Hello again and welcome to chapter two, yay! *fireworks go off in the background* So, in this chapter you will learn a bit more about the two original characters in this story. Hopefully it won't be too boring. I find one of the appeals to writing fanfiction is that I don't have to waste time telling you what characters look like, because you already know. So please forgive me if my descriptions are bad. Anywho, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, if not more.

Beta'd by Taijiya Mizu. Seriously, the awesome overflows. XD

©Yakubi

Only Human: Chapter Two

Ed, Al and Cat waited at the entrance of the East Military Headquarters building. Edward heaved a great sigh as the three saw their new partner start to make her way down the concrete steps of the building. The girl's dark cloak swirled around her ankles as she practically jumped down the stairs, her boots making 'thunking' noises with each step she took. She looked towards the three and nearly made eye contact with Edward again, but he turned away just in time.

"So, should we get out of here?" Catherine nervously scratched the back of her head, a small smile on her face.

"Let's get going." Ed said as he turned around and started walking towards the hotel that the four of them would be staying at. Catherine hurried to him and walked beside him.

Alphonse decided to walk beside the dark girl. Maybe she was just nervous at meeting new people. Al hoped if he made the effort she would open up to him. After all, as his brother had so kindly put it, he was 'kindness in a can.' "So..." Al searched for something to talk about as the four started walking, Cat and Ed at point with Sarah and Al behind them. "What made you want to join the army?"

Sarah looked up at the Al. "I just wanted..." She looked down for a moment. "I wanted to help."

If Al could have, he would have smiled. She was just shy. "Really?" The girl nodded. "I think that's a great reason to become a soldier. After all, the military is supposed to help and protect people."

"Yes... I guess they are."

That was a strange answer if Al ever heard one. She 'guessed' they were supposed to protect people? It was in the job description for a soldier. Al searched from something else to talk about, something they had in common... "So, I suppose we're a party of alchemists aren't we?" Al chuckled.

"Yes." Sarah looked up at Alphonse. "Why are you not a state alchemist as well?"

"Oh that? My brother said that only one of us should have to be a 'dog of the military'. It was his way of protecting me I suppose. I did want to become one because I thought I could help my brother, but he insisted. After all, if a war were to break out the state alchemists become human weapons and are often ordered to kill people."

Sarah looked forward again. "I see. Your brother must be a very kind person then."

"Why do you say that?"

A small smile graced the brunette's lips. "Because he put you before himself. It is true that if both of you were working together as state alchemists you would be able to get more done, but he protected you by keeping you out of the military."

"I guess so... not many people would say my brother is kind. Most would probably say he's annoying, loud and obscene."

Sarah laughed a little at this. She was letting so much emotion show that she felt kind of weird, but nothing bad seemed to be happening so why not? "I don't know him well enough to be sure, but since all of us will be traveling together I guess there will be plenty of opportunities." Sarah sighed. "So what kind of alchemy do you use, Alphonse?"

Al chuckled. "You can call me Al; Alphonse is kind of a mouthful. And my alchemy is nothing special, just the generic every day kind." Al gestured to the two walking in front of them. "It's those two you want to watch. They are both very talented."

"I see. They are quite famous. Even when I sitting in the waiting room back at headquarters I could hear talk about them. What's so great about their alchemy?" Sarah hoped she wasn't asking too much.

"Well, they can both transmute without the use of circles. It's quite a rare skill. There are only three known people that can do it."

Sarah looked up with a look of panic on her face. She swallowed hard. Al didn't notice the change in her demeanor. "W-without circles? They can transmute without the use of circles?" The girl struggled not to make her voice shake.

"Yeah. But they both had to pay for it, equivalent exchange." Al looked down at Sarah; the girl was once again leaking a suffocating aura. The girl looked straight forward, but Al saw that her whole body was shaking.

"I see." Sarah did not want to talk anymore. She had thought that maybe these people would be different. But anyone who could transmute without the use of circles... Sarah shook her head to clear the thought. Now was no time for reminiscing, she needed to learn as much as she could about her new companions in order to use them to the fullest.

"Alright." Al and Sarah looked up and faced Ed and Cat. The two blonds were standing next to a door that led to the inside of the hotel the alchemists would be spending the night at. "This is it, hope you have everything you need cause we'll be leaving bright and freakin' early in the morning. We have a train to catch." Edward sighed. How he hated getting up early. He was never and would never be a morning person. Opening the door, he led the way through the inn. He nodded at a very well endowed bar maid before making his way up the stairs towards the room that the alchemists would be staying in. Edward opened the door and went to the far end of the room. It was a second story room with a window that showed the setting sun. The fiery ball of hydrogen lit the sky in a hopeless attempt to keep the earth choking with its light. But the sun always lost to the darkness that chased it away. The sickly purple of the sky made shivers run down Ed's spine. The blond boy leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. He waited for everyone to get into the room. He nodded to Al, the younger of the Elric brothers shut and promptly locked the door. Catherine and Alphonse moved to stand on either side of Edward. Ed sighed. As much as he hated having to explain things, it made no sense to have Sarah travel with them if she didn't know what they were after. "Sarah." Edward's voice cut through the silence that had filled the room.

The girl looked up, her dark blue orbs making contact with the deep amber of Edward's eyes. "Yes?" The girl's voice did not falter.

Ed used all he had not to freeze. Something about her eyes... they made him feel almost as though he was being hunted. It felt as though she was so much more than what she was. Edward could not shake the feeling that there was much more to this girl than face value. "Do you know what we are searching for?"

The girl looked blankly at Ed. "I do not. I was simply assigned to be a sort of assistant to you and Quick-Edge. I was given no other information on the subject of your mission. My mission is simply to be as much help to you as possible."

Catherine sighed. Leave it to Mustang to send them a rookie with no idea what she was supposed to be doing. Cat looked over at Ed. Seeing him nod, she breathed deeply before looked at Sarah. "We're after the Philosopher's Stone."

Sarah's eyes flashed as she looked from Edward to Catherine. "You can't be serious." Sarah had heard rumors of it's existence. Secretly she was thrilled. It was just her luck to be paired with people looking for the same thing she was. "It's just a myth."

"Whether or not it's a myth is yet to be determined." Catherine said carefully. "But it is our goal to possess the Philosopher's Stone. We will not stop searching. And since you are to be our assistant, as you put it, I take it you will be helping us look for the stone." It was not a question. It was simply the way things would happen. Catherine shrugged mentally. If the girl had a problem with it then she could leave.

"We won't force you to help us." Alphonse jumped in. "You can always go talk to Colonel Mustang and asked to be assigned to someone else." Al didn't like the way the other two were talking to the smaller girl. It seemed like they were bullying her to him.

Sarah closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again. She looked over he new team mates. "My orders are to be of use to you. If you seek the stone then it is my job to help you. There is no other outcome. As I am a soldier I am to follow my orders. Whether or not I am comfortable with the situation is unimportant."

All three alchemists were shocked at the girl's words. She didn't care? She chose to just follow her orders regardless of her own personal feelings? Ed was the first to find his tongue. "Alright." Ed glanced out the window. "I think it's time we all went to bed. We have an early morning."

Ed awoke with a yawn. Sitting up in bed and raising his arms over his head, he groaned. Rubbing the sleep from his amber orbs, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the room's brightness. Looking around, he saw a lump of blankets on the bed next to him; Catherine was still asleep. She liked to wake up at noon or later so that didn't surprise him. Alphonse was propped up against the wall; the usual shine coming from the eyeholes in the helmet of the armor was not present, meaning that Alphonse was also, in some way, asleep. Edward looked around the room. There was something missing, something that should have been there. Then it hit the blond boy. Where was Sarah? As if in answer to his question, the door clicked as it was opened. Ed looked over to see the dark haired girl as she walked into the room. She appeared to be having some difficulty in carrying something in her arms. Edward realized that she was carrying three trays, each laden with food. Edward smiled. The girl couldn't be too bad if she was bringing them all breakfast. The girl made it to the table safely and set her burden down on the rich wooden structure. She sighed before turning around.

Sarah noticed that the elder of the Elrics was awake and looking at her. "Good morning." she said, the usually friendly greeting sounding strange as it was said in a very monotone voice. "I've brought breakfast for everyone."

"Thanks Sarah. You didn't have to do that." Edward smiled as he got out of bed. The cold wooden planks of the floor sent a shudder up his spine. Ed scratched his stomach as a giant yawn ripped from him. "Do you wanna wake Cat up or should I?" Edward looked at the girl. She seemed to be staring at him.

"I didn't know..." The girl mumbled.

"What was that?"

"No one told me you were equipped with automail."

Edward grimaced. Mustang had left a lot out when he had briefed the girl. Edward brought his flesh hand up to touch the metal of his right arm. He hated the falseness of the metal arm. The cold of it bit into the sensitive flesh of his warm fingers. There was nothing Edward could think of to say in response.

Catherine stirred. Suddenly she sat bolt upright in bed, her blue eyes going over the room. "Good morning." Her voice was very... grim sounding. "What time is it?"

"It is 7:12 A.M." Sarah responded.

"Really?" Cat yawned. "That sucks..." Cat got up out of bed and made her way over to the table. "Is this for us?"

"Yeah." Edward nodded as he moved to the table to join the blond girl. Catherine sat down beside him as he sat down in front of one of the trays. "Sarah got it for us."

"I see. Well that's great," the blond said as she picked up a piece of toast and started to nibble on it.

"Should I wake up Alphonse?" Sarah gestured to the suit of armor; the boy was still leaning up against the wall.

Edward and Cat exchanged looks. "Naw," Cat said, shaking her hand. "He gets up on his own; in fact he's usually the first one up."

Sarah suddenly looked down cast. "But his food will get cold..."

Ed was about to say something, but he noticed the shine to Al's eyes had returned. His brother had awoken. Alphonse lifted his head. "Good morning." Al said cheerily. "Wow, even Cat's up before me." Alphonse got up off the floor, the metal of the armor clinking loudly. "I must be losing my touch, and you guys got breakfast too. How long have you guys been up?"

"Cat and I just barely got up, and Sarah brought in breakfast for us all." Ed smiled at his brother.

"You should eat before it gets cold," Sarah said to Al. A stifling silence suddenly choked the occupants of the room.

Ed nearly panicked. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to tell Kaine that his brother was just a soul bound to a suit of armor? "Sarah-"

Sarah shot a quick glance around the room before sitting down hard in front of the tray she had brought for Alphonse. She grabbed a piece of toast, looked it over, and then shoved it in her mouth.

Edward, Catherine and Alphonse all exchanged glances, before laughing at the strange situation. A slight blush appeared on Sarah's face as she chewed her big mouthful of toast. Swallowing heavily she reached for the glass of juice on her plate and downed the whole thing in one gulp. This caused another uproar of laughter to swell though the group. Sarah sat the glass down on the table, her teeth literally grinding. "What?" She stood up, the chair falling behind her, causing the blush on her face to grow even bigger. More laughter followed. "What!" There was still no intelligible reply among the laughter. Sarah's body was practically shaking as she walked over to one of the empty beds and sat down Indian-style with her arms crossing over her chest. She turned her head to the side and sighed heavily.

Alphonse finally got control of himself. He walked over to where Sarah was sitting, Cat and Ed still giggling in the background. "It's nothing you did," he said lightheartedly.

Sarah scowled. "As far as I know being laughed at usually means you did something wrong."

"Not all the time though," Al chuckled. "Sometimes people laugh simply because they don't know what to do."

Sarah looked at Alphonse, her gaze pointed. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Al scratched the back of his head. "None of us really knew what to do in that situation. So when you just took matters into your own hands and solved the problem, it was a little surprising. I'm not saying that it didn't turn out well though." Al laughed again. "Though with the toast in your mouth you looked kind of like a squirrel." Al couldn't suppress the chuckle that rose from his metal chest.

Sarah looked away again, although Alphonse noticed that her shoulders didn't look quite so tense.

"Alright you guys, time to get ready, we gotta be at the train station in forty-five minutes." Edward said as he downed the rest of his juice. He set the empty glass in front of him and slid the tray to the center of the table before getting up. With a yawn and a stretch, he walked over to his suitcase, pulled out some clothes and went into the bathroom to change out of his sleeping pants into the day's clothes.

Catherine moved over to her own suitcase and got out her clothes for the day. She pulled out her belt, a pair of close fitting jeans and her dark blue long sleeve shirt. She loved that shirt. It hung off her shoulders in just the right manner to make you notice she was a girl but not enough to make her look bad. Catherine looked over at Sarah, noticing the girl was already ready to travel. The dark girl was sitting cross-legged so her legs disappeared underneath her black cloak. Catherine could see that the girl had twisted her hair, in the braid, loosely around her neck. Then again, Cairo mused, with hair that long it probably was a pain to deal with sometimes.

"Bathroom's open," Edward said as he walked from the bathroom. He wore his usual clothes, the leather pants and black shirt, over shirt and then the long red jacket he was so fond of. The only thing missing were his boots, which were underneath the table. Moving to said table, he sat down in one of the chairs. Pulling his boots over to himself, he started to put them on as Catherine moved into the bathroom.

"See you in a minute," Catherine said with a wave as she closed the door.

"I'll take the trays downstairs," Sarah said as she got up from the bed. Quickly, she grabbed the trays before leaving the room. She didn't seem to be having as much trouble with the trays, probably because they didn't have so much stuff on them this time around. Edward absentmindedly noticed that her cloak had two holes in the back as well as the front; someone probably thought symmetry was stylish.

"Brother?" Al asked timidly after Sarah had left the room.

"What is it?" Edward replied as he leaned over to tie his boots up.

"About Sarah..."

Ed looked up. "What?"

"I don't think she's a bad person."

"Neither do I. I just think there's something weird about her." The elder Elric went back to tying his boots.

Catherine emerged from the bathroom. She looked in between the brothers. "So when do we leave?"

Edward stood up from the table, a few inches taller thanks to his boots. "Just let me grab my suitcase." Ed and Cat walked over to the corner of the room where their suitcases were. Wrapping their hands around the leather handles of their respective cases the two blonds smiled at each other. "Alri-"

A scream split through the room. From what they could tell, it was coming from downstairs.

"That sounded like-" Catherine froze.

"Sarah!" Alphonse ran to the door and threw it open, Edward and Cat close on his heals. The metal boy jumped down the stairs, landing with a 'thunk'. He looked around the room, his eyes searching for the dark girl.

"Wha' was tha' missy?" a giant, yet lowly, looking man sneered, his black hair greased back. Alphonse turned his eyes to the man as he raised his arm. "I didn't hear ya." The man laughed. Al finally noticed whom the man was talking to. The man was pinning a girl to the wall, his hand clamped around her throat and his other brandishing a knife at the struggling girl.

"Sarah!" Alphonse gasped. Catherine and Edward had noticed the man's hostage as well.

"Al..." Sarah gasped out, her face getting red from lack of oxygen. Her feet banged against the wall, looking for something to stand on seeing as the man had her far enough off the ground that her feet could no longer touch the floor. "Ed... Ca-at..." Sarah's hands tightened around the wrist of her attacker.

The man turned his head to the side, but just enough to glare one blood shot eye at the group. "Is this girl yours?" He didn't wait for a reply. "You migh' wanna teach her some manners." The man laughed. "She was rather rude ta' me, and I think she oughta apologize, don'cha?" He laughed again, sounding hysterical.

"You bastard!" Edward yelled before clapping his hands together, transmuting his automail into a blade sharper then the one being used to threaten their partner. Catherine had already transmuted a section of the wall into a knife. The two charged the man.

Sarah gasped as the knife poked at her throat, her hands falling away from the man's arm. "You wouldn't want me to hurt the girl now would ya?" Catherine and Edward skidded to a halt as the man pushed the knife closer to Sarah's throat. "Tha's wha' I though'. Now why don't you two jus' back up a bit, huh?" The man smiled before looking back at the girl. "Now missy, why don' ya apologize ta' me now, alrighty?"

Sarah's eyes hardened. She fought the darkness at the edges of her vision away. Now would be no time to pass out. Struggling to force her oxygen starved muscled to move, she lifted her right hand up to the man's arm again. Letting herself smirk, she grabbed the knife in the man's hand by the blade. Pushing her palm against the sharp metal, she felt it cut into her skin. Along with the prick of pain at slicing her palm open, she also felt a wet heat spread out from her wound and down her wrist. Warm blood seeped from the fresh wound.

"Eh? What'cha doin' now missy? Got some fetish?" the man asked, his eyes narrowing.

Sarah let her hand fall back down. Hitting the backs of her hands together, she willed a transmutation. Sarah felt her blood being drawn through her wound and heard her companions gasp as she worked her unique alchemy. Using the last of her strength, she pushed her hands outward and willed for the newly made weapons to move. All the man could do was grunt as he was pushed back to the nearest wall and then pinned there by Sarah's blood creations. Sarah fell to the ground, her knees making hard contact with the wood flooring of the hotel.

"What the hell are you?" the man screamed, unsure of what was happening. Ten steel hard, blood red knives were sliced through his clothing and deeply embedded in the wall behind him. They effectively held the man in place despite his struggles.

Sarah stood and looked at the man. She hadn't wanted to hurt him seeing as he wouldn't be able to put up a fight, but there was a limit to her generosity. She smacked the backs of her hands together before putting her palms together again. "My name is not 'missy'," Sarah said as the light of a transmutation flared between her hands. She walked towards the man who was now her victim. Pulling her hands apart, she deftly caught the handle of her new weapon and moved closer to the man. "It's Sarah Kaine." the girl's eyes were narrowed as she pointed to tip of her sword at the man's neck. "Next time you decide to do something stupid make sure you know who you are dealing with." Ice coated her words.

The man fainted, a string of drool hanging from his open mouth.

Sarah sighed. "What a coward..." Sarah leaned over and transmuted the blood knives into harmless gases. The man's unconscious body fell to the floor. Sarah sighed again before transmuting her sword. Reaching inside of her cloak, she pulled out a small container. Opening it up, she took a small glob of the salve and rubbed it across her wounded palm. The bleeding stopped instantly as the jar was placed back into one of the cloaks many pockets.

"Sa-" Edward started.

Suddenly the door opened violently. Blurs of blue uniforms entered the building, rifles in the arms of the soldiers. There were six in all, guns were pointed. "Which one of you is Ben Willis?" One of the soldiers yelled. The alchemists raised their hands to show they were unarmed.

"What are you doing?" a voice intruded and another person in uniform walked through the hotel's threshold. The woman's blond hair was clipped up. "You don't point your guns at everyone you see!"

The soldiers pulled their guns to their sides and gave a strong solute. "Sorry, First Lieutenant Hawkeye!"

"Lieutenant!" Ed said happily.

Riza Hawkeye turned round and looked from Sarah, to Alphonse, to Catherine and then finally to Edward. "Edward? What are you doing here?"

Edward smiled. "Just on our way out."

"I see." The woman walked over to Sarah, glancing at the man unconscious on the floor. "Meet Ben Willis, rapist and serial killer. We were called here to arrest him, but by the looks of it, you got here first, Fullmetal."

The bar maid from the previous night dashed out from behind the counter where she had been hiding. "That's him!" She yelled. "He-! He tried to-!" The woman started sobbing as she ran towards Sarah. Sarah seemed frozen as the bar maid grabbed her in a fierce and tight hug, Sarah's face being pushed into the woman's chest. "Thank you so much! I thought he was gonna-!" The woman sobbed even harder.

Riza grabbed the woman by the shoulders and handed her over to one of the solders. "Take her out to the car; we'll need to get her testimony. And the rest of you, get this guy up. I want him locked up tight." The soldiers ran to complete their orders. Riza then turned to the alchemists. "You're all free to go, just send me a letter with the details."

Three of the alchemists nodded, Sarah being too stunned to talk. Al, Cat and Ed ran up the stairs, grabbed their suitcases, including Sarah's, which was carried by Al, and then went back downstairs. The alchemists walked towards the door, Sarah following after getting her suitcase from Alphonse.

Ed brushed past Hawkeye. "I'll make sure to send a copy of my report to Mustang." The blond woman's eyes flashed in understanding before she nodded curtly. The alchemists took off at a fast pace towards the train station, Edward in the lead. Catherine was close behind him as was Al; Sarah seemed to lag a bit behind. Sarah's head was lowered. What had she done?

Running into the train station, they heard the train start to move. With the help of quick feet and a lot of swearing, the group made it onto the train just in time.

So, what do you think? Any good? I actually worked really hard on this. I wanted my character to be strong, but not overpowering. Hope it came out that way.

Anywho, please leave me a comment, constructive criticism is appreciated. Please let me know if you see any mistakes, I tried to catch them all, but I rarely do.

Thank you very much!

~Yakubi