Yoo! Hope you guys are doing well! :D I've been in FMA-mood lately so that means frequent updates! Yeah! :3

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS: Anonymous J: Thanks again for the review, I love it when readers share their opinions about a story (that's what I try to do whenever I read a story that I like)! I rewatched the scene where that happened with Martel and I got such goose bumps o.o I decided to try and at least scratch the surface of what Al must have been feeling after he got his body back. Also: OF COURSE I'll respond to your reviews buddy! Haha I don't ignore a reader, no matter if it's a guest or user, your opinions matter to me equally! J

1-800fangirl: (blushes and scratches neck) Aww, really? Thank you so much! :D haha I've also been browsing through some fanfics but I also didn't see any with Al being depressed over Martle's death so I decided to do one, after all, for me it has been pretty traumatic o.O. Thanks again for the review :33 I feel inspired! Ah, Mei and Al huh? I can try to do that, though don't expect too much from me hehe, I'm not sure if I can write the pairing well .

Enjoy reading everyone! :D

The Girl that knows Alkahestry

Alkahestry, the arts of Purification, another form of Alchemy, yet it was very different from it.

Alphonse Elric has taken it upon himself to study it more closely, spending long periods of time in the land of Xing, visiting of course, Ling, the new emperor, Lan Fan and a certain princess.

Mei Chang had been a constant companion of Al's, she showed him their unique, yet to be closely explored culture, how they lived, how they used Alkahestry, how much their alchemy differs from Amestrian one and so forth.

Ed had visited a couple of times but chose to keep his visits short, after all, his wife Winry was soon to give birth to their daughter. Al had already bought a gift for his future niece and Mei had been so kind as to buy a tome describing the arts of Alkahestry, five blades wrapped in silk cloth and for the baby some clothes, kimonos of fine silk and a few toys to play with when she was older.

Ah, did he mention the brand new, tool box with the newest tools on the field she bought for Winry? He was sure Winry would have stars in her eyes when she would see that.

Al was walking towards the emperor's or rather Ling's chambers, he wanted to ask him when they would be departing the coming morning.

In a flash, a kunai and a very sharp looking piece of automail filled his vision the second he opened the door, thankfully, he had long since gotten used to the sight. In the beginning he would nearly pee himself and scream out like a girl when that would happen.

"Hi Lan Fan," he greeted the warrior and personal body guard, as well as wife of the one and only Ling Yao warmly, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.

The woman, clad in her trademark yet slightly modified armor, immediately retracted her weapons and bashfully bowed, deeply to the waist, "I'm so sorry Alphonse, please forgive me if my greeting has startled you, I had not known it was you at the door,"

The amused chuckle and grin Ling shot him suggested Lan Fan actually did know he had been knocking. Lan Fan was an expert at detecting whether it be someone's chi or sounds she hears from her surroundings, she is better than Ling himself. She could easily distinguish between different people's footsteps; their height, weight and possibly gender as well as any characteristic style of walking.

He knew for a fact Lan Fan, aside from her serious and alert persona, also had a humorous side to her, at times it scared both the Elric brothers but he supposed she showed how comfortable she was with someone if she pulled pranks like these on them.

"Um, it's a-alright! Please, you don't need to bow! I'm intruding after all," he laughed awkwardly, not missing the way Ling had been quickly fastening his haori when Al had attempted to enter his chamber. He shook his head, those things were only to remain in the bedroom, and only in the bedroom.

He had enough nightmare material from Ed and Winry, his brother and childhood friend and at one point crush, to provide him with for a lifetime or two.

"Well, to answer your earlier question, we will depart at 6 sharp, I expect you to be ready by then, after all, we wouldn't want to miss a chance to see Ed freaking out over being a father again right?" Ling grinned, laughing when Al just scratched the back of his neck and laughed with him, even Lan Fan released a few amused giggles behind her hand.

"Yeah, you're right. Say, did you see Mei by chance? I was searching for her earlier but she wasn't at home and I can't seem to find her anywhere," the question was innocent, but of course, Ling was known to twist people's, in particular the Elrics, words into something dirty.

"Ohh? Searching for Mei huh? Well, thanks to me being Emperor now, I enforced a new law where the marriage traditions aren't as strict, though many people still follow the old tradition of waiting with their union until wearing rings. However, I don't think Mei will mind much if you-" Ling was interrupted by a well-placed kick to the side of his head.

Lan Fan would have easily blocked the kick, but instead she smiled in amusement at none other than Mei herself, no doubt having sneaked in Ling's chambers again, and having overheard Ling's teasing.

"Ugh, can you never not speak in my name when I'm not present Ling? And besides, as if I would ever say such things!" she snorted, a blush on her face as she kicked her cousin for good measure.

Al was just sweating buckets and blushing furiously, "H-hello M-Mei," he felt like a child again suddenly, having a crush on a pretty girl.

Mei looked up at him and smiled brightly, "Alphonse! I haven't seen you in so long!" she dashed up to him, now grown quite a bit taller with womanly curves, curves Al tried hard to ignore as she hugged him tightly.

"Didn't you see him three days ago at the festival?" Ling chose to add his comment, getting a sandal in his face for his dry retort.

"Anyway! When will we finally go and see Winry and Edward? I have so many presents for them, as well as for the little ones!" she smiled brightly, Xiao Mei on her shoulder rumbling softly in happiness.

The panda had grown slightly but not much, it was actually barely noticeable to someone who didn't spend an extensive time with Mei to notice it.

A rosy blush unwillingly made itself known on Al's face and stayed there for the rest of the night and well into the journey to Amestris and to Resembool.

Winry hadn't been kidding when she said her son was just like his father – a real troublemaker, very stubborn, sensitive about his height, even though that was normal for his age and not forget very curious about the world, often going "exploring" when his parents' every watchful weren't momentarily on him.

He had ventured to the stall, now housed by farm animals, to inspect the animals there, especially the cows. They were usually peaceful, however when Hohen suddenly pulled their tail they would run out of the stall as if possessed and usually it was Edward's job to literally hunt them down and bring them back.

That usually resulted with Winry laughing so hard her stomach hurt as she watched her husband chase after the rogue cow frantically, his small son not that far behind, stretching his little arms out and yelling "Daddy!" "Daddy! Cow hunter!".

Needless to say, it never got boring in the Elric home.

When Al had joined the chase to help his brother catch the cow Mei and Winry had to support themselves against the threshold to not fall on the floor from laughing so hard.

"Al! Can't ya run any faster?! Even Hohen is faster than you milk it!" instead of using the word "damn" Edward opted to use his favorite drink as substitute for most of his swear words, well, when he would swear and it wasn't much anymore.

"Sorry brother! It seems like I ate too much at Xing!" the younger Elric held his stomach, panting heavily, trying to catch up.

"Oi! I told ya to start training didn't I?! You'll get fat in no time if you eat so much! Guess I'll have to teach Ling a lesson about allowing you to eat so much-"

"You called Edward?" it was none other than Ling.

Perched on top of the running cows back comfortably, sitting cross-legged with his arms crossed with a bright smile on his face.

"Ling?! You dirty little milk drinker! What the in the milk are you doing here?! How did you even get on top of the cow in the first place?!" Edward sped up his pace, closing in on the cow surprisingly well yet it was still not enough.

"Ah, I'm allowed to have some secrets don't I Ed? Oh seems like you're catching up," Ling lifted a hand and smacked it against the cow's behind, the cow "mooed" in stunned surprise and sped up, creating more and more distance.

"MILK YOU LING!"

"Milk you too Ed!" Ling grinned and waved happily, causing Ed to go in a rage filled tantrum over the reckless emperor of Xing.

"Some things never change huh Mei?" Winry asked her good friend, smiling and giggling at the sight of her husband being enraged.

"No and I don't think they will anytime soon," she smiled as well as she watched Al and Ed resume their chase, all the while little Hohen was laughing and running after his father, thinking of it all as a game.

They had all endured many hardships together and each of them taught them to cherish life as it was and not to mess with things that simply couldn't be undone, like the death of a loved one.

That's the reason why they all grew stronger in their own way…

That was the reason why their hearts were made of Fullmetal.

Done! Please review! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Future ideas are welcome thanks! :D