12. Enchantress

I sighed and thumped my head against the table. I vowed silently to myself that someday I would find a way to pay Al back, if it was the last thing I did. He was a monster.

Once Rebecca and I had gotten back from the Colonel Farts-a-lot, Rebecca had summed up what had gone on, including the part of me needing a stupid report written before I saw Mustang the next day. Alphonse had laughed and told Rebecca the best way for me to get anything done was if I was left to my own devices for a few hours.

So the two of them dragged me off to the library, dumped me there, and went off to lunch. Without me.

The longer I stayed in the library staring at the three pathetic paragraphs I had written, the hungrier I got. Al had taken my wallet with him, but I still had my pocket watch. I was tempted to go out to the first restaurant I saw and use the watch to charge all my food to a bill.

I hated written reports. I really did.

I got up from table with a groan. All my joints felt stiff, especially the automail ones. I figured I needed to oil them soon so they'd move smoothly again, rather than creaking every time I moved.

I left my papers at the desk and started walking around the library, figuring I needed the exercise. Hopefully when I got back to my pen I'd have more of an idea what to write.

I wandered aimlessly among the bookshelves, looking for nothing in particular, and picking up whatever looked interesting. I'd read two lines of an alchemy book I could remember from Teacher's house when a sudden thought struck me. I placed the book back in its place on the shelf and hurried up to the area where I knew the information desk was. I hadn't had much need to use it before; I probably knew the alchemy section better than the librarian.

But for once, it wasn't an alchemy book I was interested in.

"Excuse me," I said quickly when I reached the woman behind the counter. She looked up at me curiously. "Do you have any books with a girl named Rebecca Jacobson in them?"

It seemed like a fair enough question. If there was a book about my life in her world, what was to say there wasn't one about hers in mine?

"I think I've heard of those books, but we wouldn't have them here," the librarian said. "The Life and Times of Rebecca. We only have a few fiction books here, and they're the most well known ones. Those books weren't all that popular."

If it was the same Rebecca I knew, why not? I thought that any book with her in it had to be excellent. Who wouldn't like it?

I thanked the woman and hurried out of the library, leaving behind my three silly paragraphs. They were crap anyway; it was no real loss to have them recycled by one of the librarians.

The air outside had turned brisk compared to the summer air I was used to. It was definitely fall. I pulled my red jacket back on and ran down the street, entering the first bookshop I saw.

It was a small, cozy place. The light of the store was a bit on the dim side, but it created a nice environment. I glanced around the store and hurried to find the shopkeeper.

I found him only a few minutes later, by bumping directly into him. He was an older man, with tufts of gray hair and a stoop to his posture. A pile of books fell from his arms onto the floor from my impact, and I hurried to pick them up.

"I'm looking for a book called 'The Life and Times of Rebecca,'" I said quickly as I stacked the books. "Do you have it?"

"In a hurry, young man?" the shopkeeper laughed, a rather grisly sound.

"It's… It's a very important book," I stammered, hoping I was just imagining the flaming feeling on my cheeks. "I need to find it."

"I keep the science-fiction books back here," the man laughed, motioning for me to follow him. "Follow me, young man." I kept pace behind the man easily, glancing curiously at the books around me.

"Science-fiction?" I asked as he led me to a small corner I the back of the shop.

"I suppose you haven't actually read the book, then," the shopkeeper said, glancing over his shoulder at me. "It's about a girl leading a normal life years into the future. 2000-something, I believe." He then bent down, running his fingers over the spines of the books. "Which one of the series would you like?"

"How many are there?" I asked, my voice feeling hoarse. Could I really find out what it was like to live in Rebecca's time and world 90-something years into the future?

"Five."

"Then I'd like all five," I said easily. The shopkeeper slid out a stack of books and handed them to me with a smile. I thanked him and got him to bill the cost to me at Central, using my watch as identification. I soon found myself back out on the streets of Central, wondering what had led me to buy a stack of novels that might not even be related to the girl I knew.

I sighed and decided that the next order of business would be to find something to eat, considering the upset complaining of my stomach. If I was going to have Al get mad with me for leaving the library without finishing my report, I was at least going to do all I could outside of the library.

I went to a small restaurant that I usually visited when I was in Central. The waiters and waitresses were nice enough; some of them were even willing to talk about alchemy with me from time to time if they had a spare moment. And the cooking was excellent.

"Hey, Edward. Just went book-shopping?" a familiar tan-haired boy grinned at me as I entered the restaurant. He had been the first waiter I made friends with. Something about him reminded me of Al, and we very easily struck up a friendship.

"Hi Tom," I smiled back. "Yeah. I'd kinda like to sit down and read a bit."

"No problem. You know where your table is, right?"

"Yeah. I'll be having the usual."

"Sure thing," Thomas laughed.

I went to a corner of the restaurant where there was a small table with two chairs and a light hanging above it. The table had gotten to be known as "my" table when I was in Central. Usually when I visited, I had books in hand, and the small table had the best lighting of the room.

I settled into the wooden chair and picked up the first of the five books.

After only one chapter, I knew the Rebecca in the book was the same as the Rebecca I knew. Not only was she described the same way, but she also talked and behaved the same way, down to the lip biting and nervous fidgeting. I looked up from the book, and noticed that a plate of spaghetti had been placed in front of me while I had been reading.

I picked up the fork and took a bite. Thankfully the spaghetti hadn't been sitting there too long, it still had a bit of a warm tinge to it rather than being stone cold. I had been known to leave the spaghetti untouched that long before when I had an engrossing book.

I turned back to the book and finished a couple more chapters while eating my lunch.

"Good book?" Thomas asked, and I looked up to see him pull off his apron and sit in the chair across from me.

"Just… interesting," I answered vaguely. The truth was, I knew why the book wasn't so popular. The writer had Rebecca down to a tee and wasn't terribly awful (but not terribly good either) but the story seemed completely unbelievable. I would have never believed that all the things in Rebecca's world could exist if I hadn't met her.

No alchemy, strange flying machines and things called "computers." They seemed like ridiculous rantings of a crazy writer that needed medical help. But it had to be true. I had met Rebecca myself.

"So… word on the street is that you finally got a girlfriend, Ed."

"What?!" I dropped my fork and stared at Thomas bewilderedly.

"Relax, Ed," Thomas laughed, leaning back in his chair. "Melanie was just saying that she thought she saw you carrying a girl bridal-style off the train last night."

"She's not my girlfriend," I mumbled, my eyes flicking back to the book briefly. "Al and I met her a week ago. We're just helping her out."

"Are you friends?"

"Yeah," I said slowly, not liking how the conversation was going. Thomas had a good way of backing me into corners.

"Is she hot?"

"I- W-Why does that matter?" I stammered, feeling my cheeks flame for the second time that day.

"So she's your friend and you think she's hot, but you're not dating," Thomas mused. "So… You'd like to be dating her."

"What?! What the hell makes you say that?" I said, jerking in my seat. How he always managed to figure things like that out, I had no idea. It was just one more quality of Thomas that reminded me of Al.

"Well," Thomas grinned and poked his head under the table for a second before poking back up. "I'd say it's kind of obvious from how happy your little friend is." I let out a stream of curse words directed towards Thomas while crossing my legs quickly.

"So why can't you ask her out?" Thomas said once I had managed to calm down. I groaned and closed my eyes.

"I'm a state alchemist. She could be killed if she dated me," I sighed, closing my book. It was obvious I wouldn't get to read any more of it as long as Thomas was hanging around.

"Or she might say no."

"Yeah— I mean, no! That's not it!" I said quickly, waving my hands back and forth.

"You're just going to be miserable if you keep rejecting your little friend his joy," Thomas grinned.

"LITTLE?!" I screeched, leaping to my feet. Couldn't the guy leave me just a bit of dignity?

"Okay, average-sized friend," Thomas shrugged nonchalantly. "Either way, you're keeping him from his one true happiness, and it's just going to make you miserable in the process."

"It's for the best," I muttered, slouching back into my chair. Deep down, I knew that he was right. I had only been through a few days of taming my thoughts around Rebecca, and already I was depressed.

"If you say so," Thomas shrugged and got up from his chair, tying his apron back on. "It's your life." He then turned and headed back to the kitchen, leaving me with my stack of books and an empty plate of spaghetti.

I couldn't ever ask Rebecca out, not in any way shape or form. That would be too dangerous for her, I couldn't ask her to take that risk. And what if she said no and I couldn't even hang around her as a friend anymore? That'd be even more hard to deal with than not being able to ever take her into my arms and kiss her senseless.

Besides, it was just a bit of stupid attraction; it wasn't like I was madly in love with her or anything.

I stood up from the table, grabbing my books. Usually I just left a tip and let them bill me, but since I didn't have any money, the tip would have to wait until the next time. Thomas would understand. Besides, he was so annoying, he deserved to wait a week or so on his tip.

I sighed and headed back to the library to work on my report and wait for Rebecca and Al to come find me.


By the time Rebecca and Al came to me in the library, I had managed to finish my report—crappy as it was—and had settled down to read more of the books about Rebecca. Even though the author wasn't that great, I found myself fascinated by all the different things that I knew had to exist in Rebecca's world.

"What are you reading, Brother?" I heard a voice above me ask innocently. I slammed the book shut and looked up.

"Nothing important," I said quickly. "Just a science fiction novel I picked up." I figured I'd wait until I could talk to Al alone to tell him that Rebecca had a whole series of books written about her life.

"Did you finish your report?" Al asked as I stood up and stretched my arms. It surprised me how sore I had managed to get in only a couple hours.

"Yeah, it's done," I sighed. Sometimes Al fell too easily into the role of a parent between us. It got a bit annoying from time to time.

I glanced over at Rebecca beside Al. She was fidgeting with her hands and looking down at the ground instead of at me. And somehow, just looking at her felt so much different from when I hadn't read the books about her life. Like how when I looked at her, I knew her hair was too short to pull into a ponytail, but her hair had reached down to her waist when she was in her early teen years.

Hair that long sure would be fun to play wit—

I shook my head to clear it and pulled my stack of books off the table.

"Okay, let's go," I said, looking at Al instead of Rebecca. It was easier to just keep talking with the brother I had known for years and who hadn't ever made my mind continuously trip into the gutter. I had thought about things like that with other girls before Rebecca, but hanging around her so long made it so I felt like the only thing my mind was capable of was dirty thoughts.

As long as I didn't focus on her too much, my mind wouldn't fall into the gutter too often, right?

I sighed and tried to relax my shoulders as the three of us walked back out into the brisk fall air. I had managed to get halfway through the first of the Rebecca Chronicles in the time at the library, and I couldn't seem to get the information to go to the back of my head so I could focus on something other than Rebecca.

There was so much in the book that had piqued my curiosity.

"Are lilies of the valley really your favorite flower?" I blurted out before I could help myself. I groaned and closed my eyes.

It annoyed me enough that I couldn't stop myself from asking a question, but it had to be such a stupid question as well. It could be something about how computers really worked, or how they managed to do so much without alchemy. No. It had to be about lilies of the freaking valley.

"Uh… yeah," Rebecca said slowly, looking up at me. "How… How did you know that?" I blanched. I had to think up something, quick.

"I-I just had a gut feeling and I wanted to know if I was right," I said quickly. I knew Al knew me well enough to know better than to fall for an excuse like that, but I was hoping it'd be enough for Rebecca.

"…Okay."

We were all silent again, though I could feel more questions tugging at my tongue, begging to come out and make themselves known. But I wasn't ready to show Rebecca a book about her life either. I wasn't even entirely sure why, I just knew I didn't want to.

The street suddenly seemed so cold, so looming as we all walked in silence. I sighed and pulled the stack of books tightly against my body. Somehow, being close to a stack of books about Rebecca almost managed to make up for not being able to get so close to Rebecca. Slightly. Not that much, but a little, at least.

It felt like an eternity before we managed to get back to the barracks. I was surprised that even Al hadn't tried to say anything during the long walk home, but I didn't think much of it and was simply grateful for the chance to lay on the bed, kick my shoes off, and keep reading more about Rebecca's life.

I didn't know why, but I had an undeniable urge to learn all I could about her. Something about the books pulled me in and kept me there, even though I kept telling myself the writing wasn't all that great. It was more the fact of how the writer had captured Rebecca so perfectly, how I could see her personality shining through the pages. It was like the book could make up for not being able to spend time with the real Rebecca.

I knew I was enchanted, I couldn't deny it.

I just didn't know how to fix it. It wasn't supposed to happen to me. I wasn't supposed to fall head over heels for a girl I was traveling with. I had to keep focused on my goal. There wasn't supposed to be any fun—romance included—until Al and I had gotten our bodies back.

I sighed and flopped belly-first onto the bed. I felt worn out from the day. Waking up at six just to visit Colonel Bastard certainly hadn't done me any favors, and I was beginning to feel it. I was getting sore, and it was barely past noon.

I kicked off my books and prepared to open the book to the page I left off on when a sudden voice interrupted me.

"What's that?"

"Nothing!" I said quickly, slamming the book shut. So much for that plan. I'd have to find something else to do while Rebecca was around.

"Why are you hiding it?" She persisted, craning her neck to try and read the title on the cover. I slammed my hand on top of the book and grinned sheepishly at Rebecca.

"I'm not hiding it!" I said quickly.

"Then why don't you let me read it?" Rebecca grinned, dancing around me. "I like reading books too, you know." I heard Al snicker from his position across the room. I scowled and stuck my tongue out at him. He wasn't the one dealing with a crazy girl trying to read a book about her life story.

I grinned at Rebecca again before sitting directly on top of the stack of books. They swayed slightly under my weight and the cushy surface of the bed, but I put my feet out and steadied myself.

"Come on, let me see," Rebecca whined, leaning in towards me to try and grab the book. I shook my head stubbornly with a grin, enjoying the game. True, losing meant she would discover the story that was in the books, but I didn't care.

And besides, I wasn't going to lose anyway.

"Not gonna let you read them," I said in a singsong voice, getting rewarded with a huff from Rebecca and her grabbing for the books once more. I pushed her away a few inches, still grinning at her. It was strangely fun, though my mind had a bad habit of flicking back to thoughts about the soft skin of her arm.

"Ed, you're not playing fair," Rebecca whined, latching both hands onto my arm. I grinned innocently at her and pushed her backwards gently, only intending to show her I wasn't going down without a fight.

But something went wrong, and instead I ended up losing my balance.

The books shifted under me, making me slip and fall backward. Rebecca, holding onto my arm ended up being dragged down with me into a flurry of pages, bed sheets, and hair. It was a mess. I gasped for a breath before realizing just how exactly we had managed to fall.

Oh, crap.

Rebecca had fallen directly on top of me, her chest pressed against mine and her nose buried in my neck. My mind kicked into overdrive, seeming grateful that I was finally managing to act the way nature had intended. Attraction led to babies; that was the way it was supposed to go. Survival of the species and all.

I yelped and jolted up into a sitting position as the thoughts all crowded into my head at once. Rebecca squeaked when she realized what happened and jumped about a foot away from me.

I felt like I had suddenly been stabbed. She didn't want to be close to me? She wanted to get as far away as she could. Not like I blamed her, but it stung, all the same.

My mind didn't even consider the fact that I had been the first one to yelp and change the position.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Rebecca said in one breath. I pushed myself off the bed and winced. One of the books had dug into my already sore spine and made it feel even worse than before. I glanced down at the books on the bed and sighed. It looked like a mess. Some of them would end up with eternally ruffled pages from the encounter. Not like it mattered too much, I wasn't trying to keep the set in prima condition. I sighed and turned to address Rebecca again.

"It's not your fault," I said, rubbing at my backside. "I grabbed at you when I was unsteady."

"No, but—"

"Ray, just forget about it, okay?" I snapped back.

Besides, it wasn't like it mattered that much when she obviously couldn't stand being so close to me.

"I'm sorry," Rebecca said again, her voice creeping down to a whisper. I sighed and ran a hand through my bangs. It was hard to think clearly when I was not only stung from her jumping away from me, but confused by all the perverted thoughts that had entered my mind simply from her falling on top of me.

Just a simple attraction. That was all. It happened all the time. A guy could feel attracted to nearly any girl out there. It was no big deal.

Right?

"Forget about it," I muttered, looking down at the ground. Anywhere but into those blue eyes. "Read the damn books for all I care."

Then, despite Al saying who knows what to me, I headed for the bathroom and slammed the door behind me.

I slid down against the wall into a crouching position, cradling my head in my hands. What the hell was wrong with me? I had been attracted to girls before, but it had always been easy enough to ignore, to brush off and forget about. Rebecca was throwing everything off. Was it because I was around her all the time?

But how could I not be around her all the time?

I sighed and tugged on my braid.

Enchantress. Enchantress, enchantress, enchantress.

I was going mad. That had to be it. Or maybe Rebecca was making me act so differently because of her powers. She could just keep wishing for me to act a certain way, and I would. She could even get me to stab Al's blood rune right through if she wanted to.

Maybe none of my thoughts were my own. Maybe she had put them there. Maybe that was why I felt like was going insane every time I looked at her.

I sighed and banged my head against the back of the wall. Just thinking "Hey, that girl's pretty" had never been so damn complicated before. Life had never managed to pull my feet out and trip me up over just a couple boobs this badly before. Sure, I had stumbled before, but not like with Rebecca. Just one thought could set me off so badly with her. It was suddenly so different, so new.

Suddenly it all just mattered.

What she thought of me, how she treated me, when she actually talked to me, what she said when she talked to me… I couldn't go for any length of time without wondering what she was thinking.

…Either that, or I was wondering how to properly take off a bra.

Enchantress.

But I knew I wouldn't have her any other way. Despite the fact that I was completely tangled up in confused emotions, I wouldn't trade it for not knowing her.

Why was she so different?

I sighed again and looked up at the light on the ceiling on the bathroom. I didn't know why she was different, I just knew it was the most important thing in the world that she was. Even if it made me acting like a stupid, babbling idiot.

I groaned and curled into the fetal position, not that it helped. Much.


I walked stiffly into Colonel Bastard's office the next morning. I hadn't managed to get much sleep, especially added to the fact that I had slept on the floor, yet again. I hadn't talked much to Al or Rebecca either, though I had seen Al clutching the first book of the Rebecca Chronicles and flipping through the pages when he thought I was asleep.

"Here's your damned report," I muttered, slamming the paper onto the Colonel's desk irritably. "Now give me my assignment and let me get the hell out of here."

"Not so fast," he smirked, maddeningly. I groaned and drummed my fingers against the desk. "I want to talk to you about this Jacobson girl you brought here yesterday."

"What about her?" I said, wondering what on earth Colonel Jerk would mean by that. If he asked if she was available, I swore to myself that I'd punch him in the face. Even if it got me discharged.

"Fullmetal, while it's nice to finally see you associating with the opposite gender, I don't think this girl is to be trusted," Mustang said, lowering his voice so only I could hear it. Everyone else in the office was a snooping pest, except for Liza.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, frowning at him. It had to be some sort of trick. He thought I was dating her, so he'd lure me away from her and then he'd pull her in like a fish on a string. There was no way he'd manage to get me away though. If I couldn't stop myself from going mad and hanging around Rebecca, he sure as hell wouldn't be able to. Even if I didn't like her, I might hang around her just to make him mad I wasn't listening to him.

"I spoke to a girl named Rebecca Jacobson on the phone a few days ago," Mustang said, and I frowned. For once, he actually looked genuinely concerned. Maybe he was telling the truth.

But he couldn't be. No.

"There's never been any record of any Rebecca Jacobson, especially in the military records," Roy said harshly. I nearly laughed. Duh, of course there were no records, she was from another world.

"And she knew all sorts of things that normal people shouldn't," Mustang continued in a hushed tone. "She even knew how Hughes died."

Again, made sense. She knew things that other people would probably never be able to find out because of that book in her world. I knew how that worked; I had even done the same with her and read about her life.

"And she kept asking about you and Alphonse," Roy said. "I was concerned, so I asked around town. There's only one Rebecca Jacobson that people have heard of, and she's a character in a cheesy science fiction novel."

I glared at him and leaned on the desk. I knew what book he was talking about, and I knew he was wrong. Rebecca was from another world, plain and simple. That was why she could get anything she wished for. That was why she knew so much about me and Al. That was why I was going insane.

"I don't believe you," I said stubbornly, bracing my feet apart. Even a simple action like changing my physical position made me feel slightly more confident than I already was.

"Then you're dead," Mustang growled, abruptly pushing out of his chair and standing up to glare down at me. I crossed my arms across my chest and glared right back. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me. And I sure wasn't going to let him convince me that Rebecca wasn't really from another world.

"She's stringing you along," Mustang growled, but I held firm. "She's using the name of a fictional character, for pete's sake, Fullmetal! She's just pretending to like you, and then she'll swoop in and take everything you own. And kill you so you won't tell anyone else about her!"

"Dark, aren't we?" I barked in a half-laugh. Mustang's scowled deepened and he slammed his hands on the desk.

"I trust Rebecca," I said firmly before he could slip in anything else. "Neither of us told you the full story when she was here, and I don't intend to. She's not stringing me along. She's not going to murder me."

Shit, I really was losing it.

I nearly lost my cool at the thought, but I stayed firm and stared Mustang in the eye. Even if I was wrong, I was going to tell him he didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

"She asked about you specifically, and now she's hanging around you," Mustang pressed. The thought suddenly occurred to me that he wasn't called the flame alchemist just for his alchemy, but also for the mad look in his eyes as well. It looked like raw fire at its wildest.

"The girl's not to be trusted," he continued, but I held my ground. "You're a State Alchemist, Edward, you can't seriously believe that no one will be out for your blood?"

"I. Trust. Her," I growled through clenched teeth. "I can't explain why, but I do. Even if it is illogical and stupid. Even if it does end up leading to my death. If that's what the price is to know her for even a small amount of time, then so be it."

Yep, I'd lost it. And Mustang seemed to agree.

"Get a grip, Edward!" he yelled, bending down so he was only an inch away from my face. I winced, but composed myself quickly and stared at him coldly. "She's just using you! You're not thinking properly! The Edward I know wouldn't start acting like this over just one girl!"

The Edward I knew wouldn't be acting like that over just one girl either.

I didn't know who he thought he was, but all I felt was raw rage burning in my chest at him outright insulting Rebecca and calling her a liar. I said I trusted her, and it was my life to do with as I pleased. Even if she was who he claimed she was, wasn't it my choice whether or not to act on that?

"Two words," I muttered, keeping eye contact with Mustang.

"Screw. You." I said decisively before storming out of the office. I slammed the door loudly behind me and leaned against the wall with a heavy sigh.

I was insane. Completely and utterly insane. I knew I wasn't acting like myself. I wouldn't normally storm into Mustang's office and defend a girl I had known for only a week. Even if I found her attractive, I knew I would have normally agreed with Mustang—even though I wouldn't like it—and gotten rid of Rebecca as quickly as I could.

I ran my hand through my bangs. Why had I defended her so forcefully, anyway? Was that because Rebecca had wished I would defend her like that, or did I actually want to defend her like that myself?

I thought back to since I had first met Rebecca, and I found myself questioning every emotion, every fleeting thought. If she ever wanted me to think something, I would. If she wanted me to feel something, I would. Maybe it'd disappear once she left. Maybe I'd feel that way forever.

I knew that I thought Rebecca we attractive, but why did I think that way? I certainly couldn't list any reasons other than "Because" or "She's Rebecca." I had only known her a week, one whole freaking week, and I was imagining how to get her into bed.

Did she want me to do that? Was she making me think that way?

But then why had she squeaked and jumped away from me when we actually were close?

Was she a predator? Maybe she was only like a cat and was just playing with her prey before she devoured it whole. First she'd make me like her, and then she'd make me think she didn't like me. Then maybe she'd make me believe she really did like me. And then she might make me think she didn't like me and crush me before she killed me.

It was diabolical.

But even if that was true, it still included the idea that she could get anything in the world to run her way. She would still have powers, and where would she have gotten those powers from?

Maybe she wasn't really human. Maybe she actually was a homunculi—more evil than all the others, enough to lie and put on a show and parade around her catch—and she and Envy had only tricked me in Bakenhaert.

Maybe she really was a goddess. There had always been stories of gods and goddesses coming down from the heavens to woo innocent mortals and play games with the minds of the poor humans.

I growled under my breath and banged my head against the wall once more. Even if any of that was true, even when I considered it a possibility, I couldn't change how I thought of her. I wanted to see the girl naked, even if she killed me two seconds afterwards.

It was a maddening feeling.

I'm not sure how long I stood just outside that office door, debating between whether any of my thoughts or feelings were real or not. I even debated with myself over whether my past was real or not. After all, with powers like hers, Rebecca could easily create an entire past for someone. I wondered if my name really was Edward Elric, or if that boy had never truly existed.

After what must have been hours, I finally decided that the best I could do was accept things the way they were. If Rebecca had created my whole past, then there was nothing I could really do to change it. Anything I did could be reversed easily with a wish anyway. I could have danced through the same thoughts a million times before and never know it.

The best I figured I could do was to act on my wishes and dreams as if they really were my own, since there'd be no way to change anything if it was from Rebecca. The best I could do was live my life as well as I could and enjoy whatever moments I had.

They could be my last, anyway.

With that heavy thought, I trudged back to the barracks, debating whether to protect Rebecca or just do what I really wanted while I still had the chance.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice how worried both Al and Rebecca were upon my arrival. I had stayed outside Mustang's office thinking around in circles for nearly the entire day.

And I hadn't even gotten the assignment I had originally gone there for.


Lesson of the Day—Ed's Amestrian:

You may have noticed that while Ed mentions now and then that he's slipping into Amestrain, he doesn't provide lines of direct Amestrain dialogue like Ray would. This is partly because it'd be a bit silly to have pages and pages of dialogue that no one understood, and partly because it's not as big of an issue for Ed as it is for Rebecca, because he can flip easily between ILT and Amestrain.

Language nerd.

Whenever Ed's not around Rebecca, he slips back into Amestrain because he doesn't feel like he needs to make sure she's still in on the information. He'll only mention that he's actually slipping into Amestrain if he's around Ray and does it, because that's when it would actually be of some significance to him and not, "Well, duh, of course I'm speaking in my mother tongue. Jeez."


Author's Note:

Okay, here's the next chapter for all of you. ;)

I felt bad because I always put Wish Granted to the side for sometimes a month at a time, when what I'd really like to do is make sure you guys have some regular updates for it. But I' also doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, which will mean I won't be working on any fanfiction at all during November. (I know, sad, right?)

So then I looked at my calendar and said "Well, hey, there's still plenty of time to October, I could churn out a few chapters before November if I pushed myself…"

…Which eventually turned into writing out the entire rest of this story before October ends. Crazy.

So… I wrote this chapter in a day, and I'm moving on to the next one. Unfortunately you guys won't get these updates until Friday/Saturday of every week (As long as I do well at keeping up with this, heh) because I want to make sure I have time to edit and blah, blah, blah. But hey, waiting a week is better than waiting a month, right? And at least now you know exactly when you should have the next chapter waiting, and can kill me if it's not there. ;)

Wish me luck, by the time December's here, I'm sure I'll be completely insane! –snickers-


Review Replies (Love, kudos and cookies!):

agent000: Lol, good things he's a guy. If he was a girl and talking about Ray like that… O.o And yeah, of coooourse Ed's neeeever tried to be a girl. –snickers- How could he ever get put into a situation like that, right? ;)

Haha, and yeah, you do need chapters that are a bit calmer from time to time. Even if the readers want a bunch of action, to have THAT much action every single chapter is a bit overwhelming. Too much intensity.

XD And it's your fault I'm managing to get out these chapters so quickly compared to how long it usually takes. –snickers- So give yourself a pat on the back…?

UnbornHope: Lol, yeah, teenage boys especially think like that. Maybe not absolutely ALL the time, but a whole lot more than girls do. It's kinda funny, but also a bitty creepy/scary when you happen to be a girl, lol.

Lol, and thanks. Writing a sexually urged Edward from his point of view is… fun. More like crazy. XD But I've always enjoyed crazy anyway.

And yes, Al is being very sneaky… -snickers-

Lol, thanks for reading and reviewing, here's the next chapter for you.

vampgirl16: Lol, thanks. And yeah, it seemd a bit sudden to me too, but hey, that's the way the story ended up writing itself, heh. I've been a bit powerless with the whole thing. –dies- My comfort is that Ed's just thinking along the lines of physical attraction right now rather than serious love, lol.

Colonel Bastard: Look at me, compulsively responding! And as for me, I love it when someone reviews my stories over and over. –laughs- Especially when they're fun to read over!

Lol, I have a friend who always winces and says "Why do you always use that word?" whenever I manage to say that so and so cocked her head, or her gun, or her arrow, or whatever. He also reminds me of Ed a lot, so I just HAD to slip that in there, lol. He's most of my inspiration for these Ed chapters, haha.

And yes, I know exactly what you mean about "Are these MY thoughts or HER thoughts??" deal. That gets to come in in later chapters, and Ed gets to be so very confused, lol.

And even if Ray does know what IC for Ed, I'd still feel bad for making him do anything just because I wanted him to, you know? Like… even if he was going to do it anyway, I'd feel bad because I'd made it so he had no choice.

Lol, and your ideas of what it's like to be wish possessed are both right. If you're not really against what she would be wishing, then it'd be the "I have no idea why I would want to go back to our room when I was in the middle of a conversation with someone, but I'll go anyway...why is that again?" But if you REALLY didn't want to do something, like if someone insulted Ed's height and Ray wished that he would not say a word to them, then it'd be the "'Dammit to hell!' and your body's being possessed" type.

Haha, thanks again for reading and reviewing! :D

13Lulu's: Lol, yeah, Twilight's annoying. Everybody in that book is sooo… perfect. Like they're all mary-Sues or something, in their crazy Mary-Sue cult. At least Jacob has some proper problems and such and actually seems closer to being a real living person. The 4th book was very bad indeed. I hated how I HAD to read, just because I never like to leave a story unfinished like that. Then someday, years from now, I'l go "Oh yeah, I remember this one story about this vampire kid… I never figured out how it ended though. I need closure, what's that book's name?" and then I'll never remember the title because my mind blocked it out.

Happens to me all the time with fanfiction, because those aren't finished completely most of the time, I don't bother putting a lot on my alert list, and then I forget the name. Grrr.

And yeah, I've noticed the chapter was sudden. Really, it's like my finger are practically possessed when I write these chapters now. I'll know what I'm writing and be going "No, no, no! Too soon!" but I'll still keep writing. –sigh- But now I have to finish this story as well.

anime.storm: Lol, well, glad I was able to add to the joy of the day. Sounds like you'll get to have loads of fun at Fanimecon. And hey, this update came a lot sooner than usual, are you still alive? –snickers-

Demented Cloud: Lol, sure, there can be eviler things than rape.

And yes, of course Ed's a total perv. He's a teenage boy. Just because he doesn't show sexual feelings doesn't mean he doesn't have any, lol.

Heh, and I tried watching the youtube vid, but it said it was no longer available. -pouts-

Glad you liked it, here's the next chapter! XD

White Alchemist Taya: Yep, Ed's going to go insane at this rate. Glad you liked it, thanks for reading and reviewing. :D

KatrinaEagle: Lol, thanks. Here you go, Merry Un-Birthday to you!

Fadedphantom: Haha, yeah, I like Ray's POV too, though Ed's is fun to mess around with. But don't worry, she'll come back with her POV soon enough, I wouldn't just keep going with Ed's POV the rest of the story. ;)

Lol, here's the next chapter, bon appétit!