"YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER?!?!?!"

Edward groaned at the voice of his female companion as she repeated herself for the millionth time that day. He stared out the window of the train as the sandy landscape that signaled the entering of the desert flew past. She had been like this ever since they left Central, and hadn't shut up long enough for him to try and explain.

Not that he was going to.........but still: if he was, she was being too loud for him to respond. He growled to himself as she sucked in another breath to once again disturb the peace of the train.

"YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER?!?!?!" Her voice demanded yet again.

Ed shook with an uncontrollable desire to tackle her; put his glove down her throat; anything to silence her voice. He sighed; maybe she would shut up if he answered.

"Yes, I do." He said simply, without even turning to look at her.

Bad choice. That sent Serena into an even BIGGER fit.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YES I DO'?!??!?!" She shouted. Edward growled and whirled around to face her, matching her tone with his own.

"IT MEANS JUST WHAT IT MEANS. I HAVE A DAUGHTER! AND SHE'S BEEN MY DAUGHTER FOR ABOUT THREE YEARS NOW!" He shouted back.

"WHAAAAAAAAT?!" Serena yelped. "HOW COULD YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER FOR THREE YEARS?! AND WHO THE HECK IS HER MOTHER?!" She demanded.

Edward smirked. "Me." He said.

Serena was struck dumb for a moment, and Ed took advantage of her lowered tone to put his red hood up, and fall asleep. Serena just stared at him, her expression one of utter disbelief.

-_-

The girl arrived in Loire earlier then she expected. She walked through the streets, nodding at the smiling faces of the locals as they recognized the symbol on her white coat. Her golden bangs shielded her gold eyes from the sun as she entered a particularly bright area of the city, and right before her she saw the fountain she had been searching for.

She smiled and sat by it, putting her hands in the clear water. She sighed and flicked the water on her face before she felt a pair of large hands engulf her shoulders.

"Hey! No one puts their dirty hands into the sacred fountain, you little twerp! It was built for Loire by a famous Alchemist that once saved us!" A strong voice barked.

The girl replied without turning around, her voice strangely calm and smooth. It was like the voice of the vixen before it sprang upon her prey. "And, pray tell, is that Alchemist's name?" She asked.

"Elric." He barked, as if it was the name of some foreign deity that she should've known.

She smiled again and stood, removing the hand from her shoulder. Although she was small, her golden eyes blazed with a defiance that made the man question himself on whether or not it was a good idea to bother her.

"How interesting, my dear friend. For I am an Alchemist named Elric. I wonder how that works out."

-_-

"Did I ever mention how much I hate the desert?"

Serena growled and walked faster, ignoring Ed's teasing tone. Edward just groaned and caught up to her.

"Are you going to continue to ignore me?"

Serena merely walked faster. Ed huffed and went to stand by his brother.

"Brother?" Al asked. Edward nodded in response. "I think you hurt her feelings by not telling her about Kristen...." Al said.

Edward looked up at his little brother with disbelief. "You're kidding! She should know by now I like to keep secrets." Ed said before walking to her.

"Serena, did I hurt your feelings by not telling you sooner?" He asked.

Serena turned to him and was about to yell again, when Sebastian came, screaming with all his might, from the sky and landed on Ed's shoulder in a huff.

Ed was surprised. "What is, Sebby?" He asked. A huge explosion about five miles away caught his attention, as did the beam of light that seems to make up the explosion.

"Shit........" Edward swore before taking off in a head long run towards the explosion.

"EDWARD ELRIC! YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Serena yelled at him.

Edward didn't chance a looking back glance, he just kept running.

The man flew at least five feet back before the after shock hit him head on. He was blasted straight into the air. He yelled as he came plummeting back to earth. Before he could hit the ground, light seemed to carve itself around him, breaking his fall before throwing him back up.

The girl laughed as she clapped her hands again, throwing him up and down using the light around her. She finally put him down and walked over to him.

"So, are you going to disturb me again?" She asked, amusement beaming from her eyes. The man shook his head violently before turning to run away. "Smart man." She nodded after him before she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a group of men.

"Afternoon, gentlemen. May I help you?" She asked, while trying to re-braid her hair.

The group stared at her funny before one of them threw a crowbar at her. She ducked and turned around, her amber eyes flaming.

"What was that for?! That was completely uncalled for!" She yelled. The men laughed and charged her, obviously not taking a lesson from the fight they had just witnessed.

-_-

"Ed! ED!" Serena yelled after her companion, but she could tell he didn't even hear her. He looked angry, frightened, tired, and completely ready to attack someone all at the same time.

She tackled him to ground and straddled him beneath her. "What is wrong with you?!" She yelled in his face. Ed glared before throwing her off and taking off running again. She groaned loudly before she felt Al grab her shoulder.

"Don't try to stop him." He advised. "He always gets like this when she's in a fight." He said before running as well.

"Who?!" Serena demanded as she caught up with the metal armor.

"Kristen Maria Elric." Alphonse answered before really taking off.

-_-

Kristen had never been very good at hand to hand combat. She yelped as one man caught her knee with his leg, and she could've sworn she felt it crack slightly. She growled and clapped her hands together, bending the light around her and shoving the men off of her.

She smirked as they flew about six feet away from her. But she cried out when she put weight on the leg the one man had kicked, which incidentally was her right. She fell almost to the ground as the men took advantage of her weakened state to try her hands behind her back.

They picked up their weapons, ready to beat the trouble maker for touching their fountain when a voice ripped through the silent air.

"KRISTEN!"

A flash of blue light. The ground shook. Kristen watched in something equivalent to glee as the men were thrown very far from her. Kristen moved herself into a sitting position as Sebastian landed on her wrists and cut the ropes with a swift swipe of his front left claw.

She smiled and stood up, dusting off her shorts, and careful not to put a lot of weight on her right leg. She came to full height, and her vision was filled with the one person she wanted to see the most.

"DADDY!!!" She yelled before launching herself at the short Elric. Serena would've bet that Edward would fall over from the increase in weight, but he didn't seem fazed as his arm wrapped around her lower back and he twirled her around, much like a father would spin his five year old.

"Hey, Al?" Serena asked Alphonse, her voice cracked from dead-running five miles of desert.

"Yes?" He responded.

"Is that her? You know, Ed's kid?" She asked.

The metal body nodded. "That's her."

"How can she be Ed's daughter, she looks the same age as him?" Serena asked.

Al shrugged. "It's not for me to tell you. Brother needs to be the one to tell you that." He said. Serena huffed as Edward brought the golden-haired girl over to them.

"UNCLE AL!!!" The girl jumped from the ground to Al's waiting arms. She laughed and hugged him tightly.

"Ed, how do you have a daughter who's the same age as you?"

"I don't." Ed said. "I have a five year old daughter who looks and acts like she's my age."

"Okay, now I want answers." Serena barked. "And that's an order, Major." She growled.

Ed chuckled and through her a mock salute. "Later, General. First, I want you to meet her."

The girl smiled and walked, or rather limped, back over to Edward and smiled. "Who's this, Dad?"

Edward smiled. "This is Serena, Krissy. She's my partner in the military and an Alchemist like me."

Kristen hugged Serena and nodded. "But not like me, right?"

"No. No one's like you." Edward said before talking to Al for a while.

Serena had frozen when the 'daughter-of-elric' hugged her, and looked at the girl funny when she let go. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm Kristen Maria Elric. Ed's daughter." She said, without missing a beat.

"Really?"

"Yep."

"How?"

"I'm not sure. Dad knows that better then me."

"Great. Not exactly what I was looking for."

"Well, sorry! I don't know what to tell you."