"Don't you want to bring him back? It's not fair!" Emmalyn's voice broke for a minute, looking over to me from the bed. We had just buried John. He had finally caught something that he just couldn't fight anymore. I knew it was too much to travel within the cold season. We usually boarded up in a place and I would work until the season was over. John didn't want to this year, though. He was tired of limiting us.

"If I get sick then I will fight it! We can't just hide me from it forever, Alycen! I want to go there!"

His voice rang in my head again, watching Emmalyn's face flush red as she stared at me. I pressed my forefingers against my forehead, rubbing it.

"It's forbidden alchemy. I am not going to do that. The state alchemists will have me put to death. They always find out." This was the third conversation that we had about this. She thought I didn't understand how much she missed John. How could I be so cruel when there was a solution right in front of us? Human transmutation. She thought that it was the answer. "You don't even know what the equivalence would be, sis. It's not going to happen. We couldn't find the stone in time." I pulled my gaze to meet hers, allowing my head tottilt to the side. "John accepted what was happening to him. Why can't you understand that?"

I watched her expression change, contorting into a rage I hadn't witnessed before. I would have never thought a twelve year old would be capable of such a face. Her chest heaved, anguish overcoming her as she stood up quickly.

"Because I loved him!" Her eyes closed tightly at that, her face burying in her hands as she cried. It wasntw as much as a surprise for me. I could see her crush forming over the years. The closeness they had between each other. I could see the breaking of her heart whenever he came close to death. His strength was because of her.

"You wouldn't understand! You're like some stupid robot. You don't understand love. All you care about is Alchemy and Science!" I could feel the lump in my throat as I stood up, breathing in a hard breathe. I knew her words were only out of loss. She didn't feel this way. She was lashing out. Could I really believe that? I never had someone steal my heart away. I focused only on providing for these two, and honing my alchemic knowledge. Maybe she was right. Was I really so robotic in that sense? I managed to shove the thought away as I placed my right hand into my pocket.

"I'm going to take a walk, then I am going to bed. We will not talk about this anymore. Is that clear?"

I turned my back to her, listening as she huffed and muttered, "Crystal."

The door slammed when I left, and I looked to my right when I heard a small shuffle of feet. The opaque outline of a man was visible in the lamp's light overhead. I sighed heavily, walking away from him.

"Alycen, right?" The authority in his voice threw me off for a minute, but I recognized it relatively quick.

"Roy, right?" I continued walking, hearing his feet shuffle slightly to get next to me. "I'm not interested."

"It wouldn't be within my nature If I didn't persist."

"Ugh, save it, please. I'm not in the mood to deal with this."

"I understand your brother just passed." His voice had a hint of apology in it, but I shrugged it off. It wasn't sincere.

"Yet, here you are, still recruiting." I replied sarcastically, rubbing the back of my neck. I turned to my right to look at him as I stopped, but I didn't expect him to be who stood in front of me. His expression maintained his voice; stern. He was, though, more handsome than I had pictured when Riza first told me about him. I would have expected more of a balding thirty something. This guy was fit, young and inexplicably handsome. I stammered for a moment, watching the grin spread from one lip to two with him. He definitely knew where he was in looks.

"Cat got your tongue?" He asked, watching me with more intensity than I would have liked. I managed to shake off the feeling, and grunted at that.

"Such a stupid saying."

We both paused briefly at the sound of a window shutting and I went inside, looking around for her.

"Emmalyn? Emmalyn?" I ran down the hallway, swinging her door open and staring at the empty bed. I yelled her name once more, yanking open her bedroom window to pull myself through it, landing in the back alley.

"Do you know where she would go?" Roy asked, his expression becoming slightly more worried than before.

I stared around, searching in the dark. "No, I don't. We don't have anyone else here."

"Mhmn. But she does." The voice was unfamiliar; feminine, dark. I looked to my right, watching something pull from the shadows as Roy moved to put himself between us.

"Well, we meet again." He said, almost mockingly. His eyes had narrowed, his fingers raising as he paused them in a snapping motion. "Lust."

"Lust?" I looked from him to the woman, trying to figure what was happening. He had known this woman? What did she want with Emmalyn? I moved away from Roy, staring at her. "Where is my sister?"

Her lips had become a grin, looking at Roy. "Shouldn't you be with the fullmetal boy? We didn't think you would come all the way out here."

"A little bird told me where I can expect to find you. Once I found out about her brother, I knew why you would be here. You just love talented alchemists. YoureY using the sister as a lite, aren't you?"

"Oh, look at figured it out.. We want her." Roy's eyes narrowed, and his fingers snapped when her fingers extended, razor like spikes heading towards him. Her hand moved away when the fire connected to her hand, pulling herself away from the flames.

I backed away, looking at the thing in front of me. It wasn't human. It was something else. It's body could morph without a circle. I could hear my voice become muffled by a hand when I went to yell, my eyes widening as I stared at John. "Well, it looks like I'll be handling you."

No, that can't be right. We just buried him. "What the hell?" I said, feeling my body fall out of consciousness when the back of a hand hit against my neck. I could hear the faint yell of my name from Roy, and fell out of consciousness.

"Did you have to knock her out, though? I'm sure she would have come willingly."

"I'd rather just knock her out." The voice was male and sounded annoyed. I could feel cords wrapped around my feet and hands, my body on the ground. I managed to pull one eyelid open, staring across the room at my sister. She was unconcious. I could feel the adrenaline rush when I realized she was only a few feet away.

"What am I doing here?" I asked, staring at her as footsteps approached. I watched as two knees appeared in my line of vision;they were pale, and had red lines going down them. I followed them, looking to the face of John.

No. That's not John. John's eyes were kind, loving. His were riddled with revenge.

"What are you?" I asked, staring at the thing in front of me as it's face muted back into another face. An agry, hateful face.

"My name is Envy. You've met Lust." His thumb crooked behind him, pointing to the one with long, flowing black hair and devil's eyes.

"Can I eat her? Please Lust!" Said a whiney voice, somewhere between childlike and older. I stared at the blob that spoke, realizing it had a face as well.

"No, Gluttony. We need her." Her hands had crossed below her chest, the tattoo of the Ouroburos catching my eye.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You must have misheard me. I said what not who." The sarcasm had been met with a foot in the stomach by Envy, and I grunted.

"Shuddup."

"What we are doesn't matter. What you're going to do, however, does matter."

"Oh? What is it you think I'm going to do?" I sideeyed Envy, smirking. "I can't transmute him a good personality." I said, more sarcastically. I grunted when Envy grabbed my shoulder, his other hand hand pulling me up by my hair. I managed to muffle the scream of pain I wanted to make as he made me sit.

"She sounds like fullmetal. I hate her already."

"Stop whining, Envy. You have something else to take care of." Lust's arms dropped, walking towards me and kneeling. "You're going to perform human transmutation."

"Like Hell I am, you might as well kill me." I replied, but it was short lived when her finger claw dug into my left shoulder.

"Either perform, or your sister will die." I stared from her to Emmalyn, who was still completely unconscious. I hadn't noticed the blood that had formed around her stomach, and I could feel my breath get caught in my throat.

"Why? Why would you need me to do this?"

"Let's just say there's a bigger picture than you. We need the gate."

"Gate? What gate?" I stared at her, and could feel her patience waning.

"All that you need to do is perform it. You can save your sister, and we'll be out of your hair before you know it."

It didn't process when Roy came into the room, but I did process when he yelled my name; but my palms had already pressed against the transmutation circle.

All I knew was that there was nothing around me. It was just white. There was only this tall door in the middle of the room. This menacing door. The creak as it opened was loud, and the small black shadows that protruded out like hands made me fall backward. The black space split, an ominous eye replacing it. The pupil darted around for a moment before focusing solely on myself. I could feel my nerves come on end. My heart sped up, my body was numb. This menacing thing spoke to me, but it wasn't through a voice. It was in my mind. I could hear it's laughter; faint, but menacing.

"Involuntary. Interesting." The voice mimicked my own; Taunting me.

"She's not dead! I just want her to live!"

"It's equivalent exchange. What do you think is worth it?"

I pulled my hand to my chest, staring at the eye. "I don't care. Just give her back to me. This isn't anything to do with her."

"She's already going to die early. There's not really a point-"

"I don't care! I've already lost one." The eye blinked, it's pupil dilating to a slit before giving a dark laugh.

"Very well, then. I'll take what I think will be equivalent. Enjoy your time with her." The way it said 'time' felt ominous. It was as if it knew something that I didn't. How long did she have? One year? A few months? The thought had lost me, being replaced with my scream. My arm was ripped away from my body, small black hands pulling it away as more engulfed my skull. The sensation of my brain being split into pieces made me collapse, my eyes closing shut as I pulled my head into my other hand. I couldn't manage anything but screaming, watching the gate blur from my vision, replaced with the image of my sister. She stared at me, her hand extended. She was there again. Her eyes were alive, not washed over like before. I could feel my lips tug into , her fingers grazing mine. My head was pounding, the phantom pain of my arm along with it. My heart dropped into my stomach when sharp black spike pierced into her back, protruding from the position her heart should be. The warmth of her blood touched my face, and I could feel my body start to shake. This was what it meant. I stared at the black haired woman, the complacent grin on her face boiling my blood. She planned on murdering her all along. This had just been a trick. My vision blurred when the blood loss caught up to me. I could feel my body stop trying, my head pounding. I touched her hand one last time, and screamed her name.

That night was the first time I visited the other side of the gate. Roy had stayed next to me for three days, but Riza the other ten. When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything before that night. My memory could only come in small pieces. The only things I could remember were my two siblings, and the gate.

The gate.

-

It didn't feel like Ed, Al and I had been travelling together for a year. Well, not completely together. There were a few times he had to go somewhere and I couldn't tag along. He seemed really apologetic when it did happen. I always had to convince him it was perfectly fine. Alphonse would offer to stay with me. I couldn't possibly break those two up, though. I had to swear to call them every morning and night so that they could confirm I wasn't passed out somewhere. I had just arrived back at Central, where we were supposed to meet again. I felt the jolt as the train came to a halt, peering out the window and seeing the golden braids popping in and out of the top of the crowd. I giggled to myself at that. He really didn't have to, though. Alphonse's armor stood out enough that I could spot them Easily. I unlatched the window, pulling it down and hanging my upper body out. "Edward!" I could feel my heart burst when he reacted to his name, turning on heel and giving me this absolutely breathtaking smile.

I pulled myself away from the window when they headed toward me, grabbing my bag as I exited the cart. I had to mentally slow myself down when I nearly toppled over a younger child.

"Sorry! So Sorry!" I yelled, managing the steps to the ground outside. I could her his laugh as he held out a hand towards me.

"Jeez. Knocking over children?"

"I didn't see them! They were like, your size."

I watched his face burn red, his arms flailing towards me as he screamed incessantly "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MINI-BEANSPROUT SO SHORT-" I could feel his muscles tense for a moment when I put my forehead against his chest, heaving a much needed sigh. His arms stopped, moving to wrap around my waist to pull me in a little closer. I hadn't seen either of them in a month.

"I missed you guys." I could feel his chest heave with a small laugh.

"We missed you, too."

"Brother more, though. All he did was stare at the phone when we were in the hotel."

"I was worried about her! That's all!"

"Oh, brother. When are you-"

"Did you guys have fun?" I had pulled my head away from his chest, looking over at Al before smiling. "That was a while, huh?"

"Oh yes! There were so many things that happened. We'll have to tell you about it later." Alphonse said excitedly, and I nodded to him, looking back at Edward. His mouth gave me a grin, his fingers managing to tug the sleeve of my jacket. "Are you hungry? I haven't eaten since this morning."

"Oh yes. I could eat." I let his hand pull my jacket, following behind the two as I adjusted my bag.

"When was the last time you ate?" Edward asked me, and I stopped. I dug through the back of my mind, searching for the last memory of me eating.

"I... I don't.. I don't know."

"You should really keep track better. It's not healthy," Alphonse said, turning to move away from the platform. I gave an absent nod, realizing I couldn't even remember how I had gotten here. Where had I gone last? I could feel the throbbing in the back of my mind, the drill-like sensation. His hand rested against the small of my back when I felt myself collapse on the ground. I couldn't remember what I had done since I had seen them last.

"What's wrong?" He asked, the worry in his voice clear. I shook my head, looking up at him. "It's just a headache, don't worry! Sorry!" I gave him a faint smile, lifting myself back up with the help of his hand. His expression changed a little bit, brows furrowing for a moment.

"We'll stop by Jeans after Al and I go talk to Mustang."

I could feel myself nod at that, but I couldn't remember who Jean was. Edward mentioned him for me having a headache- he had to be a doctor, right? Why else would he say him? I lifted my bag higher onto my shoulder, smiling from him to Al. "Let's go eat! Yeah?" We all headed towards the market, and I grinned. "We should get ramen! I could use a bowl!"

"Or ten." Edward muttered, his arms crossing in front of his chest. I looked over at Al, who gave a faint giggle.

"He's still salty about that."

"That was like, three months ago, Edward. You really need to get over it." I pulled my hand to his cheek, pinching it. "Are you mad because I can eat more than you? Really?" We had stopped in a town with a new ramen shop that had opened. There was an eating contest there and I had beaten him by a bowl. He fumed about it for a whole week after. I moved in front of him, and put my hands behind my back, leaning towards him. He stopped, his cheeks tinting red at how close my face was to his. "Do you want to do it again, then? I'd be happy to win a second time."

His expression changed to annoyance, one hand lifting as he yelled, "Oh you would be wrong! I would eat more than you this time!" I stared at him for a long minute, then blinked twice.

"Hey. You grew."

"Who ARE YOU CALLING-" I shushed him with my fingers on his lips, sighing. "I wasn't saying that. You really need to fix that complex."

" ' . ."

I started to laugh, but stopped when a bag slammed against my back, my hands flailing for a moment when my weight threw me off balance and caused me to fall forward. There was a faint apology from behind, but I could feel my body stiffen when his hands caught my waist, his chest against mine.

"Erm..." Alphonse said quietly, and I could feel my heartbeat speed up exponentially when I felt a pair of lips against my own.

I stared into two surprised golden eyes, his fingers digging slightly into my hips as we both froze. I could feel the burning in my cheeks when I realized what just happened.