3rd P.O.V.

Ed secured the bed sheet on the window sill, giving it an extra tug to be sure. He motions to Al. The two then begin to climb down their makeshift rope.

"Eh-HEM!"

A lamp by the couches clicks on and both boys wince, glancing over their shoulders. Lisa frowns at them from where she sits on the couch, her hand still holding the chain for the lamp. She sighs. "You two were going off to the laboratory and you didn't wake me?" She tosses her blanket to the other side of the couch and stands up. She snaps and her clothes from earlier fade away to reveal…

a black long-sleeved jacket over a dark grey tank-top, black jeans and black boots. (You probably thought she was naked, didn't you? Bunch of weirdos… X3)

She places her fists on her hips. "Why the heck do you wanna come?" Ed asks harshly. Lisa tilts her head back slightly and grins. "Well, you idiots are going to need my help. Plus, if you don't let me come, I'll tell Ross and she'll never let you two out of her sight." Ed's mouth opens and shuts a few times, attempting to come up with a good retort, while Al holds up his hand but then drops it. "I guess we don't have choice, Brother." Ed groans. "Oh… fine, but you better not get in the way!" Lisa grins and bounces, Pinkie Pie style, over to where the boys are. As Al starts climbing down, she peers over the window sill. "Hmm…" "What are you doing?" jokes Ed. "Planning to jump down?" She turns back to him, grinning. "Now that's just a silly idea! That'd attract too much attention!" With that, she climbs onto the sill and stands there until Ed has started to descend after Al. "You coming or what?" She frowns, thinking a little. She smiles and nods, taking a step out of the window. Ed and Al, surprised, both go to catch her until they realize- she's floating! She crosses her arms, smirks, and floats down slowly. She flashes them both a grin as she passes them. "C'mon slow pokes!" Ed looks down at his brother and prods him with his foot. "Come on!"

At the bottom, Lisa taps her foot, tilting her head side to side as she waits on the brothers. Al is the first, stepping to the side for Ed to drop the remaining two feet to the ground. Wordlessly, the three exchange glances, nod, and take off running. Ed and Al glance at each other as Lisa speeds past them both, grinning. Her legs are nearly blurs. Somehow she remains quiet, bouncing on top of a fence and keeping just ahead of the brothers. As the 5th laboratory comes into sight, Ed motions to Al, who pulls Lisa to a stop. She shoots them both a pouty look, crossing her arms.

With Ed in the lead, the trio sneak to the wall surrounding the dark and ominous building. They tiptoe to the corner and peek around it, Scooby-Doo style. Standing at the gate, illuminated by a lone street lamp, stands two military police guards. Behind them, another officer walks back and forth by the gate. "Awful lot of security for an abandoned building." Ed remarks. The three duck back behind the wall as one of the guards flash a light in their direction. Ed turns to the other two, Al hunched over slightly. "Alright, we'll sneak in, take a look around, and be back at the library before morning." Al and Lisa nod, Lisa looking slightly worried. Al stands by the wall, positioning himself to help the other two over said wall. Ed and Lisa glance at each other. The brunette takes a step back and gestures to Al dramatically. "After you." Ed mutters a few curses before dashing to Al. The armored soul launches his brother up and over the wall, landing safely on the other side. Al glances at Lisa as she soundlessly floats upwards. She grabs Al's shoulders and effortlessly flies them both over to Ed. Ed shoots her a murderous glare as she softly lands next to Al. She smirks and flashes a peace sign at him. He rolls his eyes before motioning for them to hurry to the building. The boys dash over, clanking slightly. Lisa jogs behind them, her boots squeaking softly on the dewy grass. Ed and Al glance the wall over as Lisa rocks on her heels, spinning about and looking at the scenery. Ed points to a duct above Al's head. "There! I think I can fit in there! And I bet it leads all the way inside." Lisa spins back towards the boys, a devious looking grin on her face. "Only you would be small enough to fit in there Edy." Ed's face turns an angry shade of red as he starts to spout another of his famous short rants when Al covers his brother's mouth. "Brother!" He hisses. "We have to be quiet!" Lisa snickers when Al shoots her a 'I'm-not-in-the-mood-for-this-shit' face. She sighs, spins back around, and plops onto the ground, arms and legs crossed and a pouty look on her face.

With a sigh, Al helps Ed up to the duct where he pries it off and starts to climb in. "You guys wait here." says Ed. "What? You sure you'll be alright all by yourself?" Ed sighs. "I don't have a choice. With your big body, you'll never fit through here." Ed starts his way into the building. "Okay then,I'm gonna go check it out." Al sits with his legs pulled to his chest. "It's not MY fault I got so big…" He mumbles, a purple gloom settling over him. Lisa flops onto her back and pats his leg sympathetically.

-Lisa's P.O.V.-

I sigh and roll onto my stomach. "God, how long have we been waiting?" Al shrugs. "I don't know. 5 minutes?" I grumble and flop my face into the ground, groaning unhappily. I flip back onto my back and jump up. I fling my arms out and tilt my head back. "Come ON man! Stuff is happening and you're just gunna leave me out of it?!" Al squeaks in surprise. I look over my shoulder to see he's got his shoulders hunched and is waving his hands back and forth frantically. "Are you trying to get us caught?" My arms flop back to my sides as I shrug my shoulders. "If that's what it takes, sure." Al motions me over and I lazily, and crappily, cartwheel over, plopping onto my bottom next to Al. "Who were you calling to anyways?" I grin and lean against the wall. "Truth. Who else?" Al tilts his head in confusion. I sigh and poke his forehead. "That annoying bastard who sent me here and runs your freaking dimension." Al gives an understanding "Oh." before nodding. I sigh and look up at the sky. On a whim, I reach up, making it seem that I'm holding the full moon in my hand. I tilt my head, frowning thoughtfully. I flip my hand so that my palm is facing to the sky. I sigh, making a few stray hairs abruptly fly up. "I swear it feels like I'm forgetting something…" I grumble, closing my hand into a fist. "But for the life of me, I can't remember what." Al leans his elbow on his leg, cradling his cheek. "You'll remember it soon." He assures me. I sigh impatiently, letting my hand drop back to my side and laying my head onto my knees.

Literally three seconds later, my head shoots up and I snap, nearly startling Al out of his skin-er, armor. "I KNOW WHAT I -mergpfeh!" Al's hand covers my mouth as he glances around. "Don't just shout like that!" he whisper-shouts. I pucker my lips in a pout and push his hand away. "I remember the thing!" I say, trying to keep quiet, though it probably isn't working. "What is it?" I glance down at my wrist, where a watch has magically appeared. I point upwards, watching the second hand tick. I mouth each number until…

"HIYAA!" "MOVE!" I shout, jumping away from Al. He jumps the opposite way. I do a back handspring (how the hell do I know what that is?) and land on my feet, snapping a short sword into existence. The short and rather tubby armor lands where Al and I had just been, wielding two ridiculously huge blades that are probably the result of an axe and a butcher's knife having babies. I shudder at the thought. 'How would that even work? God, I swear, I don't even know how my own mind works.' The new suit glances back and forth between us, a strangely ghost-like grin on his face… er mask, I think? Whatever.

Al gasps and drops into a half-defensive pose. "Who's there?!" "Not bad, not bad!" says tubby. "Yer pretty fast for such a big guy. I like it!" He pulls his blade from the ground where he's lodged it. "Otherwise this wouldn't be any fun!" I growl, not sure whether to attempt to hug him or bash him. "You asked me who I am, so I guess I'll tell ya." He heaves one blade onto his shoulder, his skull-like mask making me shiver a bit. "Number 66!" He says. "Least, that's what the name they gave me when I got the job." he laughs. "If you heard my real name, you'd piss your pants! I'll tell ya as I finish you off!" "Are you saying that you're going to KILL me?" 66 laughs again, something more of a 'geh heheh' then a 'mwhaha'. "I'll have you both chopped to pieces in no time!" He says, glancing my way. I squeak and bounce a step back. He crosses his blades in front of his chest, eyes glinting malevolently. "If you wanna scream, do it now!"

Al's fist made contact with 66's face, sending the demonic guard flying. He gets back on his feet, muttering something to himself. "...JUST SIT STILL…" He runs at Al, trying to jab him with his axe-knives. "AND LET ME… CUT YOU UP?!" Al deflects 66's arm. "You big JERK!" Al shouts. 66 growls. "IT WON'T HURT THAT BAD!" I can't help but watch as the two suit battle, shooting remarks back and forth. It's just then that I wonder, ' Where the fuck is Ed?' Then I remember: The other guy. The one suit with two souls. Oh, what was his name? I sigh and shake my head. He'll be fine. Just then, Al trips on a rock. I gasp as 66 goes and gets one blade stuck in Al's elbow. "Al!" I shout. 66 goes to chop off Al's arm, shouting "Now to cut me some SHOULDER ROAST!" Al flexes his arm, breaking the blade. 66 gasps as Al punches him under the jaw. Al gasps as 66's head rolls. I dash over to Al, barely keeping from kicking the jerk's head. 66's body stands up. "You bastard… you made my head fall off." It worries me that he's so calm about that, though I can't think why. Al gulps and I notice a nervous look in his eyes. "Your body is…" 66 chuckles, picking up his head. "There was a little… incident." I frown and grab Al's wrist. 66 places his head back into place. "Let me tell you a little story. You may have heard it before. It's a story about a butcher named Barry." I hear Lillian chuckle. 'This is my favorite bedtime story.' I hiss a warning to her as Barry launches into his story. I step behind Al, my mind conjuring up the first Barry incident in the original FMA anime. I shiver at the thought of poor Winry at the hands of that fucked up bastard… THIS fucked up bastard who is somehow so freaking funny and somehow lovable. At least, I think he kinda is, after this incident though. "-version that everyone knows." I can't help but roll my eyes as he speaks. "But there's actually more to this story." I sigh and mouth along with Barry's little piece of dialogue which is, quite frankly, way too long. "Some people spared his life on one condition: that he guard a certain location." I hold my hand up and it mimics him as well. "But first they took away his old meat sack and trapped his soul inside a metal body!" Barry burst into a fit of insane laughter. "THAT'S RIGHT! HE'S STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU RIGHT NOW! I'M BARRY THE CHOPPER!"

For a moment, I can almost believe that this is super serious shit.

Al tilts his head, his face a chibiness of confusion. "Who?"

Serious moment over.

As Al explains he's from Risembool, Barry points at me. "You! Surely you've heard of me?" I frown, tapping my chin in thought. I feel a creepy grin on my face. 'Let's be a douche.' I shrug, playing up on the 'I don't know things' atmosphere. "Nope, sorry. Never heard of ya." Barry grabs his head and stomps his feet a few times. "Agh, bunch of hicks! Country bumpkins!" He growls before pointing at himself, renewed with thinking he can freak us out. "Okay, so maybe you haven't heard of me, but aren't you a little surprised by my body?! It's not every day you see a living suit of armor!" Angry now, Barry waves his fist back and forth. "Can't you at least say… "AHHH!" or "AIEEE!" or "Where's your body?!" Throw me a frickin' bone here!" Al reaches up and takes off his head. Barry's jaw drops as he screams. "AHHH! AIEEEE!" He points his finger at Al. "Where's YOUR body?!" I then start seriously considering pulling off my own head.

I am a master at magic so it wouldn't be that hard.

Barry then puts his hand over where a heart should be and sighs. "Oh, so yer just another inmate from death row. Dont' scare me like that!" Al holds his head by that feather thingy and fumes. "I'M NOT A CRIMINAL!" Barry tilts his head, confused. "Yer not? What happened to you then?" Al puts his head back on and drops his hands to his sides slowly as he explains.

"When my physical body disintegrated, my older brother transmuted my soul into this armor." I grab Al's hand with both of mine and frown sadly. I glance up to see Barry perk up. "A brother?" He turns his back to us, mumbling to himself really creepily. "A brother, huh?!" He laughs to himself and I growl, my shoulders raising slightly as I yell at him. "HEY YOU CREEPER! STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF!" "What's so funny?" Al asks Barry. Barry looks over his shoulder and waves his hand back and forth. "Sorry, sorry, it's nothing." I glower at him. "By the way, do you trust your big brother?" "Of course I do." Al responds without a thought. "He risked his life to transmute my soul." Barry sighs and looks up at the sky, little sparkles floating around his head. I draw my arms and leg back and stare at Barry as if he has the plague. My only thought? 'The sparkles are spreading… IT'S THE ARMSTRONG DISEASE!' In that time, I've completely missed the two suits talking about whether Ed and Al are related…. except this:

"What if your personality and memories were all fabricated by your "Big Brother?!" Al gasps at the thought. I grab Al's arm. "You can't believe him Al!" I shout. Al pats his chest plate. "Th- That's not possible! There's no doubt that I'm the human being named Alphonse Elric!" I sigh and step back. 'You just have to remember that Al… you're more human than he is… even more human than I am…' I turn and glare at Barry. "Before you even ask, a soul is the very essence of a living being, be they man or mouse. And don't even THINK about saying "How can you tell?" or saying that a person can't see a soul, because I don't have to see a soul to know it's there!" I grit my teeth. "I've got two so I know these things better than anyone else!" Both suits stare at me in surprise, Barry at the fact that I'm speaking, and Al at what I've said. 'Oh have I got shit to explain tomorrow...' Barry shrugs. "Sure, sure, say what you want, but what proof do you, or anyone, have that he truly exist? That he ever really did?" Barry points his ax-knife at Al. "What proof do you have that this human you claim to be ever existed?! Where is your meat?!" Al, stunned, stumbles back a few steps. I rush to his side, grabbing his arm to keep him from falling. "...Then what about you?!" Al demands.

Suddenly, one of the guards from earlier comes running around the corner, dropping to one knee and pointing his AK-47 at us. "You there, don't move!" He shouts. I yelp and duck behind Al. "This place is off limits! Leave immedi-" Barry swings his blade backwards, cutting the top part of the officer's head off. Al and I gasp at the same time. I can feel my eyes widen and my pupils dilate in horror as the upper half of the man's head hits the ground. Barry huffs without missing a beat. "Shut up." The man's body falls to the ground and Barry stabs it, blood splurting around. My whole body quakes at the sight of so much blood. "What about me, you ask? That's easy." He flicks his blade, blood flying to the ground. "Love to chop up the flesh of living people! I love to kill so much that I don't know what to do!" He holds his hand in front of him, blood dripping off the glove. "I KILL therefore I AM!" He laughs insanely. "THAT'S ALL THE PROOF I NEED TO KNOW I EXIST!" As Barry talks, I can see a battle I thought I'd forgotten long ago that had just as much blood..

I scramble backwards until my back hits the tree. Tear stream down my face, burning my cheeks. I clutch my side which still spurts blood. Blood runs down my cheek from a wound on my forehead. My body is quaking as I face my attacker. His white hair glows in the moonlight, his brown eyes are like portals to the shadow realm, glowing only with his lust.

A lust for blood.

His red and black sword glints as he steps closer and closer, slowly making his way towards me. This is it… Is this how I die? At the hands of one who I'd called a friend and brought into this family I've created?" Ba-bakura." I cough, blood running out of the corner of my mouth. He smirks. "Your precious Pharaoh cannot save you now, can he?" His voice drips with a sickly sweet poison. I flinch, mentally begging this to be quick. "BAKURA!" A loud crash sounds and my eyes shoot open to see-

"Lisa!" I blink, snapping out of my stupor just in time to see Barry raising his blade above my head. Wait… MY HEAD?! I look up as he swings downward. I duck backwards, just barely avoiding Barry's ax-knife. I gasp as a few small hairs drift past my face. 'You owe me on that one.' I sigh. 'Thanks Lillian.' I rub my hands together, just then remembering the sword I'd made appear earlier. I pull the short sword from my belt and hold it parallel to my forearm. As I take a few steps backwards, Al appears at my side, falling into an attack position. I sigh. "Al?" "Yeah Lisa?" "Don't take what he's saying to heart. You're as real as anyone I've ever met, alright?" Al nods. "Ok."

There is still a hesitation in his voice.

Ok, so apparently, I forgot to add some stuff on the ends of these chapters. Much like my story "Yu-Gi-Oh: The Next Dimension" We will now have interactive author's notes. Please come and talk to the characters. Ask Questions, throw in a dare or something.

Lisa: This author's note thing is basically useless until this story picks up more love... So please, help get the word out! In fact, we actually want you guys to help us out in making this story a better experience for you!

Lillian: Yeah, even if it doesn't seem like it (At least for me) that we don't care, we read every review and we'd all love a little feedback.

Ed: If something in the story doesn't seem right, like the fact that Al and I only studied for three days, compared to the manga, we were supposed to study for ten days, point it out and we'll have her go back and fix it.

Author: *Glares at Ed* I fixed that already. DROP IT NERD-BOY!

Armstrong: *anime tears, sparkles, and flexing muscles* YES, PLEASE! DO LEAVE US YOUR FEELINGS OF EACH CHAPTER! IF YOU DO, I WILL PERSONALLY THANK YOU FOR IT!

Everyone else: *sweatdrop*

Author: yeah, thanks for that Alex….

Armstrong: *muscle flex* NO PROBLEM MISS AUTHOR!

Envy: Can we hurry up? I'm going to finally make an appearance in this story next chapter!

Lust: Oh hush you crybaby. I'm not making a legit appearance for a few more chapters at least.

Author: HOW ARE YOU PEOPLE GETTING IN HERE?! I LOCKED THE DOOR!

Father: *in a Frieza floaty chair* Does it really matter?

Dante: You're not the only one to fuck with logic.

Author:...

Scar: *has a small cat on his head*

Hohenheim: I don't actually know how I got here.

Wrath/Fuhrer Bradley: *wearing Darth Vader mask* Pride. I AM your FATher.

Pride/Selim Bradley: -_- No, you're my younger brother…

Author: *throws hands in the air* I'm done. I'm just so fucking done. *leaves room*

Lillian: DANCE PARTY!