"You really don't have to come with me," Lenalee told Winry. "I don't want to put you in danger."

"But I'm already involved. Anyway, you need someone to show you around the city," argued Winry. "Besides, holy jewelry hunting! This will be fun!"

Lenalee sighed. Winry was a good friend, and she really did like her. But she got the feeling Winry Rockbell wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box. Especially when it came to identifying danger. However, she could see the sense in someone who knew Central was accompanying her. All of the exorcists had split up to search. They each chose an Amestrian native to guide them through the large city. Roy had gone with Kanda, Allen had partnered up with Riza, and Lavi and the Elrics had teamed up. Lenalee sort of wished one of the others had come with her. They'd been searching for an hour without any results, so Lenalee doubted they'd run into any enemies any time soon. She still hoped Winry could take care of herself in a fight.

"Winry! Good afternoon!" across the street, woman called to them from her garden. Two large suitcases rested at her feet.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Blair!" Winry waved back. She crossed the road and Lenalee followed. Winry smiled at two young girls playing with dolls under the shade of a big tree in the yard. "Hi Elicia! Hi Amanda!"

"Big sis!" Elicia grinned at Winry.

"I haven't seen you around here before," the woman smiled kindly at Lenalee.

"This is my friend, Lenalee Li. She's visiting from Xing," Winry told the story everyone had agreed on. "Lenalee, this is Mrs. Blair."

"Nice to meet you," the two women shook hands.

"Winry, I was wondering if you could do me a favour?" requested Mrs. Blair. "Gracia set up a play date between Elicia and Amanda. It was just for the morning, and she was supposed to come and pick her up an hour ago." Mrs. Blair checked her watch. "My husband and I planned a trip to the South to visit some relatives. Amanda and I have to meet him at the train station soon. Would it be too much trouble for you to take Elicia home?"

"Oh, not at all," Winry assured her. "Mrs. Hughes forgot about Elicia? That's not like her. But then again, she hasn't been acting like herself lately."

"Maes' death has been very hard on her. I can't even begin to imagine how much pain she must feel. Gracia's such a strong woman, but she must be feeling terrible. Honestly, what kind of villain would do that to Maes?" Mrs. Blair exhaled angrily.

A taxi drove up the street. It stopped at the curb in front of the house. The driver opened the trunk. Winry and Lenalee helped Mrs. Blair pile the suitcases in. After shutting the trunk, the Blairs got into the cab. Mrs. Blair rolled down her window to say good-bye.

"I hope you have fun," Winry told Mrs. Blair.

"We will. Thanks for the favour, Winry. It was nice to meet you, Lenalee. Please take some time to comfort Gracia when you see her," Mrs. Blair waved at them. "Good-bye!"

"Bye-bye 'Licia!" Amanda waved at her friend. Winry, Lenalee and Elicia all waved back. The taxi drove away.

"I hope you don't mind stopping by the Hughes' house," Winry told Lenalee as she took Elicia's hand. "Mr. Hughes died doing his duty."

"That's right. He was shot. Major Armstrong told me," recalled Lenalee.

"But this really isn't like Mrs. Hughes. She must be hurting more than I thought!" said Winry.

"Let's get her home, then," Lenalee smiled kindly at Elicia, and took her other hand. They walked until they reached the Hughes' residence. Lenalee thought that it had an aura of gloom and foreboding. However, Winry didn't seem to notice. They marched to the door, and Winry rang the doorbell.

"Something about this house…" Lenalee shuddered.

"What?" Winry turned towards her blankly. A minute later, they heard the sound of the lock turning. The door opened a crack. A pretty woman with blonde-brown hair peeked out of the door. She had a kind face, but there were heavy bags under her eyes. Her vacant stare indicated that something was amiss, but Winry and Lenalee decided to ignore it.

"Mrs. Hughes! Hi! We just came to drop off Elicia," Winry told the woman cheerfully. "Oh, you don't look so well. Are you alright?"

Mrs. Hughes gave Winry and Elicia uninterested looks. However, something seemed to click in her empty eyes when her gaze fell upon Lenalee. She stared for so long that Lenalee cleared her throat to hint her discomfort.

"Oh, this is my friend Lenalee Li," introduced Winry. "She's one of the Elrics' cousin's friends that I told you about. They're from Xing. Lenalee, this is Mrs. Hughes."

"How do you do," Lenalee smiled and extended a hand.

"You…" Mrs. Hughes stared at Lenalee's hand as if it were pure poison. She focused her eyes on the cross rose that was embroidered on Lenalee's uniform. "An… exorcist?"

"That's right…" Lenalee frowned. She distinctively remembered that Amestris wasn't familiar with the Dark religious Organization. But then how did Mrs. Hughes know about exorcists?

"Well… come in…" Mrs. Hughes finally stopped looking at Lenalee. She opened the door wider, beckoning them. Elicia started towards her mother. Lenalee thought that something wasn't right about this woman. Her joints creaked like rusty hinges. Her voice was sad and hollow. And she knew about exorcists, when no one else in the city did… Lenalee gasped. She didn't know how it happened, but she suddenly knew exactly what Mrs. Hughes was.

"No!" Lenalee cried, pulling Elicia back. She forcefully shoved her towards the driveway. The young girl screamed her displeasure. Winry started to say something, but Lenalee tackled her aside. Now, it was only her facing against the woman.

"Lenalee! What's your problem!" Winry demanded, rushing to herd Elicia back to safety.

"Stay back!" Lenalee commanded.

"Lenalee! You're acting like an idiot! Apologize to Mrs. Hughes!" Winry yelled angrily, rejoining her on the porch. "I am so sorry, Mrs. Hughes! Come on, Lenalee! Let's go!"

"You don't understand!" Lenalee turned around and confronted Winry. She pushed them further to back them up. "This woman's an akuma!"

"What are you talking about? Are you crazy? Seriously- oh." Winry suddenly saw what Lenalee was talking about. Her face suddenly changed from fury to horror. Lenalee heard the sound of creaking metal behind her. There was a ripping nose, like something tearing through skin and bone. Sounds of brick and wood crumbling could also be heard. Lenalee knew the akuma had cast aside its human disguise. Without a second thought, Lenalee tackled them and sent them flying towards the driveway. Neither protested.

"Yeah. The Millennium Earl is here," Lenalee turned back towards the grotesque shape.

Mrs. Hughes had toppled half the house in its transformation. The thin woman had taken the shape of a huge, black mechanic ball with cannons sticking out of its body. The ball displayed a face that faintly mirrored Mrs. Hughes. But instead of the kindly expression, it masked evil and hate. Lenalee's Innocence activated, and she propelled herself through the air. The akuma started shooting at her. Lenalee danced through them, unhurt.

"So that's an akuma!" gasped Winry.

"Winry, back up! Protect yourself and Elicia from the bullets!" Lenalee commanded.

"But what about you?" Winry stood rooted.

"I'll be fine! It's only Level One!" Lenalee gave the creature a mighty kick that sent it stumbling further into the house. Lenalee disappeared with it. Winry picked up Elicia and held her close. She was unsure what to do. Winry didn't want to run, but she didn't want to die either. She could see the house crashing as Lenalee and the Akuma continued their battle.

"Mrs. Hughes… an akuma…" Winry looked at Elicia, and suddenly realized what this meant. Elicia looked at her house with frightened eyes.

"Where's mommy? That big ball can't be her! What's happening to my house?" Elicia stared at Winry with large, innocent eyes. "Where's my mommy?"

"I'm sorry, Elicia…" Winry felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Your mommy's gone…"

"Gone? When will she back?"

"No, sweetie… she's not coming back… I'm so sorry…" Winry started crying. She buried her face in Elicia's curls. To her surprise, Elicia started patting her head.

"Don't cry, sis. Of course she'll be back! Won't she be back?" Elicia tugged at Winry's ponytail. "Where did mommy go?"

"She went somewhere far away…" Winry looked up. She felt a small hand on her cheek, wiping away her tears.

"Can we visit her?"

"No… I'm so sorry…" Winry sobbed harder. "She went somewhere we can't follow."

"Did mommy go visit daddy?" asked Elicia. Suddenly, a figure clad in black burst out of the roof. Winry saw with joy and relief that it was Lenalee. She twirled through the air, and landed gracefully beside them.

"Success. Mr. Hughes finally rests in peace," said Lenalee. Like Winry, she also correctly guessed whom Mrs. Hughes had tried to bring back. Lenalee looked curiously at Winry's tear-streaked face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Mommy and daddy are together now, Elicia." Winry's smile for Elicia was genuine. She tried to stop her crying, but it was futile. "They're alright. They're together now, Elicia."

--------------

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," grumbled Ed. "This is pointless. Let's go back."

"What's this? Giving up already?" Lavi gave Ed a friendly shove.

"We've been searching for an hour," Ed informed Lavi. "This is pointless."

"Aw, don't be so negative, Pipsqueak-kun! We'll find something!" encouraged Lavi. He narrowly dodged a metallic fist that flew at him with the force of a bullet. It shot past him, and hit the wall of the building they were walking beside. "Oy! What's the big idea?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Pipsqueak." Ed growled through gritted teeth. He pulled his arm back. A neat fist-sized imprint remained in the whitewashed wall. Ed stomped away. Lavi imagined if that had been his face, and shuddered.

"Brother's rather sensitive about his height," explained Al. He pulled out a piece of blue chalk, and drew a transmutation circle onto the wall. He quickly fixed it, and raced after his brother. Lavi whistled at the Elrics' impressiveness.

"Hey, Lavi!" Lavi turned around to see who had called his name. He saw Allen and Riza running towards his direction.

"Hi, Beansprout! Hi, Hawk-chan!" Lavi waved enthusiastically at them.

"It's Allen! A-llen," Allen corrected him.

" 'Hawk-chan'?" Riza narrowed her eyes at her new nickname. She looked around. "Where are the Elrics?"

"I called Ed a pipsqueak and he got mad so they left," shrugged Lavi.

"I'm not surprised. Ed's rather sensitive about his height," Riza told him.

"So Alu-chan told me. Did you guys find anything?" questioned Lavi.

"No. Maybe we should go back to headquarters?" suggested Allen.

"Let's find the Elrics first," suggested Lavi. The other agreed, and started walking towards the direction the Elrics disappeared off to.

--------------

"The nerve of that jerk!" grumbled Ed. He and Alphonse had reached military training grounds. "Call me short, will he? Make fun of my height? When I've never even said a thing about that stupid eye patch of his! Which he probably wears because he thinks it makes him look cool! And it doesn't!"

"Brother, I'm sure he didn't mean it! Calm down!" Alphonse urged Edward.

"Jerk!" growled Ed. He finally stopped to catch his breath.

"So what do you think of all of these exorcists?" questioned Al.

"They seem legitimate. They're okay, I guess. Except for that bastard Lavi," Edward was fuming.

"Edward, calm down…"

"Hey! Ed!" Roy and Kanda approached them.

"Found anything yet?" asked Ed.

"No. You?"

"No. So this is useless after all. Maybe they already got all of them," Ed exhaled. "I wonder how the others are doing?"

"Ah! Good afternoon, all! What a beautiful day it is!" A pleasant voice spoke behind them. Ed, Al, Roy and Kanda all turned towards its direction. It was the Fuhrer, accompanied by his secretary.

"Fuhrer King Bradley, sir!" Roy respectfully saluted him. Of course, he remembered the discussion they'd had earlier about the homunculi. However, even though he trusted Allen's judgement, he was still a little reluctant to admit that his Fuhrer was a homunculus.

"Our visitor from Xing is still here, I see. I hope you're enjoying Amestris!" The Fuhrer's smile was kind, but he and Juliet seemed to be keeping their distance away from the group.

Kanda rudely ignored him. His cold grey eyes bore into the Fuhrer, scrutinizing his face. Kanda also remembered the conversation, but unlike Roy, he had no qualms about accepting it. He drew his sword, and stepped towards the Fuhrer.

"Ohoho! So you are also a master of the sword?" the Fuhrer stepped back, deepening Kanda's suspicions.

"You are the homunculus named Pride." Kanda moved quickly. He moved right in front of the Fuhrer, and soon had him trapped against a wall. Kanda pressed his blade against the Fuhrer's throat. King Bradley seemed to weaken. He crashed down to his knees. He started gagging, and turned his face towards the ground. Something red and slimy came out of his mouth.

"Red Water!" gasped Ed, who saw the liquid from where he stood.

"Foul creature. Now you die." Kanda's voice held no sentiment. He had killed so many times, this was now only a job. The exorcist jabbed his weapon through the Fuhrer's neck. The blade came out through the other side. It was soaked with crimson liquid. The Fuhrer kept on gagging out the Red Water. Kanda twisted the sword around, gauging the hole deeper and deeper. However, the Fuhrer didn't die. He just kept on coughing.

"Why is he still alive?" demanded Edward.

"We are homunculi, not those inferior akuma," explained the secretary, who still kept her distance. "Your holy tools weaken us. It also prevents us from using our special powers. That is why Pride has been subdued so easily. Innocence alone won't kill us."

"I guess we'll have to keep killing you until you do!" Lavi, Allen and Riza raced in behind Juliet. They quickly surrounded her, and stepped towards her. The woman tried to use her aquatic powers. Her hand turned into liquid for a few seconds, but it changed back as the Innocence-wielders came closer.

"Sloth, is it?" Lavi gave her a pleasant smile. "Nice to meet you!"

He brought his hammer down on her neck. Because of its size, quite a hideous sound ensued. Sloth choked out some Red Water. Riza trained her gun on the homunculus, and fired. Instead of bullets, bright lights shot out and hit Sloth in the stomach. The lights seemed more effective than bullets. Both of the homunculi were now harmlessly crouching on the ground, regurgitating Red Water. Yet neither died.

"Greed told me how to kill the homunculi," Edward told Roy.

"Yeah?"

"When confronted with a part of the human they were transmuted from, they become weak. The effects of the Red Stones are nullified. When their Red Stones run out, they die," said Ed. "I guess Innocence also affects them in the same way. But it won't kill them. We have to kill them using alchemy."

"So it's up to the two of us, huh?" Roy pulled his gloves tighter. Now, he was all business.

"Do you notice how the secretary's form seems to keep converting to liquid?" Ed pointed at the secretary, who was still surrounded by the Innocence wielders. Indeed, Sloth did just that, but she always solidified just before her body dispersed. Ed grinned at Roy. "I'll take that one. You're useless against water."

Roy muttered something nasty about Ed's (lack of) height, and they rushed towards their opponents. Al decided to join his brother. Roy stopped before the Fuhrer, with his hand outstretched. Kanda stepped aside a little to give him some space.

"Mustang… don't…" the Fuhrer seemed quite pathetic. He turned his eyes pleadingly towards Roy. "Let me live… there's a promotion…"

"Do you honestly think that's all I care about?" Roy snapped his fingers.

The sparks flew towards the Fuhrer, quickly turning into fire and burning him. He screamed in agony, tearing at his hair. Kanda's sword remained implanted in his neck, but it suffered no damage. Roy burnt the Fuhrer down to the bone, but he formed out of the ashes again. Roy burnt him again. And again. And again. Pride kept on regenerating, but he was a little more incomplete each time. Roy knew he would have to die eventually. He concentrated on his task. Roy's eyes were as cold as the flames that burnt Pride were hot. And something like respect crept on Kanda's face as he watched.

Meanwhile, Ed and Al were having a little more trouble getting started. They stepped between the exorcists, confident about their task. They stood over Sloth, ready to finish her off. Then, she looked at them.

The Elrics gasped. The resemblance between Sloth and Tricia Elric was undeniable. In fact, she was what his mother might have looked like if she had become a career woman. Her hair, her eyes, her face, her voice… this had to be her. They looked at each other, and frowned. But it wasn't possible. Their mother died. This woman was a homunculus. And the ugly truth hit them.

They had created Sloth. Ed and Al had taken their mother, and created this monster from her. Ed struggled not to cry. How could such an abomination be borne from love? How could such innocent children shape such a hideous being? Al wished he could cry. He realized that sacrificing that ability, and many others, were futile. How could sacrificing so much yield nothing? How was it possible?

"It was you… who created… me." Sloth gasped out through a mouthful of blood and Red Water. "You loved her. You loved her enough to sacrifice all this, just to bring her back. Yet, in the end, you only conjured… me."

"Because it wasn't Equivalent Exchange," whispered Alphonse.

"Every life is only equal to one thing, and that thing is itself," added Edward. "The dead can never come back to life."

"And when they do… they're never the same again. They're not human anymore. In the end, both the dead and the one who brought them back regret their choice." Allen walked between the Elrics. He put his arms around them in understanding. "We've all made the same mistake."

"And now, I have to correct mine." Ed flexed his hands. Alphonse and Allen stepped back respectfully. Edward clapped his hands down on the ground. A large, pan-shaped thing appeared around him and Sloth. Ed clapped his hands again, and touched the homunculus. Her body changed colours, and her form softened. Sloth took on a semi-aquatic appearance. She shimmered and rippled, but maintained her form. Edward stepped out of the pan and took his place beside his brother.

"Hey, Mustang! Looks like you can help after all!" Ed called to the Colonel.

Roy had just cremated Pride again. By now, only a charred skeleton rose from the remains. It had lost the ability to scream, but its agony was obvious. It also lacked the muscle to pull it up, but somehow managed to move anyway. Its left eye still remained in its socket. A red Ouroborus glowed clearly upon it. Roy snapped his fingers again. When the flames died down, only the eye remained. It looked like a shiny white marble. It rolled over to Kanda's direction, and the Ouroborus seemed to be staring up at him. Kanda crushed it under his boot. When he lifted up his foot, it had been reduced to ashes. Both Roy and Kanda watched, waiting for something to happen. A large gust of wind blew. Kanda's long ponytail danced in response to it. The Fuhrer's ashes were stepped away. Roy faced the direction they blew off to, and sort of gave a half-salute. Then, he turned towards Edward.

"So I'm useless, huh?" Roy sneered. He pointed his arm towards the direction of the giant pan, and snapped his fingers. The bright sparks found their way to the bottom of the pot, and started burning. At first, nothing happened. Sloth was still weak and watery, but she seemed as alive as ever.

"Um… fire doesn't burn water," Lavi informed Ed.

"I know! I'm not stupid!" snapped Edward. "Just watch!" So everybody did. Nothing happened for quite a while. The heat of the pan rose. Then, as a result of the temperature, Sloth began to evaporate.

"Good plan, boys. Three down, four to go…" Sloth smiled wearily at the Elrics. Then, she looked at the rest of the group. "The homunculi, anyway."

"Where's the rest?" demanded Riza.

"In the other world… I will tell you what the Millennium Earl told us…as long as the four Innocences remain without owners, the portal between Munich and Central remain open. Only special humans may cross it. When the four Innocences find their rightful owners, the portal will allow all to pass through. When the exorcists cross over to fight the evil, it will close. And when the evil is defeated, all paths through the worlds will close permanently." Sloth's form was so faint, they could see right through her.

"How does the Earl know?" asked Roy.

"He knows many things," shrugged Sloth.

"Why are you telling us?" questioned Lavi.

"I don't care what happens to the Earl. In fact, I'd prefer it if he and his nasty little family were wiped out. I can't stand their superior attitude. He came to us after he discovered the portal, and our leader decided she liked him. Naturally, the rest of us supported her decision, but I don't suppose they like the Noahs any better." Now, only a pale outline of Sloth's features remained.

"What can you tell us about the Noahs?" asked Allen.

"Be careful. There are only four homunculi left, but there's definitely no shortage of akuma. And the Noahs… they are even stronger than the homunculi. Don't underestimate them…" Sloth was almost wiped out completely. Something that looked like her mouth turned up, and whispered her final words: "Good luck." Then, Sloth was gone.

"Guys! Guys! You'll never believe what just happened!" Winry came racing into the training grounds. Lenalee followed a few meters behind her, cradling a slumbering Elicia in her arms. "I just saw an akuma!"

"It was Mrs. Hughes," explained Lenalee. She gave them the details.

"Oh. So that means Maes…" Roy's eyes widened. "What did he… she… the akuma… Maes… what did it look like?" Lenalee described the akuma. "You really killed him?" Roy's voice was shaking. Riza walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I did what I was supposed to," Lenalee looked at him apologetically. "The akuma was neither Mr. Hughes, Mrs. Hughes, or even human."

"Maes died twice." Roy felt moisture at the corner of his eyes. Unable to control himself, he started crying, like at his friend's funeral. Roy rested his head on Riza's shoulder. She put her arms around him, and patted his back comfortingly.

"Mr. Mustang?" After a while, Roy felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He looked up, and saw Allen standing beside Riza. The white-haired boy had a sympathetic smile on his face, but Roy could see Allen had suffered pain much worse than this. "Akuma are machines of the Earl's. They are slaves… no, puppets, with no choice but to listen to him. When an exorcist kills an akuma, their souls are set free from their prison. Mr. Hughes is free now."

"Maes knew what was happening with Sloth, and maybe even Pride. He died for this cause… he died twice," said Riza. "It would be an insult to his memory if we mope around without seeing this through. Maes wouldn't want that. So cheer up, okay?" Riza smiled at Roy.

"Okay," Roy nodded. He wiped his tears, and turned to his friends. Thankfully, no one had said a word about his outburst. "There are two more Innocences, and three potential exorcists. We have to find them as soon as possible. Obviously, we weren't looking hard enough before-"

Roy was interrupted by a loud, musical sound. Something in one of Allen's pockets started to glow. Curiously, Allen pulled out the heart-shaped Innocence from his pocket. It shot out of his hand, and levitated towards Lenalee. It stopped a short distance before Elicia. Then, it plunged into her collar, point-first. Elicia's eyes shot open. The Innocence wasn't painful, but it was a shocking experience nonetheless. A heart-shaped figure glowed for a few seconds. Then, it reduced in size and brightness. Finally, only a pink, heart-shaped crystal showed on her collar.

"A little girl this young can't possibly…" gasped Roy.

"Oh, yes she can," Lenalee assured her.

"But… she's only five! Sure, the Dark Religious Organization won't let her fight for them?" demanded Riza.

"They will. They'll force her to." Lenalee hugged Elicia a little tighter. Memories of her own painful recruitment was brought back.

"Mommy went to visit daddy, didn't she? Can we go?" Elicia asked brightly.

"Oh, Elicia. I'm so sorry. Where she went… we can never follow." Lenalee realized how much she and Elicia were alike. The only difference was that Elicia didn't have a caring older sibling to help her through these troubled times. She then decided that she would protect Elicia.

"Why not? Did she leave me? Did mommy forget?" Now there was a note of panic in her voice.

"She'd never do that. She loved you," Edward told him. He, Alphonse and Allen had joined Lenalee.

"She couldn't help going away," added Alphonse.

"It wasn't her fault. When she left… she didn't know that she'd never seen you again." Winry was reminded how she lost her parents.

She shot Roy a pained look, only to see that he was crying again. Winry sighed. Perhaps her parents and Elicia's died in different ways, but they had many similarities. All of them were killed by ignorance. And their deaths were the results of a great way. By now, everybody in the training ground knew they were part of a war. And they knew that victory would not come easy, but they certainly could not afford to lose. Winry realized that, although she still had her grandmother, Elicia had no one. Winry decided she would take care of Elicia. She looked at Roy again, and saw that he was crying. Riza was embracing him. Roy looked like a sad, young soldier. Winry wondered if that was how he looked when he killed her parents. She knew he must have felt remorse for it. He certainly didn't mean it. Winry sighed again, and decided to let go of any anger she had towards him.

"Can I go bring her back?" inquired Elicia.

"No. I'm sorry." Allen's face was sad. "You can't. If you do, you'll regret it forever."