(Ed is lying on a hospital bed and Amy, Winry, Tigger, and Al are standing in a small circle a few feet away. The random door has a giant gaping hole in it.)

Tigger: That was a nice throw Winry.

Winry: It was nothing.

Tigger: No really! You went 'whoosh' and it went 'fwoosh' and then there was a 'clang'.

Amy: That's very descriptive Tigger. How is Ed doing by the way?

Al: He'll be fine. He's used to this.

Amy: That's kind of sad.

Al: You get used to a lot of things when you have a Brother like him.

Winry: Is this hospital bed new?

Tigger: Yeah it was easier then taking Ed to the hospital.

(The closet gives a shudder.)

Amy: What was that?

Tigger: I didn't see anything. Oh but that reminds me. Thanks to vampireluver1613, The Sora-muffin, inkPlay, WhiteWingAlchemist, BlackStar-F, YukinoKara, 13Lulu's, Fuurai, Lizzy lou, arden_anam, cocoasit4, lilypop8, Wandering Hitokiri, Uchiha-Kairi, Sadisticshadowcat, kimmay94, Silvaria, D R A G O N L I L I E S, anon anon, T. C. Meade, and the sugar-crazed alchemist for favoriting/reviewing.

(The closet gives another shudder)

Winry: Okay I saw that one.

(Amy and Al nod in agreement)

Tigger: Uh maybe it was the wind?

(A musical voice comes from the closet)

Voice: Don't forget to mention that you don't own FMA or any of its characters, Tigger.

Tigger: Oh no! Wait a second! No way! It can't be!

(Something begins to emerge from the closet)

Tigger: EVERYBODY RUN FOR IT!

Lieutenant Colonel Hughes distractedly stared at the window from his position at his desk. Amy was supposed to be escorted to his office after she finished testing. She had left an hour after he had gone to work (his darling wife had called and told him) and now he had been at work for three hours. How long would the test take? Colonel Mustang wanted to know the results as soon as possible, it seemed as though he had plans for Amy. Then again finding talents like Edward and Amy would only boost his reputation and improve his chances of becoming Furher.

Hughes shook his head. He had been friends with Mustang for a long time, even before the war. They had been through the good and the bad, and they both spent the worst time of their lives together. Images from the war still haunted his sleep at night. But he followed Mustang's example and decided to move past that. He had a family to take care of and a promise to fulfill. Hughes would support his friend as much as he could. For some reason he knew that Mustang becoming leader of this country was probably for the best. Anyone who was in the Ishvalan massacre knew that it was an unfair battle and that it did more harm then good. Which was the precise reason Mustang would make an excellent Furher. Of course the Colonel was a friend of his, which might have had some influence on his opinion.

Now if only Roy would settle down. How bad would it look if he became Furher without a lady by his side? Every man knew that they needed an opposite, someone to keep their feet grounded. He had his wonderful wife and beautiful daughter and all Mustang had were a bunch of one night stands. He was not setting a good example for his precious angel! How could he explain to his angel that 'Uncle Roy' only had a girlfriend for a day? That would corrupt her little mind! He needed to straighten this out at once!

In father mode, he abandoned his paperwork and rushed down the hall. He called out to his secretary that he was taking a break and she sighed used to his antics. Rushing to the phones the woman at the post there didn't even bother to ask him to fill in the proper forms. She just rubbed her temples and began to fill them out herself. It was a lot less work for her then persuading him to wait ten seconds and fill out some forms before making a family related call. Quickly his fingers dialed the familiar number.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes calling for Colonel Mustang," he told the receptionist on the phone.

There was a beep before he was paged through. His fingers drummed the side of the phone as he waited for his old friend to pick up the phone. The phone rang once, twice, three times before it was picked up.

"Hughes you better have a good reason for calling me," his friend warned.

"You need to find yourself a wife right now!" Hughes told him, "You're setting a bad example for my little Elysia! Go get married!"

There was silence for a moment. Hughes was rather proud of himself for taking control of the situation before it got out of hand. His daughter was safe from corruption. Mission accomplished.

"You're lucky I haven't found a way to burn people through the phone," his friend growled, "Otherwise your wife would be receiving a jar of ashes."

"I am only doing what a good friend and loving father would do," Hughes said defensively.

"Getting on the nerves of your superior officer is not something a good soldier would do."

"Family. Friends. Work." Hughes quoted, "That's how it goes."

"You shouldn't be saying that on military lines."

"Why? Do you think the other soldiers are feeling left out because we are talking about my beautiful wonderful angel of a daughter?"

"I highly doubt that is not one soldier in Central Headquarters that has not heard of your daughter."

"Only three-fourths. I still have to get the guards outside the wall and by the jail."

"You must be kidding."

"Why would I do that?"

Hughes heard a sigh from his friend.

"Did Amy pass the test?" Roy asked in all seriousness.

"Oh, that's what I was waiting for," Hughes exclaimed, "I knew there was something I was forgetting."

"THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME?"

"To tell you to get a wife," Hughes stated, "Didn't we already go through this?"

"Uhmm Lieutenant Colonel, your secretary is calling," the woman at the desk told him, "She said something about a girl waiting outside your office."

Hughes held his hand over the phone and looked at the woman.

"Is the girl nervous looking with short blond hair?" he questioned.

The woman repeated the question into her phone.

"Yes, and she's holding a new uniform and has a brand new military badge," she informed him, "What should I tell her to do with her?"

"Tell Lisa to be nice to the military's newest scout," Hughes grinned before holding the phone up to his ear.

"Looks like you'll be getting a promotion soon," he said.

"I'm looking forward to it," Hughes could practically see the smirk on Roy's face.

***************************************************************************************************************

Amy tried to fasten one of the buttons on her uniform. The thing was so darn complicated! She was wearing the man's version of the uniform. One because it was better for everyday activities and two because Amy was not going to willingly wear a skirt, even if it was only on special occasions. But Amy was so skinny and had no muscle or chest she had to wear the smallest men's size they had. A pretty depressing fact if she thought about it. The outfit was so darn confusing she was beginning to have second thoughts about choosing it. The bottom part was composed of a pair of pants and a skirt thing over it. Females who choose the men's outfit had to wear this style, Amy had seen Risa walking around in it. The woman also had to wear a black short sleeve shirt under the jacket on top, which was what Amy was currently struggling with. Once she had gotten all the buttons done, rolled up the edges of the sleeves, tucked her pants into her boots, Amy looked in the mirror.

"I look like Katara," was the first thing that crossed her mind.

Indeed the long slit skirt over a pair of pants did resemble Katara's outfit. Not only was the style similar but the color was similar too, the entire outfit was blue. The only difference being Katara's outfit was a much lighter color and was a slightly different style. She pulled at her top. It was a weird sort of jacket thing that had buttons on both the inside and outside. Not to mention she had to wear all these buttons and pins and stuff like that to prove her rank and so forth. Each pin, button, and stitch had a specific place on her uniform and Amy was trying to put them on without poking herself with holes. Around had waist was a thick black belt holding her pants in place and it also had a gun holster. The gun holster was empty but she still had to wear it. Amy had briefly considered shoving her hammer in the holster and using it like a tool belt.

She glanced at the hat on her bed. Well it wasn't her bed considering she was leaving today. Hughes had brought her back to the house to celebrate last night. The Hughes family celebrated her new position with her. They had had cake and everything. Hughes had kept looking at the door throughout the night but no one else ever came. Amy expected the Elric brothers were supposed to come, but had been too busy to. Amy was slightly disappointed at first but then reminded herself that they were doing something much more important then eating cake with her. Although she couldn't deny that she missed the brothers. It was kind of like making a bunch of friends and then the friends leaving you at their house while they ran out to get something. It was awkward being there with their family members but not bad necessarily.

"I'm really selfish aren't I?"

It hadn't been that long since she saw them and she wanted to hang out with them again. So what if they were her favorite characters? That was no excuse. Sure she missed torturing Ed about his height and talking to Al, but that was no reason to be selfish. She wasn't even sure if they were considered friends or not.

Stubbornly she pushed those thoughts out of her mind and jabbed on her new hat. She was only going to wear the uniform today and then go back to her regular clothes. Amy was only wearing it because it was easier then flashing her identification or explaining how she did on the test. One look was all people would need. Plus what was the point of owning something if she never wore it?

Amy grabbed her backpack and took another glance at the mirror. She let out a gasp. She really did look like an Amestian soldier. The boots, the clothes, the hat, she blended in with the hundreds of others who wore this uniform or was it thousands? Amy was no longer just an ordinary citizen she was part of something much bigger. Even though it was a cover Amy was really part of the military. She had the duties of a soldier on her shoulders. People were counting on her and not just her other coworkers. Citizens were expecting her to be a soldier and fight to protect them. An entire country was counting on her and her work.

"I think I'm in way over my head."

She was part of a military of a foreign country in a different world that wasn't supposed to exist. Amy could imagine what she would be telling her classmates when she went back to school in the fall.

"This summer I was almost killed by a homicidal manic and travelled with two teenage boys to find a magic stone," she thought sarcastically, "I'm sure that will go over real well. Maybe I'll get to pick the color of my straightjacket."

"Amy, awe you wready?" Elysia called.

Amy tore her eyes away from the mirror and headed down the stairs. She slipped once but managed to grab the railing in time. The Hughes family was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"I guess this is good-bye," Amy muttered shyly.

She felt bad for leeching off them for over a week and giving them nothing in return. But what could she do now? They wouldn't accept any of the money she offered and they didn't even want gifts of gratitude.

"Will you come back and play?" Elysia asked with huge puppy dog eyes.

Amy wanted to squeal and hug the girl but resisted the urge. She didn't want to creep out the Hughes family with her weird ways.

"I don't know," Amy replied truthfully, bending down to Elysia's level.

She didn't really know. For all she knew, Amy could be back in her own world by tomorrow. Or it could take months. Amy really hoped it didn't though. It was already July in her world meaning she had less then two months before school started. Missing summer was bad enough but she didn't want to miss the school year too. Then she would fall behind and have to do make up work or, if she missed enough days, have to stay back a year. That was something she definitely didn't want to happen.

"My bwirthday is soon," Elysia informed her, "I'm inviting you to my partea."

"THAT IS SO ADORABLE!" Hughes squealed hugging his daughter, "AMY WILL GLADLY COME TO YOUR PARTY I SHALL MAKE SURE OF IT!"

"Why is he making this decision for me?" Amy sweatdropped.

Gracia smiled good-naturedly at her husband who was now twirling around with his daughter in his hands. The doorbell rang and Gracia walked over to get the doorbell. Hughes stopped spinning and Elysia looked at the door curiously.

"Sergeant Brosh here to escort Scout Kishi to the Elric brothers," Brosh saluted.

Hughes turned serious for a second.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes turning protection over to Sergeant Brosh," Hughes saluted with Elysia on one hand.

"If you're ready Scout Kishi we can leave now," Brosh informed her.

Amy stood up and straightened out her skirt-pants-thing. What did they call it anyway? Butterflies flew around rapidly in her stomach and Amy nodded at Brosh.

"Here I go."

She followed Brosh to the military car waiting out front and tossed her one piece of luggage in the backseat. Besides feeling nervous and jittery Amy felt a pang of grief for leaving the Hughes family. She would miss them too. They had been so kind and welcoming and reminded her of her own family. Amy turned around and looked at the family. They were all gathered on the front steps waving good-bye.

"Bye funny sounding big sister," Elysia waved happily.

"I don't sound funny!" Amy retorted with fake anger.

"Have a safe trip," Gracia told Amy.

"This moment is so cute," Hughes sobbed, "My beautiful daughter is saying good-bye to her big sister figure. Don't cry Elysia! Daddy will be here for you!"

Amy sweatdropped as Elysia patted her dad on the head trying to comfort the emotional man.

"Thank you," Amy thanked them before she climbed into the car.

Brosh drove and Amy continued waving at the Hughes family until they were out of sight. Amy sighed and looked at the seat in front of her where Brosh sat driving the car.

"Are you nervous?" he asked her.

Amy nodded her head. Nervous was an understatement. Right now she wanted to bolt out of the car and run back to the nice safe Hughes household. Well as safe as it could get for Amy. But at the same time she was excited. She couldn't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces when she showed up. Just wait till Ed saw her in uniform. His face would be priceless. Besides it couldn't be worse then being in jail or taking the test. That had definitely been more nerve racking then this. She was just going to work at her new job…at the military surrounded by people with guns and short tempers….maybe she should have put more thought into this.

"Don't worry I remember my first day," Brosh laughed, "I was so nervous that I didn't notice that I had put my boots on the wrong feet. My feet hurt for weeks afterwards."

Quickly Amy glanced at her own shoes. They were on the correct feet and all her buttons were done. None of her clothes were ripped or inside out either. She sighed in relief. Embarrassment was not on her things to do today.

"However Major Armstrong had told me it was very manly to endure pain like that and then switched his boots," Brosh continued, "When he flexed the boots shredded though. I never bothered to ask how he did it but he managed to."

Amy flinched at the mention of Armstrong's name. Hopefully the man wouldn't feel like giving her a hug when he saw her. She had just finished healing from all of her previous injuries. A new set of bruises was not what she needed.

"Actually Major Armstrong goes through at least two shirts a day," Brosh babbled.

"Oh god he's a talker." Amy realized as Brosh just went on and on.

First Armstrong and his talks about his family. Then Hughes and his adoration of his daughter with talks and pictures. Now Brosh and his non-stop yammering about whatever crossed his mind. Why was she always surrounded by talkers? Why not a quiet person? Or someone who talked about something she was interested in? Amy sighed. She couldn't be that lucky.

Amy sighed and forced her attention elsewhere. This city was so different then her quiet suburban home. Everything was so old fashioned and technology was so old and slow. Were typewriters even invented yet? Well she could take comfort in the fact that computers were invented in the next 100 years.

"I miss my i-pod. Music would be so nice right now. Is he still talking? I think he is."

Indeed Sergeant Brosh was still going on and on about something or other. Luckily Amy recognized some of the buildings from the last time she was driven to the library. The butterflies in her stomach began to fly around faster. Her first day as a soldier, as a working citizen in society. Too bad it was a good seven years before she planned and in the wrong world.

"And here we are," Brosh concluded pulling into the parking lot.

He parked the car and got out. Amy followed his example. She shrugged her backpack onto her shoulders. Apparently Ed and Al were staying at a military hotel when they weren't in the library and that was where she would be staying the night. Of course Amy would be staying in her own hotel room that would be paid with by the nice paycheck she had received. The military had opened a bank account in her name and had placed a nice wad of cash in it. Since a scout was supposed to travel around the military paid for the traveling funds. Hence Amy would always be supplied with the money she needed for train fees and hotels. And as long as she wasn't staying in five star resorts and wasting room service, the military would keep supplying her. The job was perfect for Amy's situation. It would be even better if the possibility of being killed wasn't so high.

Amy shuddered as she remembered all the papers she had had to sign when she was accepted for the job. She might have had a higher IQ or a greater attention span and memory then most teenagers but no 'young adult' wants to read 49 pages of legal jabber. Usually when it came to things like signing up for websites or electronics Amy would just press the 'I agree' button and went on with her life. Basically it came down to 'Obey our every order and there is a high risk of you dying'. Rather depressing when Amy thought about it.

"Scout Kishi your hat," Brosh reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Amy hastily removed her hat from her head.

Brosh was currently leading her through a maze of shelves and hallways to the Elric brothers. Amy had been spacing and had forgotten to take off her hat, which was something one was supposed to do when entering a building. It was a bit of challenge to convert to the customs here. Her first meal in the prison had been extremely awkward because Martha had commented on her eating habits. At home Amy had eaten a lot of food with her fingers, which wasn't the case here. Amy also held the fork differently and cut her food weird. In fact Amy spent most of her meal time glancing at others to figure out how to eat and what she was eating. Besides food there were greetings, how to act around certain people, and of course the slang. Adjusting was difficult but it was becoming easier as time passed.

"How far have the Elric brothers gotten?" Amy asked the Sergeant.

"Yesterday they said they were close to breaking it," Brosh explained, "They really don't tell us that much though."

"Really?" Amy's mood improved greatly, "I hope they crack it soon."

"You sound excited," Brosh commented, "Are you interested in the research too?"

"Mm-hmm," Amy nodded her head.

Could it be that they were really that close? Once Ed and Al knew the formula for the imperfect Philosopher's stone then they should be able to create a perfect stone. Sure it would probably take a while to revise the current formula but Amy had faith in the Elric brothers. She would help them in any way possible as well. No way would she sit on the sidelines and reap the benefits of their hard work. If Amy was going to get something out of the stone she should help make the stone.

"Second Lieutenant Ross," Brosh saluted when Maria came into view.

Amy quickly saluted too. She really needed to work on her military stuff.

"Sergeant Brosh," Ross saluted, "Scout Amy."

"Does everyone know I'm a scout?" Amy asked.

She couldn't surprise Ed if he already knew.

"The Elric brothers don't know," Ross smiled.

A grin slipped onto Amy's face. That meant she could still surprise Ed. Today was turning out to be a pretty good day. She had officially passed her test and was now part of the military, she would get to see the Elric brothers, Ed and Al were close to cracking Dr. Marcoh's code, and she could brag to Ed. And to think it was only ten in the morning.

"NO FUCKING WAY!" came Ed's voice.

Amy jumped at the loud sound and quickly hurried over to the wooden doors. What was wrong? Why did Ed scream? Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she heaved the door open. She ran into the room with Brosh and Ross following behind her.

Ed was standing in front of the table, his chair knocked over and books and papers on the ground. Al was holding his head in his hands and both looked distraught.

"Wha.." Brosh exclaimed as he examined the room, "What happened? Were you two fighting?"

"No, it's not that," Al answered in a disappointed tone.

"Are you angry you haven't broken the code?" Ross began.

"We broke it," Al cut in.

A feeling of dread filled Amy's stomach. No, no, no. It couldn't be. This wasn't the anime. The anime was way different. The timeline was different. So this should be different. There should be a different result. Right? It had to be.

"The code has been broken," Al repeated looking at the ground.

The feeling of dread increased and warning bells signaled in Amy's head.

"Oh really that's good news, isn't it?" Brosh said looking around for reassurance.

"There isn't anything good about this shit!" Ed declared sitting on the ground.

Amy's knees began to shake and there her chest felt tight. Words seemed to fall her as she listened with bated breath. It couldn't be. It couldn't be.

"The Devil's Research was what he called it," Ed vented, "You're despicable Dr. Marcoh."

Ed looked frustrated and disgusted. Almost as if he couldn't believe what he had read. Now even Brosh and Ross looked nervous about what Ed and Al had discovered. Brosh knelt down next to Ed looking worried. Amy found herself unable to move from her spot. Her ribs felt like they were being pushed in and Amy found herself only able to take shallow breaths. Her palms were sweaty and a chill ran down her spine. No. No. Not again. It couldn't be like the anime. It couldn't be.

"Just what did you find out?" Brosh asked.

"The main ingredients for the Philosopher's stone," Ed told them disgusted, "are living humans."

(A beautiful young girl with nice curves, long flowy blond hair, and eyes as blue as the sky with flecks of purple comes through the doorway)

Voice: Hello, my name is Mary-sue.

Tigger/Amy: RUN AWAY!

(Al is drooling buckets looking at this beautiful girl)

Winry: Al? Al are you okay? Just how are you drooling?

Mary: Your a funny bunch. (laughs but the laugh sounds like chiming bells)

(Al begins to drool more)

Tigger: I BURNED YOU! I LOCKED YOU AWAY! I HIT YOU WITH HAMMERS! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!

Mary: Silly Tigger. I can't die. I'm the Philosopher Stone remember?

Amy: Tigger what is she talking about? How did a Mary-sue get in here?

Mary: I'm the Mary-Sue version of Amy and I want my spot in the series now.