Disclaimer: NO. Just Arlina. (Until LeFay Strent wins the lottery and we buy the rights. And do horrible, unspeakable, things.)

FreeWeirdGal actually inspired this. So this really isn't, y'know, the next chapter, and you guys totally don't have to read it. It's a dream which does take place between last chapter and the next. A drug induced trippy dream that may or may not be foreshadowing certain things. I was supposed to clean but I wrote this up instead! Worst. Roommate. Award. Yeeees. I have twenty minutes before my roommate gets home.

Annnd, it's my mom's girlfriend's birthday. Happy birthday! She wants me to become a writer so she can buy a giant sail boat. I told her I was working on a novel, but just kidding, it's just FMA fanfiction. HAHA. Also since you guys have been SO FREAKIN' AMAZING AND SUPPORTIVE here's a trippy dream for you!


It was seven minutes past midnight, the digital clock on the cellphone screen told a small fifteen year old girl. Her name was Arlina, and she was standing alone in the subway station, dressed in a knee length blue dress with a white apron, knee high white socks, black Mary Jane shoes and a blonde wig. Earlier, she had been talked into going to a costume party with a few school friends, a decision she was regretting. It was now officially Halloween, and so she fretted over the sorts of unsavory people who might be prowling the streets.

Her imagination was going wild, though it was to be expected. Little Arlina was a rather dramatic person, and the completely empty subway station did nothing but help her create horrifying scenarios in her head. Arlina checked her cellphone again, the screen lighting her face with an unnatural glow. Eight minutes past minute. With a sigh, she dropped the cellphone into the left pocket on the apron and pulled off the blonde wig. She had short messy dark hair to match her dark eyes.

A loud crashing ricocheted off the walls of the eerily quiet subway station causing Arlina to jump, startled by the sudden noise. She had dropped the blonde wig without noticing, her attention solely fixed on what or who could have created the noise. Although her heart fluttered uncomfortably, and there was an uneasy fright brimming in her stomach, Arlina began walking closer to where she assumed the noise came from. Her Mary Janes sounded loud to her ears as they clicked and clapped against the dirty floor.

"Hello…?" Arlina called out in a hesitant, but curious, manner. "Is somebody there?" She paused, head tilted curiously.

She decided she would not investigate, after all, she'd seen horror movies before. Arlina decided it must have been one of those homeless people that often lived in the subway stations. One of them must have knocked over a trash can looking for food. A flicker of red caught her attention from the corner of her eye, and Arlina turned around, curious dark eyes taking in a boy who seemed to be around her age standing some feet away.

He wore a long red coat, and had two white slender rabbit ears sticking out on top of his very golden hair, which was tied back. The boy's attention was fixed on a pocket watch that he was holding, and Arlina guessed he must have come from a Halloween party as well. He snapped the watch shut, his golden eyes flickering upward to meet Arlina's dark ones. Her eyes widened, mouth parting in surprise. She hadn't meant to be caught staring!

Just at that very moment the subway train came rushing into the station loudly, breaking the awkwardness Arlina had been feeling.

"We have to hurry," the boy spoke quietly, yet she could easily hear him. Confusion flickered across her face. Was the boy talking to her? Or did he have a Bluetooth she didn't see?

The red rabbit boy briskly walked into the subway train and Arlina, overcome with curiosity, quickly followed after him. As she entered the train, she was momentarily blinded by the bright fluorescent lights. Blinking a few times, she walked further into the dirty subway, dark eyes trailing over the blue plastic bench seats, searching for the red rabbit boy. The doors hissed shut behind her.

"Where did he go…?" Arlina wondered out loud only to make a face. She wasn't one to talk to herself.

"We're running out of time."

Startled, Arlina turned around quickly finding the red rabbit boy. Her dark eyes rounded as she took in the fact that he had whiskers, and white paws! Though, she reasoned, it was Halloween. People tended to get crazy with costumes.

"What? What are you talking about?" Arlina asked, her accent clashing terribly compared to his. Arlina hoped she wasn't alone in the subway train with someone who was crazy.

"You have to save Alphonse." The Red Rabbit told her calmly, golden eyes staring at her flatly. She stared back, baffled. "We're late. This is important."

"Who is Alphonse?" She wondered, a frown on her face, as the Red Rabbit checked his pocket watch again. He sighed and brushed past her. She turned, following after him. "Wait. Who is Alphonse? Why does he need to be saved?"

The lights flickered briefly, followed by an almost blinding whiteness that bled through the windows. Arlina gave a soft cry of surprise, turning her attention away from the Red Rabbit. She blinked rapidly, pointing to the whiteness that poured in from the windows.

"Do you think they're doing construction down in the tunnels?" Arlina tilted her head back to the Red Rabbit, in an attempt to rationalize what she was seeing.

"We're passing through the Gate." The Red Rabbit said in a matter-of-fact way, his tone heavily implying she was supposed to understand what he meant. Irritation made its way across Arlina's expression and she put her hands on her hips.

"What gate?" She demanded, dark eyes narrowing. "Nothing you say makes any sense."

"Save Alphonse." The Red Rabbit repeated, much to Arlina's frustration.

"I don't know who that is!" She snapped at him, briefly wondering if one of her school friends were pulling a prank on her. "You can't just start demanding me to do ridiculous things! I don't even know you!"

The Red Rabbit rolled his golden eyes at her, turning away and opening the door to the next subway car. He paused, and glanced back at her. "Find Alphonse and save him, Arlina." With that, he slipped into the next car, the door hissing shut behind him leaving a very stunned Arlina to stare after him.

Who was that Red Rabbit? How did he know her name? Annoyed that he thought he could play such silly games with her, Arlina marched after him. With a huff, Arlina pulled open the door, bright sunlight pouring in as she stood, dumbfounded, in the doorway of the now stopped train.

Stretched out as far as the eye could see was beautiful green rolling hills dotted with flowers of yellow, red, purple and blue. Large oak trees full of large, dancing, green leaves lined the wide dirt path that lay out before her. Arlina had never seen a sky so blue in her entire life. With an uncertain glance over her shoulder to the dirty subway with flickering lights and litter scattered across the floor, Arlina straightened. She needed to find that Red Rabbit and demand how he knew her name.

She walked down the steps of the train, delighting in the warmth. It was as although it were spring! But that didn't make any sense to her. It was October, and she had been in a subway underground in the city.

"Hey! Red Rabbit!" She called, annoyed and needing answers. "Come back here! Tell me what's going on! Where am I!"

A low chuckling floated by her and Arlina quickly spun around, her dark eyes round as she stared up at another golden haired boy who was lounging on top of the train as though he didn't have a care in the world. A large, lazily, smile was sprawled across his pretty face. His half lidded golden eyes gleamed as though he knew an inside joke that Arlina was supposed to be a part of. He had cat ears, she noticed with mystified surprise. Golden cat ears that poked out of his equally golden hair.

"Are you looking to become unlost?" The cat boy all but purred in a silky yet playful voice. A golden tail flickered upward, swaying as if in a breeze. "I, myself, find that the best adventures occur when I have no idea where I am. Though I never know where I am."

"I have to find Alphonse." Arlina said softly, eyeing him curiously. She thought he looked an awful lot like that Red Rabbit. "Is that you? The Red Rabbit brought me here. He's looking for you."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe we're all Alphonse." The Cat said playfully, laughing, as his image faded until Arlina wondered if she'd seen him at all to begin with.

With a disappointed sigh, she chewed on her lower lip and tilted her gaze toward the dirt path that stretched out before her. Well, Arlina figured, maybe if she followed this path she'd find someone who could tell her where she was and how to get home. With a renewed sense of hope, Arlina followed the path.

Despite not knowing where she was, Arlina delighted in the beauty of this strange place. The leaves danced in the wind, creating a soft beat that the birds seemed to sing to. As Arlina walked past the trees, large purple flowers bloomed on the low hanging branches. She had not been walking very long when a soft, "Hello!" caused her to pause. She glanced around, not seeing anyone.

"Um, I'm down here…" The voice said politely, tugging Arlina's gaze downward. Between two tree trunks sat a gleaming helmet that looked like it could go to a suit of armor, a long white ribbon curled around it.

Perplexed, Arlina crouched down so she was closer to the speaking helmet. "Are you okay?" She wasn't sure what else to say, helmets didn't talk by themselves where she was from, but she didn't want to be rude and offend the helmet.

Glowing eyes peered up at her from inside the helmet. "I've lost my body." Mr. Helmet informed Arlina in a sad voice. "I would go looking for it, but…"

Arlina gently picked Mr. Helmet up, standing, and offered a smile. "That's terrible, I'll help you find it." Arlina decided, after all, it would be nice to have some company in this strange place. "Where is the last place you saw it?"

"I don't remember." Mr. Helmet sighed, forlornly, as Arlina continued down the wide dirt path. "It's alright, you don't need to trouble yourself, I'm sure you have important things to do. Don't worry about me."

"Don't be silly, I want to help you." Arlina insisted pleasantly. "I'm lost too. I followed a Red Rabbit here and I don't know where I am, and I just want to go home."

"Oh I can help you with that. You're in Amestris." Mr. Helmet said kindly as Arlina carefully stepped over a large root in the path. "Though, if you wanted to go home, wouldn't you be wearing red heels?"

"But I don't know where Amestris is," Arlina cried, feeling distressed suddenly, her lips pulling into a troubled frown. She knotted her brow.

"Then how do you know you're lost?" Mr. Helmet reasoned. "This could be the correct path you were supposed to be following."

Confusion drifted across Arlina's pretty face. "But Mr. Helmet, this is the only path here."

"Then you aren't lost." Mr. Helmet said so brightly that a warm smile flickered across her face, dark eyes lighting. She didn't think Mr. Helmet understood her plight, but his cheerful optimism was contagious.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Arlina." She told the helmet happily.

"I'm not sure who I am without my body." Mr. Helmet said, his voice dipping back into a sad one. Arlina pulled her lip into her mouth, rolling it between her teeth.

"You don't remember your name?" What a horrible thing, she thought, to not remember one's own name. She decided she would do everything she could to help this poor helmet.

"What is a name if there's nothing to go with it?" Mr. Helmet replied gloomily. Arlina smiled at him, in hopes to change his bleak outlook.

"That's not true, Mr. Helmet. You can still be you, even if you're lost." She told him pleasantly.

"Oh, well…" Mr. Helmet began when a very large brown hawk came swooping down, snatching Mr. Helmet's long white ribbon with her talons. Arlina gave a startled cry as Mr. Helmet was pulled from her arms, the hawk flying away with him.

"Oh no! Mr. Helmet! Mr. Helmet!" Arlina called, desperately, quickly chasing after the hawk who had stolen her only friend.

"Don't worry about me, Arlina." Mr. Helmet called back to her sadly, becoming smaller and smaller as the hawk took him higher up. "I'll be okay."

At that very moment Arlina tripped over a root, as she had her eyes on the sky rather than the ground. She pulled herself up into a sitting position, her legs stretched out in front of her, and stared down at her now scratched up palms. Her dress was covered in dirt as well. She sniffled, palms stinging, as a hopeless feeling weighed heavily in her chest. Arlina didn't know where she was, and she just wanted to go home! Large tears came splattering down her cheeks as she sat there, feeling sorry for herself and the predicament she found herself in.

"If you cry, you might flood us."

Puffing her lower lip out into a pout, Arlina sniffled and rubbed her cheeks with the back of her hand. She knew that voice, it was that Cat! Well, she didn't want to play his silly games! The golden Cat appeared in front of her, hovering, golden eyes sly.

"Are you Alphonse?" Arlina asked again, sulkily. The Cat's smile twinkled across his face, his tail flickering under her chin as he swirled around her.

"Sometimes falling down is the best way to learn how to get back up." The Cat said but Arlina didn't think so. Falling down hurt too much! "If you ask for it, you can be helped back up to your feet."

"There's nobody here to help me!" Arlina cried, not understanding at all what the Cat meant. "If you're Alphonse, you must tell me, so I can tell the Red Rabbit and go home!"

"We're playing hide-and-seek," the Cat purred, grin dancing, as he disappeared with a soft poof. Arlina stumbled to her feet, searching the area for him.

"Wait!" She called. She didn't want to play hide-and-seek! She wanted to go home!

"I'm here," the Cat's voice murmured to her left. Arlina quickly turned, finding nothing. "And there," he teased from her right. Again, Arlina turned to find nothing there either! "I'm everywhere."

Arlina spun in a circle, finding herself completely alone. "Wait! Don't leave me alone!"

"Find me." The Cat's laughing voice danced and twirled around her and she gave a frustrated cry, stomping her foot.

"I don't want to play this stupid game!" Arlina shouted. There was only the dancing leaves and birds that answered her, and Arlina sighed, frustrated. How was she going to find the Cat when she didn't even know where she was? Sulkily, she kicked a rock into the trees and heard a distant "ouch!"

Curiosity overrode the sulky mood, maybe there was someone there who could actually help her! Carefully stepping over the roots and ducking under particularly low branches, Arlina made her way through the sea of trees. It didn't take her very long to come to a clearing.

In the center of the clearing sat a rather pale, dark haired, freckled boy who was sprawled out on a lawn chair, one ankle crossed over the other as he blew large bubbles. His familiar hazel eyes were tilted upward, watching the sky.

Relief washed over Arlina, her entire body seemed to sigh with familiar warmth, and she placed her hands on her hips. "Jonathan," she said in a disapproving tone. "What are you doing here?"

His hazel eyes flitted downward, meeting Arlina's, and he smiled in a way that Jonathan never had. "Not Jonathan." He said in a shockingly English accent.

Arlina's lips pulled downward, confusion apparent on her face as she dropped her hands from her hips. "Then who are you?"

He sat upward like a spring, his legs on either side of the lawn chair as he spread his arms out in a grand gesture. Arlina thought him to be a bit dramatic. "I'm the Doctor!" He said with flare, blowing more bubbles in her direction.

Arlina's frown remained as she eyed him with skeptical unease. "You don't look like a doctor." She said, warily.

"Bah!" He settled back down. "I'm the Doctor of many things. Mostly I'm the Doctor of Who. I have all the answers!" Arlina swatted some of the bubbles that floated toward her, though they didn't pop. They merely bounced off her hand and drifted upward. "So. Why are you here?"

"I thought you had all the answers." Arlina said, already not liking this boy. Not Jonathan's expression became disinterested.

"If you don't want my help, then run along, and don't find a way to become unlost." Not Jonathan said, shooing her away. Arlina started. She hadn't meant to offend him, now that she knew he could help her!

"Wait! I'm sorry. I'm here because I have to save Alphonse." She said quickly, and then paused, her expression tilting toward uncertainty. "Or find him. I'm not really sure… and then I can go home."

"Hmmm…" Not Jonathan stretched his arms out in front of him, crossing one leg over the other. "Why help a stranger? Just go home if that's what you want. If you live only for other people, then are you even living?"

"I can't go home if I don't know how I got here or where here even is." Arlina said with a long sigh. She plopped down on the ground, feeling like she was running in circles. "Helping people isn't so awful, though. And if I only lived for myself, my life would be empty with no people in it."

"Why are you here?" Not Jonathan repeated in a slow drawl. Arlina stared at him, baffled, as he poked one of the bubbles, his finger going straight through it. Hadn't she already explained to him why she was here…?

"I just told you." Arlina's frustration fluttered through. "I don't want to be here!"

"Then where do you want to be?" Not Jonathan asked, head tilted to the side as her regarded her with such familiar hazel eyes.

"Home!" Arlina snapped.

"Where is home?" Not Jonathan wondered curiously. Arlina found him terribly annoying, and was starting to doubt he could help her after all.

"Not here!"

"And where is here?" Not Jonathan's expression remained a curious one, but Arlina was sure he was only saying such things to rile her up.

"A horrible place that doesn't make any sense!"

Not Jonathan looked thoughtful. "Have you tried making dollars out of it?" He asked. Arlina stared at him with angered disbelief. She didn't find his brand of humor amusing.

"You are not helping!"

"Then why are you here." His expression was serious and Arlina felt her frustrated anger pouring away into defeated unhappiness. Her shoulders sagged as she gazed down at her dirty dress.

"Because… I don't know where I am." Arlina said quietly, picking at the edge of the apron. "And I don't know what to do. And you said you have all the answers."

"What do you want to do?" Not Jonathan asked, voice soft. Arlina rolled her dark eyes at him.

"I told you! I want to go home!" They were going around in circles and Arlina couldn't see the point of any of this.

"What is home?"

"Where my life is!" Arlina cried, exasperated.

"So, home is where the people you live for is!" Not Jonathan said brightly and Arlina faltered, pulling her lower lip into her mouth, chewing on it.

"Well… No. Not anymore." She admitted quietly, sadness swelling like a balloon in her chest.

"Then home is a lonely place where you have nothing worth living for?" Not Jonathan tilted his head and Arlina's cheeks bloomed with an angry blush.

"What! No! You're… You're twisting my words around!" She said, angrily. She never said that! Not Jonathan clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, shaking his head sadly at her.

"I'm repeating your words back to you. You just don't want to hear the truth." Not Jonathan said with a sigh, as though she were a clueless student and he a teacher. "It's okay to find a new home."

Arlina didn't want a new home, she didn't understand why she couldn't just go back to her old one. "But everything is strange and I don't understand anyone."

"Then learn their language. It's very easy." Not Jonathan said with a snap of his fingers, blowing a bubble at her. Arlina frowned unhappily at him as the bubble bounced off her forehead.

"But why can't I just go back?" She wondered.

"Why do you want to?" Not Jonathan furrowed his brows as though she had said something outrageously ridiculous. Arlina searched for an acceptable answer. She wasn't sure, now, why she wanted to go home. She just believed that was the proper thing to do.

"Because it doesn't make sense here!" Arlina said with a huff. And then, softly, she admitted: "I'm afraid."

"Arlina, if you wanted to go home you would be wearing red heels." Not Jonathan said bluntly as a large bubble drifted down from the sky. Not Jonathan stood up on the lawn chair, and began to climb up onto the bubble.

"Are you going to fly away now?" Arlina asked, feeling alarmed, as she quickly got to her feet.

"Yes. Life is about change. I'm going to become free." He informed her brightly, and Arlina felt a rising panic she couldn't explain.

"Wait!" She cried, frantically. "You can't leave me here!" Not Jonathan frowned as the bubble began floating upward.

"You're the one leaving me," he said, shaking his head, as Arlina stared up at him, puzzled. "You refuse to let go of the ground and float."

She had hoped he would change his mind and come back down. She stood, watching him until she couldn't see him anymore, and sighed. Feeling oddly lonely, Arlina turned around and began walking back the way she came. She might as well continue down the dirt path and hopefully find someone useful. She walked for what felt like a very long time, unable to find the path again. Hadn't she walked straight? But the sea of trees just seemed to grow and grow, with no end in sight!

"Where is that stupid path!" Arlina whined, upset. She had found she was talking to herself more now that she was here.

"If you lost your path, why not make a new one?" The Cat's singsong voice trickled in and Arlina jumped, giving a cry of fright as the Cat appeared in front of her, his smile playful.

"How do you do that?" She demanded, hands on her hips. The Cat merely smiled widely at her, eyes glowing with amused delight. Arlina thought he was a bit rude. "How do you float? And disappear?"

"I'm just some body." The Cat said with a wink, perplexing the dark haired teen. "I need to make a birdhouse in my soul." He didn't make the slightest bit of sense to her.

"What are you talking about?" Arlina was starting to believe everyone here was crazy. "What do you mean you're somebody? Everybody is somebody and nobody I know floats and disappears!" The Cat gleamed at her, his arms draping lazily over her shoulders as he hovered in front of her face.

"Arliiiiinaaa, you're not liiiisteeenniiing," he sang, fading away as he tilted his head closer to her, half lidded golden eyes swirling with secrets Arlina felt she was supposed to know. "Find me," his voice rang around her, despite the fact that she could no longer see him.

Arlina felt more lost than ever.

She had no choice but to continue through the sea of trees, hoping to find another path. Maybe, Arlina thought, she should stop trying to seek help from these sorts of people. All they did was leave her feeling more confused, more lost, then when she had first arrived here. They spoke in riddles and it was disconcerting. She walked, and walked, not stopping even when branches tore at her socks, scratched her cheeks. With the density of trees, it was becoming darker and darker the further she walked. The sea of trees was becoming more and more foreboding. And then, like the sun peeking through, Arlina heard the sounds of laughter. She nearly sighed with relief, quickening her pace as she hurried toward the sound.

She came to another bright clearing, long oak desks and all sorts of chairs scattered about seemingly randomly. There were four people, each at their own desk, drinking out of what looked like helmets that belonged to suits of armor.

"Oh!" Arlina cried, surprised. "Mr. Helmet, are you here?" She called, hurrying closer.

She caught the attention of the four strangers, who glanced up with looks of interested curiosity. A tall dark haired man bounced upward, leaping onto the large brown lounge chair in front of her, causing it to flip backwards. Arlina jumped, stumbling back, losing her footing and falling hard on her behind. She stared up at the man with wide eyes. He was wearing a strange raggedy blue trench coat with different colored patches sewed onto it, and a dusty top hat which sat crookedly on top of his jet black hair. Circling the base of the hat were a line of matches, which Arlina thought was odd. He stared down at her, dark eyes gleaming.

"What's a pretty place like you doing in a strange girl like this?" He demanded, standing on the back of the chair like it was a perfectly normal thing to do.

"Are… are you calling me strange?" Arlina asked, swaying as she stood, dusting off her dress. She frowned up at the man. He was the strange one!

The man grinned at her, stepping off the end of the chair to stand in front of the uneasy teen. The chair sprang upward all by itself, though Arlina supposed it would. It was that sort of place.

"You need to lighten up," the Hat Man said, swiping a match from his hat. He struck it again the top of the chair, lighting the match. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled a cracked tea cup out of his sleeve and tossed the match into it. "Have a cup of fire, it'll cool you down!"

"It might give her heartburn," another voice called, and Arlina, staring at the burning cup unhappily, turned her head. The speaker was a blonde haired man with three hats on top of his head, each smaller than the last. They sat in between his yellow rabbit ears that bent at the middle, flopping over. He had a lollypop stick in his mouth and waved at Arlina as though they were old friends.

Across from him was a dark haired man with two monocles over one eye. He grinned widely at Arlina, brown dog ears poking out of his hair.

To the desk next to him sat a quiet blonde woman, her hair back in a bun, sipping from a helmet who may or may not be Mr. Helmet. Arlina would have thought she was the most normal person she'd come across, if it wasn't for the large brown wings tucked at the woman's sides.

Arlina turned back to Hat Man, who was now drinking from the flaming cup. "This doesn't make any sense!" She announced, raising her hands upward to make her point.

"Have you tried making dollars out of the cents?" The Monocle Dog asked sounding serious and Arlina sighed. There was no point in arguing their insanity.

"Are you having a tea party?" She asked, instead, and the Hat Man draped an arm around her shoulders.

"We're having a serious business meeting!" Hat Man pushed her into a chair, Arlina giving a yelp of surprise, as a desk from the middle of the cluster slid in front of her. "Join us, Strange Place." Arlina didn't bother correcting him.

"What sort of serious business meeting?" Arlina wondered and Hat Bunny slapped his hand against his desk, easily dodging a helmet thrown at him by Monocle Dog.

"That is exactly what we are here discussing!" He said with a happy smile.

"Maybe you can have a serious business meeting about how I can get home," Arlina suggested hopefully but Hat Man, Hat Bunny and Monocle Dog merely laughed at her, as though she had told a very humorous joke.

"Is she wearing red heels?" Monocle Dog asked Hat Man. He shook his head.

"She doesn't really want to go home." Hat Man said with a sigh.

"Well, her proposal makes no dollars!" Hat Bunny said with a huff, turning to look at Arlina who had been watching their exchange with a frown. She didn't like it when people spoke about her as though she wasn't there. "Give us something else, Pretty Place."

"Well… Maybe you can have a serious business meeting about how I can find and save Alphonse." It was worth a try, Arlina decided, and maybe she could trick them into helping her somehow.

"Don't you get involved with that Red Rabbit's business," Hat Man said sternly, shaking a long carrot at her.

"Aw, I like the Red Rabbit." Monocle Dog said, Hat Bunny nodding his head in agreement. "Have you spoken to the Cat?"

"He doesn't help me much," Arlina said sourly. "He just confuses me."

"You haven't been listening." Hat Man said with a grin. "You should listen more."

"I am listening!" Arlina snapped. "But nothing makes dollars to me! You're strange!"

"You're strange," Monocle Dog sang cheerfully. "We're all mad here. If you want to be happy, then you need to want to be happy."

Arlina wanted to say that she only wanted to return home, but she felt tired. She was only going to talk in circles.

"That Cat just wants to live where soul meets body." The Hawk said quietly, pouring more tea into the helmet and Arlina stared at her, puzzled.

She didn't understand what the Hawk meant. What a strange thing to say! Arlina sat back, watching the four of them drink from helmets, and the bizarre object throwing game both Monocle Dog and Hat Bunny seemed to be involved in. Arlina thought it looked rather dangerous. They seemed to have forgotten she was sitting there all together, and Arlina didn't like being ignored or sit in silence.

"Aren't you going to ask me why a raven is like a writing desk?" Arlina questioned after a few minutes of silence had ticked by.

Monocle Dog, Hat Bunny and Hat Man gave Arlina various looks of confusion. They glanced at one another.

"Now that's mad," Hat Man said, turning back to Arlina who blushed, annoyed by them. "Why would I ask you that?"

"Because we're at a tea party?" Arlina wasn't sure why, the thought had just come to her! And now they were staring at her like she was the crazy one!

"I've never heard that riddle before," Hat Bunny said happily, looking delighted. "What's the answer?"

"Yes!" Monocle Dog raised his helmet as though to toast Arlina. "What's the answer?"

Embarrassed, Arlina shifted in the seat uncomfortably. "I… I don't know." She confessed.

"You can't ride either to Central." The Hawk said calmly, bringing the helmet to her lips. Arlina eyed her curiously.

"Sounds about right!" Hat Man agreed.

"Central? Is that where I'll find Alphonse?" Arlina blurted out, curiously.

"Alphonse?" Hat Bunny frowned at her. "I thought you wanted to get unlost." Arlina wasn't sure how he knew that, though she supposed wanting to go home meant becoming unlost.

"Well…" She shifted, awkwardly. "I have to find Alphonse first." A flash of red caught her eye and she stood abruptly, turning completely. "Red Rabbit!" She cried, climbing over the desk and chasing after him. "Red Rabbit, wait!"

She followed after him, back into the thick sea of trees, his red coat always turning a corner and she always three steps behind. She ran until her chest felt tight and her body protested.

And then she nearly ran face first into a giant rock wall. Stumbling backwards, her heart hammering in her chest, Arlina stared up at the wall with round dark eyes. A sick fear twisted inside her gut, like she was staring at something she'd only seen in a horrible nightmare. But she was sure she'd never seen it before. She stepped closer, eyes trailing over the writing, and what looked like a tree sketched into it. Her fingers hovered over the it, eyes on the slit that ran up it. Was this… a door? Would this lead her back home?

"Arlina."

She jumped and spun around, wide eyed, staring uncertainly at the Red Rabbit who stared back at her. Gold eyes grim and full of pity, full of guilt. Her heart beat sped up, a sense of dread prickling.

"Why are you sad?" She asked quietly. "I'm trying to find Alphonse like you asked."

He moved closer, his white paws gently resting on her arms. Only, she realized numbly, they weren't at all paws but white gloves.

"Arlina," the Red Rabbit repeated her name, oh so very sadly, and panic struck her. Something was wrong!

"No, we haven't run out of time! Your watch must be broken!" She was scrambling, an unknown fear nearly choking her. "I need more time, I can find him!"

He smiled. Sadly.

"Arl, save my brother." The Red Rabbit's voice was soft, a coo, but it sounded like angry shouting to her. "You're the only one who can."

"You're not listening to me!" Arlina cried, hysteria rising. "I can't do anything! I need help! Please!"

"Arl, save my brother. Save Al." The Red Rabbit repeated, his words like a slap across her face.

"Stop saying that! Stop it! I don't understand! Tell me how!" Her words were becoming choked, his image blurring as tears stung her eyes. She knew without really knowing, but something horrible was coming for her. She hated him for looking at her so sadly. His paws—hands—slid to her shoulders and with a sharp tug he pulled the shaking teen forward, hugging her tightly. Arlina sucked in a breath, going rigid.

"Don't be afraid, Arlina, don't be afraid." He whispered, pulling back, eyes sad and she stared back at him, her dark eyes wide with fear, a sense of hurt betrayal flaring across her face.

"I trusted you." She whispered and he turned away, closing his eyes as though he could not bear to look at her.

The door—the gate—creaked open behind her and before she could even turn to look, black snakes shot out, tightly curling around every inch of her. Arlina released a strangled scream, fear exploding as they jerked her backwards. Tears fell, as suffocating blackness swarmed.

"Jonathan!" She begged, pleaded, sobbing hopelessly into the blackness. "Jonathan, please! Please Jonathan! Save me! Save me! Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan! JONATHAN!" Her screams were being swallowed by the blackness, no matter how loud she cried, sobbed, begged, it seemed to become blacker and blacker.

A terror Arlina had never known before ruptured, breaking her in half, as a single, large, eye opened, staring straight into her, and a scream ripped from her throat.


When I posted the last chapter, I was rushed out the door to go to my bifflecake's mom's house for dinner. And they set mashed potatoes right down in front of me. It was a OHSNAP moment. ARE YOU READING MY FANFICTION?!

Oh man! So much to talk about! I hope you guys don't mind these mega author notes at the end of the chapters, I just love you guys and I think what you have to say is extremely important, and while I could just pm you instead I feel like everyone would like to know whaaats goin oooon. IF NOT, GUYS TELL ME AND I'LL STOP. Also if you felt like Arlina was a little OOC in this chapter, yeah I know! There was no way I could write her first person, where all her charm really comes from. And if this was happening in "real life" she would have reacted to a lot of the situations waaay differently. However, it's a dream, and dreams are weird like that.

Also, wondering, in the beginning of next chapter, would you like something from Roy's point of view? Like his reaction to getting a phone call that some crazy drunk girl called Eastern HQ claiming to be his daughter and that Havoc is dead?

The first few things that MUST be addressed. My reasons for having Al curse, a few of you have really interesting inputs about the pairings, and Alexander!

For Alexander, I honestly forgot that was Nina's dog's name! I was thinking, what's a great name for a Great Dane? ALEXANDER. IT'S POWERFUL AND GREAT! Sorry for any of the confusion!

FreeWeirdGal and Iliketosmile have brought up some FANTASTIC points about the pairings. The intended eventual pairings would be either Ed or Al with Arlina, buuuut what you guys brought up really had me thinking. Who else could I pair Arlina up with? HAVOC. *shoves them together* shhh just kiss. But. No. If we're sticking to her age group (realistically Roy would probably kill anyone who was older) there's Ling and then there's Winry. And then I sort of imagined Winry and Arlina just skipping off into the sunset with Ed watching them like "Wtf". As for right now, both Al and Ed have taken up brotherly roles because that is what Arlina needs right now. And later on that could provide some fun angst. "I'M SUPPOSED TO HAVE BROTHERLY FEELS I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON!" AHAHA. No, but, we'll see how it goes, yeah? And I can PROMISE YOU that there will NEVER be ANY kind of love triangle. Al and Ed's bond is unbreakable and nobody can ever come between them. They will always be the most important person to each other.

Now about Al swearing. I love you guys and I always encourage you to tell me how you feel about something, and I'm glad you guys did! In my mind, Ed and Arlina are totally in the bag, like so messed up, it's really freakin' annoying. Like it was three times worse than Arlina's drugged out perception of things. And here's Ed just going on and on, drunkenly, about how Al might hate him and he's a horrible brother, and Al's growing more and more impatient, telling him he's wrong but Ed's completely ignoring him. Annoying drunks can make anyone snap. But then I got to thinking, ohhh man, you guys are right. Sooo, I went to Burger King with my bifflecake, because that's where I like to talk about plot. And I explained and he basically told me off. GUYS I'M SORRY! It will NOT happen again! I promise! And keep it up, if you see something and you're like "NOPE" let me know!

DXRough, I'm still laughing at that review. Yeees. YEEES.

Ducky9002, once they remember it, oh yeaaah, it's totally gonna be one of those things! EDLINA IS ADORABLE!

Summerhazel, I FREAKIN LOVE BAGEL BITES and be careful! Also, thaaank you :D

Explosive Little Lavender, AHAHAHA, it will happen again!

YourSecretStalker, THAAANKIE! And of course I will! Our meeting was written in the stars.

LeFay Strent, GET YO CUTE SELF IN HEER. We can live in a this chocolate, cookie, pocky house 2GETHR~ You always seem to fuel more ideas to add to the next chapter, and I really adore you for that! :D AND your reviews are like long letters. Letters in which you are using to woo me with. AND I HAVE BEEN WOOED. I was wondering if Roselleshinigami and LiselotteandAlice could get in on this steamy love affair? We can have a love party inside the sugary shack. Also. UM. I JUST asked my friend where she gets the pictures. I can draw a pretty rad stick figure, but that's about it. I asked her to find me female Roy/a girl who looks like Roy and holy crap. I don't think you want to know. I don't think ANYone would want to know. I spent twenty minutes straight laughing, I'm 867 percent done with life. If you really wanna know, I'll pm you. You're either going to laugh really hard, or be horrified. Not sure which.

That author named Lexi, NO SHHH I LOVED YOUR REVIEW IT WAS FANTASTIC! I loved your input and the whole thing about the silent troll! And of course you do, here, have some of this sugar with me! Extra sugary goodness for reviewing in the middle of the night! Forever hugs on your furret Fiore!

JackieOh, your review made me seriously happy and I HAVEN'T ABANDONED STINESSA GOODNESS! Juuust wanted to let you know.

Illovebooks, HA! Oh man, I was pretty freaked out when I was served mashed potatoes too! Also, no, Scooby is just some dog. I'm sorry for the confusion!

Roselleshinigami, nuuuu babi nuuuu. You know I love you hardcore. YOU KNOW. And if LeFay Strent is cool with it we can all be married. And live in a sugary shack filled with SUUUUGAAAAR. DOCTOR GET YOUR SASSY BUTT BACK HERE! PFFT AHAHA, and I WILL! That totally sounds like something she'd say. "BUT ROY, THE POTATOES! THEY'RE EVIIIILZ." Ed all dressed up in yours too? Great minds think alike! I am so sorry about the Al thing, and I love you for pointing that out to me! ;D and hell yeah I'll meet you there. IT'S GONNA BE A PARTY!

Airix Ixief, OH MY GOD I'M SORRY! I HOPE YOU DID ALRIGHT!

Iliketosmile, thanks for the input and OF COURSE! I'll make sure he gets more scenes with all the insanity!

NoticemeWitherysenpai, NO. Well. Maybe.

UltimateOtakuGirl100, ah yes, good. Join us in the asylum, we've got sugary goodness and party things in room 27.

FreeWeirdGal, Yes! Soon, actually, Arlina is going to overcome her phobia. She's a little traumatized but she'll stop puking every time she sees alchemy. Even though that makes me laugh reaaaally hard. She's never going to really LIKE alchemy though. And yes, when they get to Central is going to begin the canon plot. Well, I'm going to attempt to keep it as canon as possible. And yeaaaah, there's gonna be some pretty dark chapters in the future. At least, I hope I can pull that off!

LiselotteandAlice, I woke up to my roommate screaming about pudding in the tub. Yeeeees. You are AWESOME. If my fiancee is cool with it, YES! We can all be married! But I gotta consider her feelings, you know how it is. :D I ALSO love your idea! And I know exactly how to fit that in! And I love yooou!

Poptart-Hero, we're having a party in the asylum where we can all laugh like crazy people. YOU ARE INVITED MY FRIEND!

SO A SUPER, SUPER, FREAKIN FANTASTIC THANK YOU TO THE MOST AMAZING REVIEWERS OF ALL TIME, Poptart-Hero, EeveeAlchemist, LiselotteandAlice, UltimateOtakuGirl100, CacklingBlasphemy, NoticemeWitherysenpai, Iliketosmile, Mara Gin, Airix Ixief, Roselleshinigami, Illovebooks, That author named Lexi, Azumi Takagi, FreeWeirdGal, BlueRoseRabbit, LeFay Strent, Sinnel, Kashagal and Natures Ruler, Guest, YourSecretStalker, hello-totoro-ninja, Explosive Little Lavender, RetroMonkey, X-Feli-Chan-X, Vic 'Cody' Seville, Summerhazel, SilverStar56 JackieOh, Ducky9002, Fiore-the-Dragoness, DXRough!

A huge thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed and especially all my silent readers! You guys are freakin' fantastic and your support really means everything to me!