(Artificial Emotion)

Don't Talk to Strangers

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, but I do own Isiserah and my villain. I'm just discovering this anime, so it may seem weird but just tell me what you think.

Full Summary: Edward and Alphonse Elric cross upon an abandoned young girl on their mission to seek out and destroy the ultimate life form weapon built to wipe out all living life with one special power enriched by the Philosopher's stone. The girl seems to have no memories of where she came from or who she is. What happens when Edward falls for the stranger who may not be what he and Al thinks she really is?

It had been a day ago since they found her, the almost mindless doll Edward called, "Isis." She liked her new name, and liked the idea of its meaning as well.

Ed sat atop the step to a burnt down apartment the people of this empty street of town, "Dolorosa" set on fire yesterday. This town was like living in hell in itself due to all the negativity slithering above the heads of citizens crowded down the sidewalks.

He folded his arms above his knees and rested his chin on them. His bullion-gold eyes looked downwards, notioning.

…Sweet Isis…clueless of herself and anything else, for some reason never knew a thing about life or right and wrong.

She was a mystery, just as he had discovered her.

/Flashback/

"Urgh! Oh great…" Edward scratched the rear of his noggin and directed his eyes down in a sigh. "…We're lost…AGAIN!"

He and his younger fourteen year old brother, Alphonse Elric, had been searching about in the town of "Dolorosa" in no luck in finding a place to spend a night or three. He was assigned in this special yet aggressive town for a mission on the search to uncover a destructive secret. Unless this secret was terminated, the threat would doom the race of humanity. The only real thing that interested Edward was the involvement of the Philosopher's Stone.

Ed walked in a straight posture with his arms behind his head. His light eyes gleamed to the wavers of the sunrays. "So where the hell is this place anyway?"

Al cocked his metal temple, and replied through his armor, "Don't you remember, brother? Dr. Libony's Laboratory is located somewhere all the way on the other side of this town where he's creating the final touches to his weapon, 360 code named, Iyami."

Ed stole his hands away from his head and turned to the giant armored Al directly, grunting. "Wha-Wha? Are you serious? But that's gonna take us another day or two! Roy didn't even give us directions on how to GET there!"

"Then we better find a place to sleep before sun down, Brother."

"How can we? It costs more money to stay in even one room than what we have left. Besides, the people here are rude and would never be generous enough to spare people like us a simple room. I doubt they even KNOW the definition of generous if a dictionary was right in FRONT of them. How sad can you get?"

"But you're a State Alchemist."

Ed continued to saunter with his back hunched and his arms swaying from side to side as they hung. He began to groan. "State Alchemist or not…I don't think these people give a damn."

Al looked around the streets of the town. Each person they passed turned their eyes to them and glared with sneers. They knew they weren't from around here.

Al lowered his metal head and sighed stressfully. He turned those eyes to study a few muggers scampering across the alley with bent pipes to chase after a tormented stray pup. Though something else caught his attention. He gasped in reaction to his vision. "Brother, look!"

Ed's head peeked out in front of Al with a blank face and blinked twice. "What? What is that?"

In the dark corners of the alley was the most unusual thing to see. An unconscious girl spiraled out against the wall near a dumpster as if she was part of the metal scraps decorated around her.

Her curly, powdery hair censored her nude assets. The wavy bangs shadowed over the peacefully closed eyelids of her pale skin texture as crisp as soy milk. However, that flesh had been tarnished by dirt-blotches.

Ed blinked once this time as he stared at her. "…So uh...tell me why we're staring at a naked hobo again, Al?

- 10 minutes later -

Edward tossed his red cloak around the girl to cover her half exposed body. He eased her back against the wall of another street Ed had hid him and Alphonse away.

The golden-haired teenager crossed his arms and stared at her unconscious face calmly for a few seconds. "When is she gonna wake up already? We can't stay here all day." He put his hands on his knees as he bent down in front of her, examining her in curiosity.

Al shook his head, the metal screeching. "She's unconscious. So it's gonna take awhile."

Edward drew his fingers near her bangs. He hesitated; his face squinted, and slowly ran his full-flesh fingers lightly through her delicate bangs to see the closed eyes. "Huh...she's not too bad good-lookin', huh?"

Alphonse gave him an extremely surprised and blank expression. He had never heard that type of tone in his elder brother's voice before. It just wasn't Ed.

The blonde-haired fifteen year old glanced at his armored brother embarrassedly. "What! I'm just sayin'…"

Edward sat next to her against the wall as his right metal arm and left mortal arm crossed behind his head to get comfy. He closed his eyes and sighed in boredom.

As soon as his eyes closed, the unconscious girl's head quickly slipped and fell into his breast as her the strands of white shifted to one side. A high pitched ringing tone pierced the air.

Violet-drenched eyes slowly came open to see her founder.

Al stood up. "She's awake!"

Ed and Al stared at the awakened girl in silence. She opened her eyes fully and stared back at only Ed. She cocked her head.

Edward just gave a cheesy-grin at her. "Ahhh, hey...there, Ehe, how's it goin'?"

She blinked in confusion and slowly said her words as if this was her first time of speaking, "Who… are… you?" her voice was rather shaken and stirred.

"The name's Edward Elric and this is my brother, Al." Ed jabbed a thumb into the route of his brother

Al waved the gloved palm around. "Pleasure to meet you!"

"We found you unconscious near the garbage earlier."

She stayed with no expression, carefully saying her reply. "The…garbage?"

He tried not to laugh. "Yep. Can you remember what happened to ya' back there?"

She shook her head.

Edward perplexedly gazed at her. "Well…okay, can you at least tell us what's your name?"

She copied his perplexity. "My name?"

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you don't know your own name?"

"…What's a…name?" she inquired dully, a question mark descending over her head.

Edward sighed and put his palm to his forehead with his eyes shut. "Damn, and I thought only blondes were dense." He looked back at her sheepishly. "…It seems like you've forgotten everything, huh?"

The girl looked around, bemused at her surroundings of a town.

Ed folded his legs Indian style and set both hands on his knees. "So you have no memory of anything about who you are or where you came from, AT ALL?"

She shook her head loosely, like she didn't know how to steady her neck right.

Ed shut his eyes and crossed his arms like he was thinking, but internally annoyed. "That's just great…."

West Valley Avenue

The nameless stranger walked along side Edward, a bit close to him to where her shoulder would brush up against his bare muscular one. This urged Ed to look down on her as she looked up at him. He cracked open a friendly grin that showed her she was invited to join the friendship zone.

Ed shifted his gaze on her more often, and thinking for a moment in silence. "…Isiserah… (I-seer-ra)" he smirked.

She stared, baffled again.

Ed widened his eyes and put on a quick grin. "That'll be your name from here on out. But for short, I'll call you, 'Isis.' Okay?"

"…Isis…?"

"Well, what do you think? Take it or leave it?"

"Isis" nodded and actually broke out a sweet smile for Ed. Her neck was steady this time.

He chuckled at her as they walked with Al trotting behind them, observing. "What do you think, Al? Good name for her?"

He agreed. "I think it fits her perfectly."

/End of Flashback/

His focused eyes flattened in the memory. It had been a day ago since they found her, a day ago since they looked for Dr. Libony's Laboratory and hadn't uncovered it.

A rain drop drizzled from the atmosphere and stained onto the concrete, dampening it into a grey blotch. Another drop followed, three tumbling after the second leader, and soon over a million droplets showered over the town of Lahvi. They spilled hard over on Edward's shoulders in dense pitter-pats as he stayed in his position. He only raised his golden orbs, which looked like sinister amber in the shadows, to see a motionless figure before him. He blinked stilly as rain dripped off his dampened bangs.

The young lady stood in the rain patiently with an emotionless face, letting the tears of the clouds drench her snow-mane that extended six inches above her ankles. Her eyes never left Ed. "…You look cold." Her words were light and delicate like feathers between the hisses of the rain.

Ed blinked plainly, smiled, closed his eyes, and shook his head slightly to recite her name in a chuckle, "Ise'…"

…Night had fallen over the crude town of Lavhi that was still being showered down by cold rain that felt like falling ice.

Al and Ed went on another homeless night. They sat against the walls of the steep hill of the rainy empty street. But Ed was persistent in finding a place to sleep that wasn't the solid floor, just any place.

"Hey, Al, Isis," he peeked through the empty window and wiped the dust away. "come over here."

His brother's heavy metal feet clanked and dug into the pavement as he walked to him. "What is it, brother?"

Ed smiled widely to him and Isis. "Looks like we've found our new spot to spend the night."

Inside

Edward stretched out his upper limbs and took of his wet black jacket. He leaned himself against the burned desk near the wall in his tank top. His automail arm glistened.

Isis looked around and slowly sat on the creaky bed with her hands in her lap, looking to the floor, not saying a word.

"Are you sure we should do this? What if someone lives here?" Al sat on the bed next to her in the small singed black smoked room. He put his metal fingers on his knees and cocked his head. "Won't we get in trouble?"

Ed grinned cunningly. "Not if nobody finds us."

Al felt a heavy load weigh on his heart. "I don't like the sound of that…"

"Aw, don't worry! No one stays here I can bet on that! Who would live in a dump like this anyway?"

Al studied the room carefully and turned back to Ed. "It looks like this place has been abandoned forever. Either that or the people who live here don't take good care of it."

Ed put his folded his arms, stood straight, and darkened his face. "But I told you already, no one lives here, I'm sure of it."

Al was still uneasy inside. "I don't know, brother…"

"Don't be such a worry hog, Al. We'll be fine."

- 15 minutes later -

They had settled down after a quick investigation on the house. So far so good that no one was around to claim the owner of an abandoned wreck. Hey, wreck or no wreck, it was a place to stay to Ed's point of view. Better than sleeping in the rain like a stray dog.

"There!" Ed smiled as he fluffed up a pillow.

Isis sat on the bed in an old white gown that went above her knees one inch and thin straps hanging off or around her shoulders. It was one of the lone clothes Ed had found in a dusty old drawer. She needed them badly.

The long strands of pallid curled daintily among the dirt spotted bed. The lilac eyes of Isis followed Ed as he made the bed a little bit more comfy for her.

He turned to her with his usual kind yet bold face. "Will you be alright in here by yourself?"

Isis stared at him for a long moment, letting her pale-purple eyes contact his exotic wolf ones. She softened her own. "…You won't be with me?"

Edward scratched his cheek with one white gloved finger. "Well I'll be in the room next to you!" he caught a glimpse of her. She was smiling at him, but it was a smile he hadn't seen so often.

Ed turned his head away to avoid the eye contact. Once his eyes slowly returned to her, she was now standing right in front of him. "AH!" he freaked and jumped back in surprise.

Isis's eyes sparkled this time. She stepped closer to Ed. "So then I'll be close to you…Edward?" she smiled sweetly again.

Ed could feel the red hot blood rush to his face immediately. He pinned himself to the wall and chuckled nervously. "Uh…yeah! Sure…"

All this damn close contact.

The girl smiled again. She looked down with a soft expression on her gentle face and fiddled with the end of her gown. "That's good. I don't want to be away from you, Edward. I like your company." She raised her eyes, looking at him in an extremely exhilarated and friendly way. "It makes me happy."

Ed's eyes went off to the side in the air somewhere, his cheeks still blushing pinkish red. "Yeah…same here.—So just get some sleep tonight okay? You need energy for tomorrow and maybe your memories will return then to." He passed her by with one last glance and half smile. "G'night, Isis." He shut the door.

Isis stood there, staring at her door. Her feelings went from happy to a drifting loneliness. The lilac orbs faced the dirt covered floor.

Ed and Al's room

Al sat against the wall for his resting spot. He lowered his head and shifted one knee up. "That girl is interesting, isn't she?"

Ed plopped down on the creaky bed and set his metal hand and human flesh hand behind his head and against the singed pillow. "Yeah she's okay."

"Do you like her?"

Ed sat up promptly with huge angry bug eyes and red cheeks. "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! I NEVER SAID THAT, GOT IT! STOP ACCUSING ME!"

Al held his hands up in defense of him not meaning it like that, plus he wasn't accusing him of anything. "Easy, brother! I didn't mean it in that way! I meant in a friendship way…that's all."

Ed narrowed his eyes and growled. He laid his head on his pillow. "Yeah I like her as a friend. She's a nice girl. I just hope she gets her memory back soon." He closed his eyes and opened one eye on Al. "'Night Al."

"Goodnight, brother." Al's voice tuned down as he drifted off into the series of dreams.

- 3 o'clock am -

Isis did not sleep.

She lied down on her not so comfortable bed with her eyes on the black burnt ceiling. She could hear everything…each and every drop of thick rain, the splash of foot steps waddling in the small floods of street water, the night calling, Ed snoring…

Isis's fingers folded on her belly as her eyes stayed focus and empty. A shock went through the line of her heart. Her pupils dilated.

A quick flash of a vision came into her memory screen. It flashed again, this time staying in her mind's sight. It was like it was playing on a broken TV. The screen of the image shuddered as if struggling to replay.

Isis's fingers tightened.

The image was a familiar motion picture:

A white haired girl curled up into a naked ghostly glowing white ball. Plugs, wires, connectors, bolts, etc, were plunged into her back, her legs, her back neck, the sides of her forehead and her arms. Her eyes were shut, and she was floating under the dense water inside of a tube. Air bubbles escaped her mouth.

In the background of this image, lethal gunshots flashed. In the midst of the shadows, a man's face was shown. His lips were curved into an evil grin. Shiny glass lenses blocked his eyes, and his long black bangs fell over the glasses as well. He raised his pistol's point pressed to the white haired girl's forehead, whose naked body was glowing white and soaking wet with vague red liquid.

Just like that, the motion picture suddenly clasped into a shrinking white dot and finally into the gray screen. Isis's eyes shined. A sharp feeling swept through her.

Ed and Al's room

Ed snored loudly with his mouth open and saliva hanging off the side. He turned on his side and spoke in his sleep as he grunted. ".. .Who you calling a short little half wit midget you jerk...!" he snored again. "….You wanna piece of me…? …Damn, he stole my money…"

"Edward?" a voice whispered in his ear. "Edward?"

"HUH!" He shot up and turned his head to be staring into divine violet of Isis who was hugging a pillow to her chest. He wiped his eye sleepily. "Oh it's you. What's up, Ise (Ice)?"

She gave him a worried face.

He yawned, trying to wake up. "Having a hard time sleeping or what?"

She nodded in an ashamed whimper.

Ed scooted over for her. "If that's the case, then you can stay with me for a few minutes if it makes you feel any better."

Isis's beautiful face perked up. She sat down on the bed next to him as he crossed one foot over the other and put an arm behind his head again so he could be comfortable. Apparently the pillow was a soft as a rock. Ed closed his eyes.

Isis stared at him for a moment and then looked down. Her eyes meant sadness and worriment.

Ed could sense the uncomforting stench of unhappiness in the air. He opened one eye to see her. "Something bugging you?"

"…I…I…feel like something bad is going to happen…" her eyes never met his. "And I feel it will have to do with me…it's something terrible, something that should have been destroyed before it awoke…" she hugged her heart as her eyes lowered. "…Something that should have never been founded by you…it will destroy you…but I don't know what it is…"

Ed stayed with a stern face. He kept his gaze on her. "How do you know for sure?"

"I don't…but I can feel it. And something weird keeps appearing to me …" she finally ran her sights down to him. "Edward…it scares me…" Isis widened her eyes.

Ed had fallen fast asleep with a loud snoring echoing the room. He grumbled and licked his lips. He quickly turned on his side with his hands folded under the side of his head, snoring like a horn.

Isis shook him. "Edward? Edward!"

Ed blinked himself awake. "Huh? What? What? What I miss?" he saw Isis and quickly remembered. He slapped his face. "Ah, sorry about that. I'm just sleepier than most nights. So what were you saying?"

"…A danger I've been sensing…"

"Right! Start where I dozed off."

"Well, I was saying how, something strange keeps appearing to me, over and over again, and…I'm scared…I'm scared I'm apart of it."

He came back to the memories and raised his eyebrows with a smirk. He looked away. "Don't worry. Don't let it get to you." He plopped down again. "If anything bad happens, we'll get through it together."

Isis blinked at him, looked down and lowered her eyes in doubt.

"I promise." Ed made his solemn oath sincere and worthy.

She turned to him to see those handsome rich gold eyes looking fixedly on her. Her breath dropped.

Ed seemed like he meant it. "Al and I have been through hell and back many times, but eventually we conquer the evil, and we'll do it again." A small smile broke out. "The only difference is, we've got you on our side and three heads can be better than two. We can get through it, Ise, you just have to trust me."

Each word was convincing to Isis's mind. "I do trust you…" She finally smoothened out her concern and let it turn into warm happiness. As long as he was here, everything would be alright.

Isis laid herself next to him and faced him directly. The side of her face buried into her white bangs. "…Thanks, Ed…"

They shared an enchanting locked gaze for the moment. Isis smiling, Edward focused. The light in his sunshine eyes began to orbit in emotions.

Ed turned his head away and pointed his nose to the ceiling. "Sure thing, Ise." He grinned.

His feelings went wary as his orbs met the rain falling outside. That reminded him of things. Things he'd rather left forgotten.

The rain was strong and darkened the air gray like that night he and Al had to try because they loved her so much. That same night that nearly cost them their lives, but took away an arm and a leg, and a body.

He strained himself not to think about the accident. He had moved forward, but even now, deep within his heart, he still feels the pain of this inedible sin.

Isis began to speculate the thoughts running through Edward's head. Something was brought up in the surface of his eyes. They showed grief and constant agony.

Isis scooted herself close to him, almost afraid to touch him. "Edward? Edward what's wrong?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to her blankly. "Hm?"

The violet eyes became the gentle void. "…You look like it hurts somewhere." She gazed deeply into the depths of his treasury irises. "Your heart aches…because you lost someone that was close to you?"

Edward went wide-eyed as he sat up half way on his elbows. "How do you know I—"

Isis's slim, creamy soft fingers ran through one side of his bangs, stroking them out of his face to see those wolf irises clearly. "So much sadness in your eyes…you strain your smiles sometimes…so much pain there. Edward…why are you so sad?"

Ed blinked once, and gritted his teeth, snatching his head away while angrily shutting his eyes. "Just forget it." his bangs hid his eyes away. "…It's not worth repeating. You don't need to know the story. It's not your misfortune to be concerned about. What matters is that it's behind me now, and I've moved on."

"But you still think of it sometimes…"

Ed sharpened.

Isis felt herself bury into his sadness. She didn't want him sad. It made her sad. She wanted him happy. That's all she wanted…Edward to be happy.

The next thing he felt was the embrace of eagerly hesitant arms wrap across his stomach. Isis's eyelashes covered over her closed eyes, with sparklets of light clung to them. Her rime white bangs went over her forehead and touched her lashes as she pulled herself into Edward's side more. She held him tight and nestled into his warm body that made her feel like magic.

"Don't be sad…" she pleaded. "…I won't ever leave you, I promise, I promise if it'll make you smile again."

Ed's cheeks turned red as he stared down at the girl who was nuzzled deep into him, clung to him tight. She looked just like an angel desperate to make him forget his long lasting sin. His facial expression turned into embarrassment. He couldn't remember having a girl this close.

He changed his mood back to a smile and landed a hand on her head and stroked the top of it. "Ise?"

She looked up with big amethyst eyes.

There was something he wanted to say, but he replaced it; "It's getting late." He smiled faintly. "So maybe we should just hit the sack and call it a day, alright? Go back to your room and take a rest." Ed pried her off him, not smiling anymore.

Isis seemed almost sad to let him go. "I can't stay?"

"Stay where!"

"Here, with you."

Ed folded his legs and held his hand under his chin. "I don't have anywhere for you to sleep. Unless…." His eyes slowly darted to her and then away with narrowing eyes above his red cheeks.

Isis looked at him inquisitively and then to the spot next to him on the bed. She quickly ran her attention back to him. "Can I!"

Ed moved back with a sweat drop. "Now, w-wait a minute, I don't think—"

"Oh please let me, Edward?" she gave him these huge loving eyes that sparked so innocently he couldn't resist.

He crossed his arms and looked down in upset closed eyes. "I hate it when that happens.—You can stay for the night."

Isis gasped and threw her arms around Ed. "OH THANK YOU, EDWARD!" she charged into him so hard she knocked them both out of the bed.

"HEY!" Edward flew on his back against the hard wood with Isis on top of him. He rose, winced and cursed himself in pain.

Isis looked down on him. "Are you okay, Edward?"

His eyes met hers exactly. He turned wide-eyed and immediately crawled backwards away from her until he was at a comfortable distance. "D-Don't ever do that!"

She cocked her head cutely. "Do what?"

"Hug me like that!"

"…It's not good to hug someone?" she asked in a perplexed tone.

Ed blinked blankly, his face burning badly as she crawled near him. "W-Well it depends if they want you to or not."

Isis blinked and closed in on their personal boundary, making Ed move back against the wall. "Then…who can I hug if not just anyone?"

Ed, feeling like a retard, twiddled his fingers and stared down with his long bangs shadowing over his eyes. "S-Someone…you…you really care about …or feel strongly for, or, or something like that…"

Isis's eyes became spaced and focused on the words. "You mean…someone that I like?" she leaned her face close to Ed, wanting to know.

"I…I…" his cheeks burned an adorable bright red again. "…I guess so..." he mumbled.

Vague glimmers of light gleamed like dancing souls inside of Isis's inner pupils. Even if those words really meant nothing to her, she felt them imply something else to her she was never taunt to understand; love.

Outside Window

A cloaked figure shadowed over the window of the abandoned house. It stared into the glass, seeing three individuals; one unique girl, one metal armed boy, and one large armor leaned against the wall feet away. The lurking person smirked. "…You're the apocalypse to earth, and you won't escape me this time, Iyami." he charged his gun.

Okay, review me and tell me if I should continue or not. Sorry if it's a little off, it's my first timer so don't be too cruel if it's a piece of crap. But I promise it gets better cuz I had a lot planned!

Edward: So basically, Isis likes me.

Me: Wow! Good job Ed! You figured it out, short stuff! claps sarcastically

Edward: HEY! WHO YOU CALLIN' A LITTLE MIDGET SO SMALL YOU GOTTA USE A MICROSCOPE JUST TO SEE, HUH? YOU WANT A PIECE OF THIS!

Me: Just tellin' it like it is, Eddie. What, you're like 4.11 or something with a six pack?

Edward: WHAT IS IT WITH YOU PEOPLE? I'M NOT SHORT OKAY! I JUST WASN'T BORN TO BE THE GREAT GIANT WHO LIVES UP THE GIANT BEAN STALK!

Me: …Yeah…okay, thanks for reading and review and sorry it was so long!