A/N: Hi guys! Am I writing to fast? I mean, it's summer so I don't have anything better to do then type whatever comes to mind, but I'd like you to tell me.

So as I promised you guys get to read about Eric and Max from their perspective! You can probably see it from here. It's in third person, because Reeva is the main character and I feel that only she should have the first person title. You also get to read from Ed's perspective for a few paragraphs. I may never put in so many PoV changes again, but you will see from Ed's perspective occasionally when Reeva ends up unconscious.

Okay! Onto the shout outs! I'd like to thank xXEmiShaeXx, QueenBeatsAll, Ed's. Curious. Kitten (nice to see you again), and the guest MissingNo for reviewing. Queen gave me an idea that I might play with *w*

We now commence with the below fanfic. I hope you enjoy!

He wasn't explaining everything. I could tell. He seemed skittish towards the topic and he dodged what I assumed were major points in his life story. All I knew by the end was that he joined the military after his mom died, and he wanted this thing called a Philosopher's Stone. For the past few years he and his brother had been travelling across the country in search of the thing. I didn't know why he wanted it, but it seemed like another sensitive topic. I just nodded every so often while my brain attempted to process the vague information I was given.

These two are really off, I thought as I shifted where I sat. For one I'm starting to question Al's armor. Sure I've seen weird shit. Hell, for Halloween the whole table cross-dressed! There will never be a creepier sight then Max in a skirt and Eric wearing Nellie's clothes. I shuddered slightly at this thought before straightening out again. In any case, he's not exactly the double I would expect to see.

Life calmed down once Ed was done with his "explanation". The sky outside had grown dark and the moon was creeping up higher in the sky. The yawn that came out of my mouth told me that it was time for me to wind down.

Without another word spoken between the three of us, we all drifted to our own places in the room. I pulled off my high-tops and let myself fall sideways on the couch. My arm moved under my head to act as a pillow. Not long after I fell asleep.

(Eric-a few hours earlier)

His eyes stared wide at his hand, which was still hovering above the circle.

"No," he whispered. Eyes narrowing, his hand clenched into a fist and he turned on his heel to punch the wall. "Dammit, no!"

Eric's breathing had grown heavy by now, and he had no idea what had just happened.

I almost had her! I reached out to pull her away, but my hand went right through her! I couldn't save her…

"Brother!" Max called from the kitchen door that connected to the garage. "Dinner is almost ready!"

Eric didn't move at all; he just stood there, staring at the wall. His little brother's words no longer held any meaning. He was too frozen by the shock of losing his best friend for anything else to matter anymore.

With a creek, the door behind him opened. "I just told you that dinner is almost ready. Is Reeves staying for…?" He trailed off as he looked around. "Eric, what happened?"

His fists only grew tighter. "She's gone," he whispered.

"What?" He hadn't heard his quiet voice.

"She's gone!" Eric yelled as he turned back around, taking his brother aback with his reaction. He held his face with one hand and tried hard to stay strong. It wasn't helping. He backed into the wall and slid down to the ground.

"What do you mean 'she's gone'?" Max asked, stepping closer. He grew weary when he saw the massive circle and the spots of red in the middle. "W… what did you guys do?"

The elder brother swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat. "Reeva was getting these creepy texts from some guy who knows about the dream she told us about. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone but us. And then the guy sent her this picture of a circle. He said that if she drew the circle then she'd learn about what happened eleven years ago."

"Eleven? That's when she was adopted, right?" Max asked as he thought it over.

Eric nodded, knowing this for a fact. "Yeah, and she bought into it. She came to me for help 'cause she said she would next time something bothered her." He paused and let out a breath. "You saw her. She was shaking and it didn't even look like she could breathe. It really freaked me out so I caved. After we drew that thing, we expected something to happen, but then she got a text saying there was a missing ingredient. It needed her blood."

Max's eyes grew wide as saucers as he looked at the red splatters that were in the center of the chalk circle. Beside it was a nail, covered in the same darkening red. His stomach turned, but he swallowed down the discomfort. "So she… she cut herself and then what?"

It was hard to go on, but Max needed to know. "The lines started to glow this weird blue color. There were shadows and then they turned into these creepy black arms. They wrapped around her and then she disappeared."

"What do you mean!?" Max exclaimed. "How could she disappear!?"

"I don't know!" he yelled back. "All I know is that she's gone and I don't know if I can bring her back."

Finally noticing the pained look in Eric's eyes, Max stepped around the circle and sat next to his brother. "Don't worry. She'll come back," he said easily.

Eric's brows furrowed. "How do you know?"

"Because she loves you," he said. Eric's face heated up and turned bright red the second his brother mentioned this. Max laughed, his golden eyes lighting up. "And judging from that reaction I'd say the feeling is mutual."

"What are you talking about?" Eric protested, the look on his face deceiving him.

Max shook his head and sighed. "Why is it I'm I the one that notices this kinda thing?"

"I think you've been spending too much time with Nellie," Eric teased, the red slowly fading into pink. Max elbowed him at this.

"I'm serious," the younger brother said. "She loves all of us. You and me. Kaya and Nellie. Her mom is here too. She'd do anything to get back to us. But what if those messages were telling her the truth? What's gonna happen if she finds out about her real family?"

Eric sighed and rested his chin on his knees. "I don't know."

There was a moment of silence as the brothers thought about the situation. Max was the first to speak.

"So what should we do?" he asked.

The elder brother put some though into this. "Well we can't exactly call the cops. They'll take us away the second they notice that he isn't here." Eric scowled as he mentioned their father and Max seemed sad. Recently the man would show up every so often to pretend that he was a parent, but he wasn't around nearly enough to be considered one. "We won't even get a chance to mention anything about Reeves. And this had to be some kind of magic. That shouldn't be possible, so they won't think anything of it."

"Then what can we do?"

Eric stared at the circle, unsure. A light bulb went off in his head and he said, "If she disappeared through this circle, then it's possible she'll come back through this circle. As long as we make sure nothing bothers it, it should be okay."

Max nodded. "That makes sense, but you're not going to sit here until she gets back. It could take days, maybe longer."

He said nothing as he stared at nail in the circle. With a sigh, he tried to compromise. "I won't stay here the entire time. I'll go to bed and school and make dinner on my days to cook, but I'll stay out here the rest of the time.

The two ended up staring each other down until Max snapped and agreed to the conditions. "Fine," he said. "But you're getting your own damn food."

Eric smirked and smacked his brother on the back of the head. "Fine."

While they sat at the table, he felt a vibration in his pocket. He recognized the number. It was Reeva's mom, Miss Jeanie.

He stepped out of the kitchen and answered. "Hello?"

"Hi Eric," her voice said. "I really hate to ask this, but could you go and tell Reeva that I won't be home for a couple weeks? There's an emergency conference over in California that I have to go to, and I can't get out of it. Her phone doesn't seem to be on right now."

He nodded before remembering she couldn't see him. "Yeah, sure. I'll tell her."

She sighed in relief. "Thanks Hun," she said. Miss Jeanie was like a mom to them, so he'd grown accustomed to the affectionate nickname. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome."

They exchanged farewells and Eric hung up the line.

Well with Miss Jeanie over on the west coast for a couple weeks, now we have time to plan how to cover for Reeves when her mom gets back… He let out a breath and walked back into the kitchen.

{Reeva}

"You will never belong."

"You are not welcome here."

"You must be eliminated."

"The chain cannot break."

A nightmare. There are several voices, all of them whispering to me at once. It's dark, and I can feel a hundred hands grabbing me and trying to drag me down. Down…. down… down…

"You cannot live. Eleven years ago this interference had been dealt with. You shouldn't have come back."

I shake fiercely, trying to get the hands and arms to let me go. It doesn't work. They get tighter, as if trying to strangle me.

That's when I realized that's what they're trying to do. An original shouldn't exist, but does that mean I'm supposed to die? Can't I live? If this concerns who Eric is supposed to end up with, then I'll clear out of the way for whoever's double needs to come in. I just don't want to die!

I struggle to free myself, but they only pull harder. I can't even protest anymore.

"But you must."

"The Original will destroy us all."

"You aren't meant to exist."

"You must be destroyed before you destroy everything else."

"You will never belong."

...

My eyes opened wide as I woke up. It was still dark, and I'd been woken early by yet another dream. This time it was a legitimate nightmare.

Holy shit. Maybe I really did jinx myself back then, I thought as I tucked my legs to my chest. With my fleece bottoms back home, there was little sense of comfort from this rude awakening.

I was breathing heavily and my shirt was stuck to my back with sweat. As I tried to pull my hoodie off, I realized that I was covered with a blanket. Upon further inspection I noticed that there was a pillow under my head.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked me.

I jolted up where I was before holding my head in my hands. The pain I felt in the alley was back. I let out a pained moan and finally rid myself of the sweater. After tossing it aside, I lied back down on the pillow and brought my arm over my face.

"Reeva," the voice said. It finally registered as Al. "Did you have a nightmare?"

My arm fell and I pushed up slowly to turn towards him. He was sitting on the floor against the wall next to the window. Even with the lack of light I could tell that he was still wearing the armor.

"Yeah," I answered as I rolled onto my stomach. I hugged the pillow to my chest and put my chin on the arm of the couch to meet his gaze. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was looking over at me. "I've gotten used to a lack of sleep, so it doesn't bother me when I wake up early anymore."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

My lips twitched upwards into a careful smile. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

He's like Max; too nice for anyone to hate him.

The helmet creaked against the neck of the armor as his head turned. "Brother has nightmares too," he said. This took me by surprise. "There are some nights when he wakes up and he can hardly breathe. It's sad to see you like that as well now."

The smile shifted into a frown. I licked my dry lips and got up. He watched as I sat beside him. "Can I tell you something?" I asked.

He didn't say anything, but then he nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

I brought my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them. "I keep thinking about them. Eric and Max. You guys are the same, but also different. I keep comparing you guys and... I know you're different people, and I need to stop doing it, but I just can't. I hear Ed or you talk and I think that I'm hanging out with my boys, instead of you. I… I'm sorry."

There was this nagging guilt that wouldn't stop tugging at my heart. I hugged my legs tight before letting my fingers trace along the rose Kaya had drawn on the lower leg. Tears prickled against my eyes and I quickly wiped them away against my knees.

"It's okay," Al said. "You must feel pretty lonely, being so far away from the people you love."

"What about you guys?" I asked. "Don't you have someone waiting for you to come back safe and sound?"

He was quiet for a second. "Winry and Granny," he answered. "They're the ones that made Ed's automail. They're like family to us."

I nodded. "So where are they?"

"Back home in Resembull. It's a town in the Eastern part of the country," he answered.

"Hm." I paused to lick my lips. "Do you miss them?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "I do. We only ever see them when Ed breaks his arm or leg. It happens often enough that we see them every couple months."

I laughed at this. "Is he really that reckless?"

I could envision Max's exasperated smile being on Al's face. "Yeah, he is," he answered. I laughed again, but stopped quickly when I heard Ed's bed creak.

"So why are you awake?" I asked once the moment of silence had turned into a minute.

He went quiet. "I couldn't sleep," he answered after a couple seconds.

My eyebrow rose at this. He seemed reluctant to explain. Maybe it was me being me, but I was confused. Why was he still wearing the armor? Why had he given me his blanket and pillow? I appreciated the gesture, but he needed them for himself.

"Is everything okay with you Al?" I asked. There's something wrong here.

"Uh, yeah," he answered. "Y-you should probably try to get some more sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and…"

I sighed, interrupting him. "I swear, I get hassled by the boys everywhere I go." I laughed lightly at this and elbowed the chest plate. There was a hollow thump when I hit it. My brows furrowed at it, but I'd caught my funny bone against a corner. Anything concerning him, Ed, or my guys fled my mind and I doubled over. "Oww," I moaned as I fell sideways to the floor. "Mother f-…!" I started to swear, but seethed instead. I didn't want to wake up Ed, or if he was already awake, prevent him from going back. "You're too hard!"

He laughed at my stupidity. "Good grief Reeva. Just go to sleep."

A growl resonated within my throat, but quickly faded. I didn't care anymore as I yawned. I stood and made my way back to the couch. "Whatever. You try sleeping too though, okay?"

The silence returned, but soon he responded. "Okay."

"Night Al," I said with a yawn. The moment my head hit the pillow, my eyelids drooped and I fell asleep for the second time that night.

(Ed)

For a few minutes after Reeva and Al finished talking, Ed continued to stare at the empty bed beside him. The sheet had been pulled off and one of the two pillows was missing. Al had given them to Reeva, seeing as they had gone virtually untouched since the brothers had arrived back in Central.

The sound of steady breathing coming from the other side of the room let him know that Reeva had gone back to sleep.

He was careful to make sure the bed didn't creak as he sat up in it. Al's head rubbed against the neck of the suit as he looked at his brother.

"Did we wake you?" he asked.

Ed shook his head. "No," he responded. "I woke up a little while ago."

Al nodded. "Did you hear her talking in her sleep?"

The elder brother nodded as well. "You mean the thing about the 'Original'? Yeah. I could hear her mumbling from over here."

"What do you think she was talking about?"

He thought for a moment before lying back down against his pillow. "I don't know, but whatever it was it's something important she's not telling us." His eyes closed and he tried to sleep.

Al wouldn't let him. "Don't force her to tell you anything," Al warned.

Ed furrowed his eyebrows and turned back towards his brother. "What are you talking about?"

"Even if that circle ends up helping us get our bodies back, we can't push her to tell us more than she's willing," Al said. "You left out a lot while explaining stuff to her, but she didn't force anything out of you. She'll eventually tell us what an original is, and it's possible she'll find out about us."

Al had always been more level-headed then his brother, and their conversation was proof of it. But there was one thing that continued to bother Ed.

She only said a few words, but at one point she was begging something not to kill her. What's the connection? Someone or something is threatening her life, and she says something about being 'original'.

Ed rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Al has a point. We'll eventually find these things out, so I shouldn't push it.

{Reeva}

I had fallen asleep for what I assumed was about an hour, but then I woke up again. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't go back to the pleasant dreamless state I'd been in. The nightmare had taken hold of my thoughts, and I suddenly feared for my life.

What if the people that sent me away find out that I came back? Would they send me away again, or would they kill me and be done with it? If I'm not supposed to exist, then why do I?

The questions sent my head running in circles to the point where I felt like I would be sick.

Cool it Reeves! Just stop thinking about it, I told myself. I sat up and put my head in my hands. In a little while we'll be back at Central Command and we'll keep searching through those files. I won't trouble anyone with this original shit if I can't help it.

"Is everything okay?" I heard someone ask. I looked up and saw Ed across the room. He looked like he was in the process of getting dressed. He was standing in a pair of long pants and a blank sleeveless top. It was a normal outfit, but I could see his metal arm better. It extended all the way up and connected to his shoulder.

He must've noticed me staring, because he quickly put on a black sweater.

"I… Uh, yeah," I answered. I pushed my hair behind my ears and moved out from under the covers. "I'm fine."

Ed nodded and he stepped around to the other side of his bed. The alternating thump, clang, reminded me that he mentioned he had a leg made of automail as well.

I looked over the back of the couch and caught sight of a metal foot.

"How did it happen?" I asked, watching as he out on a pair of leather boots.

He looked over at me and sighed. "It's a long story, and one I don't want to tell."

I nodded. And the sensitive topics return! Sheesh. These guys are really on edge about this stuff. I mean, I'm not telling them a whole lot, but what could be so bad that it's making them so touchy?

"So where did Al go?" I asked, straying away from the previous conversation. I reached down for my purple high-tops and stuffed my feet into them.

"Probably out for a walk," he said.

My brows furrowed as I relaced my shoes. "You mean you don't know?"

"He gets up early, so it must be boring waiting for us to wake up," was my answer.

I shook my head and sighed. An idea came to mind as I finished the second bow. "Hey, why does your brother wear that armor all the time?" I asked, turning back around to look at him.

Ed froze and it looked as if he was trying to fabricate some story. "Well, when we were learning about alchemy our teacher told us that to train the mind you need to train the body as well. Wearing the armor is what he's been doing to train."

Well… at least it sounded legitimate. But it seemed like he wore it around all the time. Even if it was for training, it seemed weird.

I left the conversation alone and ran my hands through my hair to get out whatever tangles had amassed over the course of my sleepless night. My hands fluffed up the copper strands before I brushed the sides behind my ears. While I did this there was a low growling sound coming from my stomach. I sighed with the realization I hadn't eaten anything since the previous day's school lunch.

"Hey Ed," I started to get his attention. "What's for breakfast?"

He smirked at me. It seemed that he was expecting another question about his life, and he was relieved with a commonplace question. "There's a cafeteria downstairs. I normally eat there while Al's out."

I nodded. "So are we're going there now?"

Ed nodded and stood up from his place on the bed. "Yeah."

Still sitting, my hand went to up to rub the back of my neck. "Sorry to trouble you," I said.

"The military gives me more than enough money, so you don't have to worry about it," he reassured me.

The lump forming in my throat was quickly swallowed down. I stood up and followed him out the door. There was part of me that wanted to go back and grab my hoodie, but I was fine in just my grey shirt for now. It was only breakfast after all.

We got to the counter and I got my usual breakfast; scrambled eggs with bacon. It wasn't the same as how my mom made them, but just having something familiar put me into a better mood.

We sat down at a table to eat and didn't say much for a while. Until the questions came back…

"Reeva," Ed started to get my attention. I'd been starting to space out. "What's an 'Original'?"

The second he said this I froze. Time seemed to stand still while my mind went off and out in a hundred directions.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I wanted to know how much he knew, and if I could still trust him.

Ed's eyes narrowed at me when I said this. "I could hear you talking in your sleep last night. You said something about 'original' before you woke up and started talking to Al."

My chest was getting tight. The little bastard had me in some kind of corner, but I wasn't about to tell him anything. I took a deep breath and held my ground.

"Why should I tell you anything more?" I asked, my eyes glaring at his. "Why should I mention anything to you when you've left out so much of your own story?"

This got him. He froze for a second before turning away slightly with a scowl on his face.

"Look, if the time comes for it I'll tell you what that means, but I don't want to cause more trouble than I have to."

I leaned back in my chair, but I felt odd. Without the sweater I felt exposed. I shifted slightly in my chair before standing up and walking in the direction of the room.

"Where are you going?" he asked me.

He didn't get an answer from me. Footsteps came from behind me.

"What are you doing?" he asked once he'd caught up with me.

"I'm going back to the room for my hoodie," I answered as I went upstairs.

He didn't question me and let me go back into the room. The cat ears stood out like a sore thumb, but I felt at peace as I zipped it up halfway.

I turned back to face Ed. Behind him Al was standing in the doorway. "Morning," I greeted. Ed turned around to see who it was I was talking to.

"Good morning Reeva," he replied. "Did you guys eat already?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah," he said. "We should head over to Central Command so we have time to look through the file cabinet."

"Yay," I cheered sarcastically. It's like school work, only more personal. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and sighed. "Well let's get this over with. Lead the way, Fullmetal."

His eyebrow rose at the use of his codename, and he wasn't exactly sure how to react. He met my gaze for a moment, trying to figure me out. When that didn't work he turned and went out the door. Al and I followed his lead and soon we were back on the streets.

The city took my breath away with each glance. Because of the early hour there was hardly anyone around, save the shop keeps that were opening their stores, so I was able to see more. The city looked like a photograph that would never fade. The buildings gave of an air of old and new that confused me.

Ha! It's like Schrödinger's Cat! I thought with a smile that started to grow wide. Is it old? Is it new? Is it both? It'll never make sense to me either way.

"What's with you?" Ed asked me.

I looked over at him and met his once again confused gaze. "I'm comparing your city to a radioactive cat," I said easily before continuing to look around.

From the corner of my eye I noticed the brothers exchanged glances before giving up.

Heh, I broke them. The smile on my face turned into an amused smirk. My hands left my jacket pockets to switch to my pants pockets. I felt my phone as I tried to put my hands inside. Something tells me I should turn this thing back on.

Sighing, I pressed the end key until the screen lit up. Surprisingly enough there were no messages waiting for me.

"Huh," I mumbled. Guess he gave up or something.

I was wrong. Seconds later my phone vibrated to alert me I had another message.

-I did not give up. You turned your phone off, so it would've been a pointless waste of time for me to even try.-

I rolled my eyes. You know, this shouldn't be possible. How are you able to read my thoughts?

-I come from a realm beyond the two worlds, giving me certain abilities.-

My eyes grew wide. Are you telling me you're God?

I could almost hear whoever it was texting me sigh. -What you call me is up to you, but to simplify…-

A sharp pain shot through the back of my skull, preventing me from reading the rest. It wasn't like before when I'd woken up in the alley. It felt as if I'd been rammed in the back of the head with a baseball bat. I wanted to scream in pain, but everything happened to quickly for me to do anything.

My vision began to blur and soon it went black, while the world around me went silent as I fell forward. The last thing I heard was my phone bouncing away on the sidewalk.

A/N: Mwahahahahaha! The evil cliffhanger! I have blown about eight minds! Why eight? Well... that's the number of followers this has, so I'm going with it. ANYWAY! I know that there are probably a few of you that are hating me for the cliffy, but as I've said in other fics TBSSYL. To bad, so sad, you'll live. Heh, I'm so mean.

In other words, I've been obsessing over this fanfic since I started writing it. I don't want to stop until it's done! But I'm an RPG addict, so I must play at least one level before this insanity can commence. So while I'm busy, how about you take the time to review? Please? 'm open to all reviews, but anything inappropriate will be flagged, so don't do to me what some guy did to shiroamaya (those two are insane btw, so I'd recommend reading their fics alone to reduce the amount of awkward).

Okay! Well I'm going to get a sandwich! You guys review or not, and see you next time. Love you all!