Hello again! Yes, there's no conversation with the character's this time around. I didn't feel like doing one -_- I tried to get this one out sooner than the last one. I guessing you all want to read it already so I'll stop talking. :D

Must I repeat what you already know? I don't own FMA.

Warnings(Yes, for once I'm giving a warning): Subtle time skip. Slight gore. Religious things. Slight angst.

Chapter Thirteen: Goodbye

"Ed! Edward! Eddiekins! Yo, Shrimp Skampy!" Alice called, practically skipping down the hall. She was exceptionally happy and hyper; teeming with an uncontrollable urge to annoy Edward.

"What was that about shrimp?" an angry voice called out from a door on her left. She pulled it open, barging in with a grin. Ed was sitting on the floor, an alchemy book lying open in his lap. Alphonse was in the corner, writing something down in a notebook.

"Nothing Eddiekins~" she sang, sitting down beside him. "Whatcha readin'?"

"A book." the blonde replied sourly, turning around to face the wall.

"Aw, don't be like that Eddie-poo~ I'm just curious." Alice replied, leaning forward to try and see over his shoulder. He turned even more, managing to keep the book out of her sight.

"Does it matter? It's not like you'd understand it anyway." Ed mumbled, a slight blush gracing his cheeks. "And don't call me that!"

"Then teach me!" Alice said, suddenly serious. "So I can understand."

Ed and Al both stared at her, as if unsure they had heard her right.

"You want us to teach you alchemy?" asked Al, looking for clarification.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, back to her earlier, bubblier, self. "It looks interesting! Plus, after what happened with that Greed guy, don't you think it would be a good way to defend myself?"

Edward flinched at the mention of Greed, the homunculus he and Alphonse had fought just days ago. There were still a few blood stains on Alphonse's armor.

"I don't know. Al and I aren't really qualified to teach alchemy. Why don't you ask Teacher?"

Alice shrunk a bit, fear passing through her eyes. "But...Izumi scares me..."

Ed and Al both stared at her before the elder burst out laughing. Alice and Al watched him in surprise before Alice started laughing as well. Not because she thought it was funny, but because she had never seen Ed laugh like that before. It made her happy. Alphonse on the other hand seemed to be worried for their sanity as he set down his notebook and continued to watch. But it wasn't long before a chuckle escaped him as well. By the time the laughing fit concluded, tears of mirth were spilling down Ed's face and Alice's cheeks were bright red. The two kept smiling, slowly catching their breath as Al picked up the book Ed had dropped.

"Well," Ed finally managed to say. "If you're so scared of her...maybe Al and I can take pity on you and teach you a few things."

Alice's face lit up, a huge grin spreading across it as she glomped the blonde alchemist. "Thank you!"

Said alchemist blushed again, wrapping one arm around her shoulders as he chuckled. "Sure, sure."

Al was laughing again as he sat back down. "Do you think Emily would like to learn as well?"

"Hmm..." Alice speculated as she pulled away from Ed. "She might. I'll go ask her." The brown-haired young woman quickly got up, heading for the door. She opened her mouth to say something as she reached for the door knob but was cut off by a loud scream. The room's occupants froze, staring at one another. Time seemed to stand still as their brains processed the voice of the scream.

"Emily." Alice whispered. That one word broke the Elrics out of their reverie and they were instantly in motion. Ed was the first out the door, leading the way down the hall toward the room were the scream originated. He held up a hand when they got there, pressing his ear to the door. After a moment of nothing but tense silence, he held up a single finger; slipping into the room. Alice moved to follow him but Al grabbed her arm, shaking his head when she sent him a questioning glance.

Time seemed to drag by as the two waited. After what seemed like ages, the door creaked open and an extremely pale Edward came out.

"Brother?" Al asked, when the elder didn't say anything. The blonde just shook his head. Alphonse seemed to understand the message that the nod conveyed but Alice didn't. And she had waited long enough. She yanked her arm out of Al's grasp and threw the door open. The armor let out a cry of surprise but didn't attempt to bring her back. Alice soon found herself wishing he had.

The scene she found in that room would be one she never forgot. The room she had shared with her best friend was no longer the clean, white room that Izumi had taken such pride in. Everything seemed to be covered in blood. The beds, the curtains, the desk, the floor, Emily's suitcase, Alice's shoes, the pile of books that they had brought up from the library the night before. And right in the middle of it, on her own bed, lay Emily. She was soaked in blood, her once brown hair now dyed crimson. But the worst part wasn't the blood, nor the odd angle her head was turned. It was the fact that her eyes were closed and her chest was still.

Alice let out a strangled cry, running over to the bed. She grabbed her friend's bloodied wrist, attempting to find a pulse. But Alice had never learned how to find one, her trembling fingers dropping Emily's cold ones as she remembered. Her vision blurring slightly, she leaned down, resting her head on Emily's chest. It was wet and disgusting, but Alice ignored that, letting out a pained cry when her ears were met with silence. She yanked her head back, blood dripping off the ends of her hair. She stared at the girl that she had been joking with only ten minutes earlier. She couldn't see where the life taking wound was and wasn't sure if she wanted to.

The longer she stood there, the more blurred her friend became. It occurred to her that she was crying but she couldn't convince herself to lift her arms and wipe away the tears. Cool fingers meeting her cheek told her that someone else was doing it for her and she moved her eyes to see Edward standing beside her. His face was grave, his eyes unreadable, as he wiped blood and tears away from her face.

"Alice..." he whispered, obviously avoiding looking at the bed. "Why don't you go with Teacher and wash off this blood? Al and I will...take care of Emily."

Alice moved her eyes to the door to find a pale Izumi standing there. She could see a sliver of Alphonse's armor beside her. The metal was shaking. She tried to move but found that she couldn't. Ed seemed to realize this and gently took her arm, leading her over to the older woman who took his place and led her downstairs. Alice moved as if in a trance, letting the woman scrub at her face and wash her hair. Izumi left her at the kitchen table; she didn't move until Ed came downstairs. He looked like he wanted to talk to her and she had a feeling she knew what it was about.

"Allie..I think you already know what I'm going to say but I'll say it anyway," he said, sitting down. Alice blinked. Emily had called her that every so often but that was it. She was surprised by his sudden use of her nickname.

"You and Emily were best friends. You probably haven't comprehended anything yet. But I don't want you to make the same mistake that Al and I did." He looked up at her, his eyes burning with something she didn't recognize. "Al and I are here for you. Don't try anything stupid with the alchemy we teach you, alright? Promise me you won't."

Alice was silent, unsure if she could speak.

"Allie! Promise me!"

Alice blinked, before taking a deep breath. "I promise," she whispered, staring at the table. "I wouldn't do that anyway..."

"You can't be sure of that, Allie. Grief makes your lose all sense and reason," Ed replied, watching her.

"I...I'm sure on this. She's...in heaven now. Why would I take that away from her?"

Ed's head shot up and he stared at her, his mouth hanging slightly open. "You...really believe that?"

"Yes." Alice stated firmly, turning to look at him. Her vision was much clearer now and she found that she could finally think straight. "You should too. Just because you're a scientist doesn't mean you're almighty, or invincible, or the closest thing to God. And I truly hope you figure that out, because one day I want us all to meet again. Emily went on ahead and she's waiting for us. She'll welcome us when the time comes. Believe that Ed. Please."

Ed stayed silent, watching her warily. "I don't think I can Alice."

Alice bowed her head, closing her eyes. She could feel tears pricking against her eye lids. She had already accepted that Emily had gone on ahead of her to a better place. But she still hadn't accepted that her friend wouldn't come down the stairs any minute and ask why everyone was meeting without her. It would take a while.

~X~

The wind was chilly and the rain stung, mixing in with her tears. Alice stood between the Elric siblings, hugging herself as she watched her best friends body be lowered into the ground. It had been a week since they found her in their room and Alice still hadn't fully accepted it. Alphonse told her that with time it would get better, but she didn't know. What was she going to do when she finally made it home? What would she say to Emily's family? To her own family? To their friends? She was at a loss; things felt like they were spiraling out of her control. Edward seemed to be keeping an exceptionally close eye on her too and it made her nervous. As if he didn't trust her. But would she even trust herself?

She felt a nudge from her right and looked up to find that the casket had been fully lowered and the funeral was now over. But she wasn't planning on leaving. Not yet anyway. She had never apologized to her friend for what had happened. Maybe if she hadn't run off to go annoy Edward, Emily wouldn't be dead right now. She couldn't help but question things.

The funeral cleared out quickly. Not much of a surprise really; this wasn't their world. All the people that loved and cherished her friend were back home, completely oblivious. Alice wanted to go up as soon as the headstone was placed but Alphonse got there first. She hung back staring at the grass until he was done.

The armor only stayed for a few minutes, nodding to Alice as he walked away. Ed had disappeared at some point and she was now all alone. She was fine with that though, and took a seat in front of the stone. At first she didn't speak, busying herself with pulling up grass, something she and Emily had always done when sitting in fields. Finally she took a deep breath and spoke.

"I'm sorry, Emily. I know my apology isn't particularly worth anything. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I probably wouldn't have been able to help much if I had been there. It's just, strange, without you here. You'd probably yell at me for being cheesy but you were my best friend. We've been friends since preschool. It's sorta like I lost my twin...I'm blabbing aren't I? Well, let me tell you this. I'm going to learn alchemy and maybe even martial arts if I can talk Ed into it. I'll hurt whoever killed you. Then I'll get home and make sure you have a proper funeral with all the people that loved you. And I'll take care of your pet fish for you too."

"Emily had a fish?"

Alice jumped, spinning around to find Edward standing behind her. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked a little sheepish.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling a bit. "She named him Charlie, after this...video. She really wanted a cat, but her mom is allergic so she got a fish instead."

"I'm not sure how a fish is better than a cat," Ed commented, coming to stand beside her.

"No, cat is much better than a fish. She just got the fish to fill the void in her heart. She was planning on getting a cat when we went to college."

"College?"

"It's a school."

"Ah...You know, Allie, if you stay out here any longer, you'll catch cold. Why don't we head back to the hotel?" Ed asked, holding out a hand to help her up. She took it, standing up and brushing herself off. She was a bit saddened when Ed stuffed his hands back in his pockets but thought his blush was a good sign.

"So, Alphonse and I were talking the other day and we've decided to start your alchemy lessons tomorrow. I know it's a bit soon but after what happened...we want to make sure you can defend yourself."

"Right." Alice said with a nod, give Ed a small smile. One that he returned. "I can't wait."

"Are you sure she's gone?"

"Yes! Why do you doubt me, Lust?"

"Because you aren't the most trustworthy person, Envy." the busty woman commented, sharpening her nails as she spoke. The green haired man sitting beside her scoffed, frowning.

"Thanks. But trust me, she was dead. No one can lose that much blood and survive."

"Alright. But if you're wrong, it'll be Father's anger you'll be facing, not mine," the woman said, glancing up at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Yep. Probably the most angsty, bloody, chapter I've ever posted on Fanfiction. I really hope that what happened with Emily doesn't drive you guys away. There's a reason for it and if you stick around you'll find out what it is. And I really do have my reasons for getting rid of her...

I know that this chapter had a lot of Alice-centered stuff but this IS an EdxOC fanfic. Alice is the main character and will be treated as such.

I wanna thank all my reviewers! You're amazing! And all the people who favorite and such. But could you please send me a review as well? Just tell me what you thought of it. Reviews really make my day. :3

I'm not sure when I'll have chapter 14 out. Soonish I hope. I've created a semi-outline for this story, so hopefully it'll help. Just a reminder, if your wanna see what Alice and Emily look like, go click on the link to my deviantART page on my profile.

Last and Final thought: What do you all think of Alice's nickname? I was tired of calling her Alice all the time so I asked my beta to come up with a nickname. Do you like Allie? Your feedback is love. :3

I lied, this is the final note: I have completed editing for Chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 4 is in-progress. Check 'em out. :)