As a reminder - the first chapter was technically a prologue, making this chapter two. I hope you're enjoying it! Some of this earlier stuff shifts scenes quite a bit, but it's necessary to keep the story moving towards the real heart of it, so please bear with me, lovelies. Enjoy!


Edward answered the door still in his pyjamas, yawning and looking incredibly sleepy. "Why do you have to get here so early?" he whined, and stepped aside to let Lissa into the house.

"Because they wake us up at five every morning. And I'm bored at the institution." She giggled at his hair, long like hers and hanging down his back unbraided, before handing over the box of pastries she owed for her loss the night before. Lissa didn't mind losing to Ed—she won half the time anyway, and sparring with him always left her breathless and exhilarated, happy right down to her toes no matter who won. He and Alphonse were the only kids her own age she actually liked sparring with. Though…she didn't think she'd ever be good enough to beat Al, especially since Ed couldn't do it either.

"Mornings are stupid," Edward griped, even as he stuffed half a donut in his mouth and began to shuffle down the hall. "Do you even know when I fell asleep last night?"

Lissa smirked and nudged his side with her elbow. "Midnight?"

"Two! Two in the freaking morning!" The rest of the donut disappeared in his mouth and he licked his fingers clean, almost absently, ignoring the chocolate frosting smeared around his lips. "I'm so tired, Liss. Can't we just do this tomorrow?"

She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head, used to him complaining by now. It was like this every Monday morning. "No way, Ed. If I'm not here, then I have to go to school."

"Ew."

"Yeah, exactly."

Footsteps thumped down the hall—and then, in a whirlwind of chaos, Nina Tucker and her dog Alexander came racing down towards the two. "Big Sister Lissa!" Nina giggled, tumbling right into Lissa's arms. "You came back!"

Lissa smiled as she embraced the girl tightly. Usually she didn't do great with kids, but Nina was sweet, and she even liked Alphonse. So Lissa got through the discomfort for her. "'Course I did. What, did you think I was gonna stay away forever?" She ruffled the girl's hair and winked. "Little Big Brother has pastries, if you want one."

Nina gasped. "Big Brother Edward! You have to share!"

"I know, I know," Edward laughed, obediently passing over a donut. Lissa thought it was sweet, how nice he was to Nina. They all tried to be—she'd lost her mom a couple years ago when the woman just walked out, and Mr. Tucker worked all the time, so Nina was lonely. All three could understand loneliness.

Feeling a bit bad—she didn't want to be a hardass, after all—Lissa tapped Ed's arm and asked, "Is Al in the library already? I'll go study with him for a bit if you wanna sleep more."

But Edward just shook his head. "Nah. I'm up now. I'll just sleep in the library if I get too tired."

Lissa twisted her mouth up, but didn't argue it. She'd left him sleeping in the library plenty of times, wrapping him in a blanket and stuffing a pillow under his head so Al didn't have to disturb him for a while. Over the past couple months, she'd gotten to know the Elric brothers really well. They were way better than the other kids at the facility, too, way nicer to her and much better alchemists as well. She could see why they were going to be allowed to take their state exams.

She didn't know why she wasn't allowed, considering how long she'd been studying and especially now that she was training with Ed and Al… But Lissa knew better than to ask.

Nina ran off with Alexander, giggling with a mouthful of pastry, while Lissa followed Ed into the library and shut the door behind her. Al lifted his head as she came in and waved brightly, his red eyes glowing at her in what felt like a friendly way. "Good morning, Lissa," he greeted her in his usual warm tone. "Did you sleep well?"

"Until my five AM bugle call," she laughed. "You'd think after spending almost half my life there I'd get used to it, but it's still stupid."

Ed pulled a face. "I think I'd go crazy."

Lissa settled into her usual chair across the table from the boys and opened the last volume she'd been using to teach them—this one was specifically about the written part of the state exam, complete with practice questions and essay prompts and stuff she usually got at school. The difference was, this book was meant for adults, so it was more complicated. Not difficult, just a higher level. Lissa thought that by the end of this, there was no way she wouldn't be ready to take her exams, even though she'd still have to wait another four years before she tried.

"So, you only have a month before you take your exams," Lissa began, selecting a practice test from the book and holding the page open with her finger. "You both know most of the material, so you should be fine on the written part. But then you gotta worry about the other parts—there's the interview, the physical evaluation, and the practical exam."

Ed raised his right arm, the automail one, and stretched it out with a worried frown. "Will they care about my automail?"

Lissa shook her head quickly. "No, tons of state alchemists have automail. Some people choose to get it, which is kind of stupid if you ask me, but they don't have a problem. You just wanna make sure they know you have a mechanic and that you're looking after it, that's all."

"What happens to me during the physical part?" Al asked, sounding worried. "If they find out I'm just held on by a blood seal…"

"A blood seal in a suit of armor," Lissa pointed out brightly. "You should be fine. You're stronger than me and Ed for sure, it'd take a lot to hurt you. Human bodies are really breakable to begin with, so I'm sure it'll be okay." She wasn't—actually, she had a growing suspicion it was not okay at all, but she didn't want to break Alphonse's heart by admitting that. If the military found out what Al really was, and that Ed had done it himself when he was so young…

She shook it off. It didn't matter yet, they had a whole month to go. She'd find a solution by then.

Ed scowled at the tabletop. "Then there's the interview, right? Do you know what they ask us?"

"I know a bit. One of my handlers talked about it a bit once, he said they want to make sure you have the right reasons for joining up. He told me they'll ask why you wanna be a state alchemist—and they'll ask you about following orders and stuff too. I think even if you don't agree, you wanna say you'll obey because otherwise they might not let you in." That was something even Mustang had told her—that with her history of insubordination, as he called it, she'd need to prove she could follow an order before they let her in. So Lissa just worked on her lying skills.

"Then the practical." Alphonse sounded excited about it. "That one's easy, we just have to show off, right?"

Lissa bobbed her head. "Show off and give them something unique and impressive, too. Usually they only let a couple in at a time, never more than three, I think, but a bunch of people try out every year. So make it big and showy."

Edward grinned with every single one of his teeth. "No problem."

"Big Sister Lissa? Do you think big brothers will be finished soon?" Nina asked eagerly, swinging from Lissa's hand.

Lissa smiled down at the girl. "Pretty soon, Nina. Then we'll all go out for ice cream after, okay?" She was glad Nina and Alexander had come along… It made her feel much better after the day she'd had. Just that morning, Lissa had gone storming down to Central HQ, begging to be allowed to take her written test for the state alchemy exam. She had prepared all her arguments, shown evidence of the work she'd done not just in school but with Ed and Al too, done everything she could…

But she'd been turned down.

The boys didn't know—she didn't want to upset them when they were so excited about taking their test, so she'd kept her mouth shut. Edward had noticed she was a bit quiet that morning, but he hadn't pressed, thankfully. And now, a few hours away from the rejection, spending time with Nina had been just what she needed.

Children usually…scared Lissa, somehow. It was stupid, she knew she was pretty young herself, but little kids were just so innocent, and Lissa didn't know how to handle innocence. She'd been learning alchemy since she was younger than Nina, and that didn't allow for much innocence. And then her parents had died…and she'd become a ward of the state, which had basically ruined any little bit of innocence she had left. Lissa was afraid to hurt kids like Nina, who still thought the world was beautiful and perfect and were so happy it seemed like nothing could make them really sad.

She thought back to Edward and Alphonse's house, the blood on the floor, the horrible sadness lingering over them that night, and wondered if they were afraid too.

"Why aren't you taking the test?" Nina asked, pausing in her swinging to look up at Lissa curiously.

Lissa winced. "Uh—it's because I'm not allowed to yet. Big brothers saved a whole train full of people, so they're allowed, but I wasn't there so I can't." She patted Nina's head and found a smile for her. "Don't worry, though. I'll get to take it soon."

And she would. Because she knew this was her first test—to sit this round out while the Elrics took their tests. Maybe this would prove she could follow orders.

Nina tugged on her hand. "Big sister, I'm bored."

Lissa giggled at her—even frustrated, Nina was cute. "Okay, well, why don't we play a game? I remember one I used to play with my parents… It's called I Spy. You look around you, pick an object, and then you say its color. Like this: I spy with my little eye, something…purple." She tapped Nina on the nose and made her smile. "Okay, Nina. Now look for something purple."

"Um…" Nina stuck her tongue between her lips as she thought about it. "Oh! Those flowers!"

"Nope," Lissa told her brightly. "Try again."

"The um… Maybe that lady's coat?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Hmph." The girl crossed her arms over her chest. "This is too hard, big sister."

Lissa laughed and ruffled her hair. "Give it one more try, and then I'll tell you the answer, I promise."

Though Nina pouted about it, she rested a hand on Alexander's furry head and looked around, thinking hard. "What about…the store over there?"

"You got it!" While the little girl cheered and Alexander barked happily, apparently just enjoying the emotions around him, Lissa looked for another object—and couldn't help but grin when she found the perfect one. "Let's do another one," she told Nina, getting the girl's attention. "I spy with my little eye, something…silver."

Nina's eyes went wide. "Silver? Hm…" She spun on the spot, thinking—then let out a delighted cry when she realized. "Oh! It's Big Brother Alphonse!" Nina raced forward, Alexander at her heels, to greet the boys as they came down the steps of the examination building.

Lissa followed, trying to read the boys, but they just seemed exhausted. It felt like cotton wool and mud as she approached them. "How was it?" she asked, meeting them at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah! How did ya do?" Nina asked excitedly, bouncing on her toes.

Edward groaned and ran a hand across his hair. "Ugh, I didn't even finish, I didn't make it to the last question."

"I got through all of it," Alphonse told her, sounding uncertain. "But I don't know how I did."

"I'm sure you both did great. Anyway, now you get to start worrying about the interview, so I'd focus on that." Lissa smirked at them. "I thought up some questions for a practice interview, too, so we can do that later. But first…I promised Nina ice cream."

Ed perked right up. "Ice cream? Sounds good to me!"

Standing aghast in Colonel Mustang's borrowed office, Lissa contemplated all the things she could destroy. She could feel the air currents brushing along her skin, the faintest breeze from the open window… If she wanted to, she could cause all sorts of damage.

But she didn't dare.

"Is it because of his blood seal?" she asked, her voice tight and low.

Mustang nodded. "Yes. You have to understand, Lissandra, Alphonse Elric would never be allowed out of a laboratory again, if the military discovered his secret. And Edward would no longer have a choice—even if he weren't kept under lock and key, interrogated, he would be trapped simply by refusing to leave his brother behind. You must have known this before, you know what the testing entails. Isn't that what you've been studying for?"

Yes, she had known. She'd known all along—but she'd stupidly believed something could be done about it. Lissa would never be that naïve again, she swore it to herself.

"It's not his fault," she forced out, and glared up at Mustang like he was the source of all her anger and frustration. "Al never asked to be like this. Why should he be held back when he never wanted to be-"

But he cut her off. "You were there, Lissandra. You saw their house. Those boys made this bed, and they'll have to lie in it whether they want to or not."

She clenched her fists, trying to cool the energy inside her. As she always did when she left the institution, Lissa had drawn her usual transmutation circle on the inside of both wrists, which meant if she lost control of her temper she could actually attack him. And then she'd never get the chance to be a state alchemist and gain her freedom.

"So you want me to tell them? Is that why you asked me to come here?" she demanded instead. "I don't wanna do your dirty work, Colonel. I don't wanna be the one to break Al's heart."

"I'm not asking you to tell the Elrics, no. But I did want you to hear it first. I know you've been tutoring them for the past few months, and I figured it would be better if you knew before you stopped by to see them later. I already spoke to them first thing this morning, in fact," he explained in that usual cool tone of his, the one that always made her blood boil.

But…he'd already told the boys. Lissa hated that they were sitting on this. "Did you ever really mean to offer it to Alphonse?" she asked him quiet, with a sudden, certain dread. "Or did you always think it would only be Edward?"

Mustang simply looked down at the paperwork on his desk. "You should go see them now," he told her. It was a really painfully obvious dismissal. "Edward still needs your assistance for the next phase of testing."

Lissa went—but only because she wanted to, not because he'd told her. She needed to go clean up the mess Roy Mustang had made.

"She's not very happy with you, is she?" Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye observed, stepping into the Colonel's office after nearly being run down by Lissandra Caito, as the girl fled the building.

Mustang shrugged. "She'll be fine. Her focus is on the Elric brothers right now, besides."

Riza gave him a look, the sharp one she knew would grab his attention. "Sir, I have to ask… Why aren't you letting Lissa sit her exams as well? You said it yourself, she has the mind for it, and now that she's been helping the Elrics prepare for three months, surely she'd be ready. She's been waiting most of her life for that chance. It must be difficult, watching someone else her own age be given the opportunity without going through the same training she did."

"At present, her only driving force for becoming a state alchemist is getting out of the facility," he explained, finally looking up from his paperwork and meeting Riza's gaze. "If she goes before the panel and admits that, she'll never become a state alchemist. Lissandra needs a cause. I'm hoping she'll find one, when she's assigned a permanent position."

Ah. Of course you are.

"And I assume you yourself are gunning to be her assignment, sir."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "Originally, yes. But she's made it quite clear to me she has no interest in that. My intention is to place her with Major Armstrong. He'd be a good match—and look after her as though she's family, as well."

She frowned at him, more than a little surprised by the admission. "Armstrong, sir? I doubt she'll agree to that. She likes him well enough, but I think we both know who she'd prefer."

"If he does pass, Edward Elric would still be a twelve-year-old boy. And taking into account the quest he's laid out for himself, it would be far too dangerous to send another uncertified child with him as well. No doubt Alphonse will be joining him." Mustang shook his head firmly, and returned to his paperwork like the matter was closed. "Lissandra agreed to let me present her with a series of candidates, and he will not be among them."

Riza bit back a laugh. He was so certain he had the upper hand on this girl, but she'd been watching Lissandra a long time, ever since Mustang took an interest in her, shortly after the girl had been brought to this facility in Central. "With all due respect, sir… I believe you're underestimating Lissa's stubbornness. I'm not certain anyone can tell her what to do."

He pursed his lips unhappily. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Lieutenant."

Lissa kicked her feet midair, watching closely for any signs that Al was going to get angry. But she'd never really seen him get angry—it just kind of felt like he might snap, after the news he'd gotten that day. She wouldn't blame him for it. "It's okay to be upset," she told him after a moment. It made Ed look up from the book he'd been studying. "I thought I was gonna destroy Mustang's office when he called me in earlier."

"Why'd he drag you in just to tell you, anyway?" Ed wondered aloud. "He could've just told you at the same time."

She wrinkled her nose. "He probably thought it was safer."

Al looked at her, finally tipping his head back up, and asked, "Safer? What do you mean by that, Lissa?"

"Well…when I was little, I used to have a really hard time not using alchemy when I got angry. Since I always drew transmutation circles on myself, I could do it whenever I wanted—and I kind of destroyed some stuff. After that, he's always been really careful how he tells me things that might upset me. Even though I haven't had any issues with control since I was nine." Lissa pulled back her sleeve to reveal one of the transmutation circles inked atop her skin. "See? I had them today. If I wanted to, I could've wrecked his office."

Edward scowled at the tabletop. "Maybe you should've."

"No." Al shook his head quickly. "I don't want you guys doing things like that because of this. It's okay, I'll just go become a state alchemist once we get my body back. Right? It's better than ending up in some lab forever."

"And you're still gonna go with Ed, right? After he becomes a state alchemist?" Lissa confirmed. She'd guessed it, but she wanted to hear it for herself.

Al nodded firmly. "Definitely."

"Then…I have a question for you both." She twisted her fingers into her shirt and found she couldn't actually look at either of the boys—so she just stared down at the notebook in front of her instead. "Part of my deal with Mustang to get to come help you, was that once you're done with your exams, I have to pick a state alchemist as my permanent assignment. Until I turn sixteen and I can take my exam, at least."

"What do you mean, permanent assignment?" Ed asked curiously.

Lissa shrugged, finally looking back up. "It's kind of like an apprenticeship, I guess. Once they think the kids from the facility have learned as much as they can in traditional classes, we'll get assigned to a state alchemist and train with them until we're allowed to sit the exams. The Colonel has been on top of my case file for ages now, so he can decide if I'm ready or not."

Ed pulled a face, though. "But if the Colonel's involved, he probably won't let you pick anybody you want, right?"

"Well…" She couldn't keep herself from smirking. "That morning at the train station, he told me he'd give me a selection of candidates—but I don't really care who he offers me. I… I know who I'd wanna be assigned to."

That caused both boys to look up at her in surprise. "You do?" Al asked her.

Ed nodded eagerly. "Who is it?"

Lissa bit down on her lip anxiously, took a moment to just breathe and yell at herself internally not to let her voice shake. "Well, you, Ed. I'd want to be assigned to you."

"Me?" he repeated, visibly stunned. "Oh man, that's right… Once I pass my exams, then you could be assigned to me, right?" Ed grinned and nodded eagerly, elated. "Do you think Mustang would let you? We'd love to have you come with us, wouldn't we, Al?"

"Definitely!" Al agreed brightly.

She felt her face warming up at their reaction—it was better than she'd ever expected. "A-are you sure? I mean, I don't want to just…push myself on you."

"You're kidding, right? You're our friend, Liss," Ed told her firmly.

Al nodded, his eyes bright—sort of like a smile from him, she thought. "It'll be fun. Besides, you and I can keep training to take our exams as soon as we can. Maybe we can even take them together."

Lissa beamed at him. "That'd be perfect." She untangled her fingers from her shirt and smiled at them both, her heart racing in her chest. This was better than she'd ever dared hope for. "I wanna help you get your bodies back, too—so I'll do whatever I can to help."

"And you're sure Mustang will let this happen?" Edward clarified, frowning just a bit.

She just smirked. "Leave Mustang to me."

"In case you haven't heard the good news, Edward Elric passed his exam this morning," Colonel Mustang told her, staring at Lissa over the top of his desk. "He's been appointed a state alchemist, and is being handed down the title of Fullmetal. Which means your obligation to the Elric brothers has been fulfilled, and it's time for you to receive your permanent assignment, where you'll remain until you take your own exams."

Lissa nodded firmly. She'd planted herself in the chair at the front of his desk, ignoring the fact that her feet didn't touch the ground, and was refusing to break eye contact. She had to have conviction, or this wouldn't work. "I know."

"Then you remember our agreement?" he prompted.

She nodded again.

"Good." Mustang reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a series of files, which he opened and set out facing her. "I've put together a few appropriate candidates for you to look through. All of these alchemists would be a good fit for you, and they're all willing to take on an apprentice. My recommendation?" He tapped one file. "Major Alex Louis Armstrong. He's a good man, and he'll work very hard to further your education."

Lissa knew Major Armstrong—though she'd gotten to know him better over the years, she'd always remember him as the giant man who bought her a whole bag of cookies right after her parents passed, on her very first day at the institution. Mustang was right. She wouldn't mind being assigned to Alex at all. But…she had a different plan.

"At the station… Colonel, do you remember what you said?" Lissa asked. "I remember your exact words. You said, 'I will put together a selection of appropriate candidates, and you can choose whoever you'd like.' That's verbatim. I wrote it down that night." She pushed the files back towards him, watching his eyes narrow at the movement. "You never said I had to pick from the candidates you selected—in fact, you specifically said I can pick whoever I'd like."

"Actually, sir," Lieutenant Hawkeye spoke up, from where she'd been standing beside the door, "she's right. You did say that."

Mustang's lips twitched. Was he going to scowl or smile? Lissa didn't know. "Hm. I see. Very well then. If that's what I said, I suppose I'll have to hold myself to it." He folded his hands atop his desk. "Who did you have in mind, then, Lissandra?"

I got him. "Edward Elric, sir," she told him, keeping her voice steady.

He gave her an exasperated look. "Elric has only just been granted his title. He isn't a suitable choice for you, with his inexperience and your similar ages. It would be better if you trained alongside someone with more experience."

But Lissa didn't back down. "Edward. Elric." She met Mustang's eyes with a glare of her own, feeling like a tiny lighthouse standing against a maelstrom. "The Fullmetal Alchemist."

"So you've made up your mind then?" Mustang sighed. Then, startling her into dropping her glare, he smiled. "You want to help those boys get their bodies back, don't you? I recognize you're friends, but that's really why you want to go, isn't it? After what you saw that night in Resembool. I know it's affected you."

He was right. Ever since she'd seen that transmutation circle at Ed and Al's house, since she'd seen two boys just like her, without parents and alone, in so much pain… She'd been looking for an outlet to channel all the anger and injustice she felt from that night. Knowing the boys, and knowing they were looking for a way to get their bodies back to normal… It gave her that outlet. So Lissa nodded, and she didn't bother hiding it. "I don't want them to have to live like this, Colonel," she admitted. "And I really think I could help."

"You do realize this would keep you under my command?" he asked her, crossing his arms. "Fullmetal is under my command, and you would be assigning yourself there as well. You'd remain in my jurisdiction."

Lissa nodded. "I know that."

Mustang heaved a great sigh, paused a moment—and then gave a single nod. "Very well. If he's already accepted, then I suppose I'll have to allow it. I only ask that you be careful, and keep your wits about you. Fullmetal has gotten into enough trouble already in his life. I would hate to see you get hurt."

She could only sit there staring in complete shock as Mustang pulled out Ed's file, made a notation, and then signed the paperwork stating she was assigned to him. He'd had the stupid file right there! It was like he'd known she was going to do this… But did that mean he'd been prepared to let her have this assignment anyway? She couldn't understand it. Though, it didn't really matter now that she was being assigned to Ed.

He passed her the sheet of paper that guaranteed her freedom, which she took reverently, releasing the underside of his desk in relief. "Congratulations, Lissa," he told her, sounding genuine. "I hope you enjoy your assignment."

Lissa jolted up and out of her seat, grinning at him brightly. "Thank you, Colonel!" she called, as she turned and sprinted from the room.

Good thing he'd said yes—she'd scrawled a transmutation circle on the edge of his desk. If he hadn't agreed, she was going to deconstruct the entire desk right then and there. Lissa wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

She raced through Central HQ, dodging alchemists and MPs alike, until she finally burst through the front doors and down the steps. "Ed!" she yelled, waving the paper at him. He and Al had waited for her outside, sitting on a bench near the entrance. As she approached, they both stood and waved to her.

"Did you get it?" Edward asked, grinning.

Lissa didn't stop—she just flung herself into his arms and hugged him, laughing when he didn't let go and instead spun her in a circle. "I got it!" she told him excitedly, once he'd released her. "I'm your new apprentice, Fullmetal."

"So you're coming with us?" Alphonse asked her, bending to pull her into a hug of his own.

She giggled and nodded. "Yup! I just have to get my things from the institution and we can go. What's your first assignment, Ed?"

He shrugged faintly. "I dunno yet. Mustang hasn't given me any orders. But Mr. Tucker said we were all gonna celebrate back at his house, so why don't we just grab your stuff and head on over there? Besides, Al and I never got to see the institution, nobody ever took us by. It'd be interesting to take a look."

Lissa shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "It's…nothing special. You'd be bored."

"But it's silly for you to go by yourself," Al pointed out. "It's okay, we don't mind if it's boring. Besides, we don't have anything else to do right now."

She swallowed hard. "Well…okay, if you're sure."

Even though she didn't want them to see it, Lissa sucked it up and led the boys across the compound, keeping up a steady stream of chatter on the way. She didn't want them to see how anxious she was. The truth was…she was embarrassed of where she'd been living. It didn't look homey, or like anyplace children should be raised. She thought maybe Ed and Al would judge her for growing up in a place like that.

"There it is," Lissa murmured as they approached the enormous concrete building.

"Wait, this place?" Ed stared up at it, craning his neck to see the top. "I've walked past here a dozen times, I had no idea what it was. I thought it was just…like a storage building or something."

It kind of is.

Aloud, Lissa didn't acknowledge that. "See, I told you it was boring."

She led them inside, past the checkpoint—Ed flashed his brand-new state alchemist's pocket watch and nobody gave them a second glance—and finally into the facility itself. The interior wasn't much better than the exterior, all concrete and drab colors, locked doors, MPs with automatic weapons… It had always felt kind of like a prison.

"You…lived here?" Alphonse asked her softly, as she turned down the hall towards her dorm.

Lissa nodded absently. "Yeah. I got used to it, I guess." Thankfully her dorm—a loose term, it was more like military barracks—wasn't far, which meant she wouldn't have to be here much longer. She already wanted to run right back out.

Edward touched her shoulder as she opened the door. "And how…how old were you, when you came here?"

"Huh?" She blinked at him in surprise. "Oh, I was seven. I don't think kids that young are supposed to end up here, but they didn't know where else to put a seven-year-old alchemist, I think. And there was nobody else to take me but the state, so they had no choice. Why?"

He looked down the hallway, where they'd come from, and scowled at nothing in particular. "It just seems like a really bleak place to put a kid."

Lissa didn't know what to say to that, so she just pushed past the door and walked inside. It was the middle of the day, so classes were in session—which meant the whole room was deserted. Perfect. She headed down the rows of bunks, skirting between them where necessary, until she reached her own bunk. From there Lissa grabbed her backpack and began stuffing clothes in, leaving behind all her uniforms and military-based clothes in favor of the few civilian and training outfits she had. She didn't want to walk around in the old uniforms anymore.

Al held up one of her discarded dresses. "Ew, they made you wear uniforms?"

"Mmhmm. To every class, and anytime I was out with a state alchemist I had to wear one too." She eyed Edward suspiciously. "You won't make me wear one, right?"

He snorted. "Are you kidding me? No way."

Lissa grinned and tossed the last of her uniforms aside. "Perfect. I probably need to find some new clothes, then."

"Brother can help you transmute them—he made his own cloak," Al piped up brightly.

She finished packing her things up, and then hefted her backpack onto her shoulder and nodded once, firmly. "Okay. I'm ready."

Ed pointed at her half-full bag. "That's it?"

"That's all I have. I didn't get to take anything with me," she explained. "They made me leave all of it behind when I came here, so I don't have anything left from my home or my parents or my life before I came here. So, yeah. This is it."

The boys exchanged a look, one Lissa didn't understand until Ed told her quietly, "When we left Resembool to come here…we burned our house down. We don't have anything left either."

"You burned it down?" she whispered, stunned. She could still see their house in her mind's eye—it had been so pretty, she thought, behind all the horrible things she'd sensed that night. But now it was gone.

Her stomach twisted as she remembered the image of that…thing in the transmutation circle. Lissa still didn't understand how she'd seen something that hadn't still been there.

Alphonse nodded sadly. "Yeah. We wanted to make our decision permanent."

Hm… No turning back. I understand that. With that thought in her head, Lissa gathered up all her discarded uniforms into a pile—then she pressed her hands down on them and focused inward, drawing on the thread of alchemical power in her chest. She sorted through the elements, found the spaces between the atoms…and then pushed the spaces apart, wider and wider. Blue energy crackled around her fingers as the uniforms deconstructed beneath her palms, crumbling into dust.

"There," she announced, rising to her feet and brushing her hands off on her trousers. "Now it's permanent for me too."

Edward smiled at her and kicked his boot through the pile of ash, distributing it a bit. "Come on. Let's get the hell out of this creepy place." He offered Lissa his hand, which she gladly took, conscious that she'd just made a huge change in her life—and now there really was no turning back. She could never come back to this place, to the building she'd been raised in for five years.

Lissa grabbed Alphonse's hand too and didn't look back. She didn't need the institution anymore—she had a new life now.