Hello everyone, I'm so sorry that it has been so long since I have updated one of my stories but life got in the way, kind of. I moved again, this time home to my parents so I could be closer to my internship in regards to my education as a culinary student. And it has taken up most of my time, while I am slowly getting back into writing, it will not be regularly in regards to updates of the stories as I decided to look through the chapters that are already written. I have gone through the first chapters of 'The Alchemist and the Ishvalen' and rewritten bits and pieces already. And the chapters that have been looked through, will be the ones posted and the rest will be taken until I have looked through them. Anyway I hope that you all; will like the changes in the chapters.

Enjoy.

"It's so hot!" A young man with braided golden hair complained, hunching over. He was wearing a sleeveless black tank top with a black leather jacket and a pair of black leather pants, along with a long red hooded coat with a black flamel symbol on the back. He also wore a pair of leather booths, sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Stop complaining if you do not want to sweat through your clothes. Don't wear so much black, Ed." A young woman around Ed's age, explained. He turned to glare up at her, she was sitting comfortably on Al's right shoulder with a half-smile on her lips. She wore a light brown sleeveless turtleneck that had an open back along with a pair of light grey baggy pants that stopped at her shins. A thick brownish black belt rested comfortably on her hips, a pouch was sewn into the belt and a light grey cloth was sewn onto the belt as well, she could move easily as the cloth only covered her right leg. The cloth bore triangular shapes in mahogany brown fabric, she wore a pair of brown ballerinas and with a single anklet on her left leg. Two thick golden armlets and two necklaces completed her outfit, her long silver hair was tied into a tight braid which was pulled over her shoulder. A pair of dark shades rested on top of her head; Ed huffed, still staring at her.

"Serah's right, Brother." Al snickered as he walked alongside his brother, holding a suitcase, the trio left central for a small village near the edge of the East Area. Rumors had reached Central that a priest was performing true miracles, Ed and Al was intrigued by the rumor, so they decided to head for Reolo around a week ago.

"Don't you two team up against me!" Ed growled; Serah snorted as she turned to glance down at the older Elric.

"You are making it too easy for us to tease you."

"Serah!" The teenager blinked as she turned her glance to look ahead of them, she shifted as she moved to her feet. She placed her feet on either side of Al's head, holding a hand up to shield the sun from her eyes. "Serah!?" Al yelled, surprised by the sudden movement. He waved his arms around, making sure that he had balance. Ed rested his hands on his hips, staring at his younger brother and the Ishvalen.

"What is it?"

"I think that I can see something." She narrowed her eyes, before slightly shaking her head.

"What do you need?"

"Something higher, help me out Ed?" The older Elric nodded, he clapped his hands and pressed his palms to the sand, Serah leaped forward, as a large pillar appeared. She grabbed a handle Ed made. Her feet rested on the edge of a small step; the pillar stopped around fourteen-fifteen feet. She leaned out, her hand holding tight on the handle, vague shapes of buildings with different heights. One building caught her attention, it looked like it had small towers with points. The Ishvalen waved, signaling Ed to lower the pillar. Serah held on as the pillar lowered to the ground, she jumped down when it reached around five feet from the ground.

"What did you see?"

"Reole, I think that we got around a few more miles." Serah shrugged her shoulder, as she turned to stare in the direction of Reole. Ed sighed before moving to walk, Serah got a hand from Al to sit on his shoulder again.

"Hey Ed?" Serah stared at the older Elric, he turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"What?"

"Thanks for creating the pillar." Ed huffed as he turned back around, it made Serah smile softly. Unknown to Al and Serah, Ed smiled, grateful for the gratitude from the Ishvalen.

It had been three years since the older Elric met Serah, since he was told that the Ishvalen was going to go with him and his brother as his guard. To be honest, he didn't think much of Serah at first and he never wanted a guard. But that changed with time, and he realized that are more to her than meets the eye. He remembers Colonel Mustang telling him that the assignment as his guard would be Serah's first one as a Private of the Military, and truth be told, there were sometimes where he actually thought that he and Al would have gotten more hurt than they did without Serah.

Ed, once they had reached Reole, immediately went for a place where he could have something to eat and drink. They had been walking in the desert for hours, Serah had jumped down from Al's shoulder and was walking after the State Alchemist as she placed the shades on the bridge of her nose. Al followed the pair, Ed glanced around, trying to see if he could find a restaurant or café. He didn't realize that Serah had disappeared, Al stopped walking as he noticed the Ishvalen turning her head and walked off.

"Brother." The older Elric turned around, he stared at his brother before he noticed that Serah was missing.

"Al, where's Serah?" The younger Elric shrugged his shoulders, Ed frowned as he crossed his arms. Around five minutes later, the Ishvalen reappeared, she stopped in front of the Elric brothers.

"Come on, I found a café." Ed grinned, he let her take his hand as she led the way to the café. Al followed his brother and friend; the younger Elric's eyes had a glint as he stared at them.

The café owner placed a plate of food down in front of Serah and Ed along with a cup of coffee. Serah had taken a seat on the counter-top with Ed and Al sitting on her left, she leaned against the wall of the café. Her feet resting on Ed's thighs as the older Elric took a bite, ignoring the warmth from her feet.

" Children of the God who live on this Earth, have faith and thou shalt be saved. The God of the sun, Leto, enlightens thy path, Behold, having descended from his throne, the Lord shall save thee from thy sins. As a messenger of the sun god, I am your father." A voice through the radio spoke.

"... A radio broadcast of a sermon?" Alphonse asked his older brother and friend; Ed took another bite of food as he spoke. "A messenger of God? What is that about?" Serah sighed, pulling her right leg to her chest as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"I think I should be the one saying, 'what's that's about the three of you."

"Are you some kind of street performers?" The elderly owner of the bar/cafe asked the trio, Ed spit through his straw, causing water to spill over the edges of the cup as he stared at the man in disbelief while the shade wearing Ishvalen shook her head, taking a last bite of the sandwich. She stood up on a stool, before turning to the Elric brothers.

"I'm going to check out the village."

"Sure, you know how to find us later." The Ishvalen nodded, before grabbing hold on one of the water piles, she pulled herself up. The owner leaned over the counter, looking after her. Serah prefers to check the cities and towns they travel to, to get a feel of the layout of the town.

Serah looked around for a moment once she stood up on the roof of the café, the Ishvalen shifted her weight on her feet before running towards the edge of the rooftop. She jumped over to another building, gripping the tiles before climbing up to the roof. Serah wanted to get to one of the higher buildings, to get a better view of Reole. Minutes passed with Serah running, jumping, and climbing over the village's buildings before she reached the side of the Cathedral; the highest building in Reole. The Ishvalen made quick progress of climbing up the Cathedral, she took a seat on one of the towers of the building. She pulled a leg to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knee loosely. Closing her eyes as she took a deep breath, trying to sense something from the village. A second later, Serah flinched, sensing that something was off with the Cathedral. She quickly made her way down from the Cathedral, hating the feeling she got from the building. It just felt wrong, the Ishvalen frowned, hearing very faint voices. It sounded like they were in agony, she shook her head before turning to find the Elrics. She could sense their auras, the Ishvalen walked along the edge of the crowd. Ed noticed Serah as she came to a stop beside him and Al.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." Serah got help from Al so she could sit on his shoulder, the younger Elric had long since gotten used to the Ishvalen sitting on his shoulder, he has lost count of just how many times she had taken a seat on his shoulder over the past years.

"I want to take a look at the Cathedral." The State Alchemist declared, narrowing his eyes sightly as he stared at the large building. Serah's eyes turned to Ed before turning her gaze back to the Cathedral, nodding once in understanding. The Ishvalen; wanting to walk beside Ed, jumped down from Al's shoulder. She immediately went to the older Elric, grabbing his hand with her own. They started walking towards the Cathedral without acknowledging that they were holding hands, Al's eyes glinted a bit brighter at the sight. He enjoyed watching how Ed and Serah's relationship had changed in the past few years, when they first met. His brother and the Ishvalen started out disliking each other, and it didn't help at all with Ed snapping at the Ishvalen at their first meeting. Or with them arguing multiple times in a day about almost anything and everything, from heaven to earth. Now when he is thinking about it, he really doesn't remember when their relationship started to change.

Inside the Cathedral, they walked up to the front seats and sat down. Serah took a seat on the back rest of the bench, next to the older Elric with Al on the other side of his older brother. The Ishvalen resting a hand on Ed's shoulder, his arm a hair length away from Serah's leg. The trio stared at the statue of the Sun God Leto. Serah narrowed her eyes slightly behind her shades, she opened her senses, trying to sense something more about the place. She turned her head, sensing a new aura coming closer. A young woman in her early twenties with two-toned hair stepped inside the Cathedral, her expression showed surprise and confusion as she walked closer towards the trio. Serah glazed at the girl from the corner of her eye, before turning her gaze to Ed.

"Oh? Didn't I meet you two earlier…?" she stated softly, stepping forward to stand in front of the trio

"Did you want to learn about Letoism after all?" Rose's eyes turned to Serah, as the tanned girl weren't with the brothers before. Serah ignored Rose's gaze, keeping her gaze on the older Elric. "Sorry, but I am an atheist."

"That's not good! By believing in God, you'll with daily gratitude and hope… isn't that

wonderful!?" Rose closed her eyes and held a hand on top of her chest in delight, Serah huffed as she crossed her arms.

"How naïve." Rose turned to the shade wearing Ishvalen, frowning her brow in confusion and slight annoyance.

"I'm not naïve!" Serah chose to stay quiet instead of answering the older woman, Ed leaned against the Ishvalen's thigh with his shoulder; knowing where her thoughts went. Even if it has been years since the Ishval Civil war ended, the trauma; it isn't something that just goes away. It had shaken Serah's faith in her own God, Ishvara. Serah placed her hand back on Ed's shoulder, grateful for his silent support. Ed looked at the white-haired girl from the corner of his eyes. Rose looked at Serah with a frown, not liking the fact that the Ishvalen didn't explain what she meant by calling her naïve. Before deciding to ignore the other girl and turned to the older Elric.

"If you have faith, you'll get bigger!" A vein popped on Ed's forehead as he moved to stand up, to take a step towards Rose, Serah grabbed his hand and locked her fingers with his own hand before pulling the State Alchemist to her. The small and gentle action by Serah caused Ed to relax and allow her to calm him. Ed let out a small sigh before he glazed at the two-toned-haired girl a few feet away, squeezing Serah's hand.

"Pray to God and the dead will come back…Huh?" Ed sat down on a bench again, Al stood nearby, watching in silence. Serah let go of his hand and moved to rest her hand on his shoulder as he rested his left arm behind the backrest of the bench.

"Jeez, do you even believe in something like that?" He asked Rose who closed her eyes and answered his question with no hesitation.

"Yes. Without a doubt!" Serah huffed quietly, Ed pressing his fingers firmly against her back. While Ed pulled out a small notebook as he leaned his head back, he started to read notes aloud from the book.

"Thirty-five liters of water, 25 kilograms of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia, 1,5 kilograms of lime, 800 grams of phosphorous, 250 grams of salt, 100 grams of saltpeter, 80 grams of sulfur, 7,5 grams of fluorine, 5 grams of iron, 3 grams of silicon, and a little bit of 15 other elements. These would be the calculated components that make up the body of a single adult." Serah glazed at Al from the corner of her eyes behind her shades, silently offering her support to the Elric brothers. Al tightened his fists as he stared at the ground, Rose stared at the trio with a frown, confusion and frustration was clear in her eyes. Those strangers are simply weird and confusing, she can't figure them out. The dark-skinned girl with the shades, Rose doesn't like her at all. She is all quiet and mysterious but obviously close to Ed and Al, the girl had barely spared her a gaze and just kept her glance on Ed instead.

"We already know that much modern science, but the reality is that no successful human transmutation has been reported. There's not enough of something… for hundreds of years, scientists have been researching and researching, but they still haven't been able to grasp it. So, you could say it's a wasted effort, but I think it's a lot more useful than just praying and waiting." The notebook slammed shut in Ed's hand as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on top of his knees.

"Did you know that you could buy the ingredients for a human in a market easily? And with little money." Serah spoke as she turned her gaze to Rose, who turned to the white-haired girl.

"A person isn't a thing! You're being disrespectful to the Creator! You'll get the Wreath of Heaven!"

"I don't believe in your 'so called' God or your Heaven." Serah spoke quietly, Rose clenched her fists, fuming in frustration over the Ishvalen and her words.

"Alchemists are scientists, so we can't believe in vague things like the 'Creator' and 'God'. We explain the fundamentals of the creation of everything in the world and pursue the truth. It's ironic that as scientists that don't believe in God, we're the ones who are closer to God." Ed explained to Rose as he reached out and took the silver-haired girl's hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Serah remembered the terror and horror she felt through the war of her land, The alchemists that helped the military were just like 'God'. Deciding who should die and who would live, they destroyed her home, land, and family, and yet a member of the same military saved her. A man with the name Maes Hughes took her in, along with his wife, and raised her as their own even when they later got a daughter of their own, they let Serah stay with them and gave her what she needed. The comfort of a family as she had lost her own. She knew that her parents and eldest brother were dead as she saw their bodies, but her second brother… she didn't know what happened to him and if he is dead or alive. And maybe one day she will know for certain, Serah could only hope that one day, she will know the truth, if he's alive or not.

"That's arrogant, you think of yourself as God's equal?"

"There is one legend, I was told about, long ago; there was once a hero who flew too close to the sun. his wings of wax fell apart, and he plummeted to the earth." Serah spoke with closed eyes, her words made Ed and Al close their own eyes. Rose stared after the trio as they stood up, Serah climbed up on Al, taking her usual spot on his right shoulder with Ed walking next to them on Al's right side.

Sometime later, Al, Ed, and Serah were standing outside. The Ishvalen girl was looking around from Al's shoulder, the air around her and the Elric brothers felt weird somehow. She has been able to sense things from the air and people's auras for as long as she can remember, Serah doesn't know how or why she can sense those things, while others can't. She has been trying to find out why she has this ability and have been searching for books that hold the knowledge of the other countries to see if it is common there, but she hasn't been able to find books about the countries outside Amestris, which is weird and odd. Ed and Al have tried to help her with her research as she had told them a bit about the ability around a year ago.

A few minutes later, the trio was watching from the back of the crowd as a bald priest was standing on top of a platform in front of the large crowd.

"Father!" Someone called out in the crowd, Ed was standing on top of his suitcase; holding a hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. Serah pulled her shades down a little to see better. Red energy moved around the bald man's hands before he lifted his hands and showed a sunflower between his hands. The priest waved with one hand to the crowd while the other held a crane.

"What do you think? Ed." Serah asked softly as she let the shades rest on the bridge of her nose, still staring at the priest. Not liking the act, the priest is putting on in front of the people, he reeks of arrogance and stubborn pride.

"That transformation reaction is normal alchemy, right?" Al placed his hands on his hips as his older brother nodded.

"Yep."

"But the law…" The young alchemist traded off, turning to stare up at Serah with a small smile before noticing Rose near the end of the crowd. The two-toned-haired girl walked over to the trio, with a smile.

"So, the three of you decided to come after all, how is it? No doubt about it, right? This is the power of miracles, after all, lord Cornelle is the son of the sun god." Serah narrowed her eyes and turned sharply to Rose.

"There is no such thing as miracles." Rose turned to the Ishvalen girl with a frown, placing her hands on her hips.

"You're wrong, miracles do exist. I know that they do, I believe in Father Cornelle." Rose beamed at the thought, Serah stared at the girl in disbelief. Wondering how someone could be so naive and innocent, there are no miracles in this world.

"Nope, definitely alchemy. Cornelle is a fake." Ed spoke with a neutral expression, bringing Rose's attention to him, away from Serah. He knew that the Ishvalen girl had a certain view of life, the opposite of people like Rose. With what the Ishvalen has been through, losing her land and family. It caused her to have a different view of everything, the world isn't just black or white. The action of one does not condemn the actions of others, no person is the same as the next person.

"But that is against the law." Al turned to his brother; Ed sighed while closing his eyes.

"Hmmm… that's right." The alchemist had an annoyed expression as he grumbled over his younger brother's words. Rose looked confused while Serah jumped down from Al's shoulder and made her way over to Ed.

"Law?" Al turned to the girl while Serah locked her fingers with Ed's.

"From an average person's viewpoint, alchemy is a very handy skill that can make anything without any limit. But the truth is that there is a rule to this, to put it, there's the law of the conservation of the masses and the law of providence. Among us practitioners, some people use the elements and the three principles." Rose looked increasingly confused with Al's explanation of the law of Alchemy. Al noticed that and tried to explain in simpler words to the girl.

"Um… Ok. It's taking an object with one element and changing it into an object containing the same element. An object with the same properties of water can only be transmuted into an object with watery attributes." Ed continued the explanation.

"In short, the basis to Alchemy is exact trade! If you want to make something, you need something of the same equivalent cost."

"But the son of your Sun God was able to transmute something from thin air and ignored the law. Rose" Serah gazed over to the other girl, who looked angry and frustrated at their words.

"Please make some sense! Do you three believe in the power of miracles or not!?" The trio ignored her, which caused Rose to fume even more in frustration and anger at them.

"Brother, maybe it's…?" Al mumbled to Ed who nodded once.

"Yeah, maybe it is." The young State Alchemist's eyes hardened as he stared at the priest, before turning to Serah for a moment.

"Bingo!" Ed turned back to Rose with a glee-filled smile.

"Miss, I'm interested in this religion! I want to talk with this founder, so could you give us some information?" Rose beamed at Ed, grasping her hands together.

"Oh, you've finally become a believer!" Rose happily led the way to the Cathedral with Al, Ed, and Serah following. Serah narrowed her eyes as Ed tightened his grip on her hand for comfort, the Ishvalen was still in disbelief over how someone older than her, Ed and Al can be that naïve and trusting. But Rose hasn't been through what they have, there could be more to why Rose trusts the Priest so much. Faith could be blinding when someone is desperate enough, Ed gave Serah's hand a squeeze.