Happy New Year everyone! I was intending to get this out a couple days ago, but on new year's day my wife and I found the sweetest stray kitty outside, so we've been handling that the past couple days. Poor baby isn't even chipped, so we're going to foster him through the shelter we work with and he'll find a good home. But it's been pretty hectic, so I apologize for the delay! Hopefully this chapter makes up for it - I've been planning some of this since the very start, so I'm really excited to finally have it out! Additionally, this chapter has a couple elements from the '03 anime, so please let me know if it's confusing or doesn't mesh well. And as always, enjoy!


The Sergeant took her back to HQ in a car, a surprising concession from Mustang who usually didn't provide much transportation. Once there, he led Lissa through the deserted halls with a distinct purpose to his steps, like he was…feeling very self-important with his orders. She couldn't imagine why. Nor could she figure out why the hell Mustang had dragged her down here so urgently this late at night, either, especially since she'd seen him earlier in the day. And if he wanted to apologize…well…he shouldn't be doing it just to her.

So then what was going on?

"In here, Cadet Caito," the Sergeant told her, finally opening a door and gesturing for her to step in. She did so immediately, not really concerned about where she might end up in Central HQ—but when the door snapped shut behind her, she felt a cold trickle of fear go down her spine.

"I'm sorry to drag you here so late, Cadet," Colonel Mustang told her softly.

Lissa took one step, and then another, her heart pounding in her throat. "Colonel… What is this?" she asked quietly. The room was mostly empty, just a small concrete room with a transmutation circle etched in front of a wooden desk… And at the center of that array sat a single golden chair, three-legged, defying physics as it stood upright.

Mustang inclined his head to his left, from his position to the right of the desk, and Lissa finally realized there was another person in the room.

Führer Bradley.

And not just him…but several other alchemists, seated behind the desk, staring her down like prey.

"I—Führer Bradley, sir," Lissa gasped, nearly stumbling over her own feet.

Bradley smiled benignly and gestured towards the chair. "Please, have a seat, Cadet Caito. You're quite an accomplished alchemist already—I have no doubts the chair will accept you."

I remember this… Ed talked about this chair from his state alchemy interview.

Slowly, her palms sweating underneath her gloves, Lissa crossed the last bit of space between her and the chair—and sat down. It held beneath her, not so much as shifting as she settled upon it. Impossible… This is completely impossible… "Sir… May I ask…" Lissa swallowed hard. "What am I doing here?"

"I convened a special session just for you," the Führer told her. She felt that itchy, wriggling sensation swell and forced it back down. "It came to my attention in Dublith that you've demonstrated exceptional abilities in the field of alchemy, for many years now. You came to us when you were seven years old, correct?" He only waited for her to nod before continuing. "When I arrived back here in Central, I did some digging. Apparently, for the past three years now—nearly four, in fact—Fullmetal has been noting in every report that you should be allowed to take your state alchemy exams."

Lissa's face flushed bright red. "He's…a good friend, in that respect," she murmured. "He's helped me a lot over the years."

"I must say, three years is a long time to be stuck as an apprentice," Bradley continued smoothly. "And once I read Fullmetal's report of your fight with the creature Greed, it absolutely convinced me. I would have called you in earlier, Cadet, but I wasn't aware you'd arrived until this afternoon. This was the earliest I could manage, I'm afraid."

She swallowed hard, feeling her hands begin to tremble in her lap. "So I'm… You're testing me to…"

He practically grinned at her. "To become a state alchemist, yes."

Oh fuck.

"At this point, it's practically a formality—and we know so much about your abilities already that we'll be condensing the process just a tad. I hope that isn't a problem for you?"

"No, not at all, sir." Lissa shifted a bit uncomfortably on the chair. Gold wasn't exactly a soft surface. "May I ask how, exactly? With that much documentation on my skills, I wouldn't think I could surprise any of you very much, sir."

Bradley put pen to paper and began scratching something into his notepad. "We shall see, won't we, Cadet? Now." He glanced up at her again. "Unless you have any further questions…shall we begin?"

Lissa flicked her eyes to Mustang's impassible face, some of her earlier anger at him fading. She knew, just by his presence, that he had something to do with this. He had to. But after all this time, all the years of Ed pestering about her taking her exams and her constant begging, pleading, explaining that she had nothing left to learn in the institution… Why now? Why this exact moment, after Greed and the chimeras specifically?

Something was…odd about it. She knew that much. But Lissa wasn't stupid enough to keep asking questions, so she just nodded at the Führer. Whatever it was…if it got her through this, finally, she'd take it.

"He can't possibly have decided all this yet," Lissa argued, pacing back and forth in Mustang's office, refusing to look him in the eye. "I mean, did he have this already written up?! It took at least twenty-four hours to get Ed's handled and his was a special case anyway."

Mustang shrugged faintly. "So is yours."

"No, it's not," she snapped irritably. "I'm just a trainee from the institution. There's nothing that special about me."

"Clearly the Führer thinks otherwise." Mustang heaved an exasperated sigh at her. "Why are you complaining, Lissandra? You got what you wanted."

"But I don't feel like I deserved it," she groaned. "Look, why now? Why did he do this now?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "You impressed him. You should be proud of yourself, you know. He asked all of us to stay late just for this, and gave you a specifically-tailored abridged version of the exam as well, taking into account your past performances and Fullmetal's reports. Clearly, Führer Bradley decided this was overdue."

Lissa gritted her teeth as the Führer's parting words echoed in her head. 'I'll be sure to keep an eye on you—the first female state alchemist in a decade. And one of the most talented state alchemists in my ranks, too. Yes, I'll be following your career quite closely.' It hadn't sounded like congratulations—it sounded like a threat. And it chilled her, right down to her bones. What with the sense she had of him, similar to a homunculus but not quite identical, and the strangeness of being dragged here after hours just for this… She'd been singled out for a reason. And no matter how badly she wanted to just take what she was being given and run with it, now that she'd managed to calm down in the aftermath, all Lissa wanted to do was run as far as she could.

But that wasn't an option.

"Either you accept this, or you have to find another way to pay back your debt," Mustang reminded her quietly. "I know it isn't ideal for you—I know you would rather have a different choice in this. But you and I both know that given your current options, this is the best path for you. And…" He gave her a frustratingly perceptive look. "Any other path you might take would keep you away from Fullmetal, wouldn't it?"

"Shut up," she hissed, angry. "You have no right to talk about any of that, not after—not after you lied to us today."

She expected him to retaliate—not to wilt before her, slumping his shoulders and nodding weakly. "Yes. You're probably right," he admitted softly. "I apologize for keeping the truth from you and the Elric brothers. You should have been informed earlier."

Lissa scowled at him. "That doesn't make it better."

"No," Mustang agreed without hesitation. "I'm well aware of that." He slid the items on his desk across towards her, and beckoned with a tilt of his head. "You should take these, Lissandra. They're yours. I'm still your commanding officer, and I've already signed the paperwork—once you sign your papers, my orders will be enacted immediately."

"Orders?" she repeated, taking two steps towards his desk.

He nodded. "Yes. My orders officially assigning you as Fullmetal's partner. You're both still young, and you're only newly instated—it makes sense for you to continue working together."

Lissa breathed out a sigh of relief, a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Mustang wasn't going to split her and Ed up. She'd be assigned as his partner, an equal now instead of a trainee or apprentice… Equivalent to a Major herself, which was a bizarre thought. But…she got to stay with Ed. Wasn't that enough to make her accept this path, at least for now?

So, feeling as though she were signing her own death warrant, Lissa crossed the room and picked up both items. One, a sheet of paper and brand-new identification card sealed inside a large, flat envelope. And two… The silver pocket watch that identified her as a state alchemist.

She set the watch aside for a moment, her fingers stinging from the contact with the cool metal, and instead opened the envelope and slid its contents out. The ID card was simple, just a string of numbers and the state's seal, plus the insignia of a state alchemist. The paper, though, was her official certification—a letter signed by Führer Bradley, giving her full name and assigning her a second name as well, the one she'd carry as a state alchemist.

"Is…this some kind of joke?" Lissa breathed, tearing her eyes from the paper to gawk at Mustang.

He frowned. "What do you mean? No one's joking, Lissa."

She passed him the paper wordlessly, her fingers trembling all over again, heart pounding in her chest. "I didn't actually think he'd read all of Ed's reports," she admitted weakly. "That name… The boys joked around about giving it to me, and Ed put it in a report, just to try and screw with the system a bit… He wanted to catch someone's attention and get me out of this loop…"

"I suppose the Führer took a liking to it, then," Mustang told her, shrugging and handing the paper back. "It suits you."

Lissa traced her fingertip over the words, her state alchemist's name, suddenly dizzy and struggling to breathe. It was impossible. Why would that silly, stupid idea of the boys' actually work? How could this be real, any of it?

She signed the paper quickly, wanting to be finished with all this, completely ready to get the hell out of Central HQ. Then she slid it back into the envelope and set it aside, knowing Mustang would put it away in her file for her. It wasn't as though Ed carried his around. Finally, she forced herself to pick that damned pocket watch back up, turning it over in her hands, letting it warm beneath her palms as she studied it, trying to use its weight to make the whole evening seem real.

"I should go," she whispered. Lissa turned without a goodbye and headed for the door, hardly capable of forming a single thought, let alone a few words for Mustang.

He lifted a hand as she left. "Goodnight. Oh, and congratulations, Starlight Alchemist."

Lissa slammed the door behind her.

Lan Fan trailed her the whole way to the hotel. Lissa didn't so much as look up in her direction—she was much too distracted by the heavy weight in her pocket to wonder why the Xingese girl was following her. It was late by the time she got back, so late most of the lights in the guest rooms were off, only a couple people still lingering even though it had edged past midnight a while ago. She didn't imagine Edward and Winry were still awake, not at this time of night.

Lissa raked her hair back from her face and stepped into the lobby, dipping her head at the night desk clerk when he looked up to see who had come in. Usually she didn't get bothered too much, keeping weird hours, since as long as she didn't disturb anyone the hotel clerks didn't seem to mind her coming in late. To her surprise, though, he waved her over to the desk before she could walk away.

"My apologies for bothering you, Miss Caito," he began, looking a bit put off, "but your companion has been asleep in the lobby for several hours now… Would you mind waking him? We're getting complaints."

She gave him a baffled look. "Er…my companion?"

He nodded. "Mr. Elric, the one in the chair by the fireplace?" He pointed helpfully across the room. "I told him I could call the room when you returned, but he insisted on waiting."

Lissa's chest tightened as she turned and spotted Edward, sitting curled in an armchair by the fire, one that faced the front doors perfectly. He'd been…waiting on her. The whole time she was gone, she'd assumed that he'd be up with Al and Winry, probably a bit worried but with his brother at the very least, not… Not here by himself…

"I'm sorry," she murmured, turning back to the clerk. "I'll take him up."

He inclined his head. "Thank you very much, Miss Caito."

Lissa crossed the lobby and bent over Edward, taking a moment to watch him sleep—he seemed restless, forehead creased into a frown, his head at an uncomfortable angle leaned over on his hand. She'd worried him. She knew just from this position. It angled him so he could just rest his head on his hand and watch the doorway without having to move or hold his own head up. So he'd sat here, alone, exhausted, waiting on her… It about killed her to see.

"Ed," she whispered, stroking her fingers through his bangs. "Wake up, sleepyhead… You can't be comfortable like that…"

His eyes fluttered open. "Liss? Y-you're back," he mumbled, sitting upright and staring at her. "Shit, where've you been? When you didn't come back earlier Al and I looked for you, but we couldn't find you… The clerk said you'd gone with some soldier but we didn't know what happened, we…" His cheeks went pink. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, ashamed. "I didn't mean to worry you… It's just… Mustang called me back to HQ and I didn't have time to leave a note, my escort was pretty insistent."

Ed furrowed his brow. "What the hell did that asshole want you for so late?"

She reflexively pressed her hand down against her right pocket, where she'd stored her new watch—unfortunately, that drew his gaze straight to it.

"What's that?" he asked softly. "Wait a second… Lissa… Is—is that…"

Lissa slowly withdrew the pocket watch and held it out to him, nodding unsteadily. There was no hiding it now. "It is," she admitted. "Apparently after Dublith the Führer decided…that I should just…go ahead and take my exams. They pulled me in for a special session tonight."

"Oh, fuck." Ed sat forward quickly and lifted her hand, not actually taking the watch—instead he sort of cradled her hand in both of his to examine it. "They dragged you down there to…to make you take your exams? Just like that? The—interview and the demonstration and everything? I thought the written part alone took hours, I don't understand…"

She shrugged faintly. "I've done so much practical work… And the Führer said he'd gone through your reports, too. He said it was practically a formality."

Suddenly Ed shot to his feet and took her shoulders, his golden-eyed gaze fierce and panicked. "Where are you assigned? Did Mustang—don't tell me the damned Colonel is sending you somewhere. I won't let him, I won't let any of them take you away from me," he told her vehemently.

Warmth blossomed in her chest. "You're so sweet," she whispered, tucking the watch away and taking his hands. "I'm not going anywhere, Ed."

He frowned so deeply. She wanted to trace her thumb across the furrow between his eyebrows and smooth it away. "Then…what exactly did he do? Is he still your commanding officer or… Shit, I'm so lost. I feel like I'm still asleep."

"You aren't still sleeping," she reassured him gently. "Mustang is still my CO, yeah. And he handed down my official orders tonight too." Lissa couldn't resist a grin when she said the words aloud—even with all the stress and the strange undercurrent attached, there was something so…right about it all, something satisfying she just couldn't shake. "From what he told me…Fullmetal's getting assigned a partner instead of a trainee."

Ed mirrored her grin, his eyes sparkling now. "Oh, yeah? Who's my new partner, then?"

Lissa blushed under his gaze, but she didn't back down. "The first female state alchemist in a decade—the Starlight Alchemist."

His jaw dropped. "The Starlight—wait. Hold on. Bradley gave you the name Al came up with? The one I stuck in an addendum at the end of my report about the Fifth Laboratory?"

"That's the one," she confirmed, smiling. It still sounded unreal to her.

"Damn." Edward shook his head and pulled her into his arms, curling her tight to him. She felt the remnants of his fear in that embrace, the faint desperation, especially when he tucked his face into her shoulder and let out a rough sigh. "Well… It's nice to get some good news after today."

She rested her chin on his shoulder. "It is. Speaking of… How are Al and Winry doing?"

Ed released her a moment, only to wind his arm around her waist as he guided her towards the stairs, finally vacating the lobby. "Not the best… I barely got Winry to eat earlier. Al went in to sit with her for a while, until she fell asleep… She's really shaken up. We all are."

"It's awful," Lissa agreed softly. "I'm glad you guys looked after her, though."

His fingers tightened on her hip. "I was looking after you too, y'know. You still didn't eat, Liss. I saved you a little food up in the room… I didn't want you to not eat anything today."

She bit her lip, embarrassed he'd had to do that. If she'd asked to leave a note… Or not gone racing out of the hotel like an idiot… But it wouldn't do any good to voice those things. "Thank you," she murmured instead. "You didn't have to do that for me, Ed." Lissa sighed and traced her fingers around the outline of her pocket watch. "This is all so bittersweet, you know? To get this the day we found out that Hughes…" Her voice caught and she had to cut herself off or risk sobbing.

"I know," he sighed. "But… I think he'd be proud, Liss. It's like what Gracia said… We have to keep going, otherwise… Otherwise his death didn't mean anything. And we can't let that happen."

She tapped her fingers against the embossed metal front of the watch. "Hopefully this will help us do just that. Technically it doubles our power, and our budget, which should make some kind of a difference at least."

Ed gave her a look that told her, unquestionably, he was recalling the debt she still owed to the state—but thankfully he didn't bring it up. "I'm sure it'll help, Liss. But we would've been able to keep going even if this hadn't happened. It's just…an extra boost, that's all."

"Well, I'll take it," she muttered. "I was sick of being an apprentice anyway."

They paused outside the boys' room—Lissa could've gone in and stayed in Winry's room, but she figured if the other girl had gotten to sleep then it was better not to disturb her. "Hey, Liss…" Ed touched her cheek lightly. "You deserve this, okay? I swear you do. I dunno why Bradley decided to do it now, but… You've deserved it for a long time."

Lissa nodded slowly. "Thank you," she whispered.

He smiled crookedly, and then pushed past the door and walked in. "Hey, Al, guess who showed back up?" he announced.

Al looked up from where he'd been sitting on the sofa. "Lissa!" He leapt up and crossed to her, almost crushing her in a hug. "We've been so worried, where did you go? You were gone for hours, we didn't know what happened to you!"

"I'm okay, Al," she told him gently, patting his chest. "I got dragged back to HQ by Mustang for a, um…special session." Lissa twisted her mouth up. "I wish I could've negotiated for you, but I was kind of stuck in front of the Führer without any time to prepare, so… I'm sorry. I know we were gonna do it together."

He stared down at her in confusion. "Huh? The Führer?"

Lissa tugged out her pocket watch and displayed it for him. "Ta-da. I'm Amestris's newest state alchemist."

"What?!" Al hugged her again, startling her. "But that's amazing, Lissa! Don't apologize, okay? I'm just happy for you."

"Oh, and get this." Ed crossed the room and sank onto the bed he'd clearly designated as his, beneath the window, kicking his boots off and tossing his cloak aside. "Apparently, the Führer read that addendum I made back after the Fifth Lab. He gave Liss the title of Starlight Alchemist, the one you came up with. Pretty cool, right?"

"Wait, really? He gave you that name?" Al asked, sounding kind of…awed.

Lissa nodded. "Yup. So you…aren't upset? I really did hope we could take our exams together, y'know…"

He shook his head insistently. "I swear I'm not. You deserve it, Lissa. Besides, until brother and I get our bodies back, it's not safe for me to try. I'm just happy you get to be a full state alchemist now and don't have to worry about getting stuck in that facility again, that's all."

"You're such a sweetheart, Alphonse," Lissa told him honestly, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Seriously, how the hell are people gonna handle you when you're back in your body?"

He giggled and waved her away, embarrassed. "Stop it, Lissa!"

"Nope, never." She grinned and crossed to her own bed, reclining back against the pillows wearily. "This day has been too damn long, hasn't it?" she asked aloud, not quite rhetorically.

"Way too long," Ed agreed wearily.

She forced herself back up, noting with a little anxiety that Edward had already begun shedding clothes, and set her feet back on the floor. "All I wanna do is sleep now, honestly," she muttered, if only to distract herself.

But Al crossed his arms. "Nuh-uh," he denied, shaking his head. "Brother and I already agreed you have to eat before you go to sleep, Lissa."

"Oh, you guys just decided without me, huh?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Not that she was really intending to argue, but still…

"We did," Ed told her firmly. "C'mon, Liss. You know it's better if you eat."

She sighed, but relented anyway, knowing they were right—and anyway, she didn't have the heart to argue with the boys. Not tonight. So she just accepted it, let them look after her a little, allowed herself the comfort for just the night. After that…she'd go back to taking care of them instead.

"Lissa…. Wake up, please…"

With a gasp, she jolted awake, feeling cool metal almost surrounding her—a stark difference from the heat she'd felt burning her skin only moments ago. "Alphonse," she breathed, and lifted a shaking hand to touch his familiar chestplate.

"Are you okay?" he asked her quietly. "You were crying in your sleep… I got worried…"

"Just…" She swallowed hard and looked up at him. It was past dawn, she noted, judging by the soft grey-blue light filtering in. "Just a nightmare, Al. I'm okay."

But he didn't move away from her. "Like the one on the train?" he pressed.

Lissa averted her gaze, a little shame trickling in. "Yeah," she admitted, shrugging. "Like that one." Similar—slightly different events, different moments, but it still felt the same. Like memories. Things she shouldn't remember and didn't even know if she wanted to remember. "I'm okay, though, honest."

"Do you need me to get brother?" he edged, sounding uncertain now.

She forced a smile and shook her head. "No, just let him sleep. Thanks for waking me, though… I'd rather be up than stay trapped in those things."

Al shifted away then, his armor clanking faintly, and gingerly settled on the edge of the bed. "Do you wanna talk about it? I mean… Sometimes it helps brother to talk about whatever's bothering him. You never really say much, though. Not with things like this."

"It's…" She was going to say no, it's all right, and dismiss him… But something in her heart cut her off. "I keep having these nightmares… Only… I don't think they're exactly nightmares, Al. I think they're memories, from when I was a kid—before I came to Central. Originally, I thought I didn't remember anything of my parents, but now…" An image flashed in her head—her own arms, tiny and frail and littered with cuts. "Now I think I just blocked it out. I remember fire, and all this pain… Cuts all over my body…" Lissa's throat clenched and she fell silent, fighting back a wave of tears.

His hand rested gently on her back, thumb stroking tiny circles. "I'm sorry," Al murmured. "That sounds awful, Lissa. I'm so sorry. Do you…really think it's your memories? Do you think your parents did all that?"

"I don't know," she admitted, shrugging. "I just know it's bad. Honestly, I…don't think I really want to remember it, if that's my past."

"Well, even if it is your past, even if that stuff you're seeing is real…" Al draped his arm over her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze, comforting and sweet. "It's not gonna happen again, okay? We'd never let anybody do something like that to you, I promise."

It was such a simple thing, to promise that…but it made Lissa's eyes well with fresh tears, of a different sort this time. "Thank you, Al," she whispered, turning and resting her head on him. "That means so much to me, I can't even begin to explain…" She reached out with her senses, focusing on that familiar, gentle sense of him, and exhaled slowly as he rubbed her back. Al really was her family, her little brother… But sometimes he seemed like the most mature of all of them. It was astonishing how his mind worked, how well he handled things… She didn't think she could cope with half of what he did.

Lissa expected Al to encourage her to go back to sleep, but somehow he seemed to understand that wasn't going to be good for her… So instead he walked down to the lobby with her to grab breakfast, keeping up a steady stream of chatter and pulling her into an easy, light conversation just to distract her from the heaviness still lingering in her mind. It worked, too. By the time they got back to the room, Lissa actually felt better, the nightmare finally taking its claws out of her brain.

Winry joined them shortly after Ed got up, and the mood remained subdued. Lissa settled onto Edward's bed, his legs tucked behind her while he lay facing the wall, brooding, lost deep in his thoughts. She didn't have the heart to try and shake him out of it yet. Instead she was trying to offer silent comfort, just by being there for him, staying close, reminding him she was there.

Across the room, Al sat polishing his own helmet, the only sound the faint squeaking of cloth on metal.

"Here," Winry sighed after a bit, rising from the sofa and crossing to him. "Let me help you." She took out her own polishing cloth, from her automail gear, and set about the task without waiting for him to reply.

Lissa watched her for a moment, one hand straying back to brush against Ed's leg, just to remind him she was there. He hadn't moved in so long she could almost think he was asleep, if not for the edge of his scowl she could just barely see from her angle. She wanted to lay behind him and curl up, tuck herself in against his back like she'd done in South City… But she didn't dare right now.

"When you look close, you're all scratched up, aren't you?" Winry murmured. "You're having a rough time of it, huh?" She was trying… Lissa had to give her credit for that. "So, what have you got planned now?" She asked, turning to look at Ed.

Silence. Lissa gave Winry a helpless look.

"Well, Ed?" Winry pressed, still keeping her voice soft.

Slowly he lifted his automail, clenching and unclenching it, the metal clicking softly with the motion. "What are we gonna do?" he wondered aloud. "What do you think?"

Winry turned and stared at him in shock, and Ed rolled over to see why she hadn't responded, giving her a look of bewilderment. "What's with the face?" he asked her dryly.

"I'm just surprised," Winry admitted. "You've never asked for my advice before."

That was true—Lissa was a bit surprised, but she understood the reasoning nevertheless. They were lost. Having an outside opinion could be really helpful.

Ed looked a bit ashamed. "Oh."

Considering it for a moment, Winry looked back at Al, tracing her fingers along the collar of his armor and then pressing her hand flat, covering a particularly bad scrape. "I'm scared, you know," she told him finally. "You and Al and Lissa have been off somewhere fighting and digging up information…" Her voice caught. "Information that could get you killed like Mr. Hughes. Whenever I think about that…it terrifies me."

Lissa stared down at her crossed legs, guilt swelling uncomfortably in her abdomen. She didn't often think about what it must do to Winry, being the one to stay behind while everyone else was off fighting and risking themselves…

"I mean, you could die. I'd still be here, and you'd just suddenly…not be there anymore." Winry sounded so, so deeply sad… It was difficult to hear. "Like… Like my mom and dad."

Oh, no.

"It's almost more than I can handle, thinking about that," she admitted softly. "Honestly, sometimes I wish you would just give this whole thing up."

Lissa dug her fingernails into her trousers. That would never happen. The boys wouldn't ever just sit down and accept it—Ed would never, not until he'd exhausted every possible method of getting Al's body back… And even then he might not stop. That's just how he was.

"I do want you to get your bodies back," Winry amended, continuing, "but I also want you to stay alive and safe. It's just…" She sighed and bowed her head. "I don't know… Sorry." She finally turned back and gave Ed a miserable, apologetic look. "I'm not sure what I think you should do. I really don't know. I guess I'm not much help."

Awkward silence followed her declaration, until Al, rather wryly, pointed out that she was being awfully nice, and Winry complained about the jibe—complaints involving a wrench, and plenty of yelling.

"You know," Lissa murmured, glancing over at Ed for a moment, "I think…this is what it feels like to be part of a family, isn't it?"

He reached out and took her hand, squeezing down gently. "Yeah, Liss. It is."

She blushed and smiled at him. "I could get used to this."

Lissa stepped out of the bathroom with her wet hair thrown up in a towel, fully dressed since with everyone coming and going throughout the day, the door to the room was open more often than it was closed. She didn't particularly want the whole hotel to see her in her nightclothes. At the moment, though, the room was fairly deserted, with just Ed reclining on the sofa staring into his notebook thoughtfully. That damned thing. In three years, Lissa had never been able to so much as scratch the surface of his code—he encoded his alchemical notes as a travelogue, and it was completely useless to anybody else. She took comfort in the fact that Al had no idea what it meant either.

"You better not have used up all the hot water," Ed admonished her idly, flipping to the next page in his notebook.

She stuck out her tongue. "No, dummy. I used up all of it, every drop in the hotel." Lissa crossed to him and nudged his legs aside to make room for herself before dragging his legs right back over her lap. It mirrored how she usually sat, but she didn't mind the opposite either. "What's got you so focused, huh? Need a wall to bounce ideas off?"

He glanced away from the page long enough to quirk a faint smile at her. "Always. I'm just trying to piece together how the hell this is all connected. The Philosopher's Stone, the homunculi and those ouroboros tattoos… Even the Führer. I can't connect the dots."

"Well, those two down in the Fifth Laboratory—assuming I'm right and they are homunculi—were clearly trying to protect the secrets of how the stone was made," Lissa mused. "So it's safe to say they at least knew about it being created there, even if they weren't directly involved in the process itself."

He nodded, already having put that together. "That's my guess. And considering the lengths they went to just trying to hide the evidence… They have some investment in keeping it a secret. But why? And, beyond that, I can't figure out what they'd want to do with the stone."

"It's so shit that the Führer killed Greed," she lamented irritably. "With the right offer, he would've told us anything."

"Tell me about it," Ed muttered, glaring up at the ceiling fan. "I'm still pissed over that. We had a homunculus right in front of us, and the Führer could've just taken him hostage… But he killed him. And that reeks of hiding something, if you ask me. But again—what was he hiding, and why? None of this makes any damn sense."

Lissa fiddled with the fabric of his trousers as she thought through everything they knew, which wasn't much, to be honest. "It just comes down to needing more information. We've been going around Amestris for three years looking for the stone, and we've made some headway…but all of the ground we've covered just leads us to the homunculi. So if you ask me, we need to start there. We need more information about homunculi, first and foremost. Understanding them better might help us figure out a game plan here."

"That's what I was thinking. Tomorrow we should head to the library, try and research more on homunculi—and how to create them, too, since they are artificial humans. That's got to take a lot of power and alchemical ability to do, otherwise we'd have homunculi running around all over the place." Ed absently bit the end of his finger, biting at the edge of his nail and speaking past it with his teeth clenched. "At least it might give us a few leads on-"

"Brother! Lissa!"

The door banged open and Al shoved past, nearly shattering the wood as the door rammed into the wall behind.

Ed rolled his legs off Lissa and pushed up to his knees, dangling his arms off the back of the sofa and giving Al a dry look. "Don't scare me like that," he muttered.

But Lissa was more concerned with Al's sort of…franticness. "What's up, Al?"

"Here." He thrust a newspaper at them. "Read the front page."

Ed frowned at the paper, but took it anyway. "What is it now?" he murmured, sitting back on the sofa and unfolding it, tilting it sideways so Lissa could see it too.

Her body went cold.

"What?!" Ed gasped. He began to read from the newspaper, his voice trembling as he spoke. "Second Lieutenant Maria Ross convicted of Brigadier General Hughes' murder?!"

"There's no way. No fucking way," Lissa insisted, shoving to her feet. "She's the one who told us, I mean… She was so torn up… I know Ross, she's one of Alex's soldiers, she'd never do something like that. What the hell is going on?!"

Ed turned to her with a grim expression on his face. "I dunno. But we need to get to the bottom of this. Now."

The three left the hotel in a flurry, Ed stomping ahead on a warpath, Lissa and Al not far behind. They didn't quite believe Ross was capable—at least, Lissa didn't, not for a moment—but it was still…shocking. Even though it was late, she knew at the very least Mustang would still be in his office, so that was their goal. To find Alex or Mustang and find out what the hell was going on here, and why Ross of all people was being convicted of Hughes' murder.

"Here, this is a shortcut," Ed muttered, turning off the main road and ducking left into an alleyway. "I just don't get it," he ranted angrily. "Ross? Really? After all she did for us, I just—I can't believe it."

"Me either," Al told him firmly. "There's no way. But maybe we can vouch for her, like a character witness or something?"

Ed's face contorted just a bit further. "I hope so, Al."

The alleyway emptied out into another, wider back alley—but this one was distinctly…occupied.

"Lieutenant Ross?" Ed yelped, staring at her in shock.

Lissa peered over his shoulder—and immediately grabbed for Al's hand in fear. Ross stood behind Barry the Chopper, with none other than Ling Yao behind his other shoulder, the three standing in a sort of bewilderment. Ling in particular looked guilty.

Ross's jaw dropped. "Edward? Alphonse? Lissa? What are you three doing here?!"

"What are you doing with him?" Al nearly demanded, pointing at Barry accusingly. He hadn't forgotten his identity, not for a moment. "And Ling too?!"

Ling rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh, hey, guys. What're you up to?"

Ed glared at him. "I could ask the same of you!"

Number Sixty-Six growled lowly. "Quit chattering, we don't have time for this!" he snapped, frustrated. He lunged forward, going straight for Al, swinging his cleaver madly.

Ed snarled low in his throat and yanked Lissa back as Al flipped backwards, midair, evading a swipe from Sixty-Six's cleaver. "Why you-!"

Yet the armor-bonded soul held his ground. "All right, sweetheart," he muttered, pointing off to his right and indicating yet another offshoot, "take that back alley and run straight to the warehouse district. The darkness oughta hide you."

"Lieutenant, wait!" Lissa cried, clutching at Ed's jacket anxiously.

"You can't go yet! Tell us about Hughes!" he demanded. She could hear the desperation in his tone as well.

Ross paused, looking back at them indecisively for a moment.

But Sixty-Six urged her on. "Get going!" he ordered fiercely. "If the MPs show up, they'll shoot you on sight!"

Ross looked pained—then she turned, anguished, and raced off down the alley.

"Lieutenant Ross!" Ed yelled, but it was in vain.

Sixty-Six moved to cover her retreat. "Stay back!" he warned.

"No, wait!" Al begged. "Lieutenant Ross!"

But she was already gone, out of reach by then. Lissa fixated a glare on Sixty-Six. "What the hell are you doing here?" she snarled. "What were you doing with Lieutenant Ross?!"

Ed looked at her, frowning. "Wait, you know this guy?"

"He's from the Fifth Laboratory," she explained tersely, narrowing her eyes at the former guard. "But before that, he was a serial killer called—called Barry the Chopper." Lissa reached out and took Ed's wrist as she saw fear crawling over his face, his eyes widening… For a moment he was that scared twelve-year-old again, until he rounded on Sixty-Six and bared his teeth at him.

"You," he hissed. "Tell us what you're doing with Ross!"

BOOM!

The night sky exploded with orange light, a column of smoke and fire rising from just a few streets over.

Ed whipped his gaze up to it immediately. "What was that?!"

Sixty-Six looked up as well. "Looks like they got her," he murmured.

Jerking free of Lissa, Ed rushed past the convict, dodging his swipe and yell to stop, and took off down the alley where Ross had gone. Lissa cursed and ran after him, alchemy lending her the speed she needed to get around Sixty-Six and go chasing after Ed.

"Ed, wait!" she shouted, making a grab for his jacket and missing as he ducked down a different alley. "Just hang on a second!"

Lissa rammed into him when he suddenly froze in place, both stumbling forward a step. The smell of charred flesh hit her first—then her senses filled with the burning, acrid feeling of pure rage. She looked over Ed's shoulder, terrified of what she'd find but unable to look away and pretend this wasn't happening.

Mustang…

Standing over…over…

A body.

Slowly, Mustang turned, eyeing them coldly over his shoulder. "Hey there…Fullmetal," he greeted quietly.

"What happened here?" Ed demanded sharply. When Mustang didn't reply, didn't so much as move, he growled and yelled, "What happened here, Colonel? Tell me!"

Mustang adjusted his glove, the transmutation circle inked on the back standing out in the dark.

Lissa felt sick. Could he have… Would he have really… But he and Hughes were so close, best friends, utterly inseparable to everyone who saw them… If he believed that Ross had done it, then… Then he really might have…

In front of her, Ed had come to the same conclusion, reading it in Mustang's silence. "Why, Colonel" he asked quietly, dangerously. "Why was Hughes murdered? Why would Second Lieutenant Ross…"

Suddenly he lunged forward, too fast for Lissa to catch him, and grabbed Mustang by the lapels. "Why didn't you say anything?!" he snarled.

Mustang's eyes narrowed. He regarded Ed a moment, his expression harsh—then he slammed his fist into the side of Ed's face, so hard it knocked him all the way around. He landed hard, directly on his chest, too stunned to catch his fall.

Lissa felt rage burn hot in her chest.

"You threaten a superior officer?" Mustang demanded sharply. "You forget yourself, Elric!"

Ed picked himself up off the ground, his expression haunted, the spot on his jaw already turning red from the hit—then he spun and went for Mustang again, lost to his own anger.

"Brother, don't!" Al cried, rushing in and catching him at the last second.

"I'm gonna tear you apart!" Ed screamed, thrashing against his brother's hold—but Al was too strong for him, knew how to pin his arms, and kept him back securely.

Al shook his head fiercely. "No! I won't let you!"

"This bastard just killed Ross!"

The realization made Al's head snap up. "What?! He did?!" As Mustang walked away, Al found his voice, asked the question in Lissa's own throat. "How could you do that, Colonel?!"

Mustang paused, but didn't turn back. "Maria Ross was a fugitive. Our orders were shoot to kill. So I did," he explained bluntly.

"That's all you have to say?!" Edward demanded, finally getting Al to release him but staying in place this time.

Lissa took a step forward, and then another, and another, bypassing the two and coming to stand just a few feet behind Mustang. "Ever since I came here," she began, her voice trembling though she wasn't close to tears. She wasn't close to anything but pure, blind rage. "Ever since I was a little girl…you've been interfering in my life. You refused to let me leave, you kept me in that facility, you prevented me from taking my exams when I was twelve, when I was thirteen, fourteen…" She clenched her fists at her sides and screamed, "Fuck you! What the hell kind of person kills someone in cold blood like that?! She wasn't an alchemist, dammit, she couldn't protect herself! Why the hell do you take weak, defenseless people who can't say a word to save themselves and try to ruin their lives?!" Her breath hitched in a dry sob, and Lissa realized she was trembling all over, her teeth chattering, every inch of her shivering with this horrible all-encompassing wrath. "I hate you," she snarled. "I hate you! I wish I'd never met you!"

Mustang stood through her tirade, immobile—like it didn't mean anything to him. And when she fell silent, sank to her knees right there in the alley, only then did he look back at them. "If you're finished… About Hughes' death…" He was…ignoring her… Ignoring everything she'd said like it didn't mean a damn thing! "I apologize for hiding it." Where was the man who showed true pain yesterday, who admitted his own fault, showed actual regret for his actions?! "But you do not argue against orders, or ask for explanations. Just follow them. That's what it means to be a soldier."

With that, he turned and walked out of the alley, ending the conversation.

Lissa sensed the boys behind her, but didn't turn to look at them. "I actually believed he cared," she whispered, almost laughing. She felt unhinged, shattered beyond repair. "I let myself think he was so focused on me because he…actually cared about me. I'm such a fucking idiot. He never cared. He just wanted another subordinate."

She felt something warm on the back of her head, moments before Edward pulled her in, bringing her against his chest and holding her tightly. "We care," he told her softly. "Al and I do. You've got us, Lissa."

And it meant the world to her… But right then, Lissa felt as though she'd lost a family member, one of the few people she'd had in her life since her parents died… And there was no filling that spot, not truly. There was nothing quite like the presence Colonel Roy Mustang had created in her life—both older brother, mentor, and also superior, her commanding officer of sorts. He'd carved out a space for himself whether she'd wanted it or not, refused to give her the option to do anything but accept his presence. And though she'd disliked him plenty of the time…it wasn't all bad, no matter what she tried to tell herself. Especially when she was little. When she was still in single digits, scrawny and petulant and miserable at the facility…there had been times he'd bent rules, broken protocol for her, tried to make her life better. He'd gotten her transferred to a different room when her old bunkmate slammed her head against the bedframe. He'd let her sleep in his own bed while he did paperwork in the front room until she felt safe to go back, even if he gave her a hard time about it.

No… There was nothing to fill the gap he would leave in her life. No matter how hard she tried to pretend otherwise.