Between all the things that have been going on around here, I've forgotten to update earlier. I's sorry.

But here it is now!

The Lovely Daaaarlings!

IceFire Dragon Alchemist73: Haha, she definitely pushes it doesn't she? But no worries, all will be well soon!

Kyte: Yay, I pull heartstrings. X3

xXKaminari-TsubasaXx: He's like a cockroach; never gives up.

Katsekala: Thank you! Kimblee's definitely a downer.

Bloody Bonez Alchemist XD: Poor Al. Dx You'll see what happens next now!

Yumixjaganshi: Lawlz, I'm sitting here imagining someone chanting to my story. I'm flattered~ Yay for strange looks!

Rainbowdragongirl101:
(Chapter 24) – Haha! I loved that scene. That's from the ever awesome Kaijukote.
(Chapter 38) – Mwahahaha, oh how evil I am! Thanks, I'm glad you like Riley! xD

AirMage99: He should, shouldn't he? And thank you! I'm glad you like it.

Want to Be a Lovely Daaaarling? Review! Bwahaha.

If I owned FullMetal Alchemist, Jean Havoc would have a special lady friend. Wink, Wink.
But alas. I'm just a teenage writer.

Chapter Thirty-Nine:
Be Careful What You Wish For.

It… It couldn't be.

There was a dead silence in the air. Hannah could tell what was going on. She tried not to go into hysterics but it was getting harder and harder. As for me, I was on my hands and knees, staring at Al in desperation. He couldn't be… We came all this way… They came all this way to get their bodies back… And it was all going to be ruined because of Kimblee? Black was covering Al's legs and the lump in my throat was making it harder to breath. I couldn't let this happen. But how could I not?

"You bastard!"

Scar held Kimblee up by his collar, more enraged than I'd ever seen him. Kimblee was still smug… So damn smug…

Weakly, Kimblee began speaking. "My work is intricate. Only an explosives expert like myself can defuse it. But you'll have to find somebody else because I'm about to retire…," He was quieted when he coughed up blood. Smirking, he said, "No need to hurry… You still have plenty of time left. I've made his armor react slowly with the oxygen in the air, gradually spreading until he's completely black. I want him to have time to think about his death and reflect on his meaningless efforts of…"

And that was it.

Scar threw his body back to the ground and I looked down, racking my brain for any possible fix. I may have used sulfur, but I only knew a little about explosives. Even if I knew enough… My hands would probably kill him in a heartbeat. Thinking this only made me feel worse. Not only was I too stupid to help him, I was too useless to. Al began to panic and stepped back, only to have his foot collapse under the weight. He fell to the ground and I flinched at the sound of it. "…I'm scared," Was all he said afterward.

Damn it! I couldn't do anything! Why was I so helpless at the most important times? "Stay still, Alphonse Elric." I looked over to see Scar bend down beside Al. "I'm not sure what's happening with your body but we don't want to make it any worse. Try not to exert yourself."

He moved to touch Al, but a familiar voice stopped him. "I wouldn't touch him if I were you, Scarred Man."

Our eyes widened as we looked over to Lust. "Just leave us alone," Al shakily said. I began to stand, knowing that at least I could fight her off.

Lust ignored Al as she looked at Scar. "That arm's only good for destroying things, not at remaking them. Now if Edward were here, he'd be able to transmute his brother into some other substance, disrupting Kimblee's alchemy and stopping this bomb," She explained as she walked toward us.

Hannah looked to me and I knew she wondered why I couldn't. "…These damn hands…," I hissed, clenching the rock ground in anger.

"You think that would work? Altering his composition?" Scar asked in surprise.

Lust grabbed Scar's hand. "Give up. He's a lost cause. You have to think of yourself now, and your own goal of forging the stone," She said, smirking slightly.

It was quiet for a moment, and Scar yanked away from Lust's grip. "Just as I thought. You aren't the woman my brother loved. She would never say something so heartless and cold," He growled out.

Scar began to put on a cloak as he bent beside Al. Hannah kneeled next to me, helping me sit up when she noticed I was going weak in the arm. "I'm sorry I don't live up to your expectations," Lust spat.

"I never expected you to. You could never be like her," He replied simply.

Lust showed a slight smile. "But if I had the stone, I'd be able to become her."

Growing tired of the conversation, Scar shook his head. "No, you wouldn't. The dead can never come back to life."

Frowning, Lust said nothing in return as Scar placed his hand on Al's armor. Hannah and I leaned forward in worry. "What are you going to do to him?" Lust asked with widened eyes. When he said nothing, she stepped forward angrily, "Tell me, damn it!"

"Stay back!" He demanded, holding up a silver locket. "Just shut your mouth and watch," He growled out, glaring at her. Once she quieted down, he tied the locket to Al's armor and placed his hand back on Al. Knowing what we were thinking, he glanced back at me quietly. I didn't know what he was planning, but I felt a mutual connection with him. He had the opportunity to see my parents at their best and he was returning their favor. How, I wasn't sure. This was for his brother, and the Mauler army. For her. Seeing the uncertain, yet hopeful look in his eye, I made no move to protest to what he was going to do, even though I probably should have.

He looked back to Al and clenched, gritting his teeth as the markings on his arm glowed a bright red. He let out a yell as he continued, the light getting brighter. My eyes widened when I realized what he was thinking. Was he… His arm sunk into Al's armor and he began pulling back. His agony-filled scream pierced the air as his arm was ripped from him. The light died down to show markings all along Al as Scar panted. "Now what have you done?" Lust asked him as he stood.

"That arm… Was given to me by my brother. He trapped the souls of the dying Ishbalins inside it by turning his own body into a transmutation circle," Scar explained.

Lust was quick to reply. "He did that for good reason, to create a Philosopher's Stone inside himself, which he gave to you." Her eyes widened in realization. "So that means…"

"I attached that locket to his armor so you can't get anywhere near him. You can only stand back and watch," He stated.

The two began to walk off, Lust protesting about his actions. Hannah stood, helping me as well, and we made our way over to Al. "W-What's going on? What did he do?" Hannah asked, looking to us both in panic.

Looking at Al, I sighed. "…He's turning Al into a Philosopher's Stone," I mumbled out, "It was the only way to save him…"

Surprise was clear on her face. Suddenly the numbness of the situation began wearing off. My arm began to sting even worse than it did before because of my fight with Kimblee. I began to heave my breaths in and out, the pain overtaking my concentration. My sight turned blurry and I let myself fall completely to the ground, panting as I tried to forget the pain. "Riley!" Hannah shouted, reaching forward to make sure I was even alive.

"Sorry… I'm leaving you with two cripples," I panted out. I attempted to smirk but I only gritted my teeth, holding my arm tightly. Then I realized something. Why it took so long, I don't know. Eyes widened, I jumped up but stumbled around a bit. Hannah quickly grabbed me, and I winced, "We have to get out of here!"

Hannah was even more confused than before. "What? Why?"

Glancing to Al, I frowned. "Scar… He has to go through with his original plan if we expect this to save Al. If he finishes that circle with us still in Lior, we'll be apart of the stone," I panted out. Hannah gasped in surprise and I said, "Al… No matter what, I'm coming back to make sure you're okay, alright? Just… Just wait."

"You should hurry," Al mumbled out. As much as it hurt me, I nodded and walked as quickly as I could, Hannah helping me.

At least ten minutes passed before we reached the edge of Lior. I began to fall and Hannah jerked around toward me. "Riley…!"

I winced at the impact but said nothing. Hannah quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, just far enough so that I wasn't in Lior anymore. I ignored the pain of the hard ground pushing against my hurt shoulder, but I ignored it. I turned to my back and looked up, just as the entire town was engulfed in red.

Hannah and I were almost blinded by the sight. Bright, large red light shot into the air, all throughout the town. It was coming closer and closer and, with what strength I had left, I clapped and placed my hands on the ground around us.

. . .

Minutes of silence passed as I was engulfed in total darkness. I thought I had passed out, until I heard Hannah groaning from beside me. Suddenly light broke through as Hannah jerked upward, throwing the sand off us. I smirked slightly, "Guess I couldn't protect us from everything."

Hannah stared down at me for a few moments and grinned, "We-We're alive."

"But is Al…?" I grumbled, my smirk fading. Hannah's eyes widened, remembering this. Standing up quickly, she grabbed my good arm and pulled me to my feet. Of course I stumbled a bit and she threw my around her shoulder. I winced, mumbling about how she could be a bit more gentle as she looked around. The entire town was gone. Everything – buildings, plants, people. All of it was gone.

Even Scar…

She began to panic, looking every which way. "I don't see him! It was for nothing! Where could he be?"

"Hannah…," I mumbled out. She ignored me as she continued rambling. "Hannah!" She began to hyperventilate at this point and I sighed, irritated. "H-Han…," I began coughing and she shut up, looking down at me in worry. Once I had my breath back, I pointed to our far left and mumbled out, "He's right there, idiot…"

Falling silent, Hannah looked in the direction I was pointing. Sure enough, Al stood in the distance, as metal-y as ever. Not only was Al over there, but Ed stood in front of him. The relief quickly set it when I realized that Scar could've killed Ed. But they were both alive. That was all that mattered. Hannah and I limped our way over as Lust appeared near them. They exchanged a few words, until Lust walked away. It was then Al noticed us. "Hannah! Riley! You're okay!" He shouted, waving over at us.

Ed looked over and his eyes widened at the sight. I could only give a lopsided grin and a small wave, but Hannah decided to wave her arm high into the air. Because of this, my own arm slipped of her shoulder and I fell to the ground. I caught myself with my hand, but yelped when I realized it was my right hand. From the sudden pressure, it collapsed so I quickly held myself up with my left arm. Eyes tightly closed, I growled from the pain that shot through my entire arm, which began leaking to my chest as well. "Riley!" Ed shouted loudly in concern before darting over.

Al followed behind and Hannah gasped, twirling back over to me. "Oh God, I'm so sorry!"

Glancing up at her, I glared, pouting as I shouted, "You're trying to get rid of me, you and Winry both!"

She continued apologizing as she held me back up. By the time I got to my knees, Ed was in front of me with a hard glare on his face. With hands on my shoulders, he turned me to look at him. I hissed at this but he ignored it. "What happened? Who did this?" He growled out as Al finally reached us as well.

At first I glanced to Hannah, but then I shared a nervous look with Al. "It's a really long story and I doubt you want to-"

"Every word," He interrupted.

I sighed as Hannah put my arm back around her shoulders, causing Ed to let go. "Well… Al and I got into a fight with Kimblee shortly after you left… That kind of messed up my arm again, and then I got into another fight with him when we got here," I grumbled out, glancing away.

"Damn it, Riley," Ed grumbled before taking Hannah's place under my arm. She thanked him and began rubbing her tired neck.

Quickly, I pulled away from him, stuttering as I did. "I-I can walk on my own, really…," I grumbled out, holding my arm as I tried standing. I couldn't let him help. Not after what I had decided not too long ago.

But I began to fall, and Ed quickly caught me. Throwing my arm over his shoulder, he furrowed his brows. "What's gotten into you?" I only sighed, shaking my head as we set off away from Lior.

. . .

"You're really heavy after two hours, you know," Ed grunted out.

He had been carrying me on his back since we left what used to be Lior. Hannah needed a break from helping me, and I didn't think it would be safe for me to touch Al, what with my hands. So I was stuck on Ed. I didn't want to be now that I realized I felt something for him, but if Hannah had to walk me any more, she'd collapse. Normally I would've skinned him for saying what he did but I didn't even have the energy to glare. So I continued resting my head on his shoulder as I lazily replied, "You think I want to have to sit on the back of a guy so short I'm not even two feet from the ground?"

Ed twitched as he spat out, "I see you're back to normal." Hopefully it'd stay that way, too.

Sighing, I closed my eyes. "Sorry about this, though. Well, sorry about everything, really, but especially this… I know it's a burden," I said under my breath, not wanting Hannah or Al to hear me.

I could feel him glance back at me and heard him let out a long sigh. "Don't start beating yourself up, Riley. This wasn't your fault, it was Kimblee's… If he was still alive, I'd probably kill him myself," He grumbled out.

Grinning, I felt myself relax after hearing this. I felt as thought my actions were validated, like I wasn't becoming some sick monster. It was nice. Apparently I was relaxed more than I thought, because I soon felt myself falling asleep.

. . .With Ed. . .
(Well, Technically From Ed Because He's Being Dramatically Overprotective.)

"Riley, you have to stay awake!" Ed shouted, looking at her from over his shoulder.

The girl groaned, flinching slightly as her eyes opened a bit. "Trying…," Was all she could mutter out, only taking Ed's worry to more extreme levels. It had been a few hours since Riley had first fell asleep on Ed's back, and with every hour her health seemed to deteriorate dramatically. She couldn't even produce complete sentences anymore. Ed was surprised she was still breathing. Her arm had stopped bleeding finally, but he could feel blood stains on his shoulder and chest from where her arm hung.

Riley Mauler was, to put it simply, dying. And that terrified Ed.

He was moving as fast as he could, despite his fatigue. Al was right behind him and Hannah slowly walked behind them both, exhausted. But he didn't care about how far behind Hannah was. All he knew was that Riley needed medical care as soon as possible and the longer it took them to get to the Rockbells, the worse Riley got. "Hang in there, Riley, just like last time… I'm not losing you," He thought to himself as he pushed himself further.

Ed jerked to a stop and looked back to the two with him. "Al, Hannah, hide," He said before turning quickly to the woods on his left.

He ran to the dirt and, as carefully as he could, bent down. Clapping, he placed his hands on the dirt as the others ran to his side. "What's wrong?" Al asked, confused as to what his brother was doing.

"Just get down and stay quiet," He said, throwing the blanket he transmuted over Hannah and Al. The two sat under the blanket quietly, still confused, as Ed leaned against a tree. He peered around it to see Breda and Falman walking down the rocky path, complaining about betraying Ed and Al and how they had to do it to keep Mustang out of trouble. "The Colonel… Well if he has to go down for this, then so be it," He muttered under his breath. He glanced to Riley, knowing that if she were actually aware of her surroundings, she probably would've hit him for that comment. She hated it when he badmouthed the Colonel. She usually hid her annoyance about it, but Ed wasn't stupid. He could tell.

Hearing bushes move behind him, Ed's eyes widened as he looked over his shoulder. Havoc and Fuery stood there, Havoc pointing his gun at Ed with a frown. The boy quickly stood, turning to face the two so that Riley wasn't in the line of fire if Havoc did in fact shoot. "Hey Ed, it's nice to see you again…," Fuery said, a nervous grin on his face.

"Huh… Well you have to give the Colonel his credit. He told us you'd take this old shortcut to get back home," Havoc said, gun still on Ed. A few seconds passed and he smiled slightly, lowering his gun. "Look. No hard feelings?"

Ed was quick to respond with, "Not going."

Fuery's brows furrowed. "But Ed, please…"

"I'm not a military dog anymore," He said bitterly. He knew he should've put Riley down first, but he sure didn't like the idea of it. As long as she was on his back or in between Hannah and Al, she'd be fine. But not on the ground where she could get hurt. Deciding this, he charged at Havoc. His hand grasped over the gun after Havoc aimed it back at him. "Go ahead and shoot. When that bullet ricochets off my hand, who do you think gets hurt?" He asked.

After a few more silent seconds, the blanket was suddenly thrown into the air when Al jumped up. "Stop, please!"

Out of shock, Havoc jumped and pulled the trigger on instinct. The impact pushed him and Ed both backwards. He began to catch himself but when he felt the weight of Riley slide off him, his eyes widened. With feet firm on the ground, he twisted around and caught the still out-cold Riley. Holding her up with his arm, he looked to Fuery and Havoc to see the damage done. Havoc's hand bled, while Fuery held his eye in pain. "I'm sorry, but I had to do it," Ed told them before picking Riley up in his arms and taking off. "Come on you two!" He shouted to Hannah and Al, who both apologized to the officers before following.

They reached the rocky path, where Breda and Falman stopped them. Sighing, Ed gently placed Riley down and ran at them, clapping his hands. Within seconds, their uniforms ballooned outwards, leaving them bouncing up and down. Ed ran back to Riley, and saw her eyes just barely open. She looked paler than he'd ever seen her, and her breaths were long and heavy. "…It's okay," He muttered to her before grabbing her by the arms. She managed a hiss as he pulled her arms over him. "I'm sorry," He apologized under his breath, putting her on his back before he ran off. Hannah and Al shared a glance and quickly followed.

They ran down the path and Ed and Al landed on the same rock. Quickly, Ed jumped away. "Brother?" Al asked in surprise.

"I told you Al, who knows what could happen if we touch each other. Especially when I'm holding Riley, too, that would just make whatever reaction that would happen worse," He explained. Before anyone could reply, rocks shot up. The three looked over to see several soldiers coming at them. Out of instinct, Ed clapped and dust rose. With it, came a large rock ball. Hannah screamed, trying to balance herself on the top while Ed tried making sure Riley didn't fall off him.

Maybe that wasn't a good idea.

The ball sped down the path, knocking soldiers away like bowling pins. It was working, until a snap sounded. Instantly after, flames exploded the ball into millions of pieces. Ed began nearing the ground, along with Hannah and Al. He moved his hands to his back, gripping onto Riley as tight as he could. Seconds later, Ed slammed into the ground, Riley on top of him. Hannah fell on her butt, groaning as she rubbed it. The three coughed from the dust as Roy's voice reached their ears. "You know, running makes you look guilty."

They looked back around to see Roy ready to snap. Winry and Sheska were handcuffed and attached to Riza. "Ed! Al!" Winry shouted.

"Winry?" Ed asked in surprise before he glared up at Roy. "We're running because we knew you'd come after us. Isn't that what every dog does when it's chased?"

Roy was quick to reply with, "Yes, but a trained dog never defies orders from an owner."

"Then I'm a stray," Ed retorted.

"Really?" Roy asked, "Then maybe we should put you down."

Finally, Riza stepped forward. She needed to stop this. "Edward, just come with us, okay? We're not out to hurt you, we just want to get to the bottom of what happened in Lior."

Footsteps sounded behind them and the three looked back to see Falman aiming his gun. When he heard a small gasp of pain, Ed looked down to Riley and noticed her injured arm had been scratched up from the fall. "She's just getting worse…" Frowning, Ed didn't look to any of the officers as he said, "I'll never go back there. You'll have to kill me first."

"So, what? You're going to shirk off responsibilities?" Roy asked.

Ed glared, "Say what you want. I'm in control now!" He quickly clapped his hands, placing them on the rocks by the stream. Water shot high into the air and once it landed, soaked Mustang, even his gloves. "Try making sparks now!" He looked to Al and nodded at him and Hannah to follow. Turning, Ed took off. Al and Hannah weren't far behind. They continued running and Mustang combined his abilities with Armstrong. Soon, several pieces of rock were shooting at them at incredible speed.

Ed turned to face Riley away from it as he hid Hannah behind him as well. Before the rocks could reach him, Al jumped in front of him. The rocks hit his armor, but only fell to the ground afterwards. "I create a large spear with my fists and send it to the target," Armstrong started.

Smirking, Roy finished with, "And I use fire to heat the inside and burst the spear into a hundred little daggers."

With a bitter smirk of his own, Ed replied, "I bet that was pretty useful in Ishbal!"

Roy frowned. A nerve struck, he used another match and sent flames at a rock boulder behind them. Winry's eyes widened as the rock began falling toward the four. Al held his arms up, trying to protect Ed and Hannah as Ed quickly moved Riley to his front. Once the dust cleared, the brothers and Hannah looked around to see that a barrier of rocks was now preventing them from going anywhere away from Roy. "He's got us trapped," Hannah murmured out.

Winry sighed in relief, but Roy began advancing on them all. He was quick to notice Riley's state, along with the exhaustion clear on Hannah's face. Both factors only made matters more serious. He continued walking toward them. Ed glared at Roy, ready to do whatever he needed to get away.

"STOP!"

Roy did. Winry fell to her knees, eyes closed from the worry. "Please, just stop…"

Sighing, Roy never looked back at the girl. Ed and Al were surprised to say the least at Winry's outburst. "I once executed two people. Two doctors. 'There are no sides, just patients.' That's what they said as they treated our fallen enemies in Ishbal. But the people they were healing would just rise up again and fight us. The military asked them to stop… But they wouldn't. And their makeshift hospital was becoming a den for insurgents. I got my orders in the morning. And I shot them that night. Afterwards I tried to kill myself… But was too much of a coward. So I took an oath instead. To never follow unreasonable commands again. To reach a position where I wouldn't have to follow them, and I've stayed true to that."

Everyone was in total silence. They were all surprised to hear this story. Well, other than Armstrong, Riza and Riley (But only because she was out cold). "I'm not chasing you because I was commanded to. I'm doing it because I'm pissed," Roy started firmly, staring Ed dead in the eye as he shouted out, "Now why the hell did you two run away without asking for my help first?"

Ed's eyes widened. He was silent, before a small smirk appeared on his lips. Roy glared at him in anger, until Armstrong placed his hand on Roy's shoulder. Looking at the brothers, Armstrong asked, "Tell us, boys, please. What happened?"

None of the group that was actually awake said a word at first. It wasn't Hannah's place, and Ed was stubborn. So, Al spoke. "Furher King Bradley… Is a homunculus."

Once more, everyone was silent in shock. "When you say Homunculus…," Falman started, "You mean an artificial human?"

"Yes," Ed finally replied, looking from Falman back to Mustang. "They're after the Philosopher's Stone, and they're pulling all the strings in the military."

"That can't be true…," Mustang muttered out under his breath, eyes wide.

Armstrong stepped forward to exclaim, "The Furher had no idea about the experiments going on in Laboratory Five! The military was being infiltrated without his knowledge."

Standing up, Al was quick to rebuttal this. "He had the mark of the Ouroboros! I saw it myself! What else do you think that could mean?"

"You told us about a Homunculus with the ability to shapeshift," Armstrong offered.

Ed was quick to shoot it down with, "The Furher's Secretary… Is also a Homunculus."

Sheska suddenly became embarrassed and began to float off into her own world. So she wasn't an alien?… Riza leaned forward, ignoring her. "If that's true, that there's Homunculi inside the military, what purpose do they serve? What is it they hope to gain?" No one could answer that. A few soldiers reached the group and after a few words between Roy and Armstrong, Armstrong excitedly walked toward them, rambling about a job well down.

What group was still there then took off, the girls no longer with their hands tied. Roy took hold of Riley to give Ed a break, but that didn't stop Ed from glancing over at them every five seconds to make sure she was still breathing.

"Like I said, Riley… I'm not losing you."

Chapter Translations!
"Trenta Sette," is Italian.
"Trisdesmit Astoni," is Latvian.
And this chapter is in German!

Here's a preview of Chapter Forty, because I haven't given a preview in a long time.

Healing has happened.
Discoveries are made.
Truths are told.

Asses are shown.

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