Leaving the East City Mess Hall, Rae paced heavily down a hall. Her arms were folded, her cheeks were flourished, and her teeth were bared. It was amazing how a few simple words could change her mood on a dime. Over and over, the Brigadier General's comment echoed in her mind. The man knew well she couldn't stand him. She loathed him with a passion.

The distressed brunette shook her head furiously side-to-side and clenched her eyes shut. Being completely oblivious to her surroundings, she swerved around a hall corner and crashed face-first into a figure. It held its ground firmly and stared bewilderingly at the reckless young alchemist. She fell backward and landed flat on her butt, which was more of a reflex rather than a movement caused by impact. Embarrassed by her careless actions, Rae cursed under her breath and slowly lifted her gaze from the floor to the person she had collided with. A warm, welcoming smile soon replaced the frown on her face once she realized who it was.

"M-Miss Anderson! I'm so sorry!" apologized Sergeant Fuery, all the while frantically holding out his hand to help her up.

As she took his hand and was lifted to her feet, Rae shook her head. "No need to apologize. It was clearly my fault."

"But are you hurt?"

She brushed off her clothes and looked back to him with a smile. "No. I'm fine, really."

The looks on Rae's face made the young man blush. "Well that's good."

"Anyway," Rae began, finding it to be the right moment to ask a rather important question. She had been walking the halls without a clue as to where she was going. Quite frankly, she needed directions. "It's a good thing I ran into you." She then paused, realizing how literal her word choice was, and scratched the back of her head. "Do you mind showing me the dorms? East City Headquarters is quite a maze."

"Not at all," Kain replied in a sweet, almost delighted tone. Rae, of course, did not pick up on this behavior and proceeded to follow the young soldier when he turned the other way and began walking down the hall.

After traveling down a number of hallways, the two reached their destination. The only thing left to do was to find an open room for Rae and her uncle to share. Unfortunately, this was no simple task, for Rae was not the only soldier from Central who was in need of a place to stay.

"This is ridiculous," the brunette groaned after searching down a number of halls. "Are ALL the rooms taken?"

"Well, East Headquarters is temporarily serving as Central Command, so I guess this is no surprise," Fuery answered; his eyes followed Rae as she checked one door after another.

Rae stopped in the middle of the hall and sighed. "Yeah, I know. But I never imagined it was going to turn out this way."

Fuery's eyes widened slightly. "So you know why they're here?"

Rae turned to look at him. "Yeah, well, about that-" Unfortunately for Kain, who seemed rather eager to hear the outcome, the conversation ended when Rae overheard a faint rustling sound from a nearby room. "Did you hear that?" she asked him, turning in the direction of room and walking towards it.

"Hear what?" asked Fuery who did not pick up on the mysterious sound.

"It's coming from this room," Rae said as she stopped in front of a door and noticed it was opened slightly. She then placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Wait a minute, Rae!" Kain said frantically, "You're not really going inside, are you?!"

Rae had tuned out the young man's voiced. She was too focused on that sound, which was becoming more familiar to her with every second. She determined it was hard like steel, large and yet hollow. She began to put the pieces together until a familiar image came to mind. 'Could it be?' she thought to herself and then pushed open the door.

"Eck! Rae!" Kain called, but found it futile.

Rae stood in the doorway with her hand still on the handle. The room was dark. The only light in the room was emitting from the window, which was very little due to the down-pouring rain on the other side. A large figure on the ground gleamed in the dim light, and Rae had to narrow her eyes to distinguish it. "Alphonse…" She breathed out, almost in a whisper. She did not speak in the form of a question, but rather in relief. Before anything else could be said, Fuery emerged from behind her and broke the silence.

"Please forgive us, Sir! We did not mean to intrude!" He took Rae by the hand and began pulling her into the hall. "Let's go, Rae!"

Rae's hand released the doorknob as Kain proceeded to pull on her. She then planted her feet and held her ground, all the while yelling "Hey, wait a minute!"

"Rae, is that you?" a voice called from inside the room. It was soft, like a young boy, and it caused both Kain and Rae to stop. Rae smiled, pulling herself free from Kain.

"I thought it was you, Alphonse."

"It's Al?" Fuery asked as he peered over Rae's shoulder.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Rae said, stepping forward and into the room.

"It sure has! Wait until I tell Brother!" the voice from inside the armor grew louder, in a delighted tone.

"There's no need to. I've already seen him," Rae responded as she sat down on the lower level of the dorm's bunk bed.

The armor sat up in surprise. "Really? When?"

"About a half hour ago."

"How did he take it?"

"Well, you know him. He has a tendency to hold a grudge about certain things," Rae answered, rather sheepishly.

"Yeah," Alphonse said, knowing exactly what incident she was talking about. "Sorry about that."

Meanwhile, Kain, who was still standing in the doorway and having no idea what the two alchemists were talking about, decided to cut in. "Well, I guess I'll be going then."

"Oh, right. Thanks for all your help," Rae said to him with a faint smile.

"It was my pleasure."

The three said their goodbyes and Kain closed the door as he left the room. The room was now even darker, although the two alchemists didn't seem to mind it. They were too busy catching up with each other. After all, it had been three years since they had last seen each other.

"So what are you doing in East City Headquarters anyway?" Al asked.

"What do you mean?" Rae returned. She dug her hand into the right pocket of her shorts and pulled out a sliver watch. "I'm part of the military now."

Al gasped. "You took the State Alchemy Exam? When?"

"Of course I did, silly. I took it earlier this year."

"But-" the suit of armor began, but stopped when he noticed Rae had suddenly widened her eyes. "What's wrong?" Rae did not answer him, but instead slowly lowered her gaze to her feet. To her surprise, she saw a small, yellow kitten brushing against her leg. It didn't take long for her to conclude this was Alphonse's doing, and she finally responded.

"Al?"

"Yes?"

"Care to explain why there's a cat in here?"

Alphonse flinched and began to fiddle with his fingers. "Well, I found him out in the rain. He was wet and hungry."

"That's sweet of you Al, but you know animals aren't allowed in the dorms," reminded Rae.

"I know, but I couldn't just leave him out there."

"Does your brother know?"

Alphonse looked down at the floor. "Yeah, but he's not happy about it."

Judging by the boy's reaction, Rae could tell Ed and Al had an argument over the cat and it was never resolved. She was not the kind of person to follow simple rules like this one if it meant causing harm to something so innocent. She loved animals. She owned a dog herself. Therefore, she felt it was best to try to comfort the boy. "Well then. I guess I'll just have to talk to him."

"You really think you can convince him?" Al asked, a little doubtful.

"I'll find a way." Rae answered, smiling with her eyes closed.

Alphonse stared at her, watching as she scooped up the cat, placed it in her lap, and began to stroke its fur. He sighed softly in relief, "Thanks".

Rae continued to smile and stroke the cat. "So what have you and your brother been up to for the past few years?"

The suit of armor glanced towards the window, as if attempting to see through the muggy glass. "Oh, nothing, really."

"Oh really?" Rae quirked a brow in disbelief. "There has to be something." Al remained silent, as if there were some things he didn't want to talk about. Rae noticed this, and added "Come to think about it, the last time I saw you and Ed was shortly after he was certified."

"Yeah, Brother was given his first assignment," Al said, speaking once again.

"I heard about that. It sounded like it was quite a pain for you guys."

"Yeah, it was."

For the next couple of hours, the two spent their time catching up, chatting about their lives and some of the things they did. When Rae glanced up at the clock, it was 6:00. She stood up from the bed, lifted her arms in the air, and stretched. "We'll I'm beat. I'm gonna go."

"You're tired?" Al asked.

Rae brought her arms back to her sides. "Yeah, I didn't sleep much on the train ride here. It's not really a good idea to sleep in front of my superiors. It gives off a bad impression."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. By the way, why are you he-"

Rae cut him off. "I'll tell you tomorrow. It's a long story and I'm exhausted."

"Oh, alright then." Al replied, although finding it strange that she didn't want to explain even though they had just been talking for hours.

Well, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, have a good night."

"You too, Al," Rae returned as she walked to the door. Once she was outside and the door was closed, she sighed softly and stared at the floor for a brief moment. A smile crept across her face, and she raised her head, stepped farther into the hallway, and continued her search for her room.