Hay, guys! I was going to put this up Saturday, but I totally had no time for anything! I'm so sorry! But, here you go! Nine pages of awelsomeness. There's even a hint at the plot, if you can find it!

DISCLAIMER: I OWN ONLY Maddison, MY OC!

Thank God for...
(A FullMetal Alchemist story)
*Chapter Two: Yay for clothes!*

I was very glad to be rid of the stiff cotton towel that had been my confinement since Jean had found me. I watched as the light blue fabric fell to the ground noiselessly. I yawned, and stretched my arms upwards. I felt like I was almost ready to go back to bed. Though didn't Jean say Riza had the night off? Was it not only 6:45? Then again, this place wasn't exactly making to best of sense.

I put on the shirt Riza lent me and looked down at it. It was a deep purple color and decoration-less. The shirt's neckline was about two inches below my collarbone but it only went to an inch under my chest. The sleeves went about an inch or so past my elbows and weren't really that tight, but it probably would've helped to have them a bit bigger. Ah, well. Beggars couldn't be choosers. Besides, anything was better than that damn towel.

I smiled at my self in the mirror, despite the lack of pants. I unfolded them and saw the back pockets had a sapphire blue design stitched in. It looked hand-stitched, too. Did Riza put that on there? I wasn't sure.

I shimmied into that thing and zipped it up. I marveled at how easily I could get it on.

The pants Riza had lent me fit perfectly. They were tan and the waistline went just below my naval. The legs were pretty loose and stayed far away from my thighs and knees. They ended just below that point and exposed my bare legs.

The pants reminded me of a style I had supported when I was only fifteen. I wonder how I looked in them. Was I pretty? A better sight than before, at least? Okay, so that was a no-brainer. But I really did wonder if the outfit looked okay.

I finally saw the boots Riza had lent me and my eyes went wide. Oh, wow...

When I pulled on the dark, polished material of the boots onto my feet, they made me an inch taller. They stretched all the way up to my calves, shining like no tomorrow when they touched the light. I smiled inwardly at the feel of the said boots against my leg.

I brushed away imaginary dust on the pants and threw the towel in a small bucket I saw with other towels. I smiled now that I was rid of that dreaded thing. It felt good to not have the stiff light blue fabric that had dried me just a short while ago against my skin.

I soon left that particular area and returned to the locker area, where Riza stood dressed in a dark maroon shirt (Turtleneck) and some black pants that were tight in the thigh and partially baggy when it got to her knee. She carried a brown shoulder bag that hung down a bit past her hips.

"Thanks, Riza. This means a lot to me, really," I said, rubbing my pale forearm. I gave a sheepish smile before she nodded her approval. She looked at the clothes up and down on me before she smirked.

"It's better than the towel and it looks a lot better on you than me. Keep the outfit." The red-eyed woman held a sincere smile upon her lips. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. Had she really just told me to keep the outfit? Before I could say anything, she waved away the topic like my roommate would have waved off a fly. When I did try to say something, I'd only get out the first syllable before she'd say something.

"Wait-!" I'd manage to say-reluctant to accept this offer.

"No." Though Riza was reluctant to let me give them back.

"But-!"

"No."

"I-!"

Click. I gulped as she brought out her gun. She must have been annoyed.

"Okay!" I held up my hands in defeat with another gulp. She shook her head and put away the gun. I slowly put my hands down, halfway expecting for her to whip the thing out again and shoot me. I bit my lip nervously.

"Let's just go, Maddison." She said, turning on her heel and walking out of the locker room. She didn't go as fast this time, so I could catch up a bit easier.

I nodded and walked quickly after her. She opened the door to the hall (which had the same 'EXIT' sign above it as the boys' room did) and, surprisingly, the mentioned door didn't squeak. I raised an eyebrow to myself before shaking off any suspicions. I had had enough surprises in the past hour to last me a lifetime, thank you.

When I exited the women's locker room, my eyes met an odd sight. Jean was out there, as well as three others. The three hung back a bit, conversing quietly amongst themselves. They were looking from Jean to me in observation.

The tallest one of them had salt-and-pepper hair but I couldn't tell his eye color. His cheekbones were highly distinguishable, though, and he wore the same military-styled outfit as the other two and Jean. He bent down to talk to the other two in a whispering tone. I decided to call him Squint.

There was the middle one, too. He reminded me of that old kiddie song I had heard so much that went, 'I'm a little teapot, short and stout.' He kind of made me want to laugh, but that really wasn't the time to do that. His hair was red and his eyes were black. He wasn't the most attractive thing, really. He was, in a kind way, probably the one they used to play Santa at Christmas. Yeah, his name was Teapot.

The shortest one reminded me of a teddy bear. He was just like Harry Potter or something! I wanted to yell something random and hug him to death. He was just that adorable! He had jet black hair that spiked up a little and thick glasses that hid his cute blue-black (more of a royal blue color, really) eyes. He didn't have a scar on his forehead or anything, but his nose was a bit crooked. I guessed he had broken it before or something. I dubbed him Harry Potter.

They all held some sort of gray-ish brown money in their hands, so I guessed they were in a bet or something. Riza sighed, shook her head and rubbed her temples like this was a nuisance. She just stood off to the side, awaiting me to finish talking to Jean.

I thought it was actually kind of cute, truthfully.

"Hi, Jean!" I said with a grin and wave. He was smoking, I could see. He hadn't been earlier, had he? I could also see his hair was only a bit damp, like he had dried it in a hurry or it had been air-drying for a long bit of time now. How long had he been waiting outside the door? "What's up besides the ceiling, sky, clouds...space...etcetera?" I laughed at my own words, but quickly covered my mouth to hide it. It was very dorky to laugh at one's own crappy jokes.

He waved back nervously. What was he doing? And why were those three watching us both intently? Was their bet about Jean or something?

"Hey, Maddison. I see you're wearing clothes again." Not the best thing to say, really. I could have bet that it had sounded a lot cooler in his head. I chuckled anyway.

"Yeah, they're a lot better than that towel. Have I ever mentioned how cold it is?" Ah, shit. Shitty question, shitty comeback.

Dear Coach, there are stupid answers. I would need to tell him about that scenario next time I saw him. Then again, I don't think he would really appreciate the fact that I had been in a guy's locker room...naked...

Yep, I could see that go over real well with my former science teacher, couldn't you?

"No, actually, you haven't." That was a bit better of a comeback, I think. Slow progress. I fell silent in the awkwardness. It was hard for me to talk to this man for some reason. I was okay with him finding me in the shower, because that had happened many times before with some other men (but not exactly like he had), but it was near unbearable for me to talk to him!

He was silent as well. It was like he was trying to think of something to say. His left hand went to the back of his head in nervousness, like he was afraid to continue the conversation, and he looked at the ground. What was going through his mind? I wished I could tell.

"Jean?" I said, a slight blush on my cheeks. He looked up again and raised an eyebrow at me. "I think I had better go..." Riza seemed slightly annoyed for some reason. He nodded, as if slightly embarrassed.

"Bye, Maddison..." He seemed a bit depressed, like he really should have gathered more courage or something. I just shrugged it off. He'd get over it eventually, right?

As I turned to walk after Riza (who was ambling again), I saw Jean sigh; Harry Potter give a look of achievement; and Squint and Teapot hand their money to the little nerd. This sight made me give off a giggle. I waved 'bye' to Jean. He waved back with a slightly sad expression on his face. I wondered what was wrong with him, but it was not like I could ask.

I caught up with the blond woman and she smiled at me. I smiled back to her, but was kind of afraid.

"Let's head back," She said. I nodded, but thought of something.

"Riza?" I asked. She let out a 'hm?' that signaled she was listening. "Why did Jean just have a short and shitty conversation with me?" She shrugged, like she knew but couldn't tell me because it was obvious. I sighed. What was with that crap-versation? Riza seemed to know, but she didn't act like she was going to tell.

I sighed again, but this time more inward than outward. I didn't know what I had been expecting from the conversation with Jean. Either way, I couldn't believe I had gotten it. I wondered what he was saying to Squint, Teapot, and Harry Potter at the moment. I doubted those three would have been there unless they were his friends.

Though they had been betting...

Riza and I soon went down a flight of stairs. They were blue and squeaked a bit, but they held up. Why would they have wooden stairs when the concrete ones were much more efficient? Don't most places usually have that kind instead due to safety regulations or something? And don't they usually not paint stairs blue?

Shrugging to myself, I ignored that fact. It really didn't matter, did it? No. It didn't.

Riza sped up her pacing a bit. I wondered why, but I doubted she would say. I felt some eyes on me as the red-eyed woman and we both exited the building by a regular wooden door.

I wanted to gasp aloud when I saw the outside. It definitely wasn't Texas, Toto.

But there it was-the city outside my bathroom. Well, it had been my bathroom before, but it decided to turn into a locker room for men! Gosh, why were bathrooms so fucking moody?!

"Oh my fucking God..." I trailed off, my eyes as wide as plates. My pupils dilated and my jaw fell open. "It's a giant mushroom...!" The woman in front of me looked back, her hand on her hip so she would be ready to shoot if necessary. I chuckled to myself. Didn't she get it? She still held her gun.

Apparently not.

"Sorry! I blame my roommate because she's the one who got me into this show in the first place." Riza just shrugged and continued walking.

I marveled at the sight around me as we only walked down the sidewalk. I've seen a city before, but this thing looked so much like the old buildings I studied last year in History, only newer.

The sun was setting (or rising) in what I guessed was the East. How did that go? Did the sun rise in the West or in the East? I couldn't remember.

Some people spared us more than a passing glance. One man tipped his hat and another man gave me a long look in the chest area. I really would have slapped him, but Riza walked swiftly.

"Riza?" I asked when I caught up. "Where the hell are we? This ain't Texas because the snow says so." I made a glance at some snow on the ground to prove my point. She chuckled to herself while I ran a hand through my blond section of hair. I really needed to get a brush through it.

"This is East City, the place where the Eastern headquarters of the Amestris military resides. Any questions?" I shook my head 'no' and we continued on in silence. East city...That was odd, really. There weren't any 'East City's in America that I knew of.

Sighing, I kept after her. She walked really fast for a military person. Most people I knew who served had little energy after work to go home this fast.

The buildings around us as we walked slowly started to turn from businesses to homes. We had made great time, really. Despite the fact that I was jogging to keep up, it seemed like night would be here soon. The sun was barely peeking above the horizon now and I could see the moon a bit more clearly.

There was a buzz as a nearby convenience store turned on a lamp to show they were still open. I waved to the person who had turned it on and they waved back. They didn't know me (and vice versa) but these were good times.

I was happy when Riza finally got to an apartment complex. She and I walked up the front steps and through the door. Someone in the lobby greeted Riza with a wave, but gave a skeptical look when they saw me behind her. She payed no mind to that, but instead walked over to what I guess was her mailbox. She used a key that she materialized from her pocket to open the dark blue locker-styled box and removed four thick, yellow envelopes.

She waved again to the person and continued on. We went up the stairs to the second floor. Riza walked down the long hallway (that was a bit too narrow and a bit too dark of a shade of brown) and soon stopped at the room number 212 before she used the same key to open the door. I followed her in and closed the mentioned door behind us.

"This is home," she said, gesturing at the small apartment. I saw a dark tan, leather couch by the door and across from it a bookshelf sat instead of the usual TV. It was marvelously beautiful. The sides were engraved with some odd design (that kind of reminded me of the pocket on my pants) and had a large 'R' in the center.

There was a coffee table in front of the couch (same wood coloring as the shelf) and a book was its only decoration. It was semi-thick and black, a golden scrawl on it reading 'Truth'. I wondered what this book was about.

A counter to my left had dark brown tile on it and matched the couch. Riza stood behind the said counter and pulled some bread from the breadbox. I saw a sink on the other counter behind her, a stove near that (I think it was a gas stove, too), and an icebox near that.

There was a short hallway that held three doors. One on the right side and two on the left. There was a photo in-between the two wooden doors. The surface of the glass on it was shiny and made the picture indistinguishable.

"I'm going to assume you've eaten already, since it's past nine already." I nodded. I didn't have to eat, really, but it was a "necessity". I wasn't hungry, anyways. She smiled and bit into her sandwich. I smelled the sliced ham, pickles, and wheat bread from where I stood. They smelled sorta nice, actually.

I walked (slowly, because I was tired) to the large bookcase. I saw titles on the books' spines that I had never heard of. There were some that made me giggle (like 'Roachy' and 'Trees That Spoke'), some that made me want to go 'aw' (like 'Return From War' and 'Times Of Love'), and one that made me wonder.

The spine of the one was brown, with the odd design on it. It looped around letters that read 'Transmutation' in French.

Was it just a fiction book that Riza liked quite a bit? Or was it something truly deep? I ignored these pondering questions and ran my hand over the spine, getting a shiver through my heart. I felt a bit of electricity flow through me, so I immediately brought my hand away.

I bit my lip as I saw Riza smirking at me. She had been watching me stare at the book like a complete idiot.

"That is an old book. My grandmother gave it to me about twelve years ago," she sighed and wiped away the crumbs of her quick sandwich off of her shirt and pants. "It's written in a dead language, though, so I can't understand the words in it. It's also hand-written, too." She petted the spine, but showed no sign of having electricity flow through her heart.

I watched her remove the said book and reveal its dark purple insides. The pages had pale-ish tank ink on them that read something in what I guessed was French. This was a dead language? Hadn't they learned of France? It was in Europe, for the sake of God!

She saw me examining the text. "Do you know of the language?" I shook my head 'no'.

"I don't," I lied. Riza didn't need to know what was going through my mind at the moment. She closed the book and replaced it into her shelf. "Though it kind of looks familiar." She shrugged and went to put away the bread.

I sighed and sat on the couch, resting my head against the back of it. I kind of wished I had some paper and a pencil, so I could write or sketch down anything.

But, no, I had nothing. So I stared up at the ceiling. It was wooden, but painted white, and had a spider crawling across it. The said spider was a dark gray, with a blue 'x' on its head. It was not big or anything, but it moved slowly like it was hard to walk. Though it was on the ceiling...

I heard Riza walk down the hallway and a door close. She must have gone into one of the rooms or something. I didn't look, though. I just continued to stare at the ceiling.

I thought over of today's events. I really couldn't believe how abnormal this "East City" was. I mean, showers should never bring you to different places. At least not literally!

I grumbled something under my breath about boredom and closed my eyes. My mind wandered from its original composition and to an old memory...

The sky was a light gray. As I sat on my porch, I stared out at the empty cotton field that surrounded my home. The grass was a yellow-ish color, with hints at its original green, and swayed peacefully in the wind. I could smell the humidity in the air as my hair flowed around my head.

My green-gold eyes surveyed the horizon, awaiting for the rain storm to show. It would be here soon, by what I could see. Though I was nearly blind, I could see the rain upon the said horizon. It was a darker gray than the rest, and kind of slanted.

There would be great wind, too. I could hear the crash of the thunder in the distance. How much closer it sounded then before. I could smell the rain a bit stronger. How quickly it traveled didn't compare to how fast my heart was beating.

The scene made me breathless and kept me in such a way that I had to look away from this beautiful landscape to regain most of my consciousness. How could something so doom-filled bring me such relieve from my pain-filled heart?

The sprinkler was going at this time. It didn't need to be on, but it was drowning the small, twig-like tree in water so it would grow...or die...I wasn't sure of which.

I could hear the door open to my right, but I ignored it. Someone sat next to me on the bench.

"Maddison," said a kind and gentle voice, "why don't you come inside?" I snorted.

"Because," I replied, looking at my grandmother. Her pure white hair was curly and her dark skin contrasting greatly with her white-framed eyeglasses. "I just can't." She nodded like she understood, but I knew she didn't. No one did.

She blinked her chocolate brown eyes and sighed when I said no more. Shaking her head, she got up and returned inside.

No one got me. Not even him. But he was the closest to getting there...

I heard a door close again, snapping me away from my memory and forcing my eyes to open. The spider from the ceiling was gone and so was the short memory. I heard the near-silent 'click-clack' of high heels walking across a room and Riza humming quietly to herself. I scraped my eyes reluctantly from the ceiling to see what she was doing.

My eyes widened a bit at the red-eyed women. She looked simply stunning!

She had a black dress on, which was simple yet elegant at the same time. It only went an inch past her knees and was so low, she had a black tank top under it. It was sleeveless, as well. The tank top held the same design as my pocket, the book written in French, and the shelf. She really did like that design, didn't she?

Her hair was down again and her face had a bit of makeup on it. I smiled at her.

"I take it you're awake?" Riza questioned. I nodded and stood. She smiled and grabbed a purse. "Good. We're going to see what Mustang is really doing."

"Who's Mustang?" I asked. She grabbed some money from the brown leather bag she had brought to her apartment and her keys from the counter.

"You'll meet him tomorrow when you go into his office to explain how you got into the Men's Locker Room with out being seen. He's the Colonel that Lieutenant Havoc and I serve under." She said this all in one breath. I nodded and felt my smile becoming more and more sly at her.

"You like him, don't you?" The woman walking towards the door froze for a millisecond, like she had been caught red-handed.

"No. He's an arrogant, procrastinating jerk who breaks girls' hearts and-" Riza nearly started on a lecturing rant before I cut her off,

"But you like him, don't you?" Her hand went to her side for her gun, but it wasn't there. She clenched her hands into fists before relaxing. Her sigh was actually a bit loud.

"Yes, I kind of do."

"Why not tell him? I know you're both in the military and all, but love conquers all, right?" Riza didn't think about my statement.

"Not in the Amestris military." I sighed at her. She didn't get it, did she? Love always worked out in the end if it was true!

But I did not press on. It was not worth it, really. Plus, she could double back and grab a gun at any time. And I liked my life, thank you!

She walked out of the apartment and waited for me in the hall. When I shut the door behind me, she locked it with her key. She tested the knob and when the door didn't open, she started to walk away. I kind of laughed to myself when she didn't walk fast. Consistent, wasn't she?

"Maddison," she said, "be wary of the people where we are going. Some may be a bit more...woozy...than others. And don't be afraid to slap some sense into them if they get close." I nodded. She said that like we were going to a bar. Well, could we possibly be? I mean, that's what it sounded like.

"Okay," I spoke a bit quieter than usual. I was kind of nervous, truthfully. I wondered, more so now than earlier, about what Jean had wanted to ask me. Could he have wanted to ask me for a drink or something? Nah, that wouldn't happen when you took into concern that this was me we were talking about. And I wasn't really the prettiest girl on Earth...

Riza didn't pay notice to my tone, but kept on, "Roy will most likely be there-so be cautioned. Try not to let him see you, Maddison."

"Okay." My words were partially forced, because my mind was still in thought. I wondered what Jean was doing at that moment. Could he possibly be with Harry Potter, Squint, and Teapot? Or could he be at home?

No, I knew better than that. I remembered clearly that he was back at the "Headquarters" (as Riza called them), working. I should have known that sooner! Gosh, I was such an ignorant dork!

"Riza?" I asked. Though I really did wish she hadn't have heard me.

"Yes, Maddison?" I nearly winced when she replied.

"Where are we going?" I could hear her satisfied smirk.

"Just wait and see." Best response ever, huh?

Thank God for my happy place, though!