A/N: And we're back with another update! As foretold in the previous chapter, we get to Ed and Winry as well as Ana's older brother here. Exciting!

Chapter Song: Iridescent by Linkin Park

Enjoy!

Ana stepped onto the platform of the Resembol train station. To her surprise, Liam was there to pick her up. She expected Ed or Winry, not her brother. The only explanation he offered was that their parents were "busy". Whatever that meant.

Liam was three years older than her and was quite a bit taller than her. His hair was blond like the rest of the family, but he had Winry's blue eyes. Ana had always been a little jealous of her brother. He got most of their mother's attention and he had inherited her interest and skill in auto-mail. Winry had even taken him to Rush Valley for his 16th birthday. And then they got him a car! Liam had received his driver's licence at 17, a few weeks before Ana did her transmutation.

The car ride passed in silence. Ana and Liam had drifted apart after the transmutation. He had stopped speaking to her and no matter what she did he never said more than what was necessary.

They arrived at the house. It had not changed much in the four months she had been gone. The yard had, of course, seeing as she had left in the summer and it was now October. The house was still yellow and the paint of the porch was chipping off again. The flowers in the window boxes were wilting away. She wondered what they had done with her room.

Ana exited the car and approached the house. It was oddly quiet. Usually, the building was full of noise, whether it be the sounds of auto-mail or her mother yelling. Ed claimed that Winry had mellowed out over the years and if what he said was true then Ana never wanted to meet the Winry from 20 years ago.

Ana reached the porch when Liam called out to her.

Jack, Savon, and Naomi were lazing about in Jack's apartment. With Ana gone, they did not have much to do. She came up with most of the things the group did. Even if they were on an assignment, she was always the one with the game plan. It was not like they could not think of anything to do but they could never agree on anything.

Jack was bored. He sat on the couch, flicking his lighter open and shut, lighting a flame every time.

"Stop that," Naomi snapped. "You're going to set the room on fire."

"No I'm not," ground out Jack. "This is perfectly safe. I know what I'm doing." As he said this, his fingers slid over the transmutation circle etched on the side of the metal. A large burst of flame erupted in the room scorching the ceiling and catching the couch on fire. Savon rushed to the sink and turned the water on. Shoving his transmutation gloved hands under the water, he directed the flow to the burning couch, easily putting out the flames and soaking Jack.

"What was that for!?" Jack spluttered.

Savon grinned at him. "Your couch was on fire."

Naomi let out a small burst of laughter. Savon quickly joined in and soon the two teens filled the room with raucous laughter. Jack sat on the floor frowning at them.

"Ana!" Liam called a Ana reached for the doorknob.

"What?" Ana asked a tad harshly.

He looked annoyed. "They're planning to surprise you," he stated.

Ana blinked at him, confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't want you to flip out and attack someone," he stated dully.

She stared at him for a second more. "Thanks," she said quietly. Ana opened the door and flipped the lights on.

"Surprise!"

Even though Liam had told her about the "surprise" part of the party, Ana was astonished at how many people actually came.

Quite a few of her old school friends were there. Melissa, her best friend from grade school had shown up, as well as many others. Ana grinned in delight as her old friends swarmed her. They asked questions about Central and being a State Alchemist and Ana was happy to answer all of them.

After all the questions had been answered and things were starting to settle down Winry brought out two of her apple pies. Ana's face was starting to hurt from all the laughing and smiling she was doing, but her face broke into another happy grin at the sight of her favorite dessert.

Winry beamed at her daughter's overjoyed face. She had missed her daughter fiercely. It had been quieter in the house since Ana had left. Winry knew Ana was not going to stay very long but she wanted to make the most of her daughter's time with them.

Jack dashed through the ornate hallways of the Fuhrer's house. He could hear Savon's counting grow fainter as he moved farther away. The three teens were playing a game of "ultimate" hide-and-seek, Naomi's idea, in Savon's house.

Jack was all for it; he had not played this game in years. Playing it in the house of the most important man in the country made it even more exciting. Jack quickly found a hiding spot. Since there were no off limits areas, besides the Fuhrer's office and Savon's parent's bedroom, there was a lot of space to hide in. He wedged himself behind a bookcase and a couch.

Naomi, on the other hand, was against the location but by the time Savon arrived a the number seven, her competitive streak won over and she was running through the halls, searching for a hiding spot.

Jack did not know what to make of Naomi. The older girl was not easy to read like Ana. Ana just sort of "did" things. Naomi actually thought things through, made plans, and was generally more serious than any situation could ever call for. Savon seemed to shrug it off with being a soldier, but Jack thought it might be more than that.

The teen was snapped out of his thoughts as Savon entered the room. Jack froze and nearly stopped breathing. His heart pounded in his ears in anticipation. This game was more stressful then he remembered. He heard Savon pad around the room then leave. Jack let out a gasp of breath as his heart rate returned to normal.

"Gotcha!" shouted Savon as he pulled away the couch. Jack screamed, his heart racing once more.

"What was that for?" demanded Jack.

Savon could not respond. He sat on the couch Jack had been hiding behind, laughing his head off. "You should've seen your face!" he cackled. Eventually, Savon stopped laughing and was able to stand again.

Jack sighed in annoyance. "Let's just find Naomi."

Liam stood off to the side watching the goings-on in the living room. He was happy for his sister. Ana deserved the party, and Liam was glad she was enjoying it.

But she had not changed while she was gone. She had not noticed the stress her absence had but on Winry. The first week after Ana left, Winry had cried every night. His dad barely knew how to comfort her. Both Liam Ed hated it when Winry cried; neither truly knew how to comfort her. Liam worried that as soon as Ana was gone the whole cycle would start over again.

Ed clapped a hand on his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Why aren't you over there?" Ed asked. "Enjoying the party with your sister?"

"I'm kinda tired," Liam replied sullenly.

Ed frowned. "Liam, I know that you and Ana haven't gotten along these past few years, but I want that to change. You both are incredibly different but you need to find some common ground."

Liam could not look his father in the eyes, but he nodded. "I'm gonna go upstairs."

Ed's hand dropped from Liam's shoulder as the young man walked away. Ed sighed sadly, but turned back to the party.

Winry had cut open the pies and everyone was digging in.

"Hey!" shouted Ed cheerfully. "Leave me a piece!"

Naomi darted around a corner and skidded to a stop. In front of her stood Colonel Rackem. Naomi's face flushed in embarrassment as her hero stared down at her.

"Officer Reed," said Rackem coolly.

That snapped Naomi out of her daze. She quickly saluted. "Colonel Rackem."

"Why, may I ask, are you here?"

Naomi's eyes widened in slight panic. "I was, um, looking for Savon. Why are you here, ma'am?"

"I was meeting with Mrs. Mustang," Rackem responded cooly.

"Why?' asked Naomi.

"She was concerned for Savon's well-being in regards to the Alter case," said Rackem with a frown. "Mrs. Mustang was worried that either suspect would come after her son."

"They haven't been found?" asked Naomi in a mild panic.

"No. We have no leads on Kiev or either of the Alters."

"But what about Ana and Jack?"

Ana stood in Ed's office, examining the shelves of books. She was looking for anything relating to the Philosopher's Stone or even her own family history. Ana pulled out a medium sized book labeled The History of Alchemy. She did not know what exactly was in it but it was a good place to start. She settled herself on the floor. Notebook open and pencil ready, she began to read.

After two hours of reading and note taking, the door creaked open. Ana glanced up and to her surprise Liam stood there.

"Hey," she said casually, returning her attention to the book.

"Hey," he replied.

There was silence for a moment and then Liam blurted out, "We need to talk."

Ana looked up at him again. "About what?"

"You, and all this. And Mom. And Dad."

Ana went back to her book as she asked, "What about them?"

"Well, um, Mom and Dad are really worried about you and, uh, so am I. I geuss?"

That caught Ana's attention. "You're worried about me? Why?"

"Why wouldn't I worry?! You're my little sister!"

"So? It's not like you've cared before."

"I have too," defended Liam.

"No. You haven't," said Ana rising to her feet. "After the transmutation you started avoiding me. You wouldn't talk to me and whenever I tried to talk to you, you left the room!"

Liam opened his mouth to retort but at Ana's glare, the words died in his mouth. He could see she was trying to hold back tears. Her bottom lip trembled slightly.

"You ditched me back then and I still don't understand why!" she shouted.

"You stole Dad," he said quietly.

Ana froze. "What?"

"After the transmutation you had all of Dad's attention," Liam stated quietly.

There was silence for another moment, and the Ana said, "But you always had all of Mom's."

It was at that moment that both siblings realized what had been going on. They had been jealous of their parents' attention. Each one had been appeared to be receiving more attention than the other, and they had been fighting over them like little children.

Neither sibling said anything for a few moments, then Liam broke the silence. "Ana, I'm sorry for ignoring you. I just didn't know how to deal with all that alchemy stuff. I just don't get it and-"

Ana interrupted his apology by crushing him in a hug. "I don't care what your reasons were. I'm just glad to have my brother back."

Savon peered around the corner of the hallway into the foyer. The boys had slowed their search when they heard voices coming from around the corner. They hid behind the wall and peered around the edge.

What they saw was surprising to say the least. Naomi was in a rather frantic discussion with Colonel Rackem.

"But what about Ana and Jack?" demanded Naomi.

"What do they have to do with this?" asked Rackem coldly.

"If Savon's at risk, then what about Ana and Jack?" Naomi clarified.

"I don't see how that's relevant."

"They exposed her. What if she comes after them?"

Rackem let out a small sigh. "Let me tell you what I told Mrs. Mustang: The Alter's current behavior indicates a desire to leave the country, not vengeance. The other suspect, a woman named Reyna Kiev, is revenge driven but her anger is directed at Lori Alter not any of your friends."

Savon glanced over at Jack, who appeared to be mulling this over in his head.

Jack came to a conclusion and whispered snidely, "So, Naomi does actually have feelings."

Savon gave him an unamused frown and clocked him on the back of the head.

"What was that for?!" Jack said loudly, hitting Savon back. Savon retaliated with jab to the chest. Jack caught it but threw both boys off balance and they came tumbling into the foyer.

The two women turned towards the scuffle with matching expressions of shock and surprise. Both women had their hands on their guns, but recognizing the boys, Naomi marched over and pulled them apart.

"You know," Rackem said, putting away her weapon as well, "eavesdropping isn't a trustworthy quality."

Ana walked nervously towards her dad's study. She did not really understand why she was nervous. Ed was always willing to talk with her.

The door creaked as she opened it. Ed's eyes shot up from the book he was writing in. They lit up when he saw her.

Ed's face broke into a large grin. "I see you've dyed your hair again."

"Well," said Ana, "I am going back to Central tomorrow."

"Leaving already?"

"Dad, I've been here three days already!" She tried to sound teasing but it fell flat and Ed noticed.

"What's wrong, Ana?"

Ana could not meet his eyes as she asked, "What do you know about living Philosopher's Stones?"

Ed's eyes widened in horror but quickly narrowed in suspicion. "Where'd you hear that term?" he ground out.

Ana told him what had happened in the underground lab, about Locke and his experiment. Ed frowned during the entire story.

"If that man were still alive, I would kill him," said Ed when she was done.

Ana gave a small smile to humor her father. "But what about my question?"

"I'm not sure what it means in the long run but I know what he meant at the time." Ed pulled a small notebook out from the shelf behind him. He flipped it open. "The Philosopher's Stone. An object that supposedly can surpass the law of equivalent exchange. Constructed from human souls."

Ana nodded. She already knew all of this.

Ed flipped to a different page and continued, "Van Hoenheim. Lived for over 400 years due to a Philosopher's Stone attached to his soul. Living Philosopher's Stone." Ed snapped the journal shut and held it out to Ana. "This is all my research on the Philosopher's Stone. I don't know how much help it will be but you should have it anyway. Compare it with your own notes or whatever."

Ana met his concerned gaze with a happy smile. "Thanks Dad." She pulled him into a hug.

Ana stepped off the late morning train in Central Station. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the brightly lit space. The sun shone through the glass panes of the high arched windows.

"Ana!" shouted a voice to her left. She turned to see Savon waving at her from farther down the platform. With him was Jack and Naomi. Naomi was as stern and serious as ever but she broke a small smile when she spotted Ana. Jack was obviously bored. Ana jogged over to them, slipping in and around other travelers crowding the platform.

"Let's get out of here, shall we?" she suggested with a large grin. Jack and Savon returned it readily and Naomi rolled her eyes in amusement. It was good, decided Ana, to be back with her friends.