Freak Like Me

To Central!

Ed P.O.V.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Lillith marvelled as we walked through the streets of Central. I kind of felt bad for her. She had probably never left her little village. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself, leaning close to Al. "How can you even see with that hood pulled down to your nose?" I teased. She pushed me gently but didn't reply. As we neared the front steps of the library, I showed the man my pocket watch and he nodded, letting us all go in. I headed straight for a filing cabinet in the back that contained a list of every piece of property the military owned, including warehouses and laboratories. Al wandered off, Lillith following close behind him. "Poor thing," I muttered to myself. "She's never been so far from home. She's probably terrified." A little voice in my head chimed in, 'Well that's exactly why she should've stayed home.' She was stubborn, that was for sure. I pulled out several folders and got to work.

Lillith P.O.V.

"Do you guys do this a lot?" I asked as I watched Alphonse flip through a big green book. He looked up from the pages, the expression on his armor stoic and void of any emotion. "What? Come to the library?" he replied, sounding confused. "No," I giggled softly, "this traveling from one place to another thing. Is it always so fast-paced with you two? Is it always just 'get up and go'?" He was hesitant in answering me. "Oh. That. Yeah, we move around a lot, but it's part of our job. If we don't go somewhere, we could miss out on finding a way to get our bodies back," he said softly, returning to the pages of the book. "You keep saying 'our bodies'. What's wrong with Ed's?" I continued. He glanced up at me again but didn't say a word. I quickly dropped my gaze to the ground. "I-I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry," I murmured. "He lost a leg and I lost my body when we tried to bring our mother back to life. He lost his arm to bring my soul back, which he bonded to this armor," he explained. I smiled at the boy in the armor. They had been through so much. "Oops. I-I shouldn't have told you all of that," he muttered, dropping his gaze back to the book. "It's okay," I replied. "Who exactly would I tell? Anything you say is safe with me." He looked back up at me quickly, and I hoped that if he could, he would be smiling right now. "Really?"

I nodded, biting back a laugh when I looked back up at him. "What? What are you laughing about?" he cried. "There's something tangled into the thing on your head," I giggled, reaching to get it. It was a leaf. We both stared at it for a moment before bursting into laughter. "So, how am I supposed to hide this," I paused to point at the tail that twitched beneath my cloak, "when we go to see this Mustang person?" I asked, leaning my head on my arms. He fidgeted in his seat for a moment. "Well, um...I don't know," he sighed. I shrugged and grabbed one of the books piled next to him. "I'll just wait outside," I said as I skimmed through the pages. We spent the next hour or so talking about alchemy. When we got bored of that topic-- more accurately, when I got lost and confused-- we began to talk about our childhoods. We were so wrapped up in our conversation that we didn't notice when Ed approached us. "Ahem! I said, are you guys ready to go?" he repeated, glaring impatiently. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, let's go," Al responded, seeming flustered. "You guys go on. I'll find you when you get done talking to what's-his-face," I said, getting up and walking past them. "Don't draw any attention to yourself!" Ed called as we parted ways. "No promises," I called back as I turned down an alley.

Al P.O.V.

"This is your report?" Colonel Mustang asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah," Ed sighed, leaning against the colonel's desk. "The place was empty, aside from a few dead bodies. There was a room full of cages, but they were empty. It was quite a mess." Colonel looked up from the paper again, looking disappointed. "So you lost your lead?" he asked. "Yes, I did," Brother replied, hanging his head in shame. "But, we have a new lead we're going to follow right away," I chimed. They both turned to me, Ed looking angry and Colonel Mustang looking intrigued. "W-well, yeah. It's a pretty solid lead," I stammered, looking around the room nervously. "So, when are you guys leaving?" he asked. Brother turned to him with a scowl. "Now. Come on, Al," he grumbled, dragging me out of the office. "Why would you bring that up? Now he's going to want a report on a trail that we can't follow." he hissed as we walked down the hallway. "I don't know! I'm sorry, Brother," I hissed back. "And that's not true. We have a few clues, and we have Lillith to help." He rolled his eyes, pushing the doors open and stepping into the sunny afternoon. "Right. Her," he scoffed.

"And what exactly is wrong with her?" I yelled way louder than I had meant to. Brother turned to me with wide eyes. "Aww, do you have a little crush?" he teased. "No!" I exclaimed. "We barely know Lillith, how can I have a crush on someone I don't know? I just meant you shouldn't be so mean. She is helping us." He shook his head and kept walking. "No, she's helping herself," he scoffed. "Just like everyone else." It got really quiet for a while as we roamed around looking for Lillith. A blur of brown and tan dropped in front of me. She was standing before us, a bright smile on her face. "Miss me?" she giggled. "No," Ed growled. "I was hoping you'd stay gone." She pouted, feigning hurt, and pet him on the head. "What is it, Short Stuff? Don't you enjoy my company?" He glared at her, fire burning bright in his golden eyes. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A HALF-PINT, PEA-SIZED NOBODY WHO--" Brother stopped mid-rant to stare at Lillith, who was doubled over with laughter. "What are you laughing at?" he squeaked. "You," she giggled. "You're so funny." He stared at her like she was insane. After a long moment, he scowled and continued walking. "Whatever," he muttered. Lillith and I walked side by side behind him.

Ed P.O.V.

"So where to now?" Lillith asked. "You're so nosy," I scowled, burrowing deeper into my seat. "Why can't you just sit back and enjoy the ride?" She continued to stare out the window in awe. "Because I want to know," she whimpered, her ears lying flat on top of her head. "It's a surprise," I mumbled, propping my head on my arm. "What's a homunculus?" she asked suddenly. Al and I jumped at her words, staring in shock. "Where did you learn about homunculi?" I whispered, leaning toward her. She glanced nervously between Al and me, her irises swirling with confusion. "I saw something about it in one of the books Alphonse was reading," she whimpered, looking scared. "Why? Is it something bad?" I leaned back in my seat, but Al's gaze stayed fixed on her. "They are very bad," he said. "They're basically artificial humans," I explained. "Oh, okay," she mumbled, turning her attention back to the scenery outside of the window. "Why did you want to know?" I pried, pressing the issue. She took a deep breath before speaking. She continued to stare out the window, as if she was searching for something out there. "In the book, I saw a picture of a dragon eating its tail. An ouroboros, I think it was called. Well, in that place, I saw a man with one of those. I killed him," she said, her voice airy and distant. "That thing is not dead," I replied. "Not if it is a homunculus. They don't die that easily." She whirled around, her face a mix of terror and disbelief. "At least we know the mystery behind the homunculi and these clues to finding the Philosopher's Stone are somehow tied together," Al chimed, ever the optimistic one. "Yeah, I guess you're right," I muttered, leaning against the cool glass window. It wasn't too long after that I fell asleep.