Hey, guys. I would ramble up here but there is some important news at the end of the chapter. Please read it. Thank you.

The Lovely Daaaarlings!

Ausumist: They will! In… The next chapter, cause this one is pathetically short. Hah. Ha… Sorry.

Katsekala: Mwahahaha, cliffhangers to the extreme! I'm trying to alternate between Riley and Ed to keep things balanced. I'm glad you liked the chapter!

Leli-chan1156: Thank you! Prepared to be notsoamazed! Ahahaha!

SIFProductionsdesu-yo: Well then, Happy Thirteenth Birthday! I hope you had fun. And thank you! I'm glad you think I'm awesome, hurrhurr.

Angelic Toaster: Haha, thank you! I'm glad you think so, it's really flattering!

Rockerchic221: Wow, someone's thinking of my characters because of music. That's really freaking awesome she was on your mind. And it does kind of describe her, yeah? I never connected those two before. And ahaha, I'm not sure yet! I know I'll be writing to the end of the movie, but I can't say for certain if I'll go past it. Thank you so much! (Ahahaha, I would kind of love to see what people would come up with for TSA fanfiction.)

Mizunou: D: Yeah, FF seemed to have a burp with chapter five. I normally get an email immediately, every time I update a story (like I need to be alerted - "Guess what, you just came out with a new chapter!") and I didn't get an email until the next day. And yay, I'm glad someone's interested in how things will turn out with Jonah. I'm enjoying his character so far.

NinjaPanda(Rei13Reaper): Ahahaha, I really love the dynamic between Riley and Shiori, so it's nice to see other people seem to enjoy them, too. And I am! Every chapter, I have to hold back from just writing, "And then Riley showed up and they were happy THE END." Thank you! And hmm, that sounds kind of weird to me. I'm not an expert when it comes to Amnesia though. I would think their personality might be different, but I don't think they would have the same goals as they did beforehand – at least, until they regained their memory. Your memories and experiences shape your goals, don't they? (Now I'm rambling, haha.)

kayleebaby13: Thank you! I was really worried about doing the switching chapters. I've seen it done before and more often than not, I don't like it myself, but I honestly couldn't see any other way for this sequel.

StarTrail: I'm glad you liked it! (And I'm sorry this next chapter is so short, blech.)

Want to Be a Lovely Daaaarling? Review! Bwahaha...

This chapter is short and while I apologize for that, the reason is at the end of the chapter. Again, please read that.

I do not own FMA or the movie. I own Riley and the Rebellion, and those a part of the Rebellion. Yup.

Focus

Ed was not ready.

He stared across the training field at Blackburn, who stood with his usual air of arrogance about him as he slipped off his jacket. He tossed it toward the side, returning Ed's stare with his own amused one.

Ed was not ready for this at all.

What he thought would be a simple test turned out to be a health inspection and a fight. A fight with Blackburn. The man was skilled, and Ed had never had an actual fight with him. If anything, he stepped in the middle of Blackburn and Riley. Riley. That's who he was doing this for. He needed to see her and this was the only way.

Taking in a deep breath, Ed prepared himself for what was about to come. He looked to Blackburn and all the memories of Riley being hurt by him rushed through his mind, all topped by one of the last moments he saw Riley – covered in blood and wide eyed. The scene had terrified him then, when he first thought the blood was hers, and it still scared him. Blackburn had caused that.

Remember that, and we'll be fine, Ed thought to himself in a repeated mantra.

"Scared of making the first move?" Blackburn questioned with a smirk, "You'll never see your girlfriend at this rate." Glaring up at the man, Ed reacted without much thought. He swung his left fist forward, and it was caught with ease by Blackburn. He twisted it and Ed was forced to bend over. "Those emotions will get you nowhere," Blackburn scoffed, kicking Ed in the back.

Ed stumbled forward but he caught himself and spun around, still glaring. "So I should be a cold-blooded killer like you?" He spat, running toward Blackburn.

For a split second, Blackburn appeared affected by the remark. He recovered and sighed, side-stepping another of Ed's swings. He grabbed the back of the boy's jacket and tossed him to the ground. Ed caught himself with ease, turning to face Blackburn once more. "What's wrong, Elric? Can you not handle yourself without your alchemy?" Blackburn asked him, smirking.

"Shut up…," He growled, throwing his fist again. Blackburn dodged it, and Ed swung his leg toward him.

Blackburn caught Ed's leg, but the shake in his arm told Ed that he was beginning to fall into an equal pace with Blackburn. Regardless, Blackburn maintained a smirk and a mischievous glint in his eye. "Or is it that you have nothing to fight for anymore?"

"Shut up," Ed repeated louder, pulling away from Blackburn.

He tried to create distance between them, but Blackburn had wrapped his fingers around Ed's ankle. He yanked Ed toward him, aiming his fist for the boy's face. Ed's eyes widened, but he twisted his body around just enough to ready his right fist. The two came closer and once at arm's length, Ed's fist made contact with Blackburn's stomach. He held nothing back from the punch, a part of him hoping he maybe cracked a rib or two.

The two stumbled backward, Blackburn grasping at his bruising stomach and resisting the cough that urged out of his throat. Chuckling, Blackburn straightened his back and looked to Ed with amusement. He looked pained, but he looked amused. "You're getting there."

Ed glared. The two fought for several minutes – Ed was not sure how long it was exactly. Blackburn had the upper hand, being taller, more experienced, and trained under the Maulers as he was. Nonetheless, Ed was persistent and not as phased as Blackburn by being hit. He had to do this, and Blackburn couldn't win this fight.

Much to Ed's dismay, Blackburn was winning this fight, and he was using psychological warfare just as much as physical advantages. He taunted Ed, about Riley, about Al, about himself, and it was all getting to Ed. A part of him knew Blackburn was merely trying to ruin his focus, but another part of him didn't care. He just wanted to hurt Blackburn. It was becoming less and less about a spar to enter the Rebellion, and instead, a fight to take revenge on all of things Blackburn had ever done in his life.

Ed exhausted himself in that fight with Blackburn, both physically and emotionally. With every swing, his anger came out. He would soon have none left to use as fuel.

Blackburn fared much better than the boy, but he was tiring. Where he had been hit was bruised, and where he hadn't been touched at all, he was sore. Ed had strength and power behind his attacks but no focus. It wasn't difficult to avoid them, but once you were hit, it affected you. Yet he pushed on, throwing insults left and right. Not throwing a single swing in return.

After many swings, kicks and petty insults, Ed found himself on the ground. Blackburn held a hand at his throat, another hand curled around Ed's shirt collar. He was not choking Ed, but Ed felt confined and that seemed just as uncomfortable to him. The two panted as they glared at one another. Blackburn began his antics once more. "You're alone, Elric. You have no one and you're trying desperately to find a shred of familiarity."

Ed couldn't stand it. "Shut up!" He yelled, jerking upward with an intent to ring Blackburn's neck.

Blackburn was quicker. Reinforcing his grip on the boy, he slammed Ed back to the ground immediately. The breath in Ed's lungs left him and as he tried to regain it, Blackburn snapped. "Face it! It's why you're going to ridiculous links to find a girl! Just give it up, Elric – you couldn't protect her the first time, what makes you think you can now?" He yelled down at the Elric boy.

Twisting his arm to press it against Blackburn's chest, Ed's adrenaline and rage kicked in and he shoved Blackburn off him, reversing their position. Now with his arm pressed against Blackburn's neck, Ed pushed against it without hesitation. "I said shut up!" He screamed, "You don't know anything!"

Slow clapping echoed in the area, and Ed looked toward the source in surprise. The woman standing there was not who Ed expected to see.

Her skin, like most of the people Ed had seen at the dojo, was tanned from working under the sun, but she still looked fairer than most. Her hair was a light blond and brushed against the tops of her shoulders. She was tall, almost as tall as Kevin Mauler.

And her blue eyes were just like Riley's. Ed stared at her for a moment, feeling lost. In her own way, this woman looked a lot like Riley, in fact.

"It's rude to stare," Blackburn spat from under Ed. The boy blinked at hearing the voice bring him away from his thoughts and with a light blush, he jumped off Blackburn and tore his gaze away from the woman in front of him.

Blackburn sat up, rubbing at his neck, as the woman made her way toward them. "It looks like you found some talent, Radley," She spoke, a small but soft smile directed at Ed.

Looking over his shoulder at her, Blackburn nodded. "Only effective with dumb luck or focus," He commented.

Ed glared at him for this, but the woman chuckled and placed a hand on Blackburn's shoulder. "Sometimes dumb luck trumps focus, don't you think? Go see Moa," She told him. Without argue, the man nodded and stood from the ground. He sent Ed one last glance before leaving for the infirmary.

"But… W-Wait, do I pass?" Ed asked, watching Blackburn walk away in a mixture of painful curiosity and regret. He had wanted to hurt the man a bit more before the fight ended. Blackburn owed him that, at least.

Looking down at him, the woman motioned toward him, "Stand up, Son," She replied. He turned his attention to her before scrambling to his feet. Even once he stood, she still towered over him. "You want this badly, do you?" She asked him, clasping her hands together in front of her.

Ed was quiet for a moment, before nodding. "I do," He answered, eying her with a bit of suspicion.

She smiled once more, and Ed felt a pain – it was Riley's smile all over again. He wanted to look away from her, but he found it was too difficult. She stepped closer to him and held out a hand for him to shake. "Clairessant Mauler, at your service. Call me Claire," She introduced.

His eyes widened a bit. "You're…?" That explained it. How he didn't figure it out, he wasn't sure, but now it made sense. She was Riley's mother. Taking her hand, Ed shook it gingerly, "I, uh, I'm… Edward Elric, Ma'am."

This was odd, even for him. He didn't think much of Riley's parents or what they were like and now, they had both introduced themselves to him in the same day. Claire seemed not to notice his surprise as she lowered her hand. "Welcome to the dojo, Mister Elric," She replied, nodding to him in both greeting and sign of approval. "Come with me – I'll show you to your room."

She had begun to walk off, but Ed was still processing her words. He made it. He was a member of the Rebellion. Running to catch up to Claire, he fell into pace at her side. "I… I actually have a place, not far from here," He told her, not believing a room at the dojo was necessary.

Claire shook her head. "Then you're luckier than most of our students. No matter – every member has a room. Look at it as a home away from home," She explained, entering one of the hallways that circled the training arena. Ed was quick to follow behind her, looking around at the marble flooring and white walls. It looked as dull as the hall leading to the medical room, but the windows brought in much more light in this section of the building.

Leading Ed to a door many feet down the hall, Claire stopped and turned to face him. "Here you are. Be respectful of your roommate, and your fellow members – and we won't have any problems," She told him, her tone sounding much like a warning mother.

Ed nodded, smiling a bit. "Yes, Ma'am." She returned the smile and nodded, before walking past him. He watched her leave, still stuck on the fact she looked so much like Riley. With the shake of his head, entered the room without much more thought.

The room was small, but large enough. There were two twin-sized beds, one in each far corner, pushed against the left and right walls. In between the two beds, against the far wall, were two narrow dressers. On other side of the door, a desk sat. The one on the right had a picture frame sitting in the corner in front of a lamp and the surface was covered in papers and letters, as well as a pencil caddy. The one on the left was bare, aside from a table lamp and a folder sitting on the middle of the desk.

A boy was already laying atop the bed to the right, reading a book. Upon hearing Ed enter, he looked over and smiled once he realized it was another member. He sat up from the bed, closing his book as he nodded to Ed. "So you're my new roommate, I take it?" He had a pointed chin and narrow eyes, and his black hair was in a pony-tail behind him, his hair resting just over his shoulders when wrapped together. His bangs swayed at the sides of his eyes, a bit messy.

Ed nodded, taking in the boy's appearance. He looked familiar, but Ed could not place it. "Yeah, I am. Edward Elric," He introduced, stepping further into the room and shutting the door behind him.

The boy leaned forward and reached his hand out to Ed. "Daisuke Kuroda," He replied in a casual tone. The two shook hands and then Daisuke leaned against the wall at his back. He watched Ed for a second before asking, "Who recruited you?"

"Blackburn," Ed replied.

He tried, though not hard, to resist the grumble that came with Blackburn's name, and Daisuke laughed at this. "Blackburn can be a bit brash sometimes, I admit," He commented as he placed his book onto the bed beside him. "I work with Moa in the infirmary so I see him a lot. He's always coming back from a job with some injury."

Ed nodded, sitting onto the edge of the left bed. If he was going to be a part of the dojo, he might as well befriend his roommate. It was the least he could do to fit in around the place after they accepted him. "How long have you been here?" He asked, realizing how familiar Daisuke seemed to sound when it came to Blackburn and Moa.

Daisuke shrugged. "A few years, I believe. I don't remember clearly anymore. My parents moved here from Japan, but I didn't really care for the new location – n-no offense," He stuttered, "It's not the scenery or the people – well some of the people…"

Chuckling a bit, Ed eased into a more relaxed position on the bed. "It's fine. I'm not from around here either," He replied, shaking his head.

"Yeah?" Daisuke blinked a few times in curiosity as he glanced to the door. "Kind of sad how the country's own natives aren't even fighting for their safety, anymore," He mumbled, shaking his head as well.

They were in a mutual silence for a few moments, when something came to Ed's mind. He wanted to see Riley, but he knew it wasn't happening anytime soon. Blackburn had this to hold over Ed's head until he decided to help him, and he wasn't sure how long that would take. Looking up toward Daisuke once more, Ed rested his elbows on his head. "Hey… The Maulers… Do they have a daughter?" He asked, his voice full of hesitation.

Daisuke looked toward him in confusion, a brow quirking at his roommate's question. For a moment, Ed grew fearful, but then Daisuke nodded. "Yeah… Riley, she's out on a job right now though," He replied, frowning a bit, "Why?"

The breath Ed had been holding for a long time escaped him. How ridiculous. Just hearing about her gave him some comfort. He gave half a grin in response, shaking his head. "No reason, I was just curious. I… Heard some people mention her," He replied. "How long has she been gone?"

Shrugging, Daisuke looked to the door in thought. "About a week, I think. It's understandable, she said she'd be traveling pretty far. She should be back in a few days." Ed was listening intently, and then Daisuke nodded to Ed's new desk, as though just remembering. As he lay back down on the bed to get comfortable for the night, he said, "By the way – you need to fill that folder out and get it to Moa tomorrow morning. She takes care of the paperwork around here. No worries, it's just some basic information."

Ed nodded, though there was little attention paid at that point. He filled out the paperwork, but it was all a blur that he did not focus on. After exhausting himself with Blackburn, he wanted nothing more than to sleep. He couldn't even work up the energy to be excited about Riley returning to the dojo. He had nothing left in his bones that day.

So that night, sleep was even more welcome than usual.

Be Responsible. Don't Flame and Drive! Rawr.

I'm sorry about the wait for this chapter, guys. (And the quality and length, to be honest.) Things haven't been so great on this end.

Last month, my mom was on a two week suspension at work on the hearsay of an employee who went to work drunk and accused my mom of things she did not do. We have bills to pay, and that put us back a lot. This week was her first week back to work, and three days ago, another employee told her father my mom called her a whore after she told the employee to "quit flirting with all these boys and get back to work."

She is on an indefinite suspension. We haven't heard from her employers and we believe she has lost her job. I can't work until I have a driver's license and a car, which is not something we can afford with all the bills we have, so I am useless. We have one paycheck to last us until she can find another job and all of said paycheck going to bills.

All of this does not physically stop me from writing, but it has stopped my desire to write. And without that, I can't write well.

I am not quitting this story, or any story. I am just letting you all know that this 'slump' in updates will continue for a while. I am positive that after some time, I will jump back into writing and have fun with it and be able to focus on it. I am positive that this stress will help that – I will look to writing as a good thing during this, eventually. But right now, I am not at that stage.

I am sorry about this, and I really hope you don't give up on this story.

- Chaos