For the full Disclaimer, see Chapter One


As they made their way through the house, Lynore noticed that the atrocious smell was getting stronger and stronger. Pulling her shirt up to cover her nose, she pushed a door open revealing a bathroom. Once she saw that it was empty save for a thick layer of dust and a dead rat, she continued following Ed. He was also checking rooms, and they had finally made it to the last one in the hall. The odor was overpowering, and if they didn't get out soon Lynore was going to be sick. Ed warily grabbed the knob and turned it, swinging the door open wide.

"SHIT." The word echoed loudly as the stench hit them in a massive wave. There was a large transmutation circle in the middle of the floor, and in the center of the circle was a bloody mass. Bones and stray entrails leaked out of the blob, and its dead eyes were fixed on the corner. It looked as if someone had sent a man through a meat grinder and thrown him on the floor. Lynore turned back into the hallway and heaved violently.

"Oh God," she muttered weakly. Holding onto the doorjamb for support, she turned back to Ed. He had stepped inside the room, standing silent and motionless in front of the circle. There was a small noise from the corner, and when Lynore looked, she noticed a very young boy whimpering. He couldn't have been more than 8 years old and he looked as if he had been alone for days. His clothes were stained with blood and his face was pale. Composing herself, Lynore wiped her mouth on her sleeve and walked to the corner where the boy cowered in fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you. We're here to help you." She held her hand out for the little boy to take, and he looked up at her. Scared, red-rimmed eyes bored through hers and he finally reached his own hand out, taking hers. Lynore stood and pulled the boy into her arms, carrying him from the room as he sobbed into her hair. Ed followed, closing the door behind them. When they returned to the hotel, Lynore gave the boy a bath while Ed called the General to inform him of their findings.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Lynore was washing the boy's short, brown hair and taking special care not to get shampoo in his eyes. The child thought carefully, still unsure of the strangers that came to 'help' him. Lynore smiled at him warmly and rinsed the suds off his head.

"Jamie. My name is Jamie Coleman. I'm eight!" He held up his fingers, indicating his age. "What's your name?"

"My name is Lynore Dotson, but you can call me Nori if you want," she said, allowing the little boy the privilege of using Feury's nickname for her. He sat in the tub and looked at her with sad, scared eyes.

"Am I in lotsa trouble? I know what Kelly did was bad, but we missed Daddy a lot." Taken aback, Lynore hid her shock at the fact that there was a second person involved, and reached over to drain the tub. Grabbing a fluffy towel for the boy, she wrapped him in it and took him out to Ed's bed. She sat next to Jamie and looked at him kindly.

"No, Jamie. You're not in lotsa trouble," Lynore tousled his damp hair before continuing, "My friend Ed and I are State Alchemists; do you know what that is?" Jamie nodded, smiling.

"My daddy talked 'bout them all the time. My sister said when she got bigger she was gonna try to join too! She was a lot better than me," he said sadly. Tears filled the little boy's eyes and he launched himself into Lynore's arms.

"I didn't mean to! All we wanted was our daddy back. I couldn't hold on, and then she was just gone!" Bawling into Lynore's shirt, Jamie apologized profusely to the family he had lost. Ed came in the room shortly after the poor child had exhausted himself and passed out on the bed.

"Did you have to give him my bed?" A displeased look flashed across Ed's face before he turned to look at Lynore who was sitting on her own bed, watching the child toss and turn in a nightmare riddled slumber.

"Mustang said he'll be here first thing in the morning to take a look at the house. Did he tell you anything else about what happened?" He walked over to the boy and stared down at him, wondering if that's what he must have slept like after his own failed attempt at bringing back his mother. Ed folded his arms across his chest and turned to face a rather upset looking Lynore. Sitting beside her on the other bed, he reached out and touched her shoulder.

"His sister. He said they wanted their dad back and he couldn't hold on, and then she was gone." Lynore spoke, her quiet voice filled with sympathy for the poor child.

"He lost his sister trying to transmute their dad. Equivalent exchange, they took her." Looking back at the boy in the bed, a downcast expression was on Ed's face.

"It's the same thing that happened to me and Al, only he couldn't bring his sister back," he mumbled. Lynore looked up at him, not understanding. While she had received almost a full dossier on the Elric brothers, it never explained what had happened with the boys' mother. Seeing the confused look she wore, Ed took the time to clarify about their own failed transmutation and Al's empty armor. She had heard the rumors about the brothers but never really believed them to be true.

"Well," she sighed, "that explains a lot." Standing up she stretched her back, causing her shirt to rise higher on her ribs. Ed couldn't help but stare at her trim midsection. Couldn't help but notice it flaring out at both ends into very nicely rounded curves. When he noticed her noticing him noticing her, Edward gave a nervous cough and jumped up.

"Well, I guess we better get some sleep before the General gets here. I'll sleep on the floor since someone decided to give the runt my bed." Teasing her, he stole one of her pillows and the extra blanket off of his bed. Lynore stuck her tongue out at him and went into the bathroom to change into her night clothes. When she returned Ed was already sprawled on the floor, shirtless and obviously uncomfortable. She crawled into bed and shut off the light, laughing at the foul mouthed man on the floor. Lying on her stomach, she looked over the edge of the bed at him and smiled as sweetly as she could.

"Goodnight Edward! Sleep well," she sang.

"Bite me. Just don't stomp on me when you wake up." Ed reached out and smacked the hand Lynore had flopped over the side of the bed.

"Ok, I'll try to restrain myself." Laughing, she closed her eyes and waited for the sleep to come.


This one was fun. I accidentally cut and pasted and edited the wrong damn file! Too many hours of editing…

Qualy