Hey! Saturnthehero here, if you notice, I've attached a pic up top. This may or may not be the new cover of this story. But I'm having a hard time choosing either this pic or another similar one I'll post in an authors note after this chapter. Please check out BOTH pictures I made before commenting on the authors note. Whichever gets the most comments, I'll put as the cover!

Thanks again,

~Saturnthehero.

Scarlett's P.O.V.

Well SOMEBODY'S GONNA GET IT! My voice chimed in my head as I dodged a sandal direct at my face. She just clapped her hands and threw Alphonse and I back. Hey! Guess she saw the Truth like us! It took her a minute to calm down after flipping Al like he was nothing.

"And who might you be?" She said; wiping a little blood off the side of her mouth. "Another dog of the military?"

"Uh, yeah.." I gave her a smile and held out my hand. "General Scarlett Reems; the Black Shadow Alchemist."

~*~

"The Philosopher's Stone? No can't say I know too much about it." Izumi put a hand to her chin. Oh. So we came all the way here for nothing? Damn shame.

"Oh. Okay." Ed wearily said as we sat in their home at the main dining table.

"Though there was this man in Central who knew quite a lot." WHAT?! My face must have perked up, because so did Ed's.

"What was his name?" I asked, taking a sip of my tea. Try and stay calm..

"I think...Hohenhiem." She said, and I could feel my face go pale. That's Ed and Al's dad, isn't it. I turn to see both faces looking down at the floorboards.

"It looks as though you know of whom I speak of, Ed." Izumi's eyebrows raised, and I saw that he nor Al were planning on speaking.

"That guy was their father." I answered, and watched as she gasped in shock.

"I had no idea." I watched as she played with the ring on her finger and looked away.

"Who cares about that bastard anyway." Ed dismissed his father angrily, but the look in his eyes seemed to tell me everything.

He wanted a father.

To be there for him.

"Did he say anything about the stone?" I asked, turning away from the two brothers.

"Yes. He said something about a lifelong dream coming true." She hummed and places a finger to her chin. Yes, very odd word choice indeed..

Izumi slammed her hand into the table, causing me to jump a little and give her a wild look.

"Now we eat." She smiled. It hasn't been this calm in such a long time, I missed these moments. I thought as we ate along with Sig and Izumi.

"Al, why aren't you eating?" Sig asked, and we watched as he came up with a lie about how he ate on the train ride here. I nodded, hoping that would add to his story.

"Why don't you tell them what happened in Rush Valley?" I asked, and Ed's golden eyes lightened up as he began to tell about a baby being born.

It was so cute how they were so excited about such a simple thing. And I couldn't help but smile at the brothers.

~*~

"And this will be your room, Miss Reems." Izumi showed me to a small, cozy room down the hall from the Elrics.

I gave her my thanks, and began to enter the room, but her hand came whizzing up to hit me in the face, so naturally I caught it with my left arm. We held our arms there for a moment before my black coat slid down my arm some and my automail shined in the little light that was visible.

"I should have known..." Izumi looked away, and lowered her hand. "You saw the Truth, didn't you?" I guess I have to answer now.

"Yeah." Was my only answer when she kicked my legs lightly and found that they too were metal. "Don't be mad, but-"

"Yes, those two boys saw it as well." Okay, that's new. She's like a psychic. Little scary there. She gave me a genuine smile; like she knew my thoughts. "I was planning on confronting them tomorrow, so I ask that you spend the day with Sig or something? Please?"

"Yeah, no problem!" I replied happily. "Just as long as you don't kill them too badly. They're a handful as it is." She laughed and guided me to sit on the simple bed with her in the corner.

"Yeah! Those imbeciles always find something to poke with a stick!" I couldn't help but smile at how lighthearted the moment was. Why couldn't it always be like this? Suddenly, she stopped laughing, and that snapped me back to reality.

"So," she gave me a nudge with her elbow and a sly grin. Oh god, not this again.. "Ed seems to have taken a liking to you..."

"Really? 'Cause all he's been is an annoying bastard." I dismissed and puffed up my cheeks. DONT FAIL ME NOW CHEEKS. YOU BLUSH NOW AND ILL......I DONT KNOW HOW TO THREATEN MYSELF HONESTLY. "He acts like he's on top of the world and that he can boss me around! I'm his bodyguard! Not a damn employee!"

"Yeah, well, you wanna know a secret?" She leaned in, and I do love knowing secrets. She pushed my red bangs out of the way to look into my eyes. "He hasn't stopped glancing at you since I saw you three. Sometimes they're quick, or they're long and spaced out." I was shocked at her words, and she must have known it by my face.

"Ed is stubborn, he wants to protect everything he loves. With you on the battlefield right next to him, I can only guess that he feels a little stressed and anxious to keep you safe as he does his friends. Why do you think Al and Ed always stay so close together? I mean, they still share a room." She took a minute to chuckle, yet I was still shocked. "They're still children inside. It may not seem like it, but Ed more then Alphonse in many aspects. It has always been the dynamic duo, and well, you've changed them."

"But how do you know he likes me just from a look?" For all I know, that's a look of, 'Imma kill her one day...some day...' And that's not a comforting thought.
Izumi took my hands in her own, and stared at them sadly before smiling up at me with her dark eyes.

"Because that's the look Sig always gives me." She replied, and that stunned me most of all. GAH BLUSH NOOOOOOOOOOOO

"And it looks like you have something for him as well! She grinned, making me blush the color of my hair.

~*~ (time skip 2days later)

"..and she hugged you?" I asked Al as he swept the cobblestone outside. I sat on the sidewalk and watch the task he was assigned to do. He began telling me about yesterday and how Izumi hugged them and how she knew what they had done.

"Funny; she didn't know that you too had automail like brother." Al pondered as he looked back at me eating a biscuit stick with chocolate.

"It's because she found out last night." I casually answered. "When she showed me to my room, and that's when she asked about them."

"Oh. Makes sense." He tapped his chin before continuing to sweep. Soon enough, a letter flew in on the wind and landed in my hair. GAH WHY CURSE MY LONG HAIR!!!!! "Here, let me help you with that Scarlett." Alphonse laughed as he walked over and plucked the paper from my hair.

"What does is say bro? I asked, but he simply stared at the paper, I was getting a shocked vibe so I think it's about something unusual.

"I have to go somewhere for a minute." He said after a moment, and began walking off. Now, I know better than anyone that walking off by yourself after receiving a strange letter isn't always good, so I ran ahead of Al and blocked his path as much as I could.

"Like hell I'm letting you go anywhere alone in this damned city." I snapped at him, and he hung his head. Aw, geez, I didn't put mean for it to sound rude. I felt my face soften, and I couldn't help but smile at the little boy in front of me. "That's why I'm coming with you."

~*~

"So why are you getting in my armor again?" Al asked as I shimmied my butt into his suit of armor. Wow, awkward much? Yes, yes it was. But the paper, I read, said that he was to come alone to some pub across town, and seeing me may compromise the whole thing.

"For surprise attack, Al," I grinned as I finally made it inside and sat inside his torso, because I'm small A.F.
Yeah, unlike Ed, I'll admit it, because it comes in handy at times.
Then, we began walking towards certain trouble.

Oh well, it's not like we'd find it later anyway.

Here's another chapter!
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~Saturnthehero