dangerously as she sighed and stated wearily, "No, Alex. Please don't continue."

Armstrong nodded and patted her shoulder with a great hand. Riza looked at Alex and her eyes slightly softened. The door to the bar opened as a patron stumbled out and began to blearily peer for his ride. Riza stiffened, but realized that it wasn't Mustang. Armstrong, Al, and Seren gaped as Riza slipped her gun back into her boot. They hadn't seen her draw it.

Riza turned on her heels to walk off, but stopped with one foot over the other as her gaze fell upon Al and Seren. She let out a short gasp of surprise, deeply echoed by Armstrong and began to walk towards them. Seren stood her ground, watching Riza cautiously.

Riza exclaimed, "Al, where have you been? Ed nearly tore apart Central trying to find you earlier. Who is your friend?"

Al shuffled his feet around before saying, "I was in Central Park helping a few stray cats out when I met Seren. She.." His mouth snapped shut as Seren trod on his foot, hardly.

Seren giggled as Al danced around on one foot, the kitten hanging on for dear life. Armstrong cocked his head at the odd sight and chuckled behind his hand, and even Riza let a slight smile burst through her serious demeanor. Seren held out her hand to Riza, who took it. Turning to Armstrong, she curtseyed. Alex gave a deep bow in return.

"As Al just mentioned, my name is Seren," She paused as Hawkeye and Armstrong gave a brief start at the sound of her voice and glance at each other before continuing, "I can't remember anything from more than a few hours ago. However, it feels as if I had already met Al before, in some murky dream."

Seren trailed off softly, her eyes unfocused as she stared off into the distance. Al noticed Riza and Armstrong murmuring to each other, but couldn't make out what they were saying. He shrugged at them when they noticed him staring and gently shook Seren's shoulder, breaking her out of her reverie. She came back to reality with a soft sigh, leaning against Al. Riza motioned for Armstrong to move along and return to Headquarters. As Al and Seren waved goodbye to them, Riza turned back around to face them.

She murmured, "Goodnight, Elric. Goodnight.." She stopped talking and blinked a few times.

Seren swiftly interjected, "Soulheart, Seren Soulheart."

Riza nodded briefly and began to walk away. Al heard a curious noise behind him and jumped into the air as Black Hayate burst out of the foliage, barking excitedly. Seren watched as Riza made a slight hand gesture to the dog that sent him running around the corner. She glanced at Seren for a moment, seeming to grin. Seren waved farewell to Armstrong again and turned back to look at Al, her eyes sparkling with merriment.

Al muttered, "Black Hayate usually isn't that playful. Shall we?"

Seren hooked her elbow through Al's arm and dragged him to the door. He opened it, and they stepped inside.

-Spacer.-

Riza stopped walking once the two had finally entered the bar. Armstrong leaned against the side of a building, dutifully cleaning his metal gauntlets, while Riza braced her hands against a metal lantern pole, as if trying to push her thoughts out of her mind. Black Hayate nudged against her knee, softly whining. She gave a half-hearted smile and leaned down to hug him. His tail thumped rapidly against the ground as he looked at Armstrong. Alex cocked his head at the protective dog and sighed, his chest threatening to burst the seams of his shirt.

Armstrong asked, "Have you ever seen another lady who looked like that, Riza?"

Riza thought for a moment and shook her head. She stood back up and wrapped her hand around her chin, thinking. "No, I haven't seen anybody else who looks quite like that. She seemed to have an air of mystery about her, however. We should try to pay attention to her when we can."

Armstrong growled, "Bah, let her fear my gorgeous muscles! She will.."

Riza flipped the safety of her gun off and pointed it at Armstrong. She cocked her head to one side and stated, "You will not hug her. Understood? We don't want her to run away, as it seems as if Al has finally found somebody interesting for himself, hopefully."

Armstrong burst out immediately, "Aye, Sir! I wish only the best for the Elric brothers!"

Riza thrust her gun back into her boot. Alex watched her apprehensively; he still hadn't seem her draw it! Riza blanched as a thought occurred to her.

"Alex?"

"Ya?"

"We didn't tell him about Ed, did we?"

Armstrong's face fell. He glanced at Riza while beginning to slowly shuffle away. "Uhh.. Nope."

Riza closed her eyes and sighed. "I thought not. He'll find out soon enough, though."

Armstrong nodded and they began to make their way back towards Headquarters, both lost in their thoughts. Black Hayate trailed after them, nipping at their heels whenever one of them stopped.

-Spacer.-

The sound of plates crashing resounded in the comfortably lit bar brought everybody to a halt, looking at the doorway. The barmaid, her face blushing furiously, ran off in search of a broom. Al glanced around uneasily; this was not what he had had in mind. Mustang sat in a chair at the bar, a growing mountain of glasses strewn about in front of him, loudly proclaiming his love for fine women. He was obviously drunk. Fuery, Breda and Falman sat at a table near Mustang, their faces despondent. As they saw Al, however, they brightened. Al walked over, still holding Seren's hand, and drew out a seat for her. She nodded her thanks as he pulled over another chair for himself.

Al whispered, "Is he like this everytime the anniversary comes around?"

The three members of Mustang's gang nodded, expressions ranging from sorrow to abject disgust.

Al sighed and growled, I'm going to go order some food. I'll be right back."

As he left the table, Mustang noticed the movement and swung around to see where he had came from. His jaw dropped open upon seeing Seren. Falman, Fuery and Breda groaned as they saw their superior's enraptured face and began to mutter as he stumbled over to their table.

Mustang slurred, "And jusst who are you, my pretty lady?"

Seren glared at Mustang, a sneer of contempt curling one side of her lip. Mustang thought that she was smiling, and sat down in the chair that Al had vacated, mesmerized. He began to reach out his hand towards her, but stopped as a glass of ale thunked him over the head. Looking around, his gaze finally settled upon Al's snarling visage.

Mustang mumbled, "Stay away Elric, I just want to talk."

Al growled, "Don't bother, Roy. I have never seen a person fall so far into grief that he decides to take it upon himself to alienate all of his friends everytime the day comes around when his friend had died. I don't know why Riza puts up with you."

Everybody except for Seren sucked in their breaths; Al had never been rude to anybody else before. Al visibly paled upon thinking about what he had just said, but stood resolute. Mustang's face turned black with anger as he tried to stand up. Slipping on the puddle of ale, he dropped back into his seat. Feeling as if everybody was laughing at him, he raised a hand and held it towards Al.

Seren whispered to Feury, "What is he doing?"

Feury's face went blank in shock as he frantically whispered, "He's the Flame Alchemist, and one of the higher ranking members of the military!"

Seren's jaw dropped and she let out a short, "Oh."

Al motioned for everybody to move away as Mustang whipped his arm forward, fingers sliding against each other. Just as he was about to snap, Seren reached over and placed her hand on his arm. Purple light flared out, flickered, and died. Mustang snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. As all of the eyes turned to Seren, she gave a wavering grin before collapsing to the floor, the last thing she heard was Al's cries for help.

What did Seren just do? How will she be able to explain herself? Just who is she?