Uhhg. Got back from a marching band competition last night around 11 . . . and woke up at 9. I have no clue why . . . But I'm taking this time to write a chapter.

My fingers aren't awake yet, so it'll probably take me a while to write this one, as I keep hitting the wrong keys . . .

So, about the story- I've noticed that Karmyn seems to be a much more dynamic character than she was in the beginning. It's almost like she's a completely different person. I mean, you basically know nothing about her when they're still in America . . . O.O; Sorry about that. It's just that I didn't develop her before I started writing. I knew her name, and her age, and what she looked like. The first chapter, that's all I had. I hadn't even thought about her being a chemist's daughter until the second chapter, and I forget when I decided that her father had 'left.' Most things in this story are spontaneous, so if something comes completely out of the blue, that's why.

And I think I've discovered the trick to getting lots of reviews- your story needs to be extremely controversial. This had just been my observation, so I don't know if it's true or not, but . . . I think that Truth&Fiction will become pretty controversial as it goes on . . . and I knew that before I made the observation.

Sooo . . . you wish to read. So read. This 265 word author's note is complete.

Wait- just as a note, italics doesn't necessarily mean they're speaking in English. It designates a flashback as well. English in flashbacks will be in normal text.

-o-O-o-

31 January, 1917

The two travellers sat in the room that they had secured for that night. They were chatting amiably about various things, but there was only one thing on both of their minds- which was what the innkeeper had said.

-o-

". . . There's been a bit of a thieving problem here lately. Things go missing from stores and homes. Ceredigion used to be a nice place to live. Everyone helped everyone else, arguments rarely broke out, and people walked around with a smile on their face. But about a month ago, that changed.

"It started with the bakery down on Second Street. Then it was the Mauldons' home on Cherry Road. The thefts came in quick succession, sometimes hitting multiple houses and businesses in one night. After this started happening, which was almost a year ago, nobody could trust anyone. They gave you strange looks on the street, yes?"

Karmyn nodded. "Yes," she said. "You mean that wasn't just us?"

The innkeeper smiled. "No, it wasn't just you. It's all of us. Nobody talks to anyone now. 'Tis quite sad, actually."

The man talked with a tiny bit of a lilting accent, one that Karmyn usually associated with Italian people. There was no Italy in this dimension, so she figured that it must have just been a regional dialect.

"So you want us to find and catch these thieves?" Al asked from where he had moved to stand beside Karmyn.

"Yes," was the answer, "You are Alphonse Elric, no? I have heard great things about you and your brother, although the rumors said that you always wore a suit of armor. I have confidence that you will be able to catch these thieves."

"So you think there's more than one?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm certain."

"There would have to be," Karmyn pointed out, "If multiple burglaries are happening on the same night. I don't think anyone other than . . ." Anyone other than Brotherhood Sloth would be able to move that fast, and it isn't like he could or want to steal anything in the first place, she finished her sentence in her head, deciding that it wasn't the best thing to say aloud.

Al ignored her trailed-off sentence, knowing what she was getting at with it. "Do you know what the thieves look like?" he asked the innkeeper.

"Some say male, others say female. We don't know, and that's why we trust no one."

That certainly left them something to think about.

-o-

"So . . ." Karmyn began slowly, "What are we going to do about the thief?

Al sighed, leaning back against the headboard of the bed they were sitting on. "It'll be hard to catch them when we don't have a lead, but as soon as we do, I'm gone. I can't just leave them here to suffer like this. Nobody's in the wrong, and yet they're all treated as if they are. It isn't fair, and I'm going to fix it." He said determinedly. Karmyn smiled softly. She knew he would say that.

"And let me guess. You're gonna tell me to stay here until you get back, because it's 'too dangerous.'" She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Because she had been such a fangirl, she had often read fanfiction stories online, because she couldn't get enough FMA. And in almost every single one of them, the Elrics told the OC to stay behind as they went off to do some dangerous deed. It had honestly pissed her off. And then there was the fact that she was living the life of a fanfiction story . . . (A/N- lol. She doesn't know. She just doesn't know . . . XP)

The younger Elric turned a corner of his mouth up in a half-smile. "Karmyn, give me your hand," he told her, "Palm down." She did as he requested, holding her right hand out towards him. She watched curiously as he grabbed a pen that was sitting on the table beside the bed. He uncapped it, holding the cover between his teeth. Grabbing her hand, he quickly scrawled Snowballs across the back of her hand so that when she held her hand with her thumb down, she could read it upright.

"What?" she asked as he put the pen away. She was thoroughly confused. Snowballs? What did they have to do with anything?

"You wouldn't even listen to me if I told you to stay here. You wouldn't even listen to Brother if he told you. So I won't. You've dealt with thieves before, right?"

Karmyn thought back to that day at the Boston Researcher's Lab, where she had cornered Mr. Carson and recovered the Philosopher's Stone without any help. But . . . "That was different," she said, "He was just a petty thief, and it was only a stone. We're talking real criminals here!"

"Just promise me you won't die. Multiple people would be after me if you did. Winry, your dad, possibly even Brother . . ." he shuddered at the thought of becoming victim to Winry's wrench.

She laughed at his reaction. "Okay, alright! I get your drift! I won't die!"

The two of them fell silent. It was already 1:30 am, and Karmyn was near-dead exhausted. She wasn't used to having so much happen in a day. To have it pushed upon her like this was somewhat strenuous. She had almost nodded off when the door to their room slammed open. She came to her senses with a start.

Focusing over on the doorway, she saw the same two young teens that they had met earlier that day on the road. They were breathing heavily, and the boy still had his hand on the door that he had slammed open.

"Thieves," he said breathily. "The thieves . . ."

Al stood immediately. "Where?" he asked urgently. Karmyn could see that he was tensed, as if ready for a fight. The girl standing behind the boy answered him.

"Over on Philbrick Lane. The Carpenters'."

The two seventeen-year-olds exchanged a glance, and Karmyn nodded. It was time to get the show on the road. "You go," she told him. "I'll catch up."

Al didn't bother to reply, instead darting around the two younger teen s and out the door. Karmyn whirled around to open her travel case and retrieve the staff and belt that Winry had made for her, along with her coat. Fumbling a little bit, she managed to strap it on securely, the staff at her hip. When she turned back towards the door, she saw that the girl and boy were still standing there.

"Thank you," she told them, shrugging the coat on, "But I don't thing I ever got your names."

The girl smiled. "I'm Isabella Hills, and this is Farley Knox," she said, introducing herself and her companion. Karmyn smiled.

"Nice to meet you, but I've got to go. If I survive this, we can talk later, alright?"

Isabella nodded and stepped aside to let Karmyn out the door.

-o-O-o-

She ran out into the middle of the sleeping street, her black coat flapping out behind her. Her only regret was that she didn't own a pair of gloves. Still, she was determined not to let her cold fingers slow her down.

Philbrick Lane, she thought. Well that was helpful. She didn't even know what road she was on. Fortunately, it was light enough out that she could see the road beneath her. She scanned the ground for a few minutes, and delighted in what she found. There were two tracks that lead from one direction up to the inn, and another larger pair that led from the inn in that direction. She smiled, relieved. It was one of those times that she was happy it was winter.

She took off at a run, following the tracks into the center of downtown. The shops were all closed- the lights were all off. Suddenly, she heard a loud crash from one direction. She turned on a dime (or would that be a Cens?) and darted towards where the sound had come from.

She never reached her destination. As she ran towards the sound, two figures burst out of an alleyway perpendicular to the road she was running on, nearly bowling her over. "Get back here!" she heard a familiar voice yell.

"Al?" she asked quietly as he ran past her. Recovering her wits, she joined him in the chase. "Hey," she told him as she came up beside him. He glanced quickly over at her at the sound of her voice before once again concentrating on his quarry.

"Found him," he said shortly.

Karmyn nodded in acknowledgement. She couldn't exactly afford the breath that she needed to form a sentence. The two of them chased the black-clad figure through the alleyways and streets. It was kind of funny- the guy never really made any effort to actually get away, yet he never let his two pursuers get close enough to him to catch him.

Unfortunately, it all connected all too late.

"It's a trap!" she yelled, just before another figure jumped out of the shadows to grab Al. The Elric quickly spun around and fended him off, while in the process losing sight of the one he had been chasing. As much as Karmyn wanted to help her friend, she continued to chase down the one that they had been trailing. It was a couple more minutes before she found Al running beside her again.

"The other. . . one's behind us," he said breathily.

Keeping her eyes on the one in front of them, she watched as the thief jumped over a four-foot wall spanning the alleyway. In that split second, she knew what had to be done.

"You stay here and take care of the other guy. I'll get the first one," she managed to say. He was about to question her when she suddenly vaulted and landed on the top of the wall, pausing to catch her breath.

"When'd you learn how to do that?" he yelled to her. She hadn't shown any signs of being overly athletic. What had just happened?

Karmyn sighed. She knew it would come to this. "A year of my life I'd rather forget!" was all she answered with before she disappeared down the alley.

As Al turned to face the one chasing him, there was one other thing on his mind.

WTH?

-o-O-o-

There, a longer chapter for yas. It took approximately an hour and a half to write.

Yes, there is a reason behind Karmyn's gymnastics move there. But you won't find it out for a while yet . . . XP

Soo . . . yeah. I've actually known the names of the two new OCs for a while now, Isabella Hills and Farley Knox. You'd be amused to know that I'd forgotten and remembered Farley's name about three times before I got it written down . . . O.O;

Anyhow.

Until next time, (which won't be long)

Sayonara!