Fullmetal Alchemist holds a very special place in my heart because it's just a tale that is so well-told. It evokes a variety of emotions from happiness to sadness to rage and hilarity. Honestly, it changed my life and brought forth creativity within me that just made me want to write as well as tell a story of my own. So I made Anna who I'm really excited to share with you all.

I do hope you enjoy her tale and have a wonderful time. :)

The time was almost past ten in the evening when Anna made her way to the small inn that was her temporary home. It wasn't far from where she had just been and the journey was cut short due to the backstreets that she took. Her footsteps echoed throughout the quiet night as the heels of her boots clicked against the cobblestoned pathways and the sound was welcoming as it didn't leave her alone with the silence.

A brown paper bag rested within her arms with the opening folded over to ensure the items inside didn't get wet. The rain had started to fall before Anna left the art supply store and poured for an hour straight. The owner of the store she visited had been kind and luckily, stayed open for longer than he needed to so Anna didn't get drenched. Once the rain ceased its falling enough for her to go, she gave a quick thank-you to the owner before heading out into the night.

Being in Central always made her feel a little on edge because it was unfamiliar.

It wasn't home.

Supply runs brought her here mostly but she never stuck around long enough to explore, never really having the time. It was a little too big for her and she enjoyed the smallness of her neighbourhood in East City. Everything was easier over there, nothing too out of the ordinary and that was how she liked it. Besides, Central was like a labyrinth with its various alleyways and complex grid system.

It was safe to say Anna preferred her home through and through.

But it was a nice change of pace from what the Eastern city had to offer and she always appreciated something different every once in a while. Everything was faster here with people rushing to work in the morning and opening their businesses by seven o'clock at the latest. No one was ever asleep past eight in the morning or heading to midnight. It was a continuous hustle and it was interesting to observe the commuters as they went on by. So many different characters with all sorts of personalities.

People watching became much more interesting.

Unfortunately, she wasn't here for pleasure but for business as she had to collect a few special art supplies for the art store she worked at back home. The old lady who ran it, Milly, wasn't able to make the frequent trips herself so enlisted her to fetch the required items. It was a hassle but Anna loved that old lady and she was the one who always provided the necessary funds for her to have a comfortable stay wherever she went.

There was nearly nothing that Anna wouldn't do for Milly. The woman was like the grandmother she never had and taught her everything about art as well as taught her how to draw. Took her in and made her feel like a part of her family.

Doing these supply runs was the least she can do.

The items were two jars of rare paint that were brought all the way from Xing and a roll of paper that was slightly coarse to the touch. Anna had more than squealed at the sight of them before touching the paper and nearly crying at the beautiful feel of good paper beneath her fingertips. If Milly intended on using that paper for personal use, Anna was going to have to ask if she could borrow some.

"Knowing Milly, she'll probably tell me to assemble those heavy easels in exchange." Anna deadpanned as she turned a corner to head out onto the main street. "Like the alchemists say, equivalent exchange!" Anna mimicked before rolling her eyes. "Complete nonsense—"

Her footsteps slowed down as she came across a small alleyway and noted the sounds of clicking. It followed a pattern and Anna concluded that someone was drawing something onto the ground. It could be with chalk or something but whoever was drawing it seemed to be in a hurry. Nearing the alleyway, she took in the sight of a crouched figure who was shrouded in darkness and they hadn't noticed her yet. Most people would have slowly walked away before hurrying off in a different direction because this whole scenario screamed trouble. But Anna wasn't one to simply turn on her heel and walk.

Anna walked a little closer and that was when she was noticed, the figure looking at her with a quick turn of the head. She still couldn't see them very well but that didn't bother her in the slightest as she took another step forward, the brown bag held tightly in her arms.

"Hey there." Her greeting was nonchalant as she stopped about five feet away from the person. "Whatcha doing?"

The person didn't answer but simply looked at her with the whites of their eyes. A slight shiver of fear cascaded down her spine but she ignored it. Being faced with potential danger was nothing new to her though it was crazy how many times she'd encounter life-threatening situations in her fifteen years of living.

"You gonna tell me?" she asked. "Or am I going to have to alert the authorities?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the person spoke, his voice deep and words harsh. "I say you should just go on home and forget you even saw me."

Anna blinked before sighing as she looked for a safe place to drop her bag of those very important items. She rolled up the sleeves of her light grey jacket and rubbed her gloved hands together.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," she told him simply and it was then the figure gave an off-putting smile before standing up from their crouch, moving into the light.

The person was tall and male with dark hair and eyes that seemed like the same colour due to the dim lighting. He was dressed in a tattered state uniform with a cloak covering his upper half to allow him to hide in the dark. Taking a good look at him, Anna furrowed her brow before her eyes widened with realisation.

He was the rogue state alchemist they were trying to catch.

Roy had filled her in before she had travelled to Central and told her to keep a lookout in case he showed up.

And stop him if she could.

"You should go home before you get hurt." The Freezing Alchemist warned her but all Anna did was ready herself into a fighting stance.

"Once again, as much as I'd love to go home and sleep, I can't do that."

Isaac McDougal stared at her for a moment before getting himself ready, all set to use his alchemy if needed.

"I've got to admit. I appreciate you've got the nerve," he said before lunging at her with a loud roar with his arm stretched out. Anna was quick to clap her hands together before falling to her knees and placing her hands on the floor to bring forth a blue light. A wall came up between them and that gave Anna enough time to transmute a simple bo staff made up of the strong cobblestone. It wasn't long before a hand came through the stone wall and the fight commenced.

Roy Mustang had been expecting to be summoned to Central ever since Isaac McDougal had been terrorizing the city. It was a case of serious proportions and no one knew what he was exactly doing. He had wounded as well as killed soldiers who had gone out to look for him and had been labelled as a high threat. It wasn't certain if he was just aiming for those of military standard or if he was willing to hurt civilians too.

It took him about four hours to finally reach Central and he was picked up by his welcome party before escorted to the Central Command Centre. All through the quiet ride, he thought of possibilities regarding taking down McDougal as well as gaining favour from the Fuhrer. The Fuhrer had called him out himself as he was known for his excellent flame alchemy and the accuracy of his aim. Every state alchemist had been called down to help deal with the situation but Roy had been summoned particularly for his command and control.

While it was highly important that McDougal was caught, Roy wasn't above taking an opportunity when he saw one.

Luckily, he already had an insider who already in the city and promised that she would look out for the man if she ever saw him.

"Goodness," Anna had moaned while accepting the file from him. "And all I wanted to do was pick up some paint, not engage in combat."

Roy had smiled knowingly. "You don't have to engage in combat."

"Yeah but I'm gonna," she replied, sighing.

Anna Harris was a reliable source of information and was never one to jeopardize a task with the fear of it causing more problems. Roy knew that if Anna were to find McDougal within the city, it was the man who would have a real struggle keeping up with her. She was fast with hidden strength but most people underestimated her due to her small size and while it irritated her, Anna always used it to her advantage.

She was fire and was not meant to be messed with.

Reaching the Fuhrer's office, Roy immediately saluted him before standing straight and tall as the Fuhrer King Bradley addressed him. He told Roy of the current situation and Roy nodded along, taking in every piece of information that he could.

"It's good to have you here, Colonel Mustang," King Bradley told him with an honest nod. "I'd like for you to be in charge of the Freezing Alchemist's capture. I'm sure that things will run smoothly and he shall be taken down in no time."

"Of course, Sir," Roy replied.

"Oh and he's back in town," King Bradley added. "So you may want to use him while you have him."

Roy blinked before asking, "By him, Sir, do you mean-?"

"Yes. The Fullmetal Alchemist."

Anna blocked a punch that curved towards her face and pushed back hard which caused him to stumble. She took that chance to launch herself into the air and aimed the bo staff sky high with the intention of slamming it down onto his head. But he managed to dodge it in time and Anna did a quick flip back before he tried to go for a kick to her face. The combat continued on as Anna weaved and punched and kicked with as much strength she could give. But her energy was depleting and it showed when McDougal landed a hard kick into her side.

With a pained yell, she felt herself slam into the brick wall and huffed in annoyance as he attempted to come at her again. She moved on quick feet and ignored the pulsing pain from her ribs as she continued to go for it. There was no way that she was letting this man get away while he was right here in her sight. But he was good at fighting with years of training on his side and while Anna was quite good and trained heavily too, this man was also bigger and stronger than she was. It didn't make a difference because she had faced people twice her size but it was late and her body was drained and—

This time, he went in for another punch and Anna ducked but didn't see the other fist in time to move out of its way. It collided against her right temple and Anna was sent crashing onto the floor with a resounding groan. McDougal took that opportunity to escape further into the alley which meant that he simply wanted to wear her down and not kill her. Which was kind considering that most people would have ended her life there and then. But there was no time to spend thinking about humanity because there was a criminal on the loose and he was so close to her fingertips.

Roy would never let her live this down if he escaped.

Gathering her strength with a final push, she heaved herself up before flinching at the pain from both her side and right temple.

"I didn't want to engage in combat." she murmured tiredly and took off down the alleyway in the same direction that the rogue alchemist raced off in.

He was quite the fast one but Anna was doing well in keeping up with him, dodging and hopping over anything that he pushed into her path. They were approaching a turn up ahead and two soldiers came into view before hearing the sounds of running footsteps. The soldiers turned to look at them before quickly aimed their firearms at him.

"There he is! He's coming!" they exclaimed and made to pull the trigger when it was for certain that the alchemist wasn't going to stop. Anna had terribly high hopes that McDougal would stop and that would give her a chance to cage him up with her alchemy. But the moment she saw him go to move his arms, her eyes widened and she yelled, "Move out of the way!" Her hands made gestures for them to step aside but they didn't heed her warning as McDougal was quick to cast them away with sharpened ice.

Anna cursed beneath her breath as she hopped over the ice shards even though every fibre in her being wanted to stop and tend to the wounded soldiers. But there wasn't any time and it seemed like McDougal wasn't pulling any punches when it came to completing whatever quest he had in the works.

She soon got close enough to grab the ends of his cloak and attempted to pull him back with as much strength that she could muster. But he turned around sharply and aimed to grab her with those hands that could easily freeze someone whole. She avoided them swiftly, keeping a tight hold on the cloak and going for a roundhouse kick, the heel of her shoe connecting strongly with his face. He flew back a couple of feet with the cloak now stripped from him as he landed roughly onto the ground. The cloak was in Anna's hand and she tossed it aside, her expression stone cold as she neared McDougal who glared up at her, spitting out a bit of blood.

"Now," Anna said, her voice unwavering. "Will you come peacefully?"

McDougal maintained the glare and Anna held it, the two of them simply staring at each other as the sounds of more soldiers made their way towards them. "I hear noises coming from over here!" one of them alerted and Anna made the small mistake of taking her eyes off McDougal to look in the direction that they were coming in. She missed the dark grin that graced his features and missed the way the transmutation circle on the metal part of his gloves glowed. It was only when he reached for a small puddle of water that Anna noticed the movement before jumping back and bending her back far enough to escape the painful piercings of sharp ice. She then clapped her hands and hit the floor to bring up a shield to protect herself from the second coming of shards.

"Cheap shot!" Anna yelled as she peeked her head out from behind her hiding place. A frown had settled onto her lips as she watched him get up to continue his escape. "Cheap. Shot!"

"You've got to do what you need to live," he replied loudly before he encountered two more soldiers that he froze to death.

"Damn it." Anna hissed, collapsing the wall and moving on to continue the chase. This was not how she wanted to spend her last day in Central and it was even more unlikely that she'd be able to go home tomorrow. The art supplies that she was supposed to be looking after had been left in an alleyway with high hopes that no one would take them and bruises were already forming on the areas that she had been hit. She swore that she was going to make Roy pay for making her do this but if it meant getting a dangerous man off the streets then she supposed it was worth it.

McDougal had headed out into another alley and Anna made to go after him if it wasn't the spear that came out of the sky. It landed where McDougal once stood as he had jumped out of the way just in time and Anna stumbled back on instinct. There were slight blue sparks that curved around the weapon and when she looked close enough, she blinked.

"Alchemy," she whispered.

It was then that she heard footsteps coming to the right of her and out of the darkness came a boy with golden hair and eyes that matched. He was dressed in a red coat which was more than enough to make a statement and he moved with someone who seemed to know no fear. His gaze was almost fiery as he stared down McDougal, moving towards him with slow yet purposeful footsteps.

There was a brief conversation that happened between the boy and McDougal but Anna didn't really pay attention because she swore she recognised him. The golden hair and the red jacket and it was all about to click when they launched into a fast round of combat. Anna watched them with wide eyes and couldn't hold back a gasp when she spotted the huge suit of armour that aimed to strike McDougal. The boy had transmuted his spear into a spiked club which was made humourous by the small face that was etched into it and Anna would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact that this was a pretty important thing.

So she formed her bo staff before taking a deep breath and heading into the fight, landing a lucky strike at McDougal as he stepped away from the suit of armour's swing. He stumbled at the hit and Anna went in for another one but that was quickly blocked. All three of them then went a strike but McDougal caught it in time as he leaned back and held off them off with his metal gloves. He then went from the boy's left arm and used his alchemy with the intent of burning it off. The boy stepped back with what seemed like a pained gasp but it didn't work.

It all made sense the moment the boy took off his coat and revealed an arm completely made out of automail. Then McDougal said it and Anna's eyes widened as the words rang through the air.

"You're the Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward Elric."