Hours passed as the train ate the miles before us, bringing me farther away from Central. Instead of making me feel more depressed, I was actually beginning to feel lighter at every mile that slipped away. I was leaving the two I most trusted in this world, but as I got farther away, my problems began to seem smaller and smaller.

I hated to admit it to myself, but the stress of our mission, and following Edward around while he did his assignments, was really getting to me. And on top of that, we were complete trouble magnets when we were together…what was up with that anyway? When I was away from them for a year, nothing happened to any of us at all. And then the second the three of us got together, it was like the universe shifted we suddenly became the center of all chaos in the world. I had never been such a point of interest in my other life. In fact, except for those that knew me personally, I was just another face in the crowd; just another tip to a waitress or another credit card to the bank. I was about to be a stay at home mom. I had my martial arts and I had my family, and I was content with that.

My eyes widened slightly as a thought came to my mind. Would I be happy to go back to that simple existence? After everything that happened, would I be able to wake up every morning and do the same thing every day? I cringed internally at the thought. Somehow, I knew I would no longer be content with such a life. So much had happened, and I wasn't the same person I once was. So if we finally succeeded, and I somehow went home, what would I do…?

I shook the thoughts from my head and forced myself to come back to the present. I was getting away from Central to take a break from thoughts like those.

I doodled idly on the leather bound journal that Mustang had given me, among other things. He had suggested that I keep a journal to order my thoughts when events begin to overwhelm me or I get stuck in an unpleasant memory. I was dubious at first, but he gave me this "listen to me because I know best" look, so I took it. At first I tried to write my thoughts down like he suggested, but that lost it's appeal quickly once I realized that it made me think about what I was writing, and that was hardly going to help me with my stress. So I started doodling random things that came to my mind. Edward's face, Mustang's crest, Alphonse's shoulder spikes, Jäger's tail…Soon the fine handmade paper was covered in little drawings of my life. I smiled. I really was terrible at drawing…

"You finally smiled."

The voice brought me out of my contemplations and I lifted my eyes to meet the expressionless ones of Barret, who sat across from me. For the past several hours, neither one of us had said a word to each other, not even when he had met Mustang and me at the station. At first I had protested his presence, but Mustang reminded me that there was a killer on the loose and I had been targeted before. I was also reminded that I was being stalked by a strange woman who may go after me for her still unknown but surely nefarious purposes. Grudgingly I admitted that he might be right. Just like he was right about everything else…Barret had merely nodded to me, and we had gotten on the train in silence. I wondered how he felt about seeing Orkan after so long. He said he hadn't seen his father in years.

What were the odds that I would be traveling with my master's son, who I had only met a few days ago? Fate really worked in strange ways, but I definitely didn't mind having someone so skilled around in this dangerous place...

"Alex?"

"Oh, sorry, I guess I'm a bit spacy today…"

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you…" Barret began and I tensed slightly. Here it came, the barrage of questions that I didn't want to answer. My expression closed off and I looked out the window, my shoulders slightly hunched. "Don't you think that outfit is a little ostentatious?"

"What?" I said, caught off guard. That wasn't what I was expecting at all. I looked down at myself. "I guess it is a bit…Mustang picked it out for me." I was wearing the clothes he had bought me that morning when he had insisted that I travel in something besides his large button up shirt. While staying up with me all night while I was being pathetic, we got a bit tipsy. As the night went on and my tension was eased a bit, we started speaking of less important things. I sort of revealed that I missed dressing up…and that I was tired of boring traveling clothes…and I missed being a woman because there were so many more interesting choices in fashion…I blushed as I remembered how I ranted for hours in his living room while Roy tried his best to stay awake. I was pretty sure he fell asleep about halfway through my rant about shoes or something. I smiled in amusement as I remembered his sleeping face as he was snoring loudly with his head leaned back against the couch. I had fallen silent then and merely watched him. He had really gone out of his way to help me, even though he barely knew me at all. He didn't have to reveal so much about his obviously painful past, but it undeniably helped me to put my problems into perspective. I really was being an overdramatic prick…My problems paled in comparison to what he had been through, and I knew that I needed to suck it up.

Anyway, that had led to the next morning's little shopping excursion. Mustang had woken up to find me watching the sky lighten in the early morning. Without greeting me, he had stumbled up his stairs and shut the bathroom door behind him, making me feel a little awkward. He was probably exhausted from having me keep him up all night…that and I had drank a lot of his alcohol…and ranted for hours about stupid stuff. Oops. I wondered, as I heard him turn on the shower, if I should make an escape before I was too embarrassed to face him. But then I remembered I didn't have any money and I was relying on him to help me get out of the city. Damn…

I needn't have worried. A half hour later he strolled down the stairs looking immaculate, as if he had not stayed up all night listening to a drunken teenager complain about fashion. My jaw dropped a little as I looked at what he was wearing. He had on a black button up shirt that was undone slightly at the top, revealing some of the skin of his chest and making his neck look longer, and he wore fitted pants that revealed exactly how built his thin frame was. Over this he wore a dark gray coat that accentuated his broad shoulders and slim waist, tapering down to his mid thigh. It was unlike anything I had seen the men around the city wear, which mostly consisted of black and brown pants over plain shirts and jackets. It was as if he had been trying to show me that all men in this world weren't "boring lumps who only wore the same thing as everyone else," which was something I said the night before amongst…other things. I gulped.

Mustang had merely smirked at my expression and handed me some clothes to borrow before promptly taking me out to buy supplies for my trip. That was how I ended up in what I was currently wearing. He brought me to a shop on the edge of town that was like nothing I had seen anywhere in Amestris. It felt higher class and a bit edgy; definitely a store you wouldn't see an average person walk into. We were promptly greeted at the door by the shop teller and I got the feeling that Mustang shopped there often. It was confirmed a second later when the colonel merely nodded in my direction and the shop keeper, a flamboyant man in his thirties that was wearing skin tight pants and a half buttoned shirt over his muscular frame, tutted at my appearance and had me follow him to the back of the store. He stood me up on a raised platform and reached for me. I flinched back slightly, and Mustang came to my rescue. "Try not to touch his skin. He has a phobia." The teller merely nodded as if it wasn't a completely odd request and was very careful to only touch me with his measuring tools, much to my relief.

I was promptly stripped of everything but my underwear and he measured every inch of my body. While this was happening, Mustang was walking in and out of the room adding to a pile of clothes he had selected for me to try. The whole time I was blushing madly as the two men scrutinized my nearly naked body as if it was no big deal. I had to hold back my inner woman who was squirming uncomfortably and trying to curl my arms over my flat chest.

Several dressings and strippings and manhandling later, I was wearing a calf length black jacket with more buttons and buckles than I knew what to do with, a deep emerald green shirt that Mustang said would set off my eyes once the red wore off (as it had been doing slowly since The Incident, thankfully) and tightly fitting leather pants that Edward would drool over synched with a studded belt. Come to think of it, I had wondered where Edward was buying his outfits…

I stood and stared at myself in the mirror, my mouth agape, as the two taller men stood behind me and appraised my appearance with serious expressions. The shop teller, whom I came to know as Redgie, rubbed his chin before adding a final touch to my outfit; a simple black choker with a gem embedded in it over my throat which matched the gem in my earring perfectly. He fiddled with my hair a few seconds, which had grown to my mid back, bound it and pulled it over my left shoulder. The result of the entire ensemble was a unique blend of masculinity and femininity that would make either gender stop and stare. "Whoa," I whispered. I had never felt more attractive in my life.

Behind me, Mustang whistled. "I've got to hand it to you, Redgie, you've got excellent taste, as always."

"Heh," Redgie chuckled in his deep growling voice, "Nah, I just added the final touches. It was all you. I gotta say, Roy, this was almost as fun as dressing you up. Where did you find this kid? Is he your long lost son or something?"

Mustang choked slightly and cleared his throat, his face going white. "He's a friend. I'm only 29! Do I look old enough to have a teenage son?"

"So, if he's not our son, then maybe your boy-" Redgie ribbed.

"Um, hate to interrupt," I said quickly before this conversation could get awkward, "But how much is this going to cost exactly?" I was worried, since Edward was the only one of the three of us who actually had a job and made money.

Mustang smiled evilly and I shivered. "Oh don't you worry about that. Ed will be sure to pay me back in full."

"But…Edward has to pay for his automail to be replaced," I said, frowning worriedly.

His black eyes glinted. "There are other ways than money to pay someone back."

Somehow that didn't reassure me, but I let it go. I tilted my head thoughtfully. "You really take care of the three of us, don't you?"

Mustang frowned slightly and looked away petulantly. "No such thing. I'm just doing this to get Ed to be indebted to me, that's all."

I smiled in amusement. No matter what he or Edward said, they actually liked each other, and I knew Edward really admired the older man. We all did.

"Keep your hands off my older brother, Mustang. I know he's hot, but he's really too young for you," I teased, and had the pleasure of watching Mustang's face turn green like he was going to be sick. Redgie and I had shared a laugh at Mustang's expense, and we had left the shop soon after. The price had been astronomical, of course, but Mustang simply wrote Amestris' equivalent of a check and strolled out like he had not bought three outfits for the price of a car. I decided then and there that Roy Mustang was my best friend in the whole world and I had to hold back from giving him an extremely unmanly hug. Although, I might have been able to get away with it while wearing that outfit…

I shook my head slowly, coming back to the present, the chattering of people and the clattering of the train bringing me out of my thoughts. I smiled softly and fingered one of the buttons on my jacket. It had been one of the most fun experiences I had had in Amestris, even though I had to be constantly careful of touching anyone or breaking anything with my still inhuman but slightly fading strength. It seemed like the more time passed the more the effects of the stone wore off. I hoped sincerely that the empathy powers would fade as well, although I wasn't quite willing to touch someone to find out…

Despite my protesting and embarrassed stuttering, Mustang had brought me to several other shops to buy luggage and other necessities, only giving me an amused look when I kept asking him why he was being so nice.

"Mustang, huh? That man is practically the definition of ostentatious," Barret said in his strangely blank voice. Before I could digest that particular statement, he continued. "It suits you."

"Um, thanks," I said, slightly awkward at the praise.

"Are you really only thirteen," Barret asked suddenly. I gave him a strange look.

"Why?"

"I don't know…it's just that sometimes you get this mature look on your face, like you've been through a lot. Edward too. And don't even get me started on Alphonse. He's huge, and he's supposed to be the youngest of you!"

Barret began to get slightly animated as he talked, and I decided that it looked kind of odd when his expression didn't change.

"Would you believe me if I told you I was actually a twenty six year old woman?" I asked, feeling a bit reckless.

His eyebrows scrunched up, making him look even more serious. "Um, no, I don't think I would."

"Well, then would you believe me if I told you that I was a three year old mutant?"

"That sounds even less likely."

"Then yes," I said, "I really am thirteen."

He tilted his head to the side thoughtfully and I thought for a moment that I might have revealed too much. But I brushed the fear aside. Truth really was more extraordinary than fiction. No one would ever believe it.

"What happened to you exactly the other day," he asked, changing the subject again. I was starting to really see the similarities between him and Orkan. They were both equally as blunt and intrusive with their questions. I sighed, not really wanting to talk about it. He continued on. "I was there, you know. I helped Alphonse remove the rubble from your body. You were crushed to death."

I remained silent.

"Then after we were ordered to make a perimeter, we saw a huge flash of light from where you guys still were, and now here you are, alive and well."

I bit my lip. "Look, I really don't want to talk about it. Can we just not?"

Barret looked at me blankly for a few seconds, then said "Buy me coffee."

"Wha-" I mumbled, now thoroughly confused. He was changing subjects so quickly that I was starting to get whiplash.

"You said you would buy me coffee to make up for backing out on our sparring match."

"Oh," I said, although I thought that statement was a bit unfair. I had died after all. "Well, we have a stop in the next town to wait for the next train. We should go to a café."

Barret nodded and I had to laugh a bit as he changed the subject again. "What's your favorite weapon?"

"Heh, what, are we playing twenty questions now?" I chuckled.

He smiled slightly. "You laughed."

"What? Oh, I guess I did."

"I'm glad you are feeling better."

I pursed my lips. "Were you trying to cheer me up?"

"It's better than watching you be moody the whole trip."

"Hey!"

For the next several hours, Barret and I chatted about everything and anything as the countryside flew by. Even though I barely knew him, I found Barret an interesting man to talk to. He had a slightly odd personality, as if he never knew when to change the subject or when a question was too personal. I couldn't really fault him for that though, being raised by an emotionally constipated man like Orkan. I was actually looking forward to seeing them side by side.

Eventually we made it to our next stop. Anklem, a town in between Rush Valley, which we bypassed, and Dublith, was a small bustling collection of buildings and narrow streets. I watched people go about their business as the train passed through the outer edge. It looked distinctly small town, but also like it might be a growing community. It felt like a mini Central, although the landscape was quite arid.

The train rolled to a stop at a quaint station on the edge of town. It was little more than a cobble stone platform, but it was bustling with people and little food and souvenir stalls. Barret and I grabbed our luggage and stepped out of the train. It was chilly outside, and I was grateful that the coat I was wearing was warm. Jäger mewled softly in protest to the movement and the sudden frigid air but settled back down once I flipped the flap of my messenger bag over him. I shook my head in amusement. How long could this little guy sleep? Maybe he was hibernating and I would have to carry him around until winter was over. If that was the case, I hoped he wouldn't get any bigger…

Barret gestured towards a posting of the train schedules and we headed over. I scanned the listings to see when our next train would arrive, and groaned when I read that we would be stuck here for the next three hours.

"Quit whining, you are fouling up the air. If you looked any more broody, women would swoon as you passed by."

"Shut up Barret," I grouched. "Your expression is so serious all of the time children cry in your presence. And I don't brood."

"Whatever you say kid."

I sent a mock glare at my companion and then glanced up and down the street. "Well, since we'll be here a while, we might as well look around." I eyed a stall a few buildings away that was selling something that looked sparkly.

"I don't know about you, kid, but I'm starving."

"Oh, right…food." I grimaced a bit, wondering if I was going to have to eat to keep up appearances.

"What do you mean, 'oh'?" Barret said incredulously. "We've been on a train for seven hours and I haven't seen you eat once. Aren't you hungry?" He narrowed his eyes and leaned down into my face, causing me to scoot back. "Does this have something to do with being a twenty-six year old woman?"

Slightly distracted by his close proximity, I replied, "Well, no, it has more to do with me being a three year old mutant–Wait, hey! Are you implying that I need a diet?!" I placed my hands on my hips and sent him a vicious glare.

He backed up with raised eyebrows at my ridiculous statement. "So, you were telling the truth."

My mouth dropped open. He actually believed me? So much for my 'truth is stranger than fiction' theory. I frowned, but decided that if I was going to be stuck with him for several weeks he would find out eventually. "Yeah," I said decisively. "I'm actually both. I also don't eat or sleep and can come back from the dead."

"…" Barret was giving me this blank look, so I continued on, thinking 'what the heck'.

"Also, don't touch me cause I can read your emotions. And I have super strength. My eyes sometimes change color–"

Barret held up a hand in defeat. "Kid, you lost me about four sentences ago. Just tell me one thing. Is it that you don't need to eat or you can't?"

Hm. That was a good question. I still ate sometimes…when I remembered. But it was never a priority like it used to be. I tried to remember a time when I had been hungry all the time, but it was like trying to remember what it was like to not be in pain when you've had a broken bone for three weeks.

"Whether you need to eat or not, I still think you should. I don't know much about mutants, but whatever is fueling you is probably not giving you vitamins or fat content."

"You have a good point," I said, deciding to not think about how he called me a mutant so easily. I hadn't really thought about it, but would my body deteriorate if I stopped eating all together? "You don't need to convince me, though. I still enjoy eating, I just forget sometimes. Also, it's not quite as satisfying if you eat something when you don't feel hungry."

"Well, here's my stomach, reminding you," Barret said blandly. "There's a cafe over there. Let's get something to eat." He turned and began walking away towards a small shop. I followed behind him thoughtfully.

It would really be helpful if I actually knew what I was besides 'not human'. Come to think of it, was there anyone out there like me, or was I just some unprecedented fluke? Even if there was another like me, there was no guarantee that I would ever find them. The gears in my mind began making a horrible grinding sound as thinking about it gave me a headache. I grimaced. The only one who seemed to know anything about me was my stalker, and I hadn't seen her since Liore…where she tricked me into eating red stone. Yeah, maybe it was a good thing I hadn't seen her around…

Barret and I sat down at a table under an umbrella in front of the shop. A waitress paused at our table to take our order. She turned to me first but I was slightly distracted with my thoughts and missed the first half of what she said.

"–can I get for you? Sir?"

I looked over at her, pulling slowly out of my thoughts. She was tall, with waist length blonde hair and pretty green eyes, about my age, maybe a little older. She was giving me a small smile and looking at me questioningly.

"Oh, um," I grabbed the menu in front of me, but was too distracted to read the tiny text. "I'll have the special," I said, setting it down and looking off into the distance again.

My mind drifted back to my thoughts. Was it possible that that woman was like me? I mean, she seemed pretty strange, as if something wasn't quite right…

"–drink? Sir?"

Startled, I realized that the waitress was still addressing me. She was leaning in close with her head tilted cutely to the side and giving me a wide smile. Across from me, Barret was wearing an annoyed expression. At least I think he was. It's sometimes hard to tell.

"Um, water's fine…" I drifted off again. I wondered if I would actually see that woman again. She seemed interested in me for some reason. Maybe she had some of the answers I was looking for…

The waitress, finally done taking my order, I guessed, talked briefly to Barret before walking away. As soon as she was out of sight, Barret kicked me in the shin. Hard.

"Ow! What was that for!" I exclaimed, rubbing my let in surprise. It hadn't really hurt, but I was startled.

"Are you blind? If that girl's flirting was any more obvious, she would have kissed you full on the mouth," he grumbled.

"Wait, what?" I looked to where the waitress had disappeared and was alarmed to see that she was standing behind the bar in the restaurant with several other serving girls. They were pointing in my direction and giggling. I sank down into my seat with a blush, which only made their chattering get louder.

"Ah, the advantages of being beautiful," Barret teased with a straight face.

"Shut up," I grumbled. "There's no point in me getting attention from women."

"Ah, right. Well, if it makes you feel any better, there is an attractive blonde man staring at you as well." Barret pointed across the street and I glanced over, curious. Sure enough, a young man was staring at me intensely from the cafe across the street. He had short wavy blonde hair that covered one blue eye and was quite tall, even sitting down. I waved at him playfully, thinking it would be funny to see his reaction when he got caught staring at a man in public. Instead of being put off though, he smiled and stood up, leaving change on his table, and began walking towards us. My hand and expression froze.

"Well, that's quite bold of him," Barret commented as the young man approached.

He stopped a few paces away from us and smiled. The girls behind me began chattering louder, and to my annoyance I heard a few squeals. I mentally sighed. Small town girls. Had I ever been that annoying…? I turned my attention back to the man, who seemed to be waiting for me to address him. "Um, can I help you…?" I said awkwardly.

His smile changed into a smirk. A spark of recognition went off in my mind, and then the sparks became fireworks when he spoke in a familiar husky voice.

"It's been a while hasn't it, Alex Elric?"

I stood abruptly, shocked, and pointed wildly. "It can't be…" It had been over a year, but there was no mistaking that handsome face or that arrogant smirk or that supermodel wavy hair. It was none other than…"Edward imposter!"

Hello! Hoped you guys enjoyed a bit of a break from the drama. Alex is being a complete space-case in this episode and it was pretty fun to write. It was a little funny, a little awkward, and definitely a break from the heavy chapters I've been writing lately, so it was refreshing for me. This chapter was nothing to write home about, but still fun.

Heh, Mustang would be a male fashionista. I mean, he's so vain, how could he not be? At least that's what I think. I'm totally destroying his bad boy image… I know it was kinda random, but I thought it was time to give Alex a makeover. I'm shamelessly treating him like a doll for my amusement. Poor kid.

Also expanded on Barret. He's so funny, I can't wait to write him and Orkan together.

Next Chapter: more shenanigans as Alex plays with some old friends…and some actual plot…but mostly shenanigans.