Cerulean Silver vs. Amber Gold
by hikaranko

Summary: Ed has been put on his stupidest assignment yet: babysitting. Well, that's not what everyone else would call it, but to Edward Elric, it's exactly like babysitting. But there's a lot more to this assignment than what's on file... FMA/HP crossover. kinda sorta may possibly be slightly AU with HBP and with FMA. rated T for language.

Disclaimer: For reasons beyond my control (and greatly to my own disappointment), I do not own the Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter series. FMA belongs to the great and mighty Hiromu Arakawa, and HP belongs to the equally great and mighty J.K. Rowling. The idea of this story belongs to the not quite as great and mighty me. The story is my baby. MJade-1 is its only godparent :D

Author's Note: sorry it took so long, everyone. for one thing, there was my last week of classes so i had all these finals and projects and stuff to do. stupid school... grr. another reason would be... well, holiday distractions. every time vacation rolls around, the family demands that we immerse ourselves in activities... constantly going out and whatnot, keeps me away from the computer and distracts my brain from writing... and of course, there's writer's block. writer's block is pure evil. transition chapters are the worst (this one isn't a transition chapter, but the one i'm writing right now is). and, sad to say, but the next chapter may take equally as long to post up as this one did. my co-writer Mjade-1 has been overwhelmed with long-term emotional turmoil and such, which is the reason why ideas for CSAG are coming in a very halting manner. some asshole recently shattered her heart to pieces, breaking her happy disposition and rendering her unable to function creatively. so you'll forgive us for the slow updates, i hope.

and, uh... i got this weird review from "dgrthytrhyt", anonymously (probably banged on the keyboard for their name), so i can't reply to it... but whoever that is must have some kinda problem, seeing as (s)he insulted the story after reading only the first chapter, or maybe not even reading it at all. i guess (s)he also didn't want to elaborate on the "you suck" comment and is also trying to prevent me from lashing out at them for being so closed minded and demanding further explanation, hence the anonymous-ness. if i'm gonna be insulted, i'd appreciate it if the insults weren't so - what's the word i'm looking for? - stupid. i could at least be told why i suck. oh well, i'm over it. hopefully i'll be encountering fewer and fewer of these sorts of people.

once again, sorry for the long wait! here's the next chapter at last!

Chapter 28
Magic Barriers

Edward peeled his face off of the floor with a pained groan. He really had to learn to watch where he was running. Constantly searching for Draco had stuck him with the bad habit of not looking ahead of him. He rubbed the spots that hurt the most with a slight wince and then quickly flexed his auto-mail limbs to make sure they were still working. Only then did he turn around to see who he had ploughed down in his rush.

Hermione Granger looked very disoriented. Ed looked very embarrassed.

"Oh, shit! Sorry 'bout that, Hermione!"

She blinked up at Ed as he scrambled over to help her up. He smiled apologetically, rotating his right shoulder as he held out his left hand for Hermione to take.

"I've been bumping into everyone lately. First Harry, now you..."

Hermione just smiled slightly as she accepted his help. "It's all right, Edward," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I was a bit distracted is all, I should've heard you coming down the hall."

This sparked a small glimmer of malice-driven hope within Ed. Could she have seen Malfoy go past? Ed was getting so fed up with chasing him around. He glanced up and down the corridor, trying not to look too excited with the idea of finally catching Draco.

"Distracted? By what?"

The Gryffindor just sighed, running her hands over her bushy hair in a rather futile attempt to tame it. "Erm... Nothing, really..."

Ed's eyebrows knitted together. When she put it that way, she definitely didn't mean it. Ed looked up and down the corridor again and soon realized that they were practically right outside of the infirmary. That seemed to explain things... Maybe she hadn't seen Draco at all. Ed cast a furtive look at the entrance, his curiosity once again coming to a peak. What happened to Harry and Ron worried him somewhat. He couldn't help but feel like he was partially responsible for Ron's poisoning since he should have been able to stop it from happening. And as for Harry, Ed wanted to know how the hell someone survived getting their skull cracked open.

He looked back at Hermione and nodded toward the infirmary. "How are they?"

"Hmm? Oh, they should be all right soon. Ron already seems to have made a full recovery. As for Harry, Madam Pomfrey can fix broken bones in a heartbeat, so there's really no need to worry." She heaved a sigh, lowering her gaze as she smoothed down her robes.

Ed raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound too convinced."

Hermione glanced up at Ed, somewhat confused. Then, realizing what he was talking about, she sighed again and shook her head. "Oh no, it's not Harry I'm sighing about, I'm just... just a bit tired. It's been very confusing lately..."

"Confusing?"

She nodded her head slowly, her gaze lowered to the floor once again. "Edward," she began, her voice slow and thoughtful, "when you told me about Malfoy not being as bad as I thought he was, what did you mean by that?"

Ed hesitated for a moment before replying, several different trains of thought streaking through his mind. Then at last, he shrugged.

"Exactly what I said. He's really... not all that bad." He mentally rolled his eyes at himself, his thoughts drifting a bit. Yeah, Draco really wasn't all that bad... even though he did put the lives of two innocent students in mortal danger. "And I've seen a lot of rotten characters... Besides, you were the one who said it was just a front he put on."

"I said I wanted to believe that," Hermione corrected him forlornly.

He looked over at Hermione slowly, his eyes taking on a thoughtful yet anxious gleam. Hermione was the one who had convinced Ed to give Draco more chances than he felt were deserved. He couldn't afford to have her lose faith now! If there was anyone around that held any sort of influence over Draco's actions...

"So what's stopping you?"

Hermione sighed again and shook her head. "They say old habits die hard. He can't just suddenly stop hating me, and I can't just immediately forgive him for everything..."

Ed anxiously shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Did it ever cross your mind that he doesn't actually hate you?"

She laughed suddenly, rolling her eyes as though it was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "What are you talking about, Edward? Of course, he does-"

"Not from what I've seen," Ed went on with a shrug. "I mean, sure, maybe he used to, I wouldn't really know. But whatever it was back then, it looks like it's gone now."

"Gone?" Hermione echoed incredulously. "How could you say his hatred for me is gone? He's been so horrible to Harry and Ron this year..."

"Well, think about it. Has he done anything to you specifically?"

Hermione opened her mouth, about to tell him that yes he has, of course he has, but her voice caught in her throat. She suddenly realized that it was more Malfoy's friends who had been calling her "Mudblood" lately, and he himself had said very little to her all year. And then... there was that.

"Uh... Hermione?" Ed's brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the confused expression that now graced her face. Her silence irked him slightly. As far as he knew about Hermione, she always had something to say.

"Ed," she said at last in a quiet, hollow voice. "There's something I should tell you."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What is it?"

"A few weeks ago... I was sort of attacked by Nott."

"What? Whaddaya mean 'attacked'? What the hell did he do to you?!"

"Well, they were all ridiculing me," Hermione went on, shifting uncomfortably, "and I just lost it completely and slapped him across the face." Ed's eyes went wide, impressed. She didn't seem to notice. "I knew it was a mistake, because I was suddenly grabbed and held in place and Nott threatened to hit me. I never knew Nott could become so angry and for the first time I was absolutely terrified of him."

Ed's expression twisted angrily, his right hand balling into a fist. "Nott, that evil bastard! He's such a fucking...!I'm gonna kill him. I'm just gonna - Hermione, if he ever tries something like that again, just tell me and I'll-"

"Actually," Hermione said, interrupting Ed's spiteful rant. She bit down on her lower lip. "Er... I doubt he ever will again. His fist never reached my face."

The young blonde blinked. "I thought you said-"

"He threatened to hit me. And he was about to... if Malfoy hadn't stopped him."

This news both shocked and amazed Ed, his eyes growing wide. "Y'mean he... he...?"

"Saved me?" Hermione finished, a small, sheepish smile on her lips. "Yes, it seems unreal doesn't it? Since when has Malfoy ever helped a person in need, and a Muggle-born no less? But then again... Maybe you do have a point, Ed, maybe I didn't imagine it after all. I mean... Could he have changed? Is it possible?"

Ed was silent, suddenly finding his mind in a whirl and leaving him with a very distinct feeling of disorientation. He'd practically already made up his mind to dog Draco in everything he did, quite desperate to catch him at what he was doing, but he suddenly found himself wondering whether or not he should give Draco another chance. As far as Ed was concerned, the idea of Draco suddenly standing up for Hermione in front of the other Slytherins... It was impossibility becoming reality.

Like magic.

"You know, Hermione..." Ed's voice was quiet and solemn. "For some reason, you have a way of making impossible things become possible. I guess even someone as cold, cruel, and unfeeling as Draco Malfoy is no exception."

Hermione just looked at Ed for a moment, then finally turned away, sighing. "I appreciate that, Edward. But there are still some things in our world nobody can achieve. There's only one thing that could make Draco Malfoy change."

"What's that?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, turning back around so that her gaze met with Ed's, she spoke. Her words came out slowly, almost uncertainly.

"Learning... to love."

Ed's eyes widened slightly. Then, ever so slowly, his gaze became sad. 'If you only knew the truth, Hermione...'

The conversation he'd had with Hermione kept ringing in Ed's ears, but it didn't stop him from glaring at Draco in an attempt to burn holes into his skull and give him a glimpse of what was going on inside of it. Over the past few days, Ed's luck had taken a turn for the worst. Draco's disappearances were turning Ed's life into a living hell. Ed wanted so desperately to know what Draco was up to that he got increasingly angry and frustrated with each passing day, and it showed.

He was running out of ways to vent his anger now that Al was often too busy to spare a quick sparring match with him. So he made a small, sturdy punching bag which he put near his bed and threw punches at it a few times a day, usually in the morning after he woke up and at night before going to sleep. His roommates thought it strange, but Ed honestly could have cared less what they thought. He would've preferred punching a few of them right in the face, but resisted. They didn't seem to realize that his punching bag was saving them some broken noses.

Ed gave it a particularly malicious punch that morning after coming back from his shower. It was barely five o'clock in the morning and Draco was already missing. He was starting to suspect that, in favor of working on his assassination plot or whatever else it was that his "master" had ordered him to do and given how sickly-looking he was becoming, Draco hardly ever slept anymore.

He glared at Malfoy's empty four-poster bed for a moment, and then turned to give Crabbe and Goyle's beds the same treatment. Ever since Ed had realized that they were helping Draco, he took careful note of everything they did. He'd noticed that they were separated from one another more often these days. If Draco was around they were both present, but if not, they seemed to be taking turns disappearing. Like now. The bed labeled "Goyle" was empty, the sheets left rumpled in what looked to Ed like a hasty wake-up call. Ed scowled. Draco was smart. For the most part, he knew what he was doing, and that only served to make Ed angrier.

'What I wouldn't give to have the investigation team on you, Malfoy,' Ed thought bitterly. 'A team of trained spies to watch you 24/7 and report everything back to me...'

He knew it was pointless to wish for such a thing. While in Hogwarts, Ed didn't have the same power and influence that he had in Amestris for being a high-ranking member of the military. The only person he had any command over at all while he was there was Alphonse, but he had duties (and desires) of his own to take care of. And besides, Al wasn't a member of the military. All he could do was ask Al to notify him if he ever spotted Draco out and about on his own, to which Al agreed without hesitation. Though lately, Ed had been getting the strangest feeling that he wasn't the only one who wanted to know what Draco was up to. There had been times when Ed could have sworn that somebody was following and watching them, but whenever he turned around to see who it was, there wasn't a soul in sight.

Edward turned back to his punching bag and threw one more punch at it. He almost felt sorry for it; the stuffing was already starting to come out at the seams, and Ed had only made the damn thing two days ago.

Heaving another deep, aggravated sigh, Ed started to head for the door. It was the start of another one of his rounds. Ed had just about exhausted every search route he could think of (which was a lot) and was starting to feel like these searches were pointless. There was no end to them! He had searched practically every single hall, classroom, and closet in Hogwarts (he'd become quite proficient with the Alohamora charm) and had yet to find him. He'd considered the possibility that Draco was even leaving Hogwarts grounds, but immediately refuted it. Dumbledore had tightened security around the school. There was no way that a sixteen year old would be able to get through whatever measures had been taken without being detected.

Ed ran a hand through his hair. He could once again hear Hermione's voice and his own, talking about second chances and how Draco had changed... How Draco had protected Hermione from one of his Slytherin lackeys... Maybe Ed would do better if he backed off a bit, even for just a little while. He'd have to think about that.

It took him longer than usual to cover the entire route he'd planned out. Probably because he'd decided not to run around the way he usually did and just wandered around the school at a leisurely pace, as though he'd thought it would be nice to stroll around the school before the sun came up. Ed sighed heavily as he approached Gryffindor tower, getting ready to make a wide U-turn to go back. His search was still coming up empty. It didn't matter how much of a head-start Draco got on him or how much he was coming to know about the situation; Ed couldn't find him anywhere. He checked his watch. 6:53 AM. Breakfast would be served soon, and Ed was starved.

He had just turned around to head to the Great Hall when he heard someone approaching him from behind. Someone with very heavy, clanking footsteps.

"Nii-san! Nii-san!"

Ed stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, blinking sleepily at his younger brother as he closed the distance between them.

"Al? What's wrong?"

"I've been looking everywhere for you! I tried to call you, but you weren't answering. So I went down to the dungeons to find you-"

Ed raised one hand in the air, gesturing silently for Al to stop talking. "Wait, you tried to call me?" Al nodded. "What, like with a phone? Al, you know things like that don't work in the castle, and no one even has a phone around here."

"Not with a phone, nii-san," Al said insistently. "With the mirror!"

The older brother stared. "The mirror."

"Yes! Don't you remember? The birthday present I gave you, the little compact mirror?" Ed remained silent, staring at his younger brother as though he'd lost his mind. Al sighed impatiently. "It acts as a sort of magical, two-way radio."

His mind drifted back, trying to figure out what Al was talking about. An image of a small mirror in brown paper wrapping sprang forward, and Ed vaguely remembered tucking it away into his trunk.

"Ohh, is that what it was? I meant to ask you about that before, musta slipped my mind."

"No wonder I wasn't getting a response. You didn't know what it was."

"Well, how could I have known? If you had just told me what it was beforehand..." Ed shook his head, pushing the thought away for now. He'd go back and check on the mirror later. "Anyway, what did you need to tell me?"

Al jumped slightly. "Oh right! Nii-san, I saw Mr. Draco!"

Ed's mind snapped into place and he suddenly found himself wide awake and on full alert. Forget giving up the search! This was exactly what Ed needed! His meal could wait a few more minutes. He wasn't that hungry.

"You did?! Where?! What was he doing?!"

"Not far from here, actually. I was playing with Crookshanks on the seventh floor when I saw him farther down the hall. He was with this little girl, I think she might have been a first year, and he wandered around in circles for a little while and then... well, it looked like he walked into the wall. Or... maybe he entered a door, but I'm pretty sure I've never seen a door there."

"Walked into the wall, huh? That would explain why I can never find him..." Ed grinned suddenly. "This is perfect. Now I can find out what he's been up to! Al, can you take me to the exact place you saw him?"

The suit of armor nodded and quickly led Ed farther down the hallway. When they rounded the corner he retreated slightly. Ed had been following Al too closely and ended up bumping right into him. He bounced back and fell to the floor with a groan of pain.

"Al, what're you-"

"The little girl is still there..."

Ed blinked. "Little girl...?"

He crawled over, peered around the corner, and looked down the hall. Sure enough, standing near a long tapestry with trolls dressed in tutus was a young girl with a heavy-looking set of scales in her arms. She really must have been a first year, as Al had said. But there was a horrible scowl on her face that seemed unbecoming of her features. Ed felt like he had seen that expression somewhere before. Somewhere dumb and unattractive and...

"Oh, duh!" He slapped his forehead. "I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I notice it before?!"

Al glanced at his brother, confused. "Notice what, nii-san?"

"That little girl," Ed growled, now narrowing his golden eyes at her, "must be Goyle."

"What?!"

"He was the only one missing this morning so that's gotta be him. He probably drops those scales as a way to notify Malfoy when someone's around. Makes sense... No one would ever suspect..."

"Nii-san, what are you talking about?"

Ed looked up at Al and flashed only the briefest of apologetic smiles. "Oh, sorry... See, Malfoy's been using Crabbe and Goyle as lookouts. He makes them drink Polyjuice potion so that they look like someone else while they do their job. I knew he was forcing them to be girls, I just didn't think he'd pick a couple of random first years. Should've seen it coming..." Ed leaned back against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It seems so obvious now, why didn't I see it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I guess if it were me, then I'd do the same thing. He must have decided to use first years because they'd be less noticeable and easily overlooked. They don't know anyone and haven't quite created a niche for themselves in school society yet, so no one would think it strange for them to just be hanging around the hallway... I doubt Malfoy personally knows anyone younger than fourteen, so a disguise as an eleven year old makes it seem like they're completely unrelated."

Al seemed impressed. "Wow... Seems like he's really thought this through."

Ed groaned, ruffling his hair in frustration. "Dammit. Even I didn't care about seeing a couple of little girls gawking at that damn tapestry. I just thought they were weird and moved on every time... They were always there, every single time Malfoy vanished on me, and I didn't notice until now..." He shook his head slightly, letting out a soft, bitter chuckle. "Smart move, Malfoy. Smart move."

"So then, Mr. Draco really is on the other side of that wall, isn't he?"

"He's gotta be." Ed looked around the corner again and gave the disguised Goyle a dirty glare. "Now if we could just get rid of that idiot, I could probably figure out a way in... We need some kind of distraction."

"Yeah..."

It wasn't easy trying to think of ways to make Goyle leave. Chasing him away or scaring him seemed like the best idea, but if he saw their faces then he might stay. And there was no doubt in either of their minds that both methods would make him drop the scales to the floor, inadvertently alerting Draco of their presence. There would be no helping that, Ed decided. He suddenly wished that he'd made an alliance with some of the ghosts. From what he had heard about Peeves the Poltergeist, his antics would probably come in handy right about then.

Finally deciding on a course of action, Ed slapped his hands together, grinning eagerly.

"Al, you have no idea how much I wanna do this."

Were he able to, Al would have sweat dropped at his brother's comment. Still grinning, Ed laid his hands on the floor and with a brilliant crackle of blue lightning started the transmutation. The lightning streaked from the spot around Ed's hands, through the floor, down the hallway, toward Goyle. The moment it reached Goyle, the floor swerved upward slightly and formed a large hand that loomed threateningly over his head for a moment, then made a vicious reach to grab him. Goyle, being in the form of a girl, gave out a high-pitched, terrified shriek before running away, dropping the set of scales with a loud clatter.

Ed burst into laughter, feeling a large part of his pent up frustration evaporate. He then leapt to his feet and hurried down the hall to fix the floor, Al just behind him. He clapped his hands and laid them on the stone hand, returning the floor to normal. He then turned to face the blank stretch of wall, on the other side of which was Draco. Supposedly.

"The other side of this wall, right?" he asked Al, not taking his eyes off the wall.

"I think so," the younger brother confirmed. "How are you going to get through?"

"Simple." Ed clapped his hands once again and walked toward the wall. "I just gotta transmute myself a doorway and-"

The second Ed's hands touched the surface of the wall, there was a flash of blinding light and Ed was suddenly thrown back into the opposite wall. Al gasped in shock and immediately ran to his brother's side. Ed slid slightly down the wall until he was on the floor slumped against it. His eyes were wide as he stared at the wall in front of him, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Wha... What the hell...?"

"Nii-san! Are you okay?!"

Al bent down and helped Ed to his feet, who was still looking slightly dazed. "Yeah... I'm fine, just a little... That was..."

"Could it have been a rebound?"

Ed shook his head, his mind starting to clear a bit. "No, not a rebound... Seemed more like... like a rejection."

"A rejection?"

"Yeah," he murmured thoughtfully. "A rejection... There was something in the wall that my alchemy didn't mix well with... I think that wall might be protected by magic."

He looked down into his hands, feeling a slight prickling sensation in the fingertips of his left. Strangely enough, he thought he could feel something in his right hand, though it was definitely of a more electrical nature. It was as though something had momentarily disrupted the electric current in his auto-mail. Traces of the magic, most likely. Ed flexed all his fingers experimentally, making sure that everything still moved properly.

Al stared. "But... But you can use both alchemy and magic. Why would it be rejected?"

Ed thought for a moment. "Different energy sources, maybe? I guess it's never really been proven, but in alchemy we use more of an external source, the energy already inherent in the currents of the world, right?"

The younger brother nodded. "Right..."

"Well, according to what I've been able to figure out, it seems that magic utilizes an entirely internal source, namely the energy force already within the body of the wizard. So it makes sense that there would be some degree of friction between the base energies when applied directly against one another."

He then walked back toward the wall and pressed his left hand against its surface. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on detecting the energy. He never had to think about it when he transmuted usually since it had become an almost subconscious action, one of the so-called benefits of having seen "true knowledge." Ed wondered briefly if Draco had heard all the racket from inside. He snickered slightly at the thought of Draco sitting there looking nervously at the entrance. After a moment, Ed dropped his arm and backed away.

"Dammit. There's definitely a heavy concentration of magic here."

Alphonse heaved a weary sigh. "What are you going to do, then?"

Ed glared at the wall for a moment. He didn't like this. Why the hell did a wall like this exist in the first place? And how the hell did Draco get through it? Ed made up his mind to find out exactly what the wall was and why it was so... magical, for lack of a better word. He needed to get through. There was probably some incantation about it he didn't know of. He'd have to find out. But for now...

He took another deep breath and clapped his hands again.

"Nii-san, what're you doing? I thought you said that wasn't going to work!"

"Just one more try, Al. I wasn't prepared for it before, but I've got an idea this time."

Al made a small, nervous sound, but obediently stayed back. Ed stepped closer to the wall, braced himself, and pressed his hands to the wall. This time he would focus on the magic that surrounded the wall. He'd decompose that first, then once it was out of the way it'd be just another wall.

Light flashed again, a great force trying to push Ed away, but he'd been ready for it this time. He grounded his left leg and pushed all his weight into the wall. The clash of alchemy and magic was incredible; the wall was suddenly covered in strings of blue lightning and gold lights, and right in the middle of it all was Ed, fighting against a powerful force. It felt like a small vortex had formed in the space between his hands, powerful gusts of wind swirling around him, blowing his robes and long hair back. Ed clenched his teeth, finding it increasingly difficult to keep his hands on the wall. He wasn't sure if it was working... No, it definitely wasn't working...

He finally broke away and was forced backward again, except this time he wasn't thrown back into the wall. Ed slid back several feet, the friction between his boots and the floor bringing him to a stop. He took long, deep breaths as he recovered, pulling himself together. He could feel his finger tips prickling with energy again and rubbed them against his pants to make them stop as he stood.

"Damn."

"Nii-san..."

Ed got ready to try one more time, but Al stopped him, laying a hand on his shoulder. The older brother looked up at him, only to find Al pointing down the hallway. Ed's gaze followed Al's. Various students were waking up and filtering into the hallway, already heading down for breakfast. Ed checked his pocket watch for the time and realized that it was already a quarter past seven. He remained silent as the students passed them down the hallway, but kept his glare steadily on the surface of the wall. Once the hall was almost deserted once again, Ed and Al went their own ways. Ed was suddenly hungrier than ever, so he bee-lined for the Great Hall after telling Al to contact him again the next time he saw Draco pass through the wall.

He wondered briefly what he was going to do when he saw Draco and Goyle later on during breakfast. Stealth and subtlety wasn't exactly Ed's forte. Life would be so much easier if he could just beat them into confession. Ed glanced back over his shoulder at the wall and frowned.

Author's Note: awww, somebody successfully guessed what happened to Hermione. i'd give you a cookie, but i know that virtual ones aren't nearly as exciting as the real thing. :P i was quite sublimely amused when i first sent the ending to Mjade-1 and she flipped out on me. hehe... how anti-climactic, huh?

anyways, one small part of the greater mystery is finally solved! less stress for Ed! yay! XD he's so smart, too. though i honestly have no idea where that rant about alchemy and magic came from. speaking of which, i'm still going with a lot of manga definitions and stuff, so i'm disregarding that bit in the anime during the state certification exam where that guy got all exhausted from transmuting. take a look at the way Ed and Al quote Izumi early on in the manga... they always talk about the flow of life and the currents of the world, so i think it's safe to assume that alchemy's energy source is more external than internal.

oh, and for that bit where he puts his hand against the wall to detect the elements... i don't have any actual basis for that, but i'm assuming that something like that must happen whenever Ed transmutes stuff. i mean, alchemists can apparently limit the alchemic reaction to apply only to iron, or oxygen, or flesh, or whatever... for some of them it looks like all it's all accounted for in the calculations in the array and they need only to focus on a particular ingredient if they need to (like with Mustang and Scar). but Ed transmutes fast, without the use of a circle, so i can only assume that everything gets calculated at light speed in his head... he should be able to slow down and break down his process if he wanted to, so that's what i was thinking for that part.

um... okay, enough rambling from me. hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! please look forward to the next one! and pray that Mjade and i break through all the stuff that's keeping us from writing faster. XP