Ninjagirl: Ahahaha! The final part to chapter four! Which I had to put into three parts because of the fact that it ended up being 30 pages on Word. So yeah. X.x I will try not to make chapters this long again, but it's not guaranteed. And I am already working on chapter five. Almost done, actually...and I sort of went off of the Ep. Unfortunately, disc 2 of season 1 is the ONLY one I don't have anymore, so it ended up being from what I could remember of it. Oh yeah. FLAMEASS!

Mustang: -walks in- What is it, shortie?

Ninjagirl: Don't call me short or I'll give you an afro!

Mustang: What did you want?

Ninjagirl: Do the disclaimer.

Mustang: Why?

Ninjagirl: Are you looking to get an afro?

Mustang: -sighs- Fine. BlackNinjagirl does not own me, the shrimp-

Ed: I HEARD THAT!

Mustang: SHUT IT, MIDGET! -or Fullmetal Alchemist in general, so don't sue or you might be the one getting an afro.

Ninjagirl: Damn straight! You can go now, Flameass.

Mustang: -_- Stop calling me that. -walks off-

Ninjagirl: Pfft. Flameass fits you. XD Anyway. Review replies at the end of the chapter. Enjoy! (And thanks to my beta, Thestormslayer!)

Chapter Four: Three Years Later-Part Three

They got away and were sitting next to a statue, Rai sighing.

"Phew, that was close," she huffed. "Dammit, Ed, you put us in too many close calls."

"You like that, that's why you stay with us," Ed retorted.

Rai shook her head. "No," she replied. "I have other reasons for staying with you guys."

Al chuckled. "Like l-"

"Al!" Rai snapped at him before he could finish. "You promised!"

Al looked at her, then sighed. "Sorry Rai."

Ed blinked. "Promised what?"

Rai waved a hand at him. "Nothing, Ed."

Al looked at them. "Why do they think we're evil? If we'd wanted the stone at all costs, we would have taken it by now."

There was a ringing noise as the speakers turned on, and a voice Rai recognized as Cray's said, "People of Liore, this evening a trio of unbelievers tried to take the life of the great prophet Cornello-one short and blonde, one also short and brown-haired, and the last wearing armor. I beg you all to stay in your homes," Cray added, and continued saying something else but Rai didn't catch it.

"Oh he did not just call me and Ed short!" Rai growled as Ed quickly got Al to run off and transmuted the statue into an Al look-alike. "He's bound and determined to make us look like criminals. We didn't even try to kill him!"

It wasn't long before there was a crowd around them, all holding something they were going to hit them with.

"There's no question, you guys, they're the ones-the two short newcomers and their tin man," one guy said.

Ed was pissed at that. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING A MOUSY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK?"

Rai growled at the short comment. "Call me or Ed short again, buster, and you're going to get it."

"Nobody said that, now back off," the guy retorted. "We got more important business to settle."

Ed scratched his head, Rai crossing her arms and leveling them all with a glare.

"And what business would that be?" she asked them.

"What kind of depraved souls are you?" another guy asked. "How could you go after the prophet?"

Rai put her glove-covered flesh hand to her forehead. "Oi, you idiots don't listen, do you?" She looked at them. "We were never trying to kill him! He'd be dead already if we were!"

Ed nodded. "Rai's right, and we'd be done with you people already."

"We welcomed you here! You made us believe you were good!" a woman interjected.

Rai huffed and crossed her arms again. "Fine, don't listen."

Ed sighed. "Look, lady, I never asked you to believe anything. He's just a priest, he's using alchemy!"

"Liar," a voice Rai recognized as Rose's interjected, and the crowd parted to let her through. "Just now, my boyfriend spoke to me. Cornello's bringing him back."

"Fishier than the sushi I ate," Rai said in a singsong voice.

Ed shot her a look, which made her go quiet, before turning back to the crowd, which made happy noises.

"You mean old Cain which we lost in the accident?" the first guy, the one who had called Ed and herself short, interjected. "He was a good kid-good for you, Rose."

"There, you see? And he's not the first, either, there've been many others who've come back," the woman told them.

Rai gave them all a look. "Has anyone actually seen these people? Cause if it was real, you'd have the scare of your life to find out what it really looked like."

Ed nodded. "I heard they left town as soon as they were brought back," he agreed.

"Look!" one of the men yelled, and Ed and Rai turned to see the statues in town walking on their own-seven of them.

"Damn," Rai muttered, preparing to snap her fingers, but Ed put his hand on hers to keep her from snapping.

"Just let them capture us, I have a plan," he muttered to her, Rai blinking at him.

"Alright," she said after a minute, dropping her hand as the statues surrounded them. "This doesn't work, I'm smacking you later."

Ed grinned. "Deal."

The two turned to face the statues again, just in time to see 'Al' get picked up by a statue and tossed aside.

"Al!" Ed yelled.

"Ed!" Rai yelled at him. "Behind you!"

Ed was about to turn when one of the statues hit him on the back of the head, and Rai looked at the statues, backing away from them.

She turned to look at Ed for just a second, but that was a mistake, for she felt something hit her on the back of her own head, hard enough to make her fall over onto the concrete, her vision fading in and out before she fell unconscious.

She came to in a room with someone other than Ed carrying her and got out of his grasp and kicked him in the face with her automail leg before she realized what she was doing.

You know what? I may as well since I'm free and the bastard needs it anyway, she thought to herself before running over and leaping into the air, catching the false priest completely off-guard with a boot to the jaw, sanding him flying several feet away, and getting several more guys off of her before she was finally overpowered by the men, and heavily restrained.

"Let me go, you bastards!" she yelled furiously, struggling to get free.

Cornello got up and walked over to her, and leveled her with a glare, one Rai returned with full force, and he said, "May the wrath of God rip you to pieces."

Rai spat in his face. "He'll take you before he takes me," she snarled back.

Cornello smirked before looking down at her State Alchemist's watch, grabbing it and yanking it from its chain, then doing the same with Ed's.

"Hey! Give those back, those don't belong to you!" Rai yelled at him.

"So, these are the watches of the State Alchemist," Cornello said as if marveling over them. "Never seen one up close. They're the reason you can do alchemy without transmutation circles, aren't they? They amplify all of your work, I think you two will be quite harmless without them." He eyed Rai. "You, girl, will need a close watching."

Rai growled again. "Bastard!"

Cornello merely laughed. "Take them away."

Once they were in the cell with their hands chained above them and they were sitting against the wall cross-legged and alone, Rai looked at Ed.

"Bah," Rai muttered. "My kicking him and nearly breaking his jaw should have taught him not to cross us."

Ed grinned at her. "Seems the guards are too scared to watch you like they should for fear of getting their butts kicked."

Rai smirked. "As well they should be-Hawkeye taught me some of my fighting techniques, but you taught me the rest."

Ed blinked at her. "Hawkeye? Really?"

Rai nodded just as the door opened and Rose walked in bringing two trays of food.

"Great, you came to feed me! And I thought you were mad," Ed told her, opening his mouth for her to put the food in, Rai rolling her eyes at him.

Rose, however, set the trays in front of them and started running off.

"Rose, for your sake, I hope he's real," Rai told her quietly, to which she stopped running. "I just don't want you to get disappointed."

Rose didn't answer, just continued running, the door slamming closed behind her, and Ed looked at Rai.

Rai caught him looking and blinked at him. "What? I was being sincere."

"I know you were," Ed retorted, "it's just rare to see it." He smiled at her. "I like it when you're being sincere."

Rai blushed slightly and looked over at her tray. "Thanks, Ed." She lifted a foot and moved the tray closer to her before looking over at Ed to find him doing the same, then she looked at her shoes.

Ed froze, seemingly hearing something, and Rai stopped too, hearing the small sounds of metal scraping stone, and she smiled as Ed muttered, "I knew you'd come through for me, Al."

It wasn't long before the two of them heard footsteps, and they managed to get back where they were before she recognized the footsteps as Cornello's.

Rai glanced over at Ed. This stuff really is going according to his plan. This whole scheme of his is going to get broadcast to the entire city. She grinned despite herself. And I'm going to laugh my ass off when he finally finds out.

Ed shot her a look which told her to get the grin off of her face, and she did before Cornello came in their cell.

"This little charade of yours will be found out soon enough," Ed told the false prophet once the man was standing in front of them.

"The faithful are not likely to distinguish between alchemy and the works of God," Cornello retorted. "Really, as long as I'm bringing them happiness, what do they care where it comes from?"

Rai was just watching the conversation with an outward expression of mild interest, while inwardly she was fighting to keep from letting out uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"Right," Ed retorted, getting a smug look on his face. "So, what's in it for you, besides all the kowtowing?"

Cornello grinned, and Rai had to keep from yawning at the long spiel he gave off by then as they waited on Al to finish setting up the microphone connection.

"So, is it the money you're after?" Ed asked finally, and Rai figured Al had finished setting it up by now so she attempted to hold back a giggling fit.

"Oh, I can get all the money I want from the offerings," Cornello retorted, grinning. "But you think too small. I'm making believers who would gladly throw away their very lives in my name. And why not? They believe I can resurrect them. They aren't afraid to die. There is no greater army than those with a holy call." Cornello turned his back to them. "Mark my words, in a few years I'll have a following large enough to tear this country apart and rebuild it, in my name!"

Ed sighed and took his arms down from the loose chains, Rai doing the same before she grinned and stole Ed's drink, Ed glaring back before stealing hers, sticking his tongue out at her as he set it down on his tray and picked up his bread, Rai drinking her water quietly.

"Makes no difference to me," Ed retorted, making Cornello turn around. "After all, there's no real way to bring someone back to life, right? Once you cut us down, we're gone for good."

Rai gave Ed a glare that said no way you're dying on my watch, Ed smiling at the glare before looking back at Cornello.

"I'm afraid that's right," Cornello replied, not noticing Rai drinking her water with her arms free. "Even with the Philosopher's Stone, I wouldn't dare try human alchemy. I'd end up like the two of you. And why would a king risk his life for the sake of his mindless pawns?"

Ed pointedly took a bite of bread, Rai setting her water down and picked up her own bread, which she looked at with a raised eyebrow-it looked rather stale.

Cornello realized they were no longer chained and blinked. "Wait a second…"

Ed looked at him and grinned before moving aside to reveal the hole in the wall with Cornello's microphone, Rai, unable to keep from laughing any longer, burst out laughing from the look on his face.

"WHAT?" Cornello yelled. "How long has that thing been on?"

Rai attempted to muffle her laughter in her gloved hand as Ed replied, "Long enough for the 'mindless pawns tearing this country apart' comment, I think."

"How did you get my broadcasting equipment?" Cornello demanded.

"Al rigged it up. I know, you smashed him into pieces, but that was just some metal I whipped up to look like him! Pretty clever, huh?" Ed retorted, grinning wider.

"No, my children, he lies! Don't believe him!" Cornello yelled before he shot at them, Rai pulling Ed out of the way before it could hit them, and Ed transmuted his automail into a sword before slashing off the front end of the staff which had been transmuted into a machine gun.

"Ha, so much for that," Rai commented. "But the look on your face was priceless, Cornello-you should have seen it." She grinned, transmuting her left arm into a sword herself.

"By the way," Ed added, "we don't get our skills from pocket watches."

Rai nodded, her right hand held out ready to snap if she needed to while her left hand was ready to slice through anything that came her way.

Cornello gasped before turning and running, Rai grinning and taking off after him, Ed following after her, and transmuting their automail back to normal.

Cornello led them to the front steps and stopped in his tracks, gasping in fright, as he looked over the mob in front of them.

"My children, the nonbelievers have used their science to impersonate me," Rai heard Cornello call out to the mob. "It is a conspiracy of the devil! But witness as the great sun god redeems me with his vengeful light!"

Rai turned to Ed, who was standing next to her. "You believe any of this crap he's feeding them? All I hear is blah blah blah, blah blah blah."

Ed looked at her. "Nope, not a word. Sounds like he's just feeding them religious mumbo-jumbo, as you like to call it." He shuddered. "Sun god this, sun god that-it makes me sick."

Rai grinned at him. "I think I'm rubbing off on you."

Ed grinned. "You are, in more ways than one."

Rai blinked, then blushed lightly at the double meaning, which made Ed grin wider.

"You always are cuter when you blush," he said in a near whisper, Rai looking away from him.

"Ed, stop it already," she told him. "Right now Cornello is what we need to worry about."

Ed's grin faded. "You're right…sorry."

Rai crossed her arms, but was now watching Cornello. "What are you apologizing for? It's unnecessary. I never said I didn't like the compliment, I just said now's not the time."

Ed's grin returned. "Oh, I see now." He turned to look back at Cornello.

"Behold God's poweeeeeeer!" Cornello yelled, and raised his hand in the air, the ring glowing before the statues in the area came to life and stepped off of their platforms.

Rai yawned-she'd seen Ed do better. Hell, she herself could do better-and turned to Ed. "You want this or should I take care of it?"

Ed shrugged. "Let me, I haven't had a good chance like this in a while."

Rai nodded. "It's all yours then."

Ed stepped out from next to her and stood behind Cornello, Rai staying where she was and watching the scene, though she kept alert in case anything went awry.

"I'm warning you, give it up," Ed told him.

Cornello turned to face Ed, scoffing at him. "You can't fool me with that little display down there. Without your watches, all you and your little girlfriend-" Rai shot Cornello a glare at that, but not without a blush, Ed also turning red at the remark, "-can do is alchemy to your own metal arm."

Rai sighed. What an idiot. First rule of battle-never, absolutely never, underestimate your enemy.

"You know what?" Ed retorted, the blush gone though he looked mad now. "You're not the only one who can't stand doubters, preach!" he yelled before clapping his hands and putting his left flesh arm to the ground, the familiar blue light of alchemy at work going through the temple. "Here's the real hammer of God!"

There was a rumble and an explosion before a huge version of the sun god idol appeared, towering far above where the temple was and looking to be twice as tall, Rai smirking upon the idol's appearance as it walked towards where Cornello stood, stopping several feet from him.

"I don't believe it," Cornello muttered. "Not even the Philosopher's Stone could move something as big as that!"

The statue moved and its fist went towards Cornello, who yelled in fear and covered his head, but the fist landed next to the priest, smashing the smaller statue to pieces.

Rai took that as her chance to walk out, and she went over and stood next to her best friend. "I hope you learned your lesson, Cornello. First rule of combat-never ever underestimate your opponent."

Ed grinned at her. "Thanks for letting me take care of it."

Rai smiled back. "Aw, it was worth it-he looked like he was going to pee his pants when that statue was about to hit him. I just wish I'd had a camera."

Ed laughed before walking over to Cornello, giving him a look that said hand it over or the next hit will be right on target.

"NO!" Cornello yelled in protest. "You can't have it! I won't let you take the stone!" It was then, however that the stone seemed to react, and Cornello stopped and fell to his knees, clutching the arm that had the ring with the stone on it and yelling in pain.

Rai blinked. "What in the hell?"

Cornello continued yelling in pain until he finally held up the arm that had the stone ring on it to reveal the arm had mutilated into some kind of robotic something or other.

Rai's eyes widened as Ed ran over to him, and she followed.

"What the hell?" Ed exclaimed.

"It's recoiling!" Rai told him, dropping to one knee and taking Cornello's mutilated wrist in her automail hand. "Look!"

Ed bent over to look when the stone seemed to dim and then split into droplets, vanishing into the air.

"An imitation?" Rai asked, blinking, as she looked it over. "You mean we just chased after a damn imitation?"

"Apparently so," Ed replied, looking just as annoyed as she did as he stood up, and, sounding as if he was muttering to someone, added, "After all this, all the trouble you put us through…even the Stone's a fake?" His hands clenched into fists. "Stop jerking us AROUND!"

Rai stood up and put her glove-covered flesh hand on Ed's flesh shoulder. "I'm sorry, Edward," she told him sincerely, using his entire first name, which she very rarely did-she only used it when she seriously meant what she said and she wanted Ed to know she meant it. "I really am…kind of annoys me that I can't help you guys out so much."

Ed turned to her. "But Rai, you do help! Immensely! You get us out of tight situations, especially when we need it."

Rai blinked. "Well, that is true…" Her hazel eyes met his amber ones, and she smiled before hugging him. "Thanks, Ed." She pulled away from him and grinned. "C'mon, let's go meet up with Al."

Ed nodded and the two of them ran off in the direction of the armored Elric brother.

They got to a bridge in the middle of Liore and found Al sitting there, and Ed went over and sat next to him while Rai sat up on the stone railing between them but not interrupting their vision of each other.

Ed sighed. "Just another wild goose chase…and here I thought we could finally put you back in the flesh again."

Al shook his head. "No, Brother, you'll be the first we fix."

Rai smiled, watching the exchange silently.

"That automail's so tough on you," Al added.

Ed grinned, then looked up at Rai. "I'm not the only one with it, though."

Rai shrugged. "I've gotten used to it," she retorted. "I admit, though, it would be nice to have four good limbs again." She held up her left hand and looked it over, then, with a sigh, let it drop again. "Not much we can do about it right now, though."

Ed nodded. "Nothing left to do but start the search again."

"You're going to make me nosebleed if you don't put a jacket or something on, Ed," Rai muttered under her breath.

Ed blinked at her. "What was that?"

Rai shook her head. "Nothing," she replied before they heard footsteps and turned to see Rose walk up.

"Why?" Rose asked, sounding about to cry. "Why did you have to come here? Things were fine before you three showed up! We believed we could do anything. We even thought we could bring the dead back to life! How am I supposed to live knowing that Cain won't ever come back?"

Rai's eyebrows rose slightly at that. "Are you saying you wanted to be under a dictatorship with that con man as your ruler?" she retorted.

Rose didn't answer, just shook slightly, and Rai heard movement before she turned to look at who had stood up to find Ed with his back to them.

"You've got legs of your own, Rose, you should get up and use them," Ed said quietly before Rose fell to her knees, crying, Rai hopping off of the railing before heading over to Ed, poking him in the side and making him move away from the poke with a small smile and a "Stop that."

"You okay?" she asked him.

Ed looked at her and nodded. "I'll be fine."

Rai poked him again, Ed moving away from the poke again. "You suure?"

Ed nudged her back with his flesh elbow gently. "Yes, I'm sure."

Rai grinned a little before nudging him in the ribs, Ed laughing a little, which perked Rai up. "Oho, ticklish there, huh?" she teased, knowing full well he was and taking the chance to tickle him lightly, the two of them continuing to mess around until Al caught up with them and the three of them headed off.

Ninjagirl: Hope you enjoyed the chapter... I couldn't remember my original ending to this one, and I know Rose came up and complained...(like always), so I ended up making another ending. Seems kinda crappier then the original... But anyway... as promised, review replies time!

shugochara119: XD Thanks. And thanks for the review! -hands a cookie-

VioletLily2010: Yush, I am back. I wasn't aware I'd left. XD And of course I'd still be working on this. I'm a big FMA fan, why wouldn't I? It's slow progress, but I am indeed still working on it.

Thestormslayer: Thank you. XD Even though you already read it lol. And to all you others. READ HIS STORY, Padre Nuestro! It has Rai in it. XD You like this one, you'll like his.

kasuki101: Lotta reviews, one for each chapter. XD And I know, right? the whole thing with Nina was SO SAD. I actually cried. And here's your update. XD Thanks for the review!

Well, that's all for now. So many reviews! -hands out cookies to all that reviewed- Review for this chapter and see you next chapter!