Ace: Meh, everything's so Kayla-heavy right now, but that's because her story is what's moving us to Sonya's who moves us to Lela's and the end, which is Chapter 23! I have it mostly written out, just need to finish up the last scene, Lela's sadly enough (though I will admit, my pervert mind is in overload in how to properly pervertize a shower without the girl realizing it or them having sex).

Kayla: *steals page* I hate you, Ace! Why? Why must you end it like that? Why?

Ed: *steals from Kayla* I SOUND WAY TOO OVER-EMOTIONAL IN THE ENDING!

Ace: Good, you should be because (censored to prevent spoilers).

Ed: You are so going down when this is all over.

Ace: Nuh uh, 'cuz it's review-answering time!

Envy: Okay, CSI Aphrodite is still here, meaning we still need to terrify her out of her mind!

Lela: Envy, no scarring the reviewers for life!

Envy: And what happens if I do?

Lela: I'll tell Ace not to write the sex in the sequel.

Envy: *pales* You wouldn't.

Ace: Want to try me?

Envy: No.

Lela: And you have to stop fighting with Furorensu-Chan too!

Envy: … Fine.

Ace: Oh, and I think I might be grounded soon, so if I don't update for a while, don't send Kimbley after me, it's not my fault!

Lela: Hey, look, it's a special request from Furorensu-Chan for you, Envy!

Envy: Well, since I can't go fight with you anymore about stuff I can't particularly remember either, I will just disclose that my method of finding you was to track down Colonel Roy Mustang at his office and offer to do some of his paperwork in exchange for the knowledge of your whereabouts.

Ace: It probably would've worked too.

Kayla: And with the way she's ending this story, I can't wait for the sequel either! Sonya's the only one who gets married, lucky duck. (Note: wolf marriages are consummated by sex, so in Kayla's wolf mind, Sonya and Greed are married.)

Ed: *eyes go huge when looking at note*

Lela: And yes, I do think I give fairly good rewards.

Ace: Ed, would you mind-

Ed: *squeaky voice* Ace5980 does not own FullMetal Alchemist. Enjoy! *holds up sign that says SAVE ME!*

20: A House of Cards

Kayla's ears drooped low enough for the tips to brush against her hair as a butcher's knife flew out of nowhere and impaled itself into a wood beam a few inches above the top of her head, making her being to doubt her earlier words on the train. The only thing that had stopped it from making its way into her hat rather than the wood was her ears picking up the distinctive sound of the air whistling over the steel blade and her wolf instincts reacting instantly to the threat before her brain had even deciphered what the noise heralded. Of course, that also wouldn't have happened if she hadn't swept Ed out of the way, but there was absolutely no way she'd willingly let her mate suffer so much as a scratch so long as she was around. She uttered a low growl as she straightened, and her tail started to come out from between her legs, the wispy feathers of her silver fur bristling in that wolf-show of puffing one's self up to intimidate. Seeing the rising fabric of her coat, Edward pulled on her tail, muttering, "Kayla, down, now."

The chimera lowered her tail but was still stiff as a board. Ed, her mate, was still in mortal peril, and Alpha's orders or not, she would not stand idly by while he suffered. She would protect him, even at the cost of her own life. Her pale yellow eyes narrowed, ears upright underneath her hat so that she could hear the stomping of sandals against the wood floor. "How dare you come back here, dog of the Military?"

Edward winced. "Teacher, please, let us explain-" he gasped, but the woman who had stomped out quickly threw him somewhere deep in the heart of the city with Al following close behind. Kayla snarled furiously, clearly torn between killing the woman or going after Ed and Al, but she only took a moment's hesitation before spinning on her heel and darting off into now, not when Ed was in danger and could be hurt somewhere.

Lela sighed happily, purring as she leaned into Envy's touch. She had to admit, at first she'd had her doubts about wearing something that was basically a black sports bra for lack of a better description, but the lovely soft feel of his fingers on her bare flesh and fur felt divine. Her emerald eyes slid shut. She trusted the homunculus with all her being. He would never betray her.

Sonya could tell she was dreaming when she dreamt of Kayla with a blond boy with cat ears and a tail and Lela with a green-haired boy with the cat appendages and a shadow of wings behind him. Finding her siblings rather unimportant, the youngest Animalia turned to find Greed, only to see he was nowhere in her dream. Instead, the Truth sat before her with the Gate and a girl with long black hair, red eyes, and angel wings. The Truth looked straight at Sonya and whispered, "Beware, Justice, for all this shall one day come to pass, and remember, not all angels are gifted with wings."

Lust knew a secret. Envy was supposed to be a cold-hearted murderer, a dog straining at the leash. Instead, he had chosen to fall in love with a cat that had been declawed. She could not stand for this. As much as she wanted to make her companion happy, she knew what she must do to stop him.

The angel called Knowledge was, in all honesty, tired of remaining behind the Gate. He knew he was not an avenging angel, but he still wanted to explore, to grow and think, to fulfill his purpose and learn. But there was one thing the angel refuse to do, and that was teach, as much as he loved to do it. Knowledge only brought Wisdom, an ancient and powerful angel. No, he would have to find another reason to venture forth.

After they got past the whole 'dog of the Military', 'creating/hiding a chimera', and 'you broke taboo and I will no longer teach you' things, Kayla had to admit she was rather fond of Izumi and Sig Curtis. She didn't know where to rank them in the pack since Ed and Al were terrified of Izumi but Kayla couldn't think of Edward as anything but her mate and Alpha, but the chimera liked them well enough once she got past the fact that as their teacher, Izumi had the right to knock them around as she pleased.

Of course, going out on the town with Ed for groceries drove all non-Ed-related thoughts from her mind. On the way back, in the middle of laughing at Edward's tale of being abandoned on a deserted island as a kid, Kayla froze, picking up a scent. She couldn't pinpoint the person for the life of her, but it still made her growl low in her throat. Chimeras were here and nearby. Without sparing another thought, she sprinted off after the scent, wanting to make sure the other chimeras recognized her as a potential threat and steered clear of her and her claims.

She ran through the maze of the city, ready for a fight, only to find the scent trail ended at the cemetery. Confused and cautious now, Kayla hopped the fence and continued following the scent until she came to the sole visitor there amongst the cold and forgotten graves. It was a man, part dog if Kayla's nose was correct, and he stood forlornly before a grave marker that only read Eve. "Well, Eve," he murmured, patting the stone, "I guess I'd better get back before the Boss notices I'm gone." Turning, he saw Kayla, and the dog in him caused him to bristle. "Who are you?" he growled.

"Hello," she said, slowly taking off her hat to reveal her ears while the wolf in her longed to simply take him down, "I'm Kayla Animalia."

Edward couldn't believe it. First Kayla had run off after something, given her current dog-like behavior, likely a cat, and now Al had been kidnapped. Right now, he couldn't figure out who would get it worse when he finally caught up with them, Al's kidnappers or his mate Kayla.

Ace: Yay, Ed's getting abusive!

Lela: *blink* Why is it that all of your characters have to be abused for you to be content?

Ace: I DENY EVERYTHING!

Lela: I never blamed you for anything.

Ace: I REGRET NOTHING!

Lela: Okay then…

Kayla: Hey, where's Sonya and Greed?

Envy: I don't know. Probably off robbing some helpless oil company or something.

Kayla: *misunderstands what he meant by oil and suffers massive nosebleed as a result*

Ace: Oh Kayla, always ready to rape Edward…

Ed: I think she's been taking perverted lessons from my boss.

Ace: No, that would be me taking the lessons and then teaching her everything I know!

Ed: Fantabulous.

Envy: I know! I was the one who gave your boss his lessons!

Ed: I hate you so much right now.

Lela: Okay, on that note, we'll offer up perverted lessons as a reward to those who review and the option to pick your teacher if you suggest something Ace might use at some point.

Kayla: Okay Ed, time for your lesson!

Ed: NO!