A/N: Please forgive me! Technical errors for weeks and I've finally come up with an easier way to handle it but, I already passed weeks after my deadline!

Pumpbie: "Well, you could've at least sent them an author's note or something…"

Purin: "TT_TT I couldn't even get through to update an author's note. It was horrible!"

Please enjoy this Chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood!

Chapter 12

Alice looked at the woman with a bored look. She placed her chin on her palm and her elbow by the surface of her desk, "So, how long has it been?"

Ross furrowed her eyebrows and sighed, "It's been exactly four days since those two have been so focused on those researches."

Alice smirked, "Heh, I have to admit, they've got some dedication to keep this up."

Few Days Earlier, In the Train Station

Alice growled under her breath, her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. She glanced to the side and was greeted by Ed's equally intense glare, along with the awfully noticeable hand mark on his cheek.

The boy's eye twitched slightly, "What the hell did you slap me for? I told you that you were the one that decided to sleep on my shoulder and wouldn't let go, it's not like I was willing!"

Alice grunted and looked away, a slight pinkish color staining her puffed cheeks, "Well, you could've at least woke me up!"

"So you can what? So you can slap me earlier?" he shot back.

The two continued to glare at each other and exchanging insults as if being sent off to a whole different world. The rest of the group merely stared at the two, knowing perfectly well that there was no point in trying to break them apart from yet another of their ridiculous arguments.

Seth sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, 'Is it just me, or does Alice keeps blushing around Ed?'

"Seth!"

Seth turned and raised his eyebrows slightly. A girl with slightly tanned skin and long mid back length black hair was running up towards him. Recognizing the girl instantly, the boy pulled out a small smile, "Arra, you're early."

The girl stopped in front of the man and looked up with an exhausted look, "Yeah, well, I wanted to sleep in but I couldn't go back to sleep after 3 in the morning."

Seth chuckled lightly, "Well, that sounds like something you would do."

Alice blinked and broke her glare before glancing back, catching in the sight of her brother and the dark haired girl. And her first comment, "Arra, what are you doing here?"

"Mm?" the girl looked pass Seth and towards Alice. She narrowed her eyes and grunted before walking passes the boy and towards Alice, stopping a couple of feet in front of her before crossing her arms over her chest, "Did you forget again? I told you I'd be here to pick you guys up, do you remember?"

"Nope, I completely forgot," she replied with a light scoff.

Arra sighed, "You've got the memory of a gold fish, don't you?"

Alice shrugged and glanced back. She raised her eyebrows slightly, "Oh, yeah, you guys haven't met properly, right?"

"This is the Elric brothers," Alice said, gesturing towards the blonde haired boy and the large suit of armor behind her. She smirked and glanced back slightly, "The younger one is Alphonse, and his older brother is Edward, the Fullmetal Alchemist that I told you about."

"Oh…" Arra furrowed her eyebrows, "But why is he wearing armor?"

Alice grinned and coughed slightly, "Actually, the shrimpy one is Edward."

A vein appeared on Ed's forehead as he took a step forward, closer towards the girl, "Who the hell are you calling an over sized scrunchy puny little ant?"

Alice's grin widened as she accepted the boy's glare, "Heh, don't blame me for your lack of height, little boy."

"You're one to talk! Considering out height isn't that much difference!" he shot back.

She chuckled and shrugged before looking away, "Like I said, small girls are cute, small guys are… You. Well, you know what I mean, don't you?"

Seth sighed before stepping in between the two and literally lifting Alice by the back of her top, placing her behind him and more importantly, away from Ed. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Guess I'll have to finish the introduction. This girl here is-"

"Arianna," she cut in. She smiled brightly, "My name is Arianna Gale, pleasure to meet you."

Al hummed slightly, "Wait, didn't Alice and Seth call you 'Arra'?"

She nodded, "It's a nickname, you know… Arianna is a bit too long and it sounds kind of weird on me, so to make it easier, they call me Arra, simple as that. You guys can call me 'Arra' or 'Arianna', I don't really care…"

"And you're Alice's friend?" Ed asked with a different tone.

"Yes…" she answered with an unsure tone.

His face paled for a moment as he looked away, "Oh…"

…

Alice glanced to the side when she felt a slight tug on her shoulder, meeting Arra's questioning gaze, "So, mind letting me in on what they're here for? Seeing that you of all people are with them it must be something big and life risking, right?" she concluded lightly.

Alice smirked before looking back towards the scene in front of her, "You could say that."

Arra nodded before looking back straight ahead, "So, I'm guessing they weren't expecting something as inconvenient as this to suddenly happen in Central, were they?"

"Nope, they weren't."

The grand library the two Elric brothers were so anxious in getting to, was now nothing more than a pile of rubbles and ashes with all of its precious information and knowledge crushed, burned, and possibly gone forever, nearly impossible to be replaced. Some of the smokes were still rising from the ruins, covering some of the sunlight and merely proving its point that the library is destroyed from top to bottom.

Ed's eye twitched slightly as he stared at the scene, "W-What the hell happened here?"

Alice smirked, 'Well, well, looks like someone else managed to get here before we did. And by the looks of it, there's no way a normal human being could've done this sort of damage in such a short time.'

Seth stared at the scene for a moment before looking back towards his sister. She looked at him as her smirk widened. Seth smiled and looked back towards Ed and Al, "Hey, we'll be heading back, alright?"

Al glanced back and nodded slightly, "Alright…"

Ed growled and glared at the scene, '…Damn it!'

Present Time

Arra looked at the two boys with slight pity before turning that look into a bored one, "So, tell me again how long you two boys plan on wasting your time on those research and thus locking yourselves in this damp, dark, and sad little room?" she asked as she gazed at the two.

Ed growled under his breath, "That's none of your business!" He looked up and the bags under his eyes became clear under the dim sun's light, "Besides, what the hell are you two doing here?"

Arra and Alice looked at Ed with grins on their faces as they continued to stare at the two brothers from one corner of the room before simultaneously answering, "If you're not going to listen to what we have to say, at least we can get some amusement out of your miseries!"

Ed narrowed his eyes and stood before walking over to the girl. He stood in front of her before scrunching down slightly so they would be the same eye level, "I thought you were the one that said you didn't want anything to do with this stuff."

Alice smiled wickedly, "That's right. But if you're so stubborn as to find out anyways, then I'll have to watch you from behind." Her gaze softened slightly, "And I guess the lost little girl will have to trust the military dog's instincts to get home."

Ed blinked and raised an eyebrow, "What are you-"

"That, and," she leaned forward before flicking the boy's forehead, pushing him back slightly. She grinned, "You're still supposed to do whatever I tell you to, remember?"

Ed blinked and paled a moment before looking away, "Damn it… I was hoping you'd already forget about that stupid deal by now…"

Later in Alice and Seth's Apartment

"Alice, you sure this is the wisest thing to do?" Seth asked as he played with the chain dangling from his silver pocket watch. He glanced back and pass the sofa, towards the kitchen where Alice could be seen standing in front of the stove, "Well?"

She sighed and looked down towards her hands. She narrowed her eyes before grabbing the knife, "Do we really have a choice? They won't listen to reason until its way too late… And it won't be long until they start banging on our doors and demanding answers, right?"

Seth hummed slightly and glanced down towards the book in his lap, "True." He opened the first pages of the book and smiled, "So did you read them again? Those researches, I mean."

Alice scoffed, "Yeah, I did. They're as damn complicated as I last saw them." She brought down the sharp knife and cut a tiny bit of her own skin, letting the red liquid drip to the surface of the table, "…I miss him…"

"…"

Alice furrowed her eyebrows, "Is Edward and Alphonse going to be alright?"

Seth sighed and threw his head back, "Who knows?" He looked down towards the picture of a transmutation circle in Alice's notebook before smiling, "So, can you make me some sweets for tomorrow?"

Alice raised her eyebrows slightly before glancing back towards the boy, "Sweets? Where are you going?"

He smiled and gazed towards the drawing of a transmutation circle which was slipped in the notebook, "There's a little business I need to take care of…"

Back with Ed and Al

Ed and Al stared down towards the floor. Ed's hand was crushed into a knuckle while Al held his head in his hands. Ross and Brosh were both looking at them with slightly widened eyes, "E-Ed?"

He grunted and held back his anger, "…The ingredients to make a Philosopher Stone…" He looked down slightly, his bangs shadowing his golden orbs, "…Are life human beings!"

GASP!

…

The two brothers walked down the street. The two were lost for words. What was there to say? That their only hope of retrieving their bodies was actually a cursed crimson stone which was made of thousands and possibly millions innocent human souls? Using something like that was no better than killing innocent people with their own hands…

"…Brother?" Al was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Mm?"

"I… I have a really bad feeling about this," he said, his voice a bit shaky.

Ed grunted and gazed down to his feet, "So do I…"

The two continued to walk for some time before Ed stopped, nearly causing the surprised Al to bump into him, instead slumping slightly before regaining his footing. "Brother, what's the matter?"

Ed turned quiet before he narrowed his eyes, "…Alice and Seth…" he muttered with a deep and dark voice. He glanced back towards Al with wide slightly enraged eyes, "They both knew about the Philosopher Stone and its secrets, didn't they?"

Purin: "YES! YES! YES! I FINALLY UPDATED!"

Pumpbie: "You left them waiting for weeks, maybe even months…"

Purin: "TT_TT I know… Please forgive me! I even made this chapter longer than the others, though when I read it again it's actually hard to tell…" *bows deeply*

Pumpbie: "So then, when are you going to update again?"

Purin: "As soon as possible! And this time I mean it! But, in case I get stuck on writer's block (I curse thee) again, please support my creativity and energy by sending reviews! I wouldn't be surprised if some of you decided to flame me for disappearing after so long…"

Pumpbie: "I would though."

Purin: "No one asked you!"

Pumpbie: "Someone's a little grumpy…"

Please Review!