Hey! I'm back with another update...I meant to do it on Friday but I found myself internet deprived over the weekend. Anyhow, this is one of the longer chapters and I really enjoyed writing this one. Now, back to business, this next chapters tells us where Ed finally is and we start delving more into a very interesting storyline...I can't wait for the next three or so chapters...I love what's coming up...

Enjoy! Oh yeah, I don't own anything here save for Amber and ze plot.

Chapter Nineteen

Searching for the Exit

Ed

Ugh…the smell!! It's so bad; I'm starting to smell too!! How can I get the hell out of here, I've tried anything and everything. I tried to make my own opening with alchemy, I tried to explode things and that didn't work either…how can I get out of this hell!?!? I hope Al and Amber don't think I'm dead…because when I get out and they tell me that…oh ho ho…I'm going to get sweet revenge on both of them…

Amber

"There's nothing in here!" I yelled, throwing the book to one side of the room. Ed disappeared yesterday and we still haven't found out anything on how to get him out of wherever he's in. I took care of all the paperwork last night so it wouldn't catch up to me later but still, even with that break, we haven't found anything at all.

"Amber, what are we going to do? Brother might die of starvation!" Al yelled, making me sigh.

"I'm thinking!" I said, running my hand through my hair as I walked along the aisles in the library. The one at Central would be so helpful right now…wait! "Sciezka!" I cried, running over to the phone.

"Yes! She might know something!" Al cried, catching onto my train of thought. "She's already read all the books in Central! Wait, how do you know about her anyway?"

"Well, I used to live in Central with Roy and the rest…" I said.

"Really? We never saw you there…"

"I didn't have to be seen by anyone, I just was there…" I said, the statement sounding harsher than it was supposed to be. "Besides, I was always off getting information for Roy, I wasn't doing any serious research until I officially joined as an Alchemist," I explained, picking up the receiver.

"What are you looking for?" Al asked me, hopeful.

"An answer…" I replied, calling the central branch of the military. "Elemental Alchemist here, I'd appreciate it if you'd connect me to the library, thank you."

"An answer to what?" Al asked as I was put on hold. He really wanted to know why I was here…I would tell him, but I needed enough knowledge before I could tell anyone else.

"I'll tell you someday…" was all I said as the library picked up at last. "Hello, is Sciezka around? I need to speak with her. All right, I'll hold…" I said, sighing as I looked at my watch.

"Amber, you know what brother and I are searching for, it's only fair that we know what you're looking for too…" he said. I could tell he was serious, and I breathed in deeply.

"I'll tell you sometime when Ed gets back…" There, I think I gave myself enough extra time with this matter. I didn't specify an exact time so I could actually figure out how to say it before anything was said.

Meanwhile...

Roy paced around his office, hands in his pockets as he tried to figure out what to do, one of his best alchemists was missing and he was afraid of it happening again. He didn't understand what Al and Amber had explained to him but all he could grasp was that Ed was probably alive but not in this world…

"You all right there chief?" asked Havoc, who was just as worried. Amber and Al had apparently stayed in the library since the day before and although he knew Al couldn't sleep, he was worried about Amber.

"I'm just trying to make sense of it all, are those two still in there?" he asked, a nod being the collective response.

"They're using the phone to call Central," Riza said, Mustang catching onto what he hoped was the train of thought Amber was on.

"Hopefully she'll have an answer for them…" was all Mustang said as he sat down at his desk and looked out the window. He missed Central, the move was quick and they'd only been there for a few weeks and it was boring him out of his mind. Though the peaceful atmosphere was a nice relief…

"Armstrong called yesterday; preparations are almost done for Amber's party…" Riza said, everyone perking up just slightly.

"I wonder why the Fuhrer insisted on having the ball on the same day as Amber's birthday…" Breda said, resting his chin on his hand. "We have to go to Central for the party…why can't it just be here?"

"Actually, they managed to convince him to move everything…" Riza said with a smug grin. "We don't have to go anywhere…"

"That's a relief, the ladies here will be happy with all the commotion..." Havoc said, smiling to himself. He knew just who he would ask to be his date. He only hoped she'd say yes.

"Yes, let's all hope you find decent dates; we wouldn't want a repeat of last year…" said Roy, Falman swallowing.

"I didn't think she'd drink that much!" he yelled, everyone chuckling lightly at the memory.

"CURSES!" echoed a female voice.

"Well, we know what happened now…" Roy said, sighing.

Amber

"That lead me nowhere…" I said, hanging up the phone. Even our bookworm couldn't help…

"What do we do now?" Al asked as I leaned against a wall and dropped down. "Don't you know of anywhere else we can look?" he asked. Well…I could check back at…

"My dad used to be an alchemist…he fought in the war…he was researching something that he always kept hush-hush from me…" I said, looking up from my spot on the floor.

"Where should we go?"

"Central, my old house…it might have something…I haven't been there in years…I prefer my dorm in Central over it…" I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "I know you're all for being honorable but I have no money…" I said, peeling off his helmet and climbing inside. "Now let's go" I said from within.

"Shouldn't we tell the Colonel first?" Al said, making me sigh.

"Yes, now go to his office and tell him you and I have to go to Central, we think we know what happened…" I said, shivering a little at how cold it was inside Al.

"But it's a lie…" Al said. "We only have vague ideas of what it could've been…"

"They don't need to know that…" I said, feeling my legs move as Al walked around. I heard a door open and I stayed silent, hoping nobody would notice that I was inside Al.

"What happened Alphonse?" asked Riza's voice, clearly concerned. "I heard Amber yelling."

"We think we have something so we're going to Central…don't worry, we'll be back before her birthday!" Al said, waving goodbye before quickly closing the door and running to the Eastern Train Station. He bought a ticket with the money he had managed to get out of his account and we boarded quickly. The ride was long and I couldn't believe I was managing…badly, but still not complaining, in his armor. A couple of hours went by and the train finally slowed down. "Don't worry, as soon as I can, I'll let you crawl out of here. He walked around for a bit and suddenly stopped. "Hurry! Nobody's looking!"

"Thanks Al," I said as I jumped out of his armor and saw that we were in a small alleyway. It was late in the afternoon and my stomach was kind enough to remind me of my hunger. "I need to eat… then we can go to the house," I said as I walked to the Central Kitchens and showed my watch before anyone complained. I picked up a small tray and ate some pasta as Al watched the people around us.

"They're all staring…" Al said as I swallowed my last bite.

"Bah, let them look…" I said, annoyed that I was still thought less of since I am not only a young alchemist…I am a girl. Oh well, let them have their prejudice, I honestly stopped caring. I threw away my tray and led Al outside, walking carefully along the streets. I was slightly embarrassed of showing him my house, then again…I haven't been there since I don't remember …I really don't…and it sucks…

"This is your house?" Al asked as I finally stopped. "It's not too bad, why do you prefer a dorm?"

"I don't remember…" I said honestly. "I know there was a reason I was avoiding this place…but I fail to come up with it anymore…" I said as I pulled out my old key from the light fixture and opened the door. It was getting dark and the twilight made everything inside spookier. I turned on the light, hoping this place still received power …and thankfully it did. We walked around and I finally found my father's study on the second floor…

"What happened here?" Al asked, leaning down to the ground to examine the array.

"I don't remember…" I said softly, looking at it as well, confused.

"There's a lot of blood here…it's dry…" Al said, looking at me. "Why can't you remember? You used to live here!" he cried, worried.

"All I remember right now is waking up at Roy's house the next day…" I said, trying to think about it. I rummaged through the drawers of my dad's desk, looking for answers. All I found were journals and scattered papers of no importance. I put the journals on one side of the room, I wanted to read those later…

"Your father…he tried human transmutation…" Al said as I kept looking through my father's desk and threw more stuff about. There had to be something that would help me remember!!!

"Probably…he was engrossed in bringing people back to life after they died…only if the cause was unjust…" I said as I turned to look at Al. "Don't step inside the array. I don't want you to go missing too…" I said, sighing.

Al

"Ah!" Amber cried suddenly, dropping to her knees.

"Are you okay?" I asked quickly, walking over to her to help her up. "What happened?" I asked, still not getting any answer. She held her head for a while, her eyes closed tight as she seemed to be reliving the whole night in her head.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she yelled out, grabbing onto her ankle suddenly. "Make it stop!!!" she yelled. She breathed heavily and opened her eyes, looking up at me. "They tried to take me…" she said, trying to control her breathing.

"What tried to take you?" I asked, wondering if it was the gate.

"It has to do with it…it's has to be…why else would they aim for me first?" she said, not talking to me now but to herself. She got up and walked over to a corner of the room, where there was little blood and it was separate from the one in the array. "This is where I was…" she said softly. "That's where he was…" she said, pointing to the bigger blood pools.

"Your father?" I asked, Amber snapping out of her trance and looking at me.

"Yeah…" she said softly. She wiped her eyes dry and forced a smile. "I guess you were right…he did try human transmutation…" she said softly.

"Who was he trying to bring back?"

"Melinda, my mother…" Amber said, going back to the desk. "My dad had read a letter…that's what made him snap…he read it and went on a vendetta to get my mother to come back that same night…I wonder if Roy ever found it…" she said softly, pulling out her journal and making a note to ask the colonel about it once we got back to the East.

"Amber, would you like to talk about what happened?" I asked softly.

"You need the back story…" Amber said softly.

"I can listen!"

"We need to get Ed back…" Amber said softly. She had a point, we needed to get brother back before we did anything else…I guess I couldn't find out much about what happened that night until brother's back…but it must've been terrible if she forgot it like that…

"Al…you're a sweetheart, you'll be very popular among the girls once you get your body back…"

"You really think so?" I asked as she put away her father's journals in a bag.

"Yeah…" Amber said, sounding a lot better. She was still shaky though…I could see it in her hands…

Flashback

"Daddy?" an eight year old Amber called out. "What are you doing?"

"I'mgoing to bring back your mother!" the man on the floor started as he kept drawing on the concrete. The young girl's eyes widened in pain as she ran over to her father, thunder booming outside.

"NO! Please daddy! Don't do this!" she cried, hugging her father, tears stinging her eyes.

"Yes! I will! I need to see her! She betrayed me! She lied to me! After all I sacrificed for her!" he yelled, throwing his frail daughter over to one side. Her back smacked against a nearby wall, thunder booming alongside her as she landed.

"No daddy!" Amber yelled.

"Yes Amber! I'm going to do this! I need an explanation from your mother before I talk to him!" he replied as he activated the circle. A golden light filled the room, startling the girl and making her run to a corner of the room, trying to hide from everything.

"Daddy..." Amber whispered, beginning to cry. She was unaware of the gate that formed behind her, ready to take her in. Once she was aware of the presence of that dark place, a black tentacle grasped her ankleand started to pull her towards it. Pain invaded her senses more intensely than usual and she started to cry out for the only person she could. "Daddy!" she yelled. "Daddy! Help me!" she yelled out at the top of her tiny lungs, tears falling from her eyes.

"No!" yelled out a male voice. "Take me! This is my sin! I've already put her through enough!!!" he cried. "Leave her out of this!" Her father disappeared with a final yell of pain as he was taken by the gate. Just brief seconds later; he was pushed back out, mangled and dead in a pool of his own blood. Amber crawled to the nearest corner and cried.

"Arthur? Amber?" called out Roy's voice in the semi empty house. He walked around, trying to figure out why he felt that he needed to be here…and gasped at the sight of his fallen friend in his own study before going to check his pulse, finding none. He also noticed a piece of paper tightly grasped in one of Arthur's hands and he grabbed it, pocketing it so he could read it later. He looked around and thought the room was empty so he decided to make his way out and call the authorities.. A sob caught his attention and he turned to see a mess of a young girl in a far corner, surrounded by blood. "Amber?" he called out as rain fell outside, in tune with her tears. He stepped towards her slowly, trying to not scare her and trying to ensure that she would recognize him before he did anything else. "Amber," he said softly once he reached her side. "What happened?" he asked as she slowly raised her head to meet his gaze. She embraced him, sobbing as he held the girl tightly in his arms.

"Thank you daddy..." she whispered as she passed out. Mustang smiled sadly at the newly orphaned girl and took her to his house quickly, bandaging the bleeding ankle. He was not going to let the girl lose a limb for her father's mistake...she had no reason to...

End flashback

Amber

"Amber! Watch out!" Al yelled out from behind me as I walked to the other side of the room, the one I had been in the night my dad committed sin. I stepped on the array and I didn't notice I activated it until he brought it to my attention. A dark portal, like the one Ed disappeared into, started to take me away.

"Go back to the East!" I yelled. "Take the journals and go! I'll meet you there!" I cried as everything fainted to black. I landed in some gunk and I knew that I had found where Ed had disappeared to. I just needed to find him in this darkness…

Ed

Al, I wonder how you're doing…I hope you're all right…Amber…I don't know what to think of you yet…though I think it's about time I stopped fighting you…

Ah...sorry to drive you nuts with all the '...' endings...but they are awesome...I love doing it. My fingers do it on their own now when I type. Next one should be up within two to three weeks unless the start of college gangs up on me...