A/N: Well everyone,after going through school exams, a death in the family, holiday responsibilities, being sick, and a major writer's block, I was finally able to finish chapter 7! Sorry it took so long. I promise I'm trying my hardest with this story. I've already started on chapter 8 so hopefully that one will move faster. Enjoy!

"Where am I?" Kerria said to herself. The last thing she remembered was the warehouse collapsing . Now, she could see nothing but blank, open space. "What is this place?" she murmured, looking around. Suddenly, she saw a shadow start to creep over her and she realized that something was behind her. Quickly, she whirled around and stared up at what seemed to be a large door. Kerria was fascinated by it and wondered to herself why a door was in the middle of nowhere. Involuntarily, she reached out and ran her fingers along the polished and deep-cut designs in the wood; Kerria noticed it was a strange design. Then, a thought suddenly hit her: a memory. It flashed through her mind for only an instant, but Kerria knew exactly what she had seen. "I…I've been here before." she breathed. "I've seen this door once before." Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the door vanished.

"Kerria? You awake?"

Kerria's eyes flew open, and she saw Kashi standing over her.

"Hey, welcome back!" Kashi smiled. "You had us all worried."

"What? She's awake?" Came Al's voice from behind Kashi. Kerria sat up slowly and looked around. The clean, white appearance of the room indicated that she was in some sort of hospital.

"Where am I?" She asked her friends. "The last thing I remember is…the warehouse collapsing…and then I fell…"

"Yeah, Al had to carry you out because you hurt your ankle." Kashi explained. "Then you really had us worried when you just passed out all of a sudden. We figured you were in pain, so Fuhrer Mustang decided to bring you here to the clinic and get your injury taken care of."

"Ah…" Kerria gave her an understanding nod and then glanced over at Al. "Thank you…for helping me out of there." she smiled.

"Y-Yeah…no problem."

In the meantime, Ed and Roy sat in Roy's office and discussed the warehouse event.

"So who do you think those people were?" Ed inquired. "Terrorists maybe?"

"Hm…maybe. But why would they be after Kerria. It still just doesn't make any sense." Roy pondered. "I'm afraid this one has me stumped, Fullmetal."

"I think it has all of us stumped. There's one thing that I thought of, though. Is there any way these people could be connected to the murders that were happening a while ago." Roy considered this thought for a moment; he had almost completely forgotten about the serial killer case he had been working on.

"You just may have a point, there. I'll look into it. But in the meantime," he took an envelope out of one of his desk drawers and handed it to Ed. "Deliver this to Kerria for me." Ed smirked slightly as he took the envelope, already knowing what it contained.

Ed walked down to the clinic where the others were and went inside. A smile crossed his face when he noticed Kerria sitting up in her bed. "Good, you're up." he said cheerfully, handing her the envelope he had in his hands. "Mustang just told me to give this to you, and judging by the look on his face, I'd say it's something good." Kerria thanked him and then began to carefully open the envelope. She took out the document inside and began to read it aloud to her friends, a big grin on her face.

"By the power vested in me as Fuhrer President, I, Roy Mustang. Hereby bestow upon Kerria Vagans the title of…The Storm Alchemist."

"Wow! 'The Storm Alchemist'! That has a nice ring to it!" Kashi exclaimed; Ed and Al nodded in agreement. It was a given that the name had come from the hurricane Kerria conjured in the warehouse basement. Kerria noticed something heavy was still in the envelope and she reached in to get it. Her fingers touched something hard and cold; she pulled the object out and immediately realized what it was: the silver pocket watch of a state alchemist. Kerria was so happy that tears almost came to her eyes. Finally, she had become a true state alchemist.

Kerria was ordered by Roy to stay off of her feet as much as possible until her ankle healed, so he arranged for her, Ed, and Al to get a ride home. Normally, they would walk home, but it was decided that the three of them, especially Kerria, would be kept under close watch and protection in case the terrorists were to show up again. Not only that, but it was impossible for them to walk when Kerria could hardly even stand.

"Thanks for the ride" Ed said to Lieutenant Havoc as the car pulled up to their house. Havoc gave him a nod and a "Take care." before driving off again.

"Well, we're finally home." Ed sighed.

"Yep…quite an adventure, huh?" Kerria laughed slightly as she started to limp her way up to the front door.

"Ah! Wait!" Al exclaimed, grabbing onto Kerria's shoulder. "Y-You shouldn't walk." Kerria started to assure him that she was fine, but before she could get the words out, she was suddenly scooped up into Al's arms and being carried up the walk to the house. To Ed's amusement, both she and Al blushed furiously as he carried her into the house and up to her room. Al made sure that Kerria was comfortable in her bed, then left the room, telling her to call him if she needed anything. Kerria nodded almost absentmindedly and sank underneath her covers. Meanwhile, no sooner had Al closed Kerria's door behind him then he was face-to-face with his brother and being teased non-stop.

"What? No kiss goodnight?" Ed smirked. "You really are hopeless, Al."

"Come on, Ed, it's not like that!" Al pouted.

Ed laughed and patted his brother on the shoulder. "I know, I know. I just couldn't resist."

"You're mean, Brother."

Kerria's ankle was healed by the end of the week due to her staying in bed and under the close watch of Ed and Al. Finally, she was able to go back to Central HQ with Ed and Al to begin her State Alchemist duties.

"Kerria!" Kashi exclaimed, practically pouncing on her friend when she walked in the door. "What took you so long!?"

"I…missed you too?" Kerria had almost forgotten how much energy Kashi had.

"I've been waiting and waiting for you to get back on your feet and get over here!" Kashi exclaimed as she ran over to her desk and pulled something out from under it. "Now, here! Go put this on!" she handed Kerria a box and shoved her into the bathroom across the hall before she could even say anything.

About five minutes later, Kerria peeked her head shyly into the room. "Kashi…this…looks weird." she whined.

"No, it doesn't! I'll bet it looks great!" Kashi assured her. "Now come in here so we can see!" Reluctantly, Kerria stepped into the room, revealing the outfit Kashi had chosen for her to wear as her military uniform. The outfit had a mostly blue color scheme and consisted of a dark blue and slightly tight-fitting hoodie, a very short, pleated, white skirt, loose, white socks, and dark blue sneakers. It was designed to look like a school uniform, and it went perfectly with the gloves Al had given her. "Oh, how cute!" Kashi squealed, very pleased with the choice she had made.

"I-It doesn't look weird?" Kerria blushed, pulling down on her skirt as if trying to make it seem longer. Ed and Al shook their heads and assured her that it looked nice. After hearing this, Kerria loosened up slightly and smiled.

Roy decided that the best thing for Kerria to do during the day was to help Kashi with her job of filing paperwork unless she was needed somewhere else. Kerria didn't mind this, of course; she enjoyed working with her friend. However, every chance she got, she would go down to the military library and search through the state alchemist-reserved books in hopes of finding some clues to her past.

"So, you been having any luck in the library?" Ed asked one afternoon during lunch. The four friends ate lunch together in the break room every day, and they used this time to chat with each other.

"No, none yet." Kerria said, shaking her head. "The military library sure has some interesting information, though."

"Yep, it sure does." Ed nodded.

"And the librarian girl was very nice."

"Oh, you mean Scheska?" Al joined in. "Yeah, she's great."

"Actually, it was because of us that she got this job in the military." Ed laughed. The Elric brothers could remember very clearly the time Scheska had helped them in their search for the Philosopher's Stone, and in return they got her a job in the military.

"Eh? Really? You sure do help a lot of people." Kerria smiled.

"Heh. I guess you could say that."

Ed ended up having to stay late to do extra work, so when it was time to go home, he told Al and Kerria to go ahead without him. "Don't bother waiting on me for dinner. I'll eat something here and get a ride home."

"Okay," Al nodded. "See you at home, Brother."

Kerria waved goodbye, and the two of them left for home. As they walked, Kerria noticed dark, ominous clouds start to form overhead. "Looks like a storm is coming."

"Yeah, it sure looks that way. Guess we better hurry home." Al stated. Kerria nodded in agreement and they broke into a run. However, the storm was too close and rain began to pour down before they could make it home. By the time they reached the house, the sky was pitch dark and filled with thunder and lightning.

"Well…we made it." Al laughed as he and Kerria stood dripping wet in the front hallway.

"Y-Yeah…more or less."

Kerria dried Al's hair with a towel as the two of them sat on the couch in the living room. They had just finished changing clothes up in their rooms and hanging the wet clothes by the front door to dry.

"There, all dry." Kerria smiled as she removed the towel from Al's head and gently patted his hair down in the places it was sticking up.

"Thanks," he grinned. Kerria blushed, and for a while after there was an awkward silence.

"Ahem…so, I guess we should get something to eat…it's pretty late." Kerria suggested, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, that's a good ide-"CRACK! BOOOOM! Al was suddenly cut off by a huge flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder. The lights flickered, then went off, and the house was filled with darkness. Kerria let out a small scream and grabbed onto Al's shirt sleeve in surprise. "Aw…the power's gone out. So much for dinner, I guess." Al sighed. He put his hand on Kerria's which was still grasping his sleeve. "You okay?" he asked, a troubled tone in his voice.

"Y-Yes!" Kerria answered and quickly let go, hoping it was too dark for him to see her blushing immensely. "L-Let me go find some candles." she stood up and tried to feel her way towards the closet in the Kitchen. She could hear the rain pouring vigorously outside, and every now and then she could hear a clap of thunder. Kerria couldn't believe how nervous she was. Al had always been a good friend of hers, in fact, he was one of her only friends. But now that she thought of it--she smiled and put a hand over her heart; it was still beating rapidly.--Her feelings for him really had gotten stronger. Kerria finally reached the closet and got out a few candles, then began to feel her way back to the living room. Suddenly, there was a huge flash of lightning and clap of thunder. The whole room seemed to explode before Kerria's eyes. Terrified, she screamed and fell over backwards. Kerria and the candles all crashed to the floor; she hit her head when she fell and began to black out.

"Kerria!" Al called. "Kerria, are you alright?"

"Al…" Kerria whispered. She could hear rumbles of thunder as the world slowly began to slip away.

Kerria slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times. "What…what happened?" she mumbled. Slowly, she sat up and looked around. She noticed that she was laying in her bed, and that the house was no longer pitch black, but just light enough to see, thanks to the lit candles scattered around the room and the rest of the house. Kerria concluded that Al must have lit them. She could hear the rain still pounding outside her bedroom window.

"Kerria?" Al's voice called from the doorway. Kerria turned to see him standing there with a folded blanket under his arm. "How are you feeling?" he asked concernedly as he walked over, sat down beside Kerria on her bed, and set down the blanket.

"I-I'm fine now. Thanks," Kerria smiled slightly.

"That's good," Al sighed with relief. "You had me worried for a minute there." The two of them sat and stared out the window, watching the lightning and listening to the thunder. Kerria suddenly started to shiver, partly from nervousness and partly because it was chilly in the house now that the power wasn't working. Al noticed her shaking and gazed at her with concern. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him. "Just a little cold is all."

"Ah, I see." He reached over and picked up the blanket, then spread it out and pulled it over the two of them. Kerria gasped slightly and looked up at him in surprise. "Is this better?" he asked softly, hugging her close.

"Y-Yes…much better." Kerria smiled and laid her head on his shoulder; she felt so safe and warm. Then, slowly, she began to drift off to sleep.

Kerria suddenly found herself surrounded by a curtain of darkness. No matter how hard she tried, she could see nothing but black.

"Hello?" she called out to the dark. Her words echoed from somewhere, but when they came back to her, the words seemed to drive themselves into her, causing her to cry out and double over in pain. "What…is this?" she asked no one in particular. Again, the words echoed, and pain was shot through her. Then, images began to flow through Kerria's mind: memories. It was just like the day she had seen Al's memories. However, these images were not Al's memories at all…they were hers. Everything seemed to pour into her head at once: happiness, pain, everything she had ever seen or felt. The images weren't very clear, but the emotions they held were penetrating and overwhelming. Kerria gripped her head with both hands and cried out in pain. "No…stop…please, stop it…STOP IT!"

Kerria gasped as she was jerked awake. Breathing heavily, she looked around and realized she was in her room. "It was…a dream?" Dream or not, she could remember everything she had seen, and she wondered if it was her memories from before she was found unconscious on the streets of Central…the memories she had lost. Suddenly, Kerria heard a noise downstairs; it was the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"I'm home," Ed called drowsily as he came in through the front door. "Man, that bastard Mustang had me working all damn night."

"Oh…it's Edward." Kerria said to herself. "Guess I better get up, then." But when she tried to move, she realized that something was pinning her down. "Eh?"

"What the…?" Ed glanced curiously at Al and Kerria's, now dry, clothes hanging out in the hallway. Many thoughts came to mind, but he quickly shook them away. "Um…Al? Kerria? You guys here?"

"Ah…Wh-What?" Kerria stammered, her face turning red. The thing that was keeping her from moving…was Al! They had apparently both dozed off, and Al was still sleeping soundly, his arms wrapped around Kerria's waist and his head resting on her side. Kerria's face grew even more red as she thought about how peaceful he looked. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Kerria? You in there?" Ed's voice called from the other side.

Kerria panicked and quickly answered, "Um…yes…ah, um…me and Alphonse are just…studying. Yeah, studying, so um…" as she frantically tried to think up excuses, she tried her hardest to get Al to wake up. "Alphonse," she whispered as she shook him. "Please wake up! Hurry!" But he just mumbled and stayed where he was.

"Studying, huh? Sounds great. Let me come help." Ed moved to turn the doorknob.

"NO! Uh…that's okay…really." Kerria insisted, trying to make sure that Ed didn't come into the room. Just then, Al's grip on Kerria tightened slightly and he mumbled something that only she could hear.

"Kerria…I…love you."

"Eh?" Kerria looked over at Al in surprise. Had he just said what she thought he did? At that moment, Al finally woke up and sat up in the bed, letting go of Kerria.

"Huh?" He said sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "What…" then his eyes met Kerria's and he blushed immensely as he realized they had fallen asleep together.

On the other side of the door, Ed was getting suspicious and decided that enough was enough. "Okay, that's it!" he called. "I'm coming in!"

"No!" Kerria and Al shouted at the same time, but before they could do anything, Ed had already burst through the door and was now staring at them wide-eyed. After a moment of awkward silence, Al and Kerria opened their mouths to try and explain, but Ed just turned around and left the room as fast as he could.

"Uh…I'll go make breakfast." he called over his shoulder as he headed downstairs.

Breakfast that morning was…uncomfortable, to say the least. Ed, Al, and Kerria all sat down to eat without saying a word to each other. Nobody knew what to say. Finally, Ed cleared his throat and both Al and Kerria turned to face him.

"I have just one thing to say…" He started, a serious tone in his voice. "And that is…" he looked over at Al and suddenly broke into a grin. "I'm so proud of you, Little Brother! To think you would grow up so fast!" Al and Kerria both blinked in shock and blushed. "So," Ed continued, turning to Kerria. "How was it?"

"B-Brother, no! It wasn't like that!" Al cried, waving his hands frantically. "I swear, nothing happened! We were just…" he quickly began to tell his brother the whole story of what happened, and explained that it was nothing but a "wrong place, wrong time" situation.

"Oh," Ed sighed when Al had finished. "I see. Well, that's a relief…I wasn't sure what I would do if you two had actually…"

"But nothing happened! I promise!" Al insisted, his face still red. While Ed began to give his little brother "the talk", Kerria was lost in her own thoughts. What exactly were those images she saw in her dream? Were they really the memories she had lost so long ago? Also, she couldn't get what Al had mumbled in his sleep out of her head. He had told her that he loved her…but he was asleep, so he couldn't have actually meant it…could he?

A/N: Hee hee...some fun stuff in this chapter...it was a bit choppy, I know but I had fun writing that last bit. lol! Hope you all look forward to the next chapter!