Hello all! I am so sorry about the horrible wait for this chapter! It's been what, six months? Oh the shame o. Sophomore year has been a bit intense and I haven't had the chance (or the inspiration) to finish this chapter. But, here it is, finally, in all it's...something...glory! I tried to make it longer than usual. I hope you like it! Now, I'll shut up so you can read the long awaited chapter!

Chapter 12: No more blood, please.

Alice and Emily stood in the middle of the road, their mouths hanging open. Winry was bouncing around in front of them, yelling happily. Edward and Alphonse stood behind them, looking like they regretted getting off the train. Alice scanned the area around them, amazed at the amount of automail users this town had. Emily looked around as well, not used to seeing automail on Ed let alone on eighty percent of the population. As Winry raced over to a window and started gushing over the display, the two girls turned to each other.

"So," Emily muttered, still looking around, "This is Rush Valley?"

Alice nodded eagerly, a smile growing on her face. "It's so cool! The manga drawings didn't do it justice."

"So you've seen it before?"

"Uh-huh, I think it was volume...five? Yeah, I think so..."

Emily shook her head as her friend tried to figure out what book she had seen the automail capital in. Winry raced over to them, bouncing up and down.

"Isn't this place just amazing! So much better than I imagined!" she exclaimed.

"I know! I've never seen so much automail!" Alice answered, smiling happily. Winry's eyes flashed and she leaned towards Alice.

"Are you interested in automail by any chance?" Winry's grin grew when Alice nodded again. She eagerly grabbed the other girl's hand and dragged her over the a window, explaining the arm in the display as Alice listened. Emily watched slightly dumbstruck as Ed and Al came up behind her.

"Great," Ed moaned, "Another automail freak. Just what I need."

"Now, now Brother. I'm sure she won't be like Winry."

"You don't know that Al!"

Al sighed, turned to face Emily, ignoring the still complaining Ed. "You're not into automail?"

"Eh, not really. Too weird and confusing for me."

Al nodded in agreement, the two watching as Ed stomped over to the automail otaku and her apprentice, yanking them away from the window. They both let out crys of dismay, looking at the blonde alchemist with tear filled eyes. Edward twitched before pulling them over to where Emily and Alphonse were standing. They had only managed to stand together for a few seconds when Winry raced off ahead of them, pulling Alice along behind her. The three sighed and followed after them warily.

~X~

Alice and Emily were sitting on a bench, Al standing beside them, as they watched Ed being attacked by a group of automail mechanics. Alice laughed as his clothes began to fly out of the circle.

"Poor Ed," Emily commented, with a grin,"Being stripped down in public. I almost feel sorry for him."

"Almost?" Alice asked with a laugh as Al moved away from them to try and help his brother. "I'm perfectly fine with it. Ed's got quite the body."

Emily let out a laugh, smacking the back of her friends head.

"OW!" she exclaimed, glaring at Emily, "What was that for?"

"Nothing~ Just be careful. You're lucky Alphonse moved when he did."

Alice scowled, standing up and crossing her arms. Emily followed suit, placing a hand on her hip as she watched the group break up, leaving behind a bright red Ed. She smiled and tried not to laugh.

"Well, well. Too bad I don't have a camera, eh, Eddiekins?" Alice barked, a smirk plastered on her face, "This is priceless!"

"Sh-shut up!" Ed stuttered, blushing brighter, "I was attacked! And don't call me that!"

Alice laughed. "Aw, what's wrong Eddiekins? You don't like your nickname?"

"No! It's stupid and..." Ed went silent, patting his pants anxiously. Alice raised an eyebrow as the others turned to look at the blonde.

"Is something wrong, Ed?" asked Winry. He nodded, looking up nervously.

"The thing that proves I'm state alchemist, my silver pocket watch, is gone!"

"WHAT?"

~X~

"Ah, it must have been Paninya! She's a pickpocket that targets tourists," the old man stated. His right eye seemed to be made of automail and he had a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. His partner sat behind him, cleaning off a wrench and nodding in agreement.

"What?" Ed exclaimed, staring at the two, "Do you know where I can find her? Tell me, please! That watch is very important to me!"

"Well, I can tell you, sure. But in exchange...let me have a peek under you hood." The man stared at him with a sparkling eye, a wrench clenched in his hand. The other man had the same kind of look on his face.

"Just a little looky loo~"

Ed snapped, changing his automail into a blade and threatening the men. They pulled back, giving up Paninya's location. Edward grinned, returning his arm to normal and facing the group.

"It's in the mountains?" asked Al.

Edward nodded, crossing his arms.

"There's mountains around here?" Alice gasped in surprise.

Ed nodded again as Emily sighed. "Look over there, Alice," she said, pointing to something in the distance," See those big, pointy shadows? Those would be the mountains."

"Ooohhhh..."

"Come on!" Edward cried, racing towards the mountains, "We gotta catch this thief!"

"Ugh...why are we here again?" Alice moaned as the group trudged through the mountains.

"Dunno...you tell me." Emily replied. The two looked at each other before glaring at Ed who flinched when he noticed them. They all looked worse for wear, hunched over and sweating. Everyone except Winry was moaning and complaining every five seconds.

"Eh...too hot..." Edward muttered. The three suffering teens then turned and glared at Al. A soft laugh came from behind him.

"You snooze, you lose!" Winry called from her place behind Al. The automail mechanics had discovered early on that the armor made a great sun shield and had been walking behind him ever since.

"Is this even the right way?" asked Emily, brushing her hair back,"Those old guys didn't lie to us, did they?"

"I don't think they did...I mean, Ed did threaten to injure them..." Alice answered, glancing at the blonde alchemist. Ed flinched again, turning away.

"They probably didn't. It makes since for an automail mechanic to live out here. He has access to high-quality ores." Winry explained.

Suddenly Al gasped, pointing. "Look! Isn't that her? On the bridge?"

The others all turned to look, their gazes landing on a rope bridge near by. Standing in the middle of it was a dark-skinned woman wearing camouflage.

"It is her! I've found you!" Ed screeched, slamming his hands on the ground and racing towards her on alchemy made stairs. Alice face palmed, groaning as the ground beneath them vibrated.

"Brother! Stop destroying everything!" Al cried, rushing after him.

"Alright, when we get there, just claim you don't know them." Emily said. Winry and Alice nodded, unable to tear their eyes away from the scene before them.

"Brother! Now look what you did!" Alphonse exclaimed in exasperation. A large metal cage stood a few feet away, the dark skinned girl trapped inside.

"She deserves it!" the blonde said smugly, wiping the dust off his pants. The cage then seemed to explode, knocking him over. The girl raced out of the smoke, heading for the building near by. Winry took off after her, and soon overcame her, grabbing her arm.

"Nice work, Winry!" cried Ed, running towards them. "Don't let her get away!"

"No way am I letting her go! Not until I've had a closer look at that automail!"

Ed and Al slumped to the ground in defeat as the front door opened.

"Hello Paninya!" said the brown-hair woman who stood in the doorway. She glanced at the people in front of her house in surprise. "Friends of yours?"

"Not really!" called Paninya, sweat-dropping. The woman turned to look at the man beside her who in turn just shrugged.

~X~

Alice and Emily sat in the corner, watching nervously as Winry freaked out about Paninya's automail. Ed and Al sat near by, staring dumbly. Small hearts seemed to fly around Winry's head as she obsessed over the girls legs. The blonde mechanic then got up and ran over to the the man from earlier, complimenting him.

"How long do you think we're gonna be here?" Alice whispered to Emily as an older looking man entered the room.

"I hope it's not too long." Emily replied, watching the scene warily."That macho looking old man is kinda creeping me out." Alice nodded in agreement as the 'macho' man led the others into another room, leaving the two girls alone.

"Uh, did you happen to catch where they were going?" Alice asked, staring at the door in surprise. Emily shook her head, leaning back.

"Does it matter? Now we don't have to watch Winry obsess."

"True."

The two fell into silence, the only sound being the rain that had started coming down a bit earlier. Emily was just beginning to fall asleep when Alice spoke.

"Do you think they forgot about us?" she asked softly, not bothering to look at her friend.

"Why would they forget about us?" Emily muttered, yawning.

"'Cause they've been gone for at least an hour."

"Go look for them if you're so worried. I'm sure they're in the house somewhere," Emily replied, leaning against the wall again. Alice sighed, slumping back.

"I don't want to just wander around someone else's house. Plus...what if they don't want me to look? We don't belong here Emily, maybe they're trying to get rid of us."

"Well, obviously we don't belong here," Emily exclaimed, sitting up. "But I don't see why they'd want to get rid of us. It's not like we've done anything to them."

"So? We've tried to ditch people before just because we didn't like them. 'Cause they annoyed us. I'm sure they would too."

Emily turned to glare at her. "Geez, you make us sound horribly mean."

Alice finally looked up, glancing at her. "Maybe we are. If we act like that, what would keep them from acting like that?"

"Oh shush. Stop acting like you'r-" Emily was cut off by the sound of a door being thrown open. The two looked up to see a harried looking Edward standing there, his eyes worried.

"Winry needs your help! Mrs. Lecourt is having her baby!"

Alice paled and Emily seemed to choke on air as Ed came into the room.

"The bridge is out and Dominic can't get a doctor in time," he explained. "Winry's going to deliver it but she needs help."

"R-right." Alice said, standing shakily. "We'll help. Right, Emily?"

"..."

"I said, Right, Emily?"

"...Y-eah, sure..."

"G-good." Alice turned to the blonde alchemist. "Where are they?"

"Down the hall. Let's go."

~X~

Paninya stumbled through the door, collapsing and mumbling about blood. Alice and Emily drifted out after her, paler than usual. Emily slumped down at the table while Alice disappeared into the bathroom. Ed glanced at the door before turning to Paninya.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

When the dark skinned girl didn't answer, Edward leapt up, heading into the room. Emily lifted her head long enough to watch Al follow his brother before letting it hit the table again. A few minutes later, Alice came out, a hand gripping her stomach as she sat down beside her friend. She let out a groan, resting her head on the table.

"Where'd Ed and Al go?" she asked.

"They went to go check on Mrs. Lecourt...I think."

"What about Paninya?" Alice muttered, pointing to the girl.

Emily turned, glancing at her and shrugging. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I don't think I will. I never realized how gross blood really is. I don't think I can even handle T.V blood anymore."

"Same here. That was...gross." Emily agreed, nodding. The sound of a door opening caught her attention and she glanced up to see Ed carrying Winry over to a chair. Winry looked like she was crying but Emily wasn't sure. They were talking too softly for her to tell. She continued to watch the two blondes, deeming them more interesting than her sickly friend. Winry eventually stopped crying and soon after, Ed stood up, going over to Paninya and beating her up for scaring him.

Emily smiled a little. It was kind of funny looking, seeing such a shrimp beat up Paninya while Winry just watched. She was feeling better now and thinking about going to sit with Winry when she heard Alice speak beside her.

"I don't feel...too good."

Emily sat up and began to turn around, planning on saying something about stating the obvious, only for a loud thud to change her mind. Alice was now lying on the floor, her eyes closed and her face much paler than usual. The room feel silent, everyone turning to look at the fallen girl.

"Oh geez, she actually fainted," Emily muttered, facepalming.

"Hurry up you guys!" Alice yelled from her spot on the patio of the last train car. Emily was standing behind her, laughing loudly as Ed and Al ran along the platform, getting ready to jump on.

"Be careful out there!" Winry called, as Alphonse climbed on. Edward sped up a bit, only feet away from the edge of the platform.

"You too! You better train..." he cut off as he leapt off the edge and onto the back of the train. He climbed over the railing, turning to Winry. "...hard! Make sure you steal some of that old geezer's secrets so next time you can make me a better one of these!" he finished, pointing to his automail arm.

"You can count on it!" Winry yelled back, waving until the train disappeared.

Well, there ya go. Chapter 12 is finally finished. Kinda pathetic, since I started writing this in July -_- Anyway, I apologize for how much the part at Dominic's house sucks. It ended up being a combo of anime(Brotherhood) and manga. Plus, it was a little awkward feeling when I wrote about the whole baby thing. ._. I also apologize for the ending of this chapter. I just wasn't sure how to end it and yeah...Either way, I hope you liked it.

I'm going to try and get Chapter 13 out in a much more acceptable time frame. Thanks to all those who have stuck with me! A super special thanks to all my reviewers! And of course, all the people who added me to their favorites or alerts! But I'd love you all even more if you reviewed! :3

Please send me reviews! They make life better! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, what I should change. Just tell me if you liked it or not :)

*There little notes before I go.

1. I am in the process of editing/rewriting some of the earlier chapters. Chapter one is already finished and posted, go check it out :D

2. I drew a picture of Alice and Emily! There's a link to my deviantART page on my profile. Check it out x3

(There's other fanfic stuff on there too xD)

SUPER DUPER EXTRA IMPORTANT! THIS NOTE PERTAINS TO THE FUTURE OF THIS STORY!
Okay, here's the question-Who do you like better, Emily or Alice? Please, please, please tell me. Your answers will help me make a decision about the future of this story. This question is so important that I might even make it into a poll. So please answer!