Pain... it's something I've lived with for

centuries... and I hate it!

I never asked for this pain! Why was I chosen...

to suffer so much..! I don't want to be replaced...

I don't want to be forgotten... Just give

me my life back..!

Chapter 31 ~ One is All

(A/N: I just realized I had it flipped... Oh well!)

-Normal-

Izumi thought she could handle everything Catherine had hidden inside her, but she never had anticipated for it to be like this. "Philosopher's Catalyst?" she repeats. Cat nods and bows her head, continuing, "Yeah.. That's what I am apparently. I can't tell at this point whether I'm human, or a monster." The Philosopher's Catalyst, as far as Cat knows, it is the catalyst of the Philosopher's stone alone. It can also act as a container depending on what form it takes. There are many things that are still left unsolved for her to fully understand what effects it exactly has on her body, and the question still remains unclear of how it is made exactly. For unknown reasons, the book states that if the catalyst is in the form of a normal human, the individual can only live up to 18 years.

Believed to be known as the 'perfect form' of a human being. But there is a flaw. Not everything about the Philosopher's Catalyst is as perfect as it is said to be. "I just don't get it... I don't get how I ended us as this-" Cat places her hands on her face, "THING in the first place!" Izumi puts a hand on the girls shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "You said you can only remember things up until you were five right?" Cat shakes her head, unsure if there was any truth in the life she once had before entering this world was real or not. For all she knew, Cat and the other two were simply manipulated by Truth and Fate the whole time. The only thing that keeps Cat from even thinking that was true is remembering her first encounter with Jealousy and Fate.

"Yeah but- Ugh... I don't know... I really don't know... I keep having these weird visions of what seems to be my memories flip back and forth! One moment I'm 5, then 7, 12, on rare occasions 15 except-" Cat buries her face in her hands and mutters, "I know for sure none of that happened... I can barely remember it, but it feels like that was my life. At the same time, someone else's. Only a few of the memories of when I was younger do I feel that they were mine." Izumi couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the girl. She had no way to entirely help with what Cat is going through as she herself knows very little about things; like the other side, Philosopher's Catalyst and etc. All Izumi could do is sit and watch her break down.

Suddenly pulling the blonde in a tight embrace. "M-Miss Curtis?" Cat blinks in shock. Izumi giggles at her reaction, "You can just call me Izumi. There's no need for formalities anymore." "S-Sorry... a force of habit," she apologizes.

-Me-

Right before I was going to excuse myself and try to get some sleep, Izumi stops me by asking me this- "Are you and Edward still fighting?" I was surprised to hear this but ended up smiling instead. I nod, turning my back to her and said, "I never thought you'd notice. I guess nothing can escape the eyes of a skilled alchemist such as yourself Izumi... but this is something only Ed has to end himself." I've been thinking about this for a long time now, and I think Izumi is the only level-headed person to talk about this in the house. I could talk to Al or Wrath about it but either of the will agree with what I'm about to say.

"What are you talking about? What is that idiot of a student of mine going on about that's making you two fight?"
"It's a thing I realize will continue to come in conflict between us. Every time I hide something, he figures it out before I get the chance to tell him and he blows up in my face. Sooner or later, there will be a time when Ed has had enough of all these secrets."

She crosses her arms and asks me with a stern look in her eyes, "... So what's your plan then?" I bit my lip, unsure if I should really tell Izumi of what I've been thinking of doing for a while now. I sigh, glancing over to the side then told her, "I think it's about time for Ed and I to go our separate. He already has enough about where we come from and Jealousy, so it will benefit the both of us if we start our searches separately. Him looking for the stone, and me with the one Jealousy has with her. I was planning on leaving Ed anyway after we finished our business in Resembol, but Alice appeared out of nowhere and I was forced drop my plans." "That's suicide Catherine! What about Ed and Al? Alice!? How will she feel about leaving the boys?" I knew she was going to ask that.

I glance over my shoulder and sadly smile at the older woman, saying, "I made Al promise he'd take care of those two if I'm not there to do so. She's really fond of Al so there's no way I can separate her from him if she can't bring herself to." At that time, I was debating whether it was safe if I should stay away from Ed or stay and protect him from Jealousy. "Catherine hold on- Catherine!" Before Izumi had the chance to stop me, my legs suddenly began to move by themselves from the suddenly adrenaline rush. I don't know what came over me. One moment I was trying to talk to Izumi as calmly as possible- then the next thing I knew I was rushing up to my room in tears.

Right as soon as I passed Alice and Wrath's room (she's in a separate room with Wrath to keep an eye on him), I threw the door open and slammed it against my back. I didn't care if I woke anyone up at this point. I just really need to calm down. As I leaned against the door and slowly slid down to the ground, I buried my face in my hands as the flood gates began open. "Damn it Ed... Why did it come to this..!?" I was lying to myself and to Izumi. I don't want to leave them. I don't want to part ways with Ed. With how far we've come? There's no way I can bring myself to go. Not with the way I am! I thought that for a while now, we've silently acknowledged the fact that we both knew that we met when we were kids. But instead, this? Was I the only one that knew?

'Why is he acting like this? He didn't react this bad when he found out about me...' I though to myself, crying harder and harder as time passes. I took my watch out of my pocket and removed my glove to get another glimpse at my ring. I still wore it on my finger since the day he slipped the thing on me.

::Memory::

Me: I'll let your pretty little minds guise where this took place. ^^
Cat: Why not just tell them?
Me: One, people would be pissed at me for not including it before. And two, I had absolutely no idea where and how I could makes this part happen. There was too much going on! I've seriously never reached a fanfic this far...

After taking a brief shower, I step out only to find Alice on top of my bed devilishly smiling at me and stares at me with this weird look in her eyes. "What...?" I nervously look to the side then back at her, wondering what's on this girl's mind now. Sometimes, I don't even know why I bother to understand this girl whenever she gives me the same look every time something weird pops into that head of hears. "Soooo... Where'd you get the ring?" My mind instantly went blank. 'Oh shit... I forgot to take my ring off... again!' I scream in my head as I quickly tried to hide my hands behind my back, but at this point it's a little bit too late to try and lie to her. I could any kind of excuse to avoid talking about my ring only tonight, after that she would constantly ask me about it the next day.

I sigh and slump my shoulders in defeat, "I got it from Ed okay? Now will you wipe that stupid grin off your face and let me change? We wouldn't like Ed and Al barging in on me again butt naked." "Fine... Wait- when did that happen!?" Alice jumps off the bed and rushes up to my body. I swear I have this odd feeling that she was taking advantage of her incredibly tall stature to torture me in fear so she can get an answer from me, especially with the way her face is hovering directly above mine. I even felt like I snapped my neck with how long I've been staring up at her. "Can you not make me feel like we're in a David and Goliath moment right now?" I request, feeling incredibly comfortable at our current position. "WHEN. DID. IT. HAPPEN!?" repeating her question, I felt like I was shrinking bit by bit with the way she's still scowling down at me.

Ali: Seriously!? When did it happen!?
Me: Gah stop yelling at me! It's not like I didn't want to include that part! I really wanted to but...
Cat: There were complications...
Ali: How can being butt naked be so complicated!? And with Al in the picture too... why!? *cries*
Me: Hey it can't always be Ed getting in awkward tangled situations! Al has to be with him to so he can drag his brother away, and excuse themselves for what happened.
Ali: Still-!
Cat: THERE WAS NO WAY IN HELL AM I GONNA STRIP JUST TO LET ED SEE ME IN MY BIRTHDAY SUIT JUST ONCE!

"Definitely when you weren't around!"
"When! Tell me when!"
"I'm not telling you! Why would I share something that embarrassing to you!?"
"You're the one that brought it up in the first place!"
"Stay away! I'm not fighting you in a towel Alice!"

::End of Memory::

I couldn't help but laugh at the sad excuse of a fight. We mostly ended up yelling at each other until I passed out on the spot, too tired to even care if I was still wet and not wearing anything at all at the time. We probably 'fought' for 5 hours straight- well I had to stop to breathe every now and then as Alice keeps on going and going without even once stopping. All of soon faded away back into the farthest corner of my mind as I reverted back to reality, still holding my pocket watch in one hand and my ring in the other. Before, I used to think that it would be one of the greatest things to ever to happen if I ever actually became an Alchemist, besides meeting Ed in person of course. That's why every time someone asks me; 'What would you rather be? A ninja, pirate, shinigami, or an alchemist?' I would pick alchemist in a heart beat.

Now it's like no matter which anime or manga you dream of going to, reality will always follow you even if you want to escape from it. I laugh at the thought, quietly gazing up at the ceiling and said, "It's a bad idea to go in one anyway... high school romance like OHSHC is a better ideal place than a battle field... it's a wonder why anyone would want to go live in blood plus..." Sometimes I actually miss home. I used to actually hate it and considered the people around me to be inferior and selfish beings every where I turned. Alice was the only exception before that incident, but other then that I really had a hard time trusting the people around me. I can't believe I actually miss that life. My hands dropped to my side, causing my silver pocket watch to roll on the ground when I lost grip of it.

"What would it have been like... if I never met Ed at all?" I mindlessly wondered out loud.

++The Next Morning++

With my suit case packed and my letter placed on top of my bed, I stood in front of the door to take one last look at the room. I shake my head and tightly held the handle of my bag, trying to not have any second thought on what I was going to do, "Don't turn back hesitate now Cat... you can do this! They'll be fine on their own." With one last firm grip on the door knob, I was about to twist it open only for the door to suddenly be pulled open on the other end and out of my grasp. "What-" I didn't even have time to comprehend what was going on and found myself being stuffed into- a potato sack!? "Gah! Hey what the hell!" I cry out in pain. I felt something hard jab me on the side. "Ow!" I instantly punched what/whoever it was that was in here with me.

"Yeow! Who the heck punched me!?" I was surprised to hear who it was, "Ed!?" "Cairo? What the heck! Hey get me out of here god damn it!" I felt crushed at his reaction after he found out we were both inside the sack. I didn't try to get out anymore, Ed was doing all the work and I really didn't feel like it once I heard that Ed still didn't want to be around me. I wish I could say the feelings mutual but- "Quite your squirming! Hit me one more time and one of you will end up in the farthest end of the meat locker!" Izumi threatens, unintentionally scaring me instead of Ed. She knew that it was Ed who was struggling, but what Izumi didn't know that I've already seen and experienced what their meat locker is like.

'I feel so sorry for those poor animals... no wonder people become vegans,' as I thought that, I could almost picture all of the vegans I've ever met in life. I never understood why they chose the life of no meat until now, they must have had a terrible experience in order to completely quit eating meat.

||Yock Island||

After being tossed from side to side, accidentally bumping into each other or someone from outside the same- not the mention the sickening nausea I got after being thrown onto something again- we were finally dumped out of our prison only to find ourselves in the most remote place possible. Yock fucking island. I jaw dropped as I stared at the familiar island while Ed gaps in horror. He quickly twists around to face his teacher, "Hey what's the big deal!" "Shut it!" Izumi orders Ed in a strong fierce tone. "Yes..." I sweat drop and eyed the back of his head at Ed's sudden obedience. "You both need to cool your heads and make peace! This argument has gone on for too long!" she lectures us, mostly at Ed.

"It's not really an argument... it's more one-sided..." I muttered, glancing to the side to avoid her gaze. Ed yells, "Why do I have to stay with her!? I'd rather be stuck on this island with a pack of wolves instead of her!" "Edward!" The moment I flinched at Ed's cruel words, Izumi glares even harder down at her pupil in disappointment and rage. I hug myself and fought back the tears that were threatening to come out. Izumi catches this and says, "Catherine, I know that you think what you're planning is what's best, but running isn't the answer. You have to face your demons head on if you truly want to protect everyone." I knew that. I knew that even if I part ways with the others, things won't change no matter what.

But... "I'll be back for you two in five hours! The rules still apply; no alchemy! If you do I'll find out, and I'll extend your stay on the island if I find any traces of alchemy!" was her instruction as her boat is rowed off back towards town. Ed sighs and scratches the back of his head, debating to himself what he should do now. I took it upon myself to move first.

-Normal-

"Looks like we're stuck here Cairo... Cairo?" Ed turns around, slightly concerned at her odd silence. His eyes widened when he finds Cat was no longer on the beach shores with him. All of his anger towards Cat quickly shifted into intense fear. "Cat!" It wasn't that Ed was afraid to be alone, he was afraid of what will happen to the girl. This may be a small island, but this is Cat we're talking about. The only reason he was able to find her last time because he felt- No, he knew exactly where should would run off to back in Resembol. Yock island is entirely different. As he continues to rush through the forest clearing, Cat leans against a tree and silently listens to his calls. Holding the cross pendant closs to her chest, she couldn't help but pray for Ed to stop searching for her.

"Cat! Where are you!?" Ed really needed to find her this time, her past history running off and disappearing to god-knows-where until she's found or comes back is not something to take lightly. While silently trying to get away from the boy, Cat hugs herself and tries her best to ignore Ed's calls and slowly sprints into a run.

-Jealousy-

With completing the final crucial part of the circle, I stand back up and stare down at my work in pride. "Finally... after centuries of waiting I will no longer be dragged down... I will have MY identity back! Fate cannot stop me," I clap my hands together and continued, "no one can be able to stop me from getting what is mine back." It was all ready. It was almost in my grasp until IT happened to me again, and it was most likely affecting HER as well. "Grgh! Not... again...!" I collapse to the ground, my fingers clawing the black cloth covering my chest as I felt my heart beating hard against my chest. In the process, the locket fell out of my pocket on impart. With whatever strength I had left, I tried to reach out for the locket when a sudden hand grabs it before I could.

I grit my teeth and rolled over to my side. "Give that back... That belongs to me..! I'll tear your body to shreds!" I threaten. My threats fell on deaf ears as the man continues to pry it open. I snapped when I saw him open it. I quickly transmuted the earth below me into a long spear, picking it up and aiming it straight at the man's neck. "GIVE. IT. BACK." He grabs the spear and easily transmutes the thing into pieces. I gap in shock then suddenly found his hand slammed over my face, my eyes widening in fear as my heart began to beat hard against my chest. He leans down and whispers an apology to me, "I'm sorry..." A red light

-Back to Me-

As I continued to wander around the little island, still trying avoid Ed, I was about to take a rest when I heard a sudden scream not far from where I was. "What the..." Concerned, I moved to follow where the scream came from only for my body to suddenly go stick. I had no idea what was going on with my body all of a sudden, that is until I felt my chest starting to hurt again with this new indescribable pain. "Gaaaaaaaah!" I howl in pain and my hands quickly went up to my chest. My legs buckled over when I attempted to walk to something in order to keep me up my feet, everything in my body can gave up and I found myself crumbling down to the ground. My whole body was numb with pain. My vision was clouded over with darkness. I couldn't even breathe!

"Out of all the times for it to happen..." I groan, trying my best to fight back the pain. My mind was telling me to get back up, but not even a single inch of my body would comply. I didn't want to scream. If I did, Ed will surely hear me. This is an extremely small island, it's so small that it wouldn't even take long for Ed to find me. But I don't want him to. 'Ed...ward...' I felt the pain spread from my chest to the rest of my body. I couldn't hold it anymore- "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

||In front of the Curtis home||
-Alice-

I lift my head up and looked around in confusion. "Alice? Is everything alright?" Al asks me. I shake my head and smile at him, "No it's nothing. I just thought I heard something is all." Actually that's not entirely true. For a second there, it felt as if something bad was going on right now. I don't know, I can just feel it. I can lmentally picture Cat joking to me whenever I tell her, 'You can feel? Holy crap that means you've evolved so much that your soul became adapted to your body!' but when she tries to laugh I can see how much pain is in her voice. She takes responsibility for everything that's happen. Even though Cat tells me she's fine, I can see there's something she's not telling me.

If Ed, Al, and everyone else can see it then I know Cat is still keeping whatever it is inside. I was a little bit surprised at first when Al talked to me about it.

::Memory::
||Hospital Hallway||

"Cat really keeps a lot of secrets to herself." I almost tripped on my own feet when Al brought it up. "You knew?" I ask him in disbelief. This could mean he knew the whole time we were keeping secrets from them from the start! Even before they found it! Seeing how tense I was, Al waves his hands in the air and reassures me, "No no no no! What I meant was that Cat just..." his voice drops for a second then continues, "she's been silent about a lot of things. Every time we tried to ask her something, she would tell us one thing at a time depending on what it is. It even took her a while for her to slightly trust us and tell us her nickname." I slightly laugh at the last part, knowing all to well that is exactly what Cat would do.

"She's never been one to trust people so easily unless she tests them mentally or physically! You both are just lucky you got off the hook," with that said, I couldn't help myself and smirk at Al's reaction. His entire body was starting to shake in fear of the many possibilities Cat could have done to them. I pat his metal chest plate, trying my best not to laugh even harder and reassured him, "I'm just joking! She doesn't do that." Al sighs in relief until I turned a corner and blurted out, "Well not anymore after she turned 9." "What!?" I hear Al scream behind my back.

::End of Memory::

I mimic Al's movement by clapping my hands the same time he did, but when we both slammed our hand to the ground onto our separate circles, his glowed while mine stayed the same. Slightly discouraged, I pull my hands away as Al effortlessly transmutes the small portion of the ground into a small rabbit. I tilt my head in confusion and looked at all, who suddenly panicked and tries to reshape it. Izumi and Wrath/Ran just happened to walk when Al accidentally makes an oddly shaped pillar. "What do you think you're doing!?" Izumi doesn't even think twice on punishing her pupil. Al cries out as he is sent flying into the atmosphere, "I'm sorry!" She huffs as Wrath over to me and asks, "What are you two even doing?"

I sheepishly glance to the side as I confess, "Al promised me a while back that he would teach me some alchemy... but in the end I still can't get all the theories and formulas in my head no matter what I do. I can't exactly remember all 118 elements." "What are you talking about?" questions Izumi as she walks back to us and drops Al's metal body to the ground. I flinch at the loud clank of hollow metal. "There are only 84 elements known in the periodic table," Izumi puts an arm across her chest then her free hand on her mouth as she wonders out loud, "but there have been rumors of a new one being discovered and will be added next year." I jaw drop and ask, "There's only 84!?" 'No way! Back when I was in 3rd grade, Cat told me that-' I stopped and thought back to that day.

::Flash Back::

I walk up to an eight year old Cat after she brushes her sleeves after finishing off the two girls, giggling at the sight of Cat rolling her eyes as the two run off for the teacher. "What did you do this time?" I ask her, already knowing what the answer is. Cat crosses her arms and frowns, "Those two girls really can push my buttons! They can do their own science projects!"

"Did they try and bribe you again with money?"
"No! Worse!"
"Well what is it?"

For a second there she kept a straight face, then I stare at her back as Cat leans against the fence in shame. "My one weakness..." I hold back from laughing, asking out loud, "Did they bring you with FMA merchandise..!?" "Yes! How would they know!?" I couldn't help by point out and stare at the Flamel crest sown on her back. She coughs and crosses her arms again, trying to change the subject after unintentionally embarrassing herself. "SO what is it you need Alice?" Cat asks me. I slightly hide my face in my hands, guilty to ask her for help after the failure those two girls went through. "Well?" Tapping her foot on the grass, she impatiently waits as I take a long deep breath. I bowed down to her with my arms on both sides of my body and beg, "PLEASE HELP ME WITH MY ASSIGNMENT!"

::End of Flash Back::

She was extremely pissed that I had the nerve to ask her for help after what she had to deal with before me, but Cat helped me anyway since she knows I suck as anything science related. All I had to so was report when the periodic table was first discovered, how many elements were listed, what were discovered afterwards in order, and who made the table itself. It was a breeze at first. But once I reached to the numbers and years, Cat flat out told me everything was found on the spot. 'And I believed her... Now wonder I got a fat F on my report!' I curl up in a ball away from the three, too depressed to even care how they're reacting to my own stupidity. Al walks over to me and bends down. He chuckles at my reaction, saying, "Now I know where she get's it from."

I didn't really get what he meant by that, but I decided that it was nothing to worry about and took his hand in mine.

||Yock Island||
++Hours Later++
-Ed-

After hours of searching, I gave up once I saw I only have an hour left on this small island before Teacher comes back to pick us up. IF she does. Teacher left us here so we could 'make peace'. "How the hell am I supposed to do that!?" I punch the nearest tree, but without even thinking, I used my real arm instead. I quickly crouch on the ground as I held my arm in pain. "That... was a dumb move..." Right as I was about to get up and flex my arm a bit to see if I, hopefully, didn't break my arm on impact there was a sudden scream not to far away. There is only one person on this island that could have screamed. And that is- "Cat!" A sudden burst of adrenaline washed over him as he suddenly found the energy to sprint into a run.

"Cat! Where are you!?" Even though it took me hours when I first tried to find her, something inside told me where she would be. It didn't take me long to find her but it instantly made me shatter on the inside at the sight. Cat was on the ground writhing in pain, clenching her teeth as her hands held onto her chest. Seeing her like this immediately brought back memories of that day, the day when I first found her in the hospital. I quickly shook off the memory and ran over to her side. "Hold on! I'm gonna get you off this island! If teacher kills me- Fine!" I bent down and attempted to pick her up, but I wasn't expecting to feel her freezing cold body. For the first time in my life, I had no idea what to do.

"Tch!" I don't care about what how many secrets she has. I'm not going to let that happen again! Without even thinking what I was doing, I roughly carried her (bridal style) up in my arms and started mindlessly in any random direction I was facing.

-Normal-

As Ed rushes around to figure out how to get off the island without using any alchemy or else the punishment will come at him at tenfold, Cat's condition is extremely abnormal ad something he can't understand. She wasn't human, and he knew that. 'No! This is Cat we're talking about! She's my annoying, sarcastic, smart mouth, selfish, know-at-all partner that only I can handle! Cat is the biggest idiot I have ever met that never follows the laws of alchemy!' Ed starts to slow down a bit as all the fights he ever got with Cat, all the arguments ever brought up over the smallest things, those times where it was either her comforting Ed or him comforting Cat, and every single moment he's ever had with her began to flash in his mind. The lost memory that was probably the most happiest time was when he gave her the silver ring.

That was what made him come to the realization it was her. This whole"Over here..." a voice silently calls over. He comes to a complete stop and protectively holds Cat closer to him. Behind his turned back was a short blue flash, which he almost missed if it wasn't for the sudden sound of rustling bushes behind his back. Ed wanted to go after it, but he remembered Cat's temperature was still below zero. Still curious, Ed takes a few steps sideways- at the same time trying to keep Cat out of sight- and almost doubles over when from shock at the unexpected sight. It was a hot spring. A god damn actual hot spring. It was really small and it seemed to inconvenient for such a thing to be here. Ed eyes it suspiciously, wondering out loud, "Al and I wandered around this entire island for days when we were kids... how the hell did we ever miss something like this!?"

Ed didn't want to even go near it, nor did he even want to set foot inside the thing, until Cat started to shiver even more. "Err! Damn it all!" Even though Cat was going to kill him for this later he had to take her in without getting her clothes wet. Well... most of it. Carefully placing her down on the ground, Ed strips off his jacket and his boots then does the same to Cat. Taking one deep breath, Ed carries her back up in his arm and takes a few steps in. He almost wanted to jump out at how hot it was just sticking his half his foot in it, but Ed continued to push through with it when he saw Cat's expression change at the heat. As much as he hates it, especially with the his automail burning against his flesh, he knew this was the only way.

'I just hope this won't boil me to death...' and with that last thought, he plunged down into the water. One dive into that boiling hot spring and he immediately wanted to get out. "C'mon Cat... Warm up already!" Not only was he begging for her to get better, he just really wanted to get out. There was a long moment of silence between the two, and it was killing Ed as every second continued to tick by with her laying limp in his arms. He brings her head closer to his and presses their foreheads against each other.

"I'm sorry alright! I wasn't mad at you... okay I was! But not entirely! I was mad at myself. I was really happy that I got to meet you again, after all those years of searching finally paid off. But the one thing that pisses me of, which I blame you for starting, is... the fact you've known longer than I have this whole damn time. That's why I had to confront you about it! I wanted to test if you to see if you were still keeping secrets to yourself, and when you lied to me back in Rush Valley I almost lost it. I can't believe you realized it before me and you still wanted to keep secrets at the same time."

They stayed there like that for a bit, and then all of a sudden Cat brings her arms up without him noticing and hugs him. His eyes open and widen in shock as Cat cries her eyes out. "So you were mad at me this whole time for that...?" Her voice sounded a bit menacing in a way. Ed thought for a second that it was her turn to get mad at her, but instead, she smiles at him with a relieved look in her eyes. "Thank god... I thought it was something much more serious than that!" He smiled back at her, but then thinks on what she said on that last part. Ed yells at her face, "It is a serious thing to get mad about! You knew longer than me and you never said anything!" Caught off guard, she stares at him with wide eyes for a moment and then yells back, "Why would I tell you!? You wouldn't have believed me even if I told you! Especially since it was because of THAT!"

"What do you mean THAT!?"
"I only remembered you when you found me after I caught you attempting to rape Winry!"

"Wha-!? Now hold on! I told you that was an accident! And how the hell did rape come into your head!?" His face was completely flushed pure red, embarrassed that she not only remembers that but still misunderstood what happened even though it took him a while to figure out how to properly explain what happened without making things worse as it is. He lets her go so she could stand up straight and face each other properly. Ed coughs then continues to try to press on what she was talking about, "So you only remembered when I found you..." Wiping her tears from her eyes, Cat nods and looks away in shame. He was bewildered, complete and utterly shocked to hear this from her. Then, out of nowhere, he bursts out laughing. "Huh..? Hey what are you laughing about!? I'm being serious here!" Cat exclaims, caught off guard at Ed's sudden outburst.

After calming down, Ed brings her back in an unexpected hug. "I was worried for nothing..." he sighs, relieved to hear this. Cat still didn't understand what was going on but decided to leave it be and rests her head on his shoulder, relieved herself that this was finally put to an end. For good hopefully. "By the way," Cat pulls back and looks around in confusion, "why are we in a hottub?" "Hot... tub?" Ed repeats, his head spinning at the new word. "Ah! Well you see-" While Cat tries to figure out how to explain it to Ed as simple as possible, especially since this is a piece of technology that was first made in the 'hippie era', a figure stands on top of a tree and secretly watches the two from above.

-Back to Me-

I clap my hands and placed them on top of my chest, closing my eyes as I transmuted my body dry from head to tie. Ed, on the other hand, was too busy shaking all the excessive water from out of his automail parts. I shook my head and smile at this. "Here let me help you," I offer, clapping my hands again and transmute every water molecule off (Me: Just the H20 okay! I don't want any science geek to picture Ed's body shriveling up like a raison from the sudden lack of water! Okay now I just gave children nightmares at the thought...) his clothes and hair into hot fumes. "Huh... first time I've seen you do that with water other than freeze it," Ed comments, still checking for water. My mouth twitches in my smiles for a moment as I answered, "Ice can take down my enemies faster and ease their suffering. Heating it up is... torture..."

I ended up hugging myself when I was suddenly reminded of what Raven did to me. "Cat?" I walk up to him, scared half to death and lean against his body. "I need to tell you something... you and tell Al, Alice, or anyone we know... just don't freak out okay?" With a simply nod and a comforting pat to the back, I bit my lip as I tried to fight off the horrible memories. "It was about 2 years ago before we were partnered up again. Raven sent me on another mission to deal with some locals and try to avoid any unnecessary casualties. I didn't know what it was about until-"

::Memory::
Me: This is just a fair warning if you guys already hate this guy in both the anime and manga, you're really gonna wish he died a much more excruciating pain once you see this... and this will show you why Cat never uses her gun after New Optain and why she only moves water around and freeze it.

I ran through the battlefield with my gun in hand as I covered face from the heat that surrounded the entire refugee camp. 'This mission isn't just about some locals... he wants me to help his troupe take care of Ishvalan refugee's once and for all!' As I skid to a completed stop when an explosion happened not too far from where I was. I stood and listened to the screams of innocent lives being taken in this living hell. I close my eyes and covered my ears, trying to block them all out as the world began to spin around. "H...e...l...p...!" I hear a faint cry. I turn my head towards a tent that was slightly burnt from the flames. I quickly rushed in to see a woman pointing her gun at me as two boys hug each other, shaking all over in fear of what I will do.

"Shhh! I'm here to help...!" I whispered, checking first to see if there were any nearby soldiers before stepping into the camp. "My name's Catherine Cairo. I'm a state alchemist but-" One of the boys throws a random object at me. "You're here to kill us! Is that what you're trying to say!?" he yells. I shake my head, raised my hands up and drop the gun to the floor. "No that's not what I mean. I'm here to help you escape." The woman lowers her gun, allowing to fully see who she is. 'Rick and Rio's mother!? So that must mean...' I glance over to the two and saw that it was indeed them, the older one being Rick and the younger one is none other than Rio. Their mom drops down to the floor and says, "Thank Ishvala..."

"Mom!" We all rush up to her to see if she was okay. She lifts her hand up and reassures us, "I'm fine boys... I was just afraid of what might have happened since I can't see well." Great, not only is she here but she's blind in this world too. 'How more ironic can this get!' From behind, a soldier calls out from outside the tent, "Miss Mercury sir! We heard someone shouting earlier, is every thing alright?" "Yes! Just found a few survivors! Don't worry," I stood up and said, "I'll deal with them." Seeing that they weren't moving to leave, I had no other options left but to do this. I went over to the only spot of the tent that can easily be covered up and transmute an escape tunnel in the ground. "This will lead you to the others I was able to save not too far from here," I tell them.

I turn around and instruct the three, "Children go first. Adults last." Unsure at first, their mother puts her hands on their shoulders before bringing them to a tight hug. Quietly, Rio goes in first and then Rick. I turn to face the woman with my hand up in the air. "I'm sorry... I need to do this or I can't convince those soldiers if-" She interrupts me, "There's no ishvalan blood spilled. I know..." She looks back at the hole then at me, her red eyes filled with unnerved determination. "I'm ready," with that said, I place my hand where her heart should be and turned away. What happened wasn't what I had expected. Right before I could only make it look like as if she was really dead- Halfway through the transmutation, Rick climbed out of the hole and saw this.

Filled with rage; he climbs out of the hole, picks up the abandoned rifle, and starts charging at me. Out of shock, I accidentally pulled away so I could stop him. At the very last minute, I drew my gun out and unwillingly aimed it at him as the light behind me grew brighter. As the uncontrolled transmutation explodes behind my back, I fired. The aftermath was... too much. I found myself covered in a blood and the end of my gun smoking, Rick's body lying down limp on the floor. It took me moments to figure out what just happened as the soldier rushes in and see's what happened. Finally I snapped. I drop the gun and crumbled down to the bloodied floor, screaming at the top of my lungs.

::End of Memory::

Ed was frozen stiff the whole time as I told him this, and I almost thought for a second that he was disgusted to hear about the things I have done. Instead, he just tightens his grip on me. "Ed...?" He didn't respond. Tears began to slide down my cheeks again. This time, I cried on Ed's shoulder as I felt the weight on my shoulders began to slightly lighten up.

-?-

Almost every single part of the room was covered in red; the furniture was red, the sofa, curtains, candles, and etc. Sitting in front of the fire place was a girl, around her teens by her youthful appearance. Closing the red book and placing down on the coffee table, aligned with three other books. The book she closed was (extremely) dark blue with a small blue rose crest on it. Two of the books were graey and one was white, but the crests had a faded color on them. One had an dark grey dragon's head but seemed to slowly change to orange every now and then, the other had a gray rosary covered in thorns, and the third (slightly darker than the rest on the book cover) had a flame that was mixed with black and blue. Smirking, she takes her one of the other books and starts writing in them.

"It seems one of them no longer needs my guidance... now for the rest."

To Be Continued

Sorry for the long wait! I had this at 9,000 words but after I saved it the internet explorer just quit and when I clicked it my laptop died again! (yes I wasn't able to get it fixed. Sadly..) I reloaded the paged and I ended up at 4,732 words... It was done perfectly and all that hard work disappeared down to half! I'll be working on WoH and Forgotten Hearts at the same time making my niece's bday present. I asked what she want and I was shocked to know she reads THAT kind of fanfic and watches the usual magical-girl shoujo anime... So anyway, since I don't really use twitter much (and I only got 13 followers Q^Q) I'll just stick with FB. The one site where I don't have to constantly worry what #'s to use whenever I say something. Just look up my name and you'll see my page! This chapter will be short but next week I will extend it so make sure to come back 'cause by that time it's been properly finished. I will announce it on my FB page what is updated and fixed! Oh and happy new year!

Update

I could not focus on the last part. My parents were watching a comedy film that was filled with jokes that there is no way I cannot keep a straight face and focus. First was Scary Movie, Zoolanders, 40 year old virgin, and what's worse was America's funniest videos came up and started by showcasing of people farting at the worst moment possible. And my friends come over (by barging into my house of course), and the next thing I hear Drop Pop Candy suddenly play. I didn't think much on it until I realized this - "Wait... is that Sans and Papyrus?" (ಠ_ಠ) I literally had to kick then out of my room while they were laughing their asses off. So anyway, I was really trying to fit in all the important detail into this chapters because most of it was supposed to happen in previous chapters. But with how much more developed the story has become, and my writing skills slightly improved (Seriously I checked chapter one and I immediately edited the thing while trying my best not to change too much.) I found myself adding more and more stuff that I found myself unable to fit in the pieces that I have been planning to put in from the start. The rest was just things I came up with last minute and added it to the story board. It's so hard to put in stuff you plan beforehand only to have new ones coming in at you all at once... _ Besides, some of you people have been giving me a heart attack recently! I keep getting PM's about how good and unique MA is (which I find it pretty shocking since I know there must be other fanfics better than mine.) at the same time people saying things that I am surprised that were caught on quickly. I thought I was being really sneaky but I guess it's hard to hide it! So yes some of you have figured out SOME of the hidden plots of the storyline, but no I will not tell you what they are. Now before I leave thing chapter, I want to clarify one thing. I know I said I will not add anymore OC's to the chapter. But who said there has to be an OC in this...? :)