The Foresight Alchemist

by Hanashi o suru

All Christian wanted was to bring back a relative who passed on before she was born. But when her transmutation goes awry, she's taken to see Truth, and learns that someone had paid a part of her own toll for her the year prior. Now in the past, she must figure out who had done so, and try not to alter the future. But what if there are forces who wish to do just that?

6. Chapter 6

Hana: Oh my god, I am so sorry guys!

Alphonse: What happened?

Christian: What's wrong?

Edward: The hell did you do?

Hana: I posted the wrong chapter in this spot. This was the chapter that was supposed to be posted, but I messed up.

Edward: ...you have got to be kidding me.

Hana: This is a good reason why I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, now isn't it? xD Crissy is my OC, and enjoy the real chapter 5!

... ... ... ...

+ - VI. A Home Full of Memories. - +

"Damn…it's not even the Resembool I grew up in…but it feels so nostalgic, somehow." I said, looking at the landscape before me. "So, this is what this placed used to look like."

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that this place becomes a suburb kind of place." Edward grumbled. "I don't think I like the thought of it."

"Don't turn into a crotchety old man on me now." I jibed. "But seriously. Despite how much things changed between now and my time…it's still peaceful. Resembool never lost its country charm."

In the distance, a dog began to bark, as a house came into view. I knew this house very well, though it was strange to see it in the way I was seeing it at that moment. Yellow paint faded away in some areas, most of which was on the second floor with the roofline, and around some borders of wood around the sections of house. Green paint was either chipped of faded along the shutters and even the railings of the porch and balcony. From my vantage point I could see three chimneys.

"Hey! Granny Pinako! I'm gonna need your help again!" Ed greeted an elderly woman, the tiniest thing I had ever seen. Elderly people wise of course. When we were close enough, Armstrong placed Al on the ground, and was greeted by a dog who seemed happy to meet him again. "This is Major Armstrong," He introduced.

"Pinako Rockbell. Pleased to meet you." She greeted, shaking the massive hand.

"And this is Christian Eric." He continued, gesturing to me.

So…this was my great, great, great grandmother…I dually noted. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Rockbell."

"Oh please. Pinako is just fine." She said, brushing off my formalities. Her bespecled eyes looked to Ed, and then to the Major, "Is it just me, or since the last time I saw you Ed…have you gotten a lot smaller?"

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING 'SMALL' YOU HALF-PINT HAG?!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU LITTLE RUNT?!"

"CHIBI-CHUMP!"

"MICRO-MINI GRANNY!"

"…hey, Al?" I asked. The suit of armor looked to me, "Is that normal?"

"More than you know." Affirmed the younger brother. "You get used to it after a while."

"HEY! ED!" A new voice calls out, but not before something comes flying right at Edward's ed.

"Wrench?!" I asked in disbelief. How did he even survive a hit to the head by a wrench?! Where did that even come from?

"How many times do I have to tell you to call before you come in for maintenance!" I looked for the voice, before finding a girl on the balcony upstairs. I've seen her in pleanty of pictures. Long blonde hair blue eyes much like mine…it was my future great grandmother…Winry Rockbell.

"WINRY, YOU JERK! YOU COULDA KILLED ME!"

"Yes, why didn't that kill you?" I asked, finally voicing my concern, and morbid curiosty. I could hear laughter from Winry at Ed's reaction.

That really wasn't a laughing matter. "Welcome back!" She called out.

. . - * - . .

"WHAAAA?!"

"Yeah, sorry…it got a little broken." Ed told the blonde-haired woman.

"A little broken, Ed? A little broken?! I put my heart and soul into making that!"

"It's still the same, just in pieces." Christian winced when another wrench was thrown right at Ed's head again.

"And what's this? You went and broke Al too?" Winry asked in displeasure. "What kind of lifestyle do you two lead?"

"The kind that involves stuff happening?" The dirty-blonde girl said, feeling mirthful at the golden-blonde boy's misfortune.

"And you are?"

"Christian Eric. It's nice to meet you." She greeted, holding out her right hand to shake. Winry blinked, before grabbing the offered hand. The female Alchemist squeaked in surprise when she was pulled closer, in favor of the engineer taking a closer look at her artificial limb.

"Amazing…I don't think I've seen anything like it before…such craftsmanship…and it's so light!"

"Uhm…?"

Winry's awe soon morphed into a thoughtful expression, before finally going somber as she examined the design she currently held within her hands. "Who made this?"

"My…father did…"

. . - * - . .

After explaining to Pinako of our situation, the elderly woman took a look at Edward's leg. I couldn't tell before, but his normal leg was actually longer than his auto-mail one…a small length, but it was there. "Hm, after we rebuild the arm, your leg needs to be adjusted too."

"So, you've gotten a little taller after all." Winry teased, "Last time I saw you, you were just—"

"NOPE!"

"—centimeters tall."

I didn't catch that at all over Ed's interruption. "Well, either way, at least I know I'm taller than him."

"HEY! There's no way in hell you're taller than me, Crissy!"

I visibly twitched. "You did not just call me that."

"Strike a nerve?" Ed had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"You couldn't even reach my nerves with a stepping stool on top of Al!"

"WHAT?!"

Pinako cleared her throat, though you could see the mirth in her aged eyes. "Your old leg can still be used, but your arm has to be rebuilt from scratch so…"

Her interruption had successfully interrupted Edward's and my argument. "What? So…it's gonna take about a week?"

After inhaling her tobacco from her pipe, Pinako gave the young male a grin, "Give us some credit, Ed." She said. "We'll have it done in three days."

In the meantime, Winry removed his leg from its port, having already gone to get Pinako a replacement leg for Ed. "In the meantime, you'll have to make do with a spare."

The older of the Elric brothers nodded, standing once the leg was snapped into place. "Woah…it's hard to walk on a leg I'm not used to…"

"We'll have it done before you're used to it." Pinako said.

"After I've create all the parts, I have to assemble everything. Then there's all the connections to check, and adjustments to make…" Winry was listing everything that had to be done. I smiled a little. My father did the same thing when he had a client, or when I needed adjustments on my arm. "Aw, man. It's gonna be three all-nighters for sure."

"Sorry about that…" Ed apologized.

"You wanna get to Central as quick as possible, right?" Winry inquired, "Well then, let's see what I can do!"

"Can you really pull this off though?" I asked. The lack of sleep for three days straight didn't sound like a good idea to me.

"It's fine!" Winry assured me, before slapping Ed on the back, I winced when Ed tumbled into a pile of boxes and oil barrels. "But for a rush job like this, Ed's gonna have to pay extra!"

"Um…Winry…" I pointed to Ed.

"Oops…I forgot you're not used to that leg…" She muttered. "And…while I'm working on this, I would love to take a little looksie at your arm~"

"E-eh?" I…didn't like the sound of that…

(* - *)

I had every right to be weary when Winry led me to her own room upstairs. She didn't appear too thrilled for whatever reason, and a part of me couldn't help but wonder if it was because of my arm…why would she have an issue with the arm my father made?

The female mechanic placed Ed's leg on the worktable, before turning to face me, her hands on the table's edge behind her. "So. Your father made you that arm?"

I nodded.

"Looks rather interesting. Familiar, I think you could say."

"It's…the only one of its kind." I carefully said, my posture a little stiff. I hadn't felt so nervous since the State Alchemy exam two years ago. "Is…something wrong with it?"

"Take a look at Ed's leg over here." Winry told me, and I looked to her with confusion. With no other option, however, I took the steps necessary to reach my destination, and looked at the artificial limb as I was asked. "Notice anything?"

"I guess…it kinda does look similar to my auto-mail arm?"

"Truth. Now."

"You know…truth is stranger than fiction, Winry…" I sighed, before walking from the table, and deciding to sit on the edge of the bed in the room. "I don't know if I should tell you anything, if I'm being perfectly honest…"

"Don't give me any bull crap."

"I'm serious!" I felt the need to defend myself. "Crap…I just don't know how to explain myself without sounding like I'm crazy nutjob or something."

Blue eyes were skeptical as they looked to me, and then my arm. "Remove your jacket, please."

I didn't think I ever felt so defeated before. I shrugged out of my jacket, and placed it on my lap. "It's…interesting to say the least…"

By then, Winry had walked over to me, a screwdriver in hand. "Yes. The design is definitely one that only Rockbells would ever know of." It was apparent that Winry might be one of the people I would never be able to hide my identity from. "Do you mind if I look under the cover?"

"I guess I should've expected as much." I dully said, holding my arm out for her. "My father didn't steal the design from anyone."

"I find it hard to believe when the outer casing itself is made from my family's secret, Christian." She was already unscrewing the outer plate of my arm, carefully removing it, and placing each piece in a spot she wouldn't lose anything. Before long, all that was attached to my frame was the skeletal work, wires, and tubing that made up innards of my right arm. "Amazing…I've never seen a setup like this before…"

"My old man's pretty cool that way…he taught me how to take care of my arm…but if I ever damaged it, I'd be at a loss with how to fix it up."

"Maybe Ed could take some pointers from you." Winry mused, as she took a closer look at ball joints in my hand, and in my elbow area. "These parts aren't like anything I've seen before…I haven't even heard them with your movement…"

"Well…things advance over time…"

"What ever happened to your arm?" The question nearly caught me off guard, even if I should've expected it.

I looked to my dissembled arm, and touched it gently with my flesh hand, "I wasn't born with one."

"Wasn't born with one?" The Rockbell girl asked in surprise.

"Mm-hm. Some weird birth defect, in where it never developed, but the nerves have." I said, flexing my metallic fingers.

"Christian, who are you?"

"I'm Christian Eric, Foresight Alchemist…" I said, before taking a breath to continue, "I'm fifteen years old, I was born in the year 1999. I…did something so stupid, and as punishment, I was taken away from the life I knew. The way auto-mail was made was passed from my great grandmother, to my grandfather, to my father…and to an extent, me."

"1999? Not 1899?" She continued.

"My auto-mail has things you're unfamiliar. Most of which is proven to be beyond its time while I'm here…because I'm not from this time at all."

"You said your father learned from his father…who learned from his mother."

"That…I did…"

Winry eyed me, looking at my features. She replaced her screwdriver in favor of squeezing my cheeks between her still-gloved hands, looking closer at my face. "I doubt there's any Alchemy in the world that can change the appearance of any individual…looking closer at you, I can see traits my family tend to possess."

This time, I removed her hands from my face, so that I could speak properly to her. "How…would you react…if I told you that I was related to…you?"

"I would say I believe it at this point."

"Really?"

"No one could perfectly create the arm you have. It's only ever been passed down the Rockbell line since Auto-mail was first introduced. You said your father made it?"

"Yes…"

"Then that means…you're my great granddaughter…"

"You seem…calmer than I thought you would be if you found that out."

"It's a lot to take in. Does Ed know?"

"Nope." I stated, popping the 'p'. "He and Al know I'm from the future, but neither know my relation to you." Or themselves, I dually noted.

"Then, I won't make a peep." Winry promised. "But…if you don't mind me asking…"

"I will not tell you who you get with." I grinned. "I don't want to risk messing up my time."

"But wouldn't me knowing who you are, regardless, mess anything up for you?"

"I'm still here…so…I think we're good." I told her. Truth be told, however…even though nothing had happened now…who knew what could happen later on in the timeline I was more than certain I was totally screwing something up. I only wish I knew just how bad things would become. "Could you put my arm back together now, please?"

Winry laughed, seeming embarrassed. "I'll put it back just as it should be. Then I'll start working on Ed's arm."

But for now, things carried on as they should. After speaking with Winry, I went to see what the Brothers and Armstrong were up to.

. . - * - . .

"Heading somewhere, Ed?" Christian asked as she made her way outside. Her arm was back in one piece at that point, and she had caught Ed heading off somewhere with a banquet of flowers in his hand.

"I'm going to pay my respects." He simply stated. "What? Got a problem with that?"

"When I think of it…I want to pay my respects to my mother…but not only was she not yet born yet…she hasn't technically died yet either."

Ed eyed Christian wearily, but otherwise said nothing until he was three steps from where he was previously. "Come if you want."

"Edward?"

"What?"

"Was it your mom you were trying to bring back?"

Edward scoffed, crossing his arms in annoyance. "What the hell gives you an idea like that?"

"I think it's pretty obvious…I mean, I saw photos on Pinkao's wall, and there was one picture where there was you, and I'm guessing Al being super young."

"There's a few pictures like that."

"There was one picture that stood out to me. One where you and your brother were being held by two people I could only guess are your parents."

Ed's shoulders stiffened. "Can you call that bastard a father?" He hissed, before stalking off.

(* - *)

"You…don't like him?" Christian inquired of her fellow State Alchemist. Against his better judgment, Christian had ended up following him for reasons he couldn't' even begin to understand. He only wanted to pay his respects to his mother. And maybe Winry's parents too, considering they were like an aunt and uncle to him.

"He left us, what else should I feel for that asshole?"

"That's vague."

"Yeah? It's all you're getting. Why are you even following me?"

"I was tempted to go to the local library, but it doesn't exist yet." The younger of the two admitted.

"Hold on a moment, Resembool gets a freaking library?!"

"Eventually…? It's not as grand as say the one in Central, but gods, the books you can find made you feel like you could go to any world just by reading…and believe it or not, that wasn't just the fictional tales."

"Wow…"

Christian nodded.

"So, what? You enjoy reading?"

"Yeah, most of my life I was basically surrounded by medical texts and auto-mail." The blue-eyed female mused, "But…amongst the sea of knowledge of medicine was…a journal."

"Journal?"

"Yeah, an alchemy journal." Christian clarified. "The moment I laid my eyes upon it, I just knew…it was meant to be."

"Who wrote it?"

"My dad said the journal I happened upon was actually my great grandfather's. He passed away before I was born, but I think Melody got to meet him once?"

"Melody is…your sister?"

"She is." The duo became quiet after that, both left to their thoughts as they walked on to their destination. "Edward?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"Why're you thanking me for?"

"For letting me tag along. Even though I have no reasons for it."

"The way I see it, maybe having you around will calm Major Armstrong down enough to allow me to visit my mom without him tracking me down or some bullshit like that."

"Isn't that why Den's here?"

The dog in question barked, wagging its tail in eagerness. "Well, he's helping."

"Fair enough." Christian shrugged. It wasn't too much longer before the duo and Den had made it to a small cemetery with a few graves peppered within it. "It's…so different in this time."

"I would imagine the population in a cemetery would increase within a hundred years."

"It's more like…I know some graves wouldn't be here yet, but…I still expected to see them 'cos they were there forever to me."

"I can see where that would be confusing."

The Foresight Alchemist nodded. "Do you think I should go to where the plot my mother is eventually laid to rest, or would that be too weird?"

"Eh…that'd be too weird. How about you just come pay respects to my mom instead."

"Is that okay?"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind." The older alchemist relented. "She liked meeting the people Al befriended…and then by extension who I meet."

"Not really the friendly type, are ya?"

"Shuddup." Silence once again surrounded them. "She's over this way."

Christian nodded, and followed the male past the gates she knew would one day be rusty metal. A few steps later, they were at the grave of Trisha Elric.

. . - * - . .

So, you're my great, great grandmother huh? Too bad I couldn't have been sent a little earlier in the past…I could've met you while you were still alive… I found myself thinking, looking down to the headstone that belonged to Ed and Al's mom.

Ed took the flowers from Den, and placed them atop Trisha's grave. He said nothing, only staring somberly at the grave.

"What kind of mother was she to you and Al?" I found myself asking aloud.

"The best." Ed said, finally turning to face me. "What about yours?"

"I don't know. She died two days after I was born."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

I said nothing for a short while, before taking a breath. "No, it's fine. Mel is probably the one who hurt more when mom died. Maybe dad…but he often put on a brave face when the subject of mom came up."

"I see. It must've been hard on them."

"I can only imagine, honestly. I hadn't lost anyone I was close to." This was true, "Growing up, a lot of people my age at the time often steered cleared of me. Unless they were family, hardly anyone gave me the time of day."

"That's bullshit."

"Isn't it?" I sighed, "The grown-ups barely did squat shit either. I was the freak at school…"

"School, huh?"

"I should be in my second year of high school by now."

"Primary school, secondary school…the hell is high school supposed to be?"

I blinked in confusion, before realizing some important details. "Oh yeah…back in this time, kids had to help around the farm and do chores…so it's only logical you would really only have until the eighth grade before you would graduate. In my time, secondary schooling goes from sixth or seventh grade to the twelfth grade. It's split into two different schools, Junior High, and High School."

"Anything else I should know about?"

"Um…college is accessible to women and men equally? Ishvalans have the same rights Amestrians do, and…"

"On second thought, leave some surprises for me to find out about."

"I'm personally proud of becoming the first female state alchemist." I said with a grin.

"Couldn't you have done that in your own time?"

"Nope."

"…like, you can't, can't?"

"Yeah. Since your time, things became a little more strict than they had been. You have to be eighteen to enlist, whether you're a soldier, or a State Alchemist."

Ed nodded, perhaps getting a vague understanding of what I was telling him. "But has no woman really become a State Alchemist?"

"Well…up until I came around, at least." I admitted. "So…I guess I changed history in that aspect…oops."

"I doubt you're hurting anyone by fixing this bit of history. Who knows? Maybe you become an inspiration to your own generation?"

"And they would never know wiser." I chuckled. "Personally, I think I'm fine so long as I don't have my own family member thinking I'm their crush."

"Crush?"

"Um…the official definition of a crush 'is a brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable or inappropriate'…my generation is weird, I know."

"Did you memorize that word for word?"

"My memory is pretty good, but I wouldn't call it photographic." I admitted. "Hell, I didn't even recognize you despite seeing old pictures of you and Al."

"…old pictures?"

"In books." I quickly amended. It wasn't a lie. There were books about him and Al, though they always seemed to gloss over most things from what I could tell.

"I'm famous enough to get my face in a book…"

I don't think I have ever seen anyone so enthralled with the idea of their face being in a book hardly anyone would bother picking up. I decided to keep that little tidbit to myself. He didn't need to know how uneducated most in my generation really were…right? Everyone had their phones, and computers…sometimes I found it interesting how we still have libraries at all.

I was perfectly fine with that though. It meant there were more books for me, and everyone who could appreciate them.

. . - * - . .

I cringed the moment Ed's arm and leg were attached. My flesh hand was clutching the fabric over my Auto-mail's port, rather than the full arm. Past, present, it didn't matter how many times in my personal past, nor who I saw getting it done, because connecting the nerves was simply the worst feeling ever.

"You okay there, Ed?"

"Does it look like I'm okay?!" Ed scowled, glaring at me. "You should know the hell I'm going through right now, dammit!"

"You know I'm asking out of courtesy." I pointed out.

"Every time…I hate that moment when the nerves get connected…"

"Don't be such a baby." Winry said, annoyed, though obviously used to his antics. "Try moving your fingers."

The braided blonde male did as asked, managing to twitch his fingers. Winry muttered under her breath something about adjusting something I didn't quite catch.

"Soon, I can kiss this pain goodbye, once and for all." Ed said almost cockily.

"You sure about that? For all you know, you might actually love the auto-mail so much, you decide to keep it." I said, grinning.

"Like hell!" The Fullmetal Alchemist glowered, "Everything's gonna be great once I find the Philosopher's Stone, and get my old body back."

"That's too bad, you're our cash cow." Pinako mused.

"That's right! Why be in such a hurry to get back to normal?" Winry questioned him. I crossed my arms, watching in bemusement with her little monologue on the mechanical limbs…she actually reminded me of my father in that aspect, though maybe not to such extremes. It showed in his work though.

"Gear head." Ed muttered.

"You're lost without me, Alchemy freak." Winry retorted.

"Should I feel offended?" I asked, being one of three current Alchemists in the room.

Their attention was on me, and I blinked. "Why should you?" Winry asked.

"I am an Alchemist."

"Putting that aside," Edward said. "You two done?"

"Yeah, go ahead and see if you can stand." Winry informed her childhood friend. He did, testing his weight on the newly adjusted leg, before walking to the wall where he placed the heel of his metal foot against the wall, allowing him to stretch at the thigh, but still get a read on the mechanics of his leg.

"Didn't think you were that flexible." I said. "Neither Trevor nor my dad can even do that without pulling something."

"Who's Trevor?"

"He's my cousin. He's actually part Xingnese."

"So, someone from your family eventually marries someone from Xing?" Winry asked.

"Eventually?" Ed asked in confusion.

"I…may have let something slip?" I supplied. Which wasn't really lying, I didn't exactly expect Winry to realize my origins by my own Auto-mail.

"Her Auto-Mail let slip, actually." Winry corrected. "The technology used to make her arm is nothing like I had ever seen before. I might have to steal a few some of the techniques used to construct it."

"I'm sure my dad would be pleased to know that much." I said with a chuckle. "But, I think maybe you should hold off…for all I know, I might end up with an arm that isn't nearly as great as what I got now if you steal his design before he can even design it."

Ed looked to his arm, before looking to mine. "They look about the same to me."

"Of course, you would say that." Winry and I both said.

"Hey, I'm not an expert in auto-mail." Ed defended. "I break it more than anything."

"Believe me. I know." Winry stated with less enthusiasm than I thought possible for the other female.

"What makes hers different?"

"It's notably lighter than your orginal model, in fact, I think I may use that in your next upgrade." Winry told the male Alchemist. "For now, however, considering you're not the type for daily maintenance, I decided on using a steel with a higher percentage of chrome to make it rust-resistant. The tradeoff is that it's much less durable, so try not to be so rough—"

"Winry? He kinda left already." I said, pointing towards the door where Ed was already outside.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Sorry to keep ya waiting Al!" Ed's voice sounded in the distance.

"Boys." I sighed.

"Mm. More like, Ed."

"Touché." I turned to face Winry again, "So…keep between us that I'm related to ya?"

"Or, we can totally use that to freak Edward out." Winry suggested, with a wry smile. Well…that was tempting. "Your arm is still technically Rockbell technology, so don't be a stranger if its damaged, or destroyed. If you're hanging around those two, it's likely something is bound to happen."

"I…guess I can't argue…it'll be nice to have someone look at it who knows the innerworkings of my mechanical limb."

"Perfect~! I'd love to get better acquainted with your father's work. After all, I need to make sure my legacy doesn't slack off."

. . - * - . .

Christian met the brothers and the Major just as Al's broken pieces were placed around his main body. "Are you sure these are all the pieces of your armor?" Ed asked.

"Yup! The MPs gathered them all up for me." The younger brother said.

"Can you fix it right away?" Armstrong asked, eying the suit of armor skeptically. Christian took a good look at the scattered pieces, and then to Al's main body.

Ed removed Al's head, revealing something on the inside of Al's back, she could see an eight-pointed painted in some kind of red. A small line that resembled a small flame curled at the bottom, and faded upward through the circle it the and strange star were painted in.

"Yeah, but it's kinda tricky." Edward explained, gesturing to the array the only female Alchemist had taken notice. "See the rune on the inside?"

"Is that…what keeps your brother bound to the armor?" Christian asked aloud.

"Uh-huh. I have to fix his limbs without destroying the seal."

"Hrm…it looks as though it were drawn in blood." Armstrong noted.

Ed cleared his throat, "It is blood. My blood."

Both Major and Christian paled a little. "Bl-blood?" Christian stammered.

"That sure was a close one though~" Ed chuckled lightly.

"Yup, a little deeper, and it would've been all over for me!" Al chipperly agreed.

Why are they so happy-go-lucky about such a thing?! Christian found herself wondering. The thought of blood alone made her feel sick…

"You look a little pale." Armstrong said, taking note of the female State Alchemist's change in complexion.

"No, no, I'm fine." She weakly said. "It's just, me and blood? We don't exactly get at all along that well."

It wasn't until the clap of a pair of hands sounded where the duo looked up in time to see Ed repair Al's body. It was like he was never broken. "Good as new." Ed said, whilst tapping the metal plate beneath his left hand. He undid his ponytail, in favor of braiding it once more. "Alright then, shall we?"

"What's this, a brother's quarrel?" Armstrong asked to duo.

"No, no," Edward clarified, "I'm sparring to make my arm and leg move correctly."

"And I haven't moved my body in a while, I need to get my instincts back!" Alphonse added in his two cenz.

Sighing to herself, Christian decided to watch the spar. It was interesting seeing the way the brother's fought in their mock fight. "I hadn't sparred in a while, come to think of it…"

"You spar?" Armstrong inquired.

Christian nodded, hugging her knees close to her, "With my cousin…he taught me everything I need to know about using qi…but I'm far from being adept at Alkahestry. He couldn't teach what he didn't know, y'know?"

"Indeed…then! Let us help the brothers in their spar!"

"Wait, what?"

. . - * - . .

My everything was hurting, but none of it had anything to do with getting my ass handed to me. In fact, it was from laughing. The moment Armstrong dragged me into the mock fight with the brothers, it became apparent to all three males that my fighting style was none they were familiar with.

"You guys got owned!" Once they realized that none of the attacks was hitting me, they went from battle royal, to ganging up. The end result was me easily dodging their hits and showing them up by making them faceplant into the dirt.

"That's not fair! What kind of weird fighting style even is that?!" Edward complained, as he sat up. "I couldn't land a hit on ya!"

"It's a fun ability of mine." I said with a shrug. "But I won't reveal my secrets."

"Damn it! That's complete bullshit! I bet with skills like that, you could come close to beat our teacher."

"Teacher?" I asked.

"Yeah, she taught us how to fight, and use Alchemy." Alphonse explained. "Ed won't admit it, but she'll totally kick him to the moon and back."

"She can hit such a small target?" I quipped. The result of it had Edward yelling at me, and then something about lice? I wasn't paying attention to the rant that time. "In all seriousness, she sounds pretty cool. I'd like to meet her."

"I think something like that can wait." Ed muttered. "…maybe a lot later…ah! Hey, I'm starving, how about we see if Granny's finished dinner?"

"I say I get your portion as well as my own." I decided. "After all, you did lose to a girl just now."

"What?! Hell no! My supper is my damn supper!"

"Brother, be nicer, and Christian, don't joke about something like that to Ed. It's mean."

"Fine, fine. My limit is one normal serving anyway."

"It better be." Edward grumbled, before we all started back towards Pinako's house. "Hey granny! What's for dinner? We're starving!"

. . - * - . .

"Our teacher always told us, 'in order to train the spirit, first train the body." Edward was explaining while we ate. "That's why we have to practice like this every day."

"So you guys spar whenever you have some spare time?" Winry asked, a little perturbed by this piece of information, "No wonder your auto-mail breaks down so fast."

"I can't imagine it fairing well when having a spar with Al." I said, only after swallowing what I had in my mouth.

"With those two sparring, that's fine with me." Pinako spoke up, chuckling. "Those boys are making me rich!"

"The principle is correct." Armstrong stated, "A healthy spirit makes its abode in a well-trained body. Here are few things more beautiful."

"Oh no…" I knew where this was going. "Alphonse, can you pass the milk please?"

"Sure thing."

"I'll take the sauce." Edward told his little brother. We were purposely ignoring the now shirtless Major.

"You know, Al…it's kinda surprising you didn't get the title of Fullmetal…" I gestured to his being, pouring myself a glass of milk.

"I never actually went through with the State Alchemy exams." Al clarified. "But it wasn't like the thought never crossed my mind."

"Huh."

"How come you chose to be a State Alchemist, Christian?"

"I'm curious myself, actually." Everyone had their attention on me.

I sighed, placing my utensils down. "Well…you know I'm not from this era, I want to find out if there had ever been another like me…one who saw Truth, and was sent to a different point in time."

"Somehow, I don't think that would be an easy task." Winry said, "If someone did travel in time, then the odds of them recording anything of it, sounds…"

"Super slim." I finished. "I know. But, if I was brought to this time, then surely I could find a way to use Alchemy to somehow get back to the future."

"You're chasing the impossible."

"Ed, I'm from the year 2010. It shouldn't be possible for me to be in your time, but lo and behold, here I am."

"But on the other hand," Alphonse spoke up, "We're chasing a legend. That in itself is probably impossible too, but here we are."

"I guess you three are in the same boat." Winry pointed out, "But no matter what, you can bet we'll have your back."

"Thanks, Winry." Ed, Al and myself said. Two of us had beaming grins on our faces, while you could almost see Al's emotionless helmet showing its gleeful aura.

(* - *)

Winry rolled her eyes, seeing both Christian and Edward had fallen asleep on the couch. Ed was hogging most of it, though somehow, Christian still managed to remain on her sleeping spot, oblivious to the world. The sleeping female faced mirrored to her childhood friend, and Winry was honestly surprised to see similarities she hadn't noticed when the future girl had while awake.

Christian had the same eyes Winry did. Blue as the sky at midday. It wasn't common to find someone with blue eyes in Amestris. In the world, only about eight percent of people had blue eyes…two percent with green. Knowing that her second-rarest eye color was passed at some point in her family made her a little proud. More so to the fact that her love for auto-mail had even passed to her own grandson down the line. Even the girl before her had respect for her prosthetic where her childhood friend just did as he pleased.

My own great granddaughter, huh? It's kind of like those science fiction books I read once. A book she read on a whim one day, but the concept was similar to what she had found out when she saw the girl's auto-mail arm.

"Ed…Christian, you'll catch colds if you sleep like that." Alphonse huffed, pulling a blanket over Ed, and then another over Christian's curled up form. He mostly scolded Ed for his stomach being exposed, and the other State Alchemist for just falling asleep on the couch in general.

Pinako found herself laughing, "It's almost as if you're their parent, Al"

"It's true…it's not easy having a high maintenance older brother." The armored alchemist said, "Christian however…I'm not exactly sure about. Sometimes I get mixed feelings with her, but I know she's a good person…maybe it's because she's not supposed to be a part of our time?"

"Between you and these two, I can't really tell who the oldest is." Winry teased, adjusting the blanket Ed had. "But I think I can understand where you're coming from with Crissy."

"She actually hates being called that." Alphonse said with a light laugh, "She gets that same look brother does when you try giving him milk."

"Really?" Winry asked, "That's interesting."

"How old are you two now?" Pinako asked.

"I'm fourteen, and Ed's fifteen. Christian says she's also fifteen, though is still younger than Ed is. I don't know by how many months…"

Ed squirmed in his sleep, soon facing away from the couch's ledge. Winry sat where the boy's head had been, being mindful of Christian, who had rolled onto her stomach, left arm hanging limply off the side. "It's hard to believe that they're human weapons. We're the same age, and Ed is just so tiny." The blonde mechanic mused. "Right now, they both seem so defenseless being asleep."

"Oh…" Allen said recalling something, "Seeing Ed lying there, I remembered the time we went to the Youswell mining town. The Miners were being taxed out of their livelihood by the Lieutenant who owned the mines, and the miners wanted our help. At first, brother had no intention of helping them…but when he heard the minor's boss call their mines 'their home their and grave', he ended up helping them in the end. He was pretty reckless too."

"Oh? 'This is our home', then?" Pinako chuckled, "I know you two understand better than anyone what it feels like to have a home, and then lose it."

"Uh-huh…that's why I appreciate it when you and Winry welcome us back like we're your real family. My brother does too, even if he doesn't say so."

The room remained silent, save for Ed's soft snoring.

"The reality is, we no longer have the house that we were born and raised in. We don't regret burning our home down…but sometimes we feel overwhelming sadness."

Another pause.

"Maybe we could get over it, if we've had a good cry…but I can't do that in this body at all, even if I wanted to."

"And then there's this idiot who can cry but won't." Winry said, looking at Ed's still sleeping form. "He really tries to be tough, that idiot."

"But what of Christian?" Pinako inquired, putting the discussion back onto the sleeping girl. "If it is true that she hails from a time we haven't yet seen, then she must be lonelier than you boys must be."

"I don't think I really thought of that." Alphonse replied, "Her home doesn't even exist yet…and we don't know much about her family at all."

"Her home exists. Just not the same way she's used to." Winry pointed out. "She was…erm, no, in the future will…? I don't know how to phrase it at all."

"Resembool is the place of her birth, regardless of when in time she is." Pinako helpfully explained. "So long as that's a fact, she's more than welcome to come back home."

There was a silence in the room once more, the trio who were talking were unware of Major Armstrong silently sobbing just outside the door.

... ... ... ...

I still can't believe I foolishly posted the wrong chapter...ugh, that's never happened before...(really hasn't...)

R&R doesn't stand for Rest and Relaxation, no matter how much I obviously need it. Leave a review and lemme know how I'm doing! Follow this story so you know when a new chapter goes live, and that can be at any time btw. Show this story some love by favoriting this work, and until next time, I'll see you guys again on...

The Foresight Alchemist!