A/N: Oh hey! I'm am awfully sorry about how long this took! Things have been very busy lately! My little brother graduated High School, I myself got in touch with my own birth mother for the first time... (Guess what? I'm adopted myself... Only I've always known about it...) And I found out the name of my biological father... So... These past few weeks have been huge for me... I've also tried writing this chapter several times, and each time I sat down to finish it, I decided to rewrite it. So, that made things take much longer. And I've also realized I have two chapter three's, and two chapter fours. Skipping 2 and 5... So, I am going to try to get back on track with the numbers... Again, sorry this update took so long!

Chapter Six

"Unexplainable"

Edward had to admit, Everett might look like Roy, but he had the work habit of his mother. He wasn't a procrastinator, and actually looked forward to sticking his nose in an alchemy book and taking notes. A month had passed since Everett had come to live with them in Resembool, and he had basically become a member of the family. He and Sam had become fast friends, and even Genny had started to warm up to him a little.

Teaching alchemy was certainly making Ed miss being able to do it. But giving it up was worth it. It was too bad Sam was skipped over when it came to alchemic talent. It did give Winry hope for an Automail protégé, though, but Sam hated "mechanical stuff", as he once put it. He had become a great marksman with the pellet gun he had received from Pinako when he turned 13. Ed and Winry weren't very happy with Pinako for that specific gift, even though it once belonged to Winry's father. But he did enjoy shooting cans in the yard.

He had given his two students the day off, and had lost track of them after breakfast. They were probably taking advantage of the warm beautiful day they were having, which was odd weather for the middle of February. Sam appeared to be missing as well.

"Come on, Genny! Hurry up!" Sam shouted behind him, as he and Everett waited for Genny to catch up. They were on their way to the river, since it was practically the most entertaining place in town. Genny had fallen behind because she stopped to talk to a friend from school, one that neither Sam nor Everett knew. She was now running to catch up to them.

"You could have at least waited, you know!" Genny shouted, out of breath.

"Donna's your friend, not mine." Sam said.

"Well, you're caught up now." Everett smiled. Genny couldn't help but smile back.

"Come on, then. The river isn't that much farther." Sam grumbled, as he continued to walk.

"He can be a real jerk sometimes!" Genny growled, as she and Everett followed a few steps behind Sam.

"Most guys can be." Everett sighed. He certainly knew he could be every now and then.

"You're not." Genny said. "I thought you would be, coming from an upscale town like Doyer. I've met two other people from around there. Both of them where snotty rich brats. That's why I made a snap judgment of you."

"Well, I only started living there when I was four. I used to live in Edan before the pandemic. No one had a lot of money there, and if you did, you sure as hell didn't let everyone know about it." Everett smiled. Genny looked like she wanted to hear more. "When my grandparents died, they left a fortune to my mom and Aunt. My mom didn't want the money, so she gave her share to my Aunt. She really hasn't spent any of it wisely."

"You never talk about your Aunt much." Genny noted out loud.

"We don't really have a relationship anymore. I spent most of my childhood watching her lose jobs constantly, come home drunk, and wake up with a hangover. I practically became the parent after a while." Everett's smile quickly faded. "I always ended up wishing my parents had never died, so I wouldn't have had to deal with her."

"Are they the couple in that picture you keep by your bed?" Genny asked softly.

"Yeah."

"You look nothing like either of them." Genny said without thinking. She then glanced up at Everett. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No, it's fine. I've thought the same thing. They both have brown hair and different colored eyes. So where did this come from, right?" Everett ran a hand through his jet black hair.

"Well, Everett. All in all, I think you might be the only decent person to make it out of Doyer." Genny grinned.

"Thanks." Everett's smile returned slowly.

"Would you guys quite flirting back there and hurry up!" Sam shouted from up ahead.

"We weren't flirting Sam!" Genny shouted back, running up to him. Everett stayed behind for a moment.

For the first time in a very long while, he felt like he was part of a family again. He could barely remember what it felt like before, so it felt almost new. It was amazing, not having to worry about his Aunt, only himself and his alchemy studies. Teacher and his wife were so kind and welcoming; he truly never wanted to leave Resembool. It was nice here, no bratty bullies picking on him because he didn't have any friends. Although, he had them now. Sam had become a quick, loyal, and often humorous friend, and Genny, while it took her a while to warm up to him, had proved herself to be the same.

He looked out at the horizon, and knew that even though he loved Resembool, he belonged in Central. Something about that city had entranced him since he was younger. He was going to get there someday, no matter what, and become what he had always dreamed of. A State Alchemist.

-o—o-

Roy entered his apartment, huffing and puffing about work. Today was the State Alchemist Exam, a yearly event that usually put Roy on edge, ever since he was put in charge of the State Alchemist program. It was late, and all the lights were off, except for the hallway and the one in his and Riza's room. He entered the room silently but angrily, and found Riza reading in bed. She looked up at her husband. He practically stomped into the bathroom, closing the door angrily.

"Try not to be too loud… Lily just went to bed." She said, knowing Roy could hear her. The door opened almost immediately after she spoke, and Roy came out, still wearing his uniform, only now without his boots.

"I'm going to kill Elric." Roy said, walking over to the bed.

"Ed? You haven't seen him in more than a year, what did he do?" Riza asked.

"He hasn't done anything recently… I'm going to kill him for what he did when he was twelve!" Roy began to sound very over-tired and a little insane.

"What are you talking about?" Riza put her book down, and became slightly concerned.

"Almost every year, a bunch of teenage idiots show up, take the test and sometimes do well enough to go on, and then waste my time by either messing up horribly during, or becoming so nervous they run out of the room crying during the performance exam! They think that since Elric did it, they can too! And not one teenager has made it all the way through yet! Not one! Yet, they keep showing up every year!" Roy's voice grew louder as he grew more hysterical.

"Roy, calm down." Riza mumbled.

"I don't want to!"

It took about a minute for Roy to finally sit on the bed. He slumped his shoulders and exhaled loudly. Riza could tell he hated what he was doing. He had allowed his dream of becoming Fuhrer and returning Amestris to a democracy after she had left the military. Grumman had done it in his place, thankfully. He understood that their priorities had changed, and that their new family had become more important than getting themselves charged as war criminals. He actually thought more of them for it, it seemed. But still, being in charge of the State Alchemy program meant he couldn't slack off, and not having her under his command meant he really couldn't get away with it.

Roy looked over at her, clearly calmer. He watched her for a moment as she continued reading. A sly smile formed, as he leaned over and brought his face close to hers.

"Don't even try it." Riza said sternly. Roy's smile faded, and his shoulders slumped once again.

"Oh come on…" Roy frowned. His eyes had dark circles under them, Riza noticed, and he looked paler than usual.

"You look awful." She said plainly.

"Well, thanks." Roy's frown deepened.

"You know what I mean. How about you try going to sleep at a decent time tonight?" Riza suggested. "You're not as young as you used to be…"

"No need to remind me." Roy grumbled. "I…"

The phone began to ring out in the hallway.

"Who could be calling this late?" Roy asked.

"Why don't you go find out?" Riza said.

"You can real bossy, you know that?" Roy said, getting up from bed and going into the hall.

Riza listened from their bed, patiently waiting to find out who needed to call them at such a late hour.

"Hello?... Yes, this is him….What?...Are you sure?...What is going to hap-….. Yes, I understand…. Surely there can be something…. No… Please let us know what you decide, sir…. I appreciate it. Thank you, sir." Roy finished the call, and Riza heard the phone being put down. Roy didn't return for a minute or two. When he did come back, he was even paler than he was before. His face had no expression, and his eyes were nearly empty.

"Roy, what happened?" Riza got up from under the covers, meeting her husband halfway into the room.

"Evelyn Chevalier died earlier this evening, she drove into an oncoming car while coming home from a bar…" Roy said lifelessly. Riza couldn't move, speak, or even breathe. She was frozen. What was going to happen to their son? Did anyone even know what to do next? Evelyn was the only surviving family he had left.

A/N: Don't I just love killing fictional people, or what! Man, at this rate, poor Everett is going to have no one left... Don't worry. No more people die. I promise. I already know what I'm going to do for the next chapter, so you won't have to wait NEARLY HALF AS LONG as you did for this one. I'll probably have it up before next Monday. Hopefully before Friday... We'll see. If not Friday, then Monday. Don't forget to review! Thank you!