Ed sighs and glances around, his signature red coat flung over his shoulder. "It sure is hot…" he grumbles unhappily. "At least the assessment didn't last long." He pulls his watch out from his back pocket and holds it in front of him, the hot southern sun glinting off it. 'Hopefully this year we'll get our bodies back...' he thinks solemnly. Beside him, Fuhrer Bradley puts his hands on his hips. "Hell of a town, this Dublith, Hell of a town." The Fuhrer remarks. Ed yelps and bounces back a step. "What? Why are you-" The Fuhrer laughs and pats Ed's head. "I came to meet your teacher." He then pulls a melon from behind his back and holds it out to Ed who confusedly takes it. "Have a melon." Ed stares at in in confusion. "Uh. ok…" Ed sighs and reluctantly leads the Fuhrer and Major Armstrong to the Curtis's Butcher shop.

As the two military men attempt to convince Sig to get Izumi, Ed walks down the hall to where Mason has told Ed that Izumi is at. As Ed enters one of the rooms, he gasps at the sight. "Teacher?! What's happened?!" Izumi stands and brushes herself off, turning to Ed. Her hand is wrapped in gauze and her apron is stained with several splatters of blood. An unconscious person lays in the only bed. Izumi shakes her wrapped hand and frowns at Ed. "It's a bit complicated."

Only then does Ed take notice of the unconscious figure in the room.

Her brown hair is splayed like a dark halo around her pale face, covering the pillow. Her eyes are shut and her mouth is open ever so slightly. Her arms lay at her sides, her entire chest wrapped in gauze. A pile of bloody bandages and cloths lay next to Izumi's only hint that the weak girl is alive is the tiniest rise and fall of her chest.

If Ed's were wide before, they were even wider now. "What happened to her?" his voice is breathless as his worry filled eyes search for any visible damage… or lost limbs. Izumi sighs and sits back down in the chair beside the bed. Her eyes narrow as she places a cold cloth to Lisa's warm forehead. "Alphonse was kidnapped." "Kidnapped?!" Izumi nods at Ed's incredulous tone. "Some thugs in a local bar called The Devil's Nest. Their leader is a homunculus who calls himself Greed. He wanted to learn how to transmute a soul. He thought Al could teach him. Lisa and I went to get Alphonse back." "They beat you guys?!" Izumi glares at her ex-student, who flinches. "S-sorry." Izumi lets out a sigh. "We had most of them beat. We tried to confront Greed, when he attacked us, using some strange shielding." She holds up her good hand, pointing at it. "He turned his entire hand black with pointed tips and slashed at me." She glances at Lisa mournfully. "She must've noticed before I did, because she pushed me out of the way and took the brunt of the blow. She's been unconscious since yesterday. Her wound is mostly healed, but I think the blood lost was more than expected." Ed frowns and walks around to the other side of the bed. His automail hand brushes Lisa's. She lets out a small hiss at the shiver running up her arm at the touch of the cold metal.

She doesn't stir otherwise.

Ed frowns before turning to Izumi. "Take care of her please Teacher. I'm going after Al." "NO YOU'RE NOT!" She jumps to her feet and shouts, making Ed yelp and duck. "Don't be an idiot!" Ed waves his hands in front of his face. "They only want information, right? It's not like they're going to kill us." Izumi glares at him and Ed nervously holds her gaze before she sighs and waves her hand at him over her shoulder. "Fine, do whatever you want." She sits back down and pats the cloth on Lisa forehead. Ed frowns and turns to leave. "Just make sure you're back for dinner." Ed smiles and nods. "Yes ma'am."

Darkness.

That is all there is around me.

Shadows dance to some music that only they hear.

They laugh tauntingly as I stand. I lightly rub my stomach, where I know that huge scar will be when I wake.

And yes, I know.

This is a dream.

I start walking, ignoring the shadows and their laughter.

I've been here a thousand times so I know how this works.

"Yo! Lill! Where are you?"

The quiet and angry reply echoes nearby.

"How many times have I told you… IT'S LILLIAN, DAMMIT! NOT LILL, NOT LILLY, NOT PEE-BOO-PAH-HA! LILLIAN!"

I grin and walk towards her, holding my hands up in mock surrender. "OO! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend the Great and Powerful demon of my body!" I laugh before walking closer to the familiar face. Lillian glares at me, a vein pounding on her forehead. "Seriously though, just chill out." Lillian growls.

She then grumbles and turns away from me, crossing her arms. "Don't tell me what to do Lisa. I'm more powerful than you." I grin and walk up to her and poke her arm. "Since when has that ever helped you?" She jerks her arm away, her mouth twisting into a sneer. "Leave me alone."

I sigh and shrug. "Whatever. I'm just trying to figure out what's happening with the guys. I hate this." Lillian scoffs. "That's what you get for being a hero." I frown. "I wasn't going to let Greed hurt Izumi! Besides, what else could I have done?!" Lillian growled. "You could've ju-"

A poof of colored smoke and she was gone.

I blink in surprise and spin around. "Lillian? Lillian! Where'd you go?! HEY! LILLIAN! LILLY! YOOOOOOO LILLLLYYYYYYYY! WHERE DID YOOOOOUUUUU GOOOOO?!" I call, spinning around in confusion. "LILLIAN!"

When I get dizzy, I plop to the ground, frowning confusedly. "Where the hell did you go?" I murmur worriedly. My eyes droop as I lay on my back. As I start to close my eyes, something I never thought I'd see in this dreamworld stabs at my eyes.

Light.

My eyes start to flutter open and I hear someone shouting. It sounds like Teacher. Something about somebody waking up. I grumble and squeeze my eyes shut before squinting at the lit ceiling above me. A blurry figure bleeds into sight. I can see a black-ish fuzz around a pale circle, so it must be Izumi.

"Tea-cher?" My throat hurts and it's making my voice sound weird.

As my vision starts to clear, I can see her face and the light stops threatening to burn my eyeballs. She's smiling at me in relief. "-ness, you're awake." she says and I smile weakly. "What'd I miss?" Izumi sighs and shakes her head. "I'll let the boys explain it." She thens backs out of my sight and I hear her footsteps echo out of the room.

Ever so carefully, I lift my arm up and trace the large scar on my stomach. 'Heh, looks like I was wrong. There are four, one for each of his fingers. Logic, I guess.' I stop, waiting for a snarky comeback of some kind from Lillian.

It doesn't come.

'Lillian? Yo, Lilly, where you is chica?'

Still none of the angry responses that I've come to know.

I'm starting to get a little confused.

'Lillian? Come on Lill, this isn't funny.'

'...'

'Are you mad at me or something? Lilly, come on, answer me!'

My stomach knots up as I realize something terrifying.

My mind feels rather… lonely.

I feel my arms start shaking and I furiously start digging around inside my mind, searching desperately for my personal demon. 'She can't be gone. Where could she go? How would she get out? LILLIAN! COME ON LIL! COME BACK TO ME! SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT!'

-Ed's POV-

I follow Teacher into the room Lisa's been staying at, Al right on my heels. Ever since he woke up, he's been worrying about her. Right now he's doing that thing where he taps his fingers together nervously. "I sure hope she'll be ok." Al murmurs worriedly. I grin and pat his arm. "Don't worry so much Al. She'll be fine. She's the one who said she was immortal." Al shakes his head. "She never said that." I sigh as we walk into the room. "Yo Li-" I turn to say something to her, only to find her staring at the ceiling, gripping the sheets.

"Lisa?" Al and I rush to one side of the bed as Teacher dashes to the other, placing her hand on Lisa's forehead. Her eyes are cloudy and unfocused, darting back and forth. They're huge and filled with fear, tears glistening at the corners. Her hands are shaking from how hard she's gripping the blankets. Her mouth is opening and closing a bit, as if she's talking to someone. I frown and look up a Teacher with confusion. "What's wrong with her?!" worries Al, pacing at the foot of the bed. Teacher frowns with concern and wipes Lisa's brow with a damp cloth. "She's either gone into shock or passed out again and is dreaming." "How do we snap her out of it?" I ask. Regardless of how much of a pain in the neck she is, she's our responsibility and our friend now! Teacher shakes her head. "There's nothing we can do but wait for her to wake up on her own."

*Gasp!*

Lisa abruptly shoots up with a terrified gasp and frantically looks around the room, eyes so wide that it must hurt. I immediately grab her arm to keep her from jumping out of bed. "Lisa! Calm down!" I snap and her head swivels towards me. Her eyes lock with mine and I force myself to keep eye contact with her, despite wanting to look away in embarrassment. "Lisa!" She blinks and her eyes clear. From this close I can see how bright green her eyes are, some tiny brown specks in the green and how small her pupils are. Her eyes search my face for a moment before her lip starts quivering. "E-ed….." The tears start to overflow as her whole body starts shaking. Her face starts to twist up and she throws herself against my chest, sobbing silently. My eyes widen in surprise at her reaction before I awkwardly hug her and rest my chin atop her head. I hear Teacher shoo Al out and then close the door. Lisa grips my shirt and buries her face into my shoulder. As uncomfortable as I am in situations like this, I pat the back of her head and rub her back slowly.

-Lisa's POV, a few seconds earlier-

I dash around the mindscape, screaming for Lillian now, fearing that the impossible has actually happened: Lillian has left my mind.

"LILLIAN! LILLIAN PLEASE ANSWER ME! PLEASE!"

I quake and fall to my knees, staring ahead in utter horror. 'She can't be gone. She can't be. It's not possible. No…. no… no… nononononononono….'

'NOOOOOOOO!'

I shoot up in the bed I'm in, a strike of searing pain shooting through my chest. In a moment of blind terror, I can't tell where I am and I frantically look around. In my fear-struck state, I feel something cold grab my arm and force me to look at one place. I feel my entire body shaking in fear. I force myself to focus. 'Calm the fuck down, calm the fuck down.' I blink and everything comes into focus.

A pair of stern golden eyes filled with concern bleed into sight, the smallest hint of a blush on his nose, and his mouth pressed into a thin line. In a moment of confusion I rake my brain for who it is in front of me. 'Goldgoldgoldgoldgold...' "E-ed…." I feel my tears build up as my face twists up. Relief mixes in with the pit of terror in my stomach. I throw myself against his chest, burying my face into his shoulder, sobbing as realization throws itself into my face. I hardly feel it when Ed pats my head and gently rubs my back.

"S-she… she's g-g-gone….." I whimper and grip his shirt. "She's gone… she's gone… she'goneshe'sgoneshe'sgone…." Ed stops rubbing my back and I feel him stare down at me in confusion. "Who's gone? Lisa, what's going on?" I avoid looking up at him as I bite my lip. "L-lil-ian… Sh-she's...g-gone… I-I don't kn-know how…" I sniffle and pull my arms closer to my chest, still gripping Ed's shirt. My shoulders start shaking as I continue to sob. Ed sighs and pats my head. "Just, uh, calm down, ok?" I whimper and try to control myself. I'm fucking crying on Ed….

HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

I'm crying on EDWARD FUCKING ELRIC'S SHIRT!

I nearly yelp at the realization, as this is SUPER EMBARRASSING.

I pull away from him, hiding my immense blush behind my hands. "S-s-sorry… I-uhm… ah…." I glance up to see Ed's blushing almost as much as I am. He rubs the back of his head and chuckles nervously. "I-it's okay…" I swallow back a bout of embarrassment and wipe my arm across my face. Hopefully I'm not a complete and utter mess. I hate when I do that. It's only then do I realize that my arm is bare. Why are my shoulders cold? I rub one eye with the heel of my hand and look down at myself. I've still got on my shorts from earlier but my entire top half is wrapped in gauze, from my stomach up and covering one of my shoulders.

I literally am as close to naked as I've ever been in the presence of ANYONE since the day I was born.

I nearly scream out of embarrassed fear as my hands instinctively fly to cover my chest. I'm pretty sure my face is going to explode out of embarrassment. Ed takes the hint and yelps, turning around and scrambling to find his coat. Holding a hand over his eyes and not turning towards me, he holds out his black under-jacket. I snatch it out of his hands a tid-bit to quickly, pulling it on and buttoning it up. 'I always thought it was a zip up jacket..' I shoo the thought away and blush. "I-uh, uhm.. th-thanks…" I bite my lip as he nods, still looking away and blushing even more. 'Dear god Ed, stop being so god damned cute or I'm going to have an effing heart attack.' I bite back the comment as Ed slides back off the bed. I can hardly stop myself as my arm shoots out and catch his hand in mine. He stops, nearly yelping, before turning back to me in concerned confusion. I look down, blushing in embarrassment, blushing. "I-uh-uhm…" He sighs and sits back down. He puts a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiles softly, the faintest hints of understanding pulling at his features. "I'm going to go get Teacher and then I'll be right back." The underlying promise doesn't fly past me:

Don't be scared, I'll be back.

I force a weak smile and nod, slowly releasing his hand. He pats my shoulder and then gets up. I watch as he leaves the room before I draw the soft blanket from its spot at the foot of the bed around my shoulders, flipping it over my head like some kind of hood.

It doesn't help rid me of the horrible sense of fear building up in my stomach.

'God dammit Lillian where did you go?' I whimper softly. '... Please, Lillian… answer me, please… Please...'

I sit up on the bed, blanket pulled around my shoulders. I haven't bothered giving Ed his jacket back or putting a shirt on over all the gauze. Al is standing by the foot of the bed, Teacher is sitting in the chair at the bedside and Ed is standing on my other side, close enough that I could grab his hand if I needed. I avoid making eye contact with anyone, feeling their questioning stares on me.

"…."

Izumi is the first to break the silence, sighing loudly and absentmindedly rubbing her bandaged hand. "Lisa-" I shake my head. "Don't. Just…. Dont'..." I take a deep, possibly overdrawn, breath. "I'm sorry about… earlier…." I draw out the last r, glancing around, continuing to avoid eye contact. Teacher sighs and shakes her head. "It's alright Lisa. Everyone has bad dreams." I frown up at her, my brow sliding towards my mouth. "I didn't have a nightmare… I…." I bite my lip slightly, twiddling my fingers together.

They all lean forward some, waiting.

I let out a sigh. "I lost something… someone…" I glance up at Al and Teacher's confused glances through my bangs. I take another deep breath and squirm slightly. "I… I don't know how to explain it really… but…." I glance over at Al. "Al, do you remember what happened, that night before we went to the Fifth Laboratory?" Al blinks and then nods. "Yeah, you went kind of crazy and tried to kill Brother." Izumi throws a confused, possibly threatening, glance in my direction. I sigh, bouncing my shoulders. "That wasn't me…. That was Lillian." I hate explaining this.

I adjust my sitting position so my legs are crossed and the blanket is pulled closer to my ears. "A few years ago, I found out that, for all intents and purposes, I was possesed by a demon. To be truthful though, Lillian was created when I was very young." "How is that possible?" Ed's curious question echoes in my ear. "To explain how she was created, you have to understand that I was born with a one-in-a-million kind of soul." I tap my fingers on my knee, anxious about explaining this strange and complicated matter. "To be completely honest, even I don't believe it sometimes…."

Next chapter, Lisa will reveal one of her most strange, confusing and personal secret.