Hey, well...I'm back... at long, long last... :) I won't make excuses, I've been off this thing for far too long but, I do have some good news- my exams are nearly over, for two whole blissful years! :D So, I'm nearly free to go back to writing on here and maybe not leave massive 6 month gaps between chapters; which I'm very apologetic for, in case any of you were waiting on the story to be updated. Anyway, enough of my rambling- on with the story!

Type G- Galaxy

Sue-ness- 8/10

Originality- 2/10

Additional Info- These sues are generally beautiful with a perfectly sculpted face, long, glamorous hair and deep, glowing eyes... shame there's usually nothing of real value behind them.

...

Sam was tired. Very tired. Exhausted even. As he yawned heavily and slumped across the plastic counter, he allowed his mind to drift. He simply couldn't understand why the Boss insisted on keeping the shop open all night, every night; even Sundays. No one had so much as walked past the doorway in over an hour and why would they? It was 3:00 AM for God's sake!

He should be at home, like everyone else in this God-forsaken city! Curled up with a hot drink, sitting in his favourite armchair in front of the fireplace, maybe with the radio playing some soothing music as he gently drifted off to sleep...

In fact, he was toying with the idea of catching a quick cat nap behind the counter, when to his dismay, he heard the distinct ring of a bell and a door opening and closing. He immediately sat up straight and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Hello, Sir, Ma'am. Can I help you?" He croaked.

The young man, looking in his late twenties, turned his sharp-eyed glare on him and marched swiftly to the counter, followed by another blonde stern-looking woman.

"Yes, you can. We're looking for a girl with long, dark hair, Caucasian -looks to be Amestrian-, no more than twenty or so years old; we suspect she passed through this area a few hours ago. Have you seen anyone fitting this description?"

Sam was slightly taken back- he was expecting the man to ask for directions or maybe pick up a packet of smokes; not to interrogate him on a missing person.

"Ah... um... Well, n-no, I haven't seen anyone since I got here an hour and a half ago, let alone someone like that. Sorry." He stammered, slightly disconcertedly as he realised from the uniforms that these were military personnel. Not just that, but high-ranking military personnel. Crap.

The man sighed exasperatedly and put one gloved hand to his forehead. "You're certain of this?"

Sam faulted. "Y-yeah...Uh, I mean, yes, definitely." Seeing no real change in the man's demeanour, he felt compelled to continue. "But, um, if you want, you could try talking to Rebecca- she had the shift just before me, so if this girl you're looking for had come by earlier, she'd probably know."

Finally, the man's expression softened slightly and Sam felt like he could breathe again.

"How can we get in touch with this woman, 'Rebecca'?" The woman asked, her voice as stern as her appearance.

"Just a second- I'll get you her phone number." Sam scurried hastily into the back room and fumbled through idle pieces of paper and files until, with much relief, he found what he was looking for.

...

Mustang couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched- most likely because he was- but he forced himself to push his emotions to one side while he focused on his new unofficial mission. He couldn't afford a single slip-up, like he had been so close to allowing earlier in the Central building. The pure terror he felt when that girl had almost dug her claw-like fingers into the neck of his precious sub-ordinate had been almost too much to bear and it was not something he would allow again. If he had reacted even a fraction of a second later, he wouldn't even be standing here, but more likely in a hospital or even...

No, now was not the time to dwell on such things.

"Sir?" A clear voice brought him back to his senses and he turned to see Hawkeye gazing at him, perplexedly. "Are you alright? You look a little... distracted."

"Uh...yeah, fine." He replied, avoiding her sherry eyes.

Hawkeye narrowed her eyes at his strange behaviour, but decided to let it go... for now.

The young man came rushing back into the room, tightly clutching a white card with a number scribbled messily on it. "H-here you go! This is her number," He cried shakily, handing over the card with an equally shaky hand. "A-anything else?"

Mustang raised an eyebrow at the man's nervous behaviour. "Yes, actually- do you have a telephone we can use?"

The man gulped visibly. "No, but there is a phone box right outside that you can use. See?" He pointed a shaky hand to the phone box that was indeed standing outside the window.

"I see. Thank you for your help." And with that, Mustang strode smoothly out of the shop without so much as a glance back and was followed closely by Hawkeye, leaving a frightened and slightly puzzled young man in their wake.

...

"If I just fill in a line here... add a symbol there... and just one more..." Edward muttered under his breath as he scribbled and erased parts of his very intricate alchemic array while Alphonse and Winry watched on from Winry's bed.

"You know, Brother, now that I've finished packing and I've transmuted a door, I could just transmute a vehicle for us without the array..." Alphonse murmured hesitantly from the side.

Edward simply responded by sending him a murderous glare. "I've gotten this far- I'm nearly done, after all! There's no need for you to transmute anything."

Alphonse and Winry simply shook their heads silently. Ed and his dumb pride! But still, they had to admit, the array was pretty impressive. Well, at least, Al thought it was impressive- to Winry it was just squiggles, random words and the remnants of her precious auto-mail. All of a sudden, she wasn't nearly as 'impressed'.

"Done!" Edward leapt up, a wide grin lighting up his eager face. "It's perfect!" He stood back to allow them both to admire his handiwork, but for some reason they didn't feel very compelled to. He shrugged and picked up the paper he had painstakingly drawn the arrays onto, rolling them into neat tubes and tucking them under his arm. "Alright- I think we're all ready here. Alphonse- have you sealed off all the other doors and windows?"

"Yes, Brother!"

"Winry, have you packed up everything we'll need over the next few days?"

"Yep!"

"Okay. Now we just need to check that types A and C aren't looking in our direction and we're sorted." Edward sighed and made his way to a boarded up window.

"T-there's no one there..." He murmured in shock. Alphonse stared up at him with wide eyes.

"What?" He jumped up and joined Edward at the window. Where before there were two teenagers pacing around their house, glaring in at them like rabid dogs, but now... nothing. "This is bad- really bad."

Winry gazed between them, fear written all over her face. "They could have just left..."

"No," Edward shook his head solemnly, "they wouldn't have just 'left'. Those things would never just 'leave'."

Alphonse drew back from the window, shaking slightly. "We have to leave. Now."

BANG.

They all gasped then fell into complete silence as they stared at each other.

Edward widened his eyes and mouthed one word. "Run."

Winry and Al raced for the door with the supplies and alchemic blueprints in hand while Ed fell into a fighting stance, glaring around the seemingly empty house for any signs of movement.

Another, softer bang caused him to spin round and step carefully backwards towards the door where Winry and Al were franticly laying out the alchemic arrays and chunks of metal.

He was just one step away from the door when-

"BROTHER!"

A blinding pain slammed into his head and stars spun in his vision as he stumbled forward, then spun round to catch a glimpse of his assailant.

There stood a heavily made up boy smirking at him with wild eyes, holding a thick blood stained plank of wood. "Have I got your attention now?"

...

There were birds singing.

Her vision was bleary, her head was throbbing and she couldn't remember her own name, but she did know there were birds singing.

Slowly she sat up, holding her aching head and blinked at the dazzling light of the sun; it was so pretty. Looking around, she started taking in her surroundings. She was sitting in a luscious field with bright colourful flowers and a clear running stream. Dazedly, she crawled delicately over to the stream and looked into her reflection.

Staring back at her was a vision of beauty. Porcelain but somehow sun-kissed skin, wide sparkling aqua eyes, a cute little button nose and plump ruby red lips. At a second glance, she also took in her long shimmering waterfall of blonde hair and slender but shapely figure. Yes, she was a true beauty to behold, indeed. She gracefully reached out one delicate hand to skim the surface of the water and marvelled at the beauty of the miniature droplet of water on her slender fingertips.

"Uh...hello?"

She spun in surprise, clutching her tiny hands to her heart and gazing up from behind her long thick eye lashes. "Who are you?"

A tall man was staring down at her with a strange look in his eye. "I should be asking you that."

"I...I-I don't k-know..." She began, her musical voice trembling with fear. "I c-can't remember who I am, or how I got here..." Her eyes began to shine with unshed tears.

The man suddenly looked panicked and held up his hands. "Hey, hey, calm down! Don't cry!"

The girl took a deep breath and wiped away her tears with a slim finger. "I-I'm sorry, Mister."

"No, no, it's fine, really." He man sighed then crouched down to her level to look her in the eyes. "I'm 1st Lt. Havoc; I'm a part of the military."

The girl's face lit up in a bright smile and she let out a shy giggle. "It's lovely to meet you! I wish I could tell you who I was, though, but I really don't remember."

"No problem." Havoc flashed her another grin and his eyes softened. "Oh, you look a little chilly; would you like to borrow my jacket?"

"Oh my, you're far too kind," she gushed, holding one hand up to her face to cover her growing blush. "Are you sure?"

Havoc smiled gently and slowly peeled off his jacket to wrap it around her. "Better?"

The girl rose elegantly to her feet as she slipped her arms into the sleeves. "Yes, thank you so much! It's so warm..."

Havoc just nodded dumbly, a blush creeping over his cheeks.

The girl hugged the jacket to her then looked up into Havoc's eyes. "C-could you help me? I really want to find my way home."

"Of course, whatever you need. I'll just take you to Central Command- we're only a few minutes' walk away, seeing as we're just in the park." He murmured, smiling.

The girl beamed at him with wide sparkling eyes. "Thank you ever so much! My hero!" With that, she leapt up and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him to her.

Havoc just carried on smiling, inhaling her intoxicating scent; vanilla and cherry-blossoms. She was so beautiful... In fact, dare he say it; he may even be in love!

"Do you need me to carry you? I wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself," He murmured, eyes slowly glazing over.

She smiled innocently up at him with her sharp white teeth. "Why, yes...yes, that would be lovely."