Sakura02: Haha. Hooray for Greed!
Authoresses of the Red Rose: Caden will be involved with the Homunculus in some way, but I can't tell you what it is just yet.

Thanks: Neusuada, FollieOfMadness, FireDragonX23 and fanficlover for your reviews!

The giant man stared at the three boys for a moment. "Ed, right?" He reached out with his hand when Edward nodded. He ruffled Edward's hair. "Good to see you. You've gotten big." The man turned his attention to Alphonse who immediately straightened up. "Who is this?"

"It's me, Alphonse!" Alphonse declared. "It's good to see you again."

The giant man patted Alphonse on the head. "I see. You've really gotten big." He looked down at Caden for the first time. "I don't remember you."

Caden immediately stood at attention. "My name is Caden Hawkeye, sir. I'm traveling with Edward to learn alchemy. It's nice to meet you."

"What a polite young man. My name is Sig." The man patted Caden on the head as well before turning his attention to a scoffing Edward. "Why the sudden visit?"

"We needed to talk to ask our teacher something." Edward said slowly.

Sig nodded. He quickly told Mason to watch the store and then led the three boys around back. When Edward asked how their teacher was doing, Sig hesitated. "She's doing all right, considering her condition." He paused outside an open window of the small house at the back of the shop. "Izumi, the Elric kids are here to see you, and they brought another kid with them. Can you get up?"

"I think so." A woman's soft voice came through the window. "I feel a little better today."

Caden frowned. The way Edward and Alphonse always seemed so afraid of their teacher, he'd been expecting some frightening sounding woman. The woman inside sounded so nice, and kind. Caden tugged on Edward's jacket until the older boy looked down. "Hey, what's wrong with your teacher?" He asked quietly. "Is she sick?"

"Well…" Before Edward could answer, he was knocked clear across the yard by a flying kick through the door.

Caden gaped at the tall and rather imposing looking woman standing in the doorway. He'd never seen someone so frightening before in his life. He tried his best to shrink back behind the door when the woman grabbed Alphonse's hand and flipped him over onto his back.

"Who are you?" She snapped, whirling around and pointing at Caden.

Trying not to look so terrified, Caden stepped out from behind the door. He looked Izumi straight in the eyes. "I'm Caden Hawkeye, ma'am. Edward is teaching me alchemy." He bowed low to her. "It's very nice to meet you. You're not as scary as Edward made you seem."

Izumi glared down at Caden for a moment. She then began laughing. "Is that so? I'm Izumi Curtis. It's nice to meet you, Caden…" She suddenly began coughing violently, blood dribbling out of her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Caden asked in alarm.

Sig quickly came over with a bottle of pills. "I told you not to strain yourself, Honey. Here are your pills, Dear."

Izumi quickly gulped down a few of the pills. She embraced her husband and sighed. "Oh, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Come on. Don't talk like that." Sig responded, hugging his wife back.

Caden bit back a laugh. "You guys are weird."

Edward laughed nervously. "It's good to see you again…"

Izumi whapped Edward on the back of the head and laughed. "Welcome back, both of you. Come on inside."

Sig served everyone tea. Izumi stared down the Elric brothers. "So, what brings you all the way out here?"

Edward hesitated for a moment before speaking. "We were wondering if you knew anything about the Philosopher's Stone."

Izumi coughed again, though not much blood came out this time. "The Philosopher's Stone? I've never really had any interest in it…" She looked suspiciously at the two brothers. "Why would you want to know about something that's legend?"

"It's just for purely academic reasons!" Edward said quickly. He glared over at Caden when the little boy opened his mouth to protest.

Caden pouted and took a sip of his tea.

"Now that I think about it, we met an alchemist the last time we were in Central that knew a lot about the stone." Sig said thoughtfully.

Izumi tapped her chin. "Oh yeah…I think his name was…Hohenheim."

Caden didn't miss all the different emotions that flashed across Edward's face, or the way that Alphonse sat up straighter. He glanced over at Izumi and saw that she had noticed the change in the brothers as well.

"Was he tall, with blonde hair, glasses, and a beard?" Alphonse asked in a rush.

Izumi hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I couldn't really tell how old he was, but he was pretty good looking." She laughed when she noticed the deflated look on Sig's face. "Oh, come on, you're much better looking than he is!"

"So, he's alive." Edward said softly, more to himself than the others.

"Do you know him?" Caden asked curiously.

Alphonse looked over to Edward, waiting for his older brother to speak. When he didn't, Alphonse finally answered. "He's…our father."

Izumi looked at the two brothers curiously. "The father that left you all those years ago?"

"Isn't that good?" Caden asked. "Not that he left you guys, but we could ask him for…" Caden immediately closed his mouth when Edward slammed his fist angrily down onto the table. He'd only seen Edward angry like that once before, and that was when Nina had been changed into a Chimera.

"That guy…that's the last person I want to ask for help!" Edward grit out.

Caden shrunk back into his chair. He didn't understand how Edward would want nothing to do with his father. He didn't really understand what it felt like to be abandoned by a parent, but he would think he would want answers if one of his parents had ever abandoned him. Of course, he would give anything to have his mother and father back.

"Did our dad say anything about the stone?" Alphonse asked quickly.

"He said that his lifelong dream was about to come true." Izumi answered. "He seemed pretty happy about it."

The boys wound up staying for lunch. Mason joined all of them and the group sat around talking and eating. Edward seemed to have completely forgotten how he'd snapped earlier, and ruffled Caden's hair while they talked about how Caden had joined them. "He's a pain, and really stubborn too."

"Kind of like you." Caden said, sticking his tongue out at the older boy.

Izumi chuckled as Edward began yanking on Caden's cheek. "What else have you been up to."

"We got to see a baby being born." Alphonse piped up. "We even helped deliver the baby!"

"Freaking out doesn't count as helping." Caden said. He glanced over and noticed the worried looks on Sig and Mason's faces, and the way Izumi quietly sipped at her tea.

"Everyone pulled together, and the mother put her life on the line." Alphonse said, not seeming to notice what Caden had. "Humans are born with the blessings of everyone around them."

Izumi smiled and nodded. "That's right. That's how you boys were born as well. Be proud of your lives."

"Hey, why don't you have kids yet?" Edward asked curiously.

"Hey, Ed!" Mason shot up from the table, startling the Elric brothers and Caden. "Um…I bet you guys alchemy skills have gotten a lot better since the last time I saw you. Can you guys show me how much you've improved?"

Edward's eyes immediately lit up. "Sure! Whenever you like. We did lots of research, even once we returned to Resembool."

Alphonse puffed up. "We've even been training our bodies, just like you told us to, Teacher. We're even able to do large scale transmutations."

"Let's go outside and show them what we can do!" Edward said, immediately standing up and heading towards the door. "Come on, Teacher! Hurry up!" He, Al, and Mason were already heading out the door.

Izumi smiled up at Sig when she saw the worried look on his face. "I'm fine. It's good that they got to see a life being born." She blinked when she felt a small hand on hers. She looked down and realized for the first time that Caden was still in the room. She smiled and rested her hand over his.

"I'm sorry if Edward said something stupid." Caden said to Izumi. "He does that a lot."

Izumi gave Caden's hand a gentle squeeze. "There's nothing to apologize for. Now then," She stood up with Caden's hand still in hers. "why don't we go outside, and you can show me what Edward has taught you so far."

"Caden, you go first." Edward said once they were all outside.

"Okay…" Caden drew his transmutation circle. He clapped his hands together, and then placed them in the circle. He smiled in triumph when a little stone horse popped out of the ground. It was simple, but nicely detailed. He picked it up and held it up proudly for Edward and the others to see.

Izumi nodded approvingly. "Not bad at all. Keep practicing, and you'll be a master alchemist someday." She couldn't help smiling at the wide grin on Caden's face.

"Me next!" Alphonse drew his own transmutation circle. He created a giant horse with far more detail than Caden had been able to muster.

Izumi circled the horse and smiled. "You've gotten faster, and more accurate. Good work." Her smile faded away when Edward simply clapped his hands together to create his own garish horse. She didn't really hear Alphonse and Edward arguing about Edward's aesthetic. "You can work alchemy without a transmutation circle?"

"Yes…" Edward said nervously.

Izumi glared at him. "Don't lie to me, Ed. You've seen that thing, haven't you."

Edward was about to deny it. The look Izumi gave him immediately stopped him. "Yes."

"I should have expected that from a genius who became a state alchemist at your age." Izumi said harshly.

"I'm not genius." Edward said softly. "I just saw that thing."

Caden tugged on Alphonse's hand. "Al, what're they talking about?" All he received from Alphonse was a helpless shrug. He was just as lost as Caden was.

Edward looked over at Izumi. "Teacher, have you…"

"Mrs. Curtis!" Three boys ran towards the small group. They took one look at Sig and quickly skirted around him. "Mrs. Curtis, can you fix our toy train? It broke."

Izumi sighed and led the boys into the house. Caden, Edward, and Alphonse crowded around the door, watching the way Izumi interacted with the children. Caden immediately thought that Izumi would make a wonderful mother. He wondered why she didn't have any children, and why Mason had reacted so strongly when Edward brought it up.

The three boys rushed out with their fixed train. "Thanks, Mrs. Curtis. We'll come back when it breaks again!"

"I said don't break it!" Izumi snapped irritably. She straightened up when she heard her name being called softly. She smiled at the little girl standing in the yard with something in her arms. "What's wrong, Menny? Did you break something too?"

The little girl quickly shook her head. She held out the small cat in her arms. "Chiko won't move. Can you please fix her?"

Izumi took the cat from Menny. "I'm sorry. I can't. Chiko is already dead."

Caden climbed up onto his customary perch on Alphonse's shoulder. He remained quiet the whole time as Izumi helped Menny bury her cat. They all remained on the hill even after Menny had left with her mother.

Edward looked seriously over at Izumi. "Teacher, did you ever want to bring someone back to life."

"Yes." Izumi said softly, staring out at the setting sun. She finally glanced over at Edward. "Ed, are you glad that you're a dog of the military?"

Edward lowered his head. "I…I don't know when they'll command me to be a human weapon. I'm scared of doing that. But…there is something I have to do."

Caden clung tightly to Alphonse's helmet when Izumi roughly kicked Edward in the face. "Edward!"

"Don't be so arrogant when you know you've disobeyed my teachings, you little brat!" Izumi snapped. She glared at the two Elric brothers. Her face softened slightly when she looked at Caden. "Al, inside that armor, you're empty, and Ed, you're using automail."

Caden blinked in surprise. "How'd you know all that?"

"I figured it out when I threw Alphonse." Izumi answered. "Edward, your left and right steps sound different. Did you think I wouldn't notice? Don't insult me like that. What happened to the two of you? Tell me everything."

Edward and Alphonse exchanged a brief look. "Not here. It'll take a long time."

Izumi nodded and led them back to the house. They all sat around the table with Sig and Mason joining them. "Talk."

Edward launched into their story. He talked about everything they'd done after they'd finished training with Izumi.

Caden sat quietly beside Edward. He'd known that they'd tried to bring their mother back, but he'd never heard Edward explain it in such detail. His heart skipped a few beats when Edward spoke about losing his arm and leg. He glanced over at Izumi when Edward began talking about how he'd became a state alchemist, but she remained silent through the whole thing.

Once Edward was finished, Izumi folded her hands under her chin. "I told you time and time again to stay away from human transmutation. The students have made the same mistake as the teacher…"

"You've transmuted a human too?" Caden asked.

"They took some of my insides. You guys really are the biggest fools." Izumi said.

Caden sat in his chair and listened to Izumi insult the Elric brothers. All they did in response was apologize. He blinked when Izumi suddenly hugged the two boys. Seeing the three of them hugging made Caden think about his mother, and how much he missed her.

Izumi finally let go of the boys. "You three, come with me. She began walking back towards the main door of the house. "For you to be able to get a license at twelve years old…most people would call that a genius, Edward."

Edward shrugged, his face still crestfallen. "I'm really not. I just saw that thing is all."

"If you're able to come back alive after seeing that thing, then that's more than enough proof that you're a genius. Even though you're my apprentice, I'm impressed by you. But, I still have to hold true to my morals. You two are expelled. I didn't teach you alchemy so you could end up like this. You're no longer my apprentices."

"That's not fair!" Caden protested. He was about to launch into a much longer rant, but Edward held his arm out to stop him. "Edward…it's not…"

"It's fine, Caden." Edward said, his face completely serious.

Izumi stared out the window, refusing to look at them. "The trains are still running. Go home."

Sig helped them to gather all of their things together. He began walking the three boys through the town towards the train station. "Izumi became deathly ill while she was pregnant with her first child. The child didn't make it to term, despite how hard Izumi fought. She kept saying 'I'm sorry' even though it wasn't her fault. That was when she started thinking about human transmutation, and you all know the results of that. I was a fool to not realize what she was up to sooner."

Alphonse was the first to notice that Caden had stopped walking. He turned and looked back at the little boy. "Caden? Caden, what's wrong?" He picked Caden up and put him on his shoulder. By then, Sig and Edward had turned around to see what was going on.

Caden held tightly to Alphonse's helmet. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, before finally speaking in a quiet voice that was most unlike him. "My mom tried to bring my dad back. That monster…Envy…he broke into our house one day and killed my dad. I don't know why. I think he was looking for something. My mom already knew a little bit of alchemy, but she started working a lot harder at it once my dad was killed. She sent me to the store one day. When I came back…" Caden broke off, choking back a sob as he remembered the horrible scene he'd come home to. "Whatever that thing was, it wasn't my dad. I don't know what that thing stole from my mom, but she died a couple days later. That's when I left to go look for Riza-neesan…"

Edward motioned for Alphonse to put Caden on the ground. As soon as Caden's feet touched the ground, Caden latched onto Edward and began crying. Edward rested a hand on Caden's head. "Hey, it's okay. None of that was your fault."

After a few minutes, Caden stopped crying. He looked sheepishly up at Edward with his puffy red eyes. "Sorry…it's just…everyone kept talking about human transmutation…and I couldn't stop thinking about it…" Once Caden had assured the others that he was okay, Sig led them the rest of the way to the train station. Caden was feeling rather tired. He sat up on Alphonse's shoulders and rested his head on Alphonse's helmet.

Sig appraised the three boys for a few moments. "Well, if you're ever in the area again, come by the shop."

"But…we've been expelled." Edward said in confusion, looking to Alphonse for conformation.

"Are you really that dumb?" Sig snapped, startling the three boys. "Don't you get it? Now that you no longer have a master-apprentice relationship, it means you can speak to one another as peers."

Edward slapped his forehead in irritation. "Al, Caden, what did we come to Dublith for anyway?" He grabbed up their luggage and began running back in the direction they'd come from. "We're going back, Mr. Curtis!"

"Don't let her kill you!" Sig called in response.

Caden yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. "We're going to die, aren't we."

Edward shrugged and laughed. "Maybe."

Caden was glad Edward was the first one through the door. He certainly wouldn't have liked to have had a rather sharp knife thrown at his head. He quickly hopped off of Alphonse's shoulder when he knelt down on the ground.

"Teacher," Edward proclaimed, kneeling down alongside Alphonse. "we came here to try and get our original bodies back! We can't go home empty handed!"

"I told you to leave!" Izumi snapped, glaring at all three boys.

"No!" Edward shouted back.

Caden stood quietly to the side and watched the fire passing between Edward and Izumi. He really hoped that she wouldn't kill them. When she whipped over to him, he immediately held his hands up defensively. "I can't go anywhere. They have all the money."

Izumi sighed. "Idiots…Al, when you were transmuted, did you see The Truth?"

"I have no idea what The Truth is that you're talking about." Alphonse said uncertainly.

"Maybe the shock made you lose your memory…" Izumi whispered thoughtfully. "We have to get Al's memory back. After all, his entire body was taken. Think what he might have experienced."

"Oh yeah!" Edward exclaimed, confusing both Caden and Alphonse. "That guy talked about paying the 'toll'. I just paid my arm and leg, but with what Al paid, he must've been closest to The Truth!"

"So, if I can remember what happened, we'll have the answer!" Alphonse said excitedly.

Izumi shuddered. "The memory of that thing though…"

"Is it really that bad?" Caden asked curiously.

"Not bad…" Edward said thoughtfully. "Just…really weird…"

"If there's a chance it'll help, I want to try!" Alphonse declared.

Izumi was quiet for a moment. "All right. I'll try to find a way to get your memories back. I'm going to ask an acquaintance of mine about this. In the meantime, you three must be hungry. Come help me fix dinner."

xXx

"I didn't realize it was so late." Edward sighed out as the three finally left the Dublith library.

Caden rolled his eyes. "You take forever when you start researching. I'm hungry! Can we go back to Izumi's and eat?"

"Why don't we take a shortcut?" Alphonse pointed down a dark alleyway.

Caden immediately felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "I'm not that hungry…we can go the regular way."

Edward grinned wickedly down at the little boy. "Scared?"

Caden puffed his cheeks out. "No!" He stormed down the alley ahead of the two Elric brothers. He came to an abrupt halt when a strange man stood in his way. Immediately, he turned around and climbed straight up onto Al's shoulder. "Who're you?"

The man smiled at the three of them. "Spare some coins for a beggar?"

"No." Edward said flatly and continued running along with Alphonse right beside him. "Go get a job."

The man began running to catch up with them. "How can you be so cold-hearted? What about you sir, in the armor? Little boy?"

"Sorry, we don't have any money." Alphonse said, adjusting Caden on his shoulder so the little boy wouldn't fall off.

The man turned his attention back to Edward. "You're a state alchemist, aren't you? Your famous. You're the alchemist who transmuted his brother's soul."

Edward came to a screeching halt, Alphonse almost running into him. "You're starting to get on my nerves."

The man ignored Edward and smirked wickedly over at Alphonse. "You sir, don't have a body, do you?" His question was met with Edward's boot in his face. He was thrown into a row of trash cans. He sat up and held his nose. "You broke my nose! You can't just beat me up because I guessed right! If your parents could see…!" His sentence was cut off by a trash can to the face.

Caden climbed down from Alphonse's shoulder, and watched Edward beating the man. "You just don't know when to stop, sir."

Despite how badly beaten he was, the man laughed. "I'm guessing by how angry you are, I'm right. That suit of armor isn't human."

"Give it a rest, Mister." Alphonse said coldly. He picked the man up by the collar of his long cloak.

The man laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, that was rather childish of me…" A tail whipped out from underneath the man's cloak, knocking off Alphonse's head. He leapt out of Alphonse's arms. "There's no mistaking it now! You two are the ones that transmuted a soul!"

"Al!" Caden rushed over and caught Alphonse's head. He stayed back while Edward tried to stop the man from escaping. Despite Edward transmuting a giant wall, the man was able to climb over it and disappear. Caden handed Alphonse's head back to him. "Who was that?"

"I don't know…" Edward said quietly. He knew whoever that man was, and whatever he was up to, was absolutely no good for them. "Come on. Let's get back to Teacher's house."