Hey, everyone! Thanks for all the support so far! Wow, I can't believe how popular this story has gotten. Please continue to review, asyour reviewsdo have an effect. One person submitted a suggestion, and it changed my whole idea of how the story was going to end.

This chapter might be a little surprising, but don't kill me until you read the chapter tomorrow. (Then you can kill me if you want to, heh.) Since this is a story, and not merely a series of sketches, I can't very well have absolutely nothing happen in the plot, can I? Heh. I'll tell you right now though, this story will eventually end happily. Review if you want to influence how it ends, hehe.

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Of all things, no matter how many times I say this, I still don't own it. I wonder why people need me to say this on every chapter. Is this a trend, or do people these days suffer from short-term memory loss like Dory? (I don't own Finding Nemo either, but it won't even be appearing in the story, so it's not even worth mentioning. heh.)

When Mom shook us awake the next morning, I noticed that I felt really weak. I couldn't figure out why. Maybe I just wasn't used to sharing my body yet. It had only been two days since Edward had first moved in, after all.

I managed to push myself up to a sitting position with my auto-mail and rubbed my eyes with my other hand. "Did you manage to work things out for us at school?" I asked.

"Yes," she said, "Your father was really smart. He decided that it would be easier to not explain what had really happened, so he told only what he needed to. He said that you really did have a prosthetic arm and leg, and that you bleached your hair blond."

"But some people saw a lot more than that," I said.

"Only a few did," said Mother, "And you father told them to keep their mouths shut." She smiled. Dad sure had a way of persuading people.

"I have your breakfast on the table," said Mom, "No milk this time." I laughed. She was accepting this faster than I thought she would. Dad must've persuaded her as well.

"Thanks," I said. She left the room. I quickly got dressed, in a T-shirt this time, since I no longer had to hide, and went downstairs.

Mom had placed another bowl of oatmeal on the table as well as a glass of orange juice. I sat down and started eating. Mom came into the room and sat down on the other side of the table.

"Sweetheart," she said, "Why didn't you tell us what was going on as soon as it happened?"

I put my spoon in my bowl, and raised my eyes to look at her. "I didn't want to frighten you," I said.

"Well, you sure managed to scare the heck out of us in spite of your efforts," said Mom.

"Yeah I know," I said, "I'm really sorry about that."

"I'd also like to know why you went ahead and dyed your hair. Even though it's really Edward's hair, it's attached to your head. Dye causes damage to your hair, so that's why we don't allow you to dye it," she said.

"I didn't dye it, Mom," I said, "Edward transmuted it. The transmutation was harmless, but it didn't last long. It should have lasted for a few days, but I guess that the pain that came from reconnecting the auto-mail made it not last very long."

My mom sighed, "Kids," she mumbled, "Why do they have to have a mind of their own?" She got up from the table and left the room. "Have a nice day at school, sweetheart," she called from the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mom, I will," I said. I finished my breakfast, grabbed my books and stepped out the door. I yawned.

(So you're feeling tired today too?) asked Edward.

(Yeah,) I said, (I guess that yesterday must've worn me out.)

(But, haven't you noticed?) said Edward, (This body isn't tired at all.)

I stopped walking for a second, and tuned into my body's sensations. (You're right,) I said, (My body's full of energy, so why am I so tired?)

(If our body is strong, then it must be our spirits that are weak,) said Edward.

(But why?) I asked.

(I have no idea,) said Edward, (We should try to find someone who can help us find out.)

(But I don't know anyone,) I said.

(We'll find someone, somehow,) said Edward.

We finally arrived at school. Except for everyone I ran into that day who commented on my auto-mail and my blond hair, the day ran on pretty much like a normal day. Even the P.E. teacher avoided me, much to the envy of everybody else.

During recess, I was just standing outside, enjoying the sunshine, when I suddenly grabbed my heart. My knees gave way, and I fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

I turned about to see Trisha, whom everyone called "the shadow stepper", standing on my shadow. "So, which one of you did I get?" she asked.

"I beg your pardon?" I said, annoyed.

She put her hands behind her back, and proceeded to walk around me, as she said, "The shadow is a representation of the soul. Since I was able to affect you so drastically by stepping on your shadow, you obviously have a fairly weak soul right now. I think I even know why you do."

I stood back up. "Why do you think my soul's weak?" I asked. Hey, this girl may be nuts, but she might be able to give us a clue, I thought.

Trisha stopped walking and stared at me. "I've been watching you for awhile," she said. "When you sneezed a few minutes ago, you lost control of your soul temporarily. I saw two shadow figures at that time, which means that you really have two souls in your body."

I gasped. How had she been able to deduce that from that little observation?

She continued, "A body is meant to only support one soul, so that's why both of you are feeling so weak today. I'd venture to guess that since you're only at this stage, the other must've entered you two days ago, on Halloween."

I remained silent. I had always thought of this girl as a nutcase, but everything she had said thus far was absolutely true! I wanted to ask her for more information, but I couldn't say anything. I was too shocked for words.

Trisha smiled, "I'm not as evil and stupid as you've been led to believe. I only step on people's shadows to get their attention. I actually want to help you, but I do understand why you can't say anything. I'm sure that it's shocking to have someone else know exactly what's going on."

I looked into her eyes. Tears were coming to my own. I reached out and hugged her. She smiled, and let me hug her for a moment, and then she pushed me back.

"You won't like what I have to tell you," she said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You body, as I said, can only support one soul. If you continue on as you are now, both souls will get weaker and weaker until you both die."

I gasped. No, that couldn't be true! "What do we do about it?" I asked.

She shrugged and sighed. "One of you will have to leave that body to spare the other."

"Do you mean that one of us has to die?" I asked. She nodded. I put my face in my hands and started to cry. I did not want to deal with this.

(Katie, this was originally your body, so I'll leave,) said Edward.

(Edward, no!) I said, (I can't stand the thought of your dying for me.)

(I'm supposed to be dead, anyway,) he said, (Perhaps this is my time to move on.)

(But we don't even know how to leave this body, unless this body is killed, which would kill both of us,) I said.

(This girl might know something,) said Edward, (Ask her.)

I continue to cry. I didn't want to sacrifice Edward's life to save my own. Trisha put her hand on my shoulder. "I know it's hard to take this in all at once," she said.

"But isn't there another way?" I said. She shook her head. "How am I supposed to make the decision of who has to die?"

"That decision is already made for you," she said, "My mother has a method for extracting a soul from a body. But she can only extract the intruding spirit, not the spirit to which the body belongs."

"E-Edward?" I said, "No, I can't do that!"

"Edward's the name of the other soul? Then I'd like to speak with Edward," she said.

I felt Edward take over my body once again. He looked at Trisha, and said, "I am Edward."

"I assume that you must've had a good reason for entering Katie's body, since she's so attached to you," said Trisha. Edward nodded.

"I did it so that I would have a chance to move on. My soul was bound here, and so…"

"I understand," Trisha interrupted, putting up her hand to cut him off, "But you'll be moving on a little sooner than you expected."

"I can handle that," said Edward, "Do whatever it takes to get me out of this body so that no harm comes to Katie. She'll make a lot of fuss about it, but don't listen to her. She needs me to get out of her before I kill her."

"I'll go call my mother," said Trisha. "Meet me after school, and I'll take you to my house to see her. You're the stronger soul, aren't you?" Edward nodded. "Then, if Katie resists, force her. This is for her own good. The sooner we do this, the better," said Trisha.

"Ok, I'll see you after school," said Edward.

(You're actually going to go through with this?) I asked.

(I don't see any other way,) said he, (I'll die either way, and I don't want you to have to die with me.)

I was so upset that I let my soul scream. Only Edward heard it though, as he still had control. He understood what I was going through.

(Let's go back to class,) he said, (This will all be over in a few hours. It's for the best, so please don't be sad.)

I couldn't help but be sad. I knew that by the end of the day, my best friend would be gone.

We went back to class, and I managed as best as I could. I had a hard time concentrating though.

Finally, the school's closing bell rang. I picked up my books and dragged my feet across the floor. Edward must've thought that I was walking too slowly for his liking, so he took over and sped up the pace.

We found Trisha, and she led us to her family's house. There were a lot of object in her house that were used for religious rituals. I was trying to decide if her mother was a psychic, a witch, maybe both, or something else. Then I spotted a Christian cross. Christian stuff too huh? I thought, She's probably just a crazy Unitarian Universalist then.

Trisha let us to a room where there was a long table. "Climb up on this table and lie down," she said, "I'll go get my mother."

Edward climbed up on the table. I kept begging him not to go through with this. He didn't listen. Trisha's mother came in.

"Are you the soul that needs to be extracted from this body?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," said Edward.

"You're not the soul that was originally in the body, are you?" she asked, "I can't remove that soul."

"No," said Edward, "I'm the intruding soul."

"Very well," she said, "Then let's begin. Imagine that you're walking down a large stairwell, and at the bottom of the stairwell is your subconscious mind. With each step you take, you go deeper and deeper into your subconscious. I will count to ten, and with each number, you'll go deeper and deeper. One…going deeper…"

Edward was slipping in his subconscious, and taking me down with him. We were both going into a trance.

"Two…Moving into your subconscious…"

I was starting to feel relaxed.

"Three…Feel very calm and peaceful…"

"Four…You are starting to notice how relaxed you feel…"

"Five…You are halfway down the stairwell into your subconscious. With each number, you go deeper and deeper…"

I was almost asleep, but I kept listening to see what she said.

"Six…feeling even more relaxed…"

"Seven…going deeper and deeper…"

"Eight…going deeper still…"

"Nine…almost there…"

"Ten…you are now in a trance."

After that, I fell completely asleep. I don't remember what happened after that point.

Finally, I woke back up. I felt different. I realized that Edward's spirit had departed. I started to cry. Trisha and her mother tried to console me, but it was no use. I got up and left for home.

When I finally arrive home, my mom and dad came into the room and threw their arms around me. "We were so worried about you," said Dad, "Where were you?"

I started up crying again. "What's wrong sweetheart? Is Edward mistreating you?" Mom said as she caressed my tear-streaked face.

"Mom…Dad," I said. I looked up into their eyes. Then, I said as I pulled off my blond wig, "Edward's gone."

Hey, don't kill me just yet! The story's not nearly done! Just come back tomorrow, and you'll be able to read the next chapter.

Heh…I mentioned that Trisha's mom was probably a crazy Unitarian Universalist. I think that that's a more accurate description of me. I tend to like all different kinds of religions, and incorporate beliefs from many different practices into my personal philosophy. Kind of crazy, but it's me. Heh.

Although I took some artistic license, that's a more accurate representation of how hypnosis actually is than most of what you'll see in the movies. Hypnotists rarely ever swing a watch back and forth saying "You're getting sleepy, you're getting sleepy." That's not a very effective method, if you ask me. The stairwell thing is much more common, as well as another method where you slowly mentally relax each part of the body, but that one's harder to write about.

Also, most people when they get hypnotized don't actually lose consciousness. That was a bit of artistic license I took there. The very rare few that do are called "somnambulists". One can't actually be hypnotized without wanting to be. I also usually count to 25 or 30 when I do the stairwell thing (hey, I hypnotize myself sometimes, okay?) but I shortened it for the writing so that it wouldn't get boring. Heh. I just figured I should mention all this since there's a lot of misconception about hypnosis these days.

Anyway, join me again tomorrow for the next chapter. Make sure to review! Got that? Review!