"Annabeth… Alphonse…" he said softly.

He sat next to her cat. For once, the feline didn't attack him, just sat and mewled pitifully. He remembered something Annabeth had told him…

"Jane's sisters bully her, she got mauled by a dog, and no one really likes her but me. Janey is my baby, and I'm hers. We watch out for each other. That's part of why I can't die. If I die, who'll take care of my baby?"

And now she had died. Who would take care of Jane? "Ah… Ah…"

He looked in amazement at the cat. "Ahhnnahh…" Jane rasped.

"Do you hear her, Annabeth? She's calling for you." he said softly.

"Jane… Edward… You're getting weepy over me, nit-wits."

Everyone jumped as Annabeth sat up. "Seriously, you stop breathing for a few seconds and everyone panics!" she smiled.

"Annabeth!" He smiled, but then he remembered Al. "What… what do I do?"

"You're a smart kid, Edward. You can figure it out. Just think." Annabeth ordered, rapping his head with her knuckles.

Then it dawned on him. "You mean?"

"Make it worth the effort, 'cause if it works, it'll be your last one ever!" she smiled, nodding.

But what shocked him—when he performed the Alchemy, Annabeth and Jane dove into the circle along with him.

They all appeared in front of Truth. As he negotiated Al's body, Truth turned to Annabeth. "And you? You have fulfilled your task. What do you want?"

"To stay. I want to stay here, but still be able to contact my family so they think I've run away and found a job in Japan or something. I want to stay where I feel I am needed, where I can live freely and have friends. Friends who actually care about me, not pity me." Annabeth said.

"Very well. The back door is right over there!"

Annabeth helped him to take Al's body back, Jane still draped across her shoulders.

When they all arrived back in the real world, he could almost hear some of Annabeth's music playing. The sadder yet cheerful stuff, not her dark, gothic evil stuff.

And when they got to Resembool, it was agreed that Annabeth could stay with them. She kept herself close to him, yet distant, hinting that he wasn't hers. Eventually, he picked up the clues she was dropping.

"Annabeth?"

"Uweh?" she looked up from her drawing.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Whassit look like, goof?" she giggled.

"Well, lemme see it!" he laughed back, snatching the picture before she could object.

It was a few years after the Promised Day. Since he'd given up his Alchemy, Annabeth had stopped using hers unless in emergency. She lived with them as a friend, and she and Jane were always helping out with chores and jobs that needed to be done.

"What is this?"

"It's us."

Annabeth was in the background, wearing the outfit he'd first found her in—minus the blood, of course—in the foreground were all the people they'd met along they way. Scar, him, Alphonse, Winry, General Armstrong, Hawkeye, Hohenheim, Mustang, Hughes, Major Armstrong, Havoc, Fury, Breda, Falman, Buccaneer, Major Miles, Greed, Ling and the second Greed, May and Shao May, Fu, Lan Fan, Izumi, Sig, Marcoh, Brosh and Ross, Sheska, and even Barry! They were all small and cute-looking. Jane was even included, draped across Annabeth's shoulders as usual.

"Cute!" he smiled. "You're thinking of a song. I can tell."

"Yeah, that's right. It just seems to be playing in my head all day, every day, no matter what! I guess it's just a happy ending, so I'm playing the happiest song I know all the time now!"

"You probably have it on your little machine, don't you?"

"Yea, do you wanna hear?"

"I wanna hear you sing it in an understandable language while it's playing!"

Annabeth took the head-phones out of the machine. She hit a few buttons and music started to play.

"H-I-N-A Full Bloom hai-hai! H-I-N-A Hinagiku hai-hai! What color are you today? I flash a smile at you. No matter where we go, mine is always brave-colored! There was no promise, I like to proceed forward. I dream of getting closer to you! Knock knock, where is my answer? I'm at a loss. My colorful, pure heart goes wild! Thank you for saying you love me, I've always liked you too! More today, more tomorrow, I want to spread of the colors of my choice! Thank you for even the tears, I will bloom and let the wind blow me to my goal, because I'm diving in, I'm in full bloom today! Watch my maximum femininity! Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay, yay! Red, blue, black, transform! Hai-hai! Ready to spam mail? Hai-hai! P.S, I wish to hug someone, I'm not particularly honest! The heart-colored pain of being torn to pieces! A night of nothing but regrets, an awfully depressing morning as well; We are connected in my dream! Knock knock, I turn my calendar to the future, pastel-colored everyday! I am too busy! Thanks for saying I'm important, me too, I definitely feel the same! Becoming stronger, becoming greater, I want to spread a more beautiful color! Thanks for even the little pain, filling the canvas, I won't lose! Of course, I'm serious! Watch my maximum femininity! We, even from now on, will cheer for Hinagiku until the end! It will take a lot of perseverance; we swear we will have fun! We really like you, Hina! Thanks for saying you love me! I, um, love you too! More today, more tomorrow, I want to spread out the colors of my choice! Thanks for all my friends! Let all the flowers bloom, let the wind blow us to the goal, because I'm diving in! I'm in full bloom today! Watch the great me!"

Then the song finished. "See? It's just that cheerful!"

"You're right, that is a good song. Very happy and cheerful." he smiled, looking at her smiling face. "And you're thinking of it because it's true. What color are you today? And you always say thank you for everything, and you told me that you love me. Those songs you named back then that you said were your theme songs? They aren't. This is your song. The one that suits you perfectly."