I was running with them, but I still felt like every cell in my body was trying to pull me back in the opposite direction. Nobody was saying anything about me still being here—I wasn't even sure if I should hang back or not. But Ed's sight would probably be restored, even if he was blinded again...

I stopped running just as we approached our destination. Dammit!

I looked up, seeing the flames roaring above us. The building had been blown up... A church, of all things...

A silhouette caught my focus; a shadowed figure beside the burning rooftop, someone quickly jumping away!

Ed was bounding off after them, shouting back at us to take care of the fire. We nodded our agreement before I heard the sound of clapping behind me.

I turned around, looking to see a giant water hose—something that kind of looked like a cannon—beside the street's fire extinguisher. Al stood up, aiming the water as it shot out.

The fire began to sizzle in response, the sound background noise as Al spoke to me.

"I'm going to go see if there's anyone stuck inside! Can you take care of the fire?"

I nodded, switching places with him as he ran off and disappeared inside the building, ignoring the shouts the crowd gave for him to stop.

I grabbed the handles Al was using to aim this massive thing, immediately feeling the weight hoist me up. My legs kicked in the air, and I felt someone help pull me down.

"Thank you." I smiled nervously, watching the man just nod.

"I can take care of this!" he told me.

Feeling absolutely useless, I let go of the handles and stepped to the side, watching this stranger take over the only job I was assigned. People cheered as the flames started to weaken, overpowered by the massive amount of water.

Another bomb went off, not even a block away. My heart dropped; that's the same direction Ed ran off to!

I didn't even think as I started running towards the cloud of smoke visible from one of the windows... Nothing seemed to be blown out; no windows or doors.

Again, my thoughts went to the instincts trying to force me back. Just wait, it was telling me. Just don't get in the way...

Another bomb went off, and this time I felt the shocks ripple the ground below my feet. I stumbled, not falling. The earth settled back to normal, and I burst through the already open door.

An empty living room greeted me. But I heard the sounds of a rough scuffle downstairs; like someone was being dragged along a table, knocking off glass and breaking it on the floor.

I soon found the stairs to the basement, and by then Ed's voice came to my ears. Talking to whoever he was fighting. He didn't sound hurt; in fact, he sounded completely cocky.

"What're you gonna do now?" he taunted. "I can escape your stupid little bombs all night, pal. No sweat."

Oh, no... Please don't provoke him, Ed...

The stairs ended, bringing me down to a dimly lit basement. A slick voice rang out as I stopped running, the last of my steps echoing against the concrete.

"Well, it seems we have another visitor."

I saw the shorter of the two figures turn towards me, a familiar voice saying my name.

Ed suddenly leaned back, dodging a bomb as it was thrown at him. I hid my eyes with the inside of my jacket, seeing Ed turn away as a blinding white light came.

"Oh, no." Ed's voice again, the grin clear. "No way in hell I'm falling for that one again."

Before my own sight had even adjusted back, Ed was in front of the bomber, jumping high and spinning. The back of his heel connected with the bomber's head, earning a groan and a harsh stumble.

"Damn midget..."

"WHO YOU CALLIN'—"

Al's footsteps came thundering down the stairs behind me. "Brother!"

I stepped off to the side, watching the teen in the armor stop at the base of the stairs.

The bomber was on his knees, one of Ed's hands clutching his hair while his metal hand was transmuted into what looked like a giant fist.

Ed blinked. "Oh, hey, Al."

The bomber took the opportunity to break Ed's grip with a quick strike against his forearm. They broke apart, jumping a good distance away from each other. Ed clapped his hands, bringing his human one against the back of his transmuted fist. The length of his arm returned, the material finding its original place. He clenched his hand a few times, grin returning. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly the smile fell from his face. The bomber's voice rang out again.

"And now four makes a party!" Bombs were suddenly in his hands, lit with the fuse disappearing fast. "Can I interest anyone in some candles?"

Ed and Al clapped, putting their hands to the floor. The ceiling above us split down the middle, curving upwards and creating a wide open space. Al's transmutation light sped along the ground, a block shooting out from the floor and knocking the bombs high into the air.

They exploded, the burst of wind whipping against us, the flames bright enough for our eyes to be shielded again.

When everything cleared, the street lamps above were bright enough to shine down, illuminating the basement. I stared at Ed, seeing the left leg of his pants had been torn away. His leg... It was completely metal...

He wore a frown, continuing to stare at the bomber.

"Y'know, I really hate it when people try and blow up friends and family. Kinda puts a downer on everything."

"I had a feeling it was you!" the bomber laughed, pointing at Ed. "I didn't think I could really be fighting the famed Fullmetal Alchemist—but here you are! Golden features and all!" He laughed again, and the sound was horribly insane. "Tell me, Fullmetal, how is it that you two can perform alchemy without needing circles?! Is it as simple as making one with your hands?"

Ed grinned, the expression mischievous. "Nah. The truth is a lot more complex than that, bud."

His leg slid back into a low fighting stance, automail catching the street light again. His hands rose, the metal one extended in front of him while his human hand rested in defense by his jaw. "C'mon. Let's finish this."

The man just smiled, barring his teeth as he raised one arm out. For a moment, it looked as if his nails were growing, but with the amount of blood coming out of his fingers, I knew I was wrong.

"He's..." I could hardly speak through my own shock. "He's transmuting his BONES?!"

The man swiped his hand across himself, the long bones that were once his fingers acting like massive claws.

Ed just gave a cocky grin, suddenly standing normal with his hand on his hip. "Yeah," he scoffed, "Not gonna size up to my past fights, trust me."

The bomber gave another huge grin. "You really want to talk about 'sizing up'?"

"THAT'S IT!" Ed was charging forward, transmuting a blade onto his metal arm. "THAT'S THE LAST JOKE YOU'RE GONNA MAKE!"

The bomber just grinned, running forward as well. His hand swiped out and Ed jumped, the end of his coat getting ripped up by the makeshift claws. He stepped on the guy's face, and I heard the crack of a nose breaking.

The bomber fell onto his back as Ed landed in front of him. The alchemist turned around, one hand in his pocket as he looked down.

"I thought that was almost gonna be hard for a second."

A grin hooked onto the bomber's mouth. He suddenly flipped onto his feet, acrobatically landing a good distance away from Ed. Without moving his hands, the criminal set his nose back into place. Transmuted the bones into the right areas again.

I felt the hair on my head stand straight up as Ed's face dropped into an expression of disgust.

"Ew!" he drawled, closing his eyes. "Stop doing that!"

"No way." The claws rose in front of him again, the blood still on his bones flinging off and landing on the floor. "I've worked way too hard to get this transmutation right. Seals up my skin just enough so I won't lose any blood."

"It'll still wreck your body..." Ed began, but the bomber just grinned.

"Like you have the right to say that, Fullmetal?"

"Shut your mouth!" Ed was charging forward again, incredibly ticked.

When Ed got close enough, something narrow and thin sped out of the bomber's torso. A rib. I saw his upper body drop a bit to the left, compensating for the bone length he was using. Ed blocked the makeshift spear to his stomach, using the blade on his arm as a shield.

The rib shot back just as quickly as it had come. Ed slashed, but the attack was dodged with a quick bend backwards. The bomber's palms came into view, and I saw the complex series of alchemy circles tattooed into his skin. My stomach squeezed itself; the circles were enough to continually transmute his bones...

The front of the bomber's shoes were ripped open, toes attempting to stab Ed. It was meant to be a quick attack; something fierce as the bomber transferred his weight onto his hands in a backbend, supporting himself as the bones in his leg got shorter.

Ed put his arm and knee up, again using the metal to deflect the long toes.

"You wanna give me a hand here, Al?"

"Right!"

Al clapped his hands, transmuting part of the ground into a reaching hand. The bomber flipped away from the structure, jumping onto and away from the wall as he landed against it.

As he landed onto the floor again, Al and Ed stared in disbelief.

"What is this guy, in the circus?" Ed asked.

In the next moment, claws made of bone were slashing at Al. The teen in the suit stepped back, hands up and blocking but not attacking. It was only a moment after he had circled around, allowing me to see the back of the bomber and the front of Al, that the bomber's other hand had transformed into claws as well. He slashed twice; a fake to Al's legs and a direct hit against his head.

Al's helmet flew off, and I felt something of a relief that he was wearing one. That could've been really bad…

The helmet bounced to the floor, but didn't reveal the head of the younger Elric. I waited, expecting Al's head to pop out, maybe have his hands holding onto the edge. Just some kid inside a giant suit of armor. But nothing came out, and I suppressed making any sound as the suit leaned forward, pointing to the inside of his body.

A blood red insignia. I recognized the rune instantly, but still my brain couldn't register the significance... There was no way...

"You'll have to try harder than that." Al's voice rang out, filling the empty suit.

My stomach lurched, my perception of the younger Elric completely being re-written. He'd been empty. He'd been empty this whole time…

Now at a safe distance away from Al, who was twisting his head back on, the bomber was yelling.

"You fools actually tried to do it! I can't believe there's people out there SO STUPID!" Laughter rang out from him—true, genuine amusement. "It's taboo for a reason! How evolved we've become! How very—"

Ed's foot slammed against his face, cutting off his speech. The Elric didn't stop there; he landed low on the ground, pivoting and ramming the side of his leg against the bomber's knee. The limb broke at the brute force of the metal, and I grew nauseous for the second time as I saw the upper half of his leg shift away from his lower. Ed stood up, grabbing the guy's head as he yelled.

"I'm really not feeling like a lecture today, pal!" His metal knee punctuated his words, slamming hard against the side of the villain's head.

"Brother!" A concerned warning from Al.

As the bomber skidded against the ground face-first, Ed looked in the direction of his brother.

The older Elric waved a hand. "Ah, he's fine. He's transmuting his bones after all. Probably lessened the impact of my leg."

I looked back to the villain. He still wasn't moving. At this point, I saw fear in Edward's face. Alphonse ran up to the body, about to crouch down when Edward's mind came back to him. The realization triggered for me as well.

Ed reached forward, as if that could stop his brother's movements.

"AL, NO!"

"Al, don't do it!"

The sharp bone of a finger pierced through the front plate of Al's suit. I stopped breathing, hand half-raised in a pathetic attempt to reach him.

"Al..." Ed fell to his knees, hitting the ground hard. I've never seen his eyes that helpless. That empty.

The figure on the floor moved its head, picking himself up a little bit. I could feel the grin on his face; a ghost imprint against my sick stomach.

Al was gone. And I couldn't even take a step to save him.

The familiar shifting of metal sounded. I looked up, breath leaving my lungs for the second time. With a grin coming to my face, I watched Al move his arm, hand gripping the bone still impaling him.

"I can't believe you missed!" Al's voice, ringing clear out of his suit. "How could you miss when I'm this close to you?!"

Before a response could be heard, Al tilted his hand upwards, snapping the bone in two.

The alchemist on the floor screamed, and my mind quickly came back to me. I tapped the back of my heel onto the floor, sliding open the compartment beneath my shoe. I pressed the transmutation circled engraved there to the floor, watching the carbon in the concrete below the bomber give way. A hole was formed, some of it moving over to bury the alchemist, covering everything except for his eyes and lips. I gave him enough room to breathe, but he wouldn't be able to pierce through such thick flooring.

"Hey, nice work!" Ed complimented me, sending a grin my way as he walked over to the bomber.

I smiled back, a little embarrassed. It'd been a long time since I'd used alchemy, especially in a way that was used for offense. I was surprised I could still conduct something like that…

Ed crouched down, hands hanging from his knees as he looked at the bomber. He stared from the corner of his eyes, mouth in a frown.

"Alright, let's get this over with. What's up with impersonating a dog of the military? Why'd you bomb that church?"

A single, barking laugh answered him. "Like I would tell YOU!" The man spit upwards, trying to hit Ed but missing. Still, Ed leaned away with a slight grimace.

"Well, you better start talkin'." Ed replied. "You really wanna be cooped up in there until the cops come?"

"Ha!"

Ed frowned and kept trying to get more info. "Is there anyone else working with you?"

"Now THERE'S a real laugh!" The bomber cackled madly, wiggling around in the limited room I had given him. "Do you really think I'm the type to work with someone? If I was, there would definitely be more of those churches on fire around the world!"

"Gosh, you're insane..." Al muttered.

Wide eyes went in the direction of the younger Elric. "Oh, don't act like you don't understand! You're an alchemist, after all! In fact, everyone in this ROOM is one! We're free-thinkers, followers of science and common sense! Tell me; honestly, truthfully tell me that you've never thought of destroying one of those blasted God-spewing CORPORATIONS!"

We were all stunned into silence. Al was right, but personally I didn't think that "insane" really covered it right now. Ed was the first to recover, tsking as he turned away.

"Yeah, believe me, I've heard that all before. But just because you believe someone else is wrong doesn't mean you should try to blow them up!"

"Try?! I did much more than try, Fullmetal Alchemist!"

Ed slammed his hand against the ground, near the bomber's face. "ALRIGHT, that's enough! I'm tired of this! Tell me what I need to know!"

A wide grin filled the space I had left for the bomber's mouth.

"No..."

The smile fled as Ed pressed the tip of his automail blade in between the bomber's eyes.

"You've heard about me, right?" There was an edge to Edward's voice; a lowness I didn't recognize.

The bomber tried to wiggle around, keeping his eyes frantically wide. "Y-yes! I've heard you've slain many many people!"

I saw Alphonse give a sound of disbelief; embarrassment almost. I realized this guy must have his information wrong. Ed kept his cut throat attitude, giving one nod with that horrible look in his eyes.

"That's right." The blade pressed a bit more, and I saw a drop of blood form, slipping down into the corner of the bomber's eye. A whimper came as he closed his eyes, preventing the blood from getting inside. "You wanna be my next victim?"

I heard a slight whimper come from Al, who had his hands in front of him, toying with his fingers a little bit. The bomber just kept breathing in that same fast way, and his eyes suddenly shot open.

"OKAY! OKAY, I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!"

"Lautoxan police!"

I looked up, seeing shadows surrounding the upper floor above us. Guns were drawn. That characteristically big grin came to Ed as he stood up and stepped away.

"What's with that look?" he asked me, clapping his hands and putting one of them on his blade, reverting his metal hand back to normal... But there was something off about the transmutation. "You really didn't think I was gonna kill the guy, did you?"

I didn't answer; had I actually seen that right? The transmutation light looked... A little red.

"Ed..." I began as the police came thundering down the staircase behind me. I stepped off to the side with a quick glance, moving out of their way.

They started towards the bomber, who was still in the ground.

"Oh, sorry." I activated the transmutation circle on the bottom of my shoe, releasing the ground on top of the criminal. The police captured the guy instantly, roughly hoisting him up by the arms.

"Hey watch it!"

He was carried off, and I watched one police officer step towards Edward, asking him something. The State Alchemist shook his head, hand retrieving his silver watch as he explained the situation. The officer accepted the story pretty easily, and after a few brief questions to me and Alphonse, he left. The three of us were alone.

"Al!" Ed had his hands in the air, arms swinging angrily. "What'd you do that for? Waiting so long to grab the bone? WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

Al's eyes retracted, growing smaller. "I was surprised by it too! I didn't think he could have possibly missed like that, honest!"

Ed sighed, bowing from the force of his relief. He straightened, stretching out his lower back. "Well, whatever. It's nice to have you alive still."

I heard Alphonse call my name. I looked over, seeing him bow a little towards me.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you." he began, that small voice ringing out from his empty suit. "We thought it would be best, to hide the consequences of what we'd done."

I looked away, thinking back. Memories came, and I allowed them to speak for me. "I found out about Ed's arm when we were on the train to Central," My eyes glanced up, seeing his light surprise before watching him nod a bit to himself, understanding, "And... When I found out about..." I wanted to continue; Trisha's face was just too painful to remember now. I wanted to tell them how much it hurt, seeing them like this. Like they were now.

Tears escaped my eyes and I roughly wiped them away on my palms, forcing myself to continue. "I had no idea you had lost so much. A full body, and half of another one." My fingers threaded into my hair, and through another wave of tears, I finally looked at them both. "How is that equivalent?"

Ed shifted his weight, the soft click of his leg ringing into the silence. He kept his stare down, kept his hands in his pockets, and finally began to speak.

"I sacrificed my leg in the process of the transmutation." he began. "And I gave my arm to get Al into that suit of armor." With closed eyes, he shook his head. "I don't know if you'd still call that equivalent, but maybe it's just our punishment for trying to play God."

He looked up, stare meeting mine. "Either way, this is our burden to bear. We've chosen this path, and we can't turn back from it."

There was something underneath those words. I wanted to ask...

"If you ever go back to Resembool," he began, raising his hand to the back of his hair, "You'll see the remains of our house. We burned it down a long while back. A symbol of our resolve to never look into the past again."

Memories came to me like rainfall. They'd burned down their house? Everything?!

I knew I really couldn't be angry... If I had that courage... I'd burn down mine, too... But I couldn't. I wouldn't be able to. I was miles away from that place, and even now it was still trapping me.

I'm such a coward...

Ed called my name and I looked up. He was staring at me, a softness in his dirtied face.

"We're sorry." he said, repeating his brother's words. "I don't think we can say that enough, with all the ways we've hid you in the dark like this."

"I know why you did it." I responded. "I know why..." I just wish you hadn't.

He suppressed a sigh, his shoulders lowering a little bit more. His weight shifted, balancing equally again as he looked up. I followed his stare, seeing the night sky; the aftereffects of the bomb being forced into the air and blowing up most of the house. The street lights were casting a yellow glow onto everything. My mind went back to Alphonse, and I found everything began to make sense. All that strange behavior from before...

Ed looked ahead of himself again, towards me, and I saw that soft smile on his face.

"Don't look so worried." he told me, eyes nearly laughing in happiness. "It's alright. We've been livin' like this for a while now; it's second nature sometimes."

I realized my knuckles had come to rest against my mouth, but I didn't move them away. I kept worrying, even though that happiness on his face was constantly telling me not to.

Eventually, Ed's mouth dropped into a pointy frown. Then he relaxed, sighing.

He shrugged one shoulder; his metal one. "I don't know what to say," he told me, "I wish I could tell you we have a way to get our bodies back... Some—" He laughed, the sound brief and harsh, "—goal we've been searching for. But right now, we really don't."

"What're you talking about?" I asked softly.

Ed seemed to be thinking, but then he shook his head. "It'd take too long to explain." he replied. A soft, nearly ironic smile hooked his mouth. "Just another recap of more failures from yours truly."

Al didn't seem to mind him not telling me, even though they had just been apologizing for keeping me in the dark... I didn't press, though... I didn't want to, if it was something bad enough to keep them so quiet.

Ed walked forward, still standing tall as he started passed me.

"Well, guess there's nothing left to do but head to Central in the morning and file a report..."

"Hey."

We looked up, seeing an office peer down from the first floor. He kept talking.

"If you're lookin' to head to Central, there's an express train runnin' every quarter hour. Fairly new system they're tryin' out; just got opened a few days ago!"

"That's perfect!" Al exclaimed. "Thank you!"

The officer nodded. "You mind fixin' up this floor in exchange?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Ed bent down, clapping his hands again and putting them to the floor. He looked up, grinning to the officer as the ceiling began to seal again. "Sorry 'bout that!"

The officer just waved, the sight of his hand soon shut out by the basement's ceiling. When the ceiling was connected, that dim light came on, barely illuminating the basement once again. I watched Ed's figure rise up from the ground, hearing the click of his leg as he stood.

He suddenly turned, and I heard the grin come to his face, seeing it a little even with the low lighting.

"We should probably fix up that hole in you, Al."

"Huh?" I heard Al look down at his chest. "Oh, yeah. That'd probably be a good idea!"

Ed laughed a bit, walking over to his brother and stopping in front of him. He clapped his hands. "Here."

His transmutation light was red, the lightning cracking and skittering around the hole in Al's body. Quickly, it faded to the standard light blue, but it was definitely enough to make us all lose our breath.

Ed took his hands away, looking at them. "What the heck just happened?" He looked at his brother. "Al, are you alright?!"

Al nodded, just as worried. "Y-yeah! Are you okay, though?"

I watched Ed clench his hands over and over again, like he was testing out the muscles in his fingers.

"Yeah..." he said. "I feel just fine..."

He grinned at me, embarrassed. "I guess you two weren't kidding when you were talking about that transmutation light being red earlier!"

Al sighed, his body hunching forward. "That's really weird..."

"No kidding." Ed replied, his voice still a bit distant. He raised one hand to his mouth, thought coming into the space between his brows, the creases in his skin visible even in the low lighting. "I wonder..."

He bent down, clapping his hands and putting them on the ground. Blue transmutation light illuminated the room, and through squinted vision I watched his hand rise up, crafting a spear out of the ground. Throughout the entire transmutation, the light remained perfectly normal.

"What the heck?" Ed whined, holding the spear in both hands. "Why didn't it turn red again?!"

We all stared at the spear for a moment, like that would somehow tell us the answer to Ed's question. It didn't, and Al filled the silence with the creaking of his helmet as his head shook.

"I guess whatever it was is gone now..." he began. His stare went down, noticing how half of Ed's left pant leg was gone.

"We should get you fixed up, too, Brother."

It was Ed's turn to look down at himself. "Oh, yeah. Guess I can't really go out walking around like this, can I? Not even if it's this late out."

I could practically feel the grin silently laughing at his own joke as he shifted the spear and rested it against the inside of his arm. He clapped his hands, placing them on the weapon and allowing it to deconstruct back into the floor.

"And now to get me looking normal again..."

He bent down, clapping his hands again and placing them on the floor, bringing more light into the room's only bulb. This brightened our surroundings enough for him and Al to start picking up the torn pieces of Ed's clothing. Most of them had been ripped away in large chunks due to the early explosions before I got there, so it didn't take very long.

I wanted to move and help them. But I only stayed standing by the doorway, only thinking of how much they had lost...

With his clothes fully repaired, Ed was walking towards me again. I looked to him as he passed by, the light from the stairway bright enough for me to catch the glimpse of a smile before he left my line of vision. His hand rose, fingers softly tugging on the shoulder of my jacket before falling away. His words came again, the memory of what he had said just a few minutes ago playing once more.

"Don't look so worried."