Did you know classical music is good for writer's block? At least, it helped me out. My mom's jaw practically dropped to the ground when she found me listening to it and writing this out in a notebook.

Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! To tell the truth, I'm kind of curious about the lack of Fullmetal Alchemist crossovers. Are there any others out there?

Okay, I've stalled you long enough. READ!

Disclaimer: See first chapter

Regret is a dull and rusty blade

That covers me with scars that never fade

These wounds, like a catalog of flaws

Serve to remind me of all the pain I caused

Assemblage 23

"Fullmetal— what is this?"

Filled with annoyance, Ed turned around and froze. In Colonel Mustang's hand was the picture that normally resided in his breast pocket, and no one, not even Al, knew about it. Cursing angrily, Ed lunged at the Colonel.

"Give that back!"

Unfortunately Mustang, being the much taller of the two, managed to keep Ed at bay while he studied the photo. It portrayed Ed and Al and a young girl in between them, their arms wrapped around each other and beaming at the camera. A vicious kick to his shin caused him to look down into Ed's infuriated golden eyes. The boy in question was currently spouting off obscenities and demanding his picture back, all in the same breath and so fast Mustang had trouble discerning it.

"What's that, Fullmetal?" Cupping a hand around his ear, Mustang bent down. "I'm sorry— I couldn't hear you way down there."

Mustang paid dearly for his comment when a fist crashed into his jaw and Ed yelled "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE HIM WITH A MICROSOPE, YOU JERK?"

In the confusion, Mustang also lost his grip on the picture, which was snatched back by an irate Fullmetal. Rubbing his sore jaw and glaring at his young subordinate, Mustang ceased scowling when he saw how gently Ed was smoothing the picture out and the soft light in his eyes as he gazed at it.

Mustang knew Ed had his soft spots— Al, Winry, small children, books. It appeared that that the young girl also claimed his affections. About to ask who the girl in the picture was, the Colonel saw he had pondered too long. Fullmetal was already stomping out the door.

Ed stormed off to his dorm, face set in a scowl. Everyone gave him a wide berth, having learned by now that Ed would just run them over if they tried to talk to him now.

The Fullmetal Alchemist sighed as the door closed after him, then walked forward and flopped down on the couch. All the fight had drained out of him, and he found himself caught up in memories of the past. Ed's fingers groped in his breast pocket and found the picture, pulling it out and holding it in front of his face.

Three faces smiled out at him. His own face, when he had had short hair and no fake limbs. Al's face, his dirty blonde hair tumbling over his forehead and his large silvery-gray eyes bright and laughing. And lastly, Serena's face.

She sure as hell stands out from us, Ed thought, a trace of a smile on his face. Indeed, contrasting with the Elrics' light golden skin, Serena's skin was pale and a snowy white color. Her hair was a rich gold, shimmering in the late afternoon sun, and her dark blue eyes shone as she held onto her two best friends.

She had always been smaller and more fragile-looking, but looks could be deceiving. Serena had had almost as much energy as Ed, and was a lot less meek than she let on. They had only known her for two years, but those years had made them inseparable. But the year Mom died, just a few months before her death…

Flashback

Ed yelped as he tripped, falling face first into the gravel road. But as soon as he touched the ground, he was up again and running to the train station. Al was sick, so he couldn't come along with him to see Serena off.

Ed arrived at the train station just in time, practically falling over in relief when he saw that Serena was still there. She was sitting on her suitcase, looking miserable and teary-eyed and not looking at her parents. Her head jerked up when he called her name, and smile burst onto her face like the sun coming out from behind a cloud.

Serena hugged Ed as he bent over, wheezing from running for so long. After he caught his breath, Ed dug around in his pocket and pulled out something that shone bright silver. Serena gasped in shock, her slender hands reaching out to cup the silver locket. She stared at him uncomprehendingly.

"Ed…I don't understand. This is your mother's locket!"

"Yeah. Mom wanted you to have it."

Gently, Serena pried the lid open and smiled at the picture of a toddler Ed and a baby Al, held by their mother and father. She looked back up at Ed, who was grinning and had locked his hands behind his head. Serena opened her mouth and blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Ed, would you transmute something for me?" Ed paused for a minute, eyes clouding over with thought. He glanced around, then turned and yanked up a large weed behind him. The oldest Elric scratched a transmutation circle on the ground and then placed the weed on it. He closed his eyes and put his hands on the circle, opening them and smiling victoriously as light shot up from the ground.

Where the weed had been, there was now a single red rose that had just unfurled. Ed grinned at Serena's gasp of delight as he picked it up and offered it to her. Serena took it, smiling as she breathed in the sweet scent.

Quick as a flash, Serena leaned over and kissed Ed on the cheek. The boy's eyes got large and round as a dark red blush spread over his cheeks. He put his hand up to touch the spot her lips had met his skin, blushing even more as he looked at Serena. She too was red in the face, but smiling and looking him in the eye.

"Equivalent exchange…right, Ed?"

The train whistle blew, and Serena's father called sharply for his daughter. Serena sighed, hung her head, and embraced her friend one last time.

"You won't forget me, will you?" she asked.

"You? Heck no, I couldn't forget you if I wanted to!" Ed teased. Serena smiled and whacked him upside the head, then turned and lugged her suitcase up onto the train. She stuck her head out the window and waved as the train began to move, and kept waving until the train was well out of sight.

Ed stood there a long time, gazing after the train until his mother came and took him home.

Ed's hand had curled around the picture, crunching the delicate paper. When he realized what he was doing he began desperately trying to smooth it out. No matter what he did, the picture wouldn't unwrinkle. After a minute he nearly smacked himself for being so stupid, then used his alchemy to return the picture to normal.

What would Serena think of him now? What would she think of a dog of the military with two missing limbs, and his brother, with his body missing altogether? What would she say?

Ed glared at his pocket watch, hating it not for the first time or the last, either. As soon as Al and him had the Philosopher's Stone and they were back to normal, this watch was going back where it belonged. Then Al would head back to Resembool, and then Ed would go out to find Serena, and then—

Ed knocked his head repeatedly against the arm of the couch to drive out those thoughts. Serena probably had a boyfriend already, as beautiful as she was bound to be by now. Wait, where did that come from?

Okay, so he had always thought Serena was pretty. So what? The burning in his cheeks answered that question for him, and with a groan he buried his face in the cushion.

In any case, there was no way he could just go and show up at her doorstep, not that he even knew where she was. No, Fullmetal couldn't go to Serena, not when there was still blood on his hands. His mother's blood, Al's blood, Nina's blood— he couldn't go. Ed shook his head, trying to block out the thought of dark blue eyes, soft smiles, and the gentle brush of lips against his cheek.

Half-asleep, Ed held his automail arm up, palm facing him. In his mind's eye, he saw blood dripping from the steel.

There's so much blood, he thought hazily. So much…blood…

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

There's so much blood, Serena thought, watching it slide down her fingers. A starburst of pain shot up her spine when she moved. She trembled and fought to keep still. It was a good thing the maids were used to cleaning up blood, because her back was staining the sheet and Serena suspected that it was dripping onto the floor.

If she didn't move, the scars would close up just enough that she would be able to move in the morning. A tear dropped from her eye, half turning into a diamond before reverting back. That was the bad thing about the arrays— their power never lasted, even though the scars remained.

Idly, Serena wondered if she had woken her mother with her screaming. Father had tried a new method tonight— heating the knife white-hot before carving symbols into her back.

The black humor struck her then, and she wondered if she would have any bare patches of skin when he was done with her. Serena wondered if she would have any skin left, and not just scar tissue.

It seemed like Father was after more than just diamonds lately. He had begun whipping her longer now, always stopping to study the cuts. Whatever he saw, it infuriated him. Serena grinned weakly. Any trouble for her father was always welcome.

Her mother was having another boring dinner party tomorrow night. Serena was expected to attend, even though she hated sitting with people so much older than her who had nothing interesting to talk about. She shifted and winced as a scar broke open, and reminded herself to wear something dark and modest tomorrow night. It wouldn't do if she suddenly started bleeding on her mother's impeccably clean ballroom floor, now would it?

Maybe Envy or Lust would show up tonight. They might be able to figure out how to get her out of the stupid party. Wait— no. Envy and Lust were out of town on "business". Not for the first time, Serena wondered what her homunculus friends were up to. Oh, well.

Of course, she could always hope that Ed and Al would show up suddenly on the doorstep and sweep her away like in all the fairy tales, and they would live happily ever after.

Pffft. Yeah, right.

But a small part of her continued with it's childish hope, that maybe someday she would see her friends. Just a glimpse on the street would make her day.

It was no use. Ed was a State Alchemist now, and probably had more important things to do than think of a girl he used to know. But maybe…. Bah, she was being stupid again. Envy did tell her that she thought too much, and Lust probably agreed too. Anyway, none of these musings would help her in the morning when Serena went back to being the sickly daughter of a rich alchemist and his perfect wife.

Slowly, gingerly, Serena shifted herself onto her stomach and closed her eyes. In a few moments she was asleep.

Two shadows outside her window slipped in. One sat on the edge of the bed, while the other leaned against the wall. For a long moment there was silence.

"You know we shouldn't have come." Lust's soft, velvety voice broke the stillness.

"Mmmh," Envy muttered, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. He wrapped a golden curl around his finger, lightly stroking it with his thumb. Lust wasn't sure whether to roll her eyes or smile.

"She thinks we've gone out of town," Lust remarked, trying to bring Envy back out of la-la land.

"Let her keep on thinking that. The Stone can wait."

For once Lust couldn't agree more. Glancing at Serena's moon-white face and then at the blood-soaked sheets, she decided to pay a visit to the man who dared call himself Serena's father soon. Very soon.

But not tonight. For now, they would watch over Serena.

So what do you think?

Next Chapter: Serena and the Elrics have a reunion, Mustang has something up his sleeve and Envy and Lust have an argument.

Read and Review, please!