Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist.

---------------------
If fears what makes us decide
Our future journey
I'm not along for the ride
Cause I'm still learning
-Avril Lavigne, "Falling Down."
-----------------------

"You must be Edward and Alphonse Elric." The two boys nodded at the secretary. She was pretty with long, blonde hair and red eyes behind sensible glasses. She wore a black shirt over a blue one that showed only its collar, along with black pants and heels. She had a business-like aura, but she didn't seem so bad. "Here are the keys to your dorm room, one for each of you. You have room 54. Here are copies of the rules, your schedules, a receipt for your first month's payment, a letter from the principal, and a few other papers you'll find it useful to read."

Alphonse held back a sigh, knowing he would probably do the reading and have to relay everything to Ed. "Thanks," the brothers said as they took the paperwork. It was a daunting pile, but Edward barely glanced at it.

"I'm Miss Peko, should you need any help. Other students should prove to be of aid as well." The Elrics thanked her and left, talking to each other quietly. As she watched them leave, the secretary heard a door to the left of her desk open. A man walked out with black hair and dark eyes. He closed the door and turned to look at her.

"Well, things seem to be going well. Think you can handle this assignment, Hawkeye?" The disguised lieutenant did not bless him with a glance and began to study a paper on her desk.

"Yes sir." She said. Really, if she could handle him and the others at Eastern HQ, a bunch of kids was no problem.

"And you'll keep our little experiment safe?"

"Yes sir," was the calm reply. It would have been a shock to hear anything different from her. As he turned to leave, her voice interrupted him again. "Colonel..."

"Yes Hawkeye?"

"…It's nothing sir." She would not question his orders, but she didn't feel right. This was risky and dangerous…not a smart idea. Having the military spying around certainly didn't help.

Roy Mustang looked at her a moment longer, trying to figure out if she would say more. When she didn't, he turned and left the room, leaving the door open.

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

"Brother, why can't you just ask for help?"

"This school is crazy! Room 55 is beside 67 and 432! They can't count!"

"Brother!" Why was Ed like this? He wouldn't stop and ask anyone for help, even though he had gotten Al and himself helplessly lost. Alphonse had had enough of this, and took matters into his own hands. He spotted a girl walking past them and called out to her.

"Uh…miss; do you know where room 54 is? I and my brother are a bit lost." The girl looked back, cocking her head. She had medium-length red hair that she had braided quickly. Her skin was tanned ever so lightly from days in the sun. Her pants also suggested that she spent a lot of time outdoors from the hole in the right knee, revealing a bandage. Her hazel eyes looked them over calmly before she smiled. "Yeah, I could help you find it. You guys just starting this year?"

"Yeah, so what?" Edward noticed only one thing about this stranger…she was about a head taller than he was.

"Sorry, didn't mean anything by it. C'mon, follow me now, duckies." Edward raised an eyebrow at the mention of 'duckies,' but said nothing. They followed her to a stairwell. "I'm Monica; it's my second year here. I'm in the Intermediate class."

"Intermediate class?"

Monica smiled. "Yeah, there are three classes here. For the most part, first-years are in Beginner classes, second-years and in Intermediate classes, and third-years are in Advanced classes. Of course, rarely a first-year will have exceptional skill and be put in a higher class, but that's pretty much once in a lifetime. More commonly, people are held back a year for not doing well enough. The standards are high...higher than normal ones anyways. God, with my huge explanation, I never asked your names!" She turned a sharp left down a hallways lined with doors. The interior was fancy for a school, but not too flashy.

"I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is my older brother Edward." Monica raised her eyebrow when Al said Ed was the eldest, but did not tempt The Wrath of Shrimp.

"Well, the Elrics, huh?"

Edward beamed. "So you've heard of us!"

"Not until now. I was just thinking of how weird it must be to have the initials EE." Alphonse grinned wickedly.

"EE stand for 'Eats Everything.'"

"AL!" Edward shrieked; appalled at the mockery his own brother made of him. Monica beamed with laughter.

"Here you are, room 54." Edward stepped forward and opened the room. Inside was a bunk bed pushed against the right wall. A desk was on the other side of the room, completely bare. There was a chest of drawers on the left wall for storage, with a mirror over it. Near the desk was a window that showed the courtyard. Other than that, the room was quite small. "Eat your hearts out," she told them sarcastically.

Ed and Al pushed their stuff inside. "Hey, wanna' take the grand tour? My niece is coming today…well one of them. I'll show all three of you around."

"That'd be great," Alphonse said quickly before his older brother could refuse. The girl nodded and checked her wrist…before realizing she wasn't wearing a watch. She simply stared at her bare wrist for a second, as if willing a watch to appear. When it didn't, she reached into her pocket and grabbed one out.

"I knew I forgot something this morning," she muttered. It was a black watch with golden hands and the flamel on the face. "Okay, I'll meet you at about 3:00, that's in about an hour, out by the entrance. They'll have a welcoming dinner at about 5:45 or so, giving us plenty of time." The brothers (when I say brothers, I mean Al for the both of them) thanked the girl and went to unpacking their things.

----------

Monica immediately left the Elrics and went to the back of the school. There, watching the sky dreamily, was a younger girl. She was very scrawny and seemed quiet. She had flyaway black hair, long and unrestrained. Her cobalt eyes did not look directly at things, but saw them for the truth. She had on a black shirt with a silver symbol showing a serpent that ate its own tail with a cross behind it. She also wore black pants with a silver chain hanging from the pocket, not unlike the chain of a state alchemist. Her skin was very pale, and everything about her seemed to be shy.

"Jaila! Jai! Hey!" Monica finally got the girl's attention. Her face lit up happily.

"Aunt Moni!" She cried happily, flinging her arms around the older girl and hugging her. Monica hugged her back, ignoring the oddities surrounding her niece. First to fall into question had to be the small ears sprouting from her head, as black as night. Then there was the black tail that moved to and fro in a steady rhythm. These were not normal, but Monica did not question them.

Ears and a tail were normal for a humanoid chimera made from a young girl and a cat.

"He's not here, is he?" Jaila asks, looking around. Her eyes begin to dart feverishly and her body shakes subtly. She looks like a rabbit cornered by baying hounds.

Monica smoothes Jaila's hair comfortingly, much like a mother would her daughter. "No, no. He's not here, I promise." The girl smiles and pushes away gently, walking off. Jaila follows eagerly, as a puppy follows its mother. "I've found a couple of boys I think you ought to meet. I know this school will be hard on you, but I trust them." Monica was a good judge of character and it was unusual for her not to trust the older girl, but she is still hesitant in her mind. She didn't trust strangers, but the trust for Monica prevailed.

"At least your dad pulled for you to come here, huh? You got lucky. Plus his superior pulling those strings. All for a bunch of complicated papers! Not to mention you get to bunk with me! Besides, I have a surprise for you. I snuck Neko in the other day!"

"Neko? Really?" Her face lit up. Neko was Jaila's kitten, and her best friend. Her fur was fluffy black with fawn patches and her eyes a glimmering jade.

"Yep!"

The two talked quietly at the front entrance, watching others arrive. Many gave them a wide berth when they glanced at Jaila. The chimera apologized, but Monica ignored it, saying what dicks they all were.

"Hey, Monica!" She turned around and waved. "Ed, Al, hey! Over here!" The two boys ran to meet her, but then stopped short, staring at Jaila. Had they been normal people, they might have judged her right there as a monster, but they had seen monsters. "So, this is your niece?"

Monica nodded. "Yep, you got that right. This is Jaila Fuery, my niece. Jai, this is Edward and Alphonse Elric. They're just starting too, only I think they look a little less intimidated by it all!" Said by anyone else it would have been offensive, but it seemed only a fact.

"I'M the OLDER brother!" Edward said straight off, golden eyes daring anyone to dispute it. None did.

"Well, come on then, let's start the tour." Monica turned to the building, but did not move forward. "This is the start of the rest of your lives. Enjoy it."

------------
Bet it doesn't take a genius to figure out Jaila's father. Some of you may find it odd, but it'll make sense later, promise. Thanks to all who reviewed this story, I'm happy about the positive feedback.