Ishbal-1918; Campsite

As the day settled in, night approached quickly. The two had no choice but to build a fire and relax for the the rest of that day.

" You know, it's kind of cold out."

"So? Want me to cuddle with you?" Alice began to smirk.

" F'eh.." He rolled his eyes somewhat. " That's one thing that I hate about the desert, the nights are cold. We're going to have
to share this then." He pulled a medium sized goat skin cover from his bag.

"Leather?"

"It's goat."

"So, you're farmer now? Wow, the lies just keep coming."

"I got it from the last town I came from. It was a gift from the wife of a farmer. I fixed her sewing machine." He nodded some while fluffing the skin.

"Whatever.."

"If you don't want any, I don't mind being greedy."

" I didn't say that."

"Then shut up and just accept. Man, you make things hard."

The two settled down on the ground, sharing the skin together. The fire slowly began to fade away into the dark pieces of wood equivalent exchange provided for them.

"It's bad enough we're in the same bed..."

" Look, I just want to go home. In the morning I'll leave to find my way back, alone."

She turned on her side, facing away from him as she kept quiet. He also turned facing away, his auto-mail leg sticking out somewhat, due to it's bulky texture. Later on that night, a peaceful slumber inhabited the two. Dreams of happiness flourished throughout their minds, dancing all around. Ed, being the first to experience this event in dream land, began to dream about dogs mistaking his leg for a bone.

"Huh...leggo." He began to call out while wiggling. " Mmmmm...stop.." His leg slowly eased it's way over to Alice's own right. Even she began to dream, which was common, rubbing her right leg against Ed's auto-mail left one.

" Ha! Don't touch there, my leg isn't all there." She began to snort lightly. Suddenly, a bright light appeared under the covers which made Ed jump.

"What the..." He pulled back the covers to notice a fusion between both her limbs and his auto-mail. " No...NO! HELL NO! Now I know this is impossible! Alice, wake up and gimme my damn leg back!" He began to shake her shoulder. " Damn, I can't even move without her help. She looks so light, but is as heavy as a whale." He placed his right foot in her face " GET UP!" After five kicks, she too arose.

" WHY THE HELL DID YOU WAKE ME UP!"

" DON'T YELL AT ME!"

"IT'S FOUR O'CLOCK AND YOU HAVE YOUR FIVE INCH FOOT IN MY FACE, WHAT SHOULD I DO!"

" LOOK AT YOUR LEG, STUPID!"

She glanced down, hoping to see her toes, but all that was left was metal intertwined with her skin.
" ...Oh...My...God..."

" Alright, this impossible, and I mean it. However, science doesn't lie, so you're hiding something."

" WHAT'S THERE TO HIDE? YOU DID A TRANSMUTATION IN YOUR SLEEP!"

"C'mon, fusing metal with bones? Doesn't work that easy."

" Ed, where's my leg, I'm trying to stay calm."

"What does that mean! 'Where's my leg?' Where the hell do you think it is!"

"Oh, you're such a genius. Ed the Genius"

" Right, and I suppose I grabbed your leg."

"It was on my side of the bed, I bet you had some stupid dream and like..it happened. It's like wetting the bed."

" You know, I really don't like you.."

"Oh yeah!"

"YEAH!"

"OH YEAH!"

" DIDN'T I JUST SAY 'YEAH'. YOU'RE SO DUMB, YOU CAN'T EVEN HOLD A PROPER ARGUMENT!"

Alice pressed her hands together and placed them to his lips, creating a muzzle around his mouth. " SHUT UP!."

He retaliated against her, pressing his hands to the ground creating a chain on her neck. " Mmm...MMMM!..Mmm..Mmmm.."

" You're so dumb, you'd think you would've removed the muzzle by now. Haha...ha-" As she began to laugh, the muzzle fastening it's way from Ed's face onto her own.

" Only bitches need muzzles."

She growled and created a cage for him while removing the muzzle. " Ohh! You make me sick!"

" I make you sick?" He pulled at the bars " From day one, all you've been was a pain, and a brat!"

"Whatever, this is all in your mind."

"T'ch, you're something else. Are you sure you're related to Rose? " She grew silent as her eyes began to grow. " I mean, she has womanly skills, kindness, and she's beautiful. Anyone could fall for her, compared to you." He began to sigh.

"DON'T EVER COMPARE US!" She began to pull at her chain with her neck.

" If you do that, you'll choke to death." He said in a calm voice.

"I don't care. I DON'T CARE" She began to pant louder while pulling.

" Why don't you just take it off ?"

"Because, I can't. And I want to hurt you for this! What you've said and my leg!"

"If you haven't noticed, you're not that far from me." He began to taunt at her fingers with his own hand, as she scratched at his wrist. " I noticed how you are weak against destroying metal with alchemy. It made no sense at first, then it hit me. It's because even you have an alchemical reaction to metal, sorta like a non-polar/polar reaction." Suddenly, she stopped short and lowered her head as her body was pulled back. " Let's try this again, what's in your leg, Alice?"

" My leg isn't all real."

"I know that, but you still have a bone in your leg."

" 40 of that leg is metal, some scraps of iron and traces of other elements linger too. The bone remains because, it could've been reused."

" Even though that still doesn't add up, tell me what happened?"

" My old home, in Alford, the war against Ishbalians and the state waged. I remember running to school one day then coming home to notice an empty house. There were bullets flying, left to right and people screaming, but no signs of my family. I ran out the door, screaming for them, even running down to the local market. While I was running from the crossfire, I fell into a ditch which contained a landmine. From there on, life wasn't good."

"And is that's why you hate Rose?"

"NO!"

"Then why?"

"You wouldn't understand.."

Ed forceful placed his hands on the ground allowing her chain to materialize. He then pulled her by the wrist over to his cage. " HOW CAN YOU TELL ME THAT ! DO YOU NOT SEE WHAT'S ON MY ARM? ALICE, I DON'T HAVE A LEFT LEG AND RIGHT ARM! Loosing limbs is something I do too well."

"This isn't about limbs, it's about family."

" I lost my mother too! I understa-.."

"SHUT UP! LIKE HELL YOU DO! YOUR BROTHER DIDN'T LEAVE YOUR DYING MOTHER FOR ANOTHER WOMAN!"

"..." He remained silent

"Yeah, like I thought. All roses are cheap, and worthless. Even the name is worth two cents, Rose."

" Alice, she's not a bad person."

" When I was fourteen, she left my dying father to be with Cain, that's stupid boyfriend of hers. She knew we couldn't carry on with out her, and still she did, saying some bull crap, " You guys will be fine, he needs me." I thought she loved us. She went with him to Ishbal so he could go to his 'home'. After the accident with her family, she believed all she had left was him" Her eyes began to close "Ishbalians are dirty".

" She does.." Ed freed himself from the cage. "It was just a bad mistake.."

"Yes, one I suffered with for as long as I know. My leg was gone, my father was killed and mother. And again, I'm alone." The tears began to pour from the sides of her eyes. "Turn around and close your ears, I don't want you seeing me like this. I'm not a weak person, I just hate her so much, that I'm emotionally drained."

He began to wrap his arms around her back and waist. "Stupid...I'm not leaving." He said while smothering his face into her hair." Shut up and get over it. You'll cry now, because I don't ever want to see it again..."