'What should I do now...?

Go with the flow... or leave before it's too late..?

She's in good hands so... what harm in-

No... she'll be lonely... and the others will get

mad at me if I leave... especially him...

Chapter 27 - A Miracle in Rush Valley

-Alice-

"No way…." Winry mutters. "It really is…" I confirmed. We both face each other and held hand, gleefully crying out, "RUSH VALLEY!" I never though in a million years I'd get the chance to actually be in the holy land of automail. One of the best places where not only automail parts are made, but also the best place to get the perfect parts I need for my inventions! ""Rush valley! Auto mail! Auto mail! I'm so happy!" Winry exclaimed as she and I jumped up and down, happily. Our eyes were glued on the same window. "Look! It's the most recent God's model!" she then pressed her face against the glass as she squealed. I look over excitedly at Cat, "Check it out Cat! We get to actually see the grand auto mail in person! Remember? That joke you always said to me about this auto mail before?"

She glances at me and flashes a fake smile, "That's nice." I flinch at the familiar façade. Is Winry runs off to check off the other stores, I watch as the boys walk after her then Cat afterwards. I can tell something is off. Ever since we got off the train, she's been slowly reverting back to her old self every now and then. "Welcome to the holy land of automail. This place sure is bustling," Al stated as all five of us was down the streets. Ed puts his red coat over his shoulder and Cat silently takes hers off and ties the sleeves around her waist. The heat didn't really affect me in any way. Just looking at the three made me sort of glad I wasn't in my body- only this once.

-Me-

After making sure the knot was tight, I caught sight of Ed glancing at me and look away with pink forming on his cheeks; at least I think he did. "You're really drenched there…" Ed comments, still blushing. I blush too then look in the other direction and answer, "I-I'm a water alchemist! The heat and I aren't really compatible anymore!" My blush deepens as realization dawns on me, 'He's never really seen me without my coat off… I can't really blame any of them since I rarely take it off in public…' Ed's face eventually lost its blush as he complained, "Remind me why we got dragged out here in the heat to look at a bunch of auto-mail? We should have dropped Winry off at the station and headed off to Dublith."

"Come on Ed, it isn't that bad," I sadly smile and bow my head to allow my bangs to shade over half of my face. "You get to spend more time with Winry this way." Ed catches on this and starts to say something. I immediately point at Alice with a blank stare as she hovers over a bunch of metal parts and made the excuse, "Besides… this one wanted to come as well. And wherever she goes, I'm going." He sweat drops when he sees the brunette get stuck in the pile, only for Al to save her. I found myself staring sadly at the ground as I grip my automail arm, thinking, 'He almost caught me there for a sec… I have to act normal all the way till we can finally leave… I can't sulk about… that…' "Hey kids! Come back here I sec!" Alice and I freeze on the spot, the two of us clearly remembering what's going to happen.

"I've never seen one like this before…"
"It really is unusual… everyone, have a look!"

I tried to make a run for it, but the sudden appearance of a large crowd of men forced me back all the way to where Ed is. Next thing we knew, Ed was stripped down to his boxers and I was almost stripped of almost all of my clothing. "Get off of me you perverts!" I screeched, accidentally causing a chain reaction and made the metal of my automail heat up. When I saw this I tried to calm myself so that the metal would cool down. "Don't be rude… they just want a closer look," Winry told us with a happy smile. I yell at her in sarcasm, "Yeah I really like the idea of being stripped by potential molesters just so they can get a better look at my arm and not my underwear!" The crowd started to intensify their attacks. "A little help here!" Ed shouted as he fought people off of him.

He even punched the guy that threw my shirt off. Lucky bastard. After finally fending them off, Ed pulls his backs back on as I reach down for my shirt. He turns to face me but turn bright red when he sees me. It only took me a second to notice where he was staring at and immediately cover my chest with my white sleeveless shirt. "Turn away you midget pervert!" "I'm glad they didn't strip me," Alice comments. I sweat drop and ask her, "And what exactly can they inspect on that wooden body of yours…?" When I picked up my blue coat, I noticed something was off about it. I dug my hand into my right coat pocket in that instant. "Shit…" I mutter, my face grimacing as I look over at Ed; who had the same look in his eyes as well.

"It's gone…" he muttered. "What's gone? Wait… Don't tell me… your watches!?" Alice gasps. Winry and Al had come back just in time to hear a piece of that information. All three screamed as I shout in annoyance, "How come I was pick pocketed as well!? It was only supposed to be Ed!" Ed grabs me by the shoulder and yells, "You knew!? Why didn't you say anything!?" I look at him incredulously, as if silently reminding him exactly who I am. He lets me go, muttering something to himself incoherently. "Looks like you guys had a run in with Paninya," a man nearby spoke. "Paninya?" Al asked. I accidentally butt in, "She's a pickpocket around here who likes to target tourists like us." The man gaps, "Like she said…"

Ed walks up to the man and questions him, "Do you know how I can track down this Paninya girl? She took something important to us!?" "You know what might jog my memory? Letting us have another look at your automail!" the other man said. Ed and I instantly drew our weapons out, having enough of this crap; Ed transmuting his automail into its usual weapon form and me with my sword. "The auto-mail shop that's owned by Dominic!" they both shouted, scared.

||Mountain||

I heavily pant as I felt the sun's rays burn my skin. "You really are bad when it comes to heat now…" Alice comments. I flail my arms around as I rant, "It's not myself being a water alchemist affects me!" How does it affect me? You see I always freeze water since I'm always on the defense and use water only to either drown someone or slow them down, I rarely use heat in my transmutations. So being around the cold a lot more than heat takes a toll on me now. We went at slower pace than the other three so we were a few feet behind, allowing the two of us to talks things over about what's going to happen. "Should we interfere?" Alice questions me as we got closer to that certain point.

I shrugged and looked away in disinterest, "You can if you want… it's not like anything will change when we catch Paninya." Alice stops in place. "Cat… you've been acting weird lately… You're starting to act like your old self again. You're kind of scaring me." My eyes widen at this statements, causing me to turn my head away in shame. There's no denying it. Ever since I decided to think about what Alice and I going to do now in the future since our secret came out, the reminder of Ed's future once this is all over keeps repeating at the back of my mind. I want to ignore it- it's just that it hurts to remember we're only outsiders of their world. It's too early to tell what will happen then, but I can't stop thinking about it.

"It's about Ed and Winry… isn't it?" I grip my right arm tightly, too nervous to look back at Alice straight in the eye. I was about to answer when I heard Ed in the distance, "What're you complaining about? You're the one who drug us to this automail town in the first place!" "My fault!? You two are the ones who got their dumb watches stolen!" Winry retorts back. "Oh really!?" We both watch as Ed turns to continue the fight. Doing so, he catches sight of the two of us just standing there. I bit my lip and grab Alice's hand, avoiding his gaze as I tried to hurry after them. Once we caught up to them, I ignored their confused stares and walked past ahead of them. Avoiding them might be the best move for now until I sort out my feelings.

I can't let my feelings get the best of me. "I've finally found you!" I snapped out of it only to see Paninya standing far off on a bridge, who was looking over her shoulder and held both of our watches in her hands. Looking back at Ed, I sweat drop as Ed gained a look that looked like his inner demon was released. Seems like I won't be to first to let the heat get to me. I ran after Ed as he charges right past me, using his alchemy to make stone steps that led up to the bridge. "Ed! Think rationally for a second here!" I called out, trying my best to keep up. "I am! I'm thinking about beating the lights out of her until I get my watch back!" I groan and continued to follow after him. He then used alchemy to make a stone wall to block her from going any further.

"I'd like our watches back!" Ed demands. I came to a stop then sighed, "This won't be pretty..." The girl smiles and asks, "That was awesome! How'd you do that mister?" "I'm an alchemist! Want more!?" "Ed wait-!" I was too late to stop him. He made stone hands to try and grab her, only to have her dodge and say, "Wow! So cool!" "Quit moving around!" Ed shouted in annoyance. This was getting us no-where at the rate Ed's going. I ran past him while he was still preoccupied and skid to a complete spot once I reached a certain familiar area. "Any minute now... she'll escape to this spot," I mutter, bringing out my canister from underneath my coat. It was the only remaining water I have left, so this better work.

Once I saw Al capture Paninya in her a stone cage, I prepared myself the minute Ed walks up to ask for our watches back. "Now, hand them over-" before he could finish, she raised her knee and cut through the cage and then used her knee to shoot a hidden canon at the group. I watch as she runs off again. "Hey get back!" Ed shouted. Once she was far enough from then, she turn her head to look straight at her path but panics once she sees me. I smirk at this. I dump the remaining water onto the rocky floor and froze it with alchemy as fast as I could before it could evaporate from the heat. "Oh crap!" I step to the side with my eyes closed and she slid right past me. Winry and Alice appeared in time to grab each of the girl's hands as she slid in between them.

"Nice work! Don't let her get away!" Ed yells as he and Al run up to where we were. I turn away to avoid his gaze. He slows down at me to stare for a second then catches up to the girls. "Why would we let her go?" Alice asks. Winry's eyes sparkles as she leans in to Paniya, "At least not until I get a closer look at the automail!" I face palm at this as Ed and Al fell to the side of the ground behind my back. I finally turned around to see a woman open her front door, looking out and see what all the noise was about. She then noticed Paninya and the rest. "Oh, hello there Paninya… friends of yours?" she asked. "Not really…" Paninya stated and Winy and Alice continued to fan girl over her getting to see her automail.

||Dominic's Place||

"Wow! I've never seen such craftsmanship like this before!" Winry exclaimed as she looked over Paninya's legs. I wanted to laugh at how awkward Paninya looked in her current position. Ed tried to butt in, "Uh…. Do you think we could talk about our watches?" He was ignored of course. I, on the other hand, had to hold Alice back as she frantically tried to grab whatever metal object was near her and tried to mess with it. "Will you stop tinkering with stuff that's not yours!?" Alice eyes sparkle as she looks back at me, "We're in the home of the 2nd greatest mechanic in the world…! You can't expect me to just sit around with all this wonderful pieces surrounding me! I have to break it apart to see how it works!" "Don't turn into Winry on me!" I gave her a 'WTF' face as I tried to drag the brunette away from more junk to touch.

"Who's the wonderful engineer?" asks the excited mechanic. She looks at the younger man in the room as he shook his head. A man's voice spoke up, "I am." We turned to see an older man, who didn't look very pleased to see us

++Later++

Dominic look over Ed's arms first and said, "It's too heavy." "Yes… I guess it is…" Winry muttered. Dominic told her, "You want to be careful now to strain the outfitter or this one will never grow. "Hey! Ed and I exclaimed. I huffed and crossed my arms as I glanced at Ed who suddenly had an idea. Oh boy. "So you're telling me that if our automail was lighter, we would grow taller?" "It's a possibility…" Dominic trailed off as Ed started to smile. I sigh, knowing exactly all too well of his imagination of him being taller than us.

-Ed-

I first imagined me towering over Winry, Alice, and Al (Me: Of course you would! XD). Then I suddenly had the most embarrassing one to pop into my head.

::Imagination::

"Wow Ed you're so tall!" Cat praised me as he touches my chest. "We absolutely have to get married this instant!"

::End of Imagination::

I felt a sudden heat rush up my cheeks and covered my face. I glanced over at Cat as she was getting checked my Dominic. 'Crap… I can't believe I just imagined that! B-But of course it would never happen! Cat wouldn't marry me on the spot! No wait! I mean she would still go out with me even if I don't grow. No! What am I thinking!?'

-Back to Me-

I sweat drop as Ed starts to steam and turn bright red. What the hell was he thinking about now? Dominic stares at my arm and gaps after taking a better look at it, "This one is almost rusted all the way inside… and these parts were just put in together by random…" I scratch the back of my head and nervously look away as Winry begins to glare at me, "Well I didn't have time to meet up with Winry so I just went to whoever was closest…" "You have to be careful. If you keep going to random mechanics, you might develop problems in your body. For example," he holds a drawing up, "like being paralyzed if the mechanic connected the wrong nerve." I pale at this, "No fucking way!" "Mr. Dominic!" he glanced over at Winry. "I beg you! Make me your apprentice."

She begs. "Not a chance," he blurts out. Well that was the only answer I expected him to say until- "I already have an apprentice on my hands. I don't usually take on apprentices… but he's been bugging me for years." Alice and I glance at each other in confusion. 'An apprentice..? But Winry's supposed to be his first… who's his apprentice?' I was scared now. A huge change has just occurred and I have no idea what to do when we meet this person. A loud crash was heard at the front door, accompanied with heavy footsteps as a stranger barges through the door. "Sorry Mr. Dominic! The shop keeper wouldn't give the parts you requested so…" his voice trails when he spots me and Alice on the other side of the room.

He takes his green bandana off his head and stares at us with wide eyes, muttering, "Cat? Alice? Is that really you?" I tilt my head in confusion then jumped when Alice suddenly stood up, knocking her seat on the floor. She gasps as she puts both hands over her mouth, "Lucas…?" My her almost stopped at this. I look at her then back at him in shock as I slowly stood up. "No way… no fucking way…" "Hahaha… Nice to see you guys again… it's been a while…" he smiles nervously.

||Lucas' Room||

We explained as much as we could to him, since he only knows half of the things in FMA, and had to tell him what happened to our bodies. "No way!" He walks up to Alice and knocks his hammer on her side. "This is a wooden body? Hard to tell with all this frill Alice is wearing on her outfit. And you missing your arm? How's you put up with that?" I pinch the bridge of my nose, "It wasn't that hard to process… I just hated having surgery for the thing." Not long after, he confirmed to us that he HAS been here for the past 10 years since we last saw him. "You have to be joking!" I slam both hands on the wooden table. "You disappeared for almost more than 7 years and this is where we find you? In FMA!?" Even though he was in anime form just like everyone else, it isn't that hard to remember what the guy wanted to look like if ever he went into the anime world.

Pink hair, green eyes (just how I remember them back at home), and most importantly the way he laughs when he's nervous. I've known only one guy who could laugh as stupid as that. "Yeah… I was just as shocked as you guys when I arrived here… If it wasn't for Dominic, I'd be dead in the streets in days!" he smiles happily. "That's something to be happy about!" Alice and I exclaim. I cough and changed the topic, "So… knowing you, you slightly changed your name right?" Lucas nods, the proudly pumps his chest and proclaims, "You betcha! I took it upon myself to slightly alter my name to my favorite Star Wars hero!" Alice and I dead panned at this. After two seconds of silence, we burst out laughing and fell to the floor as Lucas blushes- embarrassed at our reaction.

"Y-You named yourself Luke Skywalker!?" I blurt out. Alice laughs even harder to the point anime tears were showing on her face. "Of course not! It's Luke Walker! I would never steal the name of my hero…" we stopped for a second, then went back to laughing out asses off. He turns even redder and yells, "Shut it! It's not like you came up with better names!" I raised a hand up and look at him with a blank stare, saying in a blunt tone, "I kept my real name." An arrow struck the back of his head at this. "Then how about Alice?" This time I was the only one laughing as Alice starts to steam and cover her face with her hands. "She kept her first name… but ended up changing her last name to Chronos!" Now it was Lucas and I laughing as Alice stood there, seemingly blushing with how deep her frown was.

"I panicked okay! How was I supposed to know I'd end up meeting Winry and Granny in Resembol? At least I tried to hide my true identity unlike you Cat! You still kept your name." I put a hand under my chin and look at them both confidently, "I have better acting skills unlike you both." After calming down a bit, Alice spoke up in a soft voice, "Everyone has been looking for you for ages. The police already decided to close the case and said you were dead after the first 4 years… Cat and I didn't quit, especially your parents." Lucas flinches and glares down at his hands, "My sad excuse of parents…? The ones that never took the time to hang out with me?" We both were shocked at how badly he reacted at the mention of his parents, then I remembered.

"Lucas… it's not like they didn't want to be with you. It's just that-" I was interrupted when he angrily yells at us, "Don't lie to me! Every time I ask them for something they turn me down saying they were busy. When they promised we'd celebrate my birthday together, they would call up the last minute to say they won't make it! Now that I'm gone they care about me now? What kind of a sick joke are you playing here!?" Lucas was another friend of mine that also had family problems like Alice. But compared how our lives were like, his was better than all of us combined. I sighed, having no other choice but to tell him, "8 years after your disappearance, your mom suddenly collapsed from all the stress weighing over her shoulders."

I saw him tense up at the first sentence. I continued on, "Your dad struggled with money for both your ill mom and using all he had in finding you. A month later, after your mom collapsed, she suddenly went into a coma." Hesitantly, he asks me, "And dad…?" This was the only part I couldn't tell him. Alice places a hand on my shoulder and took it upon herself to answer, "He had no choice but to give up the search and focus on your mom. All of us donated enough for him to set up your tombstone… since then, he visits your grave every now and then to let you know how your mom's condition is." Lucas sat there silently, worrying Alice and I if it was a good idea to tell him. Lucas mutters something under his breath, ruffling his hair and glances at the window.

"Thanks for telling me guys… Guess this is what I get for willfully going with that man." That caught our attention.

"What man?"
"He offered if I wanted to be have a different life- a life away from my parents. He even asked if I felt there was more then what I currently am as a person. I didn't really get it back then… but when I said yes, I found myself in an alley during a thunderstorm."
"And this man… what did he look like?"
"Back then? He had gold hair and gold eyes, looked to be around his twenties to boot. I never thought I see someone else with golden hair and eyes until I saw your friends back there."
"Did he has anything particular on him?"
"Yeah… actually he did. He wore a wooden cross with a red gem on the center of it."

My mind went blank when he told me that. 'How's that possible…? Alice made a cross like that for me on my birthday… And if he's the one who helped me as a kid and brought Lucas here… what about Alice?' I look over at her and ask, "Do you remember a guy like that Alice?" She puts a finger to her lips. "It can't be Hohenheim since he looks 40+ in appearance… Actually, I remember seeing someone like that on the day I transferred into this body. It's a little fuzzy though…" I slump in my seat- all this information swimming around in my head as I tried to comprehend what was going on.

-Lucas-

We both watch as swirls began to form in Cat's eyes, Alice huffs with a small smile and I face palmed at this. "She's thinking too hard again…" we both sigh. I stood up to help Cat on her right side. "Alright let's get her to the living Room… Alice get her other arm," I pick her up and told her, "I think it's about time I look at her arm here to see what's wrong with it." The moment I opened to door so the three of us could get out, we both find that armored guy from earlier and was dragging the short one with him. "He called me a flea…" the shorty mutters out loud with a depressed aura surrounding his head. "Al!" exclaims Alice as she instantly forgets Cat and runs up to the two, leaving me to carry the heavy load by myself. "Oh hey Alice! You three done talking?" 'Al' questions her as he drops the depressed boy to the ground.

I sweat drop at how the atmosphere between those two changed the moment they made eye contact. "She still likes him…" I jump when Cat spoke up. I look down to see her smiling happily at the two. "I guess I'm not the only one then…" This confused me even more but I decided not to say anything. "Lucas... whatever you do, don't do anything to get in between those two." My face darkens at this, "... I don't know what you're talking about." She flashes me a glare and says, "Don't give me that Lucas. I know about your little 'crush' with Alice ever since we first met. It was pretty clear you didn't want me around the first time we met... you made many attempts to get rid of me and ended up failing. Don't get in the way of her happiness."

"I just want whats best for Alice..."
"If that's the case then stop taking the things that keep her happy. If you truly love her... you'll let her go and find her own happiness."

It was really weird to see Cat act to mature. Well she was before when we were kids, but back then, she was a short tempered little brat that had an extremely loud mouth whenever someone pisses her off. I only stopped when I saw her defending Alice one time. I figured that if I'm not there to keep her safe, Cat would be there in my place. "You know... you really should be more careful where you put your hands... especially on a girl." I raise an eyebrow at her tone of voice until I noticed this odd squishy feeling in my right hand. I had her arm over my shoulder and used my left hand to keep her arm from slipping, while the other- was squishing her BOOB!? "Ah! Sorry! I didn't know I was touching you there! I was really hard to feel so... no! What I mean is-" I almost wanted to shit myself when I saw Cat reaching down for her sword.

"WAAAAH! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" It's not like I purposely touched her there. It was an accident! A pure accident! "Come back here Lucas!" she screams as she chases after me with her sword raised. We ended running straight into the room where Mra. Satera was in. I fell through the door and onto the ground, flipped around to up my leg in order to hold cat back from shredding me to pieces. Alice and Al (with the still depressed shorty) run in after us. "Aren't you guys active," Mrs. Satera spoke up.

-Back to Me-

I pull away and gave a short cough as Lucas stands up, embarrassed. "Excuse me... are you having a baby?" Al asked her. She looked up with a smile and said, "Why, yes I am." "Is it alright... if we touched your tummy?" Alice asked. "Go right ahead, she told them. Ed, after overhearing the two, stopped pouting and got up to see Al and Alice gushing over his hand on Mrs. Satera's stomach. He walks towards her as I also go up to the pregnant woman. I could have sworn I heard a loud thump behind my back. I look over my shoulder and sweat drop to see a very proud Edward and Lucas hoping around in pain as he hold left foot up in pain. The woman suddenly grabs my hand and then Ed's. placing them on her stomach.

My eyes widen in amazement when I felt the baby inside move around. Ed spoke up, "It's like there is a miracle in your stomach..." "Yeah, we were inside mom's tummy like this once upon a time," Al said. Pain flashed in my eyes. I couldn't help but glance over at Alice who was probably feeling the same way as I am. I held back tears and thought, 'I wonder if that's what my parents thought before they planned on putting this thing in me and abandoning me...'

-Alice-

I almost pulled my hand away, but I kept it in place. 'Dad used to call me his little princess when I was little... mom told me that when I was born it was like just came out of the rabbit hole in Alice in wonderland.' If only it could show, but my cheeks would have been pink at the moment. 'Now that I think about it... that was a very inappropriate thing for a mom to say to a 5 year old...' The last time I saw my parents, mom was already at the end of her rope with all of Dad's constant flings and almost wanted to file for a divorce. The only thing holding her back is... me.

-Lucas-

I look away in pain, my eyes already filled with upcoming tears. 'Mom... dad... are you really still thinking about me?' It was hard to believe since I've constantly tried to win over their attention, but it always ends with the stupid excuse that they were to busy to listen. Just hearing this from my two long lost friends... if almost unbelievable. I wouldn't really trust Cat sometimes since I know she's an expert liar/actor, but... she's never lying when it comes to family related things. Alice is a terrible liar. She tried to lie to a teacher once time and ended up crying and apologizing to him. When I agreed to leave home, I strongly thought that my parents wouldn't even notice that I was gone. They never really cared about what I did. So... what made them finally notice me?

-Back to Me-

We all looked up to see Mrs. Satera with a pained expression. "Are you okay?" Ed asked her. "Yeah..." she muttered.

++Later++

I watch through the window as the rain started to pour down harder, silently rubbing my automail and the familiar ache hurting my skin. "You've been awfully quiet." I jump and look to my right to see Ed standing right beside me, watching the rain as well. I blush and look away, answering, "I'm not... I'm just thinking about a few things..." "Like about what's happening right now?" I stayed quiet. "Listen Cat... I respect the fact that you're keeping things to yourself about what's going on to keep us safe," he puts a hand on my shoulder and forces me to face him, "but you've been acting weird lately. Ever since we arrived in Rush Valley, you've been quieter than usual. You keep walking away whenever Winry and I talk or she starts bashing my brains out with her wrench!" I bit my lip and continued to avoid his gaze.

It's true that I've been avoiding him the entire day, but I didn't notice that I was avoiding him that much at all. He suddenly to squeeze my shoulders. Ed lifts his head up and yells, "Not only that- you've been acting too friendly around that Lucas guy! You even let him hold you in his arms!" "..." I stared at him in confusion as he looks back at me with a deep shade of pink coloring his cheeks. The only time I can recall an incident of Lucas holding me was when he was trying to help carry me out of the room after my head started to spin around alot about what's happening Then I concluded, 'Is he... jealous?' "Pffft..." I put a hand over my mouth and silently started to laugh a bit. "W-What!?" he stutters.

I calmed myself a bit, a small smile crossing my lips for the first time as I answered in a teasing manner, "Nothing~ I just never realized a shrimp like you could get jealous." "Who would be jealous!?" Ed crosses his arms and turns away from me, "Besides! You aren't much of a looker to begin with Kitty!" I felt something inside me snap.

"At least I don't have to worry about growing since I have only ONE automail weighing me down!"
"What did you say!?"
"You heard me short stuff!"
"Oh yeah!? At least there's still a chance for me to grow! Once Winry get's accepted as Dominic's apprentice, I'll be ten times taller than you!"
"In your dreams munchkin!"
"Midget!"
"Moron!"
"Little girl!"
"You did not just go there! Alright then... water flea!"

-Al-

I sigh as I heard the argument from the other room beside this one. "At least things are back to normal..." "Are you Alphonse?" I turn around to see Luke taking a step into the room, carrying a box of auto mail parts. "Ah yes! Do you need help with that?" I offered, seeing how heavy they were. "Nah it's fine! I've been working for the old man for years! But since you want to help... could you help me carry the rest then?" I walk over to the door as he steps into the room. I was horrified at the number of boxes that were waiting for me outside. Luke smiles, "Can you get those for me? It'd mean a lot to me man!" A an hours of carrying boxes as fast as possible, I sigh in relief after putting down on last box.

"Thanks man! I owe you big time! Hahahaha!" This slightly made me angry at how he was taking advantage of my kindness. It didn't really show, but it was clear as day the way he just sat there smiling at me. "By the way," he leans over in his seat and puts his fist under his chin, "you and Alice seem to get along really well."

-Lucas-

"Y-You think so?" Al asks. 'Gotcha...' I smirk behind his turned back and continued on with this charade, "But I have to give you some credit! Having a crybaby girl like her isn't that easy... she's always been like that ever since she was little. Alice is a really weak girl! She can't do anything right without following someone's lead." "That's not true!" I also fell off my seat when Al punched the wooden table beside him. "Alice isn't like that! If that's how she was like around you... she's an entirely different person! She's brave, kind, selfless... and she can be weird at times, but that's who she is. So if you only remember her as a crybaby than you don't know her as well as I do!" he yells before stomping out of the door.

All I could do was sit there. Surprised at first at his sudden outburst, but relaxed and rest my face in my hands. I chuckle, "Sheesh... he didn't have to go say it like that... ' I admit- I'm man enough to say I did go a little too far there. I thought for sure he would agree with me there for a sec... but I guess Cat is right, again. I lean back in my seat and took out a folded piece of paper, unfolding it and lifted it up in the air to reveal an old photo. It was Cat, Alice, and I when we were kids. "Man this sure brings me back..."

::Memory::
++7 and a half years Ago++

"Lucas!" Alice calls out as she runs up to me. "Oh hey Alice! I was wondering where you and those little legs went," I tease, ruffling the little girl's hair to mess up her pony tail. She flails her hand around in an attempt to swap my hand away. "Stop it! I want to introduce you to someone!" "Who?" I ask her. Not long after, a girl's voice calls out, "Alice! Where are you?" Alice turns around and starts hoping up and down with her hands waving in the direction where the voice came from. "Over here!" A girl with long blonde hair and light blue-green eyes runs over to where we were. Alice immediately grabs the girls' hand and pulls her close to her. I stare at the two in shock. Alice introduces us, "Lucas this is Cat! Cat this is Lucas Wright! He's been my bestest friend since forever!"

The girl named Cat stares at Alice with a blank stare, "Um... 'bestest' isn't a real word Alice..." "Really? You're so smart Cat!" Alice praises and hugs the girl. I accidentally snap at them, "I'm smart too! Ten times smarter than this girl!" "Lucas..." Cat steps in front of Alice and questions me, "Alright then Mr. know-at-all, there is a story that a man and not a man saw and did not see a bird and not a bird perched on a branch and not a branch and hit him and did not hit him with a rock and not a rock." "Huh?" She smirks at me, probably thinking that I'm an idiot on the inside. She points her finger at me. "If you can solve this riddle then that proves you're smarter than! If not... then you're just some spoiled brat who begs for attention."

I grit my teeth at this. Cat must have noticed because her eyes even started to smile at me. "Oh? Did I hit a nerve?"

++One Year Later++

Since then, I've been constantly trying to figure our the stupid puzzle of hers. Whenever I thought I had the answer, he'd flat out say to me "Are you serious? That's your answer?" each time I confront her. In retaliation for humiliating me in front of Alice, I would always make fun of her every time she's alone. On the day I had finally figured out the answer, I found her crying under the park's tree. I noticed how much she's been going to the park besides the school lately. It's been like that for a while now. But when I saw her like that, the way she curled up like that, I completely forgot the stupid riddle and went up to her. Cat then notices me. She wipes her eyes and sniffs, "What? You here to make fun of me again? Answer the stupid riddle you're so obsessed on answering? Well I'm not in the mood!"

I wanted to leave her like that. Gloat around school how I found Cat all alone in the park in tears. As if i'm that heartless! Ruffling my hair, I plop myself beside the girl. "You aren't leaving...?" she asks me, not bothering to look at me. "Ugh...! Look let's get this straight! I don't like you, and you don't like me! But how about this? Since we're both friends with Alice, let's-" I almost wanted to bit my tongue off from what I was going to say- "make peace." "Waaah..." Cat finally looks at me, a little confused at what I was saying. Even I couldn't believe it myself. "You don't have to-" I slap a hand over her mouth, "Listen! I'm not doing this coz I feel bad for you! I just don't want to hear Alice complaining again how we're not getting alone."

When I pull away, Cat puts a finger to her lip to think about it then extends a hand to me. "Fine... but I just need one more thing." Great, what else did this girl need from me? "What's the answer to my riddle." I want to kill this girl! "Why you little...!" "Lucas! Cat! There you are!" we both stop to see Alice running up to us. As we stood up, neither of us moved when Alice trips on her own feet and drops... a camera? (me: the film kind okay! Not digital.) She gets up and smiles at us like nothing happened, "I wanted to take a picture together with my two best friends!" Alice puts a hand on her hips and pouts, "Geez! I looked all over for you guys! You know I can't leave school without anyone to accompany me!"

"Because you're scared of strangers?" Cat and I blurt out, much to my surprise. "That's not it!"

::End of Memory::

I remember how badly wanted Alice wanted to take that photo with us. She gave each of us a copy after she got it developed, though Cat ended up using it as scrapped paper while Alice lost it after she... had to move out of her home. Sadly, I disappeared two months after I was sent here after the photo was taken. Probably a day before Cat's 8th birthday if I remember correctly.

-Alice-

The moment I stepped into the room, I jaw drop to see Winry not only trying to pry open Ed's watch, but also Cat's!? I run up behind the two girls and tried to split them apart. "Don't touch Cat's stuff! You can mess with Ed's for all I care... but not Cat's!" I beg the two. Paninya flashes a mischievous smile at me, "C'mon they won't besides!" Winry bits her lip before finishing, "Besides! What they don't know won't hurt them!" Once the pocket watches popped open, I mentally screamed as Winry and Paninya took a better look at what's inside. "Don't forget: Oct 3rd, year 11... what's that?" Paninya asks. Winry closed it and wiped at her eyes as she handed it to Paninya, saying, "Here... you should give this to Ed." I smile, completely remembering that certain date. I glanced over at Cat's and I really wished I could cry at what was inside.

Winry see's it as well and reads it out loud, "May 21, 1999... May 21, 2002... May 20, 2003... November 8, 2003, May 21,2010..." I recognize some of those dates, first one is when she was born, third is when Lucas disappeared, fourth is the day Cat and I first fought, and the last is when our lives were changed forever. "I'll take that..." I offer.

-Back to Me-

Ed and I raced through the house to finally find the person we were looking for. Winry was knocking on Dominic's door, probably about to ask about her apprenticeship. Alice was right with her too. We rushed up to the two, our faces clearly showing how panicked we are. "What's wrong?" Winry asks. I stare at Alice right in the eye. It took her only a second before she mouth B-A-B-Y, terror written all over her face. "The ba-ba-" we stuttered. "The bay is a type of horse..." Einry stated. We both finally blurt out, "THE BABY'S COMING!"

||Other Room||

"In a storm like this, we can't get her to a hospital... I'll just have to get him myself." Dominic placed a rain coat on, raising his hood as he walked out of the house to fetch the doctor. Lucas grabbed his as well. "I'll go with him. I'm not sure if an old man his age can handle the weather like this." Then went out Lucas. "Dad and Lucas will be right back with the doctor... just hang on a little bit longer for me, okay?" Rydal asked as he tried to calm his wife down. "There's no hanging on here... it'll come when it's ready to..." Satera told him, them gained a pained look. I turned pale, remembering not only this but another situation like this before. The moment Rydal asks what's wrong when she mouths something, we both cry out, "She/I said it's coming!" Everyone started to panic in the room. "N-No way! I've never seen child birth since my aunt took a bath!" Lucas covered him mouth to keep himself from gagging as Ed and I pale at the image.

"We'll just have to do it..." Winry said. Everyone glanced at her as Ed asked, "Have to do what?" "Deliver it." "So, you've seen a baby being delivered before?" Ryan asked her. "No... I haven't but, we have no other option here. I need everyone's help! We are going to do this!" As Winry sent them all to gather the different requirements needed, I made a fist and remembered how I had helped Gracia in the same situation. "Cat, Paninya, Alice... will you guys helps?" "Sure," Alice answers, still a bit afraid at what will happen. "You've got it!" Paninya raises a fist up. I place a hand on her shoulder and nod, "I'll help out. I already suffered from helping Gracia, so I think I can handle a second one like this."

++Hours Later++

I sweat drop as Paninya steps towards the door and gets out, slightly shocked at what she witnessed. Alice, on the other hand, sat in a chair in a corner- petrified. I handed the baby over to the two just in time as Ed and Al peeked into the room. "What happened?" Ed asks Winry, who was kneeling on the ground. Out of breath, she points to Satera and Rydal with their baby as I step back with a relieved look in my eyes. "It's a baby!" Ed shouted happily. "Hooray!" "This is awesome!" "That's all you can say?" I ask them in amusement. "What else is there? It's the birth of a new life, something science can't do; people are awesome." Once Ed glances down at Winry, I turn my head away as he asked, "Is there anything you need?" "Yeah, can you help me up," she requests, her legs too weak from all that's happened.

I ignore the two as Ed bent down to let Winry on his back, glancing back at me to see me fixing some of the stuff. The moment they left and say everyone was preoccupied, especially Al helping Alice when he saw her in the corner, I rushed to the door and leaned my ear against the wood. The loud thump made it clear that Ed dropped Winry.

(A/N: Mostly dialogue here since this is from Cat's perspective)

"You idiot..."
"Yea..."

There was a short pause for a few minutes.

"I haven't shown it to anyone... not even Al..."
"Why not Ed?"
"It's private... I hate to admit how weak I am but I have to give what happened that day substance and carry it around."

I heard Winry begin to cry, causing me to bit my lip and hold back tears of my own.

"Winry, what are you cryin?
"Al and you won't, so someone else should do it for you..."
"Cat does it enough for us..."

My first almost punched the door when he said that. I thought as the back of my mind as I angrily lowered my fist down, 'I don't cry that much...'

"Anyway, Winry, you should head back to Resembol. You've been gone a long time and Granny must be worried."
"No... I'm not leaving. Seeing both of your resolves inspired me. I want to do more Ed; I can't just commit halfway."
"Don't do anything; you don't need to get more involved... I already feel bad for forcing Cat and Alice to continue helping us."

'Forcing us...? Ed that's wrong... I want to help you!" I almost wanted to run out and tell him that. Except I can't, I have to hold myself back from interrupting.

"I want to hone my skills so I can make Cat and you the best auto mail prosthetic. That way you two can continue your journey knowing you're as strong as you can be. I'm going to ask again..."
"Okay."

I almost felt relieved to know nothing awkward happened until I heard this- "You know... I really worry about you... you're always getting yourself in too much trouble..." This time I had to look. I carefully crack open to door, my heart beating hard against my chest. Through the crack I saw the most shocking and heart breaking thing ever, something that I never expected to happen. Winry hugged Ed up front, neither of them moving to let go of the other. I pull back and shut the door close, then turn to lean against the door as I brought my hand up to my chest.

-Normal-

After Paninya gave back Ed his watch, he looked around the room only to notice one person was missing. "Huh? Where's Cat?" Ed asks Alice and Al. Alice silently looks away as his brother answers, "She said she needed some air.

||Outside Dominic's Place||

Cat stood on the front porch as she watched the rain fall, sighing as she remembered all the things that's happened and her days with Ed.

"Don't worry you're going to make everything ok."

A shiver runs down her spine at the memory. She closed her eyes as she thought, "Will I always be like this...? Alone for the rest of my life...?"

||Inside||

"She did, did she?" Ed looked down to see Alice holding Cat's watch in her hand. He felt like he had to see what's inside, to see what's been keeping her going besides searching for her Philosopher's stone. Alice gazed at Ed, reluctant to give it to her when he extends a hand out. Al places a hand on her shoulder and silently reassures her. With one gulp- Alice immediately shoves it in his hand and hides behind Al's back. He opened the watch. His eyes widen at the dates written down. "What is it brother?" Ed almost felt like crying at one certain date but held himself together until he ran out of the room. "Brother!" Al was about to go until Alice stopped him. "Alice?" "This is something they have to do... alone..."

And this marks the last OC to ever be made. Lucas is actually based on a childhood friend of mine, so is Alice. All three main OC's are based on real life (well slightly with Cat) situations, such as their relationships with their families really happened after growing up. Cat is the only one based on personality and attitude. *makes a peace sign* But these three characters embody some of the problems children have to face when growing up; like being orphaned, parents being divorced, and neglect. Please follow me on twitter if you can! I'm a very lonely person who has no friends... I'm just kidding! XD But I'd love to let any of you know when I'm gonna up date and which fanfic, share my boring life

Me: So, since I've shown how two characters were like in the older fanfic… here are the two Alice's! Alice 'Chronos' and Alice Nightray!
AN: N-Nice t-to me-meet you… *uses script to hide her face.
AC&Me: O_o||| Uh…
Me: As you can see…. ^^; This Alice is extremely shy and isn't as hyper as Alice over here
AC: Thanks I guess…?
Me: There's another thing you should know that differs from my old idea to my current one! Nightray here is actually dating-
AN: Don't say it! Please!
AC: *grabs her double* Say it! I want to here who it is!
Me: Alphonse Elric!
AN: *blushes*
AC: Say what!? *blushes as well and steams*
Me: During their childhood, young Alphonse and Alice Nightray confessed their love to each other prior to the events of FMAF 2003 (that's what the old fanfic was based on) only to be separated by fate. And I'm not talking about Fate…. -_-
AC: I'm dating Al… oh my gosh… I'm actually dating Al….
AN: P-Please! It was supposed to be a secret!
AC: Are you going to bring in both Al's as well…!?
Me: No! It's already hard to sit between you two…
AN: Why?
Me: *in between the two giants* Because in both versions you two are too freakin tall! No regular 12 or 14 year old is that tall! The only difference is that Nightray is an inch taller than the other!
AN&AC: But you put us in these bodies…
Me: Don't remind me! I almost wanted to shrink the new Alice down to size when I didn't reach above 5 feet when I was 12!
AC: No girl is above 5 ft when they're twelve!
Me: Oh yeah? *shows class photo*
AC: Oh….
Me: Anyway, can you please? And please… -_- make it louder this time.
AN: Huh…? Oh right! *inhales* AVERYSCARLETD]\77777WNFMA!ONLYALICE2.0,CAT2.0,JEALOUSY2.0ANDMANYMOREOC'STOCOMEALRIGHTSBELONGTOHIROMUARAKAWA!
Me: *sits in place with ears ringing*
AC: *on the ground in shock*
AN: Huh…? AveryScarlet…? Miss look alike..? Who's going to say the next part…?