Exactly the next day, Alphonse dragged him out as soon as Edward slid on his coat. The State Alchemist almost tripped on his way out with how hasty his brother was being. "Yo, Al! Slow down!" But his armored brother giggled just like the kid he was that it made Edward smile in fondness. It had been a while since he'd seen him like that and it took a tiny bit of weight off his chest.

Seeing Al so happy, who was he to stomp on that excitement of his? Instead, Ed picked himself up and ran beside his brother. "What's gotten you so excited?"

"It's a secret!"

The blond teen rolled his eyes in a playful manner. It didn't take them long and Al slowed down, Ed following suite. The sight of fully grown and healthy-looking crops marveled him. Except for the straight patch coming in, in the middle of the field where the crops were crushed and rotting. "What happened here?"

"Remember how Helios is split into two," Al spoke up beside him. "Someone from the Eastern side wanted all this land to himself; monopolize the market and all that. The alchemist and I drove them away though but she thinks they'll come back today or the next day."

Ed snorted, resting his hands on the back of his head. "I'm not surprised. With this kind of land, who wouldn't want it? It looks perfect for planting, too. Though it needs to be watered occasionally; it's a sandy loam but still great for a soil in this kind of place." Golden eyes wandered around, finally noticing something out of place. "Where are the farmers, though?"

"Oh! The alchemist had been guarding the field for a while now and tended to it at the same time. She said that she wouldn't want anyone to get into the crossfire in case the Easterners come again." Again, Ed furrowed his eyebrows, away from his brother's sight. Al's been trying to avoid saying this alchemist's name. Why is that?

Having had enough, Ed turned to face his brother with narrowed eyes, causing said armor to yelp in surprise and sweat in nervousness. "So, Al."

"Y-Yes, brother?"

"You seem... talkative whenever that alchemist comes up as the topic."

The younger Elric suddenly avoided his gaze.

"Wh-Whatever do you mean, brother?"

"Ah!" Both Elrics jumped in surprise when a high-pitched voice exclaimed, "It's the big brother with the odd fashion sense!" Edward watched, bewildered, when his brother slumped over in depression for having his 'fashion sense' called odd. The blonde saw the child approach them with that big sandy-colored eyes. Nostalgia hit him out of nowhere as soon as he realized the innocence shining in her eyes.

Innocence that he lost years ago.

"... are you his little brother?"

A vein popped on his forehead. Edward tried to reign in his anger since this was a child in front of him; not some peer or adult he could shout at all he wants. "Look, kid, I'm Edward Elric; the Fullmetal Alchemist and I'm—" he suddenly pointed at the sulking armor. "— Al's big brother."

"... but you're so short!"

"I. Am. Not. Short." He gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Miss Jullia says that if you're short, you mustn't have been drinking your milk or eating your vegetables!"

"THAT'S NOT—" Edward suddenly blinked, all his frustration towards being called short washed away the second he realized what the kid said. "Who said what now?"

"Miss Jullia! She's been helping us grow crops and chasing away bad men!"

With how weird his brother was acting, could it be because of what Ed suddenly realized? Could this Miss Jullia be..?

The sound of hooves suddenly reached them. Al quickly picked up Lili in his arms as they face the people on horses. "It's them," Al's voice made Edward glance at his brother. "They're the Easterner's I've mentioned. I didn't think they would come back so quickly..."

Edward frowned when he say that instead of going through the destroyed patch of land from yesterday, they made another one not that far from the original. He gritted his teeth in anger; how could they do something like that?

The one leading the group stopped his horse and got off; hisnsteps wobbly and a bit unsure for some reason. "Miss Jullia isn't here, eh? Only the monster, a kid, and some shorty."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN ANT SO SMALL YOU'LL BURN HIM WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS?!"

"B-Brother, he didn't say that..."

The Easterners sent him bewildered looks. "What the hell is wrong with that kid?"

A vein popped and Edward clapped his hands, and slammed his palms on the ground. Poles erupted from the ground and created a cell that trapped all of then. There were shouts of disbelief and horror that come from them. "Another alchemist?!"

Edward smirked at his work and looked at his brother and the kid in his arms. "And that's why I'm called the Fullmetal Alchemist, kid." Her eyes widened in awe and Edward felt his ego growing inch by inch the longer she stares at hin.

"Oi, let us out here, foreigner! You're not involved in this town's matter!" The dark-haired man exclaimed in outrage inside his jail, causing Ed to turn around and stared at him with a grumpy face. "Haaaaa?" A gloved hand suddenly stopped the blond from advancing in his irritation.

"He's right," the owner of the hand said, that familiar voice causing Ed to freeze. He hadn't heard that voice for years. "This is between me and him so stand down, munchkin."

No way... Fullmetal thought in disbelief. There's no way she'll just pop up here just like that! Yet the woman who stepped up beside him proved the alchemist wrong. A tiny glare of reflected sunlight made him wince but it was over in a second. As his vision cleared, a growl came from his throat.

Julliana Hong stood beside him, looking as if she hadn't aged since back then, but her eyes stared up ahead; an aloof expression painting her features.

It took Ed everything in him not to lunge and attack her, his fists shook from his reigning anger.

"Oi, Chris, haven't you little shits have enough? How many times do you want to be sent straight to the bathroom?"

"I'm not backing down until I have this land to myself! So hand over the deed, Miss Jullia!"

With a clap of her hands, the circle etched onto her glove glowed brightly. Julliana slammed her hands on the dirt and lightning crawled towards Chris and his men. A cannon materialized with them inside it and when a breeze blew by, she clapped her hands yet again and the Elrics and little Lili watched as Chris and his moronic entourage flew to the sky.

"And they're blasting off again," Julliana stated, unamused. "When will they learn to leave this place alone?"

"... that's it..?"

Julliana paused and turned around to look at Edward's rage-filled eyes. His golden irises burning in that same anger she had once seen in herself before. "You're just going to act like you didn't leave us..?" Alphonse glanced at them with worry, pulling Lili closer to him when she began whimpering.

"You've been back this entire time and didn't even think about telling us?!" Edward's voice cracked at the end, betrayal laced his voice. "You promised... you promised me, dammit! You promised that you wouldn't leave me and Al but you did!" A shaky breath left him, trying to compose himself. He wasn't about to cry. No, she didn't deserve his tears.

"You said you'll come home but you didn't. I thought you were better than that bastard."

The scientist kept quiet all this time, letting Edward yell out his bottled up feelings. Every word he said was like a sword to the heart; those were true, of course, so Ana didn't have anything to say. She had broken her promise to her munchkin twice and how ironic it was when she told them they should always keep true to their words.

It startled her with how venomous he sounded. "So what? You're not going to say anything? Tch." She winced at that. "C'mon, Al. We're done here. I have to talk to Colonel Bastard for sending us here."

"B-But brother..."

"Now, Al."

Ana saw the worried look on Alphonse's eyes and could even feel it in the air. She smiled in reassurance, as simple as that, and with a nudge of her head to tell him that it was okay, Alphonse followed after his brother after placing Lili in her arms.

"Miss Jullia..?" said woman hummed in response, flinching in surprise when Lili reached out to touch her cheek. "You're crying..."

The last time Ana cried... Roy had been there for her but now? She didn't have him by his side. Goddammit, Roy, why'd I have to remember you?

oooOooo

"Brother, please—"

"No. Just don't, Al. She has no right to appear in our lives just like that," his fingers dug into the flesh of his right palm. "No letter. No phone calls. Not even a tiny note!" Edward had gone back to the inn they've checked in this morning and checked out just as quickly. He could tell Al wanted him to give their sister a chance to explain but he was having none of it.

They were leaving and that was that. Nothing Al could say would change Edward's mind. With Helios in the distance, Al kept trying to persuade him but how could his brother just accept her back in their life? Just like that? Was it that easy to atone for the sins she committed to them? It took showing up for Al to forgive her?

The eldest Elric didn't understand. Why was Al so forgiving? Why didn't he hate their sister for leaving them? "Brother..." Al spoke up beside him but he was adamant about his decision. They were going back to Central and he was going to give that Colonel Bastard a piece of his mind. That bastard knew; Ed was sure of it.

"Why... Why do you hate sister so much..?"

"Don't you understand anything," Ed snapped at his brother's question; the anger he'd been trying to hold back pouring out of him all at once. "She probably didn't love us back then! If she did, how could she easily abandon us?! She shouldn't have come back!" By the end of his rant, Ed felt his brother's fist make contact with his cheek.

It didn't throw him back, it was rather weak yet Al transferred all his anger through that sloppily delivered punch. "You're the one who doesn't understand anything, brother! Sister Ana loved us with everything! Don't you remember?! She was a traveler but she gave that up to take care of us!"

Fullmetal caressed his stinging cheek with his flesh hand, eyes wide in shock.

"She gave up her goals to take care of us when mom passed away! She sacrificed her time to take care of two kids who she knew for only less than a month! How could you just throw her aside like she hadn't done anything for us, brother?!"

She doesn't deserve our apology, Al! He wanted to scream on the top of his lungs. She abandoned us; what more do you want to know aside from that?! Isn't that enough not to let her back into our lives?!

All those words vanished when a loud explosion came from Helios. A giant cloud of sand could be seen from where the brothers stood. Since Helios didn't have any huge establishments aside from the one who owned the town, they could see the flashes of alchemic light in the distance.

Alphonse moved and ran back towards Helios, snapping Edward out of his stupor. "Al, come back here!" But his brother ignored him and kept on running. Edward clicked his tongue and chased after him, back to where their supposed sister had been hiding. It didn't take him long to reach the town but when he did, he realized that whatever battle Julliana found herself in; it was a tough one.

Some debris had even reached the far side of town, the outskirts, when the battle had occurred at the center of Helios; where the bountiful field of crops separated the Eastern and Western part. Edward lost sight of Al when he had to help a family stuck under a huge boulder— how did that even reach here?!

With a scowl marring his lips, he made his way towards the field where a devastating sight greeted him. The hard grown crops the farmers had painstakingly planted and cared for were now reduced to pulps in the field. All of it were destroyed, leaving nothing unscathed.

He heard the sound of someone shouting from somewhere at his left so he headed there. However, things didn't get any better from there. Sure, he had found Al but in his arms laid the limp body of one familiar child. "Lili..." even from a distance, Ed heard how shaky his brother's voice was. It didn't take a genius to know what happened.

Outraged, he glanced at the fight and, to his surprise, an unmatched fury painted Julliana's features and her opponent was none other than... Chris? Edward was pretty sure that the guy wasn't an alchemist and the fact that Julliana hadn't defeated him puzzled Ed.

She had taken care of that guy with ease not long ago and yet, she was having trouble now?

"You shit—!" Julliana screamed. Before she could even clap her hands together, Chris had beaten her to it. A red alchemical flash blinded her momentarily; his watch deconstructed and reconstructed into a meter-length sword. "— how the fuck are you ignoring Equivalent Exchange?!"

(In the background, Edward perked up in hungry interest.)

Chris gave her a smug look, before performing another. Metallic pillars shot out of the ground and chased after her. He endlessly produced them, giving Julliana no time to take a breather as she focused on dodging instead of attacking. She needed to figure out how he suddenly became a prodigious alchemist in such a short time.

In her too focused state, she hadn't realized that she somehow got near where Al and Lili— that sweet, sweet child who the murderer took the life of— and clapped her hands together, slamming them down on the ground as soon as she landed in front of them. A huge wall of solid rock erupted from the ground in a blink of an eye.

Some of the pillars met with her wall and despite it being rock, the metallic pillars didn't break her alchemical construction. Julliana was on the move in an instance, letting the remaining pillars chase after her. This time, she strategically moved to where Chris was.

Said shit was busy muttering to himself in his arrogance to notice her nearing him second by second. By the time that he did, it was too late. Julliana was running towards him, the last of his metallic pillars chasing after her. Chris furrowed his eyebrows when she just kept heading towards him.

"O-Oi—!" before they could collide, Julliana leaped over him. Instead of hitting her, Chris had hit himself.

The construct cracked and crumbled when it knocked out its own maker. Chris was out cold, falling on his back with a pretty stupid look on his face even when he was unconscious. Julliana approached him with apprehension, noticing a red stone rolling out of his hand.

She was about to pick it up, and destroy it with her own hands, when someone else snatched it. It didn't even surprise her that it had been Edward, his eyes wide with wonder and excitement. "Is this—"

"— a Philosopher's Stone; yes, it is. Now give it to me, Edward." His head snapped up at her, a scowl on his lips and his eyes glowering at her. "No," he answered with a clipped tone. "Al and I have been looking for this stone for years. To use it to get Al's body back." Edward wasn't an idiot; she would have found out about what they had done with just one look.

Julliana wasn't a scientist and alchemist for nothing.

"You don't get it, Edward. Give me that. It's too weak to even be an original stone." But the blond shook his head. However, a hand shooting up and snatching the stone from his grasp surprised him. Chris woke up faster than any of them suspected after being hit by a metal pillar of all things.

A bright red flash of light erupted from his hand, his finger nails growing long and sharper than normal. Edward, too stunned to do anything, was pushed away by Julliana just as Chris buried those monstrous nails into her.

It was as if everything slowed down in his eyes. Edward had been about to move at the last second, but Julliana had been faster, pushing him out of harm's way. Instead of him, she was hurt. She coughed up a handful of blood but things didn't end there.

The stone— which he thought was real— rebounded.

Just like the one in Liore.

And this time, Julliana was in the line of fire.

oooOooo

It was bright, she mused, an endless sea of white greeting her the moment she opened her eyes. Not a sound of nature or sound of men echoed in her ears.Instead, it was her own heartbeat, her own breathing, and even the flow of her blood. It was her own being that she hears and see. In this white space void of anything but her, it was like she became aware of everything that made her, her.

"Surprised?"

A voice not her own, yet at the same time sounded like her, reached her ears. When she turned around to face whoever it was, not even 'surprise' could describe her emotion at the sight.

A white silhouette outlined by opaque shadows stood before her, a grin so wide marred its face and sent shivers down her body."... what is this place?" she remembered asking with a bored tone. "I don't remember leaving my room."

"Ah," It breathed out in amusement. "But you did something and now, you have to pay for the consequences." She blinked at his words, confusion flashing in her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

It grinned more, amused by this human. "You keep asking questions yet not curious of who I am?"

"I have no interest of your identity. I simply want to go home."

With that, It waved its hand in a nonchalant manner. "But that can't be done. You can never go back to that place you call home. You can never set foot into that reality ever again because you have crossed to this side... unless you finish playing the game we started, Julliana Hong."

Annoyance glinted in Ana's eyes. "Game? What game? I'm pretty sure we only just met, whoever and whatever you are."It smiled, not a grin but a smile, and tilted its head. "Oh, but you do. 'You' claimed that you know everything about me, Julliana Hong, and threatened to take the place of God."

Ana furrowed her eyebrows. "Just what are you blabbering about..?"

"You claimed that God toyed with the lives of humans. Therefore, you declared that I should not be God and that you are more suited to be one."

She began to take a step forward, having had enough of its weirdness. "Just stop spouting nonsense, you bastard."

"Nonsense?" it bursted into laughter as a door behind it slowly materialized. Ana took a step back in awe, eyes wandering the designs etched onto the stone door which floated just a few inches above solid white ground. "You think my words are nonsense?"

That snapped her back out of her head. "Human, finish the game, win, and reap your reward. Shall you lose, the consequences will leave you with absolutely nothing; such is the end for someone like you."

The door opened and black tendrils weaved out, and clutched onto her. Ana tried to get out of their hold but it was like they were stuck to her skin. They dragged her into the void, into the door leading to nowhere... or so she thought. "Let me go—!"

"Goodluck, Julliana Hong."

"Let me go, Truth!" a familiar word left her lips just before the door closed to a shut.Truth chuckled to itself.

"Let the fun begin, then."

oooOooo

It had been days yet she hadn't woken up.

Edward glued himself to her bedside, refusing to go to sleep until he passes out himself. Al, worried, decided to leave him be as he worked with the townspeople; worked for little Lili's funeral.

They had heard of what happened, and who had taken the life of a child. Furious, the representative of Western Helios marched into the governor's office.

It didn't matter if that man was on his deathbed, he needed to know the foolish things his stupid son had caused.

The elder Elric moved in his sleep, slouched onto a chair as he relived the memory of what happened a few days ago. The fake stone— just as Julliana told him— rebounded the second that bastard used it again at the end of battle... or so they thought.

He remembered nails as sharp as steel burrying themselves in Julliana's stomach, puncturing her until they pierced right through her back. When the stone crackled, Ed moved— and pulled her away, before she could get caught in the rebound.

With quick thinking, he took off his coat and wrapped it around her midsection and tied it tightly before oucking her up. He hadn't even registered Al calling for his name because terror filled his body.

He couldn't lose someone again, he couldn't take losing Ana!

His eyes fluttered open not because of sound but because of the heat. Sweat trickled down his skin as he stretched his limbs and back. Sore muscles were a pain but he was adamant about staying by her side. It was too soon, he mused to himself, too soon to leave her side.

The door to her room creaked open and Al and the town doctor— the same one who treated him before— came in. "Brother, how's sister?"

Gold eyes flickered to her unresponsive form. "Still the same." Al looked downhearted at the news before glancing at her sleeping body. "The doctor said she needs to go."

"Wait, what?!" Ed knocked off his chair in shock and Al realized how his words came off as. "I-I mean, she needs better treatment so she needs to go to a better hospital!" The elder Elric gave his brother an annoyed look, of which was returned by a sheepish one.

"We can't treat her as good as those in Central. We don't have the necessary equipment to better her recovery. Here, things might have been overlooked since we're not well-equipped." The doctor explained in full, calming Edward down that they weren't just being kicked out for nothing.

"Oh... dammit, Al. You scared me for a sec."

"... oops?"

oooOooo

The journey back to Central felt longer than it was supposed to. To not aggravate Julliana's wounds— since they were fairly raw and could reopen any second— Ed opted for a first class for all three of them. It was private and quiet, something she would appreciate if she were awake.

When they arrived, they went straight for the hospital and admitted her in a private room— well, she was supposed to be MIA, right? Certain individuals might recognize her even if it has been a few years.

As they looked at her sleeping form, somehow, their shoulders felt a lot lighter. Things seemed a lot brighter and happier even if it's only for that moment. Edward and Alphonse glanced at each other before stupid smiles appeared on their faces—more Ed than Al.

"Oh, right," the elder Elric was hit by realization. "I have to report to Colonel Bastard. Haven't told him we arrived."

"Brother," Al chastised. "You should have done that earlier!"

"Tch, I don't even want to talk to him. He'll be insulting me the moment I step into his damn office."

"Oh, shoo, brother. Shoo! Go; I'll look after sister while you report to the Colonel."

Al saw his brother roll his eyes before stepping forward and placing his forehead on their sister's, hearing him mutter a soft, 'welcome home,' to her. The younger Elric smiled as Ed left the room.

The suit of armor made sure not to cause too much noise as he settled down on the chair situated beside Julliana's bed. She looked a lit better now; color had returned to her face and her eyebrows wouldn't furrow anymore in pain.

To see Ed forgiving their sister, Al couldn't be any more happier. To be frank, he'd never been so happy ever since he got stuck in this metal body. "I can't describe my feeling in words, sister," he finally spoke after minutes of being silent.

"I wish I hugged you more before you left, and told you more how much I love you, sister. Brother and I don't know what happened after you left but know that when you tell us, we won't mind. We'll accept you with open arms. We're just glad to have you back."

A metal body like his was incapable of drawing out tears but Al's voice alone conveyed the sadness and happiness that hugged him so dearly. "Welcome home..." He parroted the words Ed had muttered earlier, now with a voice so firm and resolved.

oooOooo

Roy tapped his desk nonstop for the past half hour.

He hadn't heard from Fullmetal in a long while— and that, that has been keeping him on edge. If what he and Hawkeye hypothesized was on point, then they should be coming back with a certain woman in tow.

"Sir."

One word from Hawkeye had him stopping that annoying habit of his. "They'll come. Don't worry." Just as she said that, a certain someone kicked the door open; a familiar scowl on his face. Roy's eyes, instead of focusing on him, noticed the lack of a woman and a suit of armor following after Fullmetal.

It seemed like the blond noticed his intense look, stealing him of whatever comeback he had in mind. "Ah..." Edward awkwardly muttered with a scratch of his cheek. He knew, just from the Flame Alchemist's gaze alone, what the ravenet wanted to hear.

He didn't exactly know what his relationship was with his sister but the Colonel Bastard acted as if they were close or something. The silence made the blond gulp in nervousness. For some reason, instead of one pair of eyes burning holes into him, it was two.

So he finally relented and reported, "She's at the hospital."

Ed swore he was getting killed right there and then when he saw the dark look on the Lieutenant's and Colonel's face.