It took me an hour or two of hiking through the pitch-black woods to finally reach a town. It was pretty late, and when I stumbled into the town on aching legs, the streets were deserted and almost all of the lights in the buildings were out.

Looks like I won't be able to get a place to stay anytime soon, I thought, displeased. Then, remembering I was wanted by the military, I sweatdropped. Well, bad things are sometimes blessings in disguise. I probably would've strode in a lodge's doors, stupidly asking for a room, only to get arrested. With a sigh, I strode on the side of the main street, glancing around for a temporary place to sleep, cursing the fact that I would have to sleep on the ground with sore legs and no luggage to use as a pillow.

Finally finding a small alley, I dragged myself into it, making sure I was out of sight by anyone who might pass by in the morning before collapsing onto the ground, exhausted. Even with all the walking I do on a regular basis, I don't think I'll ever get used to hiking for hours on end.

Pulling my cloak off my shoulders and using it as a blanket, I laid down on my back, cushioning the back of my head with my hands, leaving me with a wonderful view of the twinkling stars. He must be looking at the same stars, I thought, before realizing how stupid that sounded. Nevermind, he's probably sleeping anyway.

I closed my eyes, smiling up at the brilliant night sky. Goodnight, Ed.

Groaning, I rolled over, trying to fight off the consciousness that invaded my peaceful, dreamless sleep. Sadly, it seemed unavoidable, so after just resting my eyes for a few more minutes, I cracked them open, squinting at the bright sunlight that glared down on me.

Sitting up, I stretched, only to find my legs were sore as hell and sleeping on the ground gave me a nasty kink in my shoulders.

"Damn," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I thought by now I'd finally get used to sleeping on the ground. Rolling my shoulders to get out all the sore kinks, I staggered to my feet, patting myself down to rid myself of dirt and dust. At least I'm not germaphobic, or I'd get a heart attack.

Snatching my cloak from the ground and brushing it off, I tossed it on, leaving the hood off so I didn't seem extra suspicious. Taking a deep breath, I leaned against the wall, taking a chance to calculate how I'd get to Central. All my money was in my suitcase, I cursed, and we just HAD to leave without my valuables. I don't even have any weapons on me! I pursed my lips. Then I better not run into the military at all costs. I can't risk a fight unarmed, no matter how good I am. But how will I get the money? I can't just waltz into the bank and use my account! I paused in my thoughts. Wait, I don't match the description of the posters! And Ed is still wanted, but Darius and Heinkel got money out of his account!

I started to formulate a plan. I need to check the train schedules, and I can make my withdraw and turn on my heel to dash to the train station. It took the military a while to find Darius and Heinkel after the withdraw, so I might just have a chance!

With that in mind, I started off, asking directions to the nearest train station in town.

An envelope filled with money tightly clutched in one hand, the other gripping the edge of my cloak that billowed behind me, I was in a full-out sprint toward the train station. No, the military hadn't found me yet. But I was certain they would if I missed the train I had planned to jump on.

Thankfully, after taking a few wrong turns before stopping and asking a resident the way, they pointed me in the right direction, so it didn't take me long to skid to a stop in front of the ticket booth.

Sliding the money over and asking for the ticket I wanted between ragged breaths, I thanked the ticket woman with a smile as I took the ticket, jogging over to the line that was entering the train. As expected for a train to Central, almost all the seats were filled, so I was left to decide who I could sit next to. Picking the most deserted seating place, I slid into an empty seat across from a boy, who stared boredly out of the window. At least I had two seats all to myself, even if I sat facing a stranger.

Stashing away my remaining money in a hidden pocket in my cloak, I adjusted it to sit snugly on my shoulders. I tried to ignore the stabbing pain of hunger, remembering that my last meal had been before we had given all of our rations to the starving Ling. Frowning discontentedly, I made note to get something to eat back in Central.

Having nothing to do now but wait, I impatiently fidgeted, staring at my twiddling thumbs. Being on the run in a public place is stressful, I thought. I could be discovered at any time. Thoughts of getting captured bounced around in my head, and I paled at each one. I let the philosopher stone go, so there's no going back now. Sitting back and sighing, my eyes traveled up to the boy sitting across from me, who stared at me in shock.

My heartbeat jumped painfully, and I gasped. It couldn't be...

... That across from me, staring me right in the eyes, was my very own doppelganger.

He had jagged brown hair that had a slight curl at the end, arranged nicely around his handsome face. He had a more defined jaw, and slightly more narrowed-eyes, but other than me, he was an exact copy of myself. He was buffer than I was, with nice muscled arms, making him look fit but thankfully not over-muscled. He seemed a bit older though, maybe late teens, but I had never known my double would be so damn hot.

"You're really good looking," We said in unison before bursting out in laughter at each other's response. That had broke the ice, and we sported matching grins as we high-fived. It was almost as if an instant connection had formed, an instant familiarity of each other's presence like we had known each other forever. Maybe it had something to do with some kind of inter-universal magic, or maybe it was just our likeness that made me feel right at home with him despite not even having exchanged more than four words with the guy.

"This is unexpected," He said, his voice surprisingly deeper than mine. I nodded in agreement. "I'm Luka, nice to meet you." He stuck out his hand, and I grasped it with my own.

"Nice to meet you too! You can call me Lyra." I replied, creating yet another false name to hide under. All my other identities had been listed on my wanted poster, so it'd be a dead giveaway. His eyes sharpened, and it almost seemed that he knew I was lying, but his edgy glint disappeared quickly, making me doubt it had even been there.

"So, you're going to Central?" He asked, and I nodded again.

"I'm going in for a visit," I answered. "One of my relatives is in some financial trouble, so I'm going to go help her ass out of the hole she dug herself into. What about you?"

"I'm looking for someone," Luka said, "And I'm probably going to have to help her ass out of a pretty deep hole too." I raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds like you have a girlfriend~!" I teased.

"I'm single," He assured me with a smirk, taking one of my hands in his. "What about you?" I looked at him in surprise.

Wow, flirting with your own doppelganger? That's almost narcissistic. I thought, holding back a snicker.

"I'm taken," I said, patting his hands that enveloped one of mine sympathetically. "Although my own gorgeous look-alike is very tempting, I'm afraid I'll have to pass, darling." I internally cheered, though. I had to reject a hot guy because I'm already in a relationship with another hot guy, I could barely conceal the pleasure on my face. I'm getting some game!

Luka, on the other hand, let my right hand go to grasp my left, holding my fingers up to his lips.

"I don't see a ring," He said, his lips ghosting over my knuckles. "So I'm not completely out of the picture yet." My heart pounded in my throat, my face reddening.

"Well, I'm not about to don a diamond ring any time soon, but I'm s-still pretty set on m-my current boyfriend." I stuttered, taken aback by my copy's flirtatiousness. We might look alike, but I was nowhere near his level of flirtatious audacity. Even so, his comments were somehow flattering.

He played with the fingers on my left hand, giving me an opportunity to do what I had been meaning to.

Truth, what's going on? I asked in my head, but received no answer. Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I called out, Truth? Truth, answer me! But still, no answer. Alarmed, I looked at Luka, who was still distracted by fiddling with my fingers. This can't be happening, I started to silently hyperventilate. Truth? TRUTH?!

"Lyra? Are you ok?" Luka asked, concerned. I snapped out of my daze, gulping thickly before shaking my head.

"I'm fine," I said, getting a hold of myself. It's okay, relax, I soothed myself, I'm sure I'll hear back when we get to Central. I withdrew my hand from Luka, not in the mood for playful banter any more.

Cause if he's not back when I'm in Central, I'm screwed.

Hi guys! WOW I'm actually updating! Not as fast as I hoped, but still updating! :3

Lynette met her doppelganger! He's the real deal, her copy from Amestris! I know that there are all these beliefs that if you meet your doppelganger both of you will die, but I think that's all a little extreme, so she just meets him and instant connections and blah blah on with the story!

She's loyal! Unlike her dream with Enrique, she stuck to Ed! It must be hard for her to be away from him, but she's proved her affections for him! The only problem left is Winry...

I'm liking where this is going... As you guys may tell, I'm doing a completely different ending than I had planned, so it might start getting a bit weird from here on out! I'll probably make it to at least 80 chapters, maybe 85! I hope you guys are looking forward to my brilliant finish!

Wow, I've already spent so long with this fanfic! I still can't believe I started this in 2012, none the less got this much of it done! I can proudly say that this is probably the longest piece of writing I've ever done, and I have all you you guys to thank for it! Celebrating 85,000 views! Every single one of you is an angel, and I'm so thankful for all your support and kindness! I'm still on the verge of 200 followers, and I know we can make it! Come on guys!

My lovely readers, please review~!

Thanks!