At the train station, Ed was still giving me hell for not telling him things I should've. Did I deserve it? Eh, maybe.

A knock on the window caught Ed's attention. It was one of the Sergeants. "Hughs?"

"The Colonel couldn't come to see you off, so I came instead."

"Great, but can you explain to me why he's making Armstrong come along? I already have a Wolf on my tail."

"Speaking of which, I heard you helped the Elrics at Liore and took down Scar."

"Scar?"

"At least that's what we call him."

"Yeah, I helped them. At this rate, I have no choice."

"The Colonel wanted me to pass a message to you: he wants you to be the Brigadier General here at Central." The train bell sounded before I could answer.

As we all saluted, I said, "Tell him I accept."

At the first train stop, Armstrong saw a man pass the train and quickly got his attention, but the man ended up running away. After telling us about his role in the military, Ed got on his tail, hoping to get any dirt on Bio Alchemy.

Getting off the train, I see a figure, dressed similar to me. "A Demon?" I looked closer and saw that he had the same Demon Mark as I did on his cheek. He saw I was staring, and took off. "Hey, wait!" I took off after him, passing Alex.

"Xena!"

"You go with Ed, I'll be right back!"

ALEX P.O.V

That's just like Xena, to poke her nose where it didn't belong. I wonder where she ran off to.

Getting information about this Marco character, every person we spoke to told us positive feedback about his history of being the town doctor. What really caught me was that they said that they saw a bright flash of light and they were healed. The Philosopher's Stone, perhaps?

XENA P.O.V

I chased this guy all over town, gaining on him. Why was he so afraid of me? I was in the same Pack as him.

Finally, I got close enough to pounce on him. I pinned him down and unmasked his face. "Yuki?"

"Hey, Xena. Just like old times, right?" Yuki was my metaphorical brother. I was his metaphorical sister. We absolutely cared about each other like siblings, so the titles stuck.

"What the hell were you thinking? I could've killed you! I thought you were Kasane!"

"You forget that he's dead."

"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"What? I can't visit you?"

"I'm very busy."

"Yeah, I heard your on your Mastery Exam. How's that coming?"

"Eh . . . easier than I thought. How's everyone else?"

"Not good. Keichi and Azur were found dead . . . killed the same way . . . slit throats and gutted torso's."

"Misaki, obviously. At least you're not injured. I hate to be gone like this. I'm a bad influence on future leaders."

"Ruby understands. Actually, she's been asking about you and your whereabouts."

"Tell her I'll call for her soon. I gotta go. Thanks for wasting my time."

ALEX P.O.V

We reached Marco's house, but when Ed went to knock on the door, the guy tried to shoot him. "What do you want?! Have you come to take me back?!"

"Calm down."

"Have you come to silence me, then?! I won't be tricked by you!" The next thing I knew, Armstrong threw Al's box at him. If only things could get weirder.

"So, you changed your name and went into hiding."

"I couldn't take it anymore. Having to research that thing. So many lives were lost because of it."

"What exactly were you told to research?"

"The Philosopher's Stone. I took my research documents and the Stone itself."

"You mean you still have it?!" exclaimed Ed. He took out a bottle full of red liquid. As he poured it onto the table, it took form of a stone.

XENA P.O.V

I caught Ed's scent and it lead me to a small house. I walked up to the door and knocked as I opened it. "Ed?"

"Perfect timing!" began Alex. "Let us see your necklace!"

"What for?"

"Just give it to me." I took it off my neck and rested it in Alex's hand. She walked over to where everyone resided, and lay the necklace on the table. "Does this look familiar?"

"How—how did you get your hands on that?"

"You mean, you know what it is?" I asked, walking up to the table.

"It's called the Alchemist's Heart. Years ago, a gifted Alchemist was born with a crystal gem in his heart. As he grew up, he grew fond of the qualities this Stone gave him."

"You mean this can enhance Alchemy?"

"It's power is 2X the Philosopher's Stone. But it can't perform Human Transmutation. The Alchemist learned the hard way. His sister died at age 18. The Alchemist tried to Transmute her back, but it was a failure. His body was destroyed, and all that was left was this Stone."

"But how did Aaron get his hands on this? More importantly, how did Squall know?" I took the necklace and put it back on.

"Major," the man began, "Who are these kids?"

"They're State Alchemists. This one," Armstrong gestured to me, "is the Brigadier General."

"But they're only children."

"You think I don't know what I signed up for?!" Edward screamed. "You think I don't know what it takes?!"

"I do. But for the sake of sanity, I can't let you see my research." I, myself, was getting mad. I made a promise to Ed that I would help them gain their bodies back, no matter what. I wasn't going to back off from it.

"Even if it's to get our bodies back?"

"No. It's the Devil's research. It'll take you to hell."

Edward and I exclaimed at the same time, "I've already been through hell!" We looked at each other, surprised. I better watch what say. I can't let them know about . . . that day.

As the train was about to came to a halt, Marco ran up and gave Ed a note saying that it was the location to his material.

Boarding the train, Alex decided to break the silence. "So, what did Yuki say?"

"2 more Demons were found dead. Killed the same way. Slit throats, and gutted torso's."

"Don't tell me . . ."

"They're both from my Pack. Keichi and Azur. Of course it's Misaki. I've fought her long enough to know her killing style. Let's just hope she doesn't find us."

We arrived in the town of Resembool. It's quiet, and small. Who would want to leave this?

As we were walking, my necklace went into compass mode. I looked to where it was leading me, but I had no idea why. It looked like a burned site.

"Ed, what's that?"

"My old home. Al and I burned it down, so that we could move forward, no matter what."

"Harsh, but I'll go with it. Mind if I check it out?"

"I don't mind." I began walking towards the site when Alex decided to stop me.

"Xena, where are you—"

"I'll be back. Just keep Ed occupied while I'm gone."

When I reached the site, it was horrific. This was where the Human Transmutation took place. I'm surprised there weren't any remains.

The charm began to burn. I took that as warning that I shouldn't be here. I kept on hearing weird creaking noises like I was losing my mind.

I went to turn around only to be thrown against a burned beam, held up by my neck. I looked down to see it was Xigbar, Number 1 right hand man.

"You make it seem so easy," he said, materializing his Sharpshooter. I tried to unsheathe the claws on my left hand, but they wouldn't come out. I panicked, realizing that I was turning into a mortal.

I unsheathed the claws on my right hand and dug into his wrist, but that caused him to shoot my chest, stunning me. He let go of my throat and caught me, holding me by my torso.

"There's a special someone waiting for you," he whispered in my ear, opening a Dark Portal. Before he could take a step, I scratched his arm, and elbowed him in the stomach causing him to release me. I fell to my knees, coughing in pain. I was getting weaker as the sun was setting. I really began to panic when I saw a blonde streak hanging between my eyes.

I unsheathed my Keyblade and used it as a cane to balance me. I was way too weak to walk by myself. Xigbar got his balance, but I threw my Keyblade at him like a boomerang, but when it "hit" him, he had vanished into the dark. I caught my Keyblade, catching myself on a nearby beam. I felt a trickle of blood fall between my eyes. The chain on the Keyblade must've hit my head.

I lifted myself up, using the 'Blade as a cane, back down the hill to get my ears screamed off by Alex.

ALEX P.O.V

Apparently, Edward grew up here in Resembool. His childhood friend, Winry, was, also, his automail mechanic. When I met her, she wouldn't stop asking questions about how I learned about automail machinery, or how I trained. I told her about Xena's automail, and she couldn't wait to see it. Upon waiting, she scolded Ed for breaking his automail.

I waited on the porch of the house, looking for any sign of Xena, but there was nothing.

"I'm sure she's fine," said Ed, sneaking up on me.

"She may be immortal, but she's not invincible. I just think she should be more careful. Sometimes I feel like the older sister."

"I've pushed that burden onto Al before. I know it's not a good feeling, but sometimes you need to give yourself a break."

"There was a time when she had fun while she fought; when she smiled. Now she's strict, serious, over-protective. I don't know what happened to her."

"I continued to look out into the distance when I finally saw Xena, but I terrible shape. She was limping, using her Keyblade as a cane, had blood falling from her forehead. Ed and I bolted for her, for she looked like she was about to pass out.

XENA P.O.V

I saw Ed and Alex running towards me, wariness in their eyes.

"Xena, what happened?!" Alex cupped my cheeks, but I gave her a sincere look, and slowly pushed her away.

"I'm fine. Just got into a fight with Xigbar. Nothing more."

"Xigbar?! Are you out of your freaking mind?! Here you are turning mortal and you . . ."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Ed. "You're turning mortal?"

"Eh . . . well . . . when there's no Moon, I turn back to my original state. Geez, you treat it like it'll kill me."

"Just get your ass in there so I can look at your arm. Who knows if he nicked it."

"Steel and iron entwined automail! Your sisters a goddess of automail!"

"Xena, this is Winry, my mechanic."

"I see. Did you bash his head in with a wrench?"

"Oh, more than that. Don't worry, Alex. I'll take care of this one."

"You sure? I don't think you know how to fix this type of automail."

"It's the least I could do. You're helping Ed and all. But I'll have to disconnect it, then reconnect it. It has a hairline fracture. It'll be fixed in 2 minutes!"

As she worked on my arm, I kept on thinking about my confrontation. When he shot my chest, my heart didn't dissipate. I guess my Unit really does work. But still . . . it could mean that I don't have a heart, after all.

"All finished. Reconnecting it won't be too hard. It may hurt a bit."

"Do what you have to." As she plugged the arm in, she tightened it. For me, it doesn't hurt. That's probably why she and Ed were looking at me weird.

"How are you not screaming in pain?"

"Oh, it's a Demon default. How would I know, though. I was unconscious when Alex first assembled my automail."

"Call that lucky. When Edward first got hi—"

"Enough Winry! Anyway, I'm going to go visit my mother's grave. Xena, mind coming?"

"Sure."

"So, what was your mother like?"

"Where do I start? She always encouraged us with our alchemy. She treasured all of the knick-knacks we made her. She was the mother any kid would want. When she died, I blamed our father, and I still to this day. She drained her life waiting for his return. He didn't even come to her funeral."

"I'm so sorry."

"What about you?"

"Well . . . that's kind of hard to tell. You see, when Alex and I were 7 or 8, we were taken from our World, reasons unknown. We arrived in Traverse Town, a place where people end up when their World is destroyed, or they run from it. That's how I met Leon. He took me to Aaron's World where his parents took us in, once explained of our situation. As we grew older, Leon visited to see how we were. That stopped when we gained the Keyblade. Aaron began teaching me alchemy. His father was a great Alchemist, but was retired and couldn't perform it anymore. When I was 10, I met Kasane, ex-leader of my Pack, the Blood Pack. I guess you could call it a young romance, but I didn't see it the way other people saw it. He always told me about life as a Wolf. It sounded so interesting, until one day, I asked him to turn me into one. He objected at first, but I persuaded him to. So he gave me the official seal of our pack. When I was 12, I found him dead, murdered in cold blood."

"You've had quite the life, huh?"

"Yeah, but I've gotten used to it."

Edward and I arrived at a graveyard, and stood in front of a grave entitled Trisha Elric.

"What the hell?! Who would mark my mother's grave?!" I looked in his direction and saw a small circle inside a bigger circle.

"That's a trinity mark. They usually let me see certain secrets that are hidden within the core of the World." I touched the mark, but saw something . . . strange. I saw someone's past . . . Edwards. I saw him as a child, as he grew up with Al, his Human Transmutation. I saw it from someone else's point of view.

When I came to, I nearly collapsed. I was scared, yet worried.

"Xena? What's wrong? What did you see?"

"Why did I see your past?"

"What?"

"Why did I see your mother's memories? Why do I contain them?" I inhaled and exhaled, trying to think of a reasonable explanation.

"Edward . . . is it possible that I'm . . . the reincarnation of your mother?"