For the rest of the party, I wander around by myself, when- WHAM! I nearly fall, spilling my drink over the person I bumped into's shirt. I gasp. "Oh my god! I am SO sorry!" He laughs and I look up to see- "David!" He grins and ruffles my hair. "Nice to see ya again kiddo." I grin. "It's been awhile." I say, smiling. He chuckles. "Hasn't been that long." I shrug. "Eh, I suppose." "So, what are you doing here?" I inquire. David grins and holds up his glass. "I knew Gracia a few years before she met Maes." Is that so?" He nods, smiling and waving over my shoulder. I glance over to see Gracia roll her eyes, smiling cheerfully, and wave back. I grin and turn back towards David. "So what are you here for kiddo? Maes kidnap ya off the street?" I laugh, though that's not far from the truth. "I know Maes through the little blonde kid, Ed." David nods, chuckling. "Ah, yes, of course, the state alchemist. Speaking of which, where is that kid?" "The hospital." At David's surprised expression, I laugh. "The idiot got into a fight. He'll live, though it won't be long before he's back in one, to be honest." David sighs and chuckles. " 'Course not. He did strike me as a fighter." I nod. "Trust me, you haven't got a clue."

"Davey!" We both turn to see a pretty woman with dark brown hair and sparkling blue eyes wearing a white blouse and a long dark blue skirt walking over. "Mimi!" David walks over to her and she kisses his cheek. "You just disappeared on me!" she complains, a mock-pout pulling at her lips. David smiles and laughs. "Yeah, I know. I was just catching up with a little friend." He gestures to me. I smile and wave awkwardly. Mimi glances me over, tilting her head confused. "Isn't she a bit young?" David turns red and facepalms. "I told you, not that kind of friend Mi!" She laughs and pokes his chest, his arm around her waist. "I know, I was kidding." She smiles at me and offers me a hand. "It's nice to meet you." I smile and shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you too, uhm, Mimi." She giggles. "You never said she was so polite." I smile and shrug. "I try." Mimi giggles and flicks a lock of hair from David's face. "Didn't you say you were going to introduce me to Gracia?" David facepalms again and nods. "Yeah, of course". I smile and nod to them both. "Well, you do that, I'm going back to mingling." I wave goodbye and return into the crowd.

I manage to find Maes after about a half hour of searching, speaking to Winry. I lean against the doorway, letting them talk… that is.. until Maes nearly shot some little boys who were arguing over who Elysia would play with… yeah...THAT happened. The boys go running, scampering away and sweating like pigs as I enter the room. "Uh… Maes?" He glances up at me, his deadly expression flipping into good ol' happy-go-lucky Hughes. "Lisa, how long you been standing there?" I sweatdrop. "Uh, long enough." I shake my head quickly. "Anywhosals, I kinda need to talk to you and Gracia. It can wait till after the party, but it's kinda important." Maes glances over at Winry, who's showing Elyisia some mechanics. He turns back to me, smiling that same goofy smile. "Winry can keep Elyisia entertained for awhile. Let's say you and me go find Gracia and we talk upstairs real quick?" I bite the inside of my lip, nodding. "Y-yeah… sure…" Maes turns back to Winry, probably to ask her to keep an eye on Elyisia, while I twiddle my fingers, gritting and un-gritting my teeth nervously. 'Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! This goes against my everything! I … I shouldn't be doing this! But… at the same time.. I can't let it happen… Hopefully, they'll just let me do my thing and no one will ever know…' "So Lisa!" I spin around, wiping the worried look off my face and replacing it with a slightly nervous smile. "Let's go find Gracia!" says Maes, not even noticing my nervousness. I nod a little too eagerly and follow Maes to find Gracia. He more or less drags me around.

Most of the people have gone home by now and it's getting kind of dark outside.

We eventually find Gracia in the kitchen, tidying up some of the random little things that are around the room. "Mrs. Gracia? Can I have a word with you and Maes?" My legs are shaking and cold chills are running up and down my back as the couple exchange glances that I can't read. I've never been all that good at reading people… Mrs. Gracia smiles at me and nods. "Of course Lisa. It's no trouble." she assures me. I sigh, not really assured. They sit at the table and all I can do is stand, tapping my foot worriedly. "Before I get into the actual reason I need to talk to you guys, I need to explain one important thing: This goes against everything I've ever promised myself I'd ever do." The two frown and glance at each other, not looking all that excited. I sigh and sit down. "Mr. Hughes, this really isn't easy for me to say, but you have to realize that I'm doing this to save you." "Save me?" Maes straightens up in surprise. "Save me from what?" I bite my lip, thinking over what I'm going to say.

A tense moment of silence passes.

"Mr. Hughes. In two days... you're going to die."

-The Next morning-

I sigh and follow Winry to Ed's hospital room. I have that bad feeling again, but, once again, I can't remember what the hell is supposed to happen, it's probably over the conversation I had with the Hughes'. I rub the heel of my hand roughly over my face as I grumble about it. 'Why the hell can't I remember more of this storyline than just the ridiculously feels-y shit. What the hell is supposed to happen again? Fuck! Fuckety-fuck-fuck-fuck!' Winry calls a hello to people as we pass. I sigh and my shoulders droop. "I hate mornings." I grumble. Winry chuckles and smiles at me. "You were the one who wanted to get here as soon as possible." I nod and wave my hand in front of my face. "I know, I know. That doesn't change the fact that I HATE mornings." She rolls her eyes as we both walk in the doors to Ed's room.

"I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS DAMNED BODY!"

Any smiles Winry or I had disappeared as I struggled not to slap myself.

'Fuck! God damnit, I AM an idiot! I can't believe I completely forgot that THIS happens.' Ed puts the fork he's holding back down as Al clenches his fist, head tilted down. If he could, he'd be crying right now. "I never asked… For this damn body." He repeats, quieter now. Ed turns to Al, blinking nervously. "I… I'm sorry Al." I step behind Winry, grab her arm and push us both to the side of the doors where we can see what's happening. I bite back the flow of comments that my mind says will fix things, though my heart says otherwise. "... You're right. It's my fault that all of this happened. That's why I want to get you back to normal as soon as possible." Ed's voice and face are so solemn that my heart is starting to hurt. 'Al, please… don't do this...' "Is there really any guarantee that we can really get our original bodies back?" I can feel my lips quivering from all that I'm holding back: Yes, they'll get their bodies back, yes it'll be hard, but they've got so much support that it'll be so much better than doing by themselves. But I have to keep it back. They need to do this… it's just a part of their lives… they HAVE to prove their trust in each other and in their promise… No matter how much it hurts. Ed smiles, nervous sweatdrops rolling down his face. "I'll get you back to normal." He promises. "You've just gotta BELIEVE me!"

"BELIEVE YOU?!"

Al holds his hands in front of himself, nearly glaring at them. "What am I supposed to believe in this empty shell of a body!?" His voice is laced with a poison I doubt he even knows is there. "According to Alchemic Theory, human beings are composed of a physical body mind and SOUL! But has anyone ever verified that in any experiment!?" Ed sits up, eyes wide in a mix of surprise, confusion and fear. Al's voice drops to a hushed growling. "Memories are nothing but data when you think about it. It should be possible to artificially construct them." "What are you saying Al…?" Ed's fists are clenched so tightly that I can see them shaking. "You told me once that there was something that you were too afraid to tell me." Winry gasps quietly and I tighten my grip on her arm to keep her from jumping into the boys' conversation. "Maybe what you wanted to tell me was that my soul and memories are FAKE and that they were created ARTIFICIALLY." Ed starts, eyes wide and I dig my nails into my hand to keep from firebending Al in the face and yelling at him for being an idiot. Al looks at Ed, his already red eyes blazing with anger. "Well "Big Brother"? Can you prove that this person named Alphonse Elric really existed!? Isn't it possible that Winry, Granny and everyone else is LYING to me!? So "Big Brother," what do you have to say to THAT!?"

Ed slams his fists to the tray-table on his lap. His bangs shade his eyes as his arm quakes slightly. "You were… keeping all that bottled up this whole time? Is that what you wanted to tell me?" I bite my bottom lip as Al nods. A half-smile pulls at Ed's mouth as a sad look fades into his eyes. "I see." He stands and walks past Al and out of the room. I glance back and forth between the two before turning and dashing after Ed.

I follow him, tailing him from a few feet away. He never once looks up until he gets to the roof. I stand in the middle of the top floor as he leans on the railing. I rub my teeth together before sighing through my nose. "Ed-" "Why did you follow me?" I look up at him in surprise. I didn't think he'd noticed. A part of me is wishing he hadn't. I take a deep breath before walking over to stand next to him.

"Would you believe me if I said I was worried about you?"

He doesn't respond.

I sigh again. "He didn't mean it you know. He's just… unsure… of some things right now." He still doesn't respond, keeping his face turned to the ground. "I've been wanting to explain something, but I didn't have a chance till now. About what Al said… It's 'cause of some guy we fought at the fifth laboratory. He was like Al, a soul trapped in armor. He got it into Al's head that he was an artificial soul. I… I tried to keep him from listening, but…" I sigh in defeat. "It looks like it didn't work…"

"..."

"..."

"... Is that all you're going to tell me?"

I sigh. "Ed, there are reasons I can't-" "What reasons? What's so damn important that you can't tell us what's going to happen?" I sigh and shake my head, looking down at the street two stories below. "I already told you Ed. It'll fuck your timeline up." "How can it get any worse?!" He snaps and my head turns up to meet his eyes. "I already told you that too." His eyes hold mine. My stomach knots up and I let the sad frown slide into my features. "If I could and not unintentionally kill people, I would, but remember, there are ALWAYS repercussions." I look to the sky. "And they affect you more than you can ever realize."

He fumbles with words before looking back to the ground.

We stand there in silence for a moment, me staring at the sky and him staring at the ground, when I chuckle at a thought. He glances at me, frowning. "What are you laughing at?" I smile and glance at him out of the corner of my eye. "I think I figured out why we don't get along." Ed huffs, blowing a few stray hairs out of his face. "Enlighten me." I roll my eyes and lightly punch his shoulder. "We're too much alike." He frowns. "How so?" I sigh. "Well, for one thing, we're nearly polar opposites from our younger siblings, and I don't mean just apperance wise." He shrugs. I smile softly and lean over the rail. "We both hate letting other people see us scared or weak. How we'd rather shoulder the entire world's problems then let our siblings bear any burden. We'd both rather go through hell and back then see our siblings hurt in any way." Ed freezes and turns to me surprised. "I'd rather go through all of hell again then let my sister get hurt." Ed nods slowly. I sigh and turn to Ed. "Ed… Equivalent exchange is the trading of two things that have the same value, right?" He frowns at me curiously. "That's the gist of it, yeah… why?" I smile. "If I promise not to get on your nerves on purpose, what would you do in return?" He face falls as he probably tries to figure out where the hell I just pulled that from. "I uh.. uhm…" I smirk. "If I promise not to annoy you on purpose, would you promise to, say, not get mad at me over every little thing I do or don't do?" He frowns. "I suppose… why?" I shrug. "It gets you off my back and it keeps you from complaining over everything I do." He growls as I giggle.

"I get it if you don't completely trust me, but at least believe me when I say that I'm only trying to help you Ed."

I look over my shoulder at the soft clack of the roof door opening. I back away from Ed and keep my eyes from meeting Al's. I still feel kinda guilty about the whole shebang…

"Ed…"

Ed sighs. "Now that I think about it, my body feels kind of out of shape because we haven't sparred in a while." He kicks off his hospital slippers and stretches. I roll my eyes. 'I swear to God.' I then walk in a wide arc around the two as Ed starts this "spar" to get to the door. I lean against the door as Ed kicks Al in his sheet covered face. I shake my head as the two talk about the reasons they ever fought. I feel a tap on my shoulder and swivel my head towards whoever tapped me. I smile at Winry who stands beside me. "Lisa?" "Hmm?" She sighs and smiles, watching the guys talk. "You said you came here to on an accident right?" I nod. "To an extent, yeah." "You're going to stick with them right?" I smile and nod again. "Yeah… as long as it takes…" "Promise you'll keep them out of trouble." I turn to see a worried frown on the blonde's face. I nod. "I promise Winry. Don't worry, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure they get home in one piece." She smiles softly and nods before turning to say something to Maes. I turn away from her and sigh. "But that'll have to wait for a few days…" I grumble as I continue planning.

-awhile later, in Ed's hospital room-

I sit in a chair by the window , drawing, as the guys talk more about what Ed saw in the lab, especially concerning a certain palm-tree.

Ed points to his poorly drawn picture. "I don't remember anything after this guy kicked me." I sigh and flick some eraser specks away. "Envy the Jealous." They all spin to look at me in confusion. I set down the paper, which has a halfway decent picture of my mobian friend, Sky the Hedgehog. "His name is Envy the Jealous. He has the ability to shapeshift into anyone or anything he pleases, even into a form he invents himself." Maes' eyes widen but the others just look surprised. "Ok…" The guys return to their work, but not before Maes shoots me a worried look. I frown and nod, answering the question hanging in the air. The door opens quietly and we all turn to see who it is. "I hope I'm not interrupting?" The guys all gasp as I dive onto the hospital bed and behind Al, sweating nervously.

"FUHRER KING BRADLEY!"

The Fuhrer holds up a hand, smiling kindly. "At ease gentlemen." He tilts his body slightly and waves at me. "And miss." I gulp and peek over Al's shoulder. "Y-yes sir." Armstrong salutes the Fuhrer, stepping aside slightly. Maes bows quickly. "Mr. President, what brings you here?" asks Maes "What brings me?" Bradley ask. "Why, to visit him of course!" He pulls a melon in a bag from behind his back and hands it to Ed. "Do you like melons?" Ed sweats and confusedly accepts the melon. 'Why do I want to steal that melon now?' I blink in surprise at my own thought. For a brief moment, the president is deadly serious,asking about what we're up to making everyone silent.

And then he bursts into laughter. "Just kidding! Don't be so uptight!" The others sweatdrop as I am briefly reminded on why I liked the Fuhrer when I first saw the show… I can't help grinning a little. 'Why did he have to be a bad guy? He was… IS so likeable!' I mentally sigh sadly as I remember he's in the dark side. "I know there has been some suspicious activity going on within the military lately… and I want to do something about it." I then tune out what they're talking about, focusing on the Fuhrer. 'There's got to be something that gives him away that I never noticed before… there has to be…' "Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, Major Armstrong, Elric brothers, Ms…" Ed jabs me with his elbow. I yelp. "Uh, uhm, G-Green. L-lisa Green sir!" I jump up to stand beside Ed, saluting the Fuhrer. He nods. "Ms. Green. I have decided that you are all individuals whom I can trust. I am giving you this order for your own safety." His face gets deadly serious and I am reminded why I hate him later on in the series. "I will not allow you to speak of this to anyone, or stick your neck in this matter any further!" I gulp and feel myself shrink behind Ed. "This is truly a case where you cannot tell friend from foe. TRUST NO ONE. You must be discreet in your actions and assume that the entire military is the enemy!" 'Or just you, you god damned-' I mentally smack Lillian. "However!" Bradley smiles cheerfully. "When the time comes, I will call on you, so make sure that you are prepared." We all nod and salute. "Yes sir!"

Then, from outside the door: "Mr. President!" "Has anyone seen president Bradley?!" He sweatdrops. "Oh no! My pesky bodyguards are back!" He turns and moves to the window, opening it and climbing out. We all sweatdrop at once. He waves, still smiling. "I slipped out earlier without them noticing! Now I must leave!" My mind pulls up that stupid cat meme with the fluffy kitten jumping and the caption "I must go! My people need me!". We all dash to the window to watch as he walks away. I can't help but grin and wave. "BYE~!" I shout as the others stare after him in confusion. Winry walks into the room. "Huh? What wrong with you guys? Even the people standing outside are acting weird." Ed turns to her, still looking confused. "Oh, nothing. A storm just passed through…" I grin and sit on the window ledge, facing inside. 'Fuck it, I'm going to enjoy meeting Bradley and ignore it till he goes all Wrath on us!' I sigh and kick my legs as Winry pulls an envelope out of her bag. "I got those train tickets you wanted!" Ed immediately brightens up, smiling. "Thanks Win!" Armstrong starts to scold Ed for leaving so soon when Maes grabs my shoulder. "Lisa." His voice is low and I frown, becoming serious. "It's tonight, isn't it?" I nod at his solemn expression. "Yeah… It is."

"What's tonight?"

Maes and I both turn to Al, who asked the question and gained everyone's attention. I sweatdrop. "Oh, uh, n-nothing, nothing!" I feel a nervous flush on my face as I wave my hands frantically. "We were, uh, just talking about how, uh-" "Elyisia has been begging for Lisa to come and stay the night again!" Maes throws in without missing a beat. "We thought that you would be staying in the hospital again, so we planned it for tonight!" I nod frantically. "Y-yeah, what he said! And I wouldn't want to disappoint the little tot! Eheheheheh…" Ed frowns thoughtfully. "So you're going to stay in Central?" I gulp, smiling. "I'll meet you guys in Dublith, b-besides… uhm." I point at the map. "Why not make a stop in Rush Valley?" "Rush Valley?!" Winry jumps at the map. "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmyGOSH! Rush Valley!" Ed and Al look frantically confused and I almost feel bad for springing this on them. Almost. "What's in Rush Valley?" Al asks. Winry pulls an Armstrong-ish sparkle. "Rush Valley is an automail engineer's mecca! Oooo, take me with you guys! Pleeeeeease?!" Ed sighs and rolls his eyes. "Go by yourself!" "Who's gonna pay for my travel expenses?!" "Are you planning on mooching off on me!?" I sigh and roll my eyes. "Oh, get a room you two! No one wants to see your lover's quarrel." The two turn bright red, Ed sputtering on words as I burst into a fit of laughter, nearly falling out the window. I grin at Maes who, to my surprise, offers me a fist bump. I grin at Ed smugly and fist bump Maes. God I love this man!

Al jumps in before Ed attempts to murder me by saying it'd be ok for Winry to tag along, you know, since they already have three tickets and I'm sticking around here afterall. As the three continue talking about Rush Valley and such, I follow Maes out, since he's going to work now and I've got this whole body gaurd thing to do.

I swear to god, I had more for this, but I want to hold off the Hughes incident till next chapter. Until then, enjoy this little piece of heaven before hell.