EDWARD

"Colonel Fucking Monster Bastard Demon Barbarian!"

Scarlett had just run past them, and when he'd called her name, she'd screamed that. And when they approached the end of the alley, he saw why. "Colonel..." he gasped.

"Hello, Fullmetal." Mustang said coolly, his face blank.

"You... What Scarlett said is right! Bastard! Monster!"

He didn't pause now, running down the alley after Scarlett. She'd been right behind Maria. There was no doubt that was the woman who'd once been his body-guard.

But that didn't look anything like her! It was just a hunk of charcoal!

The two brothers went back to the hotel. Scarlett was in her room, and through the door they could hear her sobbing. Winry stood outside. "I tried to go in, but she yelled at me to stay out."

"I won't be so easily deterred..." Ed said bravely, opening the door and entering the dark room.

"Get out!"

He got a pillow in his face. "I'm not-"

"I said get out!"

He instinctively ducked, and hearing a smash, felt lucky he did. "Get out, nit-wit!"

Scarlett's voice was blood-chilling. She yelled again, throwing something even larger again. And then he heard a loud splintering above his head as he advanced again and realized she'd thrown a chair. "Scarlett-"

Something huge clipped his shoulder as it flew past, and with the splintering and the shower of saw-dust he heard, he concluded it was a table. He kept advancing, scared now. "I said get out!" Scarlett screamed with the force of a banshee, grabbing the front of his shirt.

He flinched, his body tensing as he waited to be thrown.

"Get out... Just get out..." Scarlett sobbed. He could hear he knees hit the floor, and she buried her face in his chest. "It's not fair... Just not fair..."

"Hey, don't cry. It's okay. We're still here." he told her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Everyone around me... Everyone around me keeps on dying... It's not fair..." the teenager wailed.

He felt odd, soothing a girl four years older than him. But in a way, he needed to do it. It made him feel better.

After he fixed all of the broken items Scarlett had thrown or just pulverized, the two went into his room with Al and Winry. It took quite a while, because she'd apparently thrown a fit, and with her super-strength she got from the titanium, had broken and thrown things.

"So, what's gonna happen now?" Scarlett broke the silence, laying on the bed and braiding and unbraiding her hair.

"I have no clue." he answered.

There was a knock at the door, and he went to answer.

SCARLETT

Edward went flying as someone punched him squarely. For a moment, she couldn't think of anything but how perfect that blow was.

Then Armstrong came in.

Instinctively, she groaned, rolling her eyes. He rambled for a bit about how Ed's arm was apparently broken and how they'd go to Resembool to fix it. Her eyes narrowed.

Winry's right here...

Things got even more suspicious when the major told Al he'd have to stay for fear of attracting too much attention. She got up and ran for the door, but it was already slammed shut.

"What the hell was that? A kidnapping attempt?" she hollered as she opened the door. She got socked in the gut, just barely winding her, but the major picked her up, rambling about how she seemed to be having some trouble breathing and some of the best doctors were in Resembool. "Maj-or!" she whined in the lobby.

"Yeah, can you put us down?" Ed agreed.

They were met with silence.

"I can very easily punch you in the eye from here, and bloody your nose as well!" she growled.

Still no answer.

"Can you at least tell us what's going on?" Ed tried.

And still they were given no answer.

"What's with the silent treatment? I'm getting really miffed here!"

They were given no explanation until they'd reached Resembool. There, Armstrong told them that he was ordered to bring them here and look for a familiar face. They quickly enough found Breda to be the familiar face.

The plan, apparently, was to ride into the desert. That was fine by her. The titanium she was mixed with would let her stand that severe heat. Not to mention she was from a desert tribe!

But why... Why the desert?

They rode to the ruins of Xerxes. She knew this place. She'd been here before.

"How do you know it? Tell me that." her friend said softly. "You can tell me."

"I don't know. But I've been here before, I just don't remember when."

"We came here to play once. Don't you remember?"

"No. Not much."

"No. Not much. I don't remember much before the lab now." she whispered to herself. "Why don't I remember anything...?"

She started to panic.

"Calm down! That was a very traumatic experience, and you didn't see anyone for a long time. It's understandable that..."

"...You wouldn't remember much..."

Eyes wide with fear, she turned around. She was alone... Again...

"How can I get people to stay with me? I don't want to disappear like this!" she screamed, hands on her head.

EDWARD

There was a loud thud, and they all spun around. Scarlett had collapsed. "Scarlett!" he yelled, jumping off of his camel and running back to her. "Scarlett?" he asked, touching her skin. It was cool.

"What's wrong with her?" Breda asked, coming back to them.

"I have no clue... This happened once before... She sort of passed out and had an inner war... But she screamed last time, and her tattoos were activated..." he said, trying to figure it out.

"I don't want to disappear like this! I don't! I don't want to vanish! How can I get everyone to see me? How do I not vanish?"

He gasped.

That was Scarlett's voice!

Why was he hearing Scarlett?

"Scarlett's inner self is torn between four different ways."

He turned around. There was a little Ishvalan girl there. Her silver hair was kept in a pony-tail and her red eyes were large and serious. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm one of the ways Scarlett is torn. She's torn between the ways of her old friends, the demon that is herself, the twilight twin, and..." The little girl's hand came up, pointing at him. "... And you, Edward. She is unsure whether to abandon the secret of her tattoos and go live with survivors, release all her fear and become a monster, follow a path all her own and not listen to anyone that orders her to do something against her will, or..."

"Or what? Tell me!" he yelled.

"... or help you uncover the secret of her tattoos and help all of you return to normal. She's unsure as what to do."

"Well, she should pick for herself! I'm not here to-"

The girl was gone. He was left alone in the dark.

Then the whispering began. Then came the voices under the whispering. Then the screaming, along with someone whispering how they were going to be seen. "Shut up!" he yelled.

He woke up. Scarlett was awake, trying to push herself up. He tried to get up, but found himself drained. "What was that, Scarlett?" he asked.

"What... was what?" she asked.

"I saw a young girl. She told me she was one of the ways you're torn."

"Yellow hair, blue bow, black moon?"

"No... Ishvalan."

Scarlett cocked her head, thinking. "No... I don't recall that... There's... No, that's not one of the ways I see." she told him, getting shakily to her feet and climbing back on her camel.

Sighing, he jumped onto his camel.

Was the girl lying?

"I'm not lying. She just hasn't seen me."

"Great. So, tell me..."

"Yes?"

"Why am I hearing voices now? Am I going crazy?"

"The crazy insist they aren't, the sane insist they're crazy. You aren't crazy. Scarlett's voices spread to others within range when she's in serious trauma. There's only so much room in her mind for voices..."

"... Before she runs out of room..."

The girl had vanished. He turned, eyes wide, to see he was in a snowy land-scape, facing the Scarlett that she'd always described. She glared at him, then swung her arm up and brought it down...

He shook his head. He was thinking of the most bizarre things lately. Scarlett would never slice him! He thought...